Deep in the old alleys of Nancheng stands the Echo Pawnshop. Rumor has it that it can grant any wish, but the price is not money. Instead, customers must “return an echo,” pawning the most precious memory or feeling in their lives, such as their capacity for empathy, the warmth of childhood, or trust in someone.
Shen Yan, an ordinary bookstore clerk, enters the shop with one last hope: to find his sister Shen Xi, who has been missing for six months. He wishes for a clue to her whereabouts. In exchange, he gives up his capacity for empathy, leaving him unable to feel others’ pain, with only cold reason to guide him.
As clues emerge, Shen Yan discovers that his sister’s disappearance is connected to the Nancheng Experiment accident ten years ago. Wen Zhixia, a reporter investigating the case, is also secretly looking into the pawnshop. After testing each other’s intentions, the two agree to work together for the time being. Shen Yan uses his lack of empathy to calmly solve one mystery after another, while Wen Zhixia supplements their investigation with her Memory-Rewind Pen, which records details others have forgotten.
But with every step closer to the truth, Shen Yan must make more wishes at the pawnshop. To obtain the experiment data, he pawns his trust in his friends. To escape his pursuers, he gives up his devotion to justice. And to protect Wen Zhixia, or perhaps the clues she holds, he even pawns part of his own memory.
