Zhao Xiangwan is an eighteen-year-old freshman at Hunan Provincial Public Security University, studying criminal investigation psychology. She possesses the ability to read minds, a power she acquired after being struck by lightning at age ten. Raised by adoptive parents in a rural village, she endured years of mistreatment and neglect while her adopted sister, Zhao Chenyang, received all the affection and resources. The truth of her origins was hidden from her; she later discovered she was the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy city official, Zhao Qingyun, and that Zhao Chenyang had stolen her identity by switching places with her while Zhao Xiangwan was unconscious.
The story begins on a dark October night when Zhou Qiaoxiu, Zhao Xiangwan’s head teacher, urgently knocks on her dormitory door. Zhou is distraught because her three-year-old biological daughter, Xu Zhenbao, has gone missing at Benlong Park. Although the police, led by Zhou’s husband Xu Songling, are searching, Zhou suspects their eleven-year-old adopted daughter, Meimei, is responsible. Zhao Xiangwan accompanies Zhou to investigate. Through observing Meimei’s micro-expressions and hearing her inner thoughts, Zhao Xiangwan confirms that Meimei deliberately abandoned the baby at a snack shop run by a childless couple who wanted a daughter. The couple had drugged the infant with alcohol-laced milk to stop her crying, causing severe alcohol poisoning.
Zhao Xiangwan and Zhou Qiaoxiu locate the baby at the snack shop and rush her to the hospital. Xu Songling initially defends Meimei, refusing to believe his adopted daughter could commit such a cruel act. However, Zhao Xiangwan demonstrates her observational skills by deducing the details of a confidential homicide case involving two headless female corpses, which forces Xu Songling to accept her expertise. Confronted with the evidence, the family realizes Meimei’s true nature. Zhou Qiaoxiu decides to send Meimei to a boarding school, severing their emotional bond.
On her eighteenth birthday, Zhao Xiangwan celebrates with Zhou and Xu Songling, who have become surrogate family figures. She requests their help to locate Zhao Chenyang, the woman living as the daughter of a provincial party official. Xu Songling uses police resources to find Zhao Chenyang’s address. Shortly after, Zhao Xiangwan encounters Zhao Chenyang at a shopping mall. Zhao Chenyang, who had stolen Zhao Xiangwan’s life and attended university in her place, is shocked to see her rival alive and thriving. The encounter sets the stage for Zhao Xiangwan to reclaim her identity and expose the truth.
Meanwhile, Xu Songling recruits Zhao Xiangwan to assist with the headless corpse case. Two suspects, Wang Qiankun, a karaoke hall owner, and Wu Shengli, a singer, are linked to the victims, Wei Lili and Gu Xiaoling, through romantic entanglements and financial disputes. The investigation reveals complex motives involving jealousy, abortion fees, and illicit affairs. Zhao Xiangwan’s unique ability to detect lies and read minds proves crucial as the police prepare to interrogate the suspects, marking her transition from a student to an active participant in criminal investigations.
