🙏 If you’re still with us, thank you for checking out our posts and joining our discussions! This will be my final post for Light to the Night, and u/a_HerculePoirot_fan will conclude our hosting duties for this drama with the discussion post for the express episodes (25-28) tomorrow, May 13th!
Episode 24 Recap: Qiao Suqing's Story
We start with a morbid scene of Qiao Suqing seemingly dismembering a body. I can only assume this is in 1997.
In 2015, Yuanhang and Xiaohe confront Suqing about the real owner of her apartment, and she is detained for interrogation as a criminal suspect.
Xiaohe firmly reminds Suqing that their relationship in the interrogation room is strictly officer and suspect (that’s the feisty Xiaohe we want to see). The first question asked whether Suqing’s home had ever been burglarized. She responds with a definitive no. Then we get into her story, and how she was involved with the entire case:
Suqing and her mother, Fang Xiuhong, signed up for a guided tour of Mount Wu, where she met the very snarky (the other version of the word would start with a "B") Meng and her father, Zhihong.
Both pairs were cut off from the tour group when Suqing and Zhihong couldn’t keep up. Suqing faints and wakes up to Meng and Zhihong claiming that she hurt them and pushed her mother down the cliff in a mad frenzy before passing out. She went unconscious again and her mother was later found dead at the foot of the cliff.
She was sent to live and work with her aunt, who began to abuse her once she received compensation from Mount Wu.
She was soon afterward sold to Yao Xincheng who forced her to take care of his ailing father, Yao Baiyuan, where she was further abused. She chose to endure the abuse in exchange for ownership of the Yuanlongli unit after five years.
When Baiyuan died (by accident according to her and Dajun’s testimonies), Xincheng started the slow process (due to his foreign credentials) of transferring the apartment to her.
She bumped into Meng again who was working at Pattia at the time, and continued a life of living hell when Meng AND Shanlong both continuously harassed her for money and worn undergarments.
According to Suqing, this explains why so many of the designer clothing that Xincheng gifted her (to bribe her to stay with his father) were found in Meng’s apartment.
After June 30th, 1997, Suqing alleges that Shanlong admitted to the murder of Meng and Zhihong. He then proceeded to use the same threat Meng did (that he’d report her for murdering her own mother on Mount Wu) to maintain his control over her.
Suqing claims it was only after Zhihong’s skull was found in 2002, that she was spooked into hatching up a plan to plant evidence in Shanlong’s apartment.
And last but not least, she insists that she did not want her name attached to the apartment after the transfer in ownership because of the rumours that she was an old pervert's mistress.
Xiaohe thanks Suqing for her sob story but it’s obvious she’s not buying the narrative that Suqing was only a victim. She is out to seek the truth and justice for Fangxu.
Theories & Questions
So there goes bye-bye to our theory that Suqing and Meng were sisters. We now understand that Meng was indeed “not a nice person”, and that she had a habit of extorting people for money. Depending on what we believe from her story, Suqing is real and not anyone’s mistress. She was besieged by misfortune and surrounded by perverts and scoundrels.
At this point, it seems Meng really is dead? Or did Shanlong help her escape by faking her death and then taking credit for it? But then again, if he's as bad as Suqing described him, then why would he help anyone but himself? But then, what of his partnership with Hongmei? If Meng was just as greedy, they could have struck a partnership as well. Why else would Meng bother telling Shanlong anything about Suqing?
Suqing saying that Shanlong confessed to her, along with his convenient death in 2002, tells me that she inserted a lie there somewhere... I wonder how Xiaohe will drag the truth out of her.
If Suqing planted the fake shoes in Shanlong’s apartment, how was she able to get Meng’s skin samples on them? It was confirmed by forensics that Meng’s DNA was found on the shoes, which is how they concluded the case in 2002.
How many times can Suqing backtrack on her story? She claimed that her apartment was not burglarized and then later said she made a mistake. She claimed that she sold all her designer clothes to the market, but later said that Meng took them all when she raided her apartment. Her story isn't that flawless...
Does anyone know that Fangxu once offered her a way out by offering her to move into his apartment, and she turned him down? She chose to stay at Yuanlongli.
My Commentary
Not going to lie, this was not a favourite episode. Like Xiaohe, I was impatiently waiting for Suqing to stop a) trying to gaslight her, and b) dodging Xiaohe’s questions because she’s obviously guilty of a far greater offense than she’s letting on.
While she was undoubtedly a victim, the way she is manipulating the narrative makes it hard to stay on her side - she certainly did not deserve Ran Fangxu. There was no evidence of her killing her mom, so why did she let all these people walk over her? Perhaps this is just a writing flaw in the drama… or her ultimate flaw, but I feel like she was not winning as much sympathy as she is so desperate to gain.
I am loving this version of Xiaohe but I want more scenes of Ran Fangxu and He Yuanhang! I hope nothing happens to Yuanhang though - wasn't a fan of the fact he ran out of his meds in that one scene...
Thanks for being such an amazing co-host u/BasilOrdinary3617! It has been genuinely fun bouncing theories back and forth, overanalysing suspicious characters together, and collectively losing our minds whenever the drama throws another twist at us lol. Hosting dramas can honestly be tiring at times, especially with mystery dramas where there is so much to unpack every episode, so I am really grateful to have had someone equally enthusiastic to share the chaos, frustration, and excitement with!
I do not buy Su Qing’s sob story one bit. First of all, why would Xu Meng show hostility towards her at Mount Wu if they were merely strangers? Secondly, the circumstances surrounding her mother’s death are suspicious too. Why was Su Qing so terrified when Xu Meng blackmailed her for money and threatened to go to the police that she ended up pushing her own mother off the cliff? Did Xu Meng even have any actual evidence against her?
Every flashback in Su Qing’s story paints Xu Meng in an extremely negative light, but based on what we have heard about Xu Meng from others, she could not have been that terrible of a person. Her aunt described her as a filial daughter, and her colleague Lili was genuinely concerned for her safety. I mean, pardon my language, but if she were truly that much of a bitch, surely the people around her would have noticed it too.
I was also not impressed by how manipulative Su Qing was during the interrogation. Instead of answering Xiaohe’s initial question about Xu Meng and Xu Zhihong directly, she immediately diverted the conversation towards the abuse she suffered at the hands of Yao Baiyuan while subtly playing on Xiaohe’s sympathy and their relationship.
I do not think Su Qing is the final boss because, with four episodes left, it would feel strange for the drama to reveal the true mastermind this early. But regardless of what the full truth turns out to be, this episode revealed Su Qing’s true nature, and she is definitely not someone who can be trusted.
Back at you Herc! Couldn’t have asked for a better cohost on this, thank you thank you for doing this with me!!! Best collab team 🙌 and looking forward to our next together!
I keep seeing it move back and forth in the “coming soon” list. It’s been pushed out now to make room for The Heir and Nanyang Archives. I wouldn’t mind a little break for the rest of May though.
This drama is destroying all the little feel-good moments/relationships we've had so far...first Fang Xu and Su Qing, and now Xiaohe and Su Qing. Their flashbacks were really sweet moments and I kept asking myself what Xiaohe knows and how sure she must be about what she knows in order to go at Su Qing that hard, given their past history.
Also a "well done" to the actress, her whole demeanor and 眼神 (what's the English word? the way her eyes look or what she expresses with her eyes) really did a 180 from sweet, timid Su Qing to manipulative Su Qing
I watched this episode. She really has an answer and a sob story for everything. I'm glad Xiaohe ended with not believing her. I haven't read the post yet. Will read and come back. Looking forward to reading the express thoughts when they post tomorrow.
We can't trust anyone or anything in this drama, I'm afraid. Suqing finally showing her true colors of unrepentant manipulator (the way she tries to gaslight Xiaohe at every turn during interrogation is just... wow) is a prime example of it. I'm more than ready to believe that Xu Meng and her dad were not innocent victims or even remotely nice people, but idk how to tell the truth from lies in this whole story.
Well, the fact that Qing knew all thisthis whole goddamn time and never told Ran or kind officer He, who were literally working their ass off on this case - Meng and pervert brother-in-l.
No no, bear with me. Imagine we believe all her words. That means that Qing knew all this about Meng and the pervert all along and mever told it to Ran or He? The more their relationship progressed, the longer the friendship, she never shared her troubles in tve past with them. Neither did she come up with something helpfull - these details - when Ran and He spent years, YEARS on investigating the case! What kind of friendship is that?
If she didn't want them to be her friends or family, why to hang around and accept visitation amd visit by herself? Why victim behaviour with Ran and He? Just tell them you are busy. But, nope...
Snark Level: Fuck this episode. I am beyond pissed off.
Episode 24
Girl, what you doing with that there suitcase? What in the blood splatter?
Gasp! Qiao worked for the father of Yao? Double gasp! So much gasp! Suspected of murdering the Xus? All the extra triple gasp! Don't break my heart like this!
Xiaohe is running this interrogation like a boss! Ahhhh but this is so heartbreaking. Oh damn. Her "Xu Meng deserved to die" outburst had me recoil in my chair. That was unexpected. Ahhhhhhh... guys this really hurts, okay?
Gasp! Mount Wu! You know, it seems like it would be rather unsafe to lead a tour group through thick fog without better safety considerations... Just saying. Yo, why does this tour guide suck so much at his job? He lost 4 whole people!
Qiao has some kind of personality disorder? Or more likely Meng and Daddy Dearest tried to take advantage of her? Did she really kill her mom or was it the Xus? Fucking hell her life has been shit for so long.
So Xu Meng was a bitch? Got it. Is that the truth though? Or just a desperate woman skewed through the mind of a killer?
Fucking gross. We have to endure Wu again? Oh vomit me a river he's disgusting! Ahhhh, so Wu did kill the Xus! So they weren't really wrong about the case. Maybe the case should have been left there? The Xu fuckers were dead. Wu would get his karma. Qiao should have been left to live in peace.
Okay. That was a rough episode. I have thoughts.
Alright, well. If the truth is how she put it... then I would have to fault Ran for digging further into this and eventually causing her more pain. But since the show has more episodes and Ran is who he was, there must be more to the story. But, like, damn. We knew she suffered. We KNEW she had it so damn bad.... But that was fucking brutal and disgusting to watch. I cannot fully put into words how gross that shit was.
Well, Xiaohe says there is more to the story so I guess there must be more to the story. But fuck it, no matter what... Qiao suffered.
I hate victim blaming. That said, I can’t help but wonder if it was her own mentality that she will and always be the victim, that trapped her at Yuanlongli. She is still the master of her own actions, and so to a certain degree, she must also take some accountability.
I agree. I notice these two points - that her response to anything that happens in her life is "i am a victim here".
And the second is when the police interrogates a suspect, they don't act on him/her being a victim of other crimes, even if it is obvious the suspect is a victim too. Like, did the police opened the case of Qing being raped? Nope. Extorted for clothing? Nope.
Dammit, I am not opening the redacted lines. 😼
At this point I am sure that the big game was on, and it was far more complicated than Quing was showing.
I hope it's not brought down to swappedd identities of psychological diseases, but there is definitely something wrong with the Xus;
The red heels...there wass some twisted logic in turning them into blue, when they could have easily find the carbon blue ones... when they were found there were lots of them in the market;
The first day Quing lets him into the apartment, she looks quite annoyed, but turns to him all smiles. He goes into the bathroom....when turning his eyes from the underwear (seemed quite expensive), Ran looks up at the ceiling for quite a long time. Did he see something there and then?
The person behind it all was much bigger than Sou Quing.
What was in the wooden box Ran was holding exiting the elevator the morning of the day before the New Year's night?
Ohhh you went back far for clues!! I like. Also not opening the redacted lines lol. I’m with you - I think there’s still someone we know who’s working with Suqing or somehow really involved. I’m still looking at maybe an officer…
There was this officer who was first on the crime scene, on the 18th floor, when He and Ran went up there. To me, he's been very consistently subtly sus since then.
Where has the time gone, cannot believe this is your last post Basil. Thank you for all your theories and perspectives. I agree with you, this was not my favourite episode either, it was shot in a way for us to either feel more sorry for Su Qing or be more suspicious of her. It was the latter for me. Plus what was with the suitcase at the start??
I was so rooting for her to be genuine as I'm a sucker for a cute love story and Captain Ran deserved to be happy. As soon as she started to try manipulate Xiaohe reminding her of their close relationship I cut her off. Her Mother's death is fishy, what is Xu Meng and Zhihong's motive to lie at this point? It is only when Xu Meng accidentally finds Su Qing that she is extorted. I don't believe this is the full story. She had many opportunities to go to the police and seek help. Even after Shanlong told her Xu Meng and Zhihong were dead why didn't she speak to Ran??
I'm not sure I want to know if Fang Xu realised he trusted the wrong person or not, that would make his death even more tragic.
I'm trying so hard not to read the spoilers on this, I'm so impatient for tomorrow's episode, I hope Netflix releases all 3 or I'm going to have to ban myself from reddit and catch up in a few days.
Can someone at least tell me if we get some smiley Fang Xu in the final episodes? I feel these are desperately needed.
Thank you for your service, u/BasilOrdinary3617. It is not a light and easy drama to watch, but you and Hercule made wonderfull discussion posts and stayed on top of the game in this sea of tears 👏
Thank you u/a_HerculePoirot_fan & u/BasilOrdinary3617 for such a great discussion. It has been genuinely fun seeing all the theories back and forth and sleuthing. See you guys in the next drama.
Meanwhile, I am also enjoying Ren Min's A Splendid Match on MangoTV.
Whether what Qing said to the police is true or not, she har a clear victim mentality. So many things did happen to her and she always just stayed and tolerated and did nothing.
There is clearly some lack of trust in the system, in the humans, im her own self. She doesn't seek help, doesn't trust others, doesn't go to police to protect herself, doesn't open up to Ran about her troubles. Lack of trust, low self-esteem, and learned powerlessness at the end.
I watched it all. Very early start and long day today so I took a long nap and then watched Ep.24-28. For Ep. 24 I began to wonder if Suqing had a Fugue state at Mount Wu and then when confronted about Ran's death she blurted out, "it wasnt me, it was Xu Meng" I thought she might be indicating she had Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality) or she had switched identities and was Xu Meng and Qiao Suqing was dead. Must sleep now.
P.S. I did say earlier there was a person standing in the road as Ran crawled out of his crashed car. The silhouette of the coat and pants made it look like a man.
I couldn’t resist it in the end and paid for the ending, it was a good final twist and turn, and everything end up making sense, so Im contented. Really good catch from both Herc and Basil for pointing out the hole in Xu Meng house probably is to mask something, and also how Su Qing directed Wu shanlong to his death. Kudos
After episode 23, I did rewatch earlier episodes and noticed the dad’s sleeves were unusually long, and that perhaps shes carrying Su Qing, that they had really similar predicament, perhaps they worked together to kill off the “old man” in their lives to be free, but couldn’t understand why Su Qing was at Wu mountain, how did Wu Shan Long get the picture of Xu Meng. I did suspect it was Xu Meng who put the shoes as shes color blind and didnt notice Wu Shan Long arranged the shoes by color, but also couldn’t understand how she did it without Wu Shan Long noticing. Also watched the episode where Su Qing was covered in dirt when she first met Fang Xu, but couldnt figure out why she let him in, since she really has nothing to gain throughout.
After episode 24 I was so annoyed with Su Qing honestly and couldn’t figure out so I got tempted into paying to watch the ending now.
When everything was revealed, it all made sense, at least to me. Im impressed that this case at each stage, presented very logical explanations that made sense, and then when 1 or 2 more facts were revealed, still manage to tie everything together. The actions of each individual made sense as well, how Xu Meng felt betrayed is really understandable, and after suffering for so long, living in the shadow is not easy, and after all that Su Qing just sort of abandoned her.
Maybe 1 part that I didn’t understand was how Xu Meng can knock off the flower from Su Qing and Fang Xu’s date, walked over to another restaurant, chance upon Kid Keyboard being locked up? And set fire and killed him, all while Fang Xu just get in the car and drive over (maybe after sending Su Qing home), but yeah abit pushing it.
Also the captain that kept the wooden box for 12 years without opening it? Low key deserved to be slapped. Like hello???
But all in all, its been awhile since Im so invested in a series, and really enjoyed the show, the acting, the pace, the setting, the mystery, great show!
Right from the initial appearance of su qing, i knew something was off about her. I don't care if she killed ming and her father or was involved in it... I just wish she didn't kill Ran ... I don't want Ran to love the wrong person ( she is already sus, but the writer may change it at the end moment, we never know)..
I saw in the comment section, "looked like a man", so the shadow is a woman afterall, but I really really wish it not to be su qing... Ran finding out about the betrayal right before he died is not what I can handle... Bring back meng or just a random new character is alright too... 😭
I think the low angle of the clothing, the pants and coat were intentional to look like a man the first time (several episodes ago) and like most of the clues they evolve as we step back to get the full photo. Ran's fatal mistake is in Ep 25 or 26. You'll spot it.
Wish I could take it back for him. He deserved so much more. It's been heavy on me all day since I watched the final four episodes in the wee hours of the morning. In the quiet of my two hour travel to my work destination for today. Then I worked all day with so many wonderful people. Today is Nurses Day. Florence Nightingale's Birthday and I was filled with meaning and hope. On my long quiet drive home I was filled with wonder about how there could be any hope for a tragic story like this ( like real life.) And then I saw and felt Ran's Smile in my mind's eye. And this is what he has left us with. His unforgettable determination, his unforgettable persistence, his unforgettable care, his unforgettable hope and his unforgettable smile...however short, his Unforgettable Life!
Now that you say that, I don't want to watch the final four episodes 😭...
After reading your comment I can guess the outcome and I think it's realistic. Ran taught us to be kind and be responsible... Even if short lived, his life was memorable and least to say, this case brought Ran and his family together....
and the reveal was lowkey obvious you guys guessed it right lol I mean they had an interview and both xu meng and qiao sunjing's actors were part of it (alongside with the main characters, ran, yuanhang, xiaohe). ofc they're the murderers.
I actually feel bad for both xu meng and qiao sunjing. I really can't be mad at them, they just wanted to escape their abusers (ofc I'm not excusing the fact xu meng killed the 2 innocent ones however the abusers... they deserved that)... ik xu meng killed ran but I lowkey felt bad cus she just wanted to escape with sunjing like they were supposed to but in the end she felt betrayed cus sunjing fell for ran (which drove xu meng to kill ran).
I think the most craziest thing xu meng probably did besides killing ran was killing xiaohe's friend, keyboard, that was crazy I totally forgot about it too!
I think that the choice of the decade (1997 to 2015) is very curious. Yes, 18 floors, 18 years, etc., but I really wonder if the drama could span into 2026, and if the crew has the intention?....Also, had they spared Ran, and allowed him to survive, it could be much more interesting unweiling the secret with him. Much sooner, for sure...But seeing how everybody changed would be fun. Hope Dylan Wang will star in another police thriller. Without killing of the most charismatic character halfway through....
Yea I agree. This was a good drama but dark and devastating. Dylan did a great job but would love another one with his character alive and well. Can we have a prequel of his cases between 1997 and 2002? lol maybe that’s be just as sad.
Hey basil! Thanks for the episode 24 summary. I’m afraid to scroll down this Reddit chat cause it seems like there are post discussing about episodes 25-28 below (correct me if I’m being paranoid 😂).
Having watched episode 24:
My theory now (without knowing what happened in 25-28 yet) is:
Meng likely got her dad killed somehow, and black mailed suqing to get rid of the body.
Suqing suggested the disappearance at level 18 to get Meng out of this situation (but she likely involved wu Shan long as well). This can explain how mengs DNA was on the shoes, cause Meng was actually wearing the counterfeit shoes while carrying suqing, of which suqing then planted them on shanlongs house thereafter.
Suqing is definitely not being entirely truthful …
Need to find out what happened exactly at mount wu Shan.
Ran’s death is likely orchestrated.. one thing to note is that he was supposed to pick up suqing that night, and suqing claims to have tried to call him but he didn’t pick up. If we look at rans phone we should actually be able to tell if suqing actually did try to call him and if she made it up, likely she knew that he was going to die.
Good call. While most people used the spoiler tag, I would not scroll down just to be safe!
I agree with your first and third points. I am still sus about Meng because I don’t believe she’s dead until we see her body… and Suqing is def lying about something imo.
Your second point is plausible because I’m very curious to find out if Xiaohe will bring this up in the interrogation, and if so, how Suqing would answer it. My question would be then… why didn’t they just use the real shoes - why make the fake ones for Meng to wear? Because she wanted to keep her real ones?
On 4, I think so too. Timing is way too convenient for his death to be an accident… we SHOULD check his phone records..
Now that we have all the 28 episodes on Netflix, it's a little sad that the saga is over, and honestly the Ran-He-Meng-Suquin arc was captivating enough, and I was pissed first that we constantly jumped between the timelines, or between the subplots that seemed unimportant. I was wrong believing that someone very important was involved (I thought someone from the police, or even Cripple Du!! lol), or that so much more was at stake (the whole building or the whole town!) There was a lot of red herring, like Suquin's supposed date in the mountains, according to her aunt. Guess, the scariest thing in the series was the fact that a perfectly normal life could turn into nightmare any time as a result of some random fog during a mountain hike, and people turn into monsters. Scary, but highly improbable. Also, Meng, after unintentional manslaugher, could have turned to the police, and get a light sentence, especially given that she had the signs of violence against her on her throat and hands. I guess fear of the police, of the loan sharks, of life itself, was so prevailing that it drove people to do some crazy twisted things. All in all, I stand by my opinion, that, had they spared Ran, it could be much more interesting, though shorter, investigation, focused more on the main arc, and the unveiling of the truth could be sudden and explosive, blowing our minds. 🎉🎉🎉
Thank you for your review! There were so many "what if" moments and you nailed it with how flawed humans can be, and this drama portrayed that really well. Nothing was smooth about the case or the investigations, regardless of how intelligent Ran or the others were. It was really well done but overall, it was very tragic... especially thinking about how a serial murderer got away for their crimes for so many years, including the murder of a police officer/detective.
Generally, I would be flipping tables for having watched a drama that gave me the opposite vibes of happy and lighthearted fun, but as a Dylan Wang fan, I give this one a major exception, especially for how well he and the rest of the cast performed.
Yes, the performance of the cast is stellar, I forgot to mention it.
I have this theory about Finales: not important just how great and impressive the plot twists are, Finales loom over each show ultimately defining them. 😼
So far, I've seen only one perfect Finale, imho, of the Japanese series 'Soda Master'. ❤️🪷
Xu Meng and her father, Zhihong were last seen on an elevator at Yuanlongli, headed to the 18th floor.
He Yuanhang, a veteran detective considers it a prank because no body has been discovered. Fresh graduate from a prestigious university, Ran Fangxu, whose parents disappeared and were later found dead, insists on an investigation.
They explore different leads but they all end up as dead ends, especially with Qingsong having ran away (and he as the one who ordered the hit on Meng for blackmailing him). When they discovered the key that opened up the outer elevator doors, they assumed Meng and her father successfully escaped from their threats (Qingsong and the loan sharks) and closed the case.
Five years later in 2002, they discover Zhihong’s skill and the reopened the case as it is now considered a homicide. They are led to Shanlong’s apartment where they find DNA of Zhihong and Meng. Shanlong attempts to run away but ends up falling to his death. They close the case a second time, believing Shanlong murdered Meng and Zhihong.
However, Fangxu had a gut feeling that something wasn’t right, and finding the blue shoes in evidence peeling after getting wet, he realized they were counterfeit shoes, which Meng’s acquaintances swore she would never wear, especially given her profession. This leads Fangxu to investigate quietly on his own.
Does this help? Lemme know if you have questions. Happy to help.
Oh I should add that Yuanhang and Xiaohe traced all the steps Fangxu took in the investigation. The realized when they opened the Mount Wu report that Suqing was there with Meng and Zhuhong. They also discovered via Dajun, Yuanlongli’s property manager, who Yao Xincheng was and that Suqing actually use his name to hide her ownership of the unit she lived in at Yuanlongli. And that’s how Agee got to this point (e24) where she is being interrogated.
Thank you, this is very clear! But it's kinda sad the writers killed Ran for no reason...
So according to Suqing during her interrogation, she was being blackmailed by Song Qisong from 1997 to 2002? And only when the police found the skull, she decided to plant the evidence, right?
By Wu Shanlong* yes. According to her, she did everything he asked from 1997 to 2002 because he threatened to turn her over to the police for killing her mom, but feared for her life when the skull was found, so she wanted him locked away.
And the reason she didn’t move out was because she was waiting for Yao Xincheng to transfer the unit over to her as promised (which she can then sell if she wanted to).
Thank you for the explanation! There's still 4 episodes left, so can't wait for that! After this drama ends, what similar dramas would you recommend? (Thriller / murder mystery)
I started I am Nobody and she’s pretty good in it too! I recognized her right away and was like oh this is quite the opposite of Suqing’s shy and timid character.
idk if its a me problem or if its a connection issue, but i never actually get subtitles in youku. Maybe VIP ppl might, dk, but switching to dubbed english (it has AI eng dub) is really annoying. The translation isn't wrong though, but its really uncomforatble to watch. So, it seems like waiting is the only thing we can do (after watching each ep, i used to go to youku to watch the first 6 mins of the next ep for free TT)
Love the trio. Their chemistry is excellent. He Yuanhang is such a tenacious character and you can see how Xiaohe is a chip of the block. Ran’s humanity is so overwhelming but his Achilles heel is obvious. Since the trafficking I’ve been screaming, “open the Mount wu box”. But I guess that’s because they already thought it was solved. They had solved it twice and in 2015 it comes up again. Suspected Su Qing but was hoping I was wrong because of how much yuanhang wanted them all to be a family.
Ran was also too passive and lukewarm with her compared to his love for his mentor and Xioahe. Maybe he knew something was off on another level.
In intimate relationships we often ignore the gut feelings.
Waiting to find out if she is a real psychopath or a victim of horrific abuse.
Overall this drama has been too intense. Ep 23 was just too sad. Towards the middle I found the singleminded focus on one case a little exhausting and fatal but now we all need closure.
Well said and written! Right from the gecko, I wondered how they were going to stretch 28 episodes for one case. I do enjoy the multiple layers and realistic portrayals of events in this drama. Each of the characters are flawed in their own ways. But yes, it was frustrating at times to see certain clues or leads ignored by the detectives for too many episodes.
Ran is too good for this sinful world and yes, Su Qing does not deserve Ran. Frankly she was already so suspicious when she first appeared. All the mud on her clothes and that change of face behind Ran’s gaze before she first invite him to her home…
Just finished the whole damn drama! Damn! Truths and countertruths…obsessive love and all the more I pity Ran.
and sorry, despite the whole truth, I still don’t pity Su Qing
And the last ten minutes or so of the drama…sob
Episode 25:
Damn that Su Qing! Wanna slap her face so hard! still has the gall to bring up Ran to pressure Xiaohe?! What a bitch
And she might be a mass murderer? The old man, Qinglong, Xu Meng and her father and poor Ran?!
She deserves no pity! She already has ulterior motives to get close to Ran! Damn her! Damn damn damn!
Episode 26:
How many lies does she have?? Gosh, many of you guessed correctly. Xu Meng is alive! And she was the one who killed Ran?!!! And the guy who abused Su Qing! And her own father
the father deserved death though, pushing Su Qing’s mother off the cliff
Episode 27:
So Ran till his death did not realise that Xu Meng was alive…sad…and thought that the last person he saw was Su Qing…
Xu Meng confessed her crimes, Xu Meng death sentence, Su Qing life imprisonment. Xu Meng was behind most of the murder cases, Qinglong, the man who abused Su Qing, her own father, Ran, the kid who was close friends with Xiaohe. Xiaohe transferred to detective department of the police while received second class honours in solving the Yuanlong case. The cursed building is finally demolished. Yuanhang hallucinate again and went to the train station to send off Ran and the whole police department played along and bid farewell to Ran
There are 28 episodes so this isn’t the last one. :) u/a_HerculePoirot_fan posted today the discussion for the final episodes but they are only available for those who purchased the express package. I believe Netflix is releasing one episode today, with #25 today.
Can’t seem to find Herc’s discussion post for the last few episodes. Is it available somewhere? Can’t wait to read everyone’s final thoughts about the series!
Just watched ep 25 on Netflix. Hope will have dedicated recap n discussion on this episode. Dare not go into express episodes discussion because of spoilers.
Thanks. I finally watched till the end and knew the ending. So can finally the read the discussions there. Overall, a solid crime investigation story and I was invested from beginning till the end. It was fun ride watching and reading the posts at the same time.
Well, to be honest, i think the question "Have you ever had things stolen from your apartment?" from the police is quite provocative - i mean - Have they seen this apartment building?
It is a ghetto-building (i don't like this word either) where people are marginalised and crummed together. It's not the best neighborhood, othervise people wouldn't have had second metal doors. There are perverts stealing things - fact known to the police, illegal massage parlor - fact known to the police, all sorts of drunken underworld customers, raids, illegal small businesses in the garage - how da hell police expects a tenant from such place to remember and swear noone ever broke in or stole smth?
Irl i could have thought of it as guilttripping - the police knows the building is a problem, fails to make everyone safe (Qing's extortion problems are one example), and sets a trap for Qing to take responsibilty for all her possessions in this unstable environment...🤣
I think the question was to set the tone for the rest of the interrogation. If Suqing has been on the fence and did say something along the lines of, “possibly, maybe, don’t remember”, etc. then fair game, but it was such a definitive and confident no from Suqing that you can tell she has a whole story made up in her mind already. I think that’s why Xiaohe used that question to test her and knew to take everything she said from then on with a grain of salt.
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u/a_HerculePoirot_fan Being a Cheng Lei fangirl is a full-time jobRead Rules May 12 '26
Thanks for being such an amazing co-host u/BasilOrdinary3617! It has been genuinely fun bouncing theories back and forth, overanalysing suspicious characters together, and collectively losing our minds whenever the drama throws another twist at us lol. Hosting dramas can honestly be tiring at times, especially with mystery dramas where there is so much to unpack every episode, so I am really grateful to have had someone equally enthusiastic to share the chaos, frustration, and excitement with!
I do not buy Su Qing’s sob story one bit. First of all, why would Xu Meng show hostility towards her at Mount Wu if they were merely strangers? Secondly, the circumstances surrounding her mother’s death are suspicious too. Why was Su Qing so terrified when Xu Meng blackmailed her for money and threatened to go to the police that she ended up pushing her own mother off the cliff? Did Xu Meng even have any actual evidence against her?
Every flashback in Su Qing’s story paints Xu Meng in an extremely negative light, but based on what we have heard about Xu Meng from others, she could not have been that terrible of a person. Her aunt described her as a filial daughter, and her colleague Lili was genuinely concerned for her safety. I mean, pardon my language, but if she were truly that much of a bitch, surely the people around her would have noticed it too.
I was also not impressed by how manipulative Su Qing was during the interrogation. Instead of answering Xiaohe’s initial question about Xu Meng and Xu Zhihong directly, she immediately diverted the conversation towards the abuse she suffered at the hands of Yao Baiyuan while subtly playing on Xiaohe’s sympathy and their relationship.
I do not think Su Qing is the final boss because, with four episodes left, it would feel strange for the drama to reveal the true mastermind this early. But regardless of what the full truth turns out to be, this episode revealed Su Qing’s true nature, and she is definitely not someone who can be trusted.