A murder takes place in Horizon Tower. The death of this girl brings about the deepest and darkest secrets of everyone involved in her life.
Notable Actors/Actresses
Notable Actors/Actresses
Guo Tao: Zhong Jing Guo
Yang Zi Shan: Yang Rui Sen
Angelababy: Zhong Mei Bao
Lv Yu Lai: Xie Bao Luo
Director:
Chinese Title
摩天大樓
[Ep1] The beginning piano piece is so intense. There’s a murder in Horizon Tower. The victim is Zhong Mei Bao (Angelababy). Shes a coffee store owner. In her death, she’s dressed up prettily with full make up on. In her home, there’s all sorts of designer bags, clothes, makeup, etc. The immediate suspect is Xie Bao Luo, the condo's security guard. He confessed that he’s guilty of her death.
[Ep2] The police suspects Bao Luo and the victim (Zhong Mei Bao) were dating. He clarifies he likes this girl who uses a wheelchair. He liked her so much, he even bought one himself to see the world from her perspective. I find this sweet of him but also creepy of him. It was Zhong Mei Bao who convinced him to confess to the girl. Zhong Mei Bao was also curious why he would like her when technically he doesn't even know what her personality is like. He doesn’t know why either. He just likes her and her optimism. Reminded of something, Zhong Mei Bao starts telling him her life story. Her father disappeared when she was born. Her mother remarried; a few years later, she got herself a new brother. A few more years later, her stepfather was arrested and her family became debt ridden. Her mother met another man who took care of her family but later he’s imprisoned too. Zhong Mei Bao recounts how Xie Bao Luo reminds her of his mother. Her partners always have faults, imperfections in them. Just as Xie Bao Luo is always helping those weaker than him (the motorcycle victim, the girl in the wheelchair, and perhaps Zhong Mei Bao too). In the end her mother did find someone compatible. Zhong Mei Bao believes that only in finding someone compatible can we be complete.
[Ep3] This episode opens with Lin Da Sen cleaning the crime scene of any traces of himself. In the present time, the police have summoned him. He tells us more about Zhong Mei Bao’s childhood. Her mother would always leave her with his family. He took her swimming but she didn’t have a swimsuit. They teamed up together to steal one. When they got home, all the ladies are swarming her home accusing her of stealing. Zhong Mei Bao did steal. Her reasons are unknown. Lin Da Sen promises to make lots of money when he grows up so he can buy her a big home so that she can put all her precious item in there. Is she his doll? Is that why her home has all these luxurious bags and clothes?
[Ep4] Lin Da Sen admits to the detective he and Zhong Mei Bao are lovers. Every time he’s suffering in his family, he’ll turn up at Zhong Mei Bao’s condo. She went out with him knowing he’s married and that his wife is pregnant. The night Zhong Mei Bao was murdered is the night his wife was in labour. His “alibi” is that he was with his wife in the hospital but it’s an incomplete alibi. He wasn’t at the hospital the entire time.
[Ep5] The man from the ending in the last episode is Li Meng Yu. He’s a broker. I believe he was also the one who sold Xie Bao Luo his condo with his ex girlfriend. Anyways, he has a habit of keeping the keys to the homes he sells. What does he do there? I don’t even want to type this. He invites Ding Xiao Ling to these homes and have cosplay sex. They go from being a doctor and a nurse, to being being a plumber, to being a judge. I don’t think it’s him initiating the cosplay, she’s the more aggressive one.
[Ep6] Now that Li Meng Yu is the prime suspect, he confesses to peeping on Zhong Mei Bao in her condo through her vent. He saw her change (creep); he saw her cry; he saw every interaction she had with Lin Da Sen. He also saw Lin Da Sen and Li Mo Li's interactions. I wonder how people who live in condos feel about their vents now after watching this drama. He knows that Lin Da Sen bought everything that Li Mo Li said was beautiful for Zhong Mei Bao. However, from a man’s instinct he knows Lin Da Sen doesn’t really love Zhong Mei Bao, he only visits her when he's suffocating at home. He tells the officer Zhong Mei Bao also knows this that's why she was crying alone in bed. As a broker, Li Meng Yu also witnessed the two female’s first meeting. Zhong Mei Bao was renting Lin Da Sen's condo but he couldn't make it to the meeting so Li Mo Li arrived. The two females are wearing the exact same necklace. With that, Li Mo Li knows. Li Meng Yu tells the detectives, he suspects Lin Da Sen as the murderer. Zhong Jing Guo finds it suspicious that he's pushing all the blame on Lin Da Sen all of a sudden.
The above story is the book Yang Rui Sen is reading. She's trying to understand the author who wrote it. She's their next suspect. Prior to Zhong Mei Bao's death, she was called to the author's condo. The author has PTSD from her boyfriend's death. The author is unable to step out of her room. Her housekeeper had introduced Zhong Mei Bao to help her out since they live in the same condo. To the author, Zhong Mei Bao is more than a friend. In her eyes, she sees purity, an angel.
[Ep9] The detectives are closing in on Ye Mei Li who Zhong Mei Bao is oddly close to if she was really only just a housekeeper. Ye Mei Li is currently in jail because of kidnapping Yan Jun. However, there’s a scene of Yan Jun visiting her in the detention centre. Yan Jun tells her Zhong Mei Bao has passed away. She cries. It’s clear as day Ye Mei Li loves the siblings and Yan Jun treats her like a mother. Her identity isn’t just a housekeeper, she’s skilled in all sorts of cuisine, English, and she can perform First Aid like an expert. It’s not just the common CPR stuff, but this lady can perform needle aspiration to treat pneumothorax like it’s nothing. Her specs are overwhelming for a lady who cleans and cooks for a living. That’s because she’s actually a doctor. Her real name is Li Gui Lan. Wow.
Yang Rui Sen is so busy with work, her boyfriend ditched her at the restaurant. She kind of deserves it. He’s no nice to her but she only cares about work.
The three of them are certain Zhong Jie has abandoned her children but she was actually kept hostage by her husband (Yan Yong Yuan). She manages to run from him. Since then Zhong Jie has changed. She diligently works and supports her children. The four of them live together like a true family.
However, Yan Yong Yuan is cancerous. He just won’t leave them alone and creates a mess everywhere Zhong Jie works. Zhong Jie was about to give up on her life but Li Gui Lan takes her to Yan Jun’s recital. Zhong Jie settles on leaving the city with her children and Li Gui Lan to be as far away from Yan Yong Yuan as possible. Unfortunately Zhong Jie is captured by him. She’s then shown the cruel truth about what he’s done to her daughter. Zhong Jie is pushed off the building by him. She dies.
Li Gui Lan and the children are at the train station. Li Gui Lan receives a call from the hospital that Zhong Jie has committed suicide. She knows there’s no way Zhong Jie committed suicide. Fretting, she’s even more certain she has to take the children away from this evil man. Zhong Mei Bao doesn’t hear the contents of the call but she can tell from Li Gui Lan’s expression her mother won’t come and the reason is because of Yan Yong Yuan. She secretly leaves the train station. Upon arriving at his place, she takes a knife and strikes at him without any hesitation. 😱
The cartoon story was so detailed!! The two guardians were her mothers. The crane is Li Gui Lan. She took Yan Jun and left with him just like how the crane flew Juan Chen (Yan Jun) to safety. The fox is Zhong Jie. She dies at the hands of Yan Yong Yuan just as how the fox had died protecting Mei Yu from the demon. In the story, prior to the fox's death, Mei Yu pierced a weapon into the fox’s fur to hide it. Mei Yu uses that knife to kill the demon just as Zhong Mei Bao uses the knife to attack Yan Yong Yuan. This drama is brilliant.
[Ep11] Prior to Yan Jun’s recital, he received a weird phone call from Zhong Mei Bao. It sounded like a farewell. And it was. Yan Jun rushes to Zhong Mei Bao after the recital but she had already died. The author quickly pulls Yan Jun away from the scene and covers his mouth to prevent him from making a sound. The author is protecting him.
Yan Jun thinks the ultimate reason Zhong Mei Bao died was because she allowed him to play piano. His childhood past with his sister is revealed. Zhong Mei Bao would do anything just to give him a chance to play piano. When she wins him a piano, Yan Yong Yuan was furious. But he only ‘punishes’ Zhong Mei Bao. That means Yan Jun knows exactly how her sister was bullied... that treacherous scumbag.
At the end of the episode, Yang Rui Sen receives a call from Yan Jun. He wants to speak to her.
Presently, Yan Yong Yuan shows up in Li Mo Li’s condo. Ding Xiao Ling had visited her (they’re friends). Li Mo Li becomes paranoid and asks Ding Xiao Ling if anyone followed her. That’s when Yan Yong Yuan appears in her condo begging them to prove his innocence. He says they know exactly how Zhong Mei Bao died. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.
Xie Bao Luo was patrolling the condo and found Yan Yong Yuan suspicious which is why he followed his elevator all the way to Li Mo Li’s condo. He overhears parts of the conversations and assumes Yan Yong Yuan is the murderer. He chases him but Yan Yong Yuan escapes. Xie Bao Luo tells the detective that Yan Yong Yuan had visited Zhong Mei Bao a year ago.
Zhong Jin Guo purposely tells Ding Xiao Ling and Li Mo Li he suspects Yan Yong Yuan to be the murderer. He’s certain they're hiding something. The author overheard Zhong Jin Guo talking to the ladies and runs out to Zhong Jin Guo. She shows him the picture she has of the young Zhong Mei Bao being abused. This is the proof she’s submitting to charge Yan Yong Yuan of his crimes. But it’s not enough. The picture has no indication that the photographer is Yan Yong Yuan. They need more concrete proof.
The detectives start finding it suspicious that the condos all around Zhong Mei Bao are empty (left, right, and above). Lin Da Sen purposely didn’t rent them out. Zhong Jin Guo suspects that Lin Da Sen, Li Mo Li, Ding Xiao Ling, and Li Meng Yu must be hiding something.
Someone had fell into the phonograph trap Yang Rui Sen had laid. A man going by Chen is interested in buying the disc but he has an alibi the night of Zhong Mei Bao’s death. Upon reexamination of the phonograph, they find a fingerprint. It’s Yan Yong Yuan/s. They now have enough proof to put a search warrant on him but Yan Yong Yuan turns himself in. He says he’s innocent.
[Ep14] This episode starts off with a reality show, the one Yan Yong Yuan appears in to make the world pity him. He's successfully manipulated the story to his liking. He paints himself as the loving father who lost his son to a kidnapper.
The police look into Zhong Jie's suicide. They visit Ye Mei Li again. Ye Mei Li recounts to the police officers what happened after Zhong Mei Bao ran off the train (the day Zhong Jie died). Ye Mei Li and Yan Jun got off on the next stop. She ran back to the hospital and Yan Yong Yuan became her patient after being stabbed. She had tried to find another doctor to save him. Yang Rui Sen asks her whether she saved him . The current Ye Mei Li says it was Li Gui Lan who saved him. Is that why she insists on keeping her Ye Mei Li name? She hated herself for saving him and so she dissociates from Li Gui Lan.
Yan Yong Yuan never told the police it was Zhong Mei Bao who stabbed him. Yang Rui Sen asks Ye Mei Li why he didn't tell anyone. Ye Mei Li counters that she's the police officer, shouldn't she understand a criminal's mind better? Yan Yong Yuan is a psychopath. He cannot be understood. Even though he never exposed the culprit, all the relatives suspect it was Zhong Mei Bao. Thus, she's sent to a problem school where students there are blocked off from contacting anyone outside and no one outside knows what happens inside. Ye Mei Li had asked Zhong Mei Bao how school was, Ye Mei Li recounts that Zhong Mei Bao would only have a small faint smile as a response.
[Ep15] At the darkest point of Zhong Mei Bao's life without her family, she found her best friends: Li Mo Li and Ding Xiao Ling. They were in the problem school too. Li Mo Li hated her father for valuing boys over girls so she shaved her head. Ding Xiao Ling loved to put on make up so much, other girls would bully her so she fought them back. When these three girls are caught stealing something from the principal's office, all three fight over for the blame. No one is willing to betray the other. That one incident solidified their friendship for life. However, that incident also made the school close down. These three girls are separated. The two other girls had their parents pick them up. Zhong Mei Bao also had someone. It was her creepy step-father. She ran for her life and that's how she lived the rest of her life. She was always on the run. She worked at countless coffee stores. As the years have gone by, the chances of Yan Yong Yuan finding her became less.
The end.
[First Impression (Ep1-8)] Not my genre but this has totally won me over. It's a mystery thriller surrounding the death of Zhong Mei Bao. But it's so much more than that. The drama moves on from one suspect to another. Each one gives a perspective of who Zhong Mei Bao is. The first suspect is Xie Bao Luo. He's the same actor from Missing Persons, Lu Yu Lai. His performance in Missing Persons was exceptional and it left a deep impression on me. He has the uncanny ability to look suspicious and honest at the same time. He appears in the first few episodes and I still don't know if he's good or bad. I think he's good in a bad way. Each episode has a cliffhanger and it makes this so hard to stop. Rather than zoning in on who the murderer is all the time, I find myself engaged in each suspect's story and how their lives changed because of Zhong Mei Bao and in return how her life changed because of them. The drama even incorporates storylines for the individual detectives. Zhong Jing Guo is a conventional strict (single?) father who finds himself being accused of sexual harassment. Yang Rui Sen is a diligent and innocent officer who neglects her boyfriend for her work. I love it when dramas can flesh out each character with this much detail. Every character is living, every character has their flaws. Each episode brings a new revelation into the characters and into the case. Each time there's a new hint, I find myself caught off guard. For these set of episodes I think this deserves a perfect score.
[Actors/Actresses] I've already mentioned my love for Lu Yu Lai's performance. Angelababy also delivered. I've only heard rumours of her terrible acting but I have never watched any of her dramas to judge it. Watching her here, I see none of the terrible acting that comes hand in hand with her name. She is a very convincing Zhong Mei Bao, a pure soul surrounded by darkness. Other actors are exceptional. This is just a cast who knows their stuff. Each of them bring on a brilliant performance.
[OST] I love the music choices. It stuck to piano pieces throughout the drama. It started with an intense piece that seized my attention and ended with an emotional one that had me breaking down. The ending OST was also beautiful to listen to (Aila Gato and Philip Halloun - You and I).
[Review & Rating]
摩天大樓
Network: Tencent Video
Mini Recaps
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| Zhong Mei Bao ("Secret!") & Xie Bao Luo ("Stalking?") |
Xie Bao Luo’s story. He has a high paying job and a fiancée who loves him. They’re looking into buying a home. Until an accident happens. He runs over a motorcyclist and she dies. The victim's family continues to pester him for money and he gives in every time. He's running out of money and decides to downsize his new home until he had to cancel the entire down payment all together. His life was ruined from the accident that he may not have had any fault in. The motorcyclist had sped into his car. The 'victim' wanted to commit suicide. But Xie Bao Luo still gave her family money. In the end, he was fired from his company and his marriage is called off. He sounds like a good man just a very unfortunate man.
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| Yang Rui Sen ("Justice!") & Zhong Jing Guo ("Truth!") |
Zhong Jing Guo (detective) doesn’t think so. He tells the innocent Yang Rui Sen that Xie Bao Luo is hiding more than he's telling. Zhong Jing Guo investigated Xie Bao Luo. He was indicted for stalking his ex girlfriend. He wasn’t highly recognized at work either as Xie Bao Luo indicates.
Xie Bao Luo insists that he's only friends with Zhong Mei Bao. Zhong Jing Guo doesn’t believe it. At the end of the episode, Xie Bao Luo remembers something but he doesn’t tell the officers this. He had helped Zhong Mei Bao move a human sized suitcase. A dead corpse? For some reason he’s helping Zhong Mei Bao keep this a secret.
[Ep2] The police suspects Bao Luo and the victim (Zhong Mei Bao) were dating. He clarifies he likes this girl who uses a wheelchair. He liked her so much, he even bought one himself to see the world from her perspective. I find this sweet of him but also creepy of him. It was Zhong Mei Bao who convinced him to confess to the girl. Zhong Mei Bao was also curious why he would like her when technically he doesn't even know what her personality is like. He doesn’t know why either. He just likes her and her optimism. Reminded of something, Zhong Mei Bao starts telling him her life story. Her father disappeared when she was born. Her mother remarried; a few years later, she got herself a new brother. A few more years later, her stepfather was arrested and her family became debt ridden. Her mother met another man who took care of her family but later he’s imprisoned too. Zhong Mei Bao recounts how Xie Bao Luo reminds her of his mother. Her partners always have faults, imperfections in them. Just as Xie Bao Luo is always helping those weaker than him (the motorcycle victim, the girl in the wheelchair, and perhaps Zhong Mei Bao too). In the end her mother did find someone compatible. Zhong Mei Bao believes that only in finding someone compatible can we be complete.
Yang Rui Sen bargains with a store owner to learn more about the phonograph record in Zhong Mei Bao's home. From $4000 RMB, Yang Rui Sen got it to $50000 RMB. Smartly, she leaves the cover with him and takes the record back. If anyone asks for it, they’ll split the money for it. That person will be there suspect.
That person might be Lin Da Sen. In the last minute of the drama, Xie Bao Luo wakes up from a nightmare. It makes him scream in silence. He was in Zhong Mei Bao’s condominium hiding in a closet. He sees her making out with a man on a designer chair (note: Yang Rui Sen had sat on it and said it was very uncomfortable). This man is Lin Da Sen. He has a family. He also has a wife, Li Mo Li. And he likes listening to records, maybe? But why is Xie Bao Luo in her closet??
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| Lin Da Sen ("Cheating?") & Li Mo Li ("Betrayed?") |
Lin Da Sen married into a rich family. Other than being rich, it sucks to be him. His mother-in-law didn’t want his mother sitting at the family table during the wedding because the fortune teller said so. Mom is sad but she’ll do anything to help her son succeed. On the night of his wedding, he’s already suffocating from his marriage. He escaped to Zhong Mei Bao’s condo.
By the way, Yang Rui Sen has a boyfriend. It's a special appearance from Jin Shi Xia.
It’s Li Mo Li’s turn to be interrogated by the police. She tells them that all of her husband’s designs are from her. Her father even encouraged her to give the credit to Lin Da Sen. Because: men. Initially she was against her father but soon she fell in love with Lin Da Sen and she willingly gave her creations to him. Yang Rui Sen asks her if she regrets giving her work to him. Li Mo Li replies there’s nothing to regret when she’s been out of work for a long time. In the flashbacks, Zhong Mei Bao also knows Lin Da Sen has been taking Li Mo Li's work as his own; she made a passing comment that he sure likes to steal. So it was him who stole the stuff in the past. Zhong Mei Bao was just covering it up for him. Lin Da Sen not only cheated on Li Mo Li but he also stripped her freedom. He took her dignity as a woman and as a human. Yang Rui Sen asks her relationship with Zhong Mei Bao. Li Mo Li corrects her that she doesn’t have any “relationship”/connection with Zhong Mei Bao.
At the end of the episode, two new characters are introduced (Li Meng Yu and Ding Xiao Ling). The man tells the woman to rest assured, he kept her safe from his testimony to the officers.
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| Ding Xiao Ling ("Invade and Conquer?") & Li Meng Yu (Voyeurism?) |
In Yang Rui Sen’s investigation, she found out that Zhong Mei Bao had thought there was a ghost in her home. She not only hears sounds but her stuff is also being moved. The 'ghost' had also given her stuff one time. When she was sick, the 'ghost' made her tea. The whole time Zhong Mei Bao was recalling this, she has a calm expression. She looks genuinely curious rather than afraid.
Yang Rui Sen's intuition kicks in. She tells the forensics to examine the vents. Indeed there are fingerprints there, a whole lot of them from two separate individuals. Yang Rui Sen thinks it's the cheater Lin Da Sen while Zhong Jing Guo thinks it's the suspicious Xie Bao Luo. It's neither of them. One of the fingerprints is still unknown, the other is Li Meng Yu's.
On New Year's Eve (a year ago), there was another case in the condominium. It's seemingly unrelated but most definitely very interrelated with Zhong Mei Bao's death. A woman is arrested for kidnapping a boy for fourteen years. She took him in as her son. He is Yan Jun, the pianist who was playing that intense piece in the beginning.
After the testimony, Li Meng Yu assures Ding Xiao Ling he kept her safe from the police's suspicions. This is the same scene as the ending of Episode 4, which means Ding Xiao Ling is more than just sex crazy.
Yang Rui Sen is starting to find all the men around her disgusting. First it was Lin San He cheating on his wife, then it was Li Meng Yu and his perversions, and now it's her teacher, Zhong Jing Guo. He's being sued for sexual harassment apparently.
Li Meng Yu's testimony continues. He thinks Zhong Mei Bao is the purest person he's ever met. Most people have two sides to them, the one they show to others, and the other they keep to themselves. But through his (perverted) observation of her, Zhong Mei Bao only has one side to her. She's honestly an angel. Watching her everyday was a healing experience for him. Li Meng Yu confesses that Zhong Mei Bao knew it was him in her vents. She had left him a thank you note in there, to thank him for all the care he's given to her. From then on, Li Meng Yu had decided to stop his voyeurism.
Li Meng Yu's wife is called to testify. She believes in her husband because he has a habit of sleeptalking where he'll confess all his sins. Isn't that convenient? He never confessed he killed anyone and that's why she believes him. She's also aware of all his voyeurism. She climbed into the vents and that's how she confirmed her husband was peeping on Zhong Mei Bao. The detectives mention the letter Zhong Mei Bao wrote to thank Li Meng Yu. The wife retorts whether they even confirmed the writing. Ah, the letter is from the wife to stop her husband. And this also means the second set of fingerprints were hers.
[Ep7] The drama suddenly turns historical on us. In a small country, twins with purple eyes were born. These eyes were beautiful but they also called upon the demons. A thousand years later. The drama turns into a cartoon. There is a demon (Mo Yan) who seduces the mother of the twins only to get his hands on the twins. He wants the girl, Mei Yu, to bear his offspring. It tantalizes him to see the pure and beautiful Mei Yu at his beckoning. However, Mei Yu won't show him the angelic smile that she shows everyone else. He uses her twin brother (Juan Chen) to threaten her. Mei Yu doesn't back down though. Furious, the demon lord banishes Mei Yu and puts her through the toughest labour. Still, she grows up as beautiful as her soul. She also has two loyal guardians with her: a nine-tailed fox and a crane.
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| Author ("PTSD?") |
Yang Rui Sen is on a date with her boyfriend but she's neglecting him the whole time. She's busy reading the story from the author even during the movie. She has her cellphone light on in the dark theater causing a disturbance to everyone. Through her boyfriend's words, she realizes the author based her story on Zhong Mei Bao's life. Zhong Mei Bao is Mei Yu. Then who is the demon? Wang Uncle? Her step-father (her brother's father)?
[Ep8] The story. Mei Yu sacrifices herself to set her brother free. Her fox also dies in the process. In the end, the demon hugs her and asks her to love him and to stay with him. In return, he'll keep her brother safe, and keep her loved ones alive. Mei Yu slowly falls in love with the demon. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. The demon is her step-father, no?
Yang Rui Sen visits the author. The author finally steps foot outside with Yang Rui Sen's encouragement. She promises to email Yang Rui Sen the final ending of her story.
As the author is emailing Yang Rui Sen, she remembers more about Zhong Mei Bao. Although Yang Rui Sen took her outside, it wasn't the first time she stepped out of her condo. Zhong Mei Bao led her out. Zhong Mei Bao used her own story to tempt the author into following her. There was once a girl who loved her mother a lot. This mother remarried another man. Her brother was then born. Her mother loved this man but when no one was looking, this man, her step-father, would leer at her. One night while she was sound asleep, she found his hands under her clothes. She couldn't say anything to her mother who loved the man. She couldn't refuse him either because he threatened to punish her and her brother. The step-father told her that it's normal for children to love their father. Slowly, she started believing his words and she found herself disgusting. At this point in the story, Zhong Mei Bao is in the elevator. The doors are closing. The author stops the doors. The author tells her she has another version of this story, a happier one. The author lets the door close. This time it's Zhong Mei Bao who opens the door. She wants to hear the author's version. The author tells Zhong Mei Bao that the girl doesn't know what love is. All she knows is that if she conforms to the step-father, her mother will be happy, her brother will be safe and she'll be able to live through the nightmare for one more day. Zhong Mei Bao cries. Tears flow down and the two woman hug. It's the author who's healing Zhong Mei Bao as much as Zhong Mei Bao was healing her. She had made a promise with Zhong Mei Bao to never reveal this story.
Yang Rui Sen receives the email to the ending. The demon and Mei Yu marry. On the night of their wedding, when the demon is having sex with her, Mei Yu uses the weapon that she hid in the fox fur she was wearing (remember how she pierced it in her fox? Did she predict her fox will die? Is the fox supposed to represent someone too?) to kill the demon and herself. She smiles in her death. After the author sent the email, she seals a picture of the young Zhong Mei Bao (actress: Wang Sheng Di). It's a picture of Zhong Mei Bao after being physically (and sexually) abused. Now I know why this had to be told as a cartoon. There's no way the drama could film something this brutal and this tragic.
Zhong Jing Guo is still hung up on the kidnapping of a boy (Yan Jun). There's a news clip of the father reuniting with the son. Although it was shown earlier in previous episodes, this clip shows more of Yan Jun's expressions. There's horror on his face when he saw his father. He's the demon, the human trash.
At the end of the episode there are scenes of the author, Yan Jun, Zhong Mei Bao, and the housekeeper looking like a beautiful family. The housekeeper has known her family since they were young. There are scenes of the housekeeper with the siblings and their mother. If you've noticed by now, the housekeeper is the woman accused of kidnapping Yan Jun.
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| Li Gui Lan/Ye Mei Li ("Kidnapping?") |
Yang Rui Sen is so busy with work, her boyfriend ditched her at the restaurant. She kind of deserves it. He’s no nice to her but she only cares about work.
[Ep10] More of Zhong Mei Bao’s past with Ye Mei Li is revealed. Zhong Mei Bao calmly reads a book (called “Cold Blooded”) while her mother (Zhong Jie) is severely injured in the ER. Ye Mei Li (Li Gui Lan) was her doctor and soon becomes involved in this family. Li Gui Lan lives alone and is rather lonely looking I have to say. Zhong Mei Bao and Yan Jun bring colour to her life. She also helps Yan Jun realize his pianist genius potential. When Zhong Jie goes MIA, Li Gui Lan was set on adopting the siblings even if it was illegal for her to keep them. She promises to be their mother if Zhong Jie never comes back. Tears.
The three of them are certain Zhong Jie has abandoned her children but she was actually kept hostage by her husband (Yan Yong Yuan). She manages to run from him. Since then Zhong Jie has changed. She diligently works and supports her children. The four of them live together like a true family.
However, Yan Yong Yuan is cancerous. He just won’t leave them alone and creates a mess everywhere Zhong Jie works. Zhong Jie was about to give up on her life but Li Gui Lan takes her to Yan Jun’s recital. Zhong Jie settles on leaving the city with her children and Li Gui Lan to be as far away from Yan Yong Yuan as possible. Unfortunately Zhong Jie is captured by him. She’s then shown the cruel truth about what he’s done to her daughter. Zhong Jie is pushed off the building by him. She dies.
Li Gui Lan and the children are at the train station. Li Gui Lan receives a call from the hospital that Zhong Jie has committed suicide. She knows there’s no way Zhong Jie committed suicide. Fretting, she’s even more certain she has to take the children away from this evil man. Zhong Mei Bao doesn’t hear the contents of the call but she can tell from Li Gui Lan’s expression her mother won’t come and the reason is because of Yan Yong Yuan. She secretly leaves the train station. Upon arriving at his place, she takes a knife and strikes at him without any hesitation. 😱
The cartoon story was so detailed!! The two guardians were her mothers. The crane is Li Gui Lan. She took Yan Jun and left with him just like how the crane flew Juan Chen (Yan Jun) to safety. The fox is Zhong Jie. She dies at the hands of Yan Yong Yuan just as how the fox had died protecting Mei Yu from the demon. In the story, prior to the fox's death, Mei Yu pierced a weapon into the fox’s fur to hide it. Mei Yu uses that knife to kill the demon just as Zhong Mei Bao uses the knife to attack Yan Yong Yuan. This drama is brilliant.
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| Yan Jun ("Rebellious?") |
Yan Jun thinks the ultimate reason Zhong Mei Bao died was because she allowed him to play piano. His childhood past with his sister is revealed. Zhong Mei Bao would do anything just to give him a chance to play piano. When she wins him a piano, Yan Yong Yuan was furious. But he only ‘punishes’ Zhong Mei Bao. That means Yan Jun knows exactly how her sister was bullied... that treacherous scumbag.
At the end of the episode, Yang Rui Sen receives a call from Yan Jun. He wants to speak to her.
[Ep12] Yan Jun tells the detective that two years ago, Yan Yong Yuan had started threatening Yan Jun for money otherwise he’ll expose the pictures he has of abusing Zhong Mei Bao. Scum. Poor Wang Sheng Di, she's always playing the child who's tortured. From a year ago he disappeared though.
Presently, Yan Yong Yuan shows up in Li Mo Li’s condo. Ding Xiao Ling had visited her (they’re friends). Li Mo Li becomes paranoid and asks Ding Xiao Ling if anyone followed her. That’s when Yan Yong Yuan appears in her condo begging them to prove his innocence. He says they know exactly how Zhong Mei Bao died. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.
Xie Bao Luo was patrolling the condo and found Yan Yong Yuan suspicious which is why he followed his elevator all the way to Li Mo Li’s condo. He overhears parts of the conversations and assumes Yan Yong Yuan is the murderer. He chases him but Yan Yong Yuan escapes. Xie Bao Luo tells the detective that Yan Yong Yuan had visited Zhong Mei Bao a year ago.
Zhong Jin Guo purposely tells Ding Xiao Ling and Li Mo Li he suspects Yan Yong Yuan to be the murderer. He’s certain they're hiding something. The author overheard Zhong Jin Guo talking to the ladies and runs out to Zhong Jin Guo. She shows him the picture she has of the young Zhong Mei Bao being abused. This is the proof she’s submitting to charge Yan Yong Yuan of his crimes. But it’s not enough. The picture has no indication that the photographer is Yan Yong Yuan. They need more concrete proof.
The detectives start finding it suspicious that the condos all around Zhong Mei Bao are empty (left, right, and above). Lin Da Sen purposely didn’t rent them out. Zhong Jin Guo suspects that Lin Da Sen, Li Mo Li, Ding Xiao Ling, and Li Meng Yu must be hiding something.
Someone had fell into the phonograph trap Yang Rui Sen had laid. A man going by Chen is interested in buying the disc but he has an alibi the night of Zhong Mei Bao’s death. Upon reexamination of the phonograph, they find a fingerprint. It’s Yan Yong Yuan/s. They now have enough proof to put a search warrant on him but Yan Yong Yuan turns himself in. He says he’s innocent.
[Ep13] Omg this opening segment is intense. Zhong Mei Bao locked up Yan Yong Yuan in her condo for an entire year. He’s half dead. He asks her how long she’s planning to lock him up for. She says her rent contract is for seventy years. We also overhear Li Mo Li assure Zhong Mei Bao that she’ll make sure the neighbouring condos are empty. There's two other female voices as well. It's Ding Xiao Ling and the author. Waaaaaaaa.
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| Yan Yong Yuan ("Domestic Violence?") & Zhong Jie ("Pick Up Artist?") |
Yan Yong Yuan testifies that Zhong Mei Bao and Zhong Jie are the true vile things. He truly loved Zhong Jie. If it wasn’t for this mother and daughter pair, he wouldn’t have gone to jail. She introduced him to this man to help his business but that man would put money in her bank whenever Yan Yong Yuan gave him money. Yang Rui Sen interrupts that his story is too long, lol. I agree. According to Yang Yong Jun, Zhong Jie was only into him for the money. The scene where she cried when the police officers arrive at her home to search for Yan Yong Jun was all an act. She’s also got quite a few men at her whim. This is all according to Yang Yong Yuan.
When Yan Yong Jun was released from prison he knew Zhong Jie had already cheated on him with Uncle Wang. After he was released from prison, he tried to take back Yan Jun but Zhong Jie would threaten him by slitting her wrist if he takes Yan Jun away. She then slowly befriended this doctor (Liu Gui Lan) and became more distant from him. I'm not sure if he suspected she was having a relationship with Liu Gui Lan. Years later when he finally found his son, he was in a psychiatric hospital. He didn't even recognize his own father.
When Yan Yong Jun was released from prison he knew Zhong Jie had already cheated on him with Uncle Wang. After he was released from prison, he tried to take back Yan Jun but Zhong Jie would threaten him by slitting her wrist if he takes Yan Jun away. She then slowly befriended this doctor (Liu Gui Lan) and became more distant from him. I'm not sure if he suspected she was having a relationship with Liu Gui Lan. Years later when he finally found his son, he was in a psychiatric hospital. He didn't even recognize his own father.
With that testimony and no poof of him committing any murder, Yan Yong Yuan is released. Reporters surround him and he looks into the camera that he'll expose his truth to the media. That smile at the end. This lying scumbag.
[Ep14] This episode starts off with a reality show, the one Yan Yong Yuan appears in to make the world pity him. He's successfully manipulated the story to his liking. He paints himself as the loving father who lost his son to a kidnapper.
Last time Yang Rui Sen had to read a novel to investigate the case, now she's studying up this reality show. She's caught up on this episode about a PUA. It stands for Pick-up Artist. This man tells the audience that he quit his job and became a professional PUA. Basically, he's living off women's love and money. Mostly money. He's proud of it. Yang Rui Sen isn't interesting in knowing how to be a PUA but she notes that Yan Yong Yuan's story follows this man's five steps of being an expert PUA to a T.
- First step in being a PUA is creating a character (e.g. diligent type). Yan Yong Yuan made himself look like the earnest hardworking and faithful man to Zhong Jie
- Second is to add a background story to explain his current flaws. Yan Yong Yuan said he used to be poor and worked his way up from being a driver for this female CEO. It's important to make the girl feel like she's the only person in this world who understands the PUA.
- Third is to establish a contract. For example, if you love me you cannot lie to me.
- Fourth is to break the contract. The goal is to make it look like the girl is breaking the contract and make her guilty of it. The PUA will lecture her and make her think the problem between them all lies on her. Finally, give the girl one last chance. At this point, the girl is basically under complete control by the PUA.
- Last and most importantly, to have the girl completely at the guy's whim, is to make the girl commit suicide for the guy. Once she does that, she will never be able to escape the man. Yan Yong Yuan made her do that. In the story he told the police he made it sound like Zhong Jie threatened to commit suicide if he took Yan Jun away but it was more like she was forced to prove herself by committing suicide that she would never do anything to betray Yan Yong Yuan.
Zhong Jing Guo questions Yang Rui Sen if she'll use PUA as proof of Yan Yong Yuan's crimes. No judge will accept that. That's when they find Wang Hong, the CEO who Yan Yong Yuan was the driver to. She testifies that Yan Yong Yuan is a habitual liar. There's no way he would fall at the hands of the girl. It's always the girl's life that's ruined when they meet him. She confirms their suspicions that there's no way Zhong Jie committed suicide. I love this episode for how it twists all the perspectives. Brilliant.
The police look into Zhong Jie's suicide. They visit Ye Mei Li again. Ye Mei Li recounts to the police officers what happened after Zhong Mei Bao ran off the train (the day Zhong Jie died). Ye Mei Li and Yan Jun got off on the next stop. She ran back to the hospital and Yan Yong Yuan became her patient after being stabbed. She had tried to find another doctor to save him. Yang Rui Sen asks her whether she saved him . The current Ye Mei Li says it was Li Gui Lan who saved him. Is that why she insists on keeping her Ye Mei Li name? She hated herself for saving him and so she dissociates from Li Gui Lan.
Yan Yong Yuan never told the police it was Zhong Mei Bao who stabbed him. Yang Rui Sen asks Ye Mei Li why he didn't tell anyone. Ye Mei Li counters that she's the police officer, shouldn't she understand a criminal's mind better? Yan Yong Yuan is a psychopath. He cannot be understood. Even though he never exposed the culprit, all the relatives suspect it was Zhong Mei Bao. Thus, she's sent to a problem school where students there are blocked off from contacting anyone outside and no one outside knows what happens inside. Ye Mei Li had asked Zhong Mei Bao how school was, Ye Mei Li recounts that Zhong Mei Bao would only have a small faint smile as a response.
Yang Rui Sen finds out that Yan Yong Yuan is planning to escape to Hong Kong after the reality show. He also wired money to his bank account there. Once Yan Yong Yuan is in Hong Kong, they cannot catch him anymore. Mainland China laws do not apply in Hong Kong and that is the triggering event that led to 2019-2020 political standoff between this two, er, regions, for a lack of better description of them. Anyways, I totally digressed. As Yang Rui Sen is investigating for any proof of Yan Yong Yuan's crimes, she notices something is wrong with the picture of Zhong Mei Bao being abused by her step father. The age is wrong. The child in the picture is at most seven when Zhong Mei Bao was already an adolescent. The one who was sexually abused wasn't Zhong Mei Bao. It was Yan Jun. Oh. My. God. Knowing that Yan Jun is planning to go on the reality show, Yan Rui Sen quickly tries to contact Zhong Jing Guo who's in the audience.
Yan Yong Yuan is on TV playing the pitiful loving father. Li Mo Li and Ding Xiao Ling hold each other's hands and cry as they watch this cruel man spinning his lies on television. Yan Jun is backstage. He's waiting for the chance to kill his father on live TV. He's making the same decision as his sister: to take his father down with him. Yan Jun stabs him on live TV.
Because Yan Yong Yuan was always after her, she purposely distanced herself from Yan Jun. She cannot allow Yan Yong Yuan to find Yan Jun through her. Although she never reunited with him, she would always keep up to date with her brother. She would secretly buy tickets to his concert and request for aisle seats. However, only centre seats were available. That's because they were expensive. Zhong Mei Bao muses that the tickets are quite expensive. She's not complaining about the price, she's proud of her brother. At one concert, Ye Mei Li finds her. Ye Mei Li tells her that Yan Jun practices piano, eats well and sleeps well all because he has hopes of seeing his sister. Zhong Mei Bao is his source of motivation.
The real events.
- The night of Li Mo Li's wedding, Mei Bao was with the girls. Lin Da Sen was alone in the pool (after his mother wasn't allowed to sit in the family table). Lin Da Sen was not with Zhong Mei Bao. He was never Zhong Mei Bao's childhood friend. Therefore, he is not a cheater and Li Mo Li was never betrayed.
- Zhong Mei Bao first reunited with her brother two years ago when he visited her new cafe (Ye Mei Li had told him about it). That was when Zhong Mei Bao had decided to stop being on the run. She wanted to settle in the same city with her brother and her friends.
- Yan Yong Yuan continues to be cancerous. He threatens Yan Jun for money and also indicts Ye Mei Li for kidnapping his son. Zhong Mei Bao has had enough. During a New Years Party, Yan Yong Yuan shows up again and Zhong Mei Bao hits him. He's unconscious. That was the night Yan Yong Yuan disappeared. He was kept hostage by Zhong Mei Bao for a year. Li Mo Li, Ding Xiao Ling, and the author helped her.
- The night Yan Yong Yuan was kept hostage, the electricity goes out and it was Xie Bao Luo who helped Zhong Mei Bao carry the suitcase up the stairs to her condo. Xie Bao Luo saw the suitcase move but he still helped her. Xie Bao Luo did like her. This is what he meant in Episode 1-2 that everyone has their secrets. Zhong Mei Bao had told him after she pulled him in to her condo to explain it to him.
- Li Mo Li tried to create an alibi for Zhong Mei Bao who was busy carrying a fainted Yan Yong Yuan up to her condo by wearing the exact sane dress and necklace. However, she couldn't leave the party in time and bumped into Zhong Mei Bao. Both of them look at each other awkwardly. Li Mo Li continues the act and slaps Zhong Mei Bao making everyone think Lin Da Sen cheated on her.
- Li Meng Yu is the one who kept the secret about the empty condos that surround Mei Bao's. He probably still committed voyeurism though. He, however, had no access to the vents in Li Mo Li's condo. The vents aren't that convenient. I was fooled, lol.
- The authour who lived in the condo beneath Zhong Mei Bao knew she kept Yan Yong Yuan hostage for a year. While writing her novel, she even put on headphones to block out the noise he was making upstairs.
- During the night of Mei Bao's death, Ding Xiao Ling and Li Mo Li showed up at her condo. When they found her, she was already dead. She had already committed suicide. They also see Yan Yong Yuan run away but Li Mo Li is about to give birth.
- Lin Da Sen lied to the police for Li Mo Li to protect her (from keeping Yan Yong Yuan hostage). He was also the one who cleaned the scene.
- Xie Bao Luo was the one who contacted the police after Lin Da Sen finished cleaning the scene. When Xie Bao Luo said he had a role in her death, it was out of guilt that he couldn't help her at all.
- Yan Jun ran to her condo after the recital but the author pulled him back. Yan Jun had to be kept hidden otherwise the police will know about him and the reason why Zhong Mei Bao would commit suicide.
- All of them knew Zhong Mei Bao committed suicide but none of them can say it because they want the murderer to be Yan Yong Yuan. That was the lie they were all protecting.
Li Mo Li and Ding Xiao Ling both take the blame for injuring Yan Yong Yuan and keeping him hostage. This is much like when they were younger and all three of them took the blame for each other. Li Mo Li breaks down in the washroom and confesses all the events to Yang Rui Sen. Yan Rui Sen asks Zhong Jing Guo what will happen to Yan Yong Yuan. Nothing. He did nothing wrong. Meanwhile everyone else will be charged for lying or helping. This is so unfair.
This episode's recap is long enough but I want to reiterate how brilliant the cartoon story is. It was already in the story that Zhong Mei Bao will commit suicide to take down Yan Yong Yuan with her. Unfortunately, in reality she dies and he's free. But we still have an episode left!!! As I'm briefly "editing" this episode's I find myself tearing up here and there. Man, I already cried enough during the episode. This is so sad.
[Ep16] Yang Rui Sen cries and wonders what's right and what's wrong. Zhong Jing Guo tells her a story about his partner who died. When they were chasing a criminal, his partner suffered a fatal injury but he told him to tend to the victim first. Zhong Jing Guo listened and his partner died. His current daughter's father is his partner. He tells Yang Rui Sen if given the second chance, the correct decision will still be protecting the victim. Yang Rui Sen stares at his master and smiles a faint one. She now knows why her master always pretends to be aloof. He's afraid. He's afraid of investing his emotions into each case. Yang Rui Sen refuses to be like him. She will make the choice of justice. She will make the decision that her heart will believe in.
Yan Jun finds out that the dress Zhong Mei Bao died in was the dress from the pictures she (or I should say Yan Jun) was abused in. It's the white lace dress. Through his reaction, Zhong Jing Guo realizes something is wrong. No one should have known Zhong Mei Bao was dolled up in her death unless they were at the scene. The weird thing about this was Li Meng Yu's wife (Miss Shen) knows that Zhong Mei Bao had died "beautifully". Yang Rui Sen speaks with Miss Shen again. Her testimony is cruel as if Zhong Mei Bao deserved to die. She thinks it's her fault her husband doesn't love her. She tells Yang Rui Sen she was with her husband when they found Zhong Mei Bao's corpse. However Yang Rui Sen knows there's more. She shows her the picture of the white lace dress (on Yan Jun) and how the child was abused. Miss Shen cries. She tells the truth now: Zhong Mei Bao did not commit suicide.
That day, as Miss Shen recounts, her husband wasn't home and Zhong Mei Bao wasn't in her coffee store. She climbed through the vents again thinking her husband was cheating on her . She saw and recorded everything that happened. Zhong Mei Bao had planned to kill Yan Yong Yuan first. Then she made the farewell call to Yan Jun. There was more to the call. Yan Jun found the first call unsettling so he called her back during his recital. He tells her he can face his fears about the pictures now. He doesn't care if it's exposed and it ruins his reputation. He tells her that he wants to play piano not for the world, but just for her. After that phone call, Zhong Mei Bao gave up on killing Yan Yong Yuan and committing suicide. Yan Yong Yuan isn't worth it. She lets him go. Stupid. She let down her guard and that's when he hits her. Since she set up the perfect plan to look like it's a suicide, he takes advantage of it and kills her. No one will know. He whispers to a fainted Mei Bao that Yan Jun will always be his good son. Creep. Miss Shen who was in the vent continues to record the entire scene. She tried to call the police but there's no signal in the vents. Moments later, Li Mo Li and Ding Xiao Ling show up at her door. It's too late, Zhong Mei Bao has died. Li Meng Yu also showed up after he saw a disheveled man (Yan Yong Yuan) run from the stairs. That's when Miss Shen hears her husband telling Ding Xiao Ling that she's his soulmate.
With the video recording, Yang Rui Shen and Zhong Jing Guo have the proof they need to capture Yan Yong Yuan. Justice will be served.
Other characters: Ding Xiao Ling and Li Mo Li had to go into a detention centre for 15 days. Their hair is a bob cut much like the ones they sported when they first met Zhong Mei Bao. Lin Da Sen and Li Meng Yu happily await their release. The author and Xie Bao Lu took over the cafe. Xie Bao Lu's coffee making skills come in handy and the author probably works part time for him (she can step out of her condo now). Ye Me Li is released from prison. Yan Jun continues to be a renowned pianist. Ye Mei Li attends his concert.
Yang Rui Sen also attends the recital. There's tears in her eyes. She imagines a beautiful scene, a reunion between Zhong Mei Bao's family. In the audience there isn't just Ye Mei Li, but there's a young Zhong Mei Bao. Playing the piano is a young Yan Jun. Running in late is Zhong Jie. The family of four laugh together happily. I'm an emotional mess. The drama started with an intense piece and ends with this bitter and beautiful music. It's the best ending possible for Zhong Mei Bao's death.
The end.
Remarks
[First Impression (Ep1-8)] Not my genre but this has totally won me over. It's a mystery thriller surrounding the death of Zhong Mei Bao. But it's so much more than that. The drama moves on from one suspect to another. Each one gives a perspective of who Zhong Mei Bao is. The first suspect is Xie Bao Luo. He's the same actor from Missing Persons, Lu Yu Lai. His performance in Missing Persons was exceptional and it left a deep impression on me. He has the uncanny ability to look suspicious and honest at the same time. He appears in the first few episodes and I still don't know if he's good or bad. I think he's good in a bad way. Each episode has a cliffhanger and it makes this so hard to stop. Rather than zoning in on who the murderer is all the time, I find myself engaged in each suspect's story and how their lives changed because of Zhong Mei Bao and in return how her life changed because of them. The drama even incorporates storylines for the individual detectives. Zhong Jing Guo is a conventional strict (single?) father who finds himself being accused of sexual harassment. Yang Rui Sen is a diligent and innocent officer who neglects her boyfriend for her work. I love it when dramas can flesh out each character with this much detail. Every character is living, every character has their flaws. Each episode brings a new revelation into the characters and into the case. Each time there's a new hint, I find myself caught off guard. For these set of episodes I think this deserves a perfect score.
[Actors/Actresses] I've already mentioned my love for Lu Yu Lai's performance. Angelababy also delivered. I've only heard rumours of her terrible acting but I have never watched any of her dramas to judge it. Watching her here, I see none of the terrible acting that comes hand in hand with her name. She is a very convincing Zhong Mei Bao, a pure soul surrounded by darkness. Other actors are exceptional. This is just a cast who knows their stuff. Each of them bring on a brilliant performance.
[OST] I love the music choices. It stuck to piano pieces throughout the drama. It started with an intense piece that seized my attention and ended with an emotional one that had me breaking down. The ending OST was also beautiful to listen to (Aila Gato and Philip Halloun - You and I).
[Ending] An ending summary will not do justice to this drama. It’s the journey of the reveal that makes this drama exceptional.
[Review & Rating]
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