Episode Summary
Episode 22 sees Liu Ziming grappling with personal and professional crises. He and Fang Tingting move towards divorce, with a tense dispute over the custody of their child, Diandian. Meanwhile, the police successfully break Li Na, who implicates Chen Tao in orchestrating robberies using minors, leading to Chen Tao's downfall. Liu Ziming also investigates the murder of a man by his abused wife, Lin Jing. A new murder case emerges with Zhao Tiancheng as the victim, killed by a rare triangular blade. Amidst this, Liu Ziming's sister, Liu Ziqing, suffers a critical medical emergency (stomach bleeding), and the money Liu Yang brought for her hospital bills is stolen, though later recovered by Li Yugang. Ultimately, Liu Ziming agrees to the divorce if Fang Tingting relinquishes custody of Diandian. The episode concludes with the arrest of He Shun for Zhao Tiancheng's murder, as the triangular blade is traced back to him.
Spoiler Alert
The episode kicks off with Liu Ziming finally having a moment of self-reflection. He admits he's been pretty clueless when it comes to relationships, largely due to his upbringing, and confesses he really let Fang Tingting down. He’s practically begging for another shot, but Fang Tingting? She’s just a mess of tears, unable to give him an answer right then and there.
Later, the two have a serious heart-to-heart. Liu Ziming seems to get a new lease on life and throws himself back into his work. However, just when you think things might be looking up for them, Fang Tingting drops the bomb: she wants a divorce. And she’s not just thinking about it; she’s got the papers ready. The big sticking point? Custody of their child, Diandian. Fang Tingting wants Diandian, but Liu Ziming is firmly against it, telling her to seriously reconsider.
Meanwhile, the police are making headway with Li Na. Her defenses finally crumble, and she confesses that Chen Tao was the mastermind behind coercing minors into committing robberies. As if that wasn't enough, she even produces audio recordings of Chen Tao brainwashing them! When Zhao Dali plays these tapes for Chen Tao, the guy knows the jig is up and completely loses it, screaming at Li Na.
Back on the job, Liu Ziming, alongside Xia Yu and Li Yugang, catches a new homicide. The perpetrator, Lin Jing, openly admits to killing her husband. Her story is a tough one: her husband was extremely controlling and suspicious, forbidding her from speaking to any men and severely restricting her freedom. Lin Jing simply couldn't endure it any longer. Liu Ziming has Xia Yu and Li Yugang take her into custody, visibly affected by the neighbors' gossip and the grim situation.
Later, while Liu Ziming is at Liu Ziqing's place for dinner, and Diandian is missing her mom, Fang Tingting calls. She’s made up her mind: the divorce is happening. She even brings the divorce agreement with her. The custody battle for Diandian continues, with Liu Ziming refusing to budge.
Duty calls again, and Liu Ziming rushes to another crime scene. Fang Tingting calls to arrange a meeting, and he agrees. The victim this time is Zhao Tiancheng, fatally stabbed in a hallway with a distinctive and uncommon weapon—a triangular blade. Liu Ziming begins his investigation in the building's underground parking garage, while Xia Yu and Li Yugang start interviewing neighbors.
But then, personal drama strikes hard. Liu Ziming gets an urgent call from Nizi: his sister, Liu Ziqing, has collapsed! He has to leave the investigation, asking his colleague Qiangzi to take over the scene for a bit. Qiangzi arrives at Liu Ziqing's home to find her in a pool of blood. Liu Ziming, en route, tells Qiangzi to rush her to the hospital.
At the hospital, the news is grim. Liu Ziqing suffered from severe stomach bleeding, leading to shock, and is in desperate need of a blood transfusion. Liu Ziming frantically calls Xiao Qing for help. This crisis means he completely misses his scheduled meeting with Fang Tingting. When she calls, understandably upset about being stood up, Liu Ziming has to explain the dire situation with Liu Ziqing.
Overwhelmed, Liu Ziming sits in the hospital hallway, lost in thought. He has a painful flashback to his mother's tragic death in a car accident, a memory that still haunts him. A doctor snaps him out of it, needing his signature for Liu Ziqing's surgery. Just then, Liu Yang arrives with money. It turns out Liu Ziming had previously asked Liu Yang to give some money to a certain Li Wei, but Liu Yang hadn't been able to find him. Liu Ziming initially only takes 10,000 yuan, but Liu Yang, knowing the hospital bills would be hefty, leaves the remaining 100,000 yuan.
After what feels like an eternity, the medical team manages to stabilize Liu Ziqing. But when the doctor asks Liu Ziming to settle the bill, he discovers the money Liu Yang left has vanished – stolen right from the hospital! Xia Yu arrives shortly after, and he gets Li Yugang to check the hospital's security footage. They spot the thief, but their face is obscured. Li Yugang, ever the dedicated cop, swears he'll track down the culprit. In a truly touching moment of camaraderie, Xia Yu and Li Yugang empty their own pockets, giving Liu Ziming all their savings to help cover the immediate expenses.
With Liu Ziqing recovering, Liu Ziming tasks Xia Yu and Li Yugang with continuing the hunt for Zhao Tiancheng's murderer. There's a small win when Li Yugang successfully tracks down and apprehends the person who stole the hospital money!
This seems to bring some clarity for Liu Ziming. He finally makes a decision regarding the divorce. He tells Fang Tingting he'll agree to it, but only if she gives up custody of Diandian. To prove he's not an uninvolved father, as Fang Tingting perhaps suspects, Liu Ziming meticulously recites Diandian's daily schedule and extracurricular activities, leaving Fang Tingting speechless.
And so, Liu Ziming and Fang Tingting go to the Civil Affairs Bureau and finalize their divorce. Later, Fang Tingting comes to see Diandian for a tearful farewell, explaining she has to go abroad to accompany her father, who needs medical treatment.
Back on the Zhao Tiancheng murder case, Li Yugang questions the residential complex's security chief about the unusual triangular blade. The chief recognizes the type of knife, mentioning that a former security guard there used to be fond of such blades. Liu Ziming brings in this former guard, who admits the knife was his but claims it was stolen a while back. He suspects a former co-worker, He Shun, who had visited his home around the time the knife went missing.
Liu Ziming immediately has Li Yugang run a background check on He Shun. The investigation reveals that He Shun had worked as a security guard in Zhao Tiancheng's residential complex about six months prior but had since resigned. That’s the lead they needed! Liu Ziming, along with Xia Yu and Li Yugang, travels to He Shun's hometown and arrests him on the spot.
