Episode Summary
Zhao Hui is arrested for kidnapping Wang Xiao Yong and confesses after his son's backpack is found. He reveals Wang Xiao Yong's location, and the boy is rescued. Zhao Hui denies involvement in Cheng Yun Hao's kidnapping, which is later confirmed. Cheng Yun Hao's mother, Li Jia, is distraught. Another boy, He Hong Yu, escapes a kidnapping, leading police to suspect the same culprit, Yu Peng, who is eventually arrested after a stakeout. Cheng Yun Hao's backpack is found, but he remains missing. Yu Peng, an orphan with a troubled past, refuses to confess. Liu Zi Ming investigates Yu Peng's hometown but finds no leads on Cheng Yun Hao. Amidst this, Liu Zi Ming marries Fang Ting Ting, exhausted from work. The episode ends with the discovery of a new murder victim, a man surnamed Yang, as Captain Huang leaves town for a family emergency.
Spoiler Alert
The episode kicks off with Zhao Hui in custody, but he's playing tough, refusing to admit he kidnapped his old boss Wang Dong Feng's son, Wang Xiao Yong. Our guy, Detective Liu Zi Ming, isn't buying it. He heads over to Zhao Hui's place for a search and, bingo, finds Wang Xiao Yong's backpack stashed in Zhao Hui's car. Captain Huang lays the backpack out in front of Zhao Hui, and just like that, his tough-guy act crumbles. He spills the beans on where he hid Wang Xiao Yong. Liu Zi Ming and his team race to the location and pull the poor kid out of a cement pipe, rushing him to the hospital.
So, what's Zhao Hui's deal? Turns out, he's got a prison record and was having a hard time finding work when he got out. Wang Dong Feng gave him a job, but then a box of goods went missing from the shop, and Wang Dong Feng immediately pointed the finger at Zhao Hui. Feeling totally wronged and holding a serious grudge, Zhao Hui decided to get revenge by snatching Wang Xiao Yong. He’s adamant, though, that he only kidnapped Wang Xiao Yong and had nothing to do with the other missing kid, Cheng Yun Hao. He even has an alibi – he was playing cards with friends when Cheng Yun Hao was taken.
Back at the hospital, Wang Xiao Yong was in bad shape from being stuck in that cold pipe, unconscious for a long time. But thanks to the medical team pulling out all the stops, he pulls through. Zhao Hui actually breathes a sigh of relief; he just wanted to scare Wang Dong Feng, not actually harm the boy. After digging around, Liu Zi Ming confirms that Zhao Hui really isn't connected to Cheng Yun Hao's kidnapping.
This news, however, sends Li Jia (Cheng Yun Hao's mom, we presume) into a total meltdown at the police station when she hears Zhao Hui, the kidnapper they caught, isn't the one who took her son. Captain Huang is at a loss for how to comfort her, and it takes Cheng Xiang Dong (likely the father) a lot of effort to calm her down and get her to leave. Liu Zi Ming witnesses this whole scene, and it clearly gets to him. He’s convinced Cheng Yun Hao is still alive. The kidnapper only asked for 8,000 yuan, which is a pretty small ransom, suggesting they'll probably call again for more money. Captain Huang tells Liu Zi Ming to get a move on and find the boy.
But ten days have passed since Cheng Yun Hao was kidnapped, and they've hit a wall. Liu Zi Ming tries looking into recently released ex-cons, but they all have solid alibis. Then, a new twist: a young boy named He Hong Yu shows up at the station, having just escaped a kidnapping himself! He says he was grabbed after leaving an arcade and thrown down a manhole. Liu Zi Ming immediately gets his officers to contact He Hong Yu's parents, who rush over. They confirm the kidnapper demanded 10,000 yuan and warned them not to involve the police.
Liu Zi Ming starts to suspect this might be the same person who took Cheng Yun Hao. He listens to a recording of the kidnapper's call with He Hong Yu's parents and has someone sketch the culprit based on He Hong Yu's description. Captain Huang splits up the team: Zhao Da Li and Liu Zi Ming take the sketch and hit the local arcades, while everyone else scours a five-kilometer radius around where Cheng Yun Hao was last seen.
The cops are working around the clock, and their hard work finally pays off – they zero in on a suspect. Liu Zi Ming, Liu Yang, and Cao Lei set up a stakeout in a car near the suspect's place. As fireworks light up the sky outside, they ring in the year 2004, still on duty. Just then, Cao Lei gets an urgent call from home and has to leave. He races to the hospital, only to hear his wife's cries from down the hallway. His own son, Cheng Cheng, has passed away due to his illness. Cao Lei is absolutely devastated.
Despite his unimaginable grief, Cao Lei shows up at the station the very next night, vowing to find Cheng Yun Hao, almost as if to channel his pain. Captain Huang, trying to look after his guys, takes Liu Zi Ming and Cao Lei out for a meal, where Wei Jie also comes by to offer Cao Lei some comfort. Swallowing his sorrow, Cao Lei rejoins the stakeout with Liu Zi Ming. Their persistence pays off when the suspect finally shows, and they manage to apprehend him.
The police then find Cheng Yun Hao's backpack under a sewage well in a place called Ma Po, but Cheng Yun Hao himself is nowhere to be found. Cheng Xiang Dong and Li Jia rush over to identify the backpack – a heartbreaking moment. The suspect, a guy named Yu Peng, isn't talking, flat-out refusing to confess. Captain Huang digs into Yu Peng's background and finds out he’s from An Cheng, was abandoned as a kid, and grew up in an orphanage. He worked in a restaurant for a bit before falling in with a bad crowd. It seems Yu Peng successfully kidnapped He Hong Yu, got the 10,000 yuan ransom, blew through it quickly, and then targeted Cheng Yun Hao.
Even off-duty, Liu Zi Ming can't let it go. He goes back to the area near the crime scene, searching for any sign of Cheng Yun Hao, but finds nothing. He gets home super late, Fang Ting Ting (his fiancée, perhaps?) already asleep. Later, Liu Zi Ming takes a train all the way to Yu Peng's hometown in Yunnan to investigate further. He learns that Yu Peng's uncle had brought a child home, claiming he'd found him. Liu Zi Ming checks it out but confirms the child isn't Cheng Yun Hao. Another dead end, and he returns, disappointed.
Amidst all this chaos, it’s Liu Zi Ming and Fang Ting Ting's wedding day! Cao Lei, ever the loyal friend, picks Liu Zi Ming up from the train station. Liu Zi Ming has to change into his wedding suit right there in the car. But, oh no, Cao Lei forgot Liu Zi Ming's dress shoes back at the station! Liu Zi Ming rushes to the wedding venue and makes a beeline for the restroom. His father brings the forgotten shoes, and Fang Ting Ting takes them to him, only to find Liu Zi Ming completely passed out on the toilet, utterly exhausted from work. It's a really touching moment; she’s clearly heartbroken to see him like this but also understands his dedication. She gently wakes him up, and they finally get married, surrounded by their loved ones.
Just when you think things might settle down, the episode throws another curveball. A scavenger discovers a body, badly beaten. Liu Zi Ming and his team are immediately on the scene. The deceased is a man surnamed Yang, from Sichuan, who worked at a nearby internet cafe. Liu Zi Ming asks Lao Zhang, the medical examiner, to get him the autopsy results ASAP and then heads off to check out Yang's apartment. Meanwhile, Captain Huang has to leave town; his father-in-law passed away. Before going, he tells Liu Zi Ming to dig deep into this new case and keep him updated.
And that’s where Episode 9 leaves us! What a whirlwind. It seems like just as one thread gets tied up (or so we think), another unravels. We're still on the edge of our seats wondering what happened to Cheng Yun Hao and now, who this new victim is and how it all connects. Stay tuned for more!
