So, when Xin Huohuo visited the remaining families of the missing children the next day as planned, she heard their jumbled, contradictory descriptions. She immediately understood that Yan Huo was the one pulling the strings. He was using simple mind-control techniques to mire her in a complex and contradictory web of clues, with the goal of keeping her away from this strange case.
She suppressed the urge to look around for Yan Huo. Instead, she put on a serious act, using her new phone to record the interviews and asking about numerous details. She looked for all the world like she was going to study the information carefully back at her hotel, completely misled. Yan Huo probably wasn't even nearby, and even if he was, she couldn't see him. But if you're going to put on a show, you have to go all in. Only by doing this could she convince Bei Mingyuan that she was temporarily staying in a safe area and get him to call off his protective surveillance.
