Love Me If You Dare Episode 2 Recap
> Love Me If You Dare Recap
When the power suddenly went out at his villa, causing the fish in his freezer to spoil, Bo Jinyan called Fu Ziyu, demanding he arrange a new supply. Fu Ziyu, interrupted mid-game during a live-action CS event, begrudgingly agreed, entrusting Jian Yao with the task. He explained Bo Jinyan's particular fondness for fish. Coincidentally, Jian Yao was already at the Wu Xing Fish Market with her mother.
Her mother suggested they visit Uncle Wang, a former colleague of Jian Yao's father, who runs a fish stall there and always provides the freshest catch. Jian Yao greeted Uncle Wang and his son, Xiao Jin, who had recently arrived from the countryside. When Fu Ziyu called Jian Yao and discovered her location, he seized the opportunity, urging her to buy a "case" of fish for Bo Jinyan, emphasizing his large appetite.
Jian Yao arranged with Uncle Wang to have two fish delivered daily to Bo Jinyan's Banshan villa, a service Uncle Wang readily agreed to, stating Xiao Jin could handle the deliveries. Later, Jian Yao discovered a high-end fishing rod at the villa. Fu Ziyu called, explaining Bo Jinyan had sent it as a thank-you gift for the fish, recognizing Jian Yao's excellent fishing skills.
Jian Yao, uncomfortable with the expensive present, attempted to refuse it, pointing out Bo Jinyan already owned a similar rod and she didn't fish. Fu Ziyu, however, insisted she keep it, warning that Bo Jinyan would simply discard a rejected gift, likely leaving the "poor red tiger" (the fishing rod brand) in the trash. Jian Yao reluctantly accepted. The following day, Xiao Jin disappeared after his fish delivery to the villa.
When Jian Yao arrived for her part-time job, she found Uncle Wang and a group of agitated villagers, armed with sticks, angrily demanding to find Xiao Jin. Jian Yao, recognizing Uncle Wang, quickly intervened, attempting to calm the crowd and urging them not to trespass. She immediately called Li Xunran, her police contact, to report the situation. Jian Yao then called Bo Jinyan, informing him of the commotion outside.
Bo Jinyan, claiming to be too busy to receive visitors, reluctantly agreed to allow them access to the first floor to search, but only if they left him undisturbed. The group, believing the villa's occupant to be a "strange, crazy person" who had abducted Xiao Jin, rushed into a first-floor room that Bo Jinyan had previously forbidden Jian Yao from entering. They were met with a horrific sight: jars containing human body specimens.
Terrified, Uncle Wang and the villagers shrieked, yelling "Murderer!" as they stumbled out of the villa in a panic. Li Xunran, who had rushed to the scene, found Jian Yao calmly observing the jars. She explained to him that they were anatomical specimens, likely borrowed from a university or hospital for Bo Jinyan's research, which she knew from translating his papers was related to human anatomy.
Despite her explanation, Li Xunran found the presence of human specimens, coupled with Xiao Jin's disappearance and a recent missing person case nearby, highly suspicious. He insisted that Bo Jinyan be questioned. Li Xunran attempted to speak with Bo Jinyan, who remained upstairs, refusing to come down and stating he was busy. Moments later, the Chief, Li Xunran's father, unexpectedly arrived at the villa. Li Xunran voiced his strong suspicions about Bo Jinyan's involvement in the disappearance case.
However, the Chief quickly dismissed his son's concerns, revealing Bo Jinyan's true identity as the youngest postdoctoral student from Maryland University, who later became an assistant professor in criminal psychology at the People's Public Security University of China. He explained that Bo Jinyan was merely in their small town for rest and recuperation. Both Jian Yao and Li Xunran were astonished by this revelation.
Upon learning of Bo Jinyan's esteemed academic background, Jian Yao, a self-proclaimed "brain-dead fan" of criminal psychology dramas, excitedly asked Li Xunran to get his autograph, but Li Xunran jokingly refused, mimicking Bo Jinyan's likely sarcastic response about his hand breaking from signing for too many people. Li Xunran later called Jian Yao to his office, initially teasing her about Bo Jinyan's specific request for her as an assistant for the missing teenager case.
Jian Yao was baffled, questioning why a renowned professor would need her, a non-police officer. Li Xunran explained that after he left the villa, the Chief spoke with Bo Jinyan, who agreed to assist in the investigation but only on the explicit condition that Jian Yao serve as his assistant. Li Xunran himself had offered to help but was rejected by Bo Jinyan, who stated he had no interest in strangers.
Li Xunran then asked Jian Yao to "secretly learn" from Bo Jinyan, urging her to remember and relay all his theories, analyses, and thought processes regarding the case. Jian Yao, though still surprised, ultimately agreed to Bo Jinyan's request. Back at her home, Jian Yao's sister, Xuan Xuan, expressed her excitement that Jian Yao's idol wanted her as an assistant.
Bo Jinyan then surprised Jian Yao by appearing at her house, claiming to be there to "check out her plain upbringing." He immediately deduced intimate details about her life, including her harmonious family relationships, her young age when she lost her father, and the psychological reasons she might choose to work at an old, abandoned villa, suggesting her inner world was not as cheerful as her outward appearance. He also critiqued her collection of romance novels, which she passionately defended.
Jian Yao then directly asked Bo Jinyan why he wanted her as his assistant. He explained that he dislikes being disturbed during work and requires someone to handle "tedious and inefficient tasks." Furthermore, she was the only person he knew in the city, and he added her fishing skills as a final reason.
Bo Jinyan informed her that the case would take no more than a week, which would be the duration of her employment, and instructed her to arrive at the villa by 8 AM the next morning. The following morning, Bo Jinyan introduced Jian Yao to his smart car, Andy, an advanced AI system designed by Fu Ziyu.
Andy, initially greeting Jian Yao as Bo Jinyan's "lover" before being corrected, proceeded to provide an unsolicited health assessment based on her height, suggesting she needed to gain weight, prompting Bo Jinyan to admonish Andy for being "naggy," just like Fu Ziyu. Jian Yao, however, found Andy quite cool. Bo Jinyan then revealed his initial assessment of the seven missing persons cases, asserting that, contrary to the police's suspicion of a human trafficking ring, there was only one local criminal.
He cited the consistent modus operandi, stable skill level, and distinct personal style across all cases as evidence. When Jian Yao asked if he minded her reporting his findings to Li Xunran, Bo Jinyan dismissed it as a "meaningless" concern. They then visited the home of Fu Ming Yi, a 15-year-old middle schooler who disappeared on his way to a tuition class at his aunt's house.
Inside Fu Ming Yi's room, Bo Jinyan challenged Jian Yao to use her "brain" to find clues. Jian Yao observed a hen coop in the yard and deduced that Fu Ming Yi must have brought a basket of eggs to his aunt, a detail confirmed by his mother.
Bo Jinyan was delighted by this insight, calling her a "genius" and even embracing her briefly in his excitement, noting that Fu Ziyu had been right about her ability to "complement" him with her understanding of "basic human interaction." Through her interactions with him, Jian Yao began to realize that while Bo Jinyan was undoubtedly a genius, he often lacked social graces and could be harsh and sharp-tongued.
Using Jian Yao's deduction about the eggs, Bo Jinyan theorized that Fu Ming Yi, who liked games but lacked money, wouldn't have carried a basket of eggs to an internet cafe. Instead, he likely sold the eggs at the nearby farmers market before going to his aunt's, as the internet cafe was close to both locations.
Based on this, and his meticulous profiling of the suspect—a local, average-looking individual aged 25-30, slender, living and working within three kilometers of the farmers market, without a car, good at communication, and frequenting internet cafes and arcades—Bo Jinyan instructed the police to immediately search the forest east of the farmers market. Jian Yao, piecing together the implications, hesitantly asked if the children had been killed. Bo Jinyan confirmed her fear, stating that he only pursues the "most vicious and evil criminals" and that serial killers, unlike "trivial" human traffickers, were his "specialty."
