Episode 19

***Hostage*** (Chinese: 人质 *Rénzhì*) is the eighth episode of the second season of Link Click.

## Plot

The episode starts at an earlier moment from the previous episode, when Qiao Ling rushes out of the police station in an attempt to catch up with Xiao Li. It is revealed that after her call with Wang Juan, she discovers a text message sent by Lu Guang containing a location marked on the map, which is situated along the riverbanks. Attempting to call Lu Guang and receiving no response, she wastes no time and immediately sets off on a bike, heading towards the location that Lu Guang shared.

Repeating a section from the previous episode, Qiao Ling arrives at the location to find Cheng Xiaoshi and Li Tianxi preparing to board a boat. Lu Guang then makes an unexpected entrance, arriving on a speedboat, crashing it into Li Tianxi's arranged boat, and leaping ashore to push Cheng Xiaoshi away from Li Tianxi. Regaining consciousness, Cheng Xiaoshi questions why Lu Guang is there. Li Tianxi attempts to reach towards Lu Guang, but he reacts quickly, knocking her hand away. She then aims for Cheng Xiaoshi, but Lu Guang continues to intercept her attempts, forcing her into a physical confrontation.

In the chaotic scene, the boat driver starts the boat and prepares to depart. Noticing this, Li Tianxi gives up on fighting Lu Guang and walks onto the boat. Cheng Xiaoshi shouts for them not to let her get away, and Lu Guang attempts to give chase. However, as Lu Guang touches Li Tianxi, she grabs his hand and leads him onto the boat, with Lu Guang seemingly making no attempt to resist. It is too late for Cheng Xiaoshi to chase after them as the boat drives away, leaving him standing ashore, unable to do anything but watch in perplexion, wondering why Lu Guang would go with her.

Meanwhile, Xiao Li, carrying an unconscious and bleeding Wang Juan, meets up with three fellow officers at the hospital and orders them to rush her for medical attention. As two of the officers hurriedly depart with her, a visibly exhausted Xiao Li collapses, with tears streaming down his face. The other officer, concerned, kneels beside him to inquire about the situation. Xiao Li, voice shaking with anger, commands a communication to all police districts for an immediate, citywide manhunt for Li Tianxi.

The episode shifts to an unknown apartment. A hooded Li Tianxi sits on a couch as Qian Jin enters the room. Assuming their plan has largely succeeded despite minor hitches, he opens the door to dimly-lit room. However, his expression abruptly changes as he finds Lu Guang in the room, instead of his intended target, Cheng Xiaoshi. Lu Guang, blindfolded and bound to a chair, breathes heavily in pain from his injury. Closing the door, he confronts Li Tianxi with dissatisfaction for capturing the wrong person. Li Tianxi casually explains that Lu Guang unexpectedly showed up just as they were about to depart by boat, forcing her to let Cheng Xiaoshi go for the time being. Qian Jin expresses skepticism, wondering how Lu Guang knew about the time and location of the rendezvous, given the police's cluelessness. Slowly removing her mask, Li Tianxi remains silent.

At Lu Guang's hospital room, Xiao Li learns that Lu Guang, who seemingly disappeared without a trace, had actually managed to escape unnoticed while the officers were preoccupied investigating the broken window. He updates Cheng Xiaoshi and Qiao Ling on this discovery as they arrive, emphasizing the mystery of Lu Guang's knowledge about the rendezvous. Cheng Xiaoshi is frustrated with himself for losing consciousness, but Xiao Li reassures him, revealing that Wang Juan also fell under control. He then shares a vital clue discovered in the files of Li Tianxi and Li Tianchen's parents' murder case: it was the last case Qian Jin handled before quitting the police force, where he covertly removed the siblings' files. Deducing Qian Jin's connection to the siblings, Xiao Li reveals he has placed him under surveillance. He also stresses the need for caution to avoid alarming the suspect.

Returning to the matter at hand, Xiao Li inquires if the officers checked the restroom and learns they hadn't. He surmises Lu Guang shattered the window as a diversion, hiding in the restroom to escape. He further notes Lu Guang's swift twenty-minute journey to the riverside, indicating premeditation. Spotting a suspicious towel on the sink, he unfolds it, revealing Lu Guang's phone. Recognizing that Lu Guang had intentionally left clues, Xiao Li questions whether anyone knows Lu Guang's password. Cheng Xiaoshi steps forward and successfully unlocks it with the code 091305, explaining that he saw it by accident.

Cheng Xiaoshi discovers a lone photo of a window in Lu Guang's album, taken from inside his hospital room. Qiao Ling proposes that the photo enables Cheng Xiaoshi to travel back to when it was taken. Checking the timestamp, they find that it was taken at 18:42, coinciding with Qiao Ling receiving the location message from Lu Guang. Xiao Li recalls Lu Guang appearing anxious when he left his room, leading Cheng Xiaoshi to deduce that the photo was taken as a temporal marker. This revelation leads Qiao Ling to realize that the Lu Guang who intercepted Cheng Xiaoshi at the riverbank was actually Cheng Xiaoshi himself, accounting for his unusual combat skills and impulsive pursuit of Li Tianxi. Cheng Xiaoshi ponders the implications of not entering the photo, possibly becoming the one captured instead of Lu Guang. Their discussion confuses the other officers present, prompting Xiao Li to dismiss it as a discussion about a science fiction novel and asking them to momentarily leave.

Back at Qian Jin's hideout, Qian Jin complains about Lu Guang's physical condition, unwilling to have him die here. He urges his accomplice to quickly devise a plan to bring Cheng Xiaoshi to them. He turns to his wall, facing a Romeo and Juliet stage drama poster. Sinisterly, he muses about using Cheng Xiaoshi's power to rewrite the past, including finding a "lost sister". During this, the person assumed to be Li Tianxi removes his wig, revealing his true identity as Li Tianxi's brother, Li Tianchen. Qian Jin, aware that the police are closing in on the real Li Tianxi, expresses his disdain for betrayal, vowing no mercy even towards "her". Li Tianchen suggests they still have alternative strategies, prompting Qian Jin to kneel and hear more about his plan.

At the hospital, Xiao Li receives news that Li Tianxi has been found: a girl matching her description was discovered in an abandoned grocery store two days ago. Upon arriving at the station, Xiao Li and Cheng Xiaoshi storm into the interrogation room, aggressively confronting Li Tianxi. However, they soon realize that she may not be the same Li Tianxi as before, as the mute girl, overwhelmed, begins to cry, echoing Cheng Xiaoshi's earlier experience in the photo. They deduce that the "Li Tianxi" they encountered was actually her twin brother in disguise.

However, questions still remain unanswered as Qiao Ling is puzzled about why he went to such great lengths to abduct Cheng Xiaoshi, and Cheng Xiaoshi uncertain of how he simultaneously controlled both himself and Wang Juan, or the specific triggers for his powers. Grabbing Cheng Xiaoshi's cheeks, Qiao Ling encourages him to enter the photo left by Lu Guang to find the answer. Despite his reluctance, she expresses her belief that avoiding action will not change the past, and Lu Guang's self-sacrifice to save Cheng Xiaoshi is an inevitable destiny.

The police's attempts to communicate with Li Tianxi prove fruitless. As time grows late, an officer proposes consulting a psychologist the next morning. Xiao Li, however, emphasizes the urgency due to the ongoing hostage situation. At this point, Qiao Ling volunteers to communicate with Li Tianxi, and Xiao Li agrees. With milk, snacks, and paper, she enters the room and sits besides Li Tianxi, introducing herself in a friendly manner. She offers the snacks and milk without pressure, allowing Li Tianxi to consume them at her own pace. Qiao Ling reminisces about her childhood with Cheng Xiaoshi, referring to him as a younger brother. She shares anecdotes of her efforts to persuade a young Cheng Xiaoshi to drink milk, including a time he compared her to a tigress, which he illustrated in a drawing. In retaliation, Qiao Ling humorously drew Cheng Xiaoshi on her milk carton, provoking him to chug the milk in one go. As she narrates, Qiao Ling sketches these memories to show Li Tianxi. She reveals that although she often played the older sister role, their age difference was minimal, and Cheng Xiaoshi has since grown up to be tall and strong. Despite his occasional childlike carelessness, she highlights his coolness in the face of adversity, humorously attributing it to the milk-drinking episode. With Li Tianxi now drinking her milk, Qiao Ling hands her the crayons and paper, inviting her to share her own story as well.

At the same time, Cheng Xiaoshi, in coordination with Xiao Li, presses his palms together to enter Lu Guang's photo, taking Lu Guang's place in the hospital room at 18:42.

At Qian Jin's hideout, Li Tianchen confronts the captive Lu Guang, smugly removing his blindfold. When Lu Guang identifies him as Li Tianchen, Li Tianchen commends his astuteness but inquires how he came to know about their rendezvous. Lu Guang remains evasive, reasoning that revealing such information would diminish his worth. Li Tianchen, clutching Lu Guang's jaw and declaring his irritation, admits his regret at not inflicting more harm on Lu Guang but vows not to let him die easily.

Within the photo, Cheng Xiaoshi waits until 18:55 before making his move. He hurls a water kettle at the window to create a distraction, then swiftly hides in the restroom as the officers attempt entry. He hides Lu Guang's phone inside a towel, preparing for a stealthy exit. However, an officer spots the restroom door and begins to approach, pushing it open as the episode reaches its end.

## Trivia

* The password for Lu Guang's phone, 091305, represents the exact time and date — 00:05 09/13 — when he embarked on his time dive to save Cheng Xiaoshi, after his death in the original timeline. This time and date is seen on his watch in Episode 12.