*WARNING*: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. If you DO NOT want to be spoiled, please DO NOT read. You have been warned.
A supposedly happy gathering for the countdown of New Years led to an a tragic incident.
Lin Sir, Lei Gong, Tou Mu, and Xiao Gao were already at the scene when Yang Qian and Xiao Xin stormed past the yellow tapes. Well, it was more like Xiao Xin was storming in while Yang Qian tried to stop her. Apparently, the victim was Xiao Xin’s friend, Ah Xi (阿喜). Yang Qian and Xiao Xin were actually waiting for her at the New Years’ party. It seemed like she was late. Yet it turned out that she had jumped off the building–or so Lin Sir suspected, because of how she was suffering from a disease (and no longer wanted to endure any more pain). Xiao Xin’s outburst was because of how she didn’t believe it with Lin Sir’s guess because she claimed Ah Xi wasn’t the suicidal type–regardless of the circumstances. Lin Sir called her out on it. They ended in a heated debate–with him criticizing her for using her gut feeling instead of following the evidence like a typical agent and she retorted with saying he was just making conjectures and had no proof either.
The result? Xiao Xiang had to question both Yang Qian and Xiao Xin. It was clarified through Xiao Xiang’s response that Jing Ling had gone overseas so she wasn’t around to monitor them while the questioning was taking place. However, Xiao Xiang was obviously pushing Yang Qian’s limits by asking the same question over and over. Xiao Xin was also attacking him when he was trying to go through some procedural questions. Luckily, he made it through and was finally questioning someone who possibly had more helpful information. It was Li Min (立民), Ah Xi’s boyfriend.
While Yang Qian and Xiao Xiang went to the hospital to inquire and have a look around at Ah Xi’s room, Lei Gong and Tou Mu went back to the crime scene’s rooftop to collect additional evidence. It was known that aside from Li Min, the other frequent visitor Ah Xi had was her mother. The autopsy showed that the majority of the wounds were from the fall. However, there was a scratch or mark on her leg that was caused before the jump. Then Lei Gong ended up complaining about Yang Qian nagging him and how she was too rash at times, etc. (Really? Talking about his daughter in front of him?) Professor Yang then told Lei Gong to go talk to her, lol. Then Lin Sir came so Professor Yang gave him the files–to which Lei Gong protested as to why Professor Yang didn’t say anything earlier. Professor Yang reminded Lei Gong that Lei Gong was too busy talking about Yang Qian to ask him about it, lol. Back to the case, Lin Sir was watching the clip from the CCTV in the building with Xiao Gao. He noticed that the victim was ‘high’ while she was on her way to the rooftop that night.
Lin Sir took the initiative to talk to Xiao Xin. He told her that there were two types of chemicals found in Ah Xi’s body. One was caused by the treatment she was receiving. The other, Lei Gong was still looking into it. Xiao Xin was still reacting quite fiercely, saying that she didn’t believe Ah Xi had committed suicide. Lin Sir told her not to say ‘impossible’ since anything was possible, telling her a story relating to Coca-Cola. Yet she was still in a bad mood, slamming her hand on the table and declaring that she believed Ah Xi. She hadn’t gone far before Lin Sir called her back, telling her to do her own tests. She opted for an ‘okay’, not so fierce anymore, but that didn’t mean she was giving in either.
The break came when Tou Mu showed Lei Gong the prints he found at the scene. Lei Gong wanted to know what was so strange about it. Tou Mu told Lei Gong to try it out himself. Tou Mu wasn’t going to reveal the answer so Lei Gong had no choice but to take the first step. It didn’t seem weird laid out like that, but when he finally tested it out, he indeed found the strange bit. What was it? It didn’t make sense that she stepped all over the place like that, especially some of the steps that made Lei Gong’s legs twisted and he almost fell over.
It was time they visited Xiao Gao again. They needed to check the CCTV footage one more time. Xiao Gao noted that even though they didn’t see anyone with Ah Xi yet it seemed like she wasn’t alone. In addition, if she had jumped, the landing direction didn’t match up to the projection. Xiao Xiang had to jump in to say maybe it was because of the wind that caused her body to change direction yet he was shushed. There was no wind, he was plain guessing.
After they were back from questioning Ah Xi’s mother, Yang Qian was saying how protective a mother was toward her child. Considering how Ah Xi’s mother did not like Li Min at all. Then Lei Gong walked by and handed them a folder. Lei Gong was saying if it was Li Min who had something to do with Ah Xi’s death, then it did not make sense since Li Min cared so much for Ah Xi. Yang Qian was saying how it wasn’t always linked to hate, but maybe it was because he couldn’t bear to see Ah Xi suffer anymore hence helping her. What got Lei Gong riled up was how Yang Qian agreed with such a method and if she were that sick, she wouldn’t want to burden anyone with taking care of her. Lei Gong said that way of thinking was selfish. Xiao Xin had to separate them before a fight break out. In the elevator, Lei Gong and Xiao Xin had a talk. Lei Gong denied liking Yang Qian. Xiao Xin voiced her opinion on how she didn’t think Yang Qian and Lei Gong were a good match. She soon disclosed that she was a better match. It was then that Lei Gong reminisced back to the other day when he and Tou Mu were talking while processing the scene. He suspected that Xiao Xin liked him. Tou Mu’s reaction? It was strong. He said it was impossible. He stopped himself when he was about to reveal one of the biggest secrets ever, saying that Xiao Xin wasn’t ready for love yet, etc. Then he walked away. The flashback ended and Lei Gong thanked Xiao Xin, but turned her down, stating that they weren’t a suitable match for one another so it was better that they remained coworkers, lol. Xiao Xin looked confused, but she let him finished whatever he was saying. Then she said that she meant Yang Qian, not him. Now it was his turn to be confused. Yes, what Tou Mu was trying to tell Lei Gong the other day yet didn’t say it out was that Xiao Xin was a lesbian, so of course, she wouldn’t be interested in Lei Gong. Tou Mu was probably keeping it a secret for Xiao Xin, so he had to change his answer midway.
Anyway, the result was out. They were able to narrow down the other substance found in Ah Xi’s body. It wasn’t just some typical drug that caused hallucination, but a special type.
Xiao Xin had another outburst. She didn’t want Lin Sir to keep mentioning about ‘suicide.’ This time, she was backing her view on deduction skills based upon some of the facts about Ah Xi. So after she stormed out, the others were only able to stare after her. And then they pointed their fingers at Lin Sir, lol.
Later, while Xiao Gao was searching for more information via the system, Tou Mu went to Lei Gong’s office to chat. He was saying how Xiao Xin was too into the case, even dared to argue with Lin Sir like that. Lei Gong told Tou Mu not to blame Xiao Xin since it was too personal to her hence the reaction. It was then that Xiao Gao interrupted them, saying that it wasn’t so. Xiao Gao entered and said that he thought it was because Xiao Xin was just reluctant to leave them. When Tou Mu asked, Lei Gong said that Xiao Xin wanted to go to New Haven, CT (US) to do some advanced studying. Tou Mu was shocked, asking how come he didn’t know. Lei Gong said it was recent. Tou Mu recovered after that, telling the others not to be upset with Xiao Xin, considering how studying was a good thing. Tou Mu wanted to throw a party for Xiao Xin. Yet Lei Gong said he already asked and she turned him down. Then Xiao Gao asked Lei Gong to come and look at Li Min’s phone records so they were on their way, leaving Tou Mu behind. He rushed after them, wanting to negotiate about the go away gathering, lol.
As Yang Qian and Lei Gong scorched the streets to find the source of the mysterious drug found on Ah Xi, they weren’t having much luck. However, Xiao Xiang soon appeared and told them to leave it up to him. It was a long wait yet they finally got a lead. They sent Xiao Xiang to the meeting place, which was a public restroom, to extract the mystery seller. Yang Qian reacted quite strongly when she discovered that the seller was just a kid. The person responded with a typical “don’t know” when Yang Qian asked about Li Min being one of the buyers. It wasn’t until Yang Qian told Xiao Xiang to lead the other person away that she finally cooperated. She admitted that Li Min did buy from her.
Meanwhile, Xiao Xin was in the hospital gathering up the remaining of Ah Xi’s belongings so she could drop it off at Ah Xi’s mother’s place later. She had a breakdown, which was understandable. Then Li Min entered, saying that he could do it. She didn’t object to him helping but she continued with folding up other items. While that was going on, he told her about a certain ‘candy’ that Ah Xi liked and had claimed that it helped with the pain. Afterward, he even took out some from the tubes and offered ’em to Xiao Xin. Xiao Xin hesitated before taking it anyway. So when Lei Gong and Yang Qian rushed in a while later, they found Li Min on the bed, laughing like a maniac. Xiao Xin was nowhere to be found. Lei Gong ended up yelling out Xiao Xin’s name and running around searching for her while Yang Qian tended to Li Min. She soon got impatient and handcuffed him to the bed before rushing to find Xiao Xin as well. Xiao Xin was actually on her way to the rooftop since the pill had already taken effect and she was developing hallucinations–just like what happened to Ah Xi previously. Just as Xiao Xin was about to jump off, Lei Gong appeared in time and pulled her back. When Yang Qian arrived, she scolded Xiao Xin for being an idiot. Yet Lei Gong stopped the banter and told Yang Qian to look after Xiao Xin while he searched for a remedy to undo the drug. After much effort, Xiao Xin threw up most of the drugs. Because of the remaining effects, Xiao Xin ended up confessing to Yang Qian but had accidentally kissed Lei Gong since her vision was still blurred.
So after they sorted everything out, Li Min was brought in for an interrogation. He told Yang Qian how much of what he witnessed with seeing Ah Xi’s suffering. It was too much. He only wanted to see her happy. Before long, Lei Gong couldn’t take it anymore so he stormed in to yell at Li Min. Luckily, Xiao Xiang had rushed in after him and tried to pull him out. So Lei Gong didn’t hit Li Min but managed to blurt out his frustration about Li Min robbing Ah Xi’s chance of survival by not allowing her to continue with her treatment. Yang Qian soon took over and kicked both guys out before anything else occurred.
Xiao Xin finally woke up after the previous fiasco with brushing death. Lei Gong and Yang Qian were there when she awakened. Yet Xiao Xiang soon jumped in to stir up the atmosphere, wanting to give her a go-away package. Xiao Xin didn’t mind, accepting his package and card. Lei Gong and Yang Qian asked if Xiao Xin remembered what had happened. She was really clueless, wondering what was up. Yang Qian said that Xiao Xin was high so it took a lot of effort to get things under control, wanting to extract a meal out of Xiao Xin, lol. Xiao Xin apologized and then distributed the mini bags inside the package to the other two. Yang Qian complained that it wasn’t enough with the bags of snacks, lol. After some awkward silence, Xiao Xiang spoke up to ask what Xiao Xin had said during that time, which got Yang Qian riled up, chasing him out. She bid her goodbye to Xiao Xin before leaving. Lei Gong then gave her an encouraging pat and told her to rest before leaving as well. It was after the door was closed that Xiao Xin reached for a slip of paper in her pocket. It was the same piece of paper that she wanted to give to Yang Qian that one time in the park yet didn’t get the chance to. After much consideration, she laughed and then tossed the paper into the trash bin. Perhaps she already thought it through?
Later, Xiao Xin packed up and was ready to leave. Xiao Gao, who was sleeping in the lab, turned around to face the door and muttered his goodbye to Xiao Xin. She turned to leave but ended up bumping into Yang Qian. They hugged and Xiao Xin cried a bit. She soon recovered, saying her words of gratitude toward Yang Qian yet said that they weren’t from the same world. Xiao Xin said that she hoped she would mature after returning.
Days later, they managed to find a replacement for Xiao Xin. Well, it was more like the new girl, Angel, wasn’t supposed to report to the lab until the following month. However, she came to visit them and familiarize herself with the place. Not to mention, she was Lei Gong’s ex-girlfriend so they had a lot to talk about. That had upset Yang Qian, but she wasn’t able to shut Tou Mu up for his continuous commentary with Xiao Gao.
*All images were captured by DTLCT