Episode Summary
On his birthday, Li Junrong discovers his own statue has been vandalized. He chases down a young, desperate thief named Xiang Qian who stole the statue's hand. After a near-drowning incident, Xiang Qian reveals he didn't take the head. The two form an unlikely alliance to track down the real culprit through local scrap yards.
Spoiler Alert
A Blast from the Past
The episode kicks off with a trip down memory lane. It is the grand opening of a sculpture park. The main attraction is a set of nineteen bronze statues. The collection is titled "A Day in the Life of Shenzhen People." These aren't just random artistic choices. The artist modeled them after real people found on the street on November 29, 1999.
We see the lineup. There is an elderly person, a cleaner, and a doctor. You also see a middle school student and a designer. One statue honors a job seeker who found lost money and returned it. The organizers bring the real people out to unveil their own likenesses. Li Junrong is there. He beams with pride as he pulls the cover off his statue. He decides right then that he is a guardian of this city.
Birthday Blues
Fast forward twenty-four years. It is Li Junrong’s birthday. He sticks to his tradition. He buys a cake to share with his bronze twin. But he runs into trouble before he even gets to the park. He spots someone parking a shared bike in the wrong spot. Li steps in to stop it. The person mocks him for being a busybody. Li Junrong tries to move the bike to the right spot anyway. Zhou Dafu walks by during this commotion. It turns out his son celebrates a birthday today as well.
The Heist
Li Junrong finally arrives at his statue with the cake. He notices something terrible. A young man is in the middle of stealing the statue's hand. Li looks closer. The statue's head is already gone. He shouts at the thief. The young man panics and runs.
Li Junrong refuses to let him go. He hops on his bike and gives chase. He takes a shortcut and cuts the thief off. He demands the head and the hand. The young man insists he only took the hand. He gets scared and throws the bronze hand into the nearby river. Li Junrong doesn't think. He jumps straight into the water to save it. But he cannot swim. The thief hears Li shouting for help. He stops running. He jumps in and drags the old man to safety.
An Unlikely Team
We learn the thief's name is Xiang Qian. He is having a rough time. He came to Shenzhen to work. His boss never paid him. He sleeps on park benches. The mosquitoes kept him awake all night. He witnessed someone else steal the statue's head earlier. He figured he could sell the hand to buy food. He had no clue the statue was actually Li Junrong.
Xiang Qian feels guilty. He offers to help Li find the person who stole the head. They try the park surveillance cameras first. The cameras are broken. They change their plan. They visit scrap metal yards instead. They go from shop to shop. They finally find a boss who remembers the seller. The boss refused to buy the stolen head. He gives them a description of the thief.
