Episode Summary
A pregnant Sun Caiyun manipulates Ding Baoyuan into taking blame for her crime. Years later, Ding's release triggers Sun's greed for compensation money. Liu Dazhi returns for his father's funeral while hiding dark secrets tied to Cheng Chun's death. Detective Chen uncovers a twisted web of familial cover-ups involving bone marrow rejection and past betrayal.
Spoiler Alert
Sandstorm Episode 7: Secrets, Sacrifices, and a Whole Lot of Side-Eye
Let’s rewind eight years for a messy origin story, folks. Sun Caiyun (queen of melodrama) is dramatically vomiting on her couch—turns out, she’s pregnant. But here’s the kicker: Ding Baoyuan, her husband, sits stone-faced nearby, realizing she probably committed the murder that’s about to blow up their lives. Cue Sun’s Oscar-worthy waterworks: She wails about not wanting her baby "born in prison," weaponizing guilt like a pro. Ding, who miraculously got her pregnant despite a workplace injury that left him infertile, caves faster than a sandcastle in a storm. He agrees to take the fall, swapping his freedom for her crocodile tears. Classic.
Cut to present day: Ding’s finally free, squinting in the sunlight like a man who just survived an eight-year nap in legal purgatory. The government’s offering him compensation, which immediately triggers Sun’s inner grifter. She first tries to flee with their son (and probably a suitcase full of cash), but the second she hears "big fat settlement," she U-turns harder than a soap opera villain. Now she’s all smiles, throwing Ding a welcome-home party while side-eyeing anyone who gets too close (looking at you, Detective Chen Jianghe).
Meanwhile, over in Griefville: Liu Sancheng’s funeral brings his estranged son, Liu Dazhi, back to town. But this guy’s sweating bullets in his car, hallucinating phantom passengers like he’s in a low-budget horror flick. Detective Chen’s practically vibrating with suspicion—turns out, Liu Dazhi’s number popped up in the burner phone of Cheng Chun (RIP), a key figure in the cold case. Chen’s theory? Liu Sancheng covered up the original murder to protect his son, even pimping out his own daughter, Liu Yingying, to silence a witness. And get this: DNA confirms Liu Yingying’s daughter, Liu Duoduo, was fathered by the family’s adopted son (yikes).
But the real tea? Liu Yingying confronts Dazhi at his hotel, dragging up the past like a vengeful ghost. Turns out, when her son needed a bone marrow transplant, Dazhi ghosted her faster than a Tinder date—handing her ¥30k instead of his DNA. The kid died. Now she’s serving him a frosty glare and a warning: “Run now, and the cops’ll pounce.”
Flashback to Dazhi’s college days: Cheng Chun (bless her tragic heart) gave him her life savings—¥30k earned through noodles and… other services—to fund his education, hoping he’d whisk her away from their dead-end town. Spoiler: He took the cash and left her in the dust.
By episode’s end, Dazhi’s sweating through a police station visit to claim his dad’s body. Detective Chen casually drops his childhood nickname and mentions Cheng Chun’s name—just to watch him twitch. Mission accomplished.
Verdict: Lies pile up faster than sand in a storm, and everyone’s got a shovel. Bring popcorn.
