Yang Xuwen and Wang Yanhui’s suspense drama Double Track Puzzle 黑白局 just hit the small screens recently. This is the second time Yang Xuwen stars in another “black and white” (黑白) titled mystery drama written by Zhao Junkai, the first one being 2024’s Duel of Shadows 黑白诀, which aired last year. Even the setting is quite similar with all the mystery and crime fighting involved. And, like Duel of Shadows and the highly-rated Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty series where he also starred in, Yang Xuwen once again teams up with an older actor as his partner.
Adapted from Zhao Junkai’s novel of the same name, the story features two generations of railway police officers with each generation represented by Zhan Peng and Tu Hongjiang respectively.
Double Track Puzzle Synopsis
Zhan Peng (Yang Xuwen)’s father was a railway police officer who died in the line of duty. He was posthumously honoured as a martyr for his sacrifice many years later. In the hopes of continuing in his father’s footsteps, Zhan Peng arrives in Xiatong, the very same station where his father had previously worked, only to discover the local situation is far more complex than he had imagined.
His first impression of veteran police officer Tu Hongjiang (Wang Yanhui) was unfavourable, leaving Zhan Peng highly skeptical about trusting him. Tu Hongjiang’s unusual behaviour during the handling of a drug trafficking case raises red flags. However, as the pair continue to work together on several cases, Tu Hongjiang proves his innocence, and Zhan Peng gradually develops respect for him. Ultimately, they work together to bring the puppet master to justice.
Kai
I really like this type of script – no artificial, tortured romance or self-centered silly girl characters. Just good story telling in realistic settings. And I have watched many Yang Xuwen’s works – even the 2 Eternal Brotherhood series. Like this actor.