Episode Summary
Hong Xiu reveals that Wen Yuting murdered Kong Qian'er but claims she fainted and remembers nothing more. Xia Mo uses fingerprint evidence to prove she is hiding something, but Gao Ying intervenes and takes her away. During a confrontation, Gao Ying discovers her own brother, Gao Fei, is the mastermind behind the central conspiracy. While the police are pressured to close the case due to the Gao family's power, Xia Mo remains determined to uncover the truth. The episode concludes with Hong Xiu attempting to escape, only to be abducted by an unknown assailant.
Spoiler Alert
Rosefinch: Episode 3 Spoilers
The episode picks up with Hong Xiu's harrowing account of what happened with Wen Yuting. She reveals his dark side: after she rejected his advances, he tried to force her into a love-suicide pact. To torment her further, he brutally murdered Kong Qian'er right before her eyes, under the twisted pretext of a ritual for "ascending to immortality." The reason for this cruelty was a past offense Kong Qian'er had committed against him.
Consumed by guilt, Hong Xiu recalls how Kong Qian'er had warned her to be wary of Wen Yuting, a warning she tragically ignored. However, her story has holes. She claims she fainted and can't remember the critical details, but the sharp forensic investigator, Xia Mo, isn't buying it. He confronts her, presenting fingerprint evidence from the victim's cheek that proves Hong Xiu is concealing part of the truth.
Just as Xia Mo pressures her to confess, the powerful Gao Ying makes a dramatic entrance. She fires a warning shot, grabs Hong Xiu, and speeds away, even taking a shot at Tang Zhenyun's pursuing vehicle to ensure their escape.
Later, Gao Ying has Kong Qian'er's body brought to her and privately demands the full story from Hong Xiu. Hong Xiu resists, cryptically stating that revealing the truth would only lead to more deaths. Their tense standoff is interrupted by Gao Ying's younger brother, Gao Fei, who also insists on hearing the truth. As they argue, Gao Ying, hiding in an adjacent room, overhears a shocking revelation: her own brother, Gao Fei, is the mastermind behind the entire "body swap" conspiracy.
The sibling confrontation is cut short by the arrival of Cao Yin, the Gao family's loyal head butler, who has been sent to bring Hong Xiu back under the family's control.
Meanwhile, the official investigation hits a wall. Tang Zhenyun reports the facts to the Inspector General, but due to the Gao family's immense influence, the Inspector General corruptly insists that the dead body is, in fact, Hong Xiu's, closing the case. A disillusioned Xia Mo is reminded by Fu Ying that the darker the city gets, the more it needs a light, strengthening his resolve to fight for justice.
The episode ends on a cliffhanger. After a photographer takes her picture at the Arc de Triomphe Hotel, Gao Ying makes one last attempt to get the truth, warning Hong Xiu that weakness will be her downfall. That very night, Hong Xiu makes a desperate escape through a window, only to be ambushed, drugged, and carried away by a mysterious figure into the night.
