[Crime Investigation + Two Male Leads + Equally Matched Leads + Case-of-the-Week Stories + Humor]
Zhou Wangye, captain of the Nanshan criminal investigation team, comes from a prominent family and has a difficult, unpredictable temper. He's famous around the bureau as a “powder keg.” The three things he hates most in life are his family, rules, and partners.
His life motto is: Work alone. I don't need anyone's help. That is, until Xia Zhi, a deputy captain from Northeast China, is suddenly assigned to the city bureau.
Xia Zhi is just like his name: as if heaven sent him specifically to set Zhou straight. A single thirty-year-old Northeastern man with a strong regional accent, he is always packing guobaorou from the cafeteria, solves cases using “old-fashioned methods,” and even dares to saunter past Captain Zhou right under his nose the first time they meet.
The two go from “You're suspended” to “Let's work overtime tonight,” and from “Stay out of my way” to “Stay behind me,” solving all kinds of bizarre cases along the way:
Severed fingers on a rainy night, the mystery of an empty coffin, a locked-room livestream case...
Every case points to the same secret: the kidnapping twenty years ago that inspired Zhou Wangye to become a police officer. When all the clues come to light, Zhou Wangye finally realizes that Xia Zhi is not only his partner, but also a light in the darkness of his past.
They solve cases together, one constantly pushing the limits of the rules, the other using the plainest, most direct approach to understand people.
They pull all-nighters together, one guzzling black coffee while the other brews goji berry tea.
They go from disliking each other to trusting each other with their lives.
Until Xia Zhi discovers Zhou Wangye trembling alone in the office late at night; until Zhou Wangye discovers that Xia Zhi always saves half a thermos of hot water for him.
Captain Zhou realizes it a little late: Oh no, I don't think I want him to get lost anymore.
Deputy Captain Xia suddenly understands: Uh-oh, I think he's gotten to me...
Theme: This is a story linked by cases and wrapped in laughter, about how two utterly different souls go from “mortal enemies” to “partners who'd risk their lives for each other.” It wants to tell readers that the sharpest blade may need the warmest scabbard, and that even the loneliest soul will one day meet the spark that sets it alight. Though the story touches on kidnapping, conspiracy, and the dark side of human nature, its heart is bright. Ultimately, it wants to convey this: Even if you were once locked away in darkness, you can still choose to walk toward the light. Even if you've seen too much evil, you can still believe in kindness. Even if the world tries to make you cold, you can still hold on to your warmth.
