Homesick
Homesick is a 12-episode Chinese mystery thriller from iQIYI. It aired from December 21, 2022 to December 30, 2022, and all episodes are out. In the US it streams officially on iQIYI (VIP, episodes 1-2 free), checked October 25, 2026.
Where to watch Homesick
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Is it worth watching?
Final verdict coming soon. It goes up once our editor has seen the ending. How we rate
Viewers who like slow-reveal family mysteries set in the 1990s and strong acting, and can forgive loose plotting
What viewers score it
The story, without spoilers
What to Expect
We haven't watched this one. This section is based on the iQ.com and iQIYI listings, Chinese press coverage, an English review and Chinese finale recaps, and we'll replace it with a verdict once we have one.
The setup is an open secret: the audience knows from the start that Chen Youxi is an impostor, and the tension comes from what the family is hiding and whether she will be found out. Chinese coverage describes a close-knit household whose members each carry a secret, and calls the show a family drama as much as a whodunit. An English review calls it fast-paced and dark, rating it 8 out of 10, and says the cast carries it, singling out Wang Yanhui.
Reception in China started strong and then split. Jiemian reports that Douban opened at 8.2 after the first week, with viewers praising the strong acting across the cast in the first half. On finale day, more than 20,000 viewers rated it in a single night, and the score dropped to 6.4. The same article says viewers complained that some side threads were wrapped up quietly, that the young characters made frustrating choices, and that the story leaned toward family drama and away from deduction. An English reviewer likewise found the reason behind Xiao Xiu's disappearance not firmly enough established. A content note: the drama includes violence and other disturbing scenes.
The Story
In autumn 1997, an orphan named Chen Youxi leaves her orphanage to find her friend Xiao Xiu, who disappeared after working as a nanny for the Li family in the small town of Tanling. The Li family says Xiao Xiu stole from them and ran away, and Chen Youxi doesn't believe it. Noticing that the family's daughter Wenwen, missing for years, would be about her age, she poses as Wenwen and moves into the house. Homesick (回来的女儿, Hui Lai De Nü Er) is a 12-episode iQIYI mystery from 2022 starring Zhang Zifeng, with Wang Yanhui, Mei Ting and Li Naiwen as the family and the man in their orbit. Lü Xing (吕行) directed it for iQIYI's Mist Theater (迷雾剧场) line of suspense series. Nothing we found says it adapts a novel.
Release Notes
Homesick premiered on iQIYI on December 21, 2022, with two episodes on the first day, and the finale aired on December 30. DramaWiki lists a 20:00 slot, while Jiemian says the slot moved up an hour to 19:00 a few days after the start. It has 12 episodes of about 50 minutes. Jiemian says it was the first Mist Theater series to run entirely for VIP members only, which limited its audience.
Lü Xing (吕行) is credited as director, with Han Sanping (韩三平) as supervising producer and Pan Yiran (潘依然), Tian Jin (田金) and Chen Ji (陈骥) as writers. Chinese coverage of the first image release in May 2022 described the cast as Zhang Zifeng, Wang Yanhui, Mei Ting and Li Naiwen, with Dai Xu and Ding Jiali as special guest stars. Jiemian reports the idea came from an idiom and a reference show rather than a book, and DramaWiki lists no source, so we treat it as an original script.
iQ.com's album page lists all 12 episodes under the title Homesick with English subtitles. From the US on October 25, 2026, episodes 1 and 2 were free and the rest needed VIP. We haven't found it on Viki, WeTV or Netflix. No second season has turned up in what we read.
Does Homesick have a happy ending?
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We have not finished this one ourselves; this is based on outside sources. Fans disagree about how to read it.
In Brief
Ending spoilerShow the ending in brief
Homesick ends on a bittersweet note, according to Chinese finale recaps. Both missing-person mysteries are answered, the Li family is destroyed, and Chen Youxi finds a new family of sorts with the people she met along the way. Recaps disagree on what happened to two minor characters, and viewers were split on whether the finale was a letdown after a strong start.
Full Ending Explained
Full spoilersShow the full ending
This account comes from finale recaps on NetEase, Sohu, Tencent News and Sina, plus an English review, not from watching. They agree on the big answers and differ on a few details, which we flag.
What happened to Wenwen. The recaps say Wenwen never ran away or got lost. She died as a small child, around age five, in an accident at home during a break-in. Her father, Li Chengtian, believed for years that she had simply gone missing. Recaps say he falls apart when the police tell him the truth during questioning.
What happened to Xiao Xiu. The finale recaps agree that Li Chengtian killed Xiao Xiu, not his son Wenzhuo, who had been the obvious suspect. One recap says the story gives a thin reason, that he lashed out after feeling humiliated, and an English reviewer likewise found the motive weak. An earlier pre-finale fan article guessed otherwise, so the answer only became clear in the last episodes.
Liao Suifang. The recaps say Liao Suifang, who was set on going to the police, is killed by her husband. An English review and one Chinese analysis say she put protecting her son ahead of good judgment, and one analysis argues she knew more than she let on.
Wang Chongjiang and Zheng Yong. The recaps say Wang Chongjiang is stabbed by Cheng Wei and that Li Chengtian then disposes of him in the river, after which most recaps count him among the dead. One adds that he might not have survived the stabbing anyway. Zheng Yong is described as pushed down a flight of stairs by Li Chengtian. Most recaps say he died, but one points out he may only have been knocked out and that the show doesn't say. We can't tell you which is right.
Li Chengtian. He is arrested. In questioning, recaps say he first denies everything and later asks whether he could get life imprisonment or a suspended death sentence. We haven't found the final sentence. Several Chinese commentators single out a scene in which he lights a cigarette three times during the interrogation as the finale's best moment.
Chen Youxi and the young ones. Cheng Wei is jailed for the stabbing and, per recaps, released in spring 1999 after less than two years. Chen Youxi and Li Wenzhuo open a hair salon together, she treats him as her older brother, and Cheng Wei joins them after his release. The closing scene has the two visiting Liao Suifang's grave. The English review calls it a fresh start for the young characters.
The debate. Some Chinese commentators call the ending a letdown for a drama that opened so strongly, while others say it isn't the mess its score suggests. The recaps agree there is no big reversal: the final episodes mostly confirm what viewers had suspected.
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Cast and characters
Also starring
- Chen Youxi (Zhang Zifeng): an orphan who, in 1997, leaves the orphanage to search for her friend and takes the missing Li daughter's place.
- Li Chengtian (Wang Yanhui) and Liao Suifang (Mei Ting): the father and mother of the Li family, which Chinese press calls close-knit on the surface.
- Li Wenzhuo (Du Yusen): the family's son, known as Zhuozhuo, a young man whose mental age the actor puts at about eight.
- Li Wenwen: the Li family's daughter, missing for years, whose identity Chen Youxi borrows.
- Xiao Xiu (Zhang Xianjing): Chen Youxi's friend and a former nanny for the Li family, whose disappearance starts the story.
- Wang Chongjiang (Li Naiwen): a wealthy businessman, described in Chinese coverage as the mother's lover.
- Cheng Xu (Dai Xu) and Cheng Wei (Guo Cheng): a police officer and his younger cousin, who is also after the truth about Xiao Xiu.
Identity Reveals
Ending spoilerShow identity reveals
There is little hidden about who Chen Youxi is. iQ.com's synopsis says up front that she poses as Li Wenwen, and Chinese press calls the premise an open card: the audience is in on the lie from the start.
Ending spoilerReveal what the real Wenwen's story is
According to finale recaps, the real Li Wenwen died as a small child in an accident at home during a break-in, and was never a runaway or abduction victim. We haven't watched the show, and a pre-finale fan article theorised several variants, so the recaps from after the finale are the better guide.
Words and customs you'll hear
The title and the idiom behind it
Hui Lai De Nü Er (回来的女儿) means roughly "the daughter who came back." Jiemian reported that the story began at the end of 2020 with a four-character idiom, jiu zhan que chao (鸠占鹊巢), which describes one bird taking over another's nest. The writers then chose to tell the story from the side of the bird whose nest has been taken, according to the same article. We haven't seen the production explain the title itself.
Mist Theater
Mist Theater (迷雾剧场) is iQIYI's brand for short suspense series. Chinese coverage places Homesick in that line and says its writing team was the same one behind the earlier hit The Bad Kids (隐秘的角落), a claim we haven't checked against that show's credits. Jiemian adds that the creators used the American series Mare of Easttown (东城梦魇) as a reference for telling a small town's changes through one returning outsider.
1997 and the changing town
The drama is set around 1997 in an industrial town. Jiemian says the creators chose the year to show a town in transition, and Chinese coverage connects the family's troubles to the pressures of the 1990s reforms. We haven't checked how directly the show addresses them.
Homesick FAQ
What is Homesick about?
Homesick is a 2022 iQIYI mystery set in 1997. Orphan Chen Youxi leaves her orphanage to look for her missing friend Xiao Xiu, a former nanny for the Li family. Doubting the family's story, she poses as their long-lost daughter Wenwen and moves into their house, where she finds that the warmth hides secrets.
Which Chinese drama is Homesick?
Homesick is the English title on iQ.com for 回来的女儿 (Hui Lai De Nü Er), the 2022 iQIYI series starring Zhang Zifeng. Other works share the name, including several films, so look for Zhang Zifeng, the year 2022 and 12 episodes. Another English title is Road Back Home.
How many episodes does Homesick have?
Homesick has 12 episodes of about 50 minutes. iQ.com, iQIYI's Chinese page, DramaWiki and TheTVDB all say 12. It aired from December 21 to December 30, 2022, so every episode is out and the story is told in one season. Two episodes aired on the first day.
Who is in the cast of Homesick?
Zhang Zifeng plays Chen Youxi, and Wang Yanhui and Mei Ting play Li Chengtian and Liao Suifang, the Li parents. Li Naiwen plays Wang Chongjiang. Du Yusen, Guo Cheng, Dai Xu and Ding Jiali are also in the cast, and Dai Xu and Ding Jiali are billed as special guest stars.
Where can I watch Homesick?
It streamed on iQIYI in China, and iQ.com lists all 12 episodes with English subtitles under the title Homesick. From the US on October 25, 2026, episodes 1 and 2 were free and the other 10 needed VIP. We haven't found it on Viki, WeTV or Netflix.
Is Homesick based on a novel or a true story?
We found no novel. Jiemian reports the idea came from the idiom jiu zhan que chao and a reference TV series, and DramaWiki lists no source, so we treat it as an original script. One English review says it draws on 1990s incidents, but Chinese coverage we read names no real case.
Is there a Wikipedia page for the Homesick ending?
We found no English Wikipedia article for the drama itself, only one for Zhang Zifeng. DramaWiki and TVmaze have entries with the cast and dates. Our Ending section above summarizes Chinese finale recaps and one English review rather than our own viewing, and it flags where those recaps disagree.
Is Homesick worth watching?
Opinions split. Douban opened at 8.2 and fell to 6.4 on finale day, according to Jiemian, which says viewers liked the first half but complained about quietly closed side threads and weaker deduction later. An English review rated it 8 out of 10, mostly for the cast. It runs only 12 episodes.
Does Homesick have a happy ending?
SpoilerShow the answer
Minor spoilerReveal the tone of the ending
It is mixed, according to finale recaps. The mysteries are solved and the young characters end with a new start, but several members of the Li family and its circle do not survive. We haven't watched it, and recaps disagree about two minor characters, so treat the details as unconfirmed.
What happened to Xiao Xiu and the real Wenwen in Homesick?
SpoilerShow the answer
Ending spoilerReveal what happened to them
Finale recaps say Wenwen died as a small child in an accident at home and was never missing by choice. They say Li Chengtian killed Xiao Xiu, not his son Wenzhuo. We haven't watched it, and an earlier fan article guessed otherwise, so rely on the post-finale recaps and treat this as reported.
Who is the killer in Homesick?
SpoilerShow the answer
Ending spoilerReveal who is responsible
According to Chinese finale recaps, Li Chengtian is behind the deaths of Xiao Xiu and, reportedly, his wife Liao Suifang. He is arrested at the end. Recaps disagree on whether Wang Chongjiang and Zheng Yong died. We haven't watched the show, so check the finale yourself if details matter.
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