When a Snail Falls in Love 如果蜗牛有爱情 - Episode 8 (Recap)

kakashi: Step by step, Ji Bai and his team narrow the search for Ze Yixi's killer. Xu Xu observes ... mainly her shifu, determined to become his emotional support.
Eleanor: Ji Bai! Ji Bai! Ji Bai! Xu Xu! Xu Xu! Xu Xu! I will gladly make cheerleader signs for them and the team. I think hanging out with Trot has definitely rubbed off on me. Of course we'll add some glitter to the signs too.
Trotwood: It doesn't count if there is no glitter.
JoAnne: I'm picturing edible glitter on Ji Bai's cheekbones, the tip of his nose, the edges of his ears, his Adam's apple... it's getting warm in here, isn't it?
Shuk: [fans Jo and offers a tall frosty drink, reprenting our tall frosty man]

Episode 8

Intro: Zhang Shiyong is scared. And he is in Ye Zixi's house. Hurriedly, he packs his clothes, rearranges some of hers. He takes his toiletries, washes glasses that he might have touched. He leaves the house and drives away as fast as he possibly can. 
Surely he's still going to leave DNA traces all over there. Isn't it better to call the cops and try and get himself cleared, well unless he's the bastard who killed Zixi. 
That was my thought. Why don't people just call the cops? They are going to find out about the affair. Can he possibly think that no knows or no one will know? I also thought, dude. you need to clean better than this if you are trying to not leave a trace.
Right? What about the sheets on the bed? Oooh, or the coffee table, or the counter?
Toilet rim...

We're back on the basketball court with a Ji Bai on fire. Everybody else is floored. Husband knows: playing basketball is probably the healthiest way for Ji Bai to take out his anger. But to Xu Xu, he is using extreme sports to suppress his feelings. She realized when she calculated his accuracy rate that he got worse as time progressed. He is using his will power to suppress his emotions and I guess it took more and more of that will power to remain "just a police officer", not Ji Bai. She thinks he is amazing to pull this off and stay so professional. 
And I'm like: um Ji Bai, you need to get some counselling and should probably be pulled off the case. I know he's superhuman and all that, but seriously, this could cause someone to make a serious mistake and people could get hurt. Though intense Ji Bai is definitely 😍😍😍 (sending Eleanor those computer cooling systems I found)
I love the shots below of Husband (doing a finger wave at Husband--hey there) and of Xu Xu. they really are dying trying to keep up with crazy Ji Bai, but they are going to stick to him like glue and like the family he really needs now. I'd say he needed time off but with his personality, that would probably make things worse.
These friends make me smile. Whatever he needs, they will see that he gets it.
I like that Husband automatically believed her and didn't question, except to ask if there was something they could do to help their leader.

Xu Xu won't sleep after this though - she's back on her whiteboard, drawing relationship charts. She adds "Brother Lu" ... and wonders where she should put the dead Zixi, when Ji Bai turns up behind her and adds that picture to the board for her. Replacing the alive Zixi. He then draws a line from Zhang Shiyong to Zixi and writes "Partners in crime". Huh.
Wow. That's kind of cold Ji Bai, but maybe I shouldn't worry about his relationships getting in the way of the investigation. He is one dedicated policeman. 
I don't think it's cold; I think it's logical and another reason why he and Xu Xu are supposed to be together. They both can and do look at things completely logically. I think though that he uses logic to erase/ignore the pain while she uses logical to understand it.
I think he shuts things off in a way that she does not. She seems less emotional, but I actually think she integrates emotion with logic in a way that is more effective than his. To be sure, though, I'd need to see her go through something more traumatic to her personally.
As long as she is there for him emotionally when he finally has his meltdown. She already knows he's holding everything in, and it's just a matter of time.

They committed fraud together, he says, and the criminal group around Brother Lu might have money laundered for them. As for the two dead women, they need to investigate separately for the time being, but once they have assembled all the evidence, they will see what the connection is.

Ji Bai. He's so hotte right now. (umm. just right now?)

Always. He is always hot.

For the shippers:

Ah! They are so cute! 

Ji Bai asked for a search warrant from the higher-ups, and on the next day, Xu Xu and the gang force Zhang Shiyong to assist them in their investigation. First, he needs to open the trunk - nothing of importance there. But Xu Xu remembers that he had a Porsche the last time she saw him in a car. That car is in his underground garage. And in that car, his personal belongings, as Ji Bai expected all along - his clothes are all custom made, which prevented him from giving them away. Plus, too much surveillance for him to carry that bag anywhere.

Muahahahaha Zhang Shiyong, you messed with the wrong police team! I love how well they all work together! 

I'm tempted to go back and watch this scene again, I enjoyed the team work so much. I like Xu Xu's version of badass.

I like that she seems like she'd be meek and timid and yet she absolutely is not.

The Columbo Effect. Except she is much much prettier.

They bring Shiyong in after that. Ji Bai puts all the evidence on the table before him ... menacingly. Zixi's DNA is on those clothes. Shiyong's fingerprints are all over Zixi's house. Police officer or not, Ji Bai hates this man. I can't hate him, I find him pitiful.

To be fair, at this moment he VERY much looks like he killed Zixi. We don't know for sure that he did or didn't, but considering Zixi is Ji Bai's little sister, I think Shiyong can be very grateful that he hasn't been torn limb from limb. 

I don't find him pitiful. I think he's too sleezy to be pitiful. I'm really curious because he just does not seem like Zixi's type at.all. I also don't think he's the killer just because he doesn't seem to be that smart or that desperate or that passionate about anything to actually kill someone. He could've paid someone else to "fix things" but frankly I don't think he'd have the guts to do it himself.

This guy is not a murderer, for sure. He places self-interest above everything, and I'm not saying he wouldn't push someone off a bridge if they were trying to do the same thing to him, but that's not murder, is it? So while I could see Zixi falling to her death accidentally during a fight with this guy, there is no way he did the knives or any of that stuff. No way at all.
Yeah, he's a slimeball, but not really a murdering slimeball. I doubt he thinks that far ahead.

Sidenote: If I were in a room like this. I'd probably be confessing everything right down to the time I was the lookout for the kids stringing up my classroom in 3rd grade. The police would be getting files and files about me for the past 45 years.

Here is Zhang Shiyong's tale: He had an affair with Ye Zixi alright (like he had them with many women), but he did not kill her. He was at the crime scene because he received a message from her, saying "Darling I need to talk to you, can you come to the mansion?" It was late, but because of everything happening at work lately .... Ji Bai interrupts him. What has been happening? Ye's huge overseas losses? Yes, that. 1.9 billion yuan (that's about $274 million). That sum is news to our police officers. 

Yikes! That's a lot of money. I really adore Wang Kai's eyes. Especially when the light shines on them and they turn this ambery hue. And that little scar on his nose. Kaikai. You are too distractingly handsome *sigh*

Focus, Eleanor, focus! We've got a crime to solve here.

My eyes do that too, Eleanor. Shall I take a close up and send it to you? You can pretend it's him and that you're staring into his eyes.

Slimeball's screen timestamp says 2319 hrs, I think (it's fuzzy). Ji Bai's message from ZiXi was marked at 0021 hours. If Shiyoung's story is true, she would have been dead hours before Ji Bai was texted.

Shiyong was afraid that the truth had been revealed about this loss when he found her dead. That is why he packed everything up and ran. But he did cover her body with a white jacket.

Ah so that explains the messy jacket cover up. 

See. That's what I thought. The person with the jacket is not the person who did the knives. Not consistent.

We should open a private investigation office.

Can we hire Wang Kai to be our receptionist and fetch us coffee and stuff?

For the shippers:

And this:

I love how they repeatedly shoot them to emphasize the height difference.
She is SO tiny. He's not all that tall, is he?
Wang Kai is 182 cm, Wang Zi Wen is a 162 cm. So there is an 8-inch difference in heights.

Okay, this is so extremely sweet ... Xu Xu keeps watching Ji Bai and came to the conclusion that he needs her right now. But the rest of the team is right behind her and instead of opening up to anyone, Ji Bai declares it's "his treat" and sends Xu Xu to get takeout.

Damn, that man really does need a hug. Oh! The tension between them in that scene *gulps*

Look at those sweet worried faces. I heart them so much!

(Jumping up and down waving at Husband. HURRAAAYY HUSBAND!!! Oh yeah, I told Eleanor we needed to focus. Slinking slowly back to my regular spot. sweeping up the glitter trail))
*smiles at glitter on socks*

What a feast! Haha, so apparently, Ji Bai ate Xu Xu's cake this morning. Deliberately?! I'm not sure, but man, is he (almost) flirting with her?! He also takes the KaiKai water she just drank from!! This seems almost more than she can handle, lol.

LOL He is totally getting in her space and I love it. I mean, though who could complain if Ji Bai were getting in your space. If Xu Xu doesn't like it, come over here Ji Bai! 

There is a particular kind of intimacy he is assuming about them which I really like. Their relationship is moving forward just not in the ways that seem to traditional but which seem to perfectly fit their personalities.

Exactly. EXACTLY. They've skipped the first 6 months of dating and moved into 'we practically live together' coupledom without actually even being a couple. Except that they ARE a couple, and they both know it. Isn't it almost more intense because it's so clear without being spoken?

It's so nice having a couple not beating around the bush and a relationship not rife with misunderstanding. even if the understanding hasn't been verbalized to Team Lion yet. And his snort-laugh was so adorable that even she smiled.

The rest of the team continues discussing the case (the financial part of it has been passed on to the Financial Crimes Unit). The day after Zixi's murder, the news about the corporation's huge losses got out and their stockprices crashed. Ji Bai mentions they got an important clue: the message from Zixi's phone sent to Zhang Shiyong's private number (that only a few people know) was sent out before the message for help to his phone was sent. According to the forensic reports, Zixi was dead before midnight. Ji Bai got his message at 12.20 am. Zixi did not send it.

Ooh! Tricky murderer. 

Doesn't that seem like an obvious mistake? And what about messages that don't go through right away but show up later? That happens to me sometimes at work with my cell phone, both sending and receiving.

If they pulled her phone records, I would think it would have a "sent" time and not a "received" time.

Well, it's time to take a closer look at Ye Qiao. The one without an alibi. Ji Bai mentions surveillance footage that showed she went to Lin An Mountain around 11pm. She left about 2 hours later. Oups, what? Ji Bai leaves the room - and straight away, Ye Qiao explodes when Xu Xu mentions that she feels sorry for her. Wow, right for the sore spot. Ji Bai comes back in. It's almost like they've discussed the details of her psychology, but I don't think they have.

They're just so in sync. Love! Ye Qiao is looking super guilty about something though. Could she have murdered her cousin? 

Now I can believe that she would kill someone as opposed to her wimpy husband. Frankly, he doesn't seem her type either. She has the passion and the focus and the brains to pull something like this off. Any other time, I would just think it's her, but it seems too easy for this show.

I could see her deliberately pushing ZiXi over the railing in a heated moment, but again, the knives... okay, maybe she would stab her a bunch of times: you know, an argument in the kitchen gets too heated, she grabs a knife and just starts slashing at Zixi, yes. But to stab a person who's already down like that, and then pin them to the floor, no.
I don't think we have the full story yet.

This time, Ji Bai gets straight to the point: why did she send a message to her husband, calling him to the crime scene? To make him see the dead body? To make him a suspect? Both? He seems to know that she texted in rage and then realized that the cell phone could get her into trouble. What to do with the phone? She threw it away somewhere dark and far away. She also stayed there to watch her husband lose it.

Yikes! Not cool lady. Not cool. She is gorgeous though. So many pretty people in this drama. And I absolutely LOVE the lighting in this scene! Love! 

Yikes is right if this is exactly how it happened. I'm actually a little impressed and like her more as a character than I did before if she got her husband to come to see. I can appreciate quality revenge.

I could absolutely see her doing that, yes. But even more, I could see her calling him, telling him to come, standing right there and insisting that he help her cover it up, or risk losing everything he has.

Because she touched the bloody phone, she got blood on her steering wheel. wiping it clean helps perfectly little against modern forensic techniques. Okay, that's enough to break her composure.

Yeah don't mess with this team! See, Kaikai's eye there to the right. Gorgeous! It's like Kakashi knew I was going to comment on Kaikai's eyes and included this screenshot *hugs Kakashi* Thank you! 😘

I feel better about Zixi's blood on the steering wheel because it didn't make a lot of sense to me before. And let's cheer for Luminol!

After making Ye Qiao cry, Ji Bai goes out for a smoke. But before he can light his cigarette, Xu Xu appears behind him. To sit by him, quietly at first, and then to tell him that she wants to be his cigarette lighter. So that she will know when he needs external support "so suppress" himself. And she adds a warning against building a dam against emotions. It's too dangerous when it breaks.

Aw, that's actually really sweet. She is asking to be his support. I love it! 

I was thinking that it was really bold of her and whether she realizes everything this comment and action implies or if she just means what she says straight without the layers.

Somehow I think they both just know that the other is it, and how they talk and act toward each other is an acknowledgement that they are end game.

Still hate her ugly shapeless too-long coat.

But he makes a point to put her in her place (not unfriendly) - she's just his student (and if she doesn't pass her physical test in three months, she won't stay that - awww, he adds "hopefully you'll pass"). He does not need anyone to lecture him. And then, they get word that Ye Qiao is "ready". 

Ji Bai! Come on Lion, let the Snail help you.

Well, amendment to above: she's it, but only if she meets his standard.

Comments

There have been "complaints" that the romance isn't all that romancy in this, but I disagree. This episode was ALL about this romance, which is expressed by two über-professional beings growing closer, step by step. They are learning to trust each other, to understand each other, to depend on each other. There are so many clues in this episode! A glance, a shy smile, the locking of eyes. Xu Xu's quiet (and concerned) watch over Ji Bai's mental health is romance. It's not a "oh, you make me so hot, I can barely breath" type of romance. It's a "I get you as a human being and I want to support you" one. It is the kind of romance you want with someone, if you want it to last beyond the hormones. 

Amen! I've also been puzzled by people saying it lacks romance. Sure maybe it lacks the super tropey, and quite frankly, the unrealistic drama and film portrayals of grand romantic gestures, but that isn't romance. That's commercialised romance. What they have, two adults, seeing each other as equals is so much more fulfilling to watch. It's also more how life works. Slow burn romance or people getting to know each other is just nice to watch, and it's refreshing. 

What we are getting here, which is what we often don't get in pure romance dramas, are the reasons why these two fall in love. These two are really complicated people. They have particular expectations for themselves and for others and they have very specific needs from someone who is going to be a friend and/or a partner. It wouldn't make sense for them to fall in love like other drama characters. Frankly, it doesn't make sense how those other characters fall in love half the time either. This drama does a great job showing us how two intellectually similar people find comfort and camaraderie and support in the other without having to work to explain themselves. Must be such a relief for them to be together.

Yes. Rather than any of the hearts and butterflies (not saying there won't be those, too) - this love begins with recognition of a kindred soul.

And it's so much more satisfying to watch than the usual cheese romantic gestures.

As for the case, this episode revealed bit for bit of evidence to us that the police have gathered between the time they arrived at the crime scene and the time they started to interrogate Ye family members. We know there are more members and it's pretty clear we will see all of them being investigated, before we can get to the bottom of this.

It really is a most interesting case. Let's hope our team can get to the bottom of it.

I'd like to know and understand more about the time line. It's very complicated. I feel like I should be taking notes when I'm watching, which isn't a bad thing. 

Those are my favorite kinds of stories.