Episode 17

This article is about the episode. For the character, see Li Tianxi.

***Lee Tian X1*** (Chinese: 李天希 *Lǐ Tiānxī*, lit. "Li Tianxi") is the sixth episode of the second season of Link Click.

## Plot

The episode opens with a flashback: Tianchen confides in his friend about the domestic violence at home, revealing that his father frequently beats his mother, yet both parents pretend nothing happened the next day. His friend inquires about Tianchen's actions during these incidents. Tianchen admits he would take his younger sister to their bedroom to hide, as instructed by their father. His friend reassures him that there's no shame in hiding, suggesting it's what his mother would want too, as it's been her method of survival. The friend then draws a parallel between humans and forest animals: some are prey, some live in constant fear, others are predators, and a few evolve into hunters. He poses a question to Tianchen about which type of person he aspires to be.

This flashback intertwines with the ongoing crisis from the previous episode. As Li Fan raises his hammer for a second attack on his wife, Tianchen bravely stands up to intervene. As a result, the hammer aimed at his mother instead strikes Tianchen on the head, causing him to fall to the floor, bleeding and unconscious.

Li Fan stands in shock, frozen by the gravity of his actions. Liu Lan, overcome with panic, rushes to Tianchen, desperately shaking him and calling his name. She turns to Li Fan, her fury erupting as she condemns him for his inhumanity. Li Fan, voice tinged with panic, stammers that he only intended to frighten them, not anticipating Tianchen's impulsive intervention.

As Liu Lan frantically continues to call out to Tianchen, he weakly murmurs that he's okay. Meanwhile, Li Fan, visibly shaken and struggling to remain upright, tries to deflect responsibility, attempting to shift all blame to Liu Lan for provoking him into this situation. He stumbles upon the photograph of Liu Lan and her daughter, seizing it as further "evidence" of her supposed infidelity, despite her dedicated efforts for the family. Liu Lan, pushed to her limit, confronts Li Fan, declaring him utterly deranged. She asserts that she and her daughter took the photo themselves, without any third party. However, Li Fan, consumed by rage, rejects her explanation, insisting that he can no longer trust her words after her repeated lies. His fury reignited, he resorts to physical violence once more, dragging Liu Lan by her hair and continuing his assault.

Noticing the photo had fallen to the floor, Lu Guang urges Cheng Xiaoshi to go pick it up. Cheng Xiaoshi hesitates, feeling the immediate need to assist the mother, but Lu Guang insists on the importance of the photo, fearing that its loss would erase the future they know. Cheng Xiaoshi crawls towards the photo amidst the ongoing chaos. With the photo in hand, Cheng Xiaoshi sits, paralyzed by the distressing scene before him. Lu Guang apologizes to Cheng Xiaoshi, expressing regret that his inability to foresee every outcome has subjected Cheng Xiaoshi to such a traumatic experience.

Amidst the ongoing turmoil, Tianchen approaches his sister, shielding her eyes with his forearm. He recalls a bedtime story that their mother used to tell when they were younger: In a vast forest stood a small cabin, home to a family with a father, a mother, and two siblings. One day, the brother took his sister into the forest to gather fruits, but they found themselves lost as night fell. They encountered two talking crows and sought their help, but the crows mocked them instead. In anger, the brother killed one crow with a stone, and the other flew away in fright. The brother chased the remaining crow, running endlessly. As Tianchen recounts this story, a flashback begins, showing their mother pausing the story at this point, allowing her children to sleep. Before leaving the room, Tianchen asks if the siblings in the story ever found their way home, a question to which Liu Lan gives no answer.

As the flashback concludes, Liu Lan, though beaten down by Li Fan, is seen suddenly kicking Li Fan's foot and rising to her feet. Meanwhile, their neighbor frantically dials the emergency number, reporting the violent altercation taking place next door. As Liu Lan slowly picks up the hammer from the floor and menacingly advance towards Li Fan, Lu Guang falls into a state of panic as he loses his connection with Cheng Xiaoshi. Liu Lan, with somewhat robotic and unnatural motions, slowly raises the hammer and strikes down at Li Fan. Simultaneously, Cheng Xiaoshi is abruptly pulled out of the photo, ending his time dive unexpectedly and returning him to Lu Guang's room. Faced with Lu Guang's urgent inquiries about what had transpired, he admits to being equally baffled, having lost his senses before being ejected from the dive. When asked whether he voluntarily left the photo, he recalls not having put his palms together but vaguely seeing a blurry image of himself in Liu Lan's body just before the dive ended. Officer Xiao Li, eager for any clues, presses Cheng Xiaoshi for more details. Qiao Ling, however, intervenes, asserting the need for Cheng Xiaoshi to rest after such an experience.

Xiao Li, apologizing for his overeagerness, begins summarizing the known clues: The photo subjects are Liu Lan and her daughter, but Liu Lan and her husband, Li Fan, both died on the same day at their home. According to their neighbor Deng, who reported the incident, a heated argument between the two escalated into domestic violence, during which Liu Lan fatally hit Li Fan on the head with a hammer, while she herself succumbed to a knife wound to the abdomen. Present during the incident were their twin son and daughter, Li Tianchen and Li Tianxi. Cheng Xiaoshi reflects that his time in the photo corresponded with the day of the incident. However, he also recalls that Liu Lan was consistently on the receiving end of the violence, never retaliating. Xiao Li suggests that Liu Lan's resistance might have occurred only after Cheng Xiaoshi's exit from the photo. Cheng Xiaoshi then inquires about the children, theorizing that they could have been the ones who gave Lu Guang the photo. However, Xiao Li reveals that information about the children are nowhere to be found in their system, and they seemingly vanished following the incident.

Xiao Li then shares a crucial development with Cheng Xiaoshi: There is an informant at the police station claiming to have comprehensive knowledge about the case, who insists on only speaking to Cheng Xiaoshi. Hearing this, Cheng Xiaoshi prepares to set off immediately. Lu Guang voices his concern that something didn't add up, advising Cheng Xiaoshi to use caution, but Cheng Xiaoshi remains confident, believing in the safety of the police station. Still wary, Lu Guang instructs Qiao Ling to accompany Cheng Xiaoshi and keep a vigilant watch. With this arrangement in place, they promptly head out.

Upon reaching the police station, they are briefed by Wang Juan about the informant. She explains that despite trying various tactics, the informant has been evasive, providing no substantial information. A body search also revealed she carried no belongings, not even a cell phone. Moreover, she exhibited extreme caution, demanding the removal of all monitoring devices from the interrogation room. Given these conditions, Wang Juan tasks Cheng Xiaoshi with discreetly carrying in a listening device. Cheng Xiaoshi inquires about the need for an earpiece to maintain contact, but Xiao Li advises against it to prevent arousing the informant's suspicions. He reminds Cheng Xiaoshi to employ the interrogation techniques he was taught en route, emphasizing the importance of controlling the conversation's flow.

Entering the interrogation room, Cheng Xiaoshi finds the pink-haired girl, who has taken off her hood. He politely introduces himself and asks for the girl's name, only to be taken aback when she reveals herself as Li Tianxi. As she stands and extends her arm, Cheng Xiaoshi hesistently reciprocates, anticipating a handshake. However, Li Tianxi halts him, insisting he first relinquish any concealed items. Cheng Xiaoshi complies, placing his phone on the table, claiming it to be his only hidden item. Li Tianxi appears skeptical and approaches to search him, but stops short, emphasizing that the foundation of cooperation is mutual trust, and expressing her hope for a better start this time.

Relieved, Cheng Xiaoshi hands his phone to an officer outside the room and re-engages with Li Tianxi. He probes into her mention of cooperation, seeking clarification on her reasons for coming and what she knows. Li Tianxi cryptically replies, reiterating the significance of trust, fairness, and equality in their "game". This response startles Cheng Xiaoshi. He quickly connects the dots, recalling the previous incident at the photo studio and the possessor's talk of a 'game'. He realizes that Li Tianxi was the one remotely controlling Qiao Ling and Liu Min.

Cheng Xiaoshi asks Li Tianxi what led her to her current point, but she dodges the question, instead pointing out Cheng Xiaoshi's lack of curiosity about her family background upon learning her name. She speculates that he may already be aware of it, expressing intrigue about how he came across such information. Cheng Xiaoshi internally debates how much to disclose, recalling how his previous attempts at deception were seen through during the photo studio incident. Ultimately, he opts for honesty and reveals that he learned about her past through a photo. Li Tianxi reacts with laughter, pleased by his candidness. Then, in a seemingly whimsical turn, she expresses a desire to celebrate this moment of with iced coke.

Though surprised, Cheng Xiaoshi fulfills her request. She drinks three cans of iced coke all by herself, before putting her mask back on. Cheng Xiaoshi inquires about why she always wears a mask. This prompts a heavy response from Li Tianxi, explaining that she was born with extreme sensitivity to her surroundings, making her reactions to her environment more intense than others. This sensitivity was the reason she became mute, but her mother's persistent support helped her to slowly adjust to the world. However, the trauma from the night of the incident led her to only feel secure only when covered up. She rests her head on folded arms, concealing her face as she speaks with a trembling voice, expressing her dislike of being seen as an oddity by others.

Cheng Xiaoshi, realizing he has broached a sensitive subject, offers an apology. In response, Li Tianxi suddenly grabs his hand, asking him to fulfill another request. Subsequently, they are seen exiting the interrogation room, with Li Tianxi clinging to Cheng Xiaoshi's arm, hiding behind him. The officer stationed outside inquires about the situation. Cheng Xiaoshi explains that Li Tianxi drank too much coke and needs to use the restroom. The officer offers to escort her, but Cheng Xiaoshi clarifies that Li Tianxi specifically requested his accompaniment. At this moment, Officer Wang Juan steps in, asserting that she will accompany them, leading the way.

Upon reaching the restroom, Li Tianxi halts, and requests Wang Juan to answer a question. Meanwhile, in the surveillance room, Xiao Li voices his perplexity over the sparse information on the case in Li Tianchen and Li Tianxi's records. Qiao Ling, feeling uneasy about Wang Juan's situation, suggests that she should also go check on them. Xiao Li, however, reassures her, confidently stating Wang Juan's capability, noting that she even surpasses many male officers in combat. Despite the assurance, Qiao Ling remains uneasy, especially upon seeing Li Tianxi whisper something to Wang Juan, which Xiao Li also admits he's unable to discern through the surveillance. As he continues to sift through the Li family case files, Xiao Li stumbles upon a familiar name, Qian Jin, and realizes that he was the officer responsible for handling this case.

Outside of the restroom, Li Tianxi whispers a question to Wang Juan. Her voice is so faint that Wang Juan has to inch closer and closer in an attempt to catch her words. Qiao Ling senses something is off about this interaction, but is ignored by a preoccupied Xiao Li, who connects the dots, realizing that the timing of the Li family incident coincides with Qian Jin's departure from the police force. As Wang Juan leans in, now only inches away from Li Tianxi, she finally discerns Li Tianxi's whispered words. Li Tianxi questions Wang Juan's timely arrival, suspecting that she has been eavesdropping all along. Realizing their cover is blown, Xiao Li blames his misjudgment, regretting the premature decision to send Wang Juan. He paces anxiously, contemplating the possible connection between Li Tianxi and Qian Jin, and begins to speculate whether Qian Jin may be the orchestrator behind the scenes.

As Qiao Ling hurries to check on Wang Juan and Cheng Xiaoshi, a sudden call alerts Xiao Li to a new crisis: Lu Guang has mysteriously vanished from the hospital. The officers, breaking into his room, found a broken window and initially suspected an accident. However, there was no sign of Lu Guang in his room or on the ground floor. The narrative briefly shifts to Qian Jin, who checks his watch, indicating it's 7PM. Declaring that it is time, he steps out of his van, followed by several burly figures in black shirts and masks emerging from vans parked behind him. Back at the police station, Qiao Ling frantically searches for Wang Juan and Cheng Xiaoshi but to no avail. She then receives an update from Xiao Li: surveillance footage reveals that they have left the station, with Wang Juan appearing to be the one leading the escape. Though confused himself, Xiao Li quickly mobilizes to pursue them, determined not to let them slip away.

The episode draws to a close as a final scene shows Cheng Xiaoshi and Li Tianxi on the run, with Cheng Xiaoshi leading the way.