Episode Summary
Chen Danling turns her boyfriend's death into a bestselling book while the police discover the victim was a serial cheater. A woman tries to confess to the murder to protect Chen, but He Ya proves she is lying because of her handedness. Xu Jingzhi struggles with PTSD from a past case, straining his marriage with He Ya. The biggest twist reveals the victim, Zheng Xintao, is actually alive and being blackmailed by Zhuang Mingcheng, who also uses hypnosis to split Zhang Yutong's personality.
Spoiler Alert
The Bestseller and the Scumbag
Chen Danling is enjoying her moment in the spotlight a little too much. She signs copies of her new book with an obsessive look in her eyes. She turned her boyfriend’s death into a manuscript and published it online. It caused a sensation. Now the physical copies are flying off the shelves. She capitalized on the tragedy fast.
Xu Jingzhi is back at the station. He fiddles with a camera at his desk. He needs a spark of inspiration to crack this case. The police dig into the victim's past. Zheng Xintao was busy. He had eight girlfriends before he died. The guy was a total player.
Xu thinks back to Chen Danling’s interview. She mentioned Zheng took photos of her. She got angry about it. She claimed it was about a woman’s dignity. She told the police she wanted to face these issues head-on. That is her excuse for "cooperating."
A Convenient Confession
The police put Chen Danling in the interrogation room. She looks around the closed space. He Ya watches her. She suspects the writer has a histrionic personality. She is performing for an audience of cops.
The investigation hits a wall, but then a woman walks in. She wants to surrender. She claims Zheng Xintao forced himself on her. She also claims Chen Danling tried to intervene. This girl says she killed Zheng to protect her friendship with Chen. She didn't want Chen wasting tears on a bad man.
Her story is detailed. She says she killed him during a date. She called a taxi. She dumped him in the sea. She says she did it to avenge all the girls he hurt.
Xu Jingzhi doesn't buy it. He ignores the emotional speech. He trusts facts. He suspects the three of them had a tight, messy history. Something broke that bond. He Ya spots the lie immediately. The killer is left-handed. This girl uses her right hand. She is covering for someone.
Cracks in the Perfect Image
Zhuang Mingcheng is busy dating Liang Xinyue. She runs the local art museum. The police try to talk to her. She refuses to help. She stonewalls them.
She meets Xu Jingzhi later. She puts on a show about her own perfect relationship. She mentions checking her phone constantly at a book club just to see texts from her boyfriend. She throws some shade at the victim too. She says Zheng and Chen projected a perfect image. But perfection always has cracks.
Liang Xinyue leaves the conversation. She gets in her car. Her demeanor changes. She calls a mystery person. She asks if the job is done. She is definitely hiding something.
Old Wounds and Nightmares
Xu Jingzhi falls asleep and hits a nightmare. He Ya knows the drill. She grabs ice packs from the fridge. She wakes him up. They argue in the room. The tension is thick, but so is the familiarity. They have a rhythm.
Xu looks at the crime photos on the wall. He can't let it go. He thinks the killer had a specific motive to reconcile with Wang Chen. He Ya hates seeing him like this. She worries about him rushing back to the front lines. She reminds him he isn't a field agent anymore. She drops a hard truth. They are married. That bond needs maintenance too. It can't survive on just shared trauma.
We learn why Xu is so damaged. A friend's child went missing. A murder happened around the same time. He couldn't solve it. That failure created the distance between him and He Ya.
The Dead Man Walks
Zhuang Mingcheng promises his girlfriend he will do better next time. But he has bigger problems.
Zheng Xintao is alive. The "victim" is not dead. Zhuang finds him. He mocks him. He tells him dead people shouldn't wander around. He threatens Zheng. He demands Zheng do two things for him.
Xu meets with Zhang Yutong. He notices her fingers are peeling. He doesn't say anything yet. He Ya finds a clue at the crime scene. There was a lot of ice used.
Zhuang Mingcheng meets Zhang Yutong. He brings out hypnosis equipment. He tries to put her under. It works too well. Her mind fractures. She splits into two personalities. She cannot handle the betrayal.
