Reset Episode 1 Recap
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Li Shiqing urgently calls the police to report a bomb on Bus 45, giving the license plate number A77651. She states the bus is about to cross a bridge and that there are around seven or eight other passengers on board. She stresses the urgency for the police to stop the bus because she has just gotten off, but the bomb is still on board. Moments later, Bus 45 explodes as it drives onto the bridge.
Li Shiqing opens her eyes to find herself back on the bus, disoriented and sweating profusely. The male passenger next to her, Xiao Heyun, attempts to offer her a tissue, explaining that he accidentally bumped into her while reaching for it. However, in her panicked state, Li Shiqing screams, accusing him of being a pervert and touching her while she slept. She demands the bus driver immediately divert to the police station.
Other passengers intervene, some recording the incident on their phones, but none are willing to go to the police station with her, suggesting she get off at the next stop. Realizing the next stop is "after" the bridge, Li Shiqing frantically insists on getting off immediately. After some debate, the driver pulls over, and Li Shiqing drags a bewildered Xiao Heyun off the bus with her.
Once off, Xiao Heyun demands they go to the police station to clear his name, but Li Shiqing apologizes, admitting she knows he's not a pervert and thanking him, before walking away. Moments later, the bus explodes. Li Shiqing is then hit by a motorcycle and hospitalized, suffering a mild concussion. Xiao Heyun, who took a taxi after she left him, is also badly injured and hospitalized.
Li Shiqing wakes in the emergency room, complaining of a severe headache and nausea. A doctor confirms she has a mild concussion but no serious brain injury. Meanwhile, the police, led by Vice Captain Zhang Cheng, investigate the bus explosion, deemed the worst traffic accident in Jialin City in ten years, initially attributed to a delivery motorcycle cutting traffic.
They discover that while ten people were on the bus, only eight bodies were found at the scene, leading to suspicions about the two missing passengers. Surveillance footage reveals Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun getting off the bus at an unscheduled stop shortly before the explosion. Jiang Feng, a police officer, questions Li Shiqing in the hospital. Li Shiqing, a 20-year-old college student, struggles to recall details.
She initially states she was going to a bookstore but can't explain why she got off the bus early. Her memory is fragmented; she first suggests she felt unwell, specifically a heart problem, and a male passenger offered to call an ambulance and get off with her. However, her memory then shifts, and she claims she accused a "pervert" and wanted to take him to the police station.
Jiang Feng finds her inconsistent statements suspicious and reminds her of the severity of the situation. Zhang Cheng arrives and takes over the interrogation, reassuring Li Shiqing. He gently presses her for details, noting her changing story. He then shows her the surveillance video of her pulling Xiao Heyun off the bus. Seeing it, Li Shiqing becomes distraught and confesses, "I killed him."
Zhang Cheng offers her water and, once the other officers leave, encourages her to speak freely, assuring her of his experience and discretion. Li Shiqing, feeling helpless, finally confides in him, explaining that she has encountered a "dream within a dream," which is a time loop. Zhang Cheng asks if he can record her statement.
Li Shiqing explains her routine: she boarded Bus 45 at her university's north gate, intending to go to a city center bookstore, and often fell asleep on the bus. The first time she experienced the loop, she was abruptly woken by a jarring, old-fashioned phone ringtone. A blinding light flashed, followed by a burning sensation on her face, a feeling of lightness as if floating, and then a distinct explosion.
She "woke up" again on the bus, experiencing a severe headache but no visible injuries. The bus was less crowded, and Xiao Heyun was still sleeping beside her. The same old phone ringtone blared, and then the powerful, clear sensation of the bus exploding repeated, making her realize it wasn't just a dream.
In subsequent loops (the third and fourth cycles), she desperately tried to escape the bus by force, even attempting to use the emergency hammer, but each time the bus's alarms would blare, and it would explode. By the fifth loop, she abandoned direct escape methods and tried a different approach. She feigned a heart attack, pleading with the driver to take her to a hospital.
While some passengers showed concern, they preferred to continue across the bridge where a health station was, rather than diverting. Only Xiao Heyun offered to get off with her and call an ambulance, but an elderly woman intervened, offering her a "quick heart-saving pill" from her extensive collection of medicines.
Forced to stay on the bus, Li Shiqing witnessed the entire accident unfold: the bus, speeding up to make up for lost time, swerved to avoid a delivery motorcycle suddenly cutting in from the right, causing it to collide head-on with an oil tanker and explode. Zhang Cheng is skeptical but intrigued by Li Shiqing's detailed account of the accident, which she couldn't have known from news reports based on her hospital admission time.
He sends Jiang Feng to verify if she had any access to accident details. Li Shiqing acknowledges his suspicion but insists she's telling the truth, even though it sounds outrageous. She continues, describing her sixth awakening. Feeling utterly lost and unsure if she would wake up again, she resorted to falsely accusing Xiao Heyun of being a pervert. She knew he was innocent, but felt it was her only option to get them off the bus.
She demanded to be let off immediately, knowing a police station was across the bridge. Despite typical bus protocol in such situations (calling police, securing the bus until the next stop), the driver stopped the bus, and she pulled Xiao Heyun off. Believing she had saved his life, she left him, and he took a taxi. However, she now laments that her actions may have harmed him instead. Zhang Cheng confirms Li Shiqing is describing a "loop."
Li Shiqing adds that this is a new phenomenon for her, denying any prior mental health issues. At that moment, Jiang Feng calls Zhang Cheng to inform him that Xiao Heyun, the passenger who took a taxi, is in critical condition and might not survive. Zhang Cheng tells Li Shiqing to rest, promising to return, and assigns a female officer to watch over her.
Just as Xiao Heyun's heart stops during his emergency treatment, he suddenly gasps awake on Bus 45, finding Li Shiqing unconsciously slumped beside him, commenting on how realistic his "dream" feels.
