A hyperthymnesic boy and his phantasmal brother solve spooky cases
Notable Actors/Actresses
Chinese Title
Rising From the Ashes
Network: Tencent Video
Cast
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| Wang Zi Qi: Liao Si Yuan |
Sun Yang: Liao Zhi Bai |
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| Sun Yi: Qi Xia |
Liu Min Tao: Qi Mei Hua |
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| Zhang Yu Jian: Shu He |
Ding Xiao Ying: Li Zhi |
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| Huang Wei De: Na Wei |
Chen Ruo Xuan: Gai De |
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| Zhan Xin: Ma Luo |
Mini Recaps
2019. Buhe City, Overseas. Scene is SET. Moody, colorful city, nebulous country, expansive river, rowdy and chaotic gemstone market. A jade stone is cut revealing a decapitated head! 😱
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| How to avoid censorship? Fictional city in fictional country before 2020 |
Credits: Child watching his home in flames. Newspaper. Glasses. Bullet. Gun. Bunk bed. Fiery doors circle to be a clock. Pen as the pointer. Jade pendant falls into the water. Art piece. Brain. Gift Box. House ruins. "Embers"
Chapter 1: Brother
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| Each chapter has an artistic title card |
Music is uplifting. Check out this warm home scene. The details are all here.
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| "Liao Si Yuan, Memory Champion" Award is behind that photo |
Liao Si Yuan (Wang Zi Qi) is woken up by his annoying big brother, Liao Zhi Bai (Sun Yang). Zhi Bai teases him that he must be dreaming of being kissed by Lai La (Wang Ruo Shan). I don't want to recap the pubescent joke. You're welcome. They are speaking Cantonese, I believe. Bits of the Buhe language is spoken throughout the drama.
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| Just regular dreaming, ok? |
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| 13 year old Zhi Bai |
In a voice over, Liao Si Yuan introduces us to his life. They live in Buhe, a city in a tropical country with a large Chinese population. He is a senior college student. His brother and he have been inseparable after a fire 10 years ago.
Ma Luo (Zhan Xin), a fellow classmate, threatens him for "taking his girl". Brother Zhi Bai isn't hanging around for this. No worries, police comes to take Si Yuan away.
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| Si Yuan: ??? |
Ni Ke (Wang Hong), the police deputy chief, is surprised at Si Yuan's lack of reaction when he watches a video of the jade stone revealing the decapitated head. Si Yuan is unimpressed since he's seen corpses for years because of his brother. What's this got to do with him? The victim is Lai La. Dun, dun dun!
Lai La has a bad rep. People gossip that she is a call girl. No one wants to associate with her.
New chief comes in to take over the case. Shu He (Zhang Yu Jain) recognizes Liao Si Yuan immediately. Si Yuan looks at Shu He with daggers in his eyes, but reluctantly talks to them about Lai La. They were just classmates. Ni Ke, "Oh, reallllllly?"
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| Shu He means "Robot" in Buhe 🙃 |
Flashback to 3 days ago when he last saw her. She is quietly putting together a puzzle when some jerks are taking pictures of her and sexually harassing her. Si Yuan tricks them into sending the icky text messages to a teacher instead, getting them punished.
Lai La shocks him by kissing him. "Liao Si Yuan. I like you". Then she just walks away.
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| A kiss in the 1st episode? |
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| I want to go to this school and have class outside like this |
Back to interrogation. Shu He shows him a receipt for Qi Pharmacy, his family's pharmacy. Lai La purchased meds and Si Yuan delivered it. She refused his offer to take her to the hospital and asked if he want to come inside. He declined and that was the last time he saw her. She looks after him reluctantly.
Shu He concludes that Lai La died right after seeing Si Yuan. Ni Ke ponders why didn't she just go downstairs to the nearby clinic to buy meds but have him deliver it? Si Yuan deduces maybe there was someone she didn't want to see. Shu He looks a bit impressed. He later tells Ni Ke to look into this clue. He is perplexed why the head was found first. Usually in dismemberment cases, this is last to prevent identification of the victim.
Interrogation room. Si Yuan watches the video again when Liao Zhi Bai whooshes in to review the case. Si Yuan is hypermnesic, able to vividly recall memories. His world earthquakes as he recalls the memory of his last meeting with her. Big brother Sherlock Holmes. She looked nervous, like trying to hide something from him. She doesn't usually dress this way, but is wearing a white dress and light make up. She seems to know she may die, but may be protecting him. The murderer may have been in her house.
Liao Zhi Bai tells Si Yuan to leave this case to the police, he's just a student. But Si Yuan doesn't trust police like Shu He because of how he slandered Zhi Bai.
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| This police station is going to be the hottest place to hang out |
Flashback to 10 years ago. Young Si Yuan is at a press conference where Shu He announces the cause of the Yong'an Village Liao Family Fire. Murderer was Liao Zhi Bai, a police academy student, who caused the fire under a drug addicted haze. Young Si Yuan goes ballistic at this false accusation, attacks Shu He, biting his forearm bleeding.
Present day. Do they hear someone crying? It's Ma Luo. Si Yuan lets him drink away his sorrows while our male lead drinks milk. Ma Luo cries and rants. Why is Si Yuan so emotionless? He wasn't always this way. Flash to inside his memory palace. The floor has a layer of water. The walls are like a library card catalog (remember those?), each box contains a date. 2009/05/29 contains the fire. He is unable to open this one.
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| Milk. It does a body good. |
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| Si Yuan's Memory Palace. Mine is more like a shack these days. |
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| TBH, only made a GIF because I couldn't screenshot the flames correctly Netizens call these Chinese medicine boxes which is hilarious for the later themes, but Si Yuan may have been Westernize somehow. These are library card catalogs which holds his memory database. |
Unable to remember that day. The fire took away everything from him, his mom, his dad.... Except....
From that day, he was able to see the dead. Cuts to previous scenes in case the audiences hasn't realized it yet. Si Yuan was alone in all those interactions with his brother. On re-watch, I realize that his room only has 1 toothbrush, 1 pair of slippers, and no bedding on the top bunk. Details 😍
Song En Medical Clinic which is under Lai La's apartment. Super sus Dr. Song En (Zhou Tie) tells a female student about his special study abroad program. He's only here to contribute to society. He was also the buyer of the jade stone. He denies knowing Lai La. After the earlier questioning, Shu He comes to this clinic to investigate further. His nurse provides a fake alibi for him. After Shu He left, Song En tells his nurse to check out Si Yuan. Song En obviously knows Lai La but seems confused about why her head was in the stone.
At school, Li Zhi (Ding Xiao Ying) is ready to kick school jerk's arse for slandering her friend. Ghost Zhi Bai reminds Si Yuan of School Code #1043408 which he uses to scare the bullies away. This is their dynamics. Ghost Zhi Bai pops in here and there to help Si Yuan and be cute.
Lai La's parents are terrible. They only care about how much money they can get from her death. Si Yuan is incensed by he injustice.
"When alive, she was your ATM. When dead, she is your flesh and blood."
Recalling more of that last meeting, she smiles as she thanked him for including her in his social practice activity. Before leaving, he pauses again, waving bye to her.
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| Beautiful |
Si Yuan blames himself for not realizing something was off. Talking to Zhi Bai, he wants him to teach how to investigate.
Si Yuan: I want Lai La to know that even though she is no longer alive, at least someone in this world cares about what she went through. I care what others don't. I demand justice for her when no one else does.
Zhi Bai: But Si Yuan, once you make this decision, you'll see a completely different world under this broad daylight. You'll witness the cruelest side of humanity, and you might lose trust in people forever. There's no turning back.
Brother asks him if he is ready to be a sleuth. Needlescratch. "What's a sleuth?" 🤣 Bro. Bickering cuteness. "Sleuth" is a more poetic word than "detective"...
Dr. Song En learns Liao Si Yuan's name. Oh, Si Yuan must be after him. A blood feud.
A week ago, during the social practice session, Lai La is listening to music on her headphones. The melancholic song is beautiful. Si Yuan says something to her but she didn't hear him mostly due to the shock that he's talking to her. Music stops. Will she dance with him? The kids need a demo.
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| Black and white world, slowly color seeps in |
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| Her eyes... |
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| If they were in another drama where she doesn't die in the 1st ep, I could ship them. |
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| Fans say his hands are small. ? |
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| I really like her vibe |
The Liao brothers talk about the case. They go to Dr. Song's clinic. Dr. Song stops Si Yuan from leaving. He acts chummy reminding Si Yuan that he used to have a clinic at his village. Si Yuan doesn't remember the creepy guy.
Shu He asks the medical examiner, Qi Xia (Sun Yi), about her findings. Lai La's body will likely in a river water near incense plaster factory.
Scenery is beautiful. Liao Si Yuan and Liao Zhi Bai are already at the suspected river site. Zhi Bai noticed Song En's muddy shoes and tires. There was also a scratch on his new car. Big bro teaches Si Yuan criminology theories.
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| Look Ma, no shadow! Also, only 1 helmet for the motorbike. |
Song En is hiding in the forest about to shoot Si Yuan. Police arrive and he retreats without anyone being aware of his presence.
Police station. Shu He asks Si Yuan how he figured out Song En had probably dump the body at that river. Si Yuan ignores him, likely cataloging all the curse words in all the languages for him. Oh, Shu He and Liao Zhi Bai used to be friends.
Qi Xia examines Lai La's body. She is shocked by what she finds. No water in the lungs, Lai La died on land, body dumped in water after. She died before being beheaded. Needle mark on arm, unknown substance was injected. And one more thing... She was pregnant. What duh...
Ma Luo doesn't believe it. Si Yuan recalls fellow students gossiping that Lai La got into someone's car. Someone who owns a clinic. Yep, likely Song En.
Drama has GREAT artists. Ma Luo is Michelangelo reborn. His drawing of Si Yuan. Very "vivid and lifelike".
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| Kinda looks like Nezha |
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| Si Yuan has no appreciation of art. |
Si Yuan borrowed some evidence from the police station. A lighter from a "love hotel" was found in Lai La's pocket. Maybe this is the original murder scene?
Si Yuan questions the clerk. Privacy, no can tell. Zhi Bai tells him to bribe the guy. Si Yuan nods and threatens the guy with the law book. 🤣 Lai La and Song En were here on the night that she was murdered.
Si Yuan sprays down the the room with luminol. The entire place lights up. Eek. They conjecture how Lai La was beaten and killed here. As Si Yuan is about to call the police with this evidence, a masked man locks him in and sets a huge fire.
Panicking, Si Yuan calls for his ge. Cough, choking on the fumes, helplessly calling for Zhi Bai to help him. Flashing to his childhood with Zhi Bai telling him to run. Zhi Bai pulls him up. Si Yuan dramatically opens his eyes.
A confident voice firmly declares: I won't let you die.
He breaks the window and jumps off the balcony, falling several stories down, fortunately caught by an awning, but landing unconsciously.
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| This is a very bad, no good, horrible day. |
Qi Xia rushes to the hospital. Before Si Yuan can greet his sister, she almost beats him for being so reckless. He won't be in 1 piece for long.
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| I like watching him get beat up. |
She wants him to explain why he was such an idiot to jump down from 5 stories.
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| Zhi Bai: What? It was only 5 stories |
Qi Xia: You almost died in a fire for someone you barely knew, is it worth it.Zhi Bai to Si Yuan: Word to the wise. Stop talking. She's about to blow up.
Si Yuan isn't wise. XD
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| Zhi Bai: I can't take this kid anywhere. |
Qi Xia, teary eyes, broken voice: I want to thank you for living, because only if you live can I live.
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| Si Yuan saved Qi Xia too |
Present day doctor tells her that Si Yuan is at risk for Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Si Yuan took medicine for it years before. He might relapse. We'll ignore the medical inaccuracies.
A flighty beautiful lady who is struggling with her shoes calls Si Yuan's name loudly in the hospital halls. This is Qi Mei Hua (Liu Min Tao), his adoptive mother, who doesn't like him calling her "mom". She's Mei Hua Jie instead. She hands him her liquor bottle and glitter pumps so that she can make sure he's still in 1 piece. What time is it?
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| Bare foot in a hospital?!? This is the 2nd scariest scene in this drama. |
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| A good son caries his mom's shoes and XO bottle |
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| Ostrich siblings |
Their home is so warm.
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| Family photo is very meaningful |
"Xiao Yuan, I want to eat steamed pork ribs tonight" - Working hard overtime, Project worker
"Pretty girl, I am not coming home tonight" - A beautiful woman
Si Yuan looks at old news papers. This setting is another world. Newspapers exist?!? "Genius detective sets fire to his home during drug induced hallucinations"
Ghost Zhi Bai pops in: What if I told you everything they said is true? I, alone, was responsible for the fire.
Warning: horror movie scene. The pretty girl (Mei) that was talking to Dr. Creepy from last episode about his "scholarship program" is at his clinic to apply. These instruments don't look necessary for an interview. She overhears "egg harvesting" and "video record Mei's procedure for the clients". Aaaaaaaaaah. That's hers and my silent 😱 😱😱. She tries to run but is captured.
Shu He looks at his scar from young Si Yuan's bite. His watch hides it. Ni Ke and he go to Dr. Creepy's house for further questioning. Dr. Creepy's guilty look tells us he was the masked man who caused the hotel fire. Shu He gets him to admit to knowing Lai La. Lai La had came to this hotel room, an hour later Creepy came out with a large suitcase. Creepy claims someone must be framing him. He's "honest" with them Lai La invited to the hotel, gave him a drink and drugged him. He woke up, she was gone, and he just went home. His suitcase had icky fetish toys. Shu He is silently enraged by how Dr. Creepy talks about Lai La and warns him that he is watching him.
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| Ugly hawt. |
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| There's a popular video of these "non-existent" curves HERE. |
Ghost Zhi Bai coaxes his little bro. He was just kidding, he's trying to get him to use the fundamental principles of deduction. Cute bickering.
Zhi Bai: Yes, Si Yuan. Deduction requires logic and precision. But we can't let our emotions cloud our judgment. Because we will twist the facts to fit our theories. So if you are not mentally prepared to face the worse possible outcome, then we might as well stop investigating now.Si Yuan: And what could be the worst possible outcome?
Mei Hua Jie comes in with yummy fruit. Rambutans! She sweetly checks Si Yuan's forehead Mei Hua Jie, you are sitting on Ghost Zhi Bai! 🤣 Mei Hua Jie would dominate charades.
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| "Were you in love with the dead girl?" |
His mom tells him to stop risking his life over this.
Mei Hua Jie: Truth, justice, I don't know about this. I don't care. All I want is for our family to be happy and live in peace.
Zhi Bai notes that Mei Hua Jie is careless most times but she really cares about Si Yuan.
Si Yuan breaks into Dr. Creepy's clinic. He finds Lai La's files. Is Song En forcing these women into prostitution? He finds a picture of Lai La and another girl, Cai Na. Cai Na is dead, she jumped off the school building not long ago.
Doctor returns, he has a gun!
Song En: Does your mom and sister know you are here alone?
Si Yuan: No. They don't know I'm here. But the 300 viewers in my livestream do. Oh. There's 350 now.
"A university student takes you into the home of a deranged killer!" Si Yuan has a 3rd career! XD
Song En: Kid. Never joke just for views.
Show is trying to convey a social message here. 😂😂
Song En burns the files. He uses the most advanced cellular technology of 1998 to call Xun Ge to help him. Mysterious Lai Hai Xun becomes interested when Liao Si Yuan's name is mentioned. He speaks to his even more shady boss, who is fishing in a swimming pool? Oh, it's just a pretty small stream.
Boss man: Keeping the bait (Si Yuan) alive is finally useful. The one that should have died will come out again.
Si Yuan talks to Cai Na's ex-boyfriend Mike. Cai Na kept asking him for money so they broke up. This brothers are alike. Their "I don't believe your sh*t" 💩 looks are exactly the same.
Si Yuan visits Cai Na's home and meets her mom. Lai La had also lived with them. Lai La escaped an arrange marriage in high school and they took her in. These girls are so beautifully supportive.
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| Color comes back with hope |
This is a realistic tragedy. Lai La's mom said, "You were born here. In this town, when the time comes, all girls have to do this!" She was probably forced into marriage herself, now she is forcing her own daughter. Evil bit part actress has tears in her eyes for this scene. Casting. 👏
Lai La carries a butcher knife with her to protect Cai Na.
Cai Na's mom, regarding Lai La: She came into this world only to suffer.
She gives Si Yuan Lai La's last belongings, a box with puzzle pieces, and Cai Na's egg retrieval records (She didn't have the means to investigate, so didn't give them to police.) Poor mom cries, she doesn't understand why Cai Na would do this, they never put financial pressure on her. Again, just a small role, but the actress was very moving. 😢
Brothers deduce that Song En tricked Cai Na into selling her eggs and Lai La's pregnancy may be a surrogate pregnancy. Illegal exploitation. Si Yuan calls Qi Xia who confirms that that Lai La's fetus had no biological relationship to her. Shu He rushes to arrest Song En.
At Song En's clinic, the minions trap Shu He in a room. A bunch of guys attack him. Ni Ke and the other cops are frantically trying to break down the door to save him. Shu He discovers tons of kidnapped women here. He recognizes Mei. It's so terrible, these poor girls. He gets a second strength, likely telling himself that he must save them, whips out his baton. It's a pretty chaotic and cool fight scene. 💪🏼
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| Free tooth extraction |
Ni Ke finally gets in, but our chief has awesomely handled everything. Minion confesses that Song En is out to kill Liao Si Yuan!
Cai Na and Lai La hanging out and taking that fateful Polaroid picture. Bad girls. Cai Na has never left the house after 10 pm. This is Lai La's first beer. Yeah, it's overrated. They cross out the yucky beverage off their bucket list. They are so cute and wholesome. They promise each other to go see snow after college.
Meat packaging plant. An essential setting of all horror shows. Oh, no! Bloody and bruised Ma Luo has been kidnapped by Song En. His idiots caught the wrong guy because Ma Luo was riding Si Yuan's motorbike. Sad and kinda funny.
Oh, there's Si Yuan wearing an apron! But it looks like overalls. The cute deleted home scene where Qi Xia pulls his ear must have been here. Anyways.... Song En calls Si Yuan, tells him to meet on top of Jialan Tower. Si Yuan rushes there, Shu He and police are monitoring downstairs.
There's a cell phone at the top. Song En tells him to jump off the building and he will let Ma Luo live. Song En mutters about the Liao fire and says Liao Zhi Bai offended people and deserved to die. Si Yuan's face is sweaty as he goes to the edge. He takes one step up, ready to jump. Song En stops him. "Don't take me as a fool. The police have set up safety devices. I want you to jump from the north side. 5, 4......"
Si Yuan sprints to the other side. Police says "target located". Shu He commands them to go into rescue Ma Luo
"3" Si Yuan continues running.
"2" Ma Luo faces the meat cutter
"1!" Si Yuan jumps!!!
Body lands. Screen blackens. News Story reports "a college student, who was studying early childhood education, fell off Jialan Tower".
Song En escaped. Poor Ma Luo. He breaks down and blames himself for causing Si Yuan's death.
Song En calls Boss Man's minion to tell him Si Yuan is dead but the one he expected never showed up. Song En was a small part of the fire. Looks like they won't silence him. Bam!!! A truck rams into Song En's car. Oof.
A masked man, not to be confused with Song En being a masked man causing the hotel fire, with a "Darker" voice shows Song En his sewing work. While unconscious, masked guy had cut open Song En's abdomen and left him a gift. Totally medically possible that he didn't bleed out and die...
Police leave Ma Luo alone at the station as they go hunt Song En down. Well, he's not totally alone....
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| This s why Si Yuan only has imaginary friends |
The helmet is real. Oh, Si Yuan is alive. Show doesn't have 2 ghosts as leads.
Fish lady, Song En's assistant, confesses that they posed as a charity organization to trick girls into prostitution, harvesting their eggs, and surrogacy pregnancy. They video taped the procedure as blackmail so that the girls don't report to police. She's the most despicable in this drama. How does a woman do this to other women?
Lai La came there to work part time but accidentally introduced Cai Na to them. Song En implanted Cai Na's embryo in Lai La. Freaky scene where she was strapped down to the exam table. Fish Lady doesn't think Song En killed Lai La because he was legit surprised by her death.
Ghost Zhi Bai is upset that Si Yuan risked his life and faked his death.
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| LZB is like a moody Buddha |
Si Yuan: I have you to back me up.Zhi Bai: What if one day I'm gone?Si Yuan: That day will never come.
Back and forth they argue.
Zhi Bai: Fine, live long and prosper.Si Yuan: Thank you.
This bickering is cute but I'm scared. Don't separate. Zhi Bai just wants Si Yuan to keep himself safe. When he's gone, he would be worried about Si Yuan.
Li Zhi and Ma Luo come. I owe you a cute photo of Li Zhi.
The video clearly showed that Si Yuan jumped, how did he survive? He had coordinated with Shu He. Police controlled the surveillance feed. At the right time, they cut it off and spliced in a fake jump video. Onlookers were their people so no cell phone recordings were leaked out.
Si Yuan doesn't understand why Song En had clearly killed the girls but Song En insists that he was set up by Si Yuan. Si Yuan wants Qi Xia to examine Lai La's body again. Sister is like, "is this necessary?" Si Yuan needs the truth. Lai La's real killer might be out there.
Si Yuan: The living can lie, but not the dead.
Qi Xia flashes back to living Liao Zhi Bai saying something similar
Qi Xia: My scalpel can make them talk.
Qi Xia found an injector that had Song En's and Lai La's DNA with Song En's fingerprints. More evidence that points to Song En. Convenient. But why didn't Song En destroy the needle he used to inject drugs into Lai La? That seems careless and unlike his psychological profile.
Qi Xia notices that Lai La's house is missing a rug. Was the body dismembered on this rug and then thrown away? They found traces of blood under the couch. Bingo! This is the original crime scene. What are the possible reasons for the beheading? Provoke the police? Killer with weird fetish? Lai La asked for it????? She took her own life.
Song En wakes up alone on the street. Not completely alone. He hears Lai La's voice listing his crimes and cursing him. Her voice is in excruciating pain. She's dead. She will never stop haunting him. She's inside his abdomen.
Song En turns himself in. He tried to vivisect himself. He dug out a cell phone with Lai La's voice. Shu He almost lost his robot face over this weirdness.
Song En is being wheelchaired outside by police. Mei Hua Jie and Qi Xia are passing by. Song En calls out to Mei Hua Jie. "Ms Qi! Do you recognize me?". She recognizes him as the one who hurt her Si Yuan. She kicks his arse. How can he be insane? He must be faking it. Will he get a lighter sentence for it?
Back home, we see the Liao/Qi old family portrait again. It's surrounded by photos of young Qi Xia but no young Si Yuan. Did he not like to take photos as a kid? Zhi Bai laughs that Mei Hua Ji beat Song En so badly he could hardly speak.
Si Yuan completes the puzzle that Lai La left. It is a painting, "Susana and the Elders". The story is Susana, the wife of a wealthy merchant, was very beautiful. 2 men tried to rape her when she was bathing. She refused and they accused her of adultery. People make moral judgments based on the way she dresses or acts. She was unable to explain herself and was sentenced to death. Daniel defended her and the truth was revealed. Story highlights the absurdity that a victim must be "blameless/perfect" in order to prove her innocence.
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| Cdrama didn't censor this. Impressive. |
Si Yuan flips over the puzzle. Lai La had drawn everything that happened.
Si Yuan visualizes this truth in his memory palace, each puzzle piece showing Lai La and Cai Na's friendship and hardship. Cai Na tells Lai La to repeat after her.
Cai Na: I am brave.Lai La: I am braveCai Na: I am not what they think I am.Pausing, Lai La: I am not what they think I am.Cai Na: We can realize our dreams.Lai La: Really?
Scumbag Mike begged Cai Na to get money for him to study abroad. Lai La unknowingly gave Song En's "scholarship" program info to her. During the egg harvest, Cai Na became infertile. If she calls the police, he will post the videos online. Chilling. Lai La blames herself. Scumbag Mike threatens Cai Na with the harvest photos that Song En sent him. He was working with Song En and set her up. She threatened to jump off the building, they struggle and she was pushed off. Lai La was implanted. Lai La injects herself with AH7.
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| There is a recurring theme with his eyes closing and opening He sees with his heart and mind |
Si Yuan confronts Scumbag Mike at a club. Asshole shows no remorse. Si Yuan kicks his arse. The Chu Yi Han training comes in handy.
3 people try to pull him off. Zhi Bai sits quietly. Later, Si Yuan drives his motorbike home. Zhi Bai embraces him.
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| 😢 |
Lai La voiceover: Before I die. I want to see him again. With my real face.
Si Yuan wonders if there were other accomplices in Lai La's suicide.
Zhi Bai: Why would there be accomplices? If there were, it wouldn't be a suicide.
Si Yuan: Your voice changes when you lie.
Zhi Bai: I'm not lying to you. I don't want you to lose yourself. The mastermind put her head in the stone in order to maximize attention to the murder, to catch Song En.
Si Yuan takes a walk. In the distance, he hears Cai Na's and Lai La's promise to see snow together. He looks at their Polaroid picture. It starts to snow in this tropical country. On the stairs, Cai Na and Lai La dance. The song is the one that Lai La danced with Si Yuan. Cai Na had taught her this dance back then. Si Yuan smiles. The girls, holding hands, skip away. Si Yuan burns the picture.
Lai La: Liao Si Yuan. Thank you.
A masked man put a white flower on Lai La's locker. She was about to jump from building, but he stops her. She needs to make her death bring down Song En and the surrogate ring. She did drug Song En, then made the hotel room look like a crime scene. She recorded the phone message with her dying breath. Masked man completed the beheading and set up Song En's car to look guilty.
Darth Vader voice: I guarantee they will all face retribution. All of them.
Scumbag Mike partying club. He mixes drugs and alcohol. He dies. Good riddance.
This chapter ends. Goodbye, Lai La and Cai Na. 😢
February 9, 2008, Yong'an Village. Qi Xia gives Liao Zhi Bai a coupon for his birthday. He acts unimpressed. She coaxes him, this coupon can make his wishes come true, no matter what he wishes for. Okay, he wishes for her to marry him. She refuses. Dude, that was a lame proposal.
Young Si Yuan, he was sitting 6 feet away, waiting for his bro to play Tetris with him, agrees. Si Yuan kicks Zhi Bai's butt in the game and wins all his Agatha Christie books. "Death on the Nile", "The Murder of the Orient Express", "And Then There Were None". That's a great haul! And subtle foreshadowing. Don't read the synopsis if you don't remember or know the books. Zhi Bai has no more collateral, Si Yuan wants to take the coupon to get books from Qi Xia. No way.
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| Spoiler alert: This game will come back |
Chapter 2: Wish
Present day, police station. Shu He wants to continue more investigation into the Song En case, but his Director says they can't do much. The law doesn't consider buying from Song En illegal. Yeah, WTF. Director is more interested in Liao Si Yuan. He tells Shu He to let this student investigate cases. I hope they pay Si Yuan an internship fee. Folks, know your worth. Don't work charity even in Cdramas. Especially since this Director is using Si Yuan as bait. Shu He leaves without cleaning up his coffee cup. Not an important detail, just noting that Shu He is a slob when he doesn't agree but feels forced to do something.
Psych Hospital. Si Yuan watches Song En be looney. Frustrated by the dead end, Si Yuan's brain goes into hyperdrive because he is unable to open the memory box of the fire. Ghost Zhi Bai explains Si Yuan's hyperthymesia abilities. If there's a catalyst, he will remember. If no catalyst, if he tries to force it, he will get sick and may even die.
Zhi Bai: Humans forget to protect themselves.... That's your memory palace, not your prison.
A beautiful lady is secretly watching Si Yuan. Nu Na (Xia Nan) has Stage 3 melanoma.
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| Nu Na is gorgeous. I confess to taking extra screenshots of her. |
She flashes back to 2009, Yong'an Village. She's treating young Si Yuan's scrape that he got for fighting other kids who were bullying Su Pa. Nu Na smiles at Si Yuan's sense of justice at such a young age. Si Yuan promises to help Nu Na if she were bullied when he grows up. Kid got more game than his bro. He gives her a Wishes Coupon that he stole. 🤣
Nu Na remembers seeing young Si Yuan calling for his parents as his house burns down. She tries to come to him, but Song En restrains her. She is unable to sleep with these memories. She digs out a picture of the fire.
Qi Xia re-watches Si Yuan jumping from the 5 story hotel. She remembers Zhi Bai doing the same. Qi Xia is very worried that Si Yuan's DID has returned.
Si Yuan shows up at the station to report for duty. He still hates Shu He. LOL. Qi Xia lectures Shu He. Si Yuan happy. Qi Xia lectures Si Yuan. Si Yuan not happy. "Who's side are you on?"
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| "Attention!" |
Ghost Zhi Bai reminisces about his glory days at this police station.
Si Yuan: Ge, you are old.Zhi Bai: Why?Si Yuan: When a person is always reminiscing the good old days, it means they're old.
What a brat. XD. Is that a hint of optimism? He is much happier working for the police station.
Zhi Bai: Little bro, little bro. I'm not old. I'm dead.
Si Yuan needs to read a large stack of files.
Si Yuan: A good police officer must have empathy. Not everyone is a robot like Shu He.
Zhi Bai: A real good cop needs to be ruthless and efficient to solve cases. Excessive empathy clouds judgment.
 |
| Whatever, ge |
Ah, this is why Si Yuan is a kindergarten education major and not a cop. Ghost Zhi Bai is bored and wishes there were a new case. Si Yuan wishes no more murderers or victims, of course. Si Yuan is idealism. Zhi Bai is realism. Ghost Zhi Bai is a part of him.
They recognize Nu Na as one of Song En's victim. Song En is her uncle, but he sold her to a rapist. Zhi Bai suggests questioning her.
Si Yuan: But she's doing fine now. Wouldn't this reopen her wounds?
Zhi Bai: What's more important? Her wounds or the truth about our family's fire?
Ooh. I don't remember another drama asking this. When empathy and truth conflict. Nu Na's old wounds are already being re-opened by the news of Song En's arrest. All her flashbacks are still in black and white, btw. She may never have had love or hope 😢. She's also getting threatening text messages.
Si Yuan goes to Nu Na's bridal shop to find her. The assistant tells him she isn't here.
 |
| Lady was mean. She talked to him like a kindergartener. |
Zhi Bai tells Si Yuan to hide when he hears a familiar voice. It's Qi Xia, she's here to try on wedding dresses. "Nothing too flashy. Something easy to move in." She's alone but there is a guy downstairs waiting to pick her up. guy is Ou Wen, a new police transfer. Ghost Zhi Bai is totally not jealous. Si Yuan rubs it in. This "Oh" that he agrees that Ou Wen isn't Qi Xia's type is totally not agreeing. LOL.
Nu Na visits Si Yuan at Qi's Pharmacy. She tries to rub his hair as she tells him he's grown taller. He jumps back and doesn't want to be left alone with her. Si Yuan is totally Tang Monk. XD.
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| Look at the lady in the back side-eyeing them 🤣 |
He tells her he learned about what happened to her, he apologizes. She thanks him for catching Song En.
Si Yuan: I promised to protect you. To keep you from getting hurt. But I failed.
Nu Na is touched. She shows the old Wish Coupon: Don't be sad. You still have a chance to protect me.
She thinks someone is follow her. Meet her at Meet Bar 🙄 tonight and she will tell him about the fire.
Meet Bar. Whether in dramas or real life, he always looks out of place at clubs. He's being hit on. Tang Monk. Nu Na never showed up.
At Nu Na's bridal shop, the assistant found her. Hmm... Debating about screen shot. Cinematography is great, but I will save us the nightmares.
Nu Na's dead. Her husband, Cha Peng, is heartbroken. She was his 2nd wife. His 1st died in a car accident. Forensics sent over a report.
Shu He: Him again?
Is Si Yuan going to be a suspect in every case?
 |
| Si Yuan's view. There's a clue here. Have you spot it? |
Nu Na's corpse was posed as a mannequin wearing a wedding dress. Surveillance footage caught Si Yuan chasing after in the street at night. Si Yuan explains that they were supposed to meet and when he passed by her shop, he saw her walk out. He ran after her but didn't catch her. Those long legs are useless.
Qi Xia autopsy. Nu Na has the same death smile as Lai La, but she doesn't have any injection marks. I neglected to describe Lai La's dismembered head had creepy smile. Whoops. My eyes were averted each time it was shown. Cause of death is poisoning, results pending. No wounds. Ni Ke wonders if the murderer is a vengeful ghost. Shu He and Qi Xia wonder how he became a cop. Ha!
Si Yuan is most worried about getting home before Mei Hua Jie finds out. Afraid of mama. Si Yuan and Zhi Bai review. Si Yuan's super memory figures out that Nu Na must have been dead before 10:54 pm and the person he was chasing at 11 wasn't Nu Na and was likely the murderer.
2011. 4 tipsy girls leave Meet Bar, fighting over who should be the driver. No one should. Build a time machine. Come to the present. Get a Lyft. Or just call a taxi. They hit another car, causing it to go up in flames, and it looks fatal for the driver. Wedding dress in the car goes up in flames.
Present day, police station. Li Zhi and a nervous Ma Luo are here to give Si Yuan an alibi. Ni Ke is not impressed with this quacky video.
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| Serial Killer Outfit |
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| Like Scooby Doo: It's YOUUUUUUU! |
I am! There's a whole fun BTS just for this.
Oops. Ma Luo's natural coordination only helps confirm that Wang Zi Qi Si Yuan is an average dancer. Oh, that's not all! It confirms that he left at 8:30 pm and had plenty of time to go murdering. Ma Luo tries Elle Woods reasoning to no avail.
"Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don't kill...."
"Such cute dancing purifies minds. How can he kill anyone?"
Si Yuan tells Shu He his memory deduction that Nu Na must have died before 10:54 pm and not after 11:00 pm. Surveillance cam runner wasn't Nu Na but likely the murderer. Qi Xia shows Shu He photos confirming Si Yuan's theories. Si Yuan is free! Oops. Not yet. Big sister said to let him marinate. Deadpan Shu He obliges. XD
Mei Hua Jie beats the bad luck away from Si Yuan and told him to shave his head for good measure.
Our lead now looks like this.
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| Chu Chu: I think the Prince should have a very nice skull |
Spud lies. Mei Hua Jie failed. Si Yuan isn't that obedient.
Si Yuan can't sleep. He can't reconcile the old Nu Na in his childhood memory with the Nu Na that saw him the other day.
Zhi Bai: Some people change, some don't. Like me. I haven't changed a bit in the past decade.
Si Yuan: No, you have. You've become more shameless.
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| Fountain of Youth |
 |
| I wonder if this painting has any significance If anyone knows, give me a shout out |
Si Yuan worries that Nu Na may have been killed to silence her about the fire. Using his super memory, he recalls the killer had feet bigger than Nu Na, rough hands likely from lots of washing, no nail polish, ears pierced but the holes have closed, and.... the hairpin! Same hairpin as the wedding shop assistant! Clue from last episode. I didn't screenshot the back of her head just because I wanted to look at Si Yuan.
Looking for the assistant, they caught her with Nu Na's husband. Ick. 🤮 He bought the same hair pin for his wife and his mistress. Dude is not only a cheater, but has no creativity. But assistant doesn't fit the killer. After whooping it up, Zhi Bai tells Si Yuan to use this opportunity to grill them for clues. Burden of proof trap.
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| The side eye... 👀 |
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| Cheater doesn't know that Zhi Bai was going to hustle him for $5 million Si Yuan's microscopic smirk 😏 |
They were at the shop together and found Nu Na's body. Nu Na was an escort at a bar and met cheater. Cheater's 1st wife died in the fiery wedding dress car accident. How coincidental, the driver was Nu Na's friend. But cheater doesn't remember the name of his wife's killer. Background Zhi Bai is being cutely hilarious throughout all this while Si Yuan has the best expression management.
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| Corpse dance |
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| Liao Bros: We can't handle this guy's stupidity |
A couple wedding gowns are missing. An actress, Man Ni, had come by to borrow them for a performance but hasn't returned them yet. Cheater doesn't think Man Ni is that pretty (insert epic Zhi Bai 🙄), but finally remembers something useful. He came home drunk and overheard Nu Na talking to Man Ni and another friend. Nu Na was feeling guilty for what happened to Si Yuan's family and not doing anything. If Cheater finds what Nu Na left for Si Yuan, he will tell him as long as Si Yuan stays quiet about the affair.
Night time at Jinhu Tower. Oh, there's Man Ni. Drama's cinematography of victims is hauntingly beautiful. Maybe I will put a compilation at the end. Dead Man Ni is visible on top of the glass ceiling of the elevator (that's not the way to break through a glass ceiling). She's wearing a wedding veil and a creepy smile. Money is strewn all over.
Si Yuan wants to talk to his sister about the case. Go home, baby bro.
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| Wordless communication XD |
 |
| Eyebrow! |
Shu He debriefs Police Director and the other higher ups. This is becoming a wedding dress serial killer case. Man Ni had a lot of cash in her bag, but none was stolen. Both Nu Na and Man Ni were escorts at a bar. One old officer recalls that he handled the car accident case 8 years ago. The 2 victims were in the car that killed Cheater's wife. The driver was Lan Xiao Tong, who went to jail and has been missing since here release.
Si Yuan is able to bribe Ni Ke with a bottle of wine for the surveillance footage. In the morning, he heads to the murder scene and poses as a potential apartment buyer. Man Ni was a hard working actress who gaining popularity but wanted to leave her abusive agency. Hmm... Seems like drama is making a commentary here....
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| Big bro is a bad influence but baby bro doesn't mind |
Ghost Zhi Bai deduces that a man, age 28-35, knows Nu Na and Man Ni, comes from an unhappy home, independent, introverted, and had serious emotional conflicts with the victims.
Si Yuan notices footprints. About size 36. Height should be about 1.62 m. This must be a woman.
Zhi Bai, dumbfounded: How can a woman commit murder, carry the body up 10 flights, dump it, all within 5 min and 9 seconds?
Si Yuan: Unless the body moved itself.
Murderer lured Man Ni upstairs, killed her, put the veil on, and threw her down the elevator shaft.
Zhi Bai: That's impossible. The profile can't be wrong.
Si Yuan: *Sigh...* Everyone makes mistakes.
 |
What a brat! 😂 He snaps for his brother to leave. Si Yuan is lucky that Ghost Zhi Bai can't beat him up.
 |
| Look Ma! No reflection! |
They found a camera in the lobby that captured a glimpse of the killer. Killer is wearing a uniform form the nearby convenience store. There's only one person that works at the tower and the convenience store. An Ni.
Si Yuan runs to An Ni's home. She's a 55 year old lady. Doesn't really fit the murderer profile.... Si Yuan pretends to be here to conduct a survey and she invites him in. People are too trusting. Both Si Yuan and An Ni.
 |
| There's a clue here later.... |
An Ni has a son that is rarely home. She works nights and he works days.
An Ni: We live under one roof, but we're no different from online friends.
Si Yuan looks around. He is about to open this big wardrobe cabinet....
 |
| 😱 |
2011 Meet Bar. Nu Na, Man Ni and their friends (the other 2 girls from the car accident) are drinking with customers. One jerk wants extra services with this cute curly long-haired girl. She tries to get away but he keeps pulling her back. Another tough, badass lady comes to the rescue and holds her hand reassuringly.
Later, the jerk and his gang beat up badass lady. Suddenly, a van rams into jerk! Yeah! The driver comes out and continues beating him with a bat. Woo Hoo!!!
Oof. No woo hoo. That's An Ni about to give Si Yuan the same treatment. Luckily for Si Yuan, Shu He has been stalking protecting him. Qi Xia had told him the DNA under Man Ni's fingernails were from a woman (Si Yuan was right!) and that Si Yuan identified An Ni as a possible suspect.
An Ni's DNA doesn't match the one found on Man Ni. But why did she sign the guilty plea? Pitifully, she explains that she signed because Officer Ni Ke wouldn't believe an ex-felon like her.
Cheater found a bank slip where Nu Na withdrew a large sum of money from her bank before she died. He also found the fire photo. Whack! It was stolen by the masked man before Si Yuan could get there.
An Ni is released. Forensics also found surveillance video that she was working in the cafe on the night of the murder. Her son, Pei Ji, picks her up. Ni Ke had investigated him. He's adopted, also an ex-convict.
Ni Ke: It's just that one is without a mother and the other is without a child.
Si Yuan learns that there were 4 people in the stolen photo, Nu Na, Song En, and 2 others. They found an old catalog of Meet Bar's Escorts. Man Ni, Nu Na, and 1st page was torn off. 4 wedding dresses are missing. Will there be 2 more victims? Time to go to a bar!
The lady who was hitting on him last time has info. But more importantly, she sees that there's a man behind him! This guy has been following him for many years. How eerie!
 |
| Zhi Bai: I'm not imaginary?!? |
Do you want an exorcism? 20% off. Special price, only for today! Bwahahahahaha.... Si Yuan whips out his money. Finally, he will get some peace and quiet. Naw, he knows she is a fraud but needs to hear what she has to say about Nu Na after.
Zhi Bai: Why don't you burn this money and give it to me?
Nu Na hung out with Man Ni, A Lin, and Xu Man. A Lin was first to marry, but she lives the worst life. Xu Man has the best life. Wealthy heiress, her estranged father found her and picked her up. She left Buhe.
Must to run to A Lin. Si Yuan falls from his scooter and hurts his arm. Zhi Bai wants him to go to the hospital, but Si Yuan persists. He needs to save Nu Na's friends.
 |
| Zhi Bai isn't happy with this risk taker. |
Qi Xia finally receives results of the unknown substance injected in victims. AH7. Flashback, Zhi Bai explains to Qi Xia that this new hallucinogenic drug is marketed at so good, that even if you died, you will die happily with a mysterious smile. Hot product. People dumb.
Zhi Bai: If I run into criminals head-on, they should be the ones to worry, not me.
A Lin is the 3rd victim. Wearing a wedding dress and mysterious smile, her body is in a water reservoir. Si Yuan has failed.
 |
| Killer worked really hard to get up there |
Shu He tells Si Yuan that he is off the case. AH7. The drug that Liao Zhi Bai took. The sky breaks open. I wonder if this was the natural rain scene.
Shu He: You must not touch this case. I'll investigate it fully.
Si Yuan: You are the least qualified to say this
Shu He: These are the police rules. You must not break the rules like your brother!
Si Yuan: You'll never be as good as my brother! You only know how to be dogmatic!!!
Si Yuan leaves. Shu He stops him. They FIGHT!
Si Yuan is knocked out so hard he's in his memory palace. He tries to force open the fire memory. He fails again.
 |
| Almost fetal like |
Hospital. Si Yuan unconsciously calls out for his brother but wakes up to Dr. Bian Ming looking over his files. Dr. Ming treated Si Yuan as a child for his DID. He doesn't look like an exorcist. What's the medicine being injected into him? Oh, just the same sedative from when he was a child.
 |
| He will always look sus to me |
Dr. Ming: It temporarily blinds you to things that shouldn't exist.
This is heart-breaking.
Dr. Ming: Have you seen Liao Zhi Bai?
Si Yuan: No. I haven't seen him for a long time.
😢😭
Dr. Ming: The temptation of the virtual world must be hard for you to resist. But if there were a computer that's always turned on, running a game with large memory, then its CPU is likely to burn out. Same for your brain. Fantasy and reality. Red pill and blue pill. It's hard for you to choose. I hope your brain isn't fried the next time I see you.
 |
| 💓🗡💔 |
Shu He notices that Si Yuan seems more and more like Zhi Bai. He tells Qi Xia that he's sorry for hitting him. AH7 has been missing for 10 years, but is suddenly back. Ou Wen comes with dinner for Qi Xia. He is cute.
Si Yuan is laying in the hospital bed by himself. He's muttering to his "ge" about the case. There's no response back. He's so lonely. His voice is so pitiful and weak.
Mei Hua Jie drinks by herself at home and must hide her liquor when Qi Xia approaches. Busted! Momma wants Qi Xia to consider Ou Wen. No need to consider. They are getting married! Huh?
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| Totally not drinking alone |
 |
| How to stop being asked about marriage |
 |
| Whut?!? |
At the hospital, Mei Hua Jie is ready to kick Shu He's butt for hurting her son. She's calling someone to "fxxk him up". Si Yuan needs to calm her down by using all his kindergarten education skills. If she beats up Shu He, how will he graduate? Hahaha. That worked.
Mei Hua Jie: Once you graduate, I will find someone to beat him up.Si Yuan: Once I graduate, 干他 (Gàn tā)!Mei Hua Jie: 干他 (Gàn tā)!!Si Yuan: 干他 (Gàn tā)!!!Spud: 干他 (Gàn tā)!!!!!
This is fun. Si Yuan's secret sly smile about appeasing his mom is so cute.
After she made she he didn't have prostate problems and should empty his bladder completely, she finally leaves him so that Li Zhi and Ma Luo, who were hiding in the bathroom, can tell him about Xu Man being back in town.
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| If your mother doesn't cause social death, is she still your mother? |
Si Yuan pretends to be Xu Man's driver. (Where did he get that load of cash? Li Zhi?). Xu Man has been in Buhe for 10 days, she hasn't received any wedding dress packages. Phew, not a victim. Therefore, the murderer? When Si Yuan apologizes for being nosy, she says it's okay, "I quite like you".
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| She's quite captivating |
He drops her off at her villa. She's flirts with him before going in. Li Zhi is here, she has broken Xu Man's water pipe. It will burst. Si Yuan is ready at the door with tools to fix it. Eek. Xu Man isn't dumb. This isn't suspicious to her at alllllll.....
2011 Meet Bar. Xu Man is crowned "Courtesan of the Year". Nu Na hugs her happily. Man Ni's and A Lin's smiles fade. Xu Man approaches a "handsome" lady, who is our heroine who kicked butt last episode. She wishes her a happy birthday and gives her a flower necklace.
 |
| This is a nice shot of them looking into them mirror |
Present day. Si Yuan snoops around Xu Man's bathroom, finds the flower necklace, suitcases full of cash, and a gun. He's also the loudest and clumsiest sleuth ever. He thought he was smart by dumping out the glass of water Xu Man gave him, but she is smarter. This new filming technique is just to record him passing out.
Si Yuan wakes up like this. XD. Big bro is so amused. Si Yuan is funny when he's dumb. Xu Man had drugged him with amobarbital, truth serum.
Hospital (WZQ's 3rd home). Ma Luo had taken Si Yuan's place while he was out sleuthing. Ma Luo's turn to sleuth sniff. What's that nice smell? Li Zhi spills that Si Yuan slept with Xu Man 🤣and then Xu Man went to a coffee shop. Si Yuan found a wedding dress in Xu Man's closet.
Coffee shop. Si Yuan sweet talks Ni Ke for more help. Xu Man was at this coffee shop last night and filled out some survey. The Liao bros speculate that the other ladies may have blackmailed the rich Xu Man and that was her motive to kill them. Will she try to escape Buhe? Not yet, she calls Si Yuan to meet her.
 |
| This goofy smile gets every thing |
 |
| Matching clothes and positions, but also contrasting |
Based on the flower necklace clue ("tang" begonia flower), Ni Ke found out Lan Xiao Tang was friends with Xu Man. Lan Xiao Tang was the driver that went to jail for manslaughter.
Xu Man meets Si Yuan at a food stall. She tells him she's leaving soon. Some flirting to make him uncomfortable. LOL.
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| Xu Man: Stay overnight at my place again Si Yuan: Fresh coconut. No signal. |
They are candid with each other. He's not her driver. She knows he is working with the police to investigate her. He's been to her old workplace. What's up with her and her old friends
Xu Man: That's what friendship between women is like. Like plastic flowers. From afar they look beautiful, but when you get closer, it's all fake.
Si Yuan: All fake?
Xu Man: Happiness. What is happiness? Isn't life just a cycle of jumping from one fire pit to another?
She's really mesmerizing. Tragic, helpless but resilient vibe. Si Yuan zeroes in and asks about the necklace, about Lan Xiao Tang.
 |
| The symbolic Buddha statue in the background watches over them I love the feeling of this scene. The warm yellow tone, colorful lights and red table, the fresh coconuts... You can almost smell the food and feel the sticky air. It's vibrant, full of life, but Xu Man was suffocated in this world. She's eating happily and bitterly. |
Qi Xia investigates A Lin's house. A colleague comes late. Qi Xia teases him that his cute new girlfriend must have delayed him. Spud's facial confusion: Who is this guy? Qi Xia smells something unusual and unidentifiable.
Xu Man recalls how her father had abandoned her and her mother. Her mother died and she begged on the streets, these streets right around them here. These are Xiao Tang's favorite foods. Si Yuan relaxes a bit and eats with her as he listens empathetically. They used to wait till customers left and ate their left overs. She dreamed that when she grew up, she would make lots and lots and lots of money, to take Xiao Tang here to eat, to order whatever they wanted, to not have to wait till the restaurant closed and not be chased away.
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| Sweet, pitiful, discarded by society 😢 |
Si Yuan: Why didn't you ask her out to eat with you this time?
Xu Man: She's dead. Nu Na and her gang killed her.
Si Yuan: How do you know? Did you see them?
Xu Man, nods: It doesn't matter. I am not who I used to be. She is also no who she used to be. Time froze the most beautiful memory.
Xu Man folded a white flower. Reminds me of The Little Goldfish and the Eunuch. She dramatically sprays perfume all around her. She thanks Si Yuan for listening to her story and leaves. She doesn't know anything about the fire. Captivating conversation. The tragedy in her tone and eyes. She had drugged Si Yuan the night before. But he's kind, she needs to unburden herself, and she is also using him. There's still a cat and mouse vibe, but it's interesting how they can chat like confidants.
It's late at night, Si Yuan sneaks back home. Oof. Qi Xia is waiting for him with metaphorical and sound effects knife sharpened. Ha!
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| Daggers |
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| Big guy is always beaten up |
Si Yuan blinks when he lies to Qi Xia. Lucky for him, Qi Xia has keen olfactory nerves. The smell on him is Orlando's Wish perfume which is also the same as the one she found at A Lin's house. Production is so cool and clever. This Orlando's Wish is a reference to Virginia Woolf's Orlando: A Biography.
Shu He found that a number from Xu Man's villa called A Lin's house the day she died. Xu Man's perfume was also there. Xu Man packs cash and tears up an old photo of herself unconscious in the driver's seat.
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Remarks
by Potato Chip
[First Impression (Ep1-12)]
There's nothing like this in C-drama land these days. Extremely dark and bold, yet compassionate and warm. Talented, beautiful and captivating women helm these roller coaster cases. Each character is presented 3 dimensionally, flawed and relatable. Cases risk stigmatizing them or being pretentiously calculated to elicit overwrought emotions, but drama successfully balances empathy and justice. I am shocked how most of this passed censorship.
This is not a crime procedural, but a mystery drama which references Agatha Christie. The overarching mystery is a fire that left Liao Si Yuan (Wang Zi Qi) orphaned and killed his brother, Liao Zhi Bai (Sun Yang). Under the guidance of his phantasmal brother, our young empath sleuth searches for the truth.
A snarky synopsis seen: ML has mental illness, 2ML is a ghost, the suspects are in love.
🤣 and eeeek. Can C-dramas present a complex psychological condition without stigma or soap opera antics? Drama dances on a tightrope magnificently.
Wang Zi Qi. And he hasn't worked with any of the cast before. Amazing. Sun Yang is more known for being in movies. There are also at least 6 actors who were in Nirvana in Fire in this drama. Zhang Yu Jian (his robot grew on me and fit the character), Liu Min Tao, Huang Wei De, Jin Feng, Wang Hong (who was an assistant director of NIF 1&2), and the actor who plays A Jin (Mei Hua Jie's employee)
Chen Rua Xuan guest stars. He has worked with this production company before in his own well-rated suspense drama, "Psychological Crimes"
.
[Behind the Scenes]
Half of the drama was filmed in Thailand. They created a fictional language and city.
Wrapped on February 2, 2024
[Ending]
Bittersweet. Optimistic.
[A Highlight]
Last 16 min of Episode 16 and first 11 min of Episode 26.
[Review & Rating]
Rating: /5
Recommendations
Preliminary recs are random / a peek at the list. These may be updated if drama is completed
