[Be Reborn] EP01 | Detective Cracks Cases with Talented College Boy | Zhang Yi/Wang Junkai | YOUKU
[Qingcheng University] [Art Gallery] [Be Reborn] [Episode 1] [Qingcheng Public Security Bureau] The stolen “Water Lily” is the masterpiece of Mr. Li Chengyi, a great painter of the Republic of China. It was once stolen in the late 1980s. It was nowhere to be found until 2001 when an anonymous collector donated it to the museum [Donation Record of “Water Lily”] where it finally resurfaces.
Next, I’ll proceed with the things we’ve found during our investigation. We’ve compared these dozens of sets of shoe prints at the crime scene and found these prints belonged to the staff of the gallery and students who came to visit. Of what happened that day. You had a conflict with the gallery manager at the art gallery. He was the one who called the police, correct? Yes. Wait. That painting is fake. How could it be a fake painting? Listen. It’s fake. If you do this, you’ll ruin the crime scene. Stop talking nonsense.
I said stop it. -What are you doing? -Move! It’s fake! -Leave! -Get out! This painting is fake! It’s fake! You’re a law student. I’m sure you didn’t learn art when you were young. How do you know the authenticity of a painting? I’m interested in paintings. Mr. Li Chengyi’s “Water Lily”
Is my favorite painting. The real “Water Lily” is painted from the edge to the center. He outlined the venation patterns before the leaves are about to dry. But that painting happens to be drawn the opposite way. That simple? That’s not the only reason. I can’t believe you’d notice such small details. Others may not have noticed. But I’ve been there so many times, after all. Is the most suspected in the theft of “Water Lily”. He sees the painting for half an hour every day. I’ve made some inquiries at his school. He’s indeed questionable. There was a theft in the student dormitory last year. A student’s laptop in the dormitory was missing. Everyone suspected
It was Zhuang Wenjie who stole it. Did they make a police report? No. There wasn’t any evidence. But strangely enough, the laptop was returned soon after. But no one knows how it went missing. That was what the security office told me. They even said only Zhuang Wenjie
Had been in and out of the dormitory during the period when the laptop was returned. But there weren’t any surveillance cameras in the corridors and he also denied stealing it. On top of that, he’ll graduate in a year. He also has an outstanding academic achievement. So this matter was put to rest,
But this is also the reason his relationship with his roommates is estranged. Where were you between 12 AM to 5 AM last night? Last night? I should be asleep at home. At home? I thought you were staying at the dormitory. I rent a room outside the campus.
Did you go out within those hours? No. Who can prove it? Your family? Girlfriend? Your roommates? Give us the information and we’ll verify it. No one can prove it. I’m staying alone outside. Both of his parents are dead. [Zhuang Wenjie’s Personal Information] [Mother: Meng Xiaoyu. Died from illness] His mother dies from illness. His father accidentally fell into the river. The body was never found and his name was… Zhuang Yaobai. [Main culprit for the theft of “Luoshen”: Zhuang Yaobai] This man’s family sure is something.
A family of bandits. It’s said that Zhuang Yaobai’s grandfather was the Republic of China’s infamous bandit. His father also had a record of theft. I’ve found some information on the Luoshen case from 20 years ago. [Suspect of Luoshen case fell into the river] On June 12th, 2007,
Zhuang Yaobai and his accomplice, Ding Shenghuo, stole the famous “Luoshen”. As they bolted with the painting, the car Zhuang Yaobai drove crashed into the fence post along the highway by the river. The vehicle and persons plunged into the river and “Luoshen” was ruined. [Suspect of Luoshen case fell into the river] (Huanjiang District, Qingcheng City.) Captain Luo, may I have a moment? Ma, Liu from your department did it again. We found something on this counterfeit painting during the light test. Captain Luo, look. Look at this. [June 26. By Wenjie] I saw police cars
At the art gallery again. They’re here again? Could it be the painting was stolen? How did he know? Who knows? He was probably the one who stole it. Wenjie, the police are here again. Are you okay? They might have found new clues. So they’re here to investigate.
It has nothing to do with me. Then are you prepared to… I’ll leave if there’s nothing else. Wenjie. [Reading Room. Book Lending Available] I’ve already provided the clues I know. Stop looking for me next time. I’ll be graduating in less than a year. I just want to complete my studies in peace.
I don’t want to be the topic of discussion wherever I go. Well, I’m curious why did you sign your name on the fake painting for no reason? What signature? You used invisible ink to sign your name on the fake painting. I had to use a polarizer to know the meaning of this.
Zhuang Wenjie, the reason I chose this place to talk to you instead of taking you back to the bureau is that I’ve compared your handwriting with this. It’s indeed similar. But it’s different. You’re no longer as simple as someone who filed a police report because of this. So I need you to provide
Everything that you know without hiding the smallest detail. Do you understand? Now, tell me. Have you seen any suspicious people or things lately? Officer Luo, I didn’t see any suspicious people or things lately. All right. You may not have seen any lately. But it doesn’t mean that you won’t in the future.
If you did see any, they have a motive for dragging you into this case. They may not be targeting you. But could they be targeting your family? I have no family. I’ll be frank. I’ve pulled out your files. I know about your family background and adolescence very well. So?
What do you mean by “so?” First of all, I didn’t doubt you because of your family background. What kind of person your father was… doesn’t define who you are. I know you want to draw a line between you and your father. But we can’t guarantee that someone would come
Looking for you because of him. It’s okay. Take your time to think about it. You can come to me anytime after you’ve thought it through. Also, no matter what you’ve been through, the best way to get rid of the dark past is through hard work so you can stand in the light.
Are we leaving just like this? Aren’t we going to interrogate the students? Didn’t we already do that the other day? It’s different this time. We must do it strictly this time. Do you have evidence that he stole it? His name is already on the fake painting. It may not prove
He wrote it himself. But there are many doubtful points and… I ask if you have proof. No. Fatty Sun, is it fun to do this all the time? Zhuang Wenjie, do you have eyes behind your back? How did you know all the time? It’s time for you to lose weight.
You gasped as you walked. I could hear it from far. I overlook that. Back to business. I heard the police took you away from the art gallery. Everyone in the School of Computer Science was talking about it this morning. They said you stole a painting. Don’t worry. As your friend, I’d never believe
That kind of rumor. But tell me what exactly had happened. It’s a long story. All right. I’ll buy you a meal. You can tell me as we eat. Mate, are you nuts to get involved in this? Zhuang Wenjie. I’ll leave you two to it. Do you know how worried I was about you?
They said you stole something from the art gallery. I even fought with them. Enough. The truth is I don’t care what you guys think. [Qingcheng Public Security Bureau] We discovered something during our investigation at the crime scene. After making a comparison at the crime scene, this window was recently sealed.
To know the sealing time, I still need to bring this glass glue back to the station for testing. But I’m certain that this window was tampered with within these few days. Last night’s surveillance footage and noticed there was an 18-second blank screen. This fits with the blackout time you checked. There was a blackout too? It was about three in the morning [Art Gallery] when there was a blackout here. How long was the blackout? I think it was about 18 seconds. Eighteen seconds?
Are you sure you’re accurate? I’m certain. Our art gallery has a backup electrical circuit. When a circuit is interrupted, it takes about 18 seconds to start the backup power supply. Before you start the backup power supply when it was cut off, how did you take care of the building’s lighting? [Security]
Several emergency lights are still working. Nothing happened. But the surveillance cameras use an independent power supply. Even if the art gallery had a blackout, it won’t affect [People’s Police of the People’s Republic of China] the operation of surveillance cameras. Unless it was human interference that this happened. The system data also shows that there were many loopholes
In the operation process, which caused the system to activate the backup power supply. After that, the power supply was restored after all the backup power supplies were activated. Stealing a painting in 18 seconds. How did they do that? Is it possible that the theft methods mentioned by Zhuang Wenjie are true? You can get what you want without getting close to the object as long as you have a thorough plan, people with great teamwork, Ready for action. Three. Two. One. They cover the real painting with a fake one. So how did they get the authentic painting out? I only explained half of the act of theft. The highlight is at the back. I heard there was a tool called a four-way hook. The power is back. Did you hear anything from here just now? Or did I hear it wrongly? Everything looks okay to me. Let’s go. All right. Let’s take a look over there. Then this gang is really well-trained. And they were very precise in their control of time.
Every move they make must be spot on to complete what you called theft methods. If they have great teamwork, it takes about 20 seconds to complete this series of actions. But everything we talked about is based on your assumptions. You’re right. It was only a guess. What does the four-way hook look like?
I’ve never seen it either. Right, you heard it from someone else. Who told you? When I was young, someone told me a story about it. Is it just a story? And you even look at it for a long time. Why is that? My mother. My mother passed away when I was little. As far as I can remember, she liked “Water Lily” too. She would always paint a copy. [Famous Fan Painting] (I still remember) Who’s there? Come in. Captain Luo, what is this? Why are you sleeping on the sofa again? Didn’t Chief Zhao say to sleep at the dormitory? I worked late last night. The case is urgent and time is pressing. But you would sleep on the sofa even when there were no urgent cases. Tell me.
Are you just lazy to walk to the dormitory? Just leave. Where’s your mug? I’ll pour you some water. Captain Luo, Zhuang Wenjie is here. You were right. When my name is on the fake painting, I no longer am someone who filed a police report. After talking to you yesterday,
I gave it a lot of thought. I may not have a single clue about the resentment from the previous generation or who wants to set me up, but I refused to wait for their purpose and identity to surface. It’s useless for you to check the painting. We found
An expert to examine the materials and colors. They’re all from the Republic of China. You can easily buy it from the antique market. To find its origin would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. I told you before that I have a great interest in art. After “Water Lily” was exhibited,
I painted almost 17 copies of it. Then? I’ve also gathered some information on painters who admire Mr. Li Chengyi’s works online. After they copied his works, they’d exchange their experience and techniques. I noticed painters with different experiences, different teachers have different opinions on materials, colors, and painting styles. So I was thinking
If I can examine the fake painting today, won’t I be able to get a general idea about the painter who painted that fake painting? You’re talking nonsense here. You’re just pulling some trick. Captain Luo, he’s trying to confuse us to affect our judgment. Okay. Let’s head to the Evidence Department
And get the painting here. Also, request the expert, Mr. Fang, to be here too. With an expert here, we’ll feel more at ease. Mr. Fang, I’ve made some research online. Some copyists would use the projection method. It means they used a projector to project the original painting on the Xuan paper
And copied it completely based on the image. Projector? Won’t there be a difference in colors? Yes. This is what I’m still not certain of. Logically speaking, an image projected by a projector will have a huge color difference. But we can say one can be confused about a fake one and a real one
After comparing the colors of this painting to the original work. I’ve seen one example before. It wasn’t painted by a painter at all. It was printed with high-tech ink. Printed? What are you doing so close to the painting? I just wanted to see if the ink on this Xuan paper reflects.
What do you know? Mr. Fang is here. Mr. Fang. Mr. Fang, please examine. This painting wasn’t printed. There’s no reflection. What’s wrong? There’s a unique smell on the painting. Isn’t it the printing ink? No. What smell is it? It’s Xukang grass. It’s a type of plant where we can extract color.
When a Lama produced Thangka in the past, they always used these plant pigments to enhance the colors of the painting and to make it more dimensional. Can I ask you something? Does the original work have this smell too? I’ve seen it before. I’m certain it doesn’t have this smell. Can you tell me
What kind of person would still use Xukang grass to paint? Well… Well… Street artists. What? Street artists? Yes. Why would a street artist use Xukang grass? Didn’t Mr. Fang say that Xukang grass can make it more dimensional and enhance the colors? Many street artists would add ingredients like Xukang grass when drawing portraits
To satisfy their customers. Also, they can use this traditional way of painting to promote themselves and create some gimmicks for their business. So I think it’s a street artist who has likely painted this painting. Stop for now and wait there. Well, don’t you try to embarrass me in front of Mr. Fang.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a fake or original work. They’re after all Chinese paintings. What do street artists draw? They sketch, water coloring… Officer Luo, you don’t know those street artists that well. They’re all talented painters. You don’t know what they used to study or what they used to work as.
Besides, the brushwork of this painting is very similar to that of a street artist. He has a point. He’s right. A street artist has the habit of making decisive outlines. They’d add colors on it after that. They brought that habit into this fake painting. This explains why they didn’t paint
From the border towards the middle like Master Li. Instead of waiting for the ink of the leaves to dry to paint the venation patterns, they did it the opposite way. Kid, have a seat. Come on, sit. What do you major in? I’m a law student. Law? Have you considered changing your field?
[Xiaoyi Gallery] You want a portrait? I have cheap and expensive ones. The cheap one costs 15 yuan. The expensive one costs 60 yuan. The cheap one will do. The cheap one comes in black and white only. I’ll get the expensive one, then. I’m still young, so black and white aren’t suitable.
You have to make me look handsome. You’ll have to pay first for that request. What if you say you don’t look handsome and refuse to pay after I finish the painting? Don’t underestimate yourself. You’re the one overestimating yourself. Let’s put that aside first. I’m sure you can make it more dimensional, right?
I can’t make it more dimensional. I thought you had some mixture… No, I mean flavoring. I mean color pigments called Xu… Xukang grass. You’re an expert. You must be from the same trade and you’re here to ruin my gig. You even know Xukang grass. No, I’m not. I’m not a painter.
I only know the theories. I can’t paint at all. Also, not only do I want a portrait, [Artistic Portrait] I want the scenery as the background too. I want you to do it with an ink painting style. Just like this. I can’t paint that. Not even with Xukang grass? I draw portraits.
You have to find San to draw scenery. Among the street artists, San is the best when it comes to painting scenery. Who’s San? Stop searching. I haven’t seen him these two days. He didn’t open his stall. Why? He got a job and even bragged about it. He said something about a huge gig.
We didn’t believe him because we think he was talking big. Do you know where he is now? I’ve finally succeeded in catching you by surprise. I didn’t know there were moments you’d let down your guards. Go away. You usually ignore her. Now someone is trying to get her attention, you don’t like it,
Do you? Can you stop being absurd? I find that man isn’t from our school. Why do you care? What’s this? It’s sticking out. Go away. It’s art. You don’t know about it. Come on. “Water Lily” alone has brought so much trouble for you. Why do you still want to paint?
Since you’re passionate about art, why did you choose to study law? This is my hobby. Why do you even care? I’m just concerned about you. I made a fortune. See? You don’t have to know how I made it. Can’t I win the lottery? After a while, I’ll take you overseas.
I’ve thought about it. We’ll go to Sweden and watch the aurora. Under the aurora, I’ll draw a painting of you called “Beauty Under the Aurora.” Is that okay? Not now. I have to lay low. Get it? Just wait a little while. One mustn’t show their wealth. That’s all. Can I help you?
Are you Mr. Ma? Who are you? I came because I’ve heard of you and I’d like to ask you to paint for me. You came all the way to my house? What kind of painting? “Water Lily.” There’s someone there. Stay down! Come with us. [Police] I only drew a painting for them.
It’s true. I swear. I only drew a painting. I didn’t do anything else. Who told you to draw it? Well, it’s like this. A while ago, I somehow got a strange gig. The guy wanted me to copy an ancient painting called “Water Lily”. I knew the guy was up to no good.
But I was blinded by money. So I took the job. I thought it’d be the end after they took the painting and sold it to their victim. But who knows he’d cause such big trouble by switching the painting. They? Who are they? From the beginning, it was a young man who contacted me.
It was about a month ago. Make me look prettier. Beautiful. All right. Sit still. Okay. I think it comes from there. From that bag. But to get a gig this mysterious is a first for me. What? Mysterious. Can you elaborate on that? How do I put this? It felt spooky. If you want me to work for you, you have to pay a deposit first. No problem. What about the venue? Where should we meet?
There’s no need to meet up. I’ve already paid you. It’s behind you. Stop joking around. Behind me? A pile of cash in the bag. Then, there were items to make the scroll painting, rollers for the top and bottom, Xuan paper, wax, and four-Chinese-feet long of Shu brocade. They are all old things of the Republic of China. But what did he tell you after you got all these things? He said
That money was a deposit payment. After I finished and handed over the painting, he’d pay me another half. He even said he especially had confidence in my skills in copying. After that, he had a special request too. Do you have any requests? Just lay it out. Lay it out. You mean
You want to write your name on it with invisible ink? Where’s your phone? The young man, Wenjie, told me to throw the phone after we finished talking. But the phone looks pretty new and valuable. So I didn’t throw it away. I just took out the card and threw it away. After that,
I gave the phone to my girlfriend. Where’s your girlfriend?