My Roommate Is a Detective Episode 6 Recap
> My Roommate Is a Detective Recap
Lu Yao was in the midst of painting a portrait of Bai Youning when his landlady abruptly arrived, demanding payment for overdue rent and utility bills. Startled, Lu Yao tried to hide, but the landlady noticed his valuable gramophone and threatened to sell it to cover the costs. Lu Yao quickly emerged, promising to pay soon. The landlady, however, turned on the gramophone, invited Lu Yao to dance, and unexpectedly proposed marriage, urging him to get a marriage certificate immediately.
Overwhelmed, Lu Yao promised to pay the rent within three days. Desperate for money, Lu Yao sought out Qiao Chusheng, offering to take any case to settle his debts. Qiao Chusheng then assigned him the case of a female painter, Ye Gerui, whose studio had burned down, killing her.
The painting she created before her death was called "Kiss of Fire," and witnesses claimed she was still alive when the fire began, only to be burned to death during the rescue efforts. Lu Yao promptly went to investigate the charred studio. Aside from art supplies, he found no immediate anomalies. Upon returning, Lu Yao stood transfixed in silence. Bai Youning tried to invite him and Qiao Chusheng to the Red House Restaurant for dinner, but he remained unresponsive.
Both Bai Youning and Qiao Chusheng pressed him for answers, with Qiao Chusheng assuring him of full support. Lu Yao then offered a condition: Qiao Chusheng must pay him as if it were a murder case, regardless of the actual cause of death. Qiao Chusheng agreed, prompting Lu Yao to state his conclusion: Ye Gerui had committed suicide. This matched the coroner's report, leading Qiao Chusheng to officially close the case as a suicide.
With the rent deadline looming, Lu Yao attempted to sell his cherished collections to Bai Youning, but she showed no interest, advising him to visit a pawnshop instead. He refused, considering his collection his "flesh and blood." Bai Youning then suggested he ask his wealthy father for money, but Lu Yao vehemently rejected the idea, stating he didn't want his father's "dirty money." Later, Salim, on Qiao Chusheng's behalf, summoned Lu Yao to the police station.
Ye Gerui's fiancé, Xue Qiong, had arrived, adamantly refusing to believe she committed suicide. He explained that they were to be married the following month, and Ye Gerui had already purchased train tickets for a sketching trip to Lingnan, showing no signs of distress. He pleaded with them to reinvestigate, even kneeling in desperation.
Lu Yao mused whether Ye Gerui's frequent depiction of women dancing in fire might have led her to become "too deep into character," but Xue Qiong strongly denied it. Xue Qiong confirmed he was in the northern Jiangsu Province visiting relatives on the day of the fire. Swayed by Xue Qiong's arguments, Qiao Chusheng reopened the case, despite Lu Yao's previous conclusion, and promised to pay Lu Yao's rent for a year if he found the true culprit.
Lu Yao and Qiao Chusheng revisited Ye Gerui's home. Despite its simple furnishings, her expensive cosmetics stood out, and she appeared to make her own fashionable clothes from magazines, even on the day of her death. Lu Yao noted that someone who cared so much about her appearance was unlikely to choose to die by fire, leading Qiao Chusheng to agree that it wasn't suicide.
Meanwhile, Bai Youning discovered that Ye Gerui had been a poor artist whose paintings were worthless before her death. However, after her dramatic fiery demise, she gained fame as an "art martyr," and the value of her works skyrocketed. A Jewish collector named Raymond, who owned many of her paintings, reportedly made a profit of at least one hundred thousand silver dollars.
Bai Youning also heard that Raymond, despite being notoriously stingy, had recently purchased a luxurious, well-situated mansion in Qiyun Mountain with a single payment, which was rumored to be his largest expense ever. Lu Yao wanted to question Raymond, but Qiao Chusheng refused to go, instead sending Salim with Lu Yao. At Raymond's residence, they were told he was "traveling around."
However, Lu Yao spotted fresh cigar ash in an ashtray and an envelope with the Qingyuan Pavilion logo in the trash, deducing that Raymond had recently left for that private club and gallery. Since entry to Qingyuan Pavilion required an invitation, Lu Yao asked Qiao Chusheng to accompany him. Qiao Chusheng, seemingly holding a grudge against Raymond, initially refused, only relenting when Lu Yao threatened to abandon the case.
At Qingyuan Pavilion, Raymond was in the midst of auctioning Ye Gerui's paintings. Qiao Chusheng immediately confronted him, demanding he return to the police station. Raymond agreed to cooperate after finishing his business, but then a fire suddenly erupted in the exhibition hall, sending guests scattering. Lu Yao and Qiao Chusheng rushed in. Most of the displayed paintings were severely damaged, but one remained perfectly intact. Someone immediately offered a high price for it.
Raymond claimed it was Ye Gerui's last painting, attempting to drive up its price. Qiao Chusheng then exposed Raymond's deception, revealing he had scattered flammable rosin powder around the paintings, even finding residue on Raymond's fingers. Qiao Chusheng arrested Raymond and brought him to the police station for interrogation, presenting the evidence of arson. Raymond repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Qiao Chusheng pressed him on the murder charge, but Raymond refused to answer, so Qiao Chusheng had him detained, tasking Lu Yao with finding further evidence, reiterating his promise of a year's rent if the case was solved. Lu Yao and Qiao Chusheng returned to Ye Gerui's studio. Lu Yao found the red pigment on the canvases unusual; its color and texture suggested it was mercuric oxide, implying it had been secretly replaced.
He also noticed the peculiar placement of mirrors and glass ornaments in the studio. Using a flashlight, he demonstrated how light was reflected by these items onto the canvas. Qiao Chusheng then understood: the killer had used specific arrangements to focus sunlight onto the canvases treated with a combustion accelerant, creating the illusion of spontaneous combustion or suicide.
Lu Yao further theorized that Ye Gerui's frantic dancing in the flames was due to hallucinations caused by mercury poisoning from inhaling vaporized cinnabar, a component of the mercuric oxide. Meanwhile, Salim discovered an imported cigar butt, the same brand Raymond smoked, on the studio's rooftop. A street vendor below also confirmed seeing Raymond loitering near the studio on the day of the fire.
Qiao Chusheng dispatched Salim to Yun'an Department Store to check cigar sales records while he and Lu Yao returned to interrogate Raymond. Despite the growing physical and circumstantial evidence, Raymond continued to plead innocence. Qiao Chusheng then presented Ye Gerui's surviving "Kiss of Fire" painting to Xue Qiong at the police station. Shortly after Xue Qiong left, Salim returned with the cigar sales records, which surprisingly listed Xue Qiong's name.
Qiao Chusheng immediately concluded Xue Qiong was the true murderer, but Lu Yao remained unconvinced. Qiao Chusheng detained Xue Qiong, accusing him of orchestrating Ye Gerui's death by framing Raymond, thereby gaining ownership of the "Kiss of Fire" and becoming instantly wealthy. Xue Qiong vehemently denied it. Lu Yao soon revealed the truth: Ye Gerui had committed suicide.
He pointed to numerous small black scorch marks on the studio walls, indicating repeated light-focusing experiments, far too many for an outside perpetrator to conduct without Ye Gerui noticing. This suggested Ye Gerui herself had conducted them. Lu Yao then explained Ye Gerui's motives. He had investigated her local hospital and discovered she was terminally ill.
Living in poverty and exploited by Raymond, who had bought out her work for ten years at a low price, Ye Gerui's health had deteriorated from constant pressure, leading to her incurable condition.
Therefore, she devised an elaborate plan with three goals: first, to ensure her painting, "Kiss of Fire," would become famous and valuable; second, to frame Raymond, exacting revenge and reclaiming her art; and third, to leave the now-valuable paintings as a substantial inheritance for her beloved fiancé, Xue Qiong, ensuring his future financial security.
The cinnabar found at Raymond's house and his presence near the studio were explained by his hobby of Taoist health practices (evident from the portrait of Emperor Zhenwu in his home) and Ye Gerui intentionally calling him to the studio that day, knowing the vendor would spot him, thus weaving him into her scheme. Hearing Lu Yao's poignant analysis, Xue Qiong broke down in tears.
