Episode 10

is the tenth episode of the first season of Link Click.
== Synopsis ==
== Plot ==
After informing Lu Guang of their conclusions, Chen Bin asks him to send over information about Xu Shanshan so they can prepare for a missing person case. However, since it hasn't been 48 hours since her disappearance, an official police investigation cannot be launched yet.
Qiao Ling receives a call from Dong Yi, asking if she knows Xu Shanshan's whereabouts, but she is forced to withhold the truth for the time being. Despite continued efforts, they are still unable to reach Xu Shanshan.
As they discuss what to do in the meantime, Cheng Xiaoshi suggests finding a recent photo of Xu Shanshan. Qiao Ling does not recall any recent photos and comes up empty while searching her phone, but Lu Guang manages to find a photo Xu Shanshan posted on her WeChat Moments. Seeing the photo refreshes Qiao Ling's memory: It was a selfie that she took yesterday in front of the photo studio.
Lu Guang activates his ability to investigate what happened last night at around 1 AM: Xu Shanshan is on her phone alone in her room when she hears a noise somewhere in her apartment. She opens the unit door to check the hallway, but nothing seems out of place. As she returns to her room, another noise comes from the bathroom. When she investigates, a dark silhouette looms behind the shower curtain. As soon as she switches on the light, a person wearing a creepy mask lunges at her with a knife.
When he tells Cheng Xiaoshi and Qiao Ling what happened, Cheng Xiaoshi is eager to dive into the photo. However, Lu Guang stops him and warns him to prepare for the worst case scenario — the connection broke the moment Xu Shanshan was attacked, so there is a high chance that the outcome was tragic — one that they cannot change even if Cheng Xiaoshi enters the photo. As they leave Cheng Xiaoshi alone to mentally prepare, Lu Guang explains the situation to Qiao Ling, as well as the fact that if the worst outcome did occur, entering the photo would mean experiencing death first-hand for Cheng Xiaoshi, and with no choice but to accept it.
Cheng Xiaoshi spends some time hanging up various photos in the darkroom. In the mean time, Lu Guang receives a call from Chen Bin, who reports that Xu Shanshan's home is empty. Outside an office building, Dong Yi is still waiting for Xu Shanshan to accompany him to an interview, but she never arrives, and the time for the interview passes. Once finished preparing, Cheng Xiaoshi finds Lu Guang again to commence the dive. Entering the photo studio as Xu Shanshan, he encounters himself inside. Forced into an awkward situation, he reluctantly plays along, roasting himself for being a freeloader as Xu Shanshan did.
The episode cuts to the Liu residence, where Liu Min sits alone on his balcony. He browses the news on his phone, filled with reports of the fall of Quede Games and public criticism against him. Laughing maniacally, he swears to bring vengeance upon those who prey on his downfall. As he scrolls through an article about Xu Shanshan, he ominously mutters, "if you want to be popular that badly, I'll make sure you're all over the news," and cryptically mentions a "friend."
Time passes in the photo, and Xu Shanshan leaves the studio. As she and Qiao Ling walk together, Qiao Ling reflects on Cheng Xiaoshi, admitting that despite his flaws, he's always had a resilient spirit, even if he acted carefree and indifferent since he was young.
A flashback of Cheng Xiaoshi's childhood plays. With his parents leaving him alone, a few concerned neighbors gather at the photo studio, discussing what to do for him. Suddenly, young Cheng Xiaoshi lashes out, rejecting their help and insisting his parents will return one day. After they leave, Cheng Xiaoshi turns to Qiao Ling, asking if she also believes his parents are gone for good. Qiao Ling reassures him that she believes they will return, promising to wait for them together. Cheng Xiaoshi thanks her, but she tells him to save his gratitude for her father, who offered him ten years of free rent, saying he could pay it back when he grew up. This is when Cheng Xiaoshi first begins calling Qiao Ling "landlady."
Qiao Ling recounts to Xu Shanshan that despite their efforts to help, the days that followed were by no means easy for Cheng Xiaoshi. He tried his best to fit in with others like a normal kid, but still ended up isolated after lashing out at those who brought up his family situation. Then, during the , Cheng Xiaoshi breaks down, fearing his parents had been caught in the disaster. Tearfully, he asks Qiao Ling if she thought they were dead, and she comforts him, saying she believed they traveled somewhere much farther, hugging Cheng Xiaoshi as he cries, missing them.
Qiao Ling shares that she used to worry whether Cheng Xiaoshi could ever make any friends who truly cared about him. This was until she one day gets to meet Lu Guang, a new friend of Cheng Xiaoshi's, when he passes by the photo studio by chance. They are in the process of refurbishing the studio, and Lu Guang agrees to help them with the work when asked by Qiao Ling.
After finishing the work, Qiao Ling asks Lu Guang how they became friends. Initially bashful, Lu Guang explains it started when Cheng Xiaoshi invited him to play basketball. However, Qiao Ling presses further, insisting that for them to have become friends, there must be a quality that Lu Guang was attracted to. Though slightly reluctant, Lu Guang answers with a serious tone that it was probably Cheng Xiaoshi's "innocence." Hearing this, Cheng Xiaoshi laughs, but Qiao Ling goes on to agree with the sentiment, saying his pure and simple nature is what makes others want to protect him. Touched, Cheng Xiaoshi absentmindedly thanks Qiao Ling as Xu Shanshan, slightly confusing her as they head off to grab bubble tea.
More time passes, and it is around 1 AM both inside and outside of the photo. Xu Shanshan receives a text from Lu Guang, relaying a message from Dong Yi: Xu Shanshan, there is something I'd like to talk to you about. Around the time we graduated, my parents were telling me to go home ASAP, where my dad had already had everything arranged for me. I knew I couldn't stay in this city after graduating. I was afraid to confess to you, because I didn't want to hurt you after you kept me company for six years. Only now, when I have no choice but to graduate, do I realize that I wish to stay no matter how hard it might get, because leaving you is more painful than anything else. Lu Guang also informs her that Dong Yi wants Xu Shanshan to accompany him to an interview the next morning.
Twenty minutes remain until the time of the crime. When Lu Guang gives Cheng Xiaoshi instructions to try to unmask the perpetrator, Cheng Xiaoshi asks if he can be the one directing the operation this time. At this moment, the masked man appears just outside the photo studio. As he opens the door, he hears Cheng Xiaoshi's voice coming from the darkroom.
Meanwhile, in the photo, the suspect has also made his way into Xu Shanshan's apartment. As the clock hits 1:30, Xu Shanshan turns on the washroom light, and in present time, the suspect, who has entered the darkroom, also flips on the light switch. As the attacker lunges at Cheng Xiaoshi in the photo, Lu Guang springs into action, sprinting to the darkroom and slamming the door shut, locking it from outside and trapping the criminal.
In the photo, Cheng Xiaoshi unexpectedly stops the attacker's knife, revealing that he is in fact a different individual, speaking to him through Xu Shanshan's body. Cheng Xiaoshi proposes a "game" to the attacker, inviting him to find him the following night at the same time, using clues that he will receive later this morning. The attacker, intrigued, asks if Cheng Xiaoshi will become his new friend if he wins. Cheng Xiaoshi agrees not to involve the police but under the condition that Xu Shanshan remains unharmed.
With the attacker agreeing to the terms, Cheng Xiaoshi claps his hands to exit the dive. As he lands right inside the darkroom where the present-time criminal is locked, he declares, "the game is over."
== Characters ==
In order of appearance:
== Navigation ==