Under the Skin Recap, Plot, Synopsis
Under the Skin Synopsis
When Shen Yi first joined the Beijiang Branch Criminal Investigation Detachment as a simulated portrait artist, his superiors immediately partnered him with police captain Du Cheng. Du Cheng's initial provocations established a history of animosity between the two. As the plot unfolds, their close cooperation elevates this sense of confrontation to a climax. The tight plot, flashing portraits, and intricate case clues seem to tell tales of hidden truths and untold stories.
Under the Skin Recap
Episode 1 Recap
Du Cheng, captain of the criminal police team at Beijiang Branch, is a young veteran police officer. He is usually serious and responsible when handling cases. Recently, Du Cheng has been investigating a case involving a male body in a duffel bag. To make Bureau Chief Zhang believe his theory, he even immersed himself in a bathtub to conduct an experiment. Police officer Jiang Feng reported to Du Cheng that the police station had received a report.
A female deceased person was discovered in Linglong Apartment. Other than a missing mobile phone, nothing else was found at the scene. A delivery man claimed to have seen the killer. Du Cheng took the delivery man to check the surveillance video in the elevator. Finally, they investigated and found that the killer had entered a residential building. Portrait artist Shen Yi has deep expertise in painting.
His analysis of people, from their inner self to their appearance, is very accurate. Shen Yi, who works as a teacher at the police academy, was giving a lecture. At this moment, Bureau Chief Zhang from the Beijiang Branch called to ask Shen Yi for help with a portrait. Shen Yi drew the killer's appearance based on the delivery man's description, but the delivery man felt it wasn't completely alike.
Shen Yi meticulously asked the delivery man about the angle from which he observed the killer, and finally, he drew the killer's frontal portrait. Bureau Chief Zhang asked Du Cheng to wait for the portrait downstairs at the residential building, but Du Cheng didn't believe the portrait would help him at all. Du Cheng instructed the police officers to investigate separately. At this moment, the killer noticed something unusual and was preparing to leave.
The killer disguised himself as a disabled person, attempting to slip through, but was instantly seen through by Du Cheng, who struck up a conversation. The killer fled desperately, and Du Cheng chased after him, not even caring when he was hit by a car. The killer fled into a dead end, and Du Cheng subdued him. Bureau Chief Zhang of the Beijiang Branch is a capable female police officer. She has a straightforward personality and values talent highly.
The case was solved. Bureau Chief Zhang called Shen Yi to inform him that he could come to work at the Beijiang Branch. Preliminary examiner Old Yan is experienced. He quickly learned that the killer was hired to murder the deceased. Based on the mobile phone communication information recovered by the technical team, Du Cheng identified the real mastermind behind the contract killing. Before he even finished his meal, he took the police officers to make the arrest.
Seven years ago, Shen Yi's portrait skills were already well-known. A woman wearing sunglasses came to him for a portrait. Based on a childhood photo, Shen Yi successfully drew the appearance of the man in the photo thirty-five years later. This man was Captain Lei Yifei of the Beijiang Branch Criminal Police Team at that time. The killer found Lei Yifei with the portrait and murdered him.
When Du Cheng, as Lei Yifei's apprentice, rushed to the body disposal scene, he was overwhelmed with grief. The portrait left at the scene led Du Cheng to find Shen Yi. He wanted Shen Yi to draw the woman's appearance, but Shen Yi just couldn't draw it. The case remains unsolved to this day. This not only leaves Du Cheng unable to let go but also continues to trouble Shen Yi. Shen Yi reported to the police station.
Bureau Chief Zhang assigned him Captain Lei's former office. Upon learning this, Du Cheng went to argue with Bureau Chief Zhang. Bureau Chief Zhang hoped that Du Cheng could let go of his resentment. Du Cheng took off his work ID and requested a transfer out of the Beijiang Branch. Another homicide occurred within the jurisdiction. Du Cheng had no choice but to put aside his reservations and continue investigating the case.
Bureau Chief Zhang asked him to take Shen Yi to the scene, but Du Cheng didn't wait for Shen Yi before leaving. Liang Yi, the owner and doctor of the plastic surgery hospital, died on the fifth floor of the hospital. The person who reported the case was his secretary. According to the secretary, the first to fourth floors of the building are the plastic surgery hospital, and the fifth floor is Liang Yi's private space.
There is only one elevator in the building, and no one has permission to take the elevator to the fifth floor except for herself and Liang Yi. The forensic doctor inferred Liang Yi's time of death based on the autopsy, and the cause of death was cyanide poisoning. Based on the building's structure, Shen Yi realized that the space on the fifth floor was incorrect.
Ultimately, Shen Yi found a hidden room through a painting, and a large number of indecent videos were stored in the hidden room. To protect guests' privacy, the plastic surgery hospital did not install video surveillance. Police officers found footage of a female entering and leaving the plastic surgery hospital within Liang Yi's time of death from the video recorded by the camera outside the building. Unfortunately, this woman was too heavily wrapped up, and her appearance was completely unclear.
Shen Yi wanted to use this footage to create a portrait. Shen Yi asked female police officer Li Han to be his model. Du Cheng felt that he was wasting time. Shen Yi asked Du Cheng if he could use the office if he succeeded in drawing the portrait. Du Cheng neither confirmed nor denied.
Episode 2 Recap
The discs in Liang Yi's secret room recorded a large number of indecent videos. The women in the videos were all women who had undergone plastic surgery with Liang Yi. Some were drugged and sexually assaulted, while others were willing. Five of these video discs were missing. Bureau Chief Zhang felt that if they could find the women recorded on these five discs, perhaps one of them was the murderer.
Du Cheng asked Liang Yi's secretary to match the screenshots from the indecent videos with the photos of the women before their plastic surgery. The secretary had only handled some of the patients, but she remembered a girl named Ai Wen who had a grudge against Liang Yi because of a failed plastic surgery. Shen Yi had mentioned that the woman in the surveillance video outside the plastic surgery hospital was likely someone whose plastic surgery had failed.
Because of this, Du Cheng quickly took Jiang Feng to find Ai Wen. Ai Wen's mother gave the two a phone number. After Du Cheng found Ai Wen, he discovered that Ai Wen, whose plastic surgery had failed, had long since lost her mind. She was now living in a psychiatric hospital. The lead was broken. Du Cheng went to report the case to Bureau Chief Zhang. The priority was to confirm each person before and after plastic surgery.
Shen Yi was confident that he could do this. He would draw portraits of all the women before their plastic surgery based on the post-plastic surgery indecent video footage. Bureau Chief Zhang arranged for Du Cheng and Shen Yi to work on this together. Shen Yi stated that he had already drawn the portrait of the woman in the surveillance video outside the plastic surgery hospital. He wanted Du Cheng to approve his use of Lei Yifei's office.
Du Cheng told Shen Yi to focus on the work. Shen Yi covered the office with portraits. Du Cheng matched the portraits with the case files of the women who had undergone plastic surgery, and then summoned them one by one. The summoned women behaved differently, but all had alibis. Now, only one woman named Fan Ruoxuan had not yet arrived. Late at night, Fan Ruoxuan came to the police station.
The moment she took off her mask, everyone found that she looked almost exactly like the woman who appeared outside the plastic surgery hospital and the portrait drawn by Shen Yi. Fan Ruoxuan confessed that she was drugged and sexually assaulted by Liang Yi, and later had a failed plastic surgery.
Yan Tansheng repeatedly questioned her if she had killed Liang Yi, but Fan Ruoxuan stated that the time she went to the plastic surgery hospital did not match Liang Yi's time of death. On the night Liang Yi died, she was held at the police station all night for drunk driving. Shen Yi, who observed the suspect from outside during each interrogation, felt that Fan Ruoxuan was not lying.
Du Cheng investigated and found that the facts were indeed as she stated. Du Cheng suspected that someone had swapped the surveillance video outside the plastic surgery hospital. When he took Jiang Feng to find Liu Lianming, who was on duty in the surveillance room that night, they discovered that Liu Lianming was already dead. Liu Lianming's cause of death was also cyanide poisoning.
Du Cheng determined that the deaths of Liang Yi and Liu Lianming were committed by the same murderer. However, no cyanide was found in the wine glass at the scene of Liang Yi's death, while in Liu Lianming's wine, not only was cyanide found, but also phthalates, which are commonly used in nail polish. Shen Yi remembered some details about the summoned women.
Among them, Jiang Ge's exceptionally beautiful hands and the nail polish on her fingernails aroused Shen Yi's suspicion. Du Cheng went with Shen Yi to visit Jiang Ge. Du Cheng obtained Jiang Ge's alibi during the time of Liang Yi's death from her—a twenty-four-hour surveillance video. Shen Yi discovered clues from the lighting in the surveillance video, thus determining that the video was fake. Du Cheng took Jiang Ge back to the police station with a subpoena.
The police found a fingernail piece at Jiang Ge's residence. The lab results were immediately sent to Du Cheng. Du Cheng advised Jiang Ge to tell the truth. Having no way to deny it, Jiang Ge could only confess. Jiang Ge, who worked in architectural design, faced professional discrimination because she was a woman. To change the situation, Jiang Ge sought out Liang Yi for plastic surgery. After the surgery, Jiang Ge's career soared.
She even personally designed the secret room for Liang Yi, and it was in this secret room that Liang Yi drugged and sexually assaulted Jiang Ge. After waking up, Jiang Ge was in immense pain but helpless against Liang Yi. The two maintained an abnormal relationship for a period. Jiang Ge wanted to completely break free from Liang Yi. Jiang Ge discovered that Liang Yi had a hand fetish, so she hid the poison in her fingernail.
Liu Lianming helped Jiang Ge swap the video outside the plastic surgery hospital and also helped her forge the video proving her alibi. To eliminate future troubles, Jiang Ge hid the poison in her fingernail again and secretly put it in Liu Lianming's wine glass when he was drinking.
Episode 3 Recap
After Jiang Ge confessed the crime, she signed her name on the testimony. She was curious about how Du Cheng discovered her flaw. Du Cheng stated that it was Shen Yi who noticed that the color of the nail polish on her little finger was different from the other colors, which led to the deduction. Shen Yi watched Du Cheng's interrogation from outside, and also drew a portrait of Jiang Ge.
Shen Yi felt that Jiang Ge's experience was very similar to that of Marie Curie. Marie Curie was a woman who stood out from a large group of men with extraordinary abilities. The difference was that Marie Curie never thought of using her appearance to create opportunities for herself. Jiang Ge also regretted her past appearance. Perhaps she could have achieved success through her talent without plastic surgery. Shen Yi returned to the police academy to teach the students.
He pointed out the inconsistencies between the painting of "The Death of Marat" and the facts, and used this to tell everyone that the portrait artist needs to record the crime scene and restore the crime process. Needless to say, Shen Yi's help in solving the case is invaluable. Du Cheng kept his promise and agreed to let Shen Yi use Lei Yifei's office.
Du Cheng took the initiative to propose working with Shen Yi on the case, which Zhang Bureau happily agreed to. Li Han found the news incredible. Jiang Feng, who understood Du Cheng, said that Du Cheng kept Shen Yi under his nose in order to monitor him better. When Du Cheng got off work, he looked back at the police station building alone. Here, Du Cheng had forged a deep friendship with Lei Yifei.
Forensic doctor He Rongyue understood Du Cheng's feelings, but the fact was that Shen Yi's portraits could help solve the case. Du Cheng was a little unconvinced. He Rongyue felt that in Lei Yifei's case, Shen Yi was just a person being used. The Fengmei Road Police Station received a robbery case. Three of the witnesses were painters, but the portraits of the criminal suspect given by the three were very different.
Bureau Chief Zhang asked Du Cheng to take Shen Yi to assist in solving the case. Shen Yi drew a portrait of the criminal suspect based on the video at the scene. The police officers successfully caught the criminal suspect after investigation. The three painters had all held exhibitions and were somewhat famous. After seeing the portrait, they immediately recognized that it was made by Shen Yi.
Shen Yi could have made a lot of money by painting, but he went to the police academy to teach, and finally came to the police station to work as a portrait artist. This made Du Cheng very puzzled.
Du Cheng did not understand that Shen Yi could draw a portrait of the disfigured Fan Ruoxuan based on a blurry video, and could also draw a portrait of the robber based on long-distance video data, but why could he not draw the woman wearing sunglasses back then? Therefore, he had always suspected Shen Yi. Jiangbei Seventh Middle School is a high school. When the foundation was being laid for expansion, a skeleton was unearthed on the playground.
After He Rongyue's examination, it was found that the skull and torso of the skeleton came from two different women. The case was deadlocked. Du Cheng prepared to investigate the situation of missing women in the city within the past ten years. Jiang Feng suggested that Shen Yi draw a portrait of the deceased based on the skull. Shen Yi readily agreed. Shen Yi stayed up all night.
He tried to reverse the corpse's nine-phase diagram according to the skull to restore the skull's portrait. He Rongyue found a worn area on the back of the skull when she was examining it. After Shen Yi examined it again, the two unanimously believed that the skull was used by the art room as a drawing mold for students, and the worn part was a set of specimen numbers.
Du Cheng took He Rongyue and Shen Yi to the art room of Seventh Middle School to investigate. They found a drawing skull mold without a number. According to DNA testing, the skull and the torso in the skeleton belonged to the same woman. The screening of missing persons ended. Du Cheng tried to use computer synthesis to create a photo of the person corresponding to the skull, but the effect was not satisfactory.
On the other hand, Shen Yi successfully reshaped the flesh and blood on the skull and successfully made a portrait of the skull. Du Cheng recognized at a glance that her name was Ren Xiaoxuan. Ren Xiaoxuan disappeared ten years ago. She was only fifteen years old that year. Before her disappearance, she had just transferred from Beijiang Seventh Middle School, and her time at Beijiang Seventh Middle School was also very short.
Ren Xiaoxuan's parents divorced when she was young, and she had been living with her mother ever since. According to the reaction of classmates and teachers, Ren Xiaoxuan's personality was relatively withdrawn. Few clues meant a broader scope of investigation. Shen Yi decided to go to the Academy of Fine Arts to chat with teacher Qu Lanxin. Qu Lanxin was Ren Xiaoxuan's senior and the two met in the school's painting interest class.
Qu Lanxin didn't know much about Ren Xiaoxuan, and then took Shen Yi to see the painting wall made of student desk panels. Du Cheng took Jiang Feng to visit Ren Xiaoxuan's mother. Ren's mother had remarried and had children. When Ren's mother mentioned Ren Xiaoxuan, she said bluntly that the two did not communicate much before Ren Xiaoxuan disappeared. Du Cheng took Ren Xiaoxuan's belongings back to the police station.
Episode 4 Recap
At the case summary meeting, Du Cheng arranged for police officers to visit Ren Xiaoxuan's classmates as soon as possible to try to obtain clues. Since Ren Xiaoxuan's skull was replaced after the corpse had skeletonized, it was crucial to confirm the time frame of the skull replacement as soon as possible. Shen Yi left in a hurry after listening. Based on the paintings in the school's art room, he found Qu Lanxin's home.
There was an unfinished line drawing at Qu Lanxin's home. Qu Lanxin liked the swaying hair in the line drawing very much, and Shen Yi thought it was very ingenious. Art students of the Seventh Middle School over the years all had skull sketching assignments. Shen Yi wanted to find out the time of the skull replacement by checking these assignments. Finally, Shen Yi determined the time when the skull was replaced.
Clues were summarized, and Ren Xiaoxuan's skull was replaced six years after she disappeared. Shen Yi pointed out that only art students and art teachers could freely enter and exit the art room. Ren's mother brought a diary that Ren Xiaoxuan had disguised as a Chinese textbook. After reading the diary, Du Cheng discovered that Ren Xiaoxuan had been bullied and molested. Li Han interpreted the diary from a girl's perspective. The diary recorded a boy that Ren Xiaoxuan liked.
Shen Yi saw a back view of a boy drawn by Ren Xiaoxuan in the diary, which was exactly the same as the back view of the boy drawn on Ren Xiaoxuan's desk. Du Cheng handed Ren Xiaoxuan's diary to Shen Yi and asked him to make a portrait. Shen Yi complained that Du Cheng hadn't studied it carefully enough. Du Cheng verbally disagreed, but privately, he looked at the diary again carefully.
The diary recorded the process of Ren Xiaoxuan being molested. Du Cheng discovered that the person who molested Ren Xiaoxuan was likely her art teacher at the time, Zhang Zipeng. Du Cheng checked the teacher's files and found that Zhang Zipeng had been fired for molesting a female student, which was after Ren Xiaoxuan's skull was replaced. Shen Yi sat on the playground looking for inspiration. He tried to draw a portrait of the boy based on Ren Xiaoxuan's description.
Just when he seemed to be about to touch the boy, Du Cheng suddenly interrupted him. Du Cheng took Shen Yi to find Zhao Zipeng, who had changed his name to Zhao Tingtao, to learn about the situation. He was now running an art gallery. Zhao Zipeng was receiving guests, and Du Cheng and Shen Yi wandered around the gallery.
Shen Yi found that each oil painting in the gallery was marked with the number of sales that should not have appeared, and the painting time and painter recorded on the paintings were also problematic. Shen Yi suspected that what Zhao Zipeng was selling was not paintings. Du Cheng took Zhao Zipeng back to the police station for interrogation. Zhao Zipeng confessed to organizing prostitution, but denied that he killed Ren Xiaoxuan.
Back then, when Zhao Zipeng molested Ren Xiaoxuan, he was interrupted by a male classmate. Shen Yi asked about the boy's appearance, but Zhao Zipeng couldn't remember it at all. Shen Yi asked Qu Lanxin about the situation, but Qu Lanxin didn't know that Ren Xiaoxuan had a boyfriend at all. Shen Yi asked Qu Lanxin to draw a portrait based on the description in Ren Xiaoxuan's diary.
Qu Lanxin talked about how they in the art room often gathered together. Shen Yi wanted to organize a gathering to see if the boy related to Ren Xiaoxuan was among them. The venue was arranged at the school. During the preparation, Shen Yi asked Qu Lanxin why she didn't go abroad for further studies. After all, with her artistic attainments, she could have achieved higher achievements.
Qu Lanxin asked Shen Yi why he wanted to be a portrait artist at the police station. Shen Yi only said that he liked stable jobs and stable income. Qu Lanxin didn't want to be surrounded by too many desires. Teaching at the school allowed her to bring art to every student who liked painting. Everyone was very happy at the party. Qu Lanxin suggested playing a game.
She took the lead, and finally everyone picked up chalk and drew characters on the blackboard. The introduction of these characters came from Ren Xiaoxuan's diary. Shen Yi and Du Cheng observed everyone's reactions in the dark. A boy named Tian Lin attracted their attention. Tian Lin was taken back to the police station. Tian Lin confessed that he had read Ren Xiaoxuan's diary. Before that, he had always thought that Ren Xiaoxuan liked him.
At that time, Ren Xiaoxuan often watched him play basketball on the basketball court. The two met on a rainy April Fool's Day. After Tian Lin discovered that he was being sentimental, he began to bully Ren Xiaoxuan. These were also recorded by Ren Xiaoxuan in her diary, but Tian Lin never knew who Ren Xiaoxuan liked. Shen Yi fell asleep in the car again. When he arrived at Shen Yi's home, Du Cheng woke him up.
Shen Yi went home and looked through Ren Xiaoxuan's diary again. He found that the April Fool's Day recorded in Ren Xiaoxuan's diary was a sunny day. So why did Ren Xiaoxuan lie in her diary?
Episode 5 Recap
To determine the time when the skull was replaced, Shen Yi found all the students' skull drawing works, and several of the paintings had the same date as Ren Xiaoxuan's diary. He found that the weather on April Fool's Day recorded in Ren Xiaoxuan's diary did not match the weather at that time.
Du Cheng felt that perhaps Tian Lin had misremembered, but Shen Yi carefully analyzed the influence of light and humidity on painting and concluded that Ren Xiaoxuan's diary was lying, and all of these diaries happened to have descriptions about that boy. According to the skeletal examination, He Rongyue determined that Ren Xiaoxuan's fatal wound came from a knife to the chest. Also, no toxic substances were found in Ren Xiaoxuan's bones or the surrounding soil.
However, the composition of banyan flowers and soil components not belonging to the playground were found in the pelvis, and Du Cheng deduced that Ren Xiaoxuan's primary crime scene was not on the playground. Du Cheng showed Ren Xiaoxuan's paintings to Shen Yi. A large number of banyan trees appeared in the paintings, and a red lip print was even retained in one of the paintings with two banyan trees.
Shen Yi inadvertently discovered that another lip print was superimposed on the red lip print, so he traced the invisible lip print. Du Cheng felt that this lip print looked more like a woman's lips. Shen Yi modified the previous portrait based on the lip structure, and the character finally presented in front of them was Qu Lanxin. According to the clues, the police quickly found the two banyan trees in the painting.
Forensic doctors and trace personnel found a utility knife buried in the soil between the banyan trees and extracted blood from the soil. Qu Lanxin, having cut her long hair, stood on the roof of the teaching building. Du Cheng and Shen Yi and others rushed to the scene after hearing the news. Qu Lanxin proposed to talk to Shen Yi alone. Shen Yi, who was afraid of heights, carefully walked to Qu Lanxin's side.
Qu Lanxin told Shen Yi her story with Ren Xiaoxuan. Qu Lanxin had liked to cut her hair short and play basketball since she was a child, so she had always been regarded as an outlier, but she didn't care. When Ren Xiaoxuan was molested by Zhao Zipeng, it was Qu Lanxin's appearance that saved Ren Xiaoxuan. Since then, Ren Xiaoxuan developed a dependent relationship with Qu Lanxin.
Ren Xiaoxuan silently guarded Qu Lanxin's side, and Qu Lanxin also understood Ren Xiaoxuan who was bullied. The two accompanied each other like this. After Ren Xiaoxuan transferred to another school, the two often met under the banyan tree, but Qu Lanxin gradually discovered that Ren Xiaoxuan's feelings for her were not friendship. Qu Lanxin just looked like a boy on the outside, and her heart was still a pure girl.
In order to get Ren Xiaoxuan out of the illusion, Qu Lanxin wore a skirt to meet Ren Xiaoxuan. She hoped that Ren Xiaoxuan could face their friendship squarely. In a sad life, Ren Xiaoxuan's only hope was Qu Lanxin. When Qu Lanxin broke all of this, Ren Xiaoxuan also lost the courage to live. She stabbed herself with a utility knife. Qu Lanxin tried to rescue Ren Xiaoxuan but was stopped by Ren Xiaoxuan.
Because she was afraid and did not dare to report the case, Qu Lanxin buried Ren Xiaoxuan under the banyan tree. A few years later, Qu Lanxin returned to the school as a teacher. In order to get Ren Xiaoxuan closer to her, she transferred Ren Xiaoxuan's bones to the playground, and the skull was replaced in the art room.
Shen Yi persuaded Qu Lanxin to accept the trial, and the forensic doctor would examine Ren Xiaoxuan's cause of death, and she would get a fair result. Qu Lanxin was handcuffed. Before leaving, she asked Shen Yi to help her complete the unfinished line drawing. Lei Yifei's death anniversary arrived, and Du Cheng went to the Beijiang Yacht Club Building to mourn him.
Many of Shen Yi's paintings were left on the walls of the Beijiang Yacht Club Building, including Lei Yifei's portrait. Lin Min also came here. Du Cheng remembered that when he was investigating Lei Yifei's murder case, he had seen her by Shen Yi's side. After Lei Yifei's case happened, Shen Yi fell into remorse. He told Lin Min that he wanted to become a person who could change the outcome. Shen Yi burned all his works.
Lin Min wanted to persuade him, but since then Shen Yi disappeared from the art circle and his whereabouts were unknown. The sister of the victim of the marriage fraud murder case went to the police station to find Director Zhao. Fei Jie tried to stop her. Shen Yi happened to pass by. Fei Jie asked him to help her draw a blackboard newspaper, and the content of this blackboard newspaper was all about Shen Yi. Du Cheng complained that Shen Yi was narcissistic.
Episode 6 Recap
A sound of glass shattering came from Director Zhao's office. Du Cheng and Shen Yi rushed over to check. Sister Wu, the sister of the victim in the marriage fraud murder case, was holding glass shards against her neck. She demanded that Director Zhao immediately execute Chu Yingzi. Director Zhao pacified Sister Wu and promised to investigate the case as soon as possible.
Director Zhang, who was still working at the Chengnan Branch back then, handled three marriage fraud murder cases involving four victims. The suspect, Chu Yingzi, had been apprehended seven years ago. Because she changed her confession during the second trial, claiming that an accomplice coerced her into murder, the case had never been closed.
During this period, several portrait artists attempted to draw the accomplice, but Chu Yingzi's descriptions were different each time, making it impossible to find the accomplice on the run, and the case remained stalled. Du Cheng had heard something about this case. Shen Yi proposed to go and meet Chu Yingzi. Du Cheng felt that Chu Yingzi was just using the portrait artists to stall for time, and he had no hope for Shen Yi's portrait.
Someone in the women's prison was about to be executed, which frightened the other female inmates. Only Chu Yingzi remained calm. She knew that as long as the police couldn't catch the accomplice who was still at large, she wouldn't be sentenced to death. Shen Yi arrived at the prison by taxi. When Chu Yingzi learned that a man wanted to see her, she bit her finger and smeared the blood on her lips.
Chu Yingzi chatted with Shen Yi, carefully controlling her expression. Shen Yi did not hide his view that Chu Yingzi was indeed very beautiful. Chu Yingzi claimed she was even more beautiful when she was twelve or thirteen. While they were chatting, Shen Yi drew a portrait of Chu Yingzi when she was twelve or thirteen. After learning the purpose of Shen Yi's visit, Chu Yingzi cooperated and described the appearance of her accomplice.
Shen Yi told Chu Yingzi to stop lying. Chu Yingzi described the accomplice's appearance again, but Shen Yi still saw through the flaws. Shen Yi warned Chu Yingzi that her accomplice being on the run would only plunge her into endless torment. Shen Yi gave the portrait of twelve or thirteen-year-old Chu Yingzi to Chu Yingzi.
He told Chu Yingzi that a woman who had killed someone and lost her kindness could no longer move anyone, especially since with the passage of time, beauty was also slowly leaving her. Shen Yi turned to leave. Chu Yingzi looked at her portrait and called out to Shen Yi. Chu Yingzi recalled that the last time she saw her accomplice was the day she was arrested; the accomplice was mixed in the crowd, watching her from a distance.
Finally, based on Chu Yingzi's description, Shen Yi successfully drew the portrait of the accomplice on the run. Chu Yingzi looked at the portrait with a complex expression. She smeared the blood from her fingertip on the eyes of the portrait. Du Cheng used the new case system to review Captain Lei's case. Just then, he received a portrait from Shen Yi. Li Han entered the portrait into the computer for comparison.
They found that the person was named Cao Dong. When Shen Yi left the prison, he couldn't find a taxi. A man driving a black car approached him, soliciting business. Shen Yi got into this black car. Shen Yi, who always fell asleep in the car, was no exception this time. Just as he was drowsy, he suddenly saw the driver's eyes in the rearview mirror; these eyes were exactly the same as the portrait he had drawn.
Jiang Feng called to ask Shen Yi why he hadn't returned yet. Shen Yi hinted at the situation. Du Cheng, realizing something was wrong, took the phone. Shen Yi used painting terms to hint that he was in danger. Cao Dong saw the portrait Shen Yi had drawn. He took Shen Yi to a remote area. Cao Dong greedily sniffed the scent of Chu Yingzi's blood.
He asked Shen Yi to draw him a portrait of Chu Yingzi as she was now. After Shen Yi finished drawing, he was tied up by Cao Dong. Afterward, Cao Dong took Shen Yi towards the riverbank. At the same time, Li Han tracked Cao Dong's car and Shen Yi's phone signal. Du Cheng drove alone to the location indicated by Shen Yi's phone signal, but he only found the phone that Cao Dong had thrown away.
Du Cheng tracked Cao Dong's car tracks to the riverbank, but by then, Shen Yi had already been thrown into the river by Cao Dong. Du Cheng fired a warning shot, telling Cao Dong to surrender. The vicious Cao Dong struggled with Du Cheng. Finally, Du Cheng subdued Cao Dong. Shen Yi was rescued by Du Cheng and finally woke up after several days of intensive care. Lin Min was concerned about Shen Yi. She didn't understand why Shen Yi, who could have had a promising future in the art world, would choose this path.
Episode 7 Recap
Hua Muyao was dating her boyfriend Wen Jing. Wen Jing took her to a small house by the sea. As soon as they entered, Wen Jing told Hua Muyao that he was going to kidnap her. Wen Jing called Hua Muyao's father, Principal Hua, to demand a ransom of three million. Hua Muyao's fiancé Chen Yanfei wanted to call the police, but Principal Hua refused to call the police, fearing for his daughter's safety.
Tied to the stool, Hua Muyao cried sadly and fearfully. Wen Jing carefully wiped away her tears. He said he didn't want to hurt Hua Muyao at all but had to kidnap her. When Wen Jing left the house, he sent a message to a man named Brother Duan. He planned to hand over the rest of the matters to Brother Duan. Hua Muyao pulled out the iron stakes fixing the stool while constantly struggling.
After the stool fell apart, Hua Muyao broke free and finally broke the window, successfully escaping. Hua Muyao went to the police station to report the case. Li Han searched for Wen Jing's name in the population information system but found nothing. It seemed Wen Jing was a fake name used by the kidnapper. Shen Yi stared at a portrait of a woman whose face was unclear. Then he received a call from Li Han.
Shen Yi drew a portrait of Wen Jing based on Hua Muyao's description. Du Cheng led police officers to investigate the small house by the sea. He found that the kidnapper might not know Hua Muyao had escaped. Therefore, he decided to set up a perimeter around the house. As dawn was breaking, a man on an electric scooter arrived at the small house by the sea.
Du Cheng arrested him and took him back to the police station for interrogation. This man's name was Chen Mingfeng. He said a man named Brother Duan told him to bring food to the small house by the sea, and the two had met in a bar. Jiang Feng led people to search Chen Mingfeng's home and found uncommon konjac and a large quantity of pig trotters.
Principal Hua and Chen Yanfei, who had been notified, came to the police station. Chen Yanfei was furious because Hua Muyao had a boyfriend. Principal Hua, having lost face, slapped Hua Muyao. The emotional Hua Muyao accused Principal Hua of only wanting a son-in-law who would bring him face, and not caring at all who she actually liked. In private, Shen Yi advised Principal Hua to respect Hua Muyao's choice. Du Cheng went to the bar to understand the situation.
The bar owner was unwilling to cooperate. It wasn't until Du Cheng suggested searching the bar that the owner, reminded by Du Cheng, remembered Brother Duan, who had a quick temper and low alcohol tolerance. Du Cheng showed the bar owner a photo of Chen Mingfeng. The bar owner said that Chen Mingfeng drank the cheapest wine at the bar and was a low-key person. The kidnapper sent a message to Principal Hua demanding the ransom.
Du Cheng persuaded Principal Hua to cooperate with the police. Finally, under full police surveillance, Principal Hua took the box containing the money and got on the subway line specified by the kidnapper. The police station's technical staff were searching for Hua Muyao and Brother Duan's mobile phone signals. Du Cheng led police officers to take the subway with Principal Hua. Shen Yi, meanwhile, was drawing a portrait of Brother Duan at the police station based on Chen Mingfeng's description.
The subway was approaching the terminal station, but the kidnapper never appeared. Du Cheng urged Shen Yi to complete the portrait as soon as possible. Principal Hua's phone received a text message from the kidnapper, so Principal Hua had to leave the box and get off the subway. Shen Yi completed the portrait amidst revisions. Technical staff found Hua Muyao and Brother Duan's mobile phones on the edge of the end wall outside the small house by the sea.
Du Cheng did not find Brother Duan at the subway station based on the portrait, realizing he had been tricked by the kidnapper. And the text message sent from Brother Duan's phone was likely preset. Li Han compared the portraits of Brother Duan and Wen Jing with the database, although she found nothing. But Du Cheng still believed that the portrait given by Shen Yi was accurate. Du Cheng arranged for personnel to visit places where the kidnapper might appear.
He, meanwhile, took Jiang Feng to find a woman who had frequent calls with Brother Duan, but neither side obtained any clues. Shen Yi and Li Han went to take a supplementary statement from Hua Muyao. Chen Yanfei hoped they would stop bothering Hua Muyao. Hua Muyao wanted to talk to Shen Yi alone. Hua Muyao and Wen Jing first met at a piano selection competition. Later, Wen Jing began pursuing Hua Muyao through letters. Eventually, they fell in love.
What seemed strange to Hua Muyao was that Wen Jing often chose to meet her at night. Shen Yi examined the letters Wen Jing wrote to Hua Muyao and took them back to the police station. After multiple investigations, all clues were cut off. Du Cheng believed that something must have gone wrong in one of their investigation stages. Shen Yi also felt that it was impossible for the kidnapper to disappear completely after committing the crime.
Episode 8 Recap
Du Cheng took two phones and began recreating the kidnapper's route. Ultimately, he found that as long as the kidnapper preset the time to send text messages and the time to turn the phones on and off, it could be seamlessly connected, and the entire process could be completed by just one person. Du Cheng told Shen Yi about his discovery, while Shen Yi was silently looking at the portraits of Wen Jing and Brother Duan.
Du Cheng comforted Shen Yi, saying it's difficult to paint the bone beneath the skin, so it's normal if he couldn't paint it. Shen Yi suddenly realized the problem. He then drew the bone structure of Wen Jing and Brother Duan on the glass, and their bone structures were surprisingly identical.
After comparing the handwriting and the bone structures, Du Cheng and Shen Yi finally understood that Wen Jing and Brother Duan were the same person, and this person was Chen Mingfeng, who had brought food to the small house by the sea. In front of the evidence, Chen Mingfeng had nothing to argue. He told Du Cheng and Shen Yi his story. Chen Mingfeng, who had excellent scores in the college entrance examination, was unable to attend university.
A few years later, he opened a graphic design shop. Chen Yanfei came to the shop to make copies of his graduation certificate and ID card. Chen Mingfeng discovered that Chen Yanfei had replaced his college entrance examination results with the help of Principal Hua. The huge disparity in life was unbearable for Chen Mingfeng, so he began to plan how to approach Hua Muyao.
Chen Mingfeng used konjac and pig trotters to make a skin-like mask, which is why he could only meet Hua Muyao at night. Chen Mingfeng actually didn't want to hurt Hua Muyao; he only wanted to get the three million ransom as compensation from Principal Hua and Chen Yanfei. Hua Muyao went to the police station to see Chen Mingfeng.
She refused to admit that Chen Mingfeng was Wen Jing, because in her mind, Wen Jing was a gentle and refined white knight. Seven years ago, after Shen Yi drew a portrait of Captain Lei Lei Yifei for a mysterious woman wearing sunglasses, he was pushed into the river. The drowning caused him to forget many things, including the face of the mysterious woman.
After Shen Yi was pushed into the water by Cao Dong, the figure of the mysterious woman surprisingly appeared in his mind. In order to get close to the mysterious woman again, Shen Yi tried to drown himself in a bathtub to experience that feeling, but the result was not ideal. Shen Yi came to Xin Ning Psychological Clinic.
After being hypnotized, Shen Yi seemed to be back at the Beijiang Yacht Club building seven years ago, but he still couldn't see the face of the mysterious woman. Dr. Gong, the psychologist, said that the drowning seven years ago caused retrograde amnesia for Shen Yi, and his recent near-drowning stimulated some memory fragments deep in his mind, but it is difficult to fully restore the memory unless in some abnormal state.
Several child abduction cases occurred in the jurisdiction of the Jiangbei Branch. Director Zhang asked Du Cheng to take over. Du Cheng went to Shen Yi's office to find him but discovered the business card for Xin Ning Psychological Clinic. Du Cheng asked Dr. Gong about Shen Yi's condition. Dr. Gong spoke about the impact of the Lei Yifei case on Shen Yi.
Du Cheng knew that besides himself, Shen Yi also wanted to find the murderer who killed Lei Yifei. Shen Yi was drawing portraits for the child abduction cases in the office. Du Cheng stared at him intently, recalling the past. Seven years ago, after the Lei Yifei murder case, the rebellious Shen Yi demonstrated his ability to draw an old person from the age of three in front of Du Cheng.
The emotional Du Cheng asked Shen Yi to draw the face of the mysterious woman. Shen Yi, unable to draw, was pushed to the brink. Du Cheng accused Shen Yi, saying that the portrait he drew for the mysterious woman had killed a good police officer who was dedicated to the people. Upon learning the truth, Shen Yi's eyes turned red. He anxiously tried to draw something, but after putting the pen down, he still couldn't draw it.
When Du Cheng left the interrogation room, he said sternly that Shen Yi's paintings could kill people, so he was not worthy of picking up a paintbrush again. Shen Yi went to the river bank alone, wanting to jump into the water to experience the abnormal state of drowning. He wanted to regain his memory and draw the portrait of the mysterious woman.
Du Cheng, who had followed him all the way, stepped forward to stop him and comforted Shen Yi. Shen Yi poured out the details of the portrait from that year and the drowning incident.
Episode 9 Recap
The mysterious woman took a childhood photo of Lei Yifei to ask Shen Yi to draw a portrait. After the portrait was finished, Shen Yi was pushed into the water and lost his memory of the mysterious woman's appearance. The scene where Lei Yifei's body was dumped after he was killed had that portrait.
Du Cheng took Shen Yi to see the cabinet in his office, which contained a photo of Lei Yifei and him, as well as the case file of Lei Yifei's last solved case. Back then, Du Cheng, who was in his rebellious phase, was hanging out on the streets. It was Lei Yifei's appearance and help that made him find the meaning of life. Eventually, Du Cheng became a master and apprentice fighting alongside Lei Yifei.
Seven years ago, Lei Yifei was commended for solving the beauty salon abduction case. Although there were strict protective measures, the accomplices in the case still found Lei Yifei's childhood photo and learned what Lei Yifei looked like as an adult through Shen Yi's hands. Du Cheng invited Lei Yifei to dinner, and Lei Yifei was killed while he was out that night. Du Cheng had always felt guilty about this.
Years of guilt and anger had coiled around Du Cheng's heart like a venomous snake. Du Cheng had treated Shen Yi as an outlet for his emotions. Now, seeing Shen Yi in the same pain, Du Cheng suddenly felt relieved. He also hoped that Shen Yi could let go of the burden. Shen Yi, who was pushed into the water by Cao Dong, recalled the mysterious woman's blurry figure.
Shen Yi still wanted to try once more to put himself in a near-death state. After struggling, Shen Yi, who jumped into the water from a high platform, quickly entered a subtle state. Du Cheng pulled Shen Yi ashore. Shen Yi still couldn't draw the mysterious woman's appearance. Du Cheng told him not to push himself too hard. After Shen Yi returned home, he picked up oil paints and started painting on the canvas.
After a night passed, a woman's face appeared on the painting. After big data screening, no one matched the portrait provided by Shen Yi. Shen Yi felt that there was something wrong with his portrait. Du Cheng said he believed in Shen Yi's portrait, especially since many people's photo information was not in the big database. A robbery occurred at Jiu Fu Jewelry. Du Cheng found a drop of blood at the scene.
After ballistic expert Jiang Xue studied the bullets and shooting trajectory in the Jiu Fu Jewelry robbery case, she found that the firearm used in this case was the same one used in the Hua Chang Jewelry robbery case seven years ago, and the Hua Chang Jewelry robbery case had never been solved. Director Zhang ordered Du Cheng to solve the case within seventy-two hours and instructed all police officers to carry firearms.
Du Cheng accompanied Shen Yi, who was unfamiliar with shooting, to the shooting range to practice. According to the surveillance footage outside the crime scene, it was found that the robber was very familiar with the escape route. Shen Yi believed that this robbery case must have been premeditated. Du Cheng decided to expand the scope and time of the investigation. He Hong reported to the police that her husband, Mu Wei, was missing.
The police went to collect Mu Wei's daily necessities. He Rongyue discovered through DNA testing that the bloodstain left at the scene of the Jiu Fu Jewelry robbery belonged to Mu Wei. Du Cheng led people to He Hong's home to investigate and happened to encounter Teacher Xue, who teaches art, bringing Mu Xiao'an home. He Hong hoped that Du Cheng would not let her daughter, Mu Xiao'an, know about Mu Wei's disappearance.
Li Han found records of online ticket purchases using Li Zhiqiang's identity on Mu Wei's computer. After visiting, Du Cheng learned that Li Zhiqiang had been paralyzed for many years and that his ID card had been sold by his mother. The computer screensaver at He Hong's home was very colorful, and the color contrast on the TV was also abnormal. Shen Yi realized that Mu Wei was colorblind.
When escaping, the robber crossed the road and observed the traffic lights like a normal person. Therefore, the robber must not be Mu Wei, who suffers from color blindness. Shen Yi realized that the robber deliberately copied the Jiu Fu Jewelry robbery case from the Hua Chang Jewelry robbery case and intentionally left Mu Wei's blood at the scene of the Jiu Fu Jewelry robbery to frame Mu Wei for the case.
Through Mu Xiao'an's drawing, Shen Yi discovered that Mu Xiao'an's inner state was often depressed. Teacher Xue stated that Mu Xiao'an's parents were not getting along well. By visiting Mu Wei's neighbors, Du Cheng discovered that Mu Wei not only loved drinking and gambling but also told his card friends that Mu Xiao'an was not his biological daughter. Du Cheng decided to include He Hong in the investigation as well.
At this moment, the witness of the Jiu Fu Jewelry robbery case was brought to the police station. The witness, who had previously suffered a gunshot wound, had his cheek pierced by the robber's gun again this time, which made him somewhat frightened. Shen Yi drew a portrait of the robber based on his description, but the witness did not dare to confirm it.
Episode 10 Recap
Du Cheng took Jiang Feng and Shen Yi to find He Hong again. He Hong was worried that this matter would affect her daughter Mu Xiao'an. Shen Yi voluntarily suggested taking Mu Xiao'an out to play. Du Cheng asked He Hong about her marital relationship with Mu Wei. He Hong said that Mu Wei had changed a lot after marriage and that she hated him.
Jiang Feng falsely claimed that it was Mu Wei who robbed Jiu Fu Jewelry with a gun. He Hong then said that Mu Wei had taken something from under the bed before he disappeared. Mu Xiao'an got tired of playing and wanted to go home. Shen Yi bought her an ice cream and then took her to a nearby cyclist restaurant for pizza. Shen Yi wanted to draw Mu Xiao'an.
Mu Xiao'an asked Shen Yi to include He Hong in the painting. Shen Yi asked Mu Xiao'an if she wanted to include Mu Wei, and Mu Xiao'an shook her head no. Shen Yi secretly put the ice cream stick that Mu Xiao'an had licked into an evidence bag. After returning to the police station, He Rongyue tested it and found that Mu Xiao'an was not related to Mu Wei by blood.
Shen Yi wanted to draw a portrait of Mu Xiao'an's biological father. To do this, Shen Yi first used Mu Xiao'an's current portrait as a blueprint to draw a portrait of Mu Xiao'an as an adult. Then, he removed the parts of the adult Mu Xiao'an's portrait that were similar to He Hong. Finally, based on the remaining parts, he added the characteristics of a male skull, thus successfully drawing the portrait of Mu Xiao'an's biological father.
He Hong, who was brought to the police station for questioning, lied and claimed that she became pregnant with Mu Xiao'an after being raped. Shen Yi showed He Hong the portrait of Mu Xiao'an's biological father. He Hong said she did not remember the appearance of the person who raped her. Looking at the portrait, Shen Yi thought of Chu Tianqi, the owner of the cyclist restaurant.
Du Cheng arranged for Jiang Feng to pretend to be a college student and investigate the cyclist restaurant. Jiang Feng pretended to be live streaming to approach Chu Tianqi. Du Cheng and Shen Yi hid in a nearby car and observed. The witness of the Jiu Fu Jewelry robbery case was brought to the car to identify Chu Tianqi. Du Cheng reminded him that Chu Tianqi had a gun.
The witness, frightened by the gun, heard this and fled in panic. When Du Cheng chased him, he alerted Chu Tianqi, who immediately escaped. Du Cheng chased Chu Tianqi, and Shen Yi and the others followed closely. In the winding alleys, the few people split up. Du Cheng and Chu Tianqi met in a narrow passage and started fighting immediately.
Chu Tianqi, who was knocked down, picked up the gun that had fallen to the ground and then fired a shot at Du Cheng. Police officers who arrived upon hearing the gunshots worked together to capture Chu Tianqi. Du Cheng tore off his outer clothing, revealing the bulletproof vest underneath that had been hit by the gun. Shen Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The new police officer Li Junhui flinched when blocking Chu Tianqi, causing Du Cheng to be shot. Although Du Cheng was fine, Jiang Feng was still a bit shaken. Faced with Jiang Feng's accusations, Li Junhui was speechless. Du Cheng told Jiang Feng to calm down. During the interrogation, Chu Tianqi not only admitted that he robbed Jiu Fu Jewelry and Hua Chang Jewelry but also confessed that he had killed Mu Wei.
Seven years ago, He Hong and Chu Tianqi were a couple, and at that time, He Hong was six months pregnant. Chu Tianqi proposed to He Hong, but their difficult living conditions made He Hong hesitant. Chu Tianqi took the gun he bought when doing border trade and robbed Hua Chang Jewelry. But after he succeeded, he found that He Hong was nowhere to be seen.
Seven years later, Chu Tianqi unexpectedly saw He Hong again, and he also discovered that Mu Xiao'an was his daughter. In order to help He Hong and her daughter get rid of Mu Wei, Chu Tianqi robbed a jewelry store again and framed Mu Wei. To prevent the police from finding out the truth, he also killed Mu Wei in the small woods.
When Chu Tianqi described the process of killing Mu Wei, it was full of loopholes, which made Du Cheng suspicious. He Rongyue confirmed the father-daughter relationship between Chu Tianqi and Mu Xiao'an, but she found that He Hong and Mu Xiao'an were not related by blood at all. The photo in He Hong's investigation file caught Shen Yi's attention.
He suspected that the current He Hong had undergone full facial plastic surgery based on the appearance of the real He Hong at age twenty. After Mu Xiao'an fell asleep, He Hong put on heavy makeup. She turned off the lights and quietly left home. Li Junhui, who was waiting in the car, immediately followed her. He also called Du Cheng as he walked. Du Cheng reminded him to be careful.
In order to complete the task, Li Junhui followed very closely, but after a turn, he still lost track of He Hong. Just as Li Junhui was looking around, a knife appeared in the darkness, followed by Li Junhui's muffled groan.
Episode 11 Recap
Li Junhui's phone went unanswered, and Xiao Ma, who was on the same team as him, couldn't find him either. Du Cheng led people into the alley to search separately. The vibration sound of Li Junhui's phone allowed Du Cheng to see Li Junhui lying in the corner. Li Junhui had already been killed at this time.
When He Rongyue examined the body, she found that Li Junhui's wound was very similar to Lei Yifei's, basically confirming that it was done by the same killer with the same weapon. Du Cheng could not hide his pain, and Jiang Feng also regretted scolding Li Junhui earlier. Director Zhang encouraged everyone to catch the killer soon to give the sacrificed Li Junhui justice. Chu Tianqi was still covering for He Hong.
Jiang Feng told Chu Tianqi about He Hong abandoning Mu Xiao'an and running away alone. Only then did Chu Tianqi believe that the current He Hong was fake, as no biological mother would abandon her child. Back then, He Hong left suddenly without taking any daily necessities or clothes. Chu Tianqi had been searching for her.
The woman who had undergone plastic surgery to look like He Hong didn't know Chu Tianqi at all, which is why the fake He Hong was cold towards Chu Tianqi during their first meeting seven years later. The fake He Hong gradually discovered the relationship between Chu Tianqi and the real He Hong, so after she killed Mu Wei, she went to Chu Tianqi for help.
Chu Tianqi, who was kept in the dark, helped the fake He Hong dispose of Mu Wei's body. Chu Tianqi understood that the real He Hong was likely no longer alive. Now, he just wanted to see Mu Xiao'an again. Mu Xiao'an would live with He Hong's mother from now on. Before leaving, she gave Shen Yi a painting, saying that it was something her mother had asked her to do.
Shen Yi found that the back of the painting recorded some names and countries, as well as the letter M. M represented the mysterious woman who had asked Shen Yi to draw Lei Yifei's portrait back then, and who had now become He Hong after full facial plastic surgery. According to Chu Tianqi's confession, Du Cheng found He Hong's belongings from back then at the cyclist restaurant, including a membership card for a beauty salon named Meidi.
Meidi Beauty Salon was one of the crime dens of the human trafficking organization that Lei Yifei busted before he died. They lured young women by offering free plastic surgery, then anesthetized them on the operating table to abduct and kidnap them. Back then, Lei Yifei only targeted the lower-level members of the human trafficking organization. Now, to find them again, M is the only breakthrough.
M's wanted poster was put up all over the city, and the police also began visiting and investigating. Although technicians found M's figure in the corner surveillance video, they still couldn't catch her. Women who were trafficked abroad were successively rescued and returned to the country. One of them, named Cai Manni, told Du Cheng about what happened back then. At this moment, M was standing inside a building by the sea, also recalling what happened seven years ago.
Seven years ago, on a ship at sea, He Hong and Cai Manni were held together. However, the pregnant He Hong had no value in the eyes of these people. M took He Hong away alone, and on the condition of saving the fetus in He Hong's belly, she demanded something from He Hong. Another homicide occurred in the jurisdiction. Du Cheng brought people to the scene, and the killer, Chen Qiuwen, confessed voluntarily.
Zhou Yunyi, who was subjected to unbearable domestic violence by her husband Zhao Mingzhe, fled to Beijiang City and changed her name to Chen Qiuwen. However, Chen Qiuwen was still found by Zhao Mingzhe. He disguised himself as a delivery person to trick her into opening the door and looked like he was going to kill Chen Qiuwen. Chen Qiuwen killed Zhao Mingzhe in self-defense. Zhao Mingzhe's lover, Lu Ting, came to the police station to identify the body.
She disagreed with the police performing an autopsy on Zhao Mingzhe. Du Cheng and Shen Yi asked about the situation. Lu Ting talked about her relationship with Zhao Mingzhe. Originally, Zhao Mingzhe concealed the fact that he was married. Although Lu Ting was angry when she found out, she didn't think much of it. It wasn't until Lu Ting discovered she was pregnant that she started looking for Chen Qiuwen so that her child could be born legitimately.
The fact that Lu Ting found Chen Qiuwen was accidentally discovered by Zhao Mingzhe, who then found Chen Qiuwen's residence based on the reflection in Chen Qiuwen's eyes in a photo. Shen Yi saw Lu Ting off. He noticed that Lu Ting was very sensitive to unexpected sounds. Jiang Feng stated that based on the on-site investigation and interviews, Chen Qiuwen's confession was basically true.
However, Shen Yi discovered that Zhao Mingzhe's state at the time of death did not match the real situation. After He Rongyue examined the body, she found that Zhao Mingzhe had suffered an electric shock before his death.
Episode 12 Recap
The police found a stun gun downstairs from Chen Qiuwen's house. Du Cheng, with suspicion, interrogated Chen Qiuwen again. Chen Qiuwen stated that the stun gun was for her daily self-defense. Zhao Mingzhe, who was stunned at the time, quickly showed signs of waking up, so in order to prevent Zhao Mingzhe from killing her, she killed Zhao Mingzhe first.
Shen Yi, who transferred to the police station to work as a sketch artist, often returned to the police academy to teach students. Today, the painting he lectured on was about two women conspiring to kill a brutal ruler. During the students' questions, Shen Yi suddenly realized the connection between this painting and the Zhao Mingzhe case. Shen Yi told Du Cheng about Lu Ting's abnormal tension to sounds and Lu Ting's state when she saw Chen Qiuwen.
Du Cheng led people to re-examine the crime scene and Zhao Mingzhe's former residence. Shen Yi discovered that standing downstairs in the building and taking pictures could not reflect the light reflections in the eyeballs. At the same time, Li Han discovered that the photo Zhao Mingzhe used to find Chen Qiuwen's residence was a composite. Chen Qiuwen still refused to confess in the face of evidence.
Shen Yi pressed her to ask if she knew Lu Ting, but Chen Qiuwen firmly denied knowing each other. In another room separated by a wall, Lu Ting was sitting inside. Jiang Feng said that Chen Qiuwen would face charges of intentional homicide. Lu Ting cared about Chen Qiuwen's situation, and she decided to confess everything. After Lu Ting was with Zhao Mingzhe, she was also subjected to domestic violence.
She tried to escape several times but was caught back by Zhao Mingzhe. Zhao Mingzhe threatened her that if she ran again, he would go to her family. Lu Ting had to stay with Zhao Mingzhe in order to protect her family. However, when she found out she was pregnant, she began to have the idea of completely getting rid of Zhao Mingzhe. Lu Ting found Chen Qiuwen through a second-hand website.
Chen Qiuwen, who had a miscarriage due to being beaten by Zhao Mingzhe, sympathized with Lu Ting's situation, and the two's plan began. First, Lu Ting deliberately showed Zhao Mingzhe the composite photo. Zhao Mingzhe really found Chen Qiuwen's residence through the reflection in Chen Qiuwen's eyes in the photo. Zhao Mingzhe went to Beijiang to find Chen Qiuwen, and Lu Ting followed and hid in Chen Qiuwen's house first.
Zhao Zhem Mingzhe, disguised as a courier, broke into Chen Qiuwen's house and was stunned by Chen Qiuwen with a stun gun in the living room. When Lu Ting walked to the living room, she was grabbed by the waking Zhao Mingzhe. Chen Qiuwen pulled Zhao Mingzhe, and Lu Ting picked up a fruit knife and stabbed Zhao Mingzhe. Zhao Mingzhe's death made the two feel relieved. Chen Qiuwen asked the pregnant Lu Ting to leave according to plan.
Then Chen Qiuwen not only cleaned up the scene, but also deliberately left her fingerprints on the fruit knife. Du Cheng, who arrived at the police station early, went to Shen Yi's office and even stole a candy. He sat in Shen Yi's seat and pretended to paint. Du Cheng discovered that Shen Yi had drawn many portraits to investigate the child trafficking case. Shen Yi said that he would draw more, and perhaps there would be more clues.
Shen Yi followed Director Zhang's order and went to help the Fengchi Police Station investigate a case of rape of a female college student. The female college student, Liu Xiaoye, was raped after a party. Because the case occurred off-campus, it was difficult to investigate. Xiao Liu from the Fengchi Police Station drew a portrait of the criminal with three eyes based on Liu Xiaoye's description. Shen Yi looked thoughtful at the portrait.
According to Liu Xiaoye's classmates, Liu Xiaoye is a conservative, withdrawn, and eccentric girl. He Rongyue examined Liu Xiaoye. Although she was unable to extract the criminal's DNA, she found a hallucinogen called "obedience water" in Liu Xiaoye's body. Director Hu said that "obedience water" can make people lose their ability to resist in a short period of time, and it has been circulating in secret. Shen Yi wanted to see Liu Xiaoye.
Director Hu was worried that letting Liu Xiaoye recall the process of being raped would cause her secondary trauma. Shen Yi said that he would not let Liu Xiaoye describe the appearance of the criminal. He just wanted to determine whether the portrait Liu Xiaoye described was what she saw or what she imagined.
Episode 13 Recap
Quietly, Liu Xiaoye, who had been sexually assaulted, sat in the hospital room observing a snail. Shen Yi, dressed in a white coat, met her as a doctor. Liu Xiaoye thought Shen Yi was going to examine her, but he only chatted with her about the snail. Shen Yi already had the answer in his heart when he came out of the ward.
Then Xiao Liu relayed Liu Xiaoye's description of the perpetrator to Shen Yi, and Shen Yi drew many facial features based on the description. Xiao Liu couldn't understand Shen Yi's thoughts. Shen Yi explained that Liu Xiaoye's observations were mostly based on perception, focusing on details and physical dimensions, so under the influence of hallucinogens, her description would be even more vague. Xiao Liu noticed that many of these facial features had perspectival connections.
Shen Yi asked her to categorize these features, and eventually, the two pieced together three incomplete faces, discovering that Liu Xiaoye had likely been gang-raped. Encouraged by Shen Yi, Xiao Liu picked up a paintbrush and completed the three portraits based on skull anatomy. While teaching Xiao Liu to draw, Shen Yi remembered his painting enlightenment teacher, Xu Yiduo.
Young Shen Yi was spray-painting with oils on the street when Xu Yiduo saw him and offered to teach him to paint. Shen Yi felt that learning to paint was not free, but Xu Yiduo said he could bring Shen Yi true freedom. Xu Yiduo personally taught Shen Yi painting techniques and helped him feel the vitality of colors, so Shen Yi had deep affection for Xu Yiduo.
Director Hu found three male students from Liu Xiaoye's school based on the portraits drawn by Xiao Liu. Under interrogation, the three confessed to the gang rape. The three men, who had long targeted the solitary Liu Xiaoye, took the drunken Liu Xiaoye away after a party that day and gave her a date rape drug, then gang-raped her. After committing the crime, the three purposefully cleared the traces from the scene.
Director Hu found that the portraits of these three men were missing something compared to the initial three-eyed portrait. Shen Yi also noticed this and discovered a butterfly shape by erasing the facial features in the portrait. This was a reflection of Liu Xiaoye's memory. Shen Yi wanted Liu Xiaoye to see it. Liu Xiaoye's mother looked at the butterfly and recalled past events from many years ago.
Liu's mother was busy with work and couldn't pick Liu Xiaoye up from school on time, so she enrolled young Liu Xiaoye in an interest class. Liu Xiaoye was molested by a male teacher while observing butterflies in the interest class. Liu's mother was afraid that this incident would ruin Liu Xiaoye's reputation, so she did not make it public.
To help Liu Xiaoye overcome her trauma and to prevent more girls from suffering, Shen Yi persuaded Liu's mother to cooperate with him in investigating the matter. Shen Yi found the male teacher and brought him to justice. He also returned the male teacher's cherished butterfly specimens to nature. Perhaps in this way, those wounded souls would be healed. Shen Yi's painting enlightenment teacher, Xu Yiduo, came to the police station to find him.
Du Cheng invited Xu Yiduo to wait in the reception room for Shen Yi, who was out. Xu Yiduo asked to see Shen Yi's paintings. Shen Yi was the most outstanding and talented student Xu Yiduo had ever taught, so Xu Yiduo felt regret that Shen Yi had given up art painting. He wanted Shen Yi to be an artist, not a portrait artist in a police station.
Du Cheng stated directly that Shen Yi was no ordinary portrait artist because he could see into people's hearts through their appearance, and he had made significant contributions in several previous cases. Du Cheng knew that Shen Yi loved his profession as a police officer, and he advised Xu Yiduo to respect Shen Yi's choice.
After learning that Xu Yiduo had visited, Shen Yi called Xu Yiduo, but the news he received was that Xu Yiduo and his wife had drowned at the seaside. He Rongyue confirmed after the autopsy that Xu Yiduo and his wife had committed suicide. Shen Yi, filled with grief, looked at Xu Yiduo's body and could not accept the fact. Shen Yi habitually found the key under the flowerpot at Xu Yiduo's doorstep.
Du Cheng and Shen Yi walked in together. Looking at the familiar surroundings, Shen Yi remembered how Xu Yiduo and his wife had cared for him like a son. Shen Yi saw his childhood paintings in the studio, and also a painting that he had burned seven years ago.
Episode 14 Recap
Lin Min, who also studied under Xu Yiduo with Shen Yi, came to Xu Yiduo's home. Looking at the paintings in the studio, she suggested holding a painting exhibition, but Shen Yi felt that doing so had no meaning. Lin Min noticed a painting created by Shen Yi, which Shen Yi had burned seven years ago. From this, it was evident that the painting was a copy made by Xu Yiduo.
Lin Min thus advised Shen Yi that it would be best to paint a real one to replace it, otherwise Xu Yiduo, who copied others' paintings, would be scorned. Shen Yi did not commit after hearing this and left in a hurry with the painting. When Du Cheng visited the gallery, he discovered many paintings by Shen Yi; however, these paintings had been burned by Shen Yi seven years ago.
The gallery owner identified Xu Yiduo from a photo as the person who sold the paintings. Li Han found a video of Xu Yiduo's son, Xu Siwen, on Xu Yiduo's phone. In the video, Xu Siwen requested Xu Yiduo to help him raise a huge sum of money. Du Cheng suspected that Xu Yiduo was selling fake copies of Shen Yi's work to help Xu Siwen raise funds.
Xu Siwen returned to Beijiang, and Shen Yi gave him all of Xu Yiduo's paintings. Xu Siwen decided to sell all the paintings. Shen Yi wanted him to keep some for remembrance, but Xu Siwen believed that Xu Yiduo, who was extremely passionate about painting, did not like him at all, which was why he had been living abroad since adulthood.
Shen Yi asked Xu Siwen if he had received any remittances from Xu Yiduo, and Xu Siwen said he had never received any money from Xu Yiduo. In the interrogation room, Du Cheng told Xu Siwen that Xu Yiduo committed suicide after remitting money to him. Xu Siwen took out all the bank cards under his name and let Du Cheng check them freely. Du Cheng asked Xu Siwen to repeat what he said in the video.
Xu Siwen stated directly that he had very little contact with Xu Yiduo and his wife. After carefully reviewing the video, Shen Yi found that the person in the video was not Xu Siwen. Du Cheng expressed confusion. Shen Yi explained that although the two looked very similar, through micro-expressions that cannot be faked, he could tell the difference between them. By analyzing the light in the video, Shen Yi discovered that the video was synthesized using AI face-swapping technology.
Shen Yi sat in front of Xu Siwen. Xu Siwen wanted to see that video. Shen Yi told Xu Siwen that Xu Yiduo cared about him very much but dared not contact him for fear of disturbing his life, which was why he was tricked. Xu Siwen lowered his head to hide the tears welling up in his eyes. Through case correlation, Du Cheng found that similar fraud cases had occurred many times.
Director Zhang ordered the case to be solved as quickly as possible. Tongcheng, an information security company, was developing AI face-swapping technology. The technical personnel at Tongcheng stated that completing AI face-swapping not only required a large number of photos of the person in the video but also required pre-recording a similar video as the base for face swapping. Li Han found all the fraud videos.
Shen Yi carefully observed and compared them and drew a portrait of the person in the base video. Du Cheng took the portrait and visited people connected to the victims, finally finding a domestic worker named Zhang Xiaoxue. After Du Cheng and Jiang Feng investigated at the domestic service company, they found that the victims of several fraud cases were precisely Zhang Xiaoxue's service clients. Subsequently, Zhang Xiaoxue was brought to the police station.
During the interrogation, Zhang Xiaoxue was a bit nervous but very frank. Furthermore, there was no information related to AI face swapping on Zhang Xiaoxue's computer, and the case reached a deadlock. Li Han suggested looking for clues on the social networking site that Xu Siwen frequently used. After filtering, Li Han found four IP addresses that frequently viewed Xu Siwen's social account, and all four addresses pointed to Zhang Xiaoxue's residence. Zhang Xiaoxue was questioned again.
Shen Yi recalled the signs of a male living there that he had discovered at Zhang Xiaoxue's home. Zhang Xiaoxue explained that she had lived with her ex-boyfriend, Hu Zhifeng, and that they had just broken up. Shen Yi pressed for information about Hu Zhifeng. Zhang Xiaoxue said that Hu Zhifeng was a computer salesman who often traveled for business. Li Han located Hu Zhifeng. Shen Yi learned from Du Cheng that the sentence for fraudsters was not severe.
Just as they were about to take action, Du Cheng found that Shen Yi was gone. At this moment, Shen Yi knocked on Hu Zhifeng's door with a painting.
Episode 15 Recap
Hu Zhifeng opened the door for Shen Yi. Shen Yi spoke gravely about the cases of death caused by deception. Growing wary, Hu Zhifeng raised a knife towards him. Shen Yi parted the cloth curtain and showed Hu Zhifeng an oil painting of hell covered in skeletons. Hu Zhifeng stepped forward and stabbed at Shen Yi with the knife, but fortunately, Du Cheng arrived in time.
Looking at the notes his parents wrote before they passed away, Xu Siwen was in tears. He regretted leaving after arguing with his parents that year and regretted even more not contacting them for so many years. Now, he only wants to keep one painting by Xu Yiduo to remember them. Shen Yi helped Xu Siwen go to the gallery to pick up the painting.
Du Cheng pressed Shen Yi, asking if he was truly willing to continue being a portrait artist. Shen Yi stated that being a portrait artist can save lives, which is more meaningful than just painting. And he would absolutely not regret his current choice. Warm-hearted Sister Fei was preparing to introduce a blind date to Shen Yi. Du Cheng leaned against the door watching the scene unfold.
Shen Yi refused using the excuse that he had to attend class at the police academy. He also conveniently shifted Sister Fei's attention to Du Cheng. Sister Fei handed the note with the blind date information to Du Cheng. In class, Shen Yi showed the students a famous painting called "The Rake's Progress in the Asylum".
Using this painting, he told the students that everyone in this world is examining and discerning others, and is also being examined and discerned by others. Therefore, do not easily jump to conclusions about a person's attributes. Du Cheng's older sister Du Qing is a strong woman. She always tries to get close to people around Du Cheng to find out what he is doing. This time, she came to audit Shen Yi's class.
When Du Cheng was little, his parents were busy with their careers and often neglected him. To get their attention, he once smashed the principal's car in junior high. From this, Du Qing believes that Du Cheng became a criminal police officer to gain his parents' attention, so she wanted to ask Shen Yi to persuade him to leave the police station.
Shen Yi stated that Du Cheng became a criminal police officer not for someone else, but for his own ideals and beliefs. Du Qing felt she understood Du Cheng well enough, but Shen Yi said that the degree to which one understands a person is not directly related to the time spent with them. In the coffee shop, Du Cheng was rehearsing how to say no to the woman. Just then, a fashionable woman, soaking wet, sat across from him.
She was Du Cheng's blind date, Xiao Shan, a model who wants to enter the entertainment industry. Xiao Shan used the excuse of needing to change her wet clothes and asked Du Cheng to drive her back to her company. Du Cheng drove Xiao Shan to the company entrance. Xiao Shan again suggested inviting him to come in and sit for a bit. Du Cheng could tell that Xiao Shan had something going on.
Xiao Shan showed Du Cheng a photo of herself where the head had been cut off. Du Cheng told her to call the police. Xiao Shan said she had already called the police, but because the place where the photography exhibition was held was a new district, the surveillance equipment was not perfect, so it was hard to find clues. Du Cheng asked Xiao Shan if she had any enemies.
Xiao Shan took him to meet Shu Qianqian, who was also a model and had always been rivals with her. Shu Qianqian said gloatingly that her schedule had been very full lately and she didn't even go to see Mandy's photography art exhibition. Photographer Teacher Lei came to find Shu Qianqian to take photos, and Xiao Shan's expression was a bit unnatural after seeing Teacher Lei.
Du Cheng asked about the reason, and Xiao Shan stated that she had just canceled her photography contract with Teacher Lei a few days ago. As Du Cheng and Xiao Shan were leaving, they encountered a sneaky follower. After Du Cheng caught him, he found out he was just an enthusiastic fan who liked Xiao Shan. Du Cheng and Xiao Shan were discussing in a restaurant and were just happened to be seen by Shen Yi and Du Qing.
Du Cheng reminded Shen Yi not to be Du Qing's informant. After Shen Yi saw the photo, he thought that the person who cut the photo felt not hatred towards Xiao Shan, but appreciation. From this, Du Cheng thought of Teacher Lei. As expected, Xiao Shan found a huge photo pieced together from her photos at Teacher Lei's home. Teacher Lei stated that he didn't want to see the changes Xiao Shan was making to enter the entertainment industry.
That's why he secretly cut the photos to keep them as treasures. Shen Yi accompanied Du Qing to a banquet, but the time lasted longer than he thought. Du Qing was fully in her element socializing with people, so Shen Yi, who couldn't hold his liquor, had to hide upstairs. Du Cheng rushed over. Shen Yi sighed about Du Qing's care for him. Du Cheng said without modesty that besides his sister, he also had brothers and sisters from the police station, and this included Shen Yi.
Episode 16 Recap
On a rainy night, Wang Xingjun, the watchman at a metal processing plant, received a package, but he hadn't bought anything recently. A huge explosion was heard. The courier who had left after dropping off the package lit a cigarette, and behind him, the watchman's office was engulfed in flames. Du Cheng led the police officers to investigate the scene, only finding a leftover courier box and some toy fragments.
Du Cheng worked late into the night reviewing past unsolved bombing cases. Shen Yi, who was originally going home, decided to stay and look through the case files with Du Cheng. The two worked busy through the night. Finally, at dawn, Shen Yi found that the crime scene photo of a past bombing case also had toy fragments. The first bombing occurred in an apartment building.
The victim, Zhao Jianyu, was severely injured by the explosion and is still in a coma in the hospital. Based on the toy fragments left at the scene, Du Cheng determined that the two cases were committed by the same person. This is very likely a serial bombing case, and Director Zhang ordered Du Cheng to solve the case within a time limit. Jiang Xue reconstructed the bombs used in the two cases.
She believed that when Zhao Jianyu was injured in the first case, the bomber's experience in making bombs was not extensive, but when Wang Xingjun was killed in the second case, the bomber's experience had improved, so the power was much greater than the first time. However, the bombs used in both cases were homemade, and the raw materials were easily obtainable, so continuing the investigation along this path was not very meaningful.
While discussing the case, Du Cheng believed the two cases were targeted retaliation. Jiang Feng investigated and found that Zhao Jianyu and Wang Xingjun worked in the same metal processing plant and had a superior-subordinate relationship. During the visits, Shen Yi found vouchers for Peng Ge's Restaurant in both Zhao Jianyu's and Wang Xingjun's homes.
After investigation, it was learned that Zhao Jianyu and Wang Xingjun had argued with a waiter at Peng Ge's Restaurant not long ago, and this waiter had now been fired by the restaurant manager, Li Hui. Shen Yi suspected that this waiter was the bomber. Du Cheng quickly contacted a bomb disposal expert to rush to Li Hui's home. The bomb disposal expert only found a clock in the express delivery package at Li Hui's home.
At this moment, a car exploded on the cross-sea bridge. The victims of the third bombing were Zhang Weifeng and his girlfriend Gao Miao. Du Cheng rushed to the scene after receiving the report. Shen Yi again found toy fragments at the scene. Meanwhile, Jiang Feng also found the detained waiter in the detention center, thus concluding that he had no time to commit the crime. Zhao Jianyu, the survivor of the first bombing, had woken up.
Du Cheng and Shen Yi went to him to understand the situation, but Zhao Jianyu did not tell the truth. Jiang Feng brought back news that Zhao Jianyu and Zhang Weifeng had participated in the same summer camp during their student years, and both had dropped out of school and gone abroad after the summer camp, only returning to the country recently.
Li Han found that during the summer camp Zhao Jianyu and Zhang Weifeng attended, there was an accident where a student fell off a cliff. Li Liankai, who died from the fall, was in the same group as them. The summer camp arrangement was four people per group, and the remaining person was named Liu Xiaochen. Li Liankai, whose parents were divorced, had lived with his father, Li Weijun, who was a courier.
Du Cheng arrived at Li Weijun's residence with a search warrant. Although he did not catch Li Weijun, he found equipment for making explosives in the attic. Shen Yi found four strange portraits in the room. He planned to take them back to the bureau for careful study. Du Cheng asked him to hand over the unknown medication found at Li Weijun's home to the forensic doctor He Rongyue.
He Rongyue analyzed that the unknown medication was used to treat mental illness. Shen Yi thus learned that Li Weijun suffered from prosopagnosia. Based on the painting characteristics of the four portraits, Shen Yi perfectly restored the portraits of Li Weijun's four targets. He told everyone that Wang Xingjun was not Li Weijun's target; Li Weijun had mistaken Wang Xingjun for Liu Xiaochen because of his prosopagnosia. Jiang Feng thought they should now stake out Liu Xiaochen's home.
Shen Yi suggested staking out the toy store run by Lin Zhijie, the fourth person in the portrait. Although he was not on the summer camp list, he also had a record of going abroad, and Shen Yi firmly believed that the face-blind Li Weijun did not know he had killed the wrong person. Jiang Feng reported the situation to Du Cheng. At this moment, Shen Yi was at the toy store.
Episode 17 Recap
Li Weijun encountered Shen Yi at the toy store. He told Shen Yi to call Lin Zhijie back. At this time, SWAT officers had already evacuated the surrounding residents outside the toy store, and Du Cheng also met up with the SWAT team. Seeing the explosives on Li Weijun, Shen Yi had to call Du Cheng.
The SWAT captain told Shen Yi on the phone to turn slightly sideways so that the ready sniper would have a chance to kill Li Weijun, but Shen Yi chose to stand straight, completely blocking Li Weijun. The SWAT captain did not understand Shen Yi's behavior. Du Cheng explained that Li Weijun had the detonator button in his hand, and if he was killed, muscle reflex would cause his hand to trigger the button. Fifteen minutes passed.
Li Weijun knew Lin Zhijie would not come. Just as he was about to press the button, Shen Yi, dripping with sweat, said frankly that he could draw what Li Liankai would look like as an adult. Li Weijun decided to give Shen Yi five minutes. Based on Li Liankai's childhood photos, Shen Yi drew him as an adult. Li Weijun, whose heart was aching for his son, released the hand holding the button and caressed the portrait.
Du Cheng, who had detoured from the roof to the toy store, quietly hid outside the window. Shen Yi seized the opportunity to give Du Cheng a signal. Du Cheng broke through the window and apprehended Li Weijun. Shen Yi then leaped to grab the button that was about to hit the ground. That year, Li Liankai, Zhao Jianyu, Zhang Weifeng, and Liu Xiaochen were in the same group for the summer camp.
Lin Zhijie, who was wandering by the mountain, encountered the group and argued with Li Liankai over a toy. Li Liankai accidentally fell off the cliff while struggling. The four frightened people immediately fled, while Li Weijun always felt that it was their concealment and failure to report that delayed the opportunity to rescue Li Liankai. Lin Zhijie, who finally arrived at the toy store, also deeply regretted his actions back then. He knelt down to Li Weijun to apologize.
What happened during the day made Du Cheng feel a lot. While he was chatting with Shen Yi at the coffee shop, he didn't know that M was sitting behind them. Du Cheng, who returned to the police station to work overtime, found an express package on his desk. At this moment, M called him. In the still-under-construction Whig Hotel, Du Cheng knelt beside a corpse, which was M, who had just fallen to her death from a height.
Du Cheng pried open M's hand and took out a clothing button, then used car window cleaner and sand to clean the traces on the scene. Finally, he closed M's open eyes, picked up the watch on the ground, and left. The police quickly dispatched after receiving the report. After Shen Yi arrived, he confirmed that the deceased was M. He Rongyue stated that M died from falling from a height. Du Cheng arrived at the scene out of breath.
Shen Yi felt that Du Cheng was a bit late. On the way back to the police station, Du Cheng recalled what M said on the phone last night. At that time, M had offered to tell Du Cheng the truth on the condition that Du Cheng protect her safety. Du Cheng's absentmindedness made Shen Yi feel unusual, but Du Cheng still hid it and did not tell the truth.
The video from the Whig Hotel was sent to the police station. Du Cheng sent Li Han away to watch it alone, but he found that his figure did not appear in the video, which was not normal. Shen Yi went to He Rongyue to inquire about the situation. He Rongyue had extracted car window cleaner components at the scene.
During the case analysis meeting, Du Cheng was unusually silent, while Shen Yi, contrary to his usual self, began to analyze the case. Du Cheng asked everyone to investigate according to Shen Yi's line of thought. When Shen Yi went to the trace identification group to understand the situation, he carefully examined several broken watch glasses. He found a scratch on a watch glass, and Du Cheng's watch glass had an identical scratch.
In the office, Du Cheng used the clue left by M to find a small seaside village called Wanggui Village. At this moment, Shen Yi was about to open the surveillance video from the Whig Hotel to check it. Li Han and Jiang Feng interrupted both of them and informed them to go to the conference room for a meeting.
Director Zhang introduced Lu Haizhou, the deputy captain of the Municipal Criminal Police Team, to everyone, stating that he would participate in the investigation of M's murder case. Lu Haizhou asked Du Cheng about the case. Du Cheng stated that there were no biological samples of the killer at the scene, and the autopsy and trace analysis were still in progress. Lu Haizhou felt that the killer of M was the same person who killed Lei Yifei. He did not understand why, after seven years, the case had not yet been solved.
Episode 18 Recap
After He Rongyue found car window cleaner, she guessed that the person who cleaned the scene might have driven to the Whig Hotel. Shen Yi took advantage of Du Cheng getting out of the car to buy something and secretly took Du Cheng's car window cleaner. Du Qing invited Shen Yi to her home for dinner. At the dinner table, Shen Yi questioned Du Cheng's recent abnormal state. Du Cheng only said he was too tired.
Shen Yi wanted to press him further but was interrupted by Du Qing. Shen Yi asked about Du Cheng's watch. Du Cheng said the watch was broken. Shen Yi said he knew a watch repairer. Du Qing then took out the repaired watch for Shen Yi to see. Shen Yi found that the scratch on the watch glass was gone. Lu Haizhou found Li Han, Lao Yan (Yan Tansheng), and Jiang Feng to ask about Du Cheng's personality traits.
When chatting about the homicide caused by the human trafficking case, Lu Haizhou pointedly said that the killer is always one step ahead of the police. Lu Haizhou visited Shen Yi's office and tried to learn about Du Cheng from Shen Yi. Shen Yi suggested that Lu Haizhou communicate directly with Du Cheng. Lu Haizhou asked if Shen Yi had any clues. Shen Yi recalled all of Du Cheng's abnormalities but did not tell Lu Haizhou.
Du Cheng went alone to the seaside cottage late at night to investigate. M lived here before she died. M's diary had been torn out. Du Cheng used a pencil to make a rubbing of the imprint left on the last page of the diary. The file M sent to Du Cheng the night of the incident was a photo, and she told Du Cheng that the man in the photo was the killer of Lei Yifei.
Du Cheng left the photo in the house before leaving. Shen Yi found a large amount of salt stains while examining M's belongings. He suspected that M had stayed by the sea before she died. Shen Yi didn't want to alarm anyone and wanted to investigate by the sea alone. After Lu Haizhou learned about this, he wanted to dispatch municipal criminal police. Du Cheng immediately decided to send someone to act with Shen Yi.
During the search, Shen Yi, who was in the same group as Du Cheng, secretly checked Du Cheng's driving record. But the driving record had already been deleted by Du Cheng. Du Cheng discovered Shen Yi's action after returning to the car but did not point it out. Everyone found the seaside cottage based on the clue provided by the grocery store, and the photo left by Du Cheng became the most important clue.
Investigations revealed that the man in the photo was named Zhou Jun. Du Cheng immediately decided to arrest Zhou Jun. In private, Lu Haizhou frankly said that Du Cheng's decision was too hasty. After all, Zhou Jun had an alibi at the time of the incident. Shen Yi did not agree with Lu Haizhou's idea. Zhou Jun, who worked at the library, was brought to the police station.
But after more than ten hours of questioning, Zhou Jun did not provide any valuable clues. Du Cheng personally questioned Zhou Jun whether he killed Lei Yifei. Zhou Jun, looking dazed, remained silent. Seeing that the detention time was about to expire, Du Cheng had an emotional breakdown. Jiang Feng pulled Du Cheng out of the interrogation room. Lu Haizhou questioned how Du Cheng knew Zhou Jun was the killer of Lei Yifei.
Du Cheng stated that he was just bluffing Zhou Jun. Du Cheng personally escorted Zhou Jun back to the library and was led to the restroom by Zhou Jun under surveillance. Li Han found a blurry figure in the surveillance video of the Whig Hotel. Lu Haizhou wanted to ask the technicians from Tongcheng Group to help restore the image clarity. Shen Yi proposed that he would draw a portrait of the figure.
After carefully observing the video screenshots, Shen Yi began to draw the portrait. But each portrait only drew half of the figure. Shen Yi's emotions were extremely unstable while looking at the portraits. Finally, he still drew a complete portrait, and the person in the portrait was surprisingly Du Cheng. Jiang Feng looked for Shen Yi early in the morning for the portrait, but Shen Yi was not in the office.
Jiang Feng was very surprised after seeing Du Cheng's portrait on the drawing board. And at this time, Du Cheng and Shen Yi were together. Shen Yi pressed Du Cheng, and Du Cheng started telling the story from the night of the incident. On the night of the incident, M arranged to meet Du Cheng on the fifth floor of the Whig Hotel. But as soon as Du Cheng got to the second floor, M fell from a height.
Du Cheng saw what the killer looked like. M had told Du Cheng before she died that someone was chasing her, and her purpose for seeking Du Cheng's cooperation was also to seek his protection. Du Cheng realized that there was a powerful mastermind behind the whole thing, so he decided to play along and try to use himself as bait to lure the mastermind out. Du Cheng did not want Shen Yi to be involved, because Shen Yi was his bottom line and the only chance to catch the real killer.
Episode 19 Recap
The municipal police detective team had received an audio file containing a recording of M's phone call with Du Cheng before her death. In the recording, Du Cheng had threatened to kill M to avenge Lei Yifei. With the help of Tongcheng Group, the surveillance video from the Whig Hotel on the night of the incident had its clarity enhanced, and Du Cheng's figure appeared in the video. Lu Haizhou submitted these two pieces of evidence to his superiors.
Director Zhang decided to temporarily suspend Du Cheng from his duties. The framed Du Cheng voluntarily handed over his work credentials. Afterwards, Director Zhang announced at a meeting that Lu Haizhou would take over the case. Shen Yi questioned Lu Haizhou's purpose for coming to the Beijiang Branch, and Lu Haizhou told him the truth and invited Shen Yi to work at the municipal bureau. Shen Yi declined Lu Haizhou's invitation.
Shen Yi asked Du Cheng to give him a detailed account of his movements on the night of the incident. Shen Yi then worked through the night to draw the scene of the incident. The next day, he recounted the events to everyone. On the night of the incident, Du Cheng arrived at the Whig Hotel and reached the fourth floor when he saw M fall. He looked up and saw the figure of the killer on the fifth floor.
Du Cheng intended to intercept the killer from the fire escape on the fourth floor. After they exchanged blows, Du Cheng was kicked down the stairs. Du Cheng got up and chased after him. They engaged in a fierce struggle again on the second-floor platform. At that time, the camera should have recorded both of their figures, but the video sent to the police station only showed Du Cheng's blurry figure, indicating that the video had been tampered with.
As a result of the struggle, Du Cheng was pushed downstairs by the killer, and the glass on Du Cheng's watch was damaged during this process. Du Cheng fell and lost consciousness, but when he woke up, he realized that this killer was the same person as the one in the photo M had given him—the killer of Lei Yifei, Zhou Jun. Shen Yi's analysis was very convincing to everyone. No one believed that Du Cheng would kill M.
Lu Haizhou had no choice but to dispatch Jiang Feng to take people to control Zhou Jun first. Lu Haizhou questioned Du Cheng, but Du Cheng turned the tables and told Lu Haizhou a story. A mastermind had formed a human trafficking organization, but unexpectedly, Police Officer Lei Yifei found evidence, forcing the mastermind to disband the organization. However, M, a key figure in the organization, betrayed them at this time and took important documents.
After the mastermind found M, they discovered that M was in contact with Police Officer Du Cheng. To eliminate future troubles, the mastermind sent Zhou Jun to kill M and frame Police Officer Du Cheng. Lu Haizhou understood Du Cheng's meaning. Soon after, he received the news of Zhou Jun's death. Before his death, Zhou Jun destroyed the important documents he had obtained from M.
He Rongyue examined the body and found that Zhou Jun's cause of death was photogenic epilepsy. Shen Yi examined the files Li Han recovered from Zhou Jun's computer and discovered a virus file that could make the screen emit a specific flash. According to M's description to Du Cheng, although she had never met the leader of the human trafficking organization, she had heard his voice.
This voice had recently appeared during the speech of Chen Zhou, the general manager of Tongcheng Group. Zhou Jun's computer had stored photos of human trafficking, and it also had the Silver Eagle security system installed. The surveillance at Whig Hotel was technically supported by Tongcheng Group, so only Tongcheng Group could have tampered with the video. Thus, Chen Zhou of Tongcheng Group came into the police's视线 (line of sight).
Since they didn't have a search warrant, everyone was unsure how to enter Tongcheng Group to investigate. Shen Yi proposed that they should force Chen Zhou to expose himself. Du Qing brought Shen Yi to Tongcheng Group under the pretext of discussing cooperation. While the general manager Chen Zhou was absent, the two of them carefully learned about Tongcheng Group's network security system. Shen Yi focused his attention on Chen Zhou's office.
Shen Yi carefully observed the fingerprint password lock on Chen Zhou's office door. Just then, Chen Zhou suddenly appeared. Fortunately, Du Qing stepped in in time to help Shen Yi out of the situation. Chen Zhou invited Du Qing and Shen Yi into the office to talk. Shen Yi seized the opportunity to extract Chen Zhou's fingerprint from a chess piece. Chen Zhou proactively suggested playing a game of chess with Shen Yi, and Du Qing left first.
Chen Zhou's chess style was very aggressive. While playing chess, Shen Yi recounted the human trafficking case and the murders of Lei Yifei and M to Chen Zhou. Shen Yi's action was intended to provoke Chen Zhou into taking action, so that they could find Chen Zhou's weakness.
Episode 20 (Ending) Recap
After technical analysis, the video and audio accusing Du Cheng of killing M were found to be faked, and the alibi video showing Zhou Jun working in the library at the time of the incident was also faked. Therefore, only Tongcheng Group could have faked these. Shen Yi thus suspected that the "? " on M's laptop – the true mastermind – was Chen Zhou. Lu Haizhou and Shen Yi informed Du Cheng of the situation.
Tongcheng Group was about to officially launch the Silver Eagle security system engine. At the launch event, they would also sign agreements with mobile phone manufacturers. After signing the agreements, eighty percent of mobile phones in Beijiang would have the Silver Eagle security system installed. Du Cheng realized that if the agreements were signed, the privacy of Beijiang's residents would all be controlled by Chen Zhou. Shen Yi found a website that Chen Zhou had created during his university years.
This website not only brought Chen Zhou his first success but also became a useful tool for his future human trafficking activities. To stop Chen Zhou's plan, they first needed to find Chen Zhou's criminal evidence, and this evidence must be on one of Chen Zhou's computers. After tireless efforts by the cyber police, they finally discovered that this computer was located inside Chen Zhou's office.
Du Cheng asked Director Zhang to issue a search warrant for Tongcheng Group, but Director Zhang did not have the authority for this. Lu Haizhou applied for and obtained a search warrant from the municipal bureau and handed it to Du Cheng. Du Cheng led the officers from various divisions to Tongcheng Group, while Shen Yi went alone to the Tongcheng Group press conference venue. The police technically cut off Tongcheng Group's external communication signals.
Du Cheng successfully entered Chen Zhou's office using the fingerprint Shen Yi had obtained. Du Cheng carefully observed the office. A trophy Chen Zhou won during his university years caught his attention. The trophy was the key to entering the secret room. Du Cheng successfully found the location of the secret room, but what appeared before everyone's eyes were countless computers.
Tongcheng Group's technical staff stated that after the external communication signals were cut off for a period of time, Chen Zhou's phone would receive an alert and the signal would be restored. At this point, Du Cheng only had five minutes left. Du Cheng first chose the oldest computer. He believed that Chen Zhou would definitely choose this significant computer to store the data.
Subsequently, the technical department successfully extracted several numbers that Chen Zhou frequently pressed based on the fingerprints. Shen Yi, dressed in red, was conspicuous in the crowd below the stage. When Chen Zhou went on stage to give his speech, Shen Yi deliberately sent a message to make Chen Zhou uneasy. He also showed Chen Zhou the numbers Du Cheng had extracted.
When it came time for the signing ceremony, Shen Yi stepped to the front of the stage and exposed Chen Zhou's plan to steal public privacy under the guise of a free security system. Chen Zhou was worried that the computer password would be deciphered, so he intelligently changed the computer's startup password on his own. At the last moment, Du Cheng successfully unlocked the computer with the password and obtained the required file code.
After decryption by the cyber police, the file recorded cases such as human trafficking, instigating Zhou Jun to commit murder, tampering with video and audio recordings to frame Du Cheng, and so on. All the truth was revealed. Chen Zhou still wanted to quibble in the face of evidence. He didn't understand how his password was deciphered. Shen Yi directly stated that Chen Zhou's act of changing the password on his own gave him the opportunity.
He used the human brain's memory of images and colors to force Chen Zhou to use his most primitive belief – the website address from his university years – when changing the password. The police then successfully deciphered the password using the combination of numbers and letters from the website address. Lu Haizhou bid farewell.
Everyone was busy helping Sister Fei put up a bulletin board, while Du Cheng took the case files for the Lei Yifei case from the cabinet in his office. Du Cheng and Shen Yi, wearing police uniforms, came before the portrait of Lei Yifei at the Beijiang Yacht Club. Du Cheng regarded Lei Yifei as a brother and father, while Shen Yi stated that besides Xu Yiduo, Lei Yifei was the person who influenced him the most.
After all, it was the case of Lei Yifei's death that made him transition from a painter to a portrait artist. The case was finally solved, and both of them felt exceptionally relaxed. A person in black secretly entered Shen Yi's studio during the night. He flipped through the case portraits drawn by Shen Yi and examined them carefully. Then, the person in black took a paper cutter and went before one of the portraits. He cut through a layer of the colorful portrait, revealing a black and white eye underneath.
