If you’re lost on any of the characters, I did a quick rundown of them at the top of episode 1 that you can consult.

Recap
Bua and Yang are still on the case of the blood-sucking mushrooms, but they’re discovered by Song. Yang denies everything, and Song continues to think that yelling at his son will get the truth. It doesn’t. 

When it’s just the two of them again, Yang tells Bua he lied to protect Tian. He’s not concerned about Tian’s secret, but about what his father would do. But he doesn’t know how to protect Tian and go after the murderer either.

Pin and Yang work together to get money for her freedom, but Pin notices Yang is troubled. Without using names, Yang tells her about his concerns for Tian. She advises him to let Tian handle it himself.

Song sneaks from his own home to give the tooth to Dr. Qi.

Yang finds Tian brooding outside, gives him the mushrooms, and tells him everything, including his suspicions about Li. Tian blames himself and his secret, and Yang hugs him before he can reveal the secret.

Chan has been listening in and is both frustrated and sick as she thinks about eating the mushrooms.

Tian confronts his Mom and Jia. They deny it, but Tian runs out and hits a gong to summon the family and workers. He wants to share his secret and doesn’t care about the consequences. Li threatens to kill herself and Tian falls silent. Li instead tells everyone they saw a snake.

Mud is attacked on her way home and Jiu protects her, but it’s a set-up to get a job with Tian. Tian’s been worried about Jiu since they last parted. Jiu says he’s broke and his siblings are with relatives.

Tian offers him accommodations and office jobs, but Jiu is illiterate. Tian offers to teach him to read.

In his new room, Jiu broods over his true purpose there, to find Tian’s secret. Mud shows up in the room to sexually assault Jiu, and Tian walks in and thinks it’s consensual. Jiu chases after him. Jiu thinks maybe Tian is interested in… Mud. Nope, that’s not the secret.

Jiu says it’s impossible for him and Mud. Tian refuses to explain why he’s angry and leaves.

Li has a pointed conversation with Bua about people trying to hurt her and Tian’s relationship. After Bua leaves, Li tells Jia to keep an eye on her. 

Bua goes to Yang and tells him Li is suspicious of them. Yang confesses he told Tian about the mushrooms. 

Tian teaches Jiu to write and there is closeness and touching and sweetness. Jiu wants his siblings to learn too so they have more options than him and Tian is eager to help. Jiu is finally smiling.

Song shows up, and Tian introduces Jiu as the new worker who also saved his life. Despite some long stares, Song welcomes Jiu.

During the workers’ lunch, Jiu learns Tian is engaged to Lady Pin.

Jiu’s siblings are really with Ma. Jiu’s sister is suffering from withdrawal from the opium that Ma has been giving as ‘medication’. Ma wants to keep control over them so he can control Jiu.

Qi has proof Dong was killed by Beetle Orchid, so he and Song confront Li and Jia. Both women deny it, and when they search Jia’s room they find nothing. Jia already hid the Beetle Orchid in the yard.

But Chan’s assistant Nuan saw her! Chan tells them right away and is so excited that she brings everyone, including the workers, Mud, Jiu, Bua and Yang, to see them get the evidence. 

Pao digs and finds the box!

Thoughts
It’s great how the show can turn Li serving tea into a truly threatening, terrifying moment for Bua. Li and tea are truly not to be messed with.

It’s all part of the soap opera reality of this show, and in this reality, there are a lot of long stares and extremely guilty looks. Luckily, denial usually works when being accused of anything. As a second step, you can demand proof. That’ll do it.

The gong hitting was the biggest soap opera moment of this episode. Tian’s standing there crying, everyone is staring and looking frightened and urgent for a very long time before Li’s like, “just snakes guys.” Between that and Chan dragging everyone out while making loud accusations against Tian and Li, being a worker for the Song family must be really interesting.

At least Song is trying to figure out what’s going on in his house, not that he’s making any real headway on the issue of Tian’s secret. And I don’t feel bad for him either. It’s almost funny how clueless he, Bua, and Pao remain.

Tian’s misery isn’t funny though, and his Mom continues to make things worse. All he wants is to live his life authentically. At least he has both Yang’s total and utter devotion as well as Jiu’s smiles to get him through his days.

Yang for best brother. He’ll protect his brother from everyone, even Bua and Pin. But I liked that he still got Pin’s help. She listened and didn’t judge and gave the best advice she could and he took it. 

I’m not sure why Jiu needed to fake-rescue Mud to get a job with Tian. Tian had already offered him a job. Maybe because that’s what Ma wanted? Or maybe so we could see a fight where Jiu’s shirt hung part-way open the entire time?

It was interesting when Jiu said that he and Mud would be impossible. It’s easy to read that as Jiu almost admitting he’s gay, though I also feel that reading into translated dialogue can be iffy. Regardless, there is something terribly funny about Jiu being sent in to discover Tian’s secret when he basically is Tian’s secret.