Recaps

Liu Liu and the others questioned Gu Xue about Xia Xiaolin after being unable to find her. Gu Xue said Xia Xiaolin had gone traveling, then described her unstable work and spending habits.

• Liu Liu asked Gu Xue where Xia Xiaolin was, and Gu Xue invited the group inside.
• Gu Xue showed them a message dated September 21 and said Xia Xiaolin had mentioned visiting Basha Island.
• Su Qiao asked Gu Xue what she knew about Xia Xiaolin, and Liu Liu urged her to share information for the investigation.
• Gu Xue said Xia Xiaolin rarely kept a job for more than three months and was often involved with different men.
• Gu Xue said Xia Xiaolin spent thousands or tens of thousands on cosmetics and handbags despite her low salary.

Gu Xue told Su Qiao and Li about Linlin’s personality and her relationship with Sun Zhihao, including Linlin’s history with his wife. The investigators learned that the two women had once competed for the same man, leaving them with a possible motive to examine.

• Gu Xue described Linlin as attractive and outwardly shy but showy, fond of money, and intent on marrying a wealthy man.
• Gu Xue said Linlin had been seeing Sun Zhihao and had bragged that he was handsome, rich, and a painter, though married.
• Gu Xue recalled helping a drunk Linlin to her room, where Linlin said she had discovered Sun Zhihao’s wife was an old acquaintance.
• Gu Xue said Linlin and the wife had fought over the same man at school, and Linlin had vowed she would not lose to her rival again.

Su Qiao questioned Gu Xue about Linlin’s disappearance and grew suspicious of how readily Gu Xue answered. After returning to the Police Station, Su Qiao explained why Gu Xue’s smooth, overly detailed responses and restrained movements might indicate she was trying to distance herself from the case.

• Gu Xue told Su Qiao, Liu Liu, and the others that she had urged Linlin to stop pursuing the married Sun Zhihao and find someone else.
• Gu Xue said she knew little more about Linlin because she worked and Linlin often stayed out overnight, then wished the investigators luck in finding her.
• After returning to the Police Station, Su Qiao said Gu Xue had said too much, though she admitted that suspecting Gu Xue of lying was only a guess.
• Su Qiao explained that people might give excessive, unprompted details to appear uninvolved and noted that Gu Xue had twice started to make small gestures before stopping herself.

Su Qiao explained how Gu Xue’s gestures and behavior suggested that she had lied and felt jealous while talking about Xia Xiaolin. Group Five’s investigators remained uncertain and had to decide whether to verify Su Qiao’s observations.

• Su Qiao described Gu Xue’s sweating palms and nose-rubbing as signs that she had been nervous and deliberately restrained herself.
• Su Qiao pointed out Gu Xue’s neck-touching, changed blinking rate, and relaxed posture as further clues to lying and jealousy.
• Little Li asked whether Gu Xue had told several lies, and Su Qiao said the investigators would have to verify her analysis themselves.
• Liu Liu recalled that Gu Xue had claimed she did not want to expose Xia Xiaolin’s flaws but had spent the conversation discussing them.
• Liu Dong said Gu Xue’s steady gaze had made her seem innocent.

Su Qiao explained how she judged Gu Xue’s smile and steady gaze, then advised Liu Dong and Liu Liu to keep observing her until they found Xia Xiaolin. Du Muhan arrived, questioned Su Qiao about her relationship with Little Li, and invited her to dinner after revealing he had cooked because an injured hand kept him from working.

• Su Qiao explained the signs of a genuine smile and said Gu Xue might either be telling the truth about everything except her jealousy or be prepared to deceive the investigators.
• Su Qiao advised Liu Dong and Liu Liu to observe Gu Xue until they found Xia Xiaolin, and Liu Liu thanked her.
• Su Qiao told Little Li that he and she did not have the kind of relationship that justified using him to reach her, and Little Li protested.
• Du Muhan arrived, asked Su Qiao whether she had a good relationship with Little Li, and opened the car door for her.
• Du Muhan invited Su Qiao to dinner and said he had cooked because his injured hand had temporarily taken him off work.

Su Qiao went with Du Muhan to his home to eat and visit Xiaomi and Little Wang after he reassured her about their test results. As they left the compound, Liu Dong and the others speculated that Su Qiao and Du Muhan were dating.

• Du Muhan told Su Qiao that neither the deceased nor he had an infectious disease, then invited her to taste his cooking and see Xiaomi and Little Wang.
• Su Qiao briefly thought about her past life and her mission before deciding to focus on what was in front of her and Little Four’s unknown situation.
• Du Muhan drove Su Qiao away from the compound while Liu Dong asked Little Li Zi what was going on between them.
• Little Li Zi said Su Qiao and Du Muhan were well matched, and Liu Dong and Liu Liu considered that they might really be dating.

Liu Liu and Liu Dong discussed Su Qiao and Du Muhan’s personalities and relationship before returning to the residential compound. Du Muhan’s oversalted cooking failed, and he and Su Qiao talked about his injured hand and sleepless night, ending with playful banter.

• Liu Liu argued that Su Qiao was a patient, kind person and that Du Muhan’s taciturn, unusual behavior made him a poor match for her.
• Liu Dong countered that Su Qiao’s intimidating personality made her difficult for ordinary men to approach, and Liu Liu accused men of making excuses for their cowardice.
• Liu Liu, Liu Dong, and Little Li returned to the residential compound less than ten minutes later.
• Su Qiao tasted Du Muhan’s dish, spat it out, and asked how much salt he had added; Du Muhan admitted that he thought he had made a mistake.
• Su Qiao noticed Du Muhan’s bloodshot eyes and bandaged hand, learned that he had stayed up reading because his hand hurt, and suggested getting it checked again.
• Du Muhan joked that Su Qiao’s beauty had bewitched him, and Su Qiao teased him for suddenly learning to joke.

Su Qiao searched Du Muhan’s kitchen, bought ingredients, and cooked dinner while he slept. When she heard him having a nightmare, she woke and comforted him, and the chapter ended with him preparing to join her for dinner.

• Su Qiao found little food in Du Muhan’s refrigerator and went out to buy ingredients.
• Su Qiao returned to find Du Muhan asleep and cooked soup, fish, pork, and potatoes.
• Su Qiao heard Du Muhan muttering in his sleep, “Don’t hit her,” and restrained his flailing hands to wake him.
• Du Muhan said he was fine and blamed the nightmare on exhaustion, while Su Qiao told him dinner was ready.
• Du Muhan agreed to wash his face and join Su Qiao for dinner.

Su Qiao gave Du Muhan space to keep his past secrets and invited him to spend her day off with her. She took him to an orphanage, where they unloaded the things she had bought.

• Su Qiao wondered who Du Muhan had warned her not to hit, but chose not to question him about his hidden past.
• Su Qiao invited Du Muhan to come with her the next day, and he agreed because his injured hand kept him from working.
• Su Qiao and Du Muhan shopped on the commercial street before driving to the northern suburbs.
• Du Muhan realized Su Qiao had brought him to an orphanage and helped unload the supplies for a mute middle-aged man.

Su Qiao visited Little Fortune Orphanage with Du Muhan, bringing gifts and promising more support for the children. On the drive away, she encouraged him to make peace with the past without forgiving those who had hurt him, and he began to realize how long he had remained trapped in it.

• Du Muhan watched Su Qiao interact warmly with the children and staff at Little Fortune Orphanage.
• Su Qiao helped the children, set up a television, promised a computer and online classes, and gave Director Wu an envelope of money.
• Su Qiao and Du Muhan left the orphanage, and she explained that she visited monthly and admired the children's optimism.
• Su Qiao told Du Muhan that people should let go of painful memories without forgiving those who did not deserve forgiveness.
• Du Muhan understood why Su Qiao had brought him there and realized that he had remained stuck in the past.

Du Muhan let go of some of his psychological burdens after talking with Su Qiao, and she told him about her plans to build a school and new homes for the orphanage children. He agreed to help when she was ready, and then asked whether the orphanage they had just passed was her old one.

• Du Muhan relaxed and asked Su Qiao to give him another lesson.
• Su Qiao explained that she wanted to build a school and homes for the orphanage children because the current building was dilapidated and nearby schools would not accept children with disabilities.
• Su Qiao said she needed about a million yuan and planned to find a scenic town near the city, buy land, and hire teachers.
• Du Muhan told Su Qiao to contact him when she was ready, and asked whether the orphanage they had just passed was her old one.

Su Qiao told Du Muhan she had no desire to find her biological parents and felt grateful to her adoptive parents for the good they had given her. The two decided to buy ingredients and cook at home, with Su Qiao teasing Du Muhan about his lack of cooking skills.

• Du Muhan parked at a supermarket to buy ingredients, and Su Qiao said she did not want to search for her biological parents.
• Su Qiao explained that she did not resent her adoptive parents and remained grateful for the care and opportunities they had given her.
• Du Muhan called Su Qiao kind and adorable, while she said she acted according to what she believed was right.
• Du Muhan suggested eating at a fancy restaurant, but Su Qiao chose to cook at home and offered to teach him the basics.
• Du Muhan explained that he had spent his time studying and making money since childhood, rather than learning household skills.

Su Qiao and Du Muhan bought groceries after midnight and cooked a meal together, then discussed the Headless Female Corpse case over dinner. Du Muhan insisted on focusing on evidence rather than guessing, leaving their investigation unresolved.

• Su Qiao and Du Muhan went to the supermarket late at night and bought ingredients for a meal.
• Du Muhan took over chopping the vegetables despite his bandaged hand, and the two spent two hours cooking.
• Du Muhan praised Su Qiao's hand and fed Gu to Little Wang while they ate.
• Su Qiao asked Du Muhan about the Headless Female Corpse's identity and killer, but he said he only looked at evidence.
• Du Muhan put vegetables in Su Qiao's bowl and explained that their jobs were different.

Su Qiao discussed her suspicions about the Headless Female Corpse Case and Ding Peixin's disappearance with Du Muhan, then learned that investigators had found evidence pointing to Sun Zhihao. The chapter ended with Su Qiao explaining why she thought Gu Xue was careful enough to avoid leaving clues.

• Su Qiao said she suspected the Headless Female Corpse Case was connected to Ding Peixin's disappearance and named Sun Zhihao, Gu Xue, and Auntie Li as suspicious.
• Du Muhan praised Su Qiao's instincts, and she explained that she could only write down her profiling deductions for now.
• Su Qiao went to work with Du Muhan after her car began making a strange noise.
• Little Li told Su Qiao that surveillance footage showed a familiar figure and investigators had found half a footprint near the bones.
• Su Qiao guessed the footprint belonged to Sun Zhihao, then reasoned that Gu Xue's work as a wedding planner likely made her more organized and careful.

Su Qiao learned that new evidence had linked Sun Zhihao to the Headless Female Corpse case, and she went to question him after Tao Junhui and Su Xiyan reached a stopping point. The chapter left Su Qiao preparing to speak with Sun Zhihao herself.

• Little Li told Su Qiao that Sun Zhihao had been detained after visiting the area three days before the body was discovered and buying sulfuric acid and industrial Dampness-removing Powder.
• Little Li said Sun Zhihao denied killing the victim and claimed he had gone hiking, which Su Qiao dismissed as an implausible excuse.
• Little Li told Su Qiao that Tao Junhui and Su Xiyan wanted her to examine Sun Zhihao because he was not cooperating.
• Du Muhan told Su Qiao that the case’s progress supported her deduction, and he encouraged her to trust her instincts.
• Su Qiao watched Tao Junhui and Su Xiyan question Sun Zhihao, then decided to speak with him herself.

Su Qiao and Tao Junhui questioned Sun Zhihao about the headless corpse, whose age, height, and weight matched his wife Ding Peixin. Sun Zhihao claimed Xia Xiaolin had summoned him to the area near the discovery site but never appeared, leaving Su Qiao suspicious about what had happened to Xia Xiaolin.

• Su Qiao told Sun Zhihao that the corpse might be Ding Peixin and that DNA results were pending, then questioned him about September 20.
• Sun Zhihao panicked and denied that the corpse was his wife, then admitted Xia Xiaolin had asked him to meet her near the site.
• Sun Zhihao said Xia Xiaolin had threatened to claim he raped her and that he waited for her before leaving without seeing her.
• Su Qiao asked whether Sun Zhihao knew Xia Xiaolin was traveling, and he said he had given her money to get an abortion while away.
• Su Qiao asked whether Sun Zhihao knew Xia Xiaolin's whereabouts or had contacted her recently, since she had disappeared.

Su Qiao questioned Sun Zhihao about his wife, Ding Peixin, and his pregnant affair partner, Xia Xiaolin. Sun Zhihao claimed Ding had faked her suicide attempt to pressure him into having a child, then grew anxious that a female corpse might be his wife.

• Sun Zhihao said he had not investigated Xia Xiaolin because of Ding Peixin’s suicide attempt.
• Su Qiao challenged Sun Zhihao’s lack of concern and warned him that a lie detector was monitoring the room.
• Sun Zhihao admitted he had secretly used contraceptives and believed Ding had staged her suicide attempt to force him to seek fertility treatment or have a child.
• Sun Zhihao blamed Xia Xiaolin for getting pregnant despite his efforts to avoid having children.
• When Sun Zhihao asked whether the female corpse was Ding, Su Qiao said they had to wait for the results.
• Sun Zhihao speculated that Xia Xiaolin had killed Ding after he refused to divorce her and marry Xia.

The Major Crimes Unit discussed whether Sun Zhihao and his lover, Xia Xiaolin, had killed Ding Peixin and disguised the murder as suicide. Su Qiao questioned the team's assumptions about Sun Zhihao's motives and began describing Ding Peixin's personality.

• Sun Zhihao told Su Qiao that Xia Xiaolin had a key to his studio and could access sulfuric acid and Dampness-removing Powder.
• The Major Crimes Unit speculated that Sun Zhihao and Xia Xiaolin had killed Ding Peixin and forged evidence to make her death look like suicide.
• Su Qiao argued that Sun Zhihao might have rejected having children and viewed marriage as a constraint.
• Du Muhan said that he did not want children either, surprising the team.
• Su Qiao said Ding Peixin had a typical Cancer, or Type C, personality.

Su Qiao explained how Ding Peixin’s childhood and suppressed emotions may have shaped her obsession with having a family, while the team organized new leads in the murder investigation. Su Qiao and Du Muhan headed to the Art Gallery together, where he teased her about acting close in front of their colleagues.

• Su Qiao told Little Li and the others that Ding Peixin’s childhood losses and marriage may have contributed to her emotional strain and desire for children.
• Tao Junhui divided the team to investigate Xia Xiaolin, search Sun Zhihao’s studio and home, and look for missing female migrant workers.
• Su Qiao said she would go to the Art Gallery, and Du Muhan insisted on accompanying her.
• Su Qiao objected to Du Muhan holding her hand in front of their colleagues, and he teased her about wanting to annoy them.

Su Qiao and the investigators confirmed that Sun Zhihao's Art Gallery was the murder scene, but DNA results showed the female corpse was not Ding Peixin. The team reconsidered the case, and Su Qiao proposed comparing Xia Xiaolin's DNA as the chapter ended with Su Xiyan questioning her reasoning.

• Su Qiao noticed Du Muhan seemed troubled, but he said he was fine and went to get the toolbox.
• The investigators confirmed that Sun Zhihao's Art Gallery Underground Room showed signs of a struggle and contained traces linking the corpse to the gallery.
• DNA results showed that the female corpse did not match Ding Peixin, undermining the team's theory about Xia Xiaolin killing and replacing her.
• The investigators noted that the corpse was linked to Sun Zhihao by the sulfuric-acid barrel, Dampness-removing Powder, and matching pigment components.
• Su Qiao asked Tao Junhui to compare Xia Xiaolin's DNA, and Su Xiyan mocked her for relying on guesses.

Su Qiao argued that the corpse might be Xia Xiaolin, citing her suspicious movements and a possible motive to kill Ding Peixin in self-defense. The debate was interrupted when investigators found half a skull near an abandoned Chemical Plant, but the rest of the remains were still missing.

• Su Qiao explained why Xia Xiaolin’s identity and secretive departure made her a possible match for the corpse.
• Xiao Li suggested Xia Xiaolin had fled out of guilt, while Su Xiyan accused Su Qiao of relying on guesses.
• Tao Junhui began to propose DNA testing before a subordinate reported finding half a skull beside a sewage pond in the western suburbs.
• Li Junwu explained that heavy rain could have washed the body from the pond into the river and downstream to the eastern suburbs.
• Tao Junhui ordered the team to keep searching downstream for the missing half of the skull.

Su Qiao reconstructed the face of a victim whose head had been mutilated and linked the partial image to Xia Xiaolin. She then presented surveillance footage tracing Xia Xiaolin’s last known movements, leaving Su Xiyan embarrassed by her lack of progress.

• Li Junwu showed Tao Junhui and the others photographs of the victim’s brutally damaged head and relayed Forensic Doctor Du’s assessment of the weapon and attack.
• Tao Junhui asked Su Xiyan to restore the victim’s face, but Su Qiao criticized her reconstruction as inaccurate.
• Su Qiao used the victim’s height and weight to reconstruct the visible portion of the face and compared it with Xia Xiaolin’s face, revealing a striking resemblance.
• Su Xiyan accused Su Qiao of misleading the team, but Su Qiao rebuked her for failing to investigate missing persons or find Xia Xiaolin.
• Su Qiao displayed surveillance images and a map showing where Xia Xiaolin was last seen and the places she had stopped.

Su Qiao identified Basha Island as Xia Xiaolin's intended destination, exposing Su Xiyan's failure to solve the case. As teams were sent to search the island and collect DNA evidence, Su Qiao left with Du Muhan, while Su Xiyan and Tao Junhui were left furious.

• Su Qiao projected her comparison chart and explained that she had traced Xia Xiaolin's planned destination to a remote bay on Basha Island.
• Tao Junhui sent Team Four to search Basha Island and ordered Xiao Li and Yu Qiang to collect DNA evidence from Xia Xiaolin's apartment.
• Su Xiyan challenged the need for DNA testing, and Su Qiao called her stupid before leaving with Du Muhan.
• Du Muhan criticized the Special Task Force's standards, leaving Su Xiyan enraged and Tao Junhui displeased.

Su Xiyan argued with Tao Junhui after he defended Su Qiao’s findings and told her to keep her personal feelings out of work. Meanwhile, Su Qiao asked Du Muhan to test two hair samples to investigate whether Gu Xue or Ding Peixin was connected to the woman on Basha Island.

• Tao Junhui explained that Su Qiao suspected the woman claiming to be Xia Xiaolin might be an impostor and said Su Qiao was better at computer technology.
• Su Xiyan accused Tao Junhui of favoring Su Qiao, then stormed out of the conference room without her computer.
• Su Qiao gave Du Muhan two separately sealed hair samples and asked him to test them secretly without mixing them up.
• Su Qiao told Du Muhan one sample came from Gu Xue’s house and the other was found near the art studio, possibly belonging to Xia Xiaolin or Ding Peixin.
• Du Muhan took the samples to run the tests while Su Qiao waited.

Su Qiao and Du Muhan learned the hair from Sun Zhihao's Art Gallery did not belong to Gu Xue or Ding Peixin, and Su Qiao suspected the victim was Xia Xiaolin. The next morning, the team learned Xia Xiaolin had gone missing at sea during a hurricane, and Su Qiao suspected she had staged her disappearance to leave no witness alive.

• Su Qiao and Du Muhan received the hair test result, which ruled out Gu Xue and Ding Peixin as the hair's owner.
• Su Qiao concluded that the Headless Female Corpse was likely Xia Xiaolin and went home with Du Muhan without waiting for the DNA results.
• The next morning, Tao Junhui told the team that Xia Xiaolin had boarded a sightseeing boat that encountered a hurricane, and a third of its tourists, including Xia Xiaolin, were missing.
• Su Qiao suspected Xia Xiaolin had used Cicada Sheds Its Shell to ensure there was no living witness who could contradict her story.