Chapter Summaries

Su Qiao returned from questioning Gu Xue and argued with Su Xiyan over whether Gu Xue was involved in the case. The chapter left the team divided, with Su Qiao insisting that Gu Xue had undergone plastic surgery and was being pressured by Xia Xiaolin.

• Su Qiao left Gu Xue's home with Xiao Li and Yu Qiang, telling them she needed time to think before discussing what she had found.
• Su Qiao told the team that Gu Xue had undergone plastic surgery and that her story about repaying a debt was false, suggesting Xia Xiaolin had leverage over her.
• Su Xiyan challenged Su Qiao, citing Gu Xue's background and arguing that repeated police visits were harming an innocent woman's reputation and livelihood.
• Su Qiao demanded evidence that Gu Xue was innocent and defended their investigative methods, accusing Su Xiyan of searching fruitlessly instead of finding answers.

Su Qiao defended her investigative approach and proposed that Gu Xue killed Xia Xiaolin after Xia Xiaolin discovered her plastic surgery and tried to extort her. The team backed Su Qiao, and after Old Guo reported that no clinic had records of Gu Xue’s surgery, Su Qiao called Du Muhan for help.

• Su Qiao challenged Su Xiyan to consider the impact of Xia Xiaolin’s death, and the team members supported Su Qiao’s approach.
• Tao Junhui approved Su Qiao’s proposal, ordered the team to follow the rules, and said they would later explain and compensate those affected by questioning.
• Su Qiao suggested that Xia Xiaolin had discovered Gu Xue’s plastic surgery and used it to extort money, giving Gu Xue a motive to kill her.
• Old Guo reported that no plastic surgery clinic had records of Gu Xue undergoing cosmetic surgery, and Su Xiyan insisted Gu Xue’s face looked natural.
• Su Qiao called Du Muhan, who asked her to call him Mu Han instead of Old Du or Little Du.

Su Qiao’s team confirmed that Ding Peixin and Xia Xiaolin had attended the same high school, but Su Qiao still believed Ding Peixin was central to the case and planned to search for her on Basha Island. Tao Junhui and Su Xiyan agreed to go with her, while Du Muhan worried about Su Qiao’s trip.

• Du Muhan confirmed that Gu Xue had undergone surgery on her eyes, nose bridge, and jaw, and Tao Junhui ordered further investigation into her past appearance and surgery.
• The team confirmed that Ding Peixin and Xia Xiaolin had attended the same high school for a year, prompting others to question Su Qiao’s deductions.
• Su Qiao decided to travel to Basha Island to investigate Ding Peixin, and Tao Junhui agreed to accompany her.
• Su Xiyan insisted on joining the trip so she could monitor surveillance cameras and alert them if anything happened, and Tao Junhui eventually agreed.
• Du Muhan asked Su Qiao whether she really had to go on the business trip.

Su Qiao and Du Muhan discussed her plans to build a school for disabled children, and Du Muhan offered generous financial support. Their conversation then turned to teasing flirtation, leaving Su Qiao flustered and feeling a sudden surge of desire.

• Su Qiao explained that she wanted to build a boarding school for children with disabilities and help transfer students from other welfare institutions.
• Du Muhan offered Su Qiao five million to support the school, and she accepted the money on behalf of the children.
• Du Muhan teased Su Qiao about being his girlfriend and tried to get her to tell him what she wanted to know about him.
• Su Qiao accused Du Muhan of hinting at something improper, and he joked that he would not mind if she wanted to do something to him.
• Su Qiao felt lust rise as she looked at Du Muhan's smug expression.

Su Qiao and Du Muhan became intimate before she nearly missed her flight to Basha Island. There, she joined Team Four to search for Ding Peixin, but disagreed with them about whether Ding was at sea or hiding on land.

• Su Qiao leaped at Du Muhan, and the two became intimate.
• Su Qiao nearly missed her flight, while Tao Junhui and Su Xiyan noticed marks on her neck.
• Du Muhan arranged the best hotel for Su Qiao, Tao Junhui, and Su Xiyan after they arrived on Basha Island.
• Su Qiao met Team Four at the ferry terminal and argued that Ding Peixin was hiding on land.
• Su Qiao questioned whether anyone had truly seen Ding aboard the ship and said the photo was staged to make them believe Ding had disappeared at sea.

Su Qiao argued that Ding Peixin had planned to escape on land rather than risk dying at sea, and Tao Junhui decided to investigate the maritime accident site. Su Qiao warned that the weather was unsuitable, but Tao Junhui and Su Xiyan went ahead, leaving her behind.

• Su Qiao explained that Ding Peixin may have predicted the hurricane using her family's knowledge of the sea and had arranged to disappear rather than die.
• Tao Junhui said he needed to inspect the accident site for nearby islands or coastline, and Su Xiyan offered to accompany him and keep his phone connected to the mainland.
• Su Qiao checked the clouds and wind and advised them not to go out to sea that day.
• Su Xiyan dismissed Su Qiao's weather warning, and Tao Junhui stopped their argument and told them to focus on the case.
• Tao Junhui told Su Qiao he would return soon, and she told him to be careful.

Su Qiao confronted Su Xiyan at the wharf, then returned to the hotel as a typhoon approached and reviewed her theory about Ding Peixin’s murder and disappearance. The chapter ended with Su Qiao reconsidering how Ding had planned to mislead the police and die in an accident.

• Su Qiao rebuffed Su Xiyan’s accusations and stopped her from slapping her at the wharf.
• Su Xiyan threatened to make Su Qiao regret it, but Su Qiao walked away without looking back.
• Su Qiao returned to the hotel after dark and learned that Tao Junhui and the others had not returned as a typhoon warning took effect.
• Su Qiao found a dinner Du Muhan had arranged, then reviewed her case notes in her room.
• Su Qiao reasoned that Ding Peixin had killed Xia Xiaolin, framed her husband, faked a suicide, and impersonated Xia to mislead the police while seeking a chance to die in an accident.

Su Qiao investigated the person who helped Ding Peixin and discovered Du Muhan’s hidden childhood connection to her. She confronted him over a video call, and he admitted that she had uncovered the truth.

• Su Qiao suspected Gu Xue might have helped Ding Peixin and marked her as an important lead.
• While checking Ding Peixin’s family records, Su Qiao recognized young Du Muhan in a family photograph and confirmed he had once lived with Ding Wencheng and Ding Peixin.
• Su Qiao found that Du Muhan had secretly sent increasing amounts of money to a sanatorium and concluded he was protecting himself from Ding Wencheng.
• Su Qiao inferred that Du Muhan had reported Ding Wencheng for drug use and trafficking after suffering abuse as a child, though she questioned whether his mother had really fallen down the stairs.
• Su Qiao called Du Muhan while he was working in the autopsy room and asked whether he had once been brother and sister with Ding Peixin.
• Du Muhan fell silent, then asked whether Su Qiao already knew.

Su Qiao and Du Muhan talked about her search for Ding Peixin before teasing each other about their separation after getting together. The chapter ended with Su Qiao grudgingly praising Du Muhan, while the author noted that this chapter had been posted out of order.

• Du Muhan admitted that he had barely known Ding Peixin as a child and had not recognized her at first.
• Su Qiao said she was still searching for Ding Peixin and tracing the source of the identification documents.
• Du Muhan complained that Su Qiao had left the morning after they got together without showing that she cared.
• Su Qiao told Du Muhan that she had felt pretty good, then teased him about his looks, body, stamina, and abs.
• The author explained that chapter 3637 should be read before this chapter and advised readers to read the earlier chapters first.

Su Qiao and Du Muhan flirted as he admitted how attracted he had been to her from the start. As Su Qiao prepared to leave, she worried about Tao Junhui in the storm, while Du Muhan told her he had found a scenic place for her school.

• Du Muhan teased Su Qiao about seducing him with her appearance, scent, and hands, and blamed her for his attraction.
• Du Muhan recalled that he had first gone out of his way to care for Su Qiao when he gave her shoe covers at a crime scene.
• Du Muhan asked Su Qiao to return soon because he no longer liked being alone, and she agreed to hurry back.
• Su Qiao told Du Muhan that something seemed to have happened to Tao Junhui, but Du Muhan said Tao and his team could handle it.
• Du Muhan told Su Qiao that he had found a scenic location in a small town about ten li outside the city for her school.

Su Qiao and Du Muhan discussed a possible wedding before Su Qiao continued investigating Ding Peixin. After tracing the fake IDs Ding Peixin had bought, Su Qiao discovered she had returned to Chunlin City and ordered Little Li to watch Gu Xue closely.

• Du Muhan teased Su Qiao by calling her his wife, then unexpectedly suggested they get married.
• After Su Qiao ended the call, Du Muhan reconsidered marriage and searched online for wedding preparations.
• Little Li told Su Qiao that his team had dismantled the forged-document operation and found that it also supplied real IDs obtained from homeless people, thieves, and deceased people whose registrations remained active.
• Su Qiao traced the ID photocopies Ding Peixin had bought and found that Ding Peixin had returned to Chunlin City.
• Su Qiao called Little Li and told him to keep Gu Xue under close watch while she returned immediately.

Su Qiao returned to Chunlin City and confronted Gu Xue, asking her to come to the Police Station and cooperate with an investigation. Gu Xue agreed to leave after hiding Su Qiao from her boyfriend, Liu Songyuan, and saying she would be back soon.

• Su Qiao told Little Li to watch Gu Xue for twenty-four hours and look for women or slim men approaching or exchanging things with her.
• Su Qiao returned to Chunlin City the next morning, and Little Li reported that Gu Xue had stayed home without meeting anyone.
• Su Qiao visited Gu Xue again and noticed a criminal-investigation book on her coffee table.
• Su Qiao asked Gu Xue to come to the Police Station for an investigation, and Gu Xue objected that she was not a criminal.
• Gu Xue agreed to go after telling Liu Songyuan that a friend needed to talk with her, while Liu Songyuan asked her to buy beef and shrimp on the way back.

Su Qiao confronted Gu Xue with evidence that she had undergone plastic surgery and taken her dead cousin Gu Xue’s identity. Gu Xue admitted it but claimed she had done so to avoid trouble and begged Su Qiao to keep it from her boyfriend.

• Su Qiao brought Gu Xue to the Police Station, where Gu Xue demanded that she ask her questions quickly.
• Su Qiao presented documents identifying Gu Xue as Gu Yunting and said she had assumed her cousin’s identity after the cousin drowned two years earlier.
• Gu Xue denied the accusation at first, then read the documents and admitted that she had undergone plastic surgery and used her cousin’s ID card.
• Gu Xue said she had changed identities because correcting her own ID seemed troublesome and pleaded with Su Qiao not to tell her boyfriend.

Gu Xue claimed Xia Xiaolin had blackmailed and exploited her, but denied killing her, saying she had merely steered Xia Xiaolin toward Sun Zhihao. Su Qiao then confronted her with the possibility that Gu Xue had once competed with Ding Peixin for Sun Zhihao and had undergone plastic surgery because of her resentment.

• Gu Xue said Xia Xiaolin discovered her plastic surgery and used it to demand money and make her act like a servant.
• Gu Xue denied killing Xia Xiaolin and admitted she had deliberately told her about Sun Zhihao, leading Xia Xiaolin to pursue him.
• Gu Xue said Xia Xiaolin stopped asking her for money after she began dating Sun Zhihao, who was generous with it.
• Su Qiao accused Gu Xue of hating Ding Peixin and Sun Zhihao, and suggested Gu Xue—not Xia Xiaolin—had once competed with Ding Peixin for Sun Zhihao.
• Su Qiao recounted how Gu Yunting had loved Sun Zhihao, withdrawn after he chose Ding Peixin, and later undergone plastic surgery; Gu Xue realized there was little point in hiding the truth.

Gu Xue confessed that she had arranged for Xia Xiaolin to seduce Sun Zhihao, but Su Qiao concluded that jealousy of Ding Peixin was her real motive. Gu Xue denied knowing Xia Xiaolin had become pregnant by Sun Zhihao, though Su Qiao believed she was lying.

• Gu Xue admitted she had pushed Xia Xiaolin toward Sun Zhihao to remove her, get revenge on Ding Peixin, and warn Xia Xiaolin about him.
• Su Qiao accused Gu Xue of acting out of jealousy after Ding Peixin chose Sun Zhihao, and Gu Xue insisted she hated Ding Peixin rather than Sun Zhihao.
• Gu Xue said Ding Peixin had betrayed their friendship by accepting Sun Zhihao and described how she had envied Ding Peixin's looks.
• Gu Xue explained that she had gotten plastic surgery and used her cousin's ID card, claiming her relatives knew about it.
• Su Qiao asked whether Gu Xue knew Xia Xiaolin was pregnant by Sun Zhihao, and Gu Xue denied knowing.
• Gu Xue said she had avoided Xia Xiaolin, but Su Qiao judged that Gu Xue was lying about not knowing of the pregnancy.

Su Qiao decided to fine and release Gu Xue, hoping to use her to lead the police to bigger targets, and turned the investigation toward Ding Peixin. The team learned that Tao Junhui and Su Xiyan’s ship had capsized in a hurricane, while Du Muhan caught Xiao Li claiming he wanted to follow Su Qiao.

• Gu Xue denied knowing about the other matters, and Su Qiao decided to fine her and let her go.
• Su Qiao proposed searching for traces Ding Peixin had left after returning to Chunlin City.
• Xiao Li revealed that Tao Junhui and Su Xiyan had encountered a hurricane, their ship had capsized, and a search was underway.
• Xiao Li said he wanted to keep following Su Qiao, but Du Muhan grabbed him and demanded to know whom he wanted to follow.

Du Muhan told Su Qiao that his mother had died early that morning and asked her to accompany him to the sanatorium. He went into her room alone to say goodbye, while Su Qiao waited outside.

• Du Muhan led Su Qiao to his car and told her that his mother had died.
• Su Qiao hugged Du Muhan, learned he had wanted time alone, and took over driving.
• Su Qiao accompanied Du Muhan to the sanatorium and offered to wait outside while he visited his mother.
• Du Muhan entered his mother's room alone, lifted the white cloth, and reflected on how tired she had been.

Du Muhan brought Su Qiao to see his mother, who had been unconscious for seventeen years and had just died. He found comfort in Su Qiao’s support and decided to give his mother a proper burial on the mountain.

• Du Muhan told his mother he had planned to bring Su Qiao to meet her and spoke about the life he hoped to build with Su Qiao.
• Du Muhan brought Su Qiao to his mother’s bedside and told her that his mother had lain unconscious for seventeen years.
• Su Qiao comforted Du Muhan as he grieved and explained that he had long prepared himself for his mother’s death.
• Su Qiao suggested burying Du Muhan’s mother on the mountain so they could visit her after building the school.

Su Qiao and Du Muhan arranged a dignified burial for Du Muhan’s mother, while Gu Xue returned home to find Liu Songyuan ending their relationship after learning about her police questioning and hidden past. Gu Xue tried to deny wrongdoing, but Liu Songyuan confronted her about Xia Xiaolin’s murder, an identity card, and plastic surgery.

• Du Muhan declined a lively funeral ceremony, and Su Qiao arranged repairs, burial clothes, and other preparations for his mother’s grave.
• Su Qiao and Du Muhan handled the burial arrangements, with Su Qiao taking care of most of the work and expenses.
• Gu Xue returned home after paying a fine and found Liu Songyuan waiting with a suitcase to break up with her.
• Liu Songyuan accused Gu Xue of hiding that she had been taken to the Police Station and paid a fine.
• Gu Xue claimed she had only been questioned about Xia Xiaolin’s murder, but Liu Songyuan challenged her about the identity card and plastic surgery.

After Liu Songyuan ended his relationship with Gu Xue over her lies about her age and plastic surgery, she smashed things in her empty home. Su Qiao and Du Muhan returned to the city after the burial, and the chapter ended with Li worrying that Tao Junhui and Su Xiyan were still missing at sea.

• Liu Songyuan confronted Gu Xue about lying about her age, identity card, and plastic surgery, then left her.
• Gu Xue angrily smashed objects after Liu Songyuan walked out.
• Su Qiao and Du Muhan finished the burial and returned to the city, where they spent the evening quietly together.
• Du Muhan refused Su Qiao's offer to ask for leave and went to work the next day.
• Li told Su Qiao that Tao Junhui and Su Xiyan had still not been found and might be in danger without food, water, or nearby islands.