Episode Summary
The episode sees Li Yugang and Xia Yu trace Zhao Hongxia's flower sender to Tian Li through a florist's description and a police sketch. Liu Ziming and Li Yugang apprehend Tian Li after a chase. A search of Tian Li's home reveals suspicious items, including women's clothing identical to Zhao Hongxia's and a lock of hair. Further investigation leads them to a warehouse where Tian Li held his ex-girlfriend captive. Faced with forensic evidence of river sand found under Zhao Hongxia's nails matching sand from his operations, Tian Li confesses to his obsession with Zhao Hongxia, her rejection, and his subsequent stalking, sexual assault, murder, and gruesome handling of her body.
Spoiler Alert
The episode kicks off with our guys, Li Yugang and a recovering Xia Yu (glad to see him back on his feet!), hitting the streets, or rather, the flower shops. They're trying to track down who sent those flowers to Zhao Hongxia. They finally find the florist, but alas, the shop owner only remembers someone ordering them, not who that someone was. Luckily, a description leads to a police sketch – old school, but effective!
Meanwhile, Liu Jianlin's health is taking a nosedive, leaving Liu Ziqing seriously worried. But duty calls for Liu Ziming, who takes that sketch around Zhao Hongxia's neighborhood. Bingo! A security guard recognizes the man in the drawing as Tian Li, who, get this, lives right across from Zhao Hongxia. Talk about creepy! Just then, Tian Li makes a move, driving off. Liu Ziming and Li Yugang are hot on his tail, chasing him to a warehouse out in the suburbs where they finally nab him. Xia Yu, barely out of his hospital gown, even shows up to join the fray. After a quick look-see at the warehouse, Tian Li heads home, with Liu Ziming discreetly following.
Unraveling Tian Li's Secrets
Back at the station, Wen Jun does some digging and uncovers Tian Li's shady past – a prior conviction for indecent assault and a history of illegal sand dredging. This definitely piques Liu Ziming's interest, and he calls in Captain Huang for backup to search Tian Li's place. And what they find is a house of horrors: a wardrobe almost entirely filled with women's clothing, ropes, and several items of underwear, an overcoat, and shoes identical to Zhao Hongxia's. Li Yugang even finds a small lock of women's hair.
When confronted, Tian Li tries to play it cool, talking about his sand dredging business and claiming the women's items belonged to an ex-girlfriend they broke up with due to "personality differences." Riiight. But Liu Ziming isn't buying it, especially when he finds another long strand of woman's hair on Tian Li himself. He suspects Tian Li might be holding his supposed ex-girlfriend captive at that suburban warehouse.
The Horrifying Truth Emerges
Liu Ziming and Wen Jun escort Tian Li back to the warehouse, and sure enough, they find his ex-girlfriend, locked up but alive. With this discovery, Liu Ziming presses Tian Li about Zhao Hongxia's murder. Tian Li initially denies everything, even when shown post-mortem photos of Zhao Hongxia and confronted with the fact that he owned identical clothing and shoes. (During all this intensity, Liu Ziming still makes time to call Wang Xuanxuan to pick up little Diandian from kindergarten – dad duties never stop!)
The real nail in the coffin for Tian Li comes from forensics. They found river sand residue under Zhao Hongxia's fingernails, and it's a perfect match to the sand from Tian Li's dredging operations. Cornered, Tian Li finally cracks.
He confesses his obsession with Zhao Hongxia. He was infatuated, constantly sending her flowers, all of which she rejected. Unable to take no for an answer, he followed her to a small wooded area, sexually assaulted her, and then, in a fit of rage, strangled her to death and buried her on the spot. But the horror doesn't end there. Tian Li admits he returned to the burial site later, saw that Zhao Hongxia's fingers were exposed, and then dug up her body to take it back to his home "to admire." It's truly chilling stuff. Following this confession, Liu Ziming leads his team to the woods and uncovers Zhao Hongxia's mobile phone.
Closing the Case and Moving On
With Zhao Hongxia's killer brought to justice, the case is officially closed. Liu Ziming tasks Li Yugang with writing up the final report.
On the personal front, Liu Jianlin's health seems to be failing fast. Liu Ziming, heartbroken, gives his father a lucky bracelet. Liu Jianlin doesn't even seem to recognize Liu Ziming, yet ironically, he can recall details about his son's cases. The sight of his father in such a state devastates Liu Ziming, who pours out his heart to the seemingly oblivious old man.
But then, a twist! Liu Jianlin suddenly snaps back to clarity, letting Liu Ziming know he'd been faking the severity of his condition all along, essentially to get his son's attention and care. Oh, dads!
Life starts to find a new normal. Liu Ziming is invited to speak at Diandian's kindergarten. He struggles a bit, trying to explain his work – which usually involves murder and robbery – in kid-friendly terms. He also gets some quality time with Diandian, taking him to an amusement park and then dropping him off at Fang Tingting's for the weekend.
And what about the love lives of our characters?
- Li Wei seems to have turned over a new leaf, and Liu Ziqing has taken him back. They're even planning a camping trip!
- It turns out Wang Xuanxuan and Li Yugang have been secretly dating for a while! Li Yugang wants to come clean to Liu Ziming, but Xuanxuan is hesitant.
- Even Xia Yu has found someone new!
