Recaps

Dong Xuebin discovered that Lu Dacai and Li Hong were having an affair and used his time-stopping ability to photograph them. He arranged for Liu Dahai to print and secretly mail copies, then told Xie Huilan his plan was ready to turn the tables on those targeting him.

• Dong Xuebin overheard Lu Dacai and Li Hong confessing their affair and waited until they were together on the sofa.
• Dong Xuebin stopped time, photographed Lu Dacai and Li Hong, and escaped before they could catch him.
• Dong Xuebin drove to Huitian Township and asked Liu Dahai to print three copies of the photos and secretly mail two of them to designated recipients.
• Liu Dahai returned with the prints, and Dong Xuebin gave him the addresses and recipients for mailing the copies the next day.
• Xie Huilan called Dong Xuebin about the officers and the move against him, but he assured her he had already settled his plan and would act tomorrow.

Dong Xuebin faced resistance from Lu Dafa’s allies at the Investment Bureau, then learned that compromising photos of Lu Dafa’s wife and younger brother had arrived. He pretended to condemn the photos while leaving Luo Haiting room to spread the scandal, setting up a blow against Lu Dafa.

• Guo Panwei reported that he was settling into his new job, and Dong Xuebin assigned him several tasks.
• Dong Xuebin learned that Lu Dafa’s allies were delaying or undermining his instructions.
• Shan Enguo told Lu Dafa that the departments were not cooperating with Dong Xuebin, while Lu Dafa prepared to challenge him.
• Lu Dafa received photos of Li Hong and Lu Dacai together, confronted Li Hong by phone, and heard her confess.
• Luo Haiting received another set of the photos and brought them to Dong Xuebin, who demanded an investigation while saying the scandal should preferably remain private.
• Luo Haiting understood Dong Xuebin’s insinuation and instructed trusted subordinates, allowing the photos to spread.

Dong Xuebin used compromising photographs to undermine Lu Dafa’s standing at the Investment Bureau, then tightened control over reimbursements and won the other officials’ support. By the end of the day, he had established himself as the bureau’s undisputed leader.

• Dong Xuebin confronted Lu Dafa with photographs of the scandal involving Lu Dafa’s wife and younger brother, and Lu Dafa tore them up before asking for leave.
• Dong Xuebin kept the photographs as leverage, and Xie Huilan praised how he had weakened Lu Dafa and those opposing them.
• Dong Xuebin ordered that all reimbursements above five hundred yuan require his signature, and Luo Haiting circulated the new rule.
• Investment Bureau staff recognized Dong Xuebin as the top leader as Lu Dafa’s influence collapsed.
• Officials from across the bureau visited Dong Xuebin to report work and express their support, leaving him firmly in control.

Dong Xuebin noticed his mother, Luan Xiaoping, had been dressing up and visiting less often, then learned she had grown close to a widower named Yang Zhaode. He agreed to meet Yang and support his mother if the man proved trustworthy.

• Dong Xuebin woke late on his day off and found Luan Xiaoping cleaning his home and making breakfast.
• Dong Xuebin noticed Luan Xiaoping’s makeup and realized she had been visiting him less often.
• Luan Xiaoping asked whether Dong Xuebin would object if she found a stepfather, and he worried she was already dating someone.
• Luan Xiaoping explained that she met Yang Zhaode when he scared off a scammer who was threatening her, and that they had since met and spoken often.
• Dong Xuebin told Luan Xiaoping he supported her finding companionship but wanted to meet Yang Zhaode first.
• Luan Xiaoping agreed that the three of them would have a meal together when Yang was free.

Dong Xuebin learned that Yantai County had set the Investment Bureau a daunting 500-million-yuan investment target and confronted Xie Huilan about it. He accepted the assignment and vowed to resign if he failed to meet it.

• Dong Xuebin asked Guo Panwei about the bureau’s investment efforts and learned that the staff had secured only a few million yuan in deals since the New Year.
• Zhao Xinglong told Dong Xuebin that the county had set the Investment Bureau’s annual target at 500 million yuan and would hold individuals responsible if it was missed.
• Zhao Xinglong explained that Xiang Daofa had pushed for the higher target at the Standing Committee meeting, with three million yuan in funding planned to support the bureau.
• Dong Xuebin went to Xie Huilan to protest the assignment, and she said she supported raising the bureau’s workload and expected Investment Promotion Work to advance.
• Dong Xuebin accepted the 500-million-yuan target and vowed to resign if he failed to bring that much investment to the county.

Dong Xuebin gathered the Investment Bureau’s department leaders after the county assigned them a five-hundred-million investment target, which sparked widespread anger and doubt. He forced them to commit to the assignment and left the bureau facing the challenge with renewed resolve.

• Lin Pingping complained to Dong Xuebin that the five-hundred-million target was unrealistic and had crushed her staff’s morale.
• Dong Xuebin convened the department leaders, who argued that the county’s target was impossible and said they would be held responsible for failing.
• Dong Xuebin ordered anyone who lacked confidence to submit a resignation within five minutes, but no one wrote one.
• Lin Pingping, Jiang Hailiang, and Luo Haiting pledged that their departments would do their utmost to support the target.
• Dong Xuebin revealed that he had promised County Chief Xie he would resign if the bureau failed to reach five hundred million, then urged the leaders to focus on how to achieve it.

Dong Xuebin rallied the Investment Bureau by promising new vehicles and generous bonuses to help meet the county’s five-hundred-million investment target. The staff’s enthusiasm rose, and Lin Pingping borrowed Dong Xuebin’s Mercedes for an important dinner with an investor.

• Dong Xuebin announced that the county would allocate three million to the Investment Bureau and asked the staff how to spend it.
• Luo Haiting and the other officials argued that the bureau needed more presentable vehicles, so Dong Xuebin ordered four new cars, including three Camrys and a Buick Business.
• Dong Xuebin offered his Mercedes for important work occasions, and Lin Pingping borrowed it for dinner with an investor.
• Dong Xuebin reserved two million for staff rewards and promised an additional bonus of one hundred thousand for each ten million in investment brought in.
• Dong Xuebin instructed Pan Wei to write and distribute the bonus policy, and the officials’ enthusiasm for the investment target grew.

Dong Xuebin learned that Lin Pingping was raising her young son alone, then discussed how to restore the Investment Bureau’s confidence in reaching its five-hundred-million target. He prepared to help Lin Pingping secure Liang Zeyuan’s twenty-million-yuan pork processing plant project, which Dafeng County was also pursuing.

• Dong Xuebin saw Lin Pingping take her son Liang Liang to kindergarten and offered her a ride to work.
• Lin Pingping told Dong Xuebin that staff lacked confidence in the five-hundred-million target and suggested winning a ten-million-yuan deal to boost morale.
• Lin Pingping explained that Liang Zeyuan was considering a twenty-million-yuan pork processing plant project but was also being courted by Dafeng County.
• Dong Xuebin agreed to join Lin Pingping in persuading Liang Zeyuan and invited Deputy County Chief Zhao Xinglong to lunch with him.
• Dong Xuebin studied the project proposal and resolved to make the deal his first major success at the Investment Bureau.

Dong Xuebin joined county officials in trying to secure Liang Zeyuan’s pork-processing project, but Liang favored a competing county and offered to reconsider only if someone outdrank him. The chapter ended with Zhang Fan overwhelmed by the challenge and Dong Xuebin asking Liang whether he meant his offer.

• Dong Xuebin, Lin Pingping, Zhang Fan, Guo Panwei, and Zhao Xinglong met investor Liang Zeyuan for a meal and learned that Liang was an exceptionally heavy drinker.
• Dong Xuebin worried about his poor alcohol tolerance while he chatted with Liang, who noticed his expensive watch and learned that Dong had won the lottery jackpot.
• Lin Pingping presented Yantai County’s project budget and support policies, but Liang said Dafeng County’s stronger facilities and industrial chain made it a better location.
• Liang rejected Yantai County’s proposal, then offered to inspect the site again if Zhang Fan could drink three jin of liquor.
• Zhang Fan froze at the challenge, and Dong Xuebin asked Liang whether he meant what he had said.

Dong Xuebin wagered that he could drink three pounds of Maotai to secure Liang Zeyuan’s investment for Yantai County. Using his ability to stop time, he secretly spat out the liquor while making everyone believe he had swallowed it, then left the room stunned after finishing all three bottles.

• Dong Xuebin got Liang Zeyuan to promise that he would invest in Yantai County if someone drank three pounds of liquor in one go.
• Zhang Fan refused the challenge, and Lin Pingping offered to try before Dong Xuebin stopped her.
• Dong Xuebin opened three bottles of Maotai and volunteered to drink them, despite his colleagues’ protests.
• Dong Xuebin stopped time repeatedly and spat the liquor into a flowerpot while pretending to swallow it.
• Dong Xuebin finished all three bottles, leaving Liang Zeyuan and the others astonished.

Dong Xuebin secured Liang Zeyuan’s investment by pretending to drink three jin of liquor, then sent his team back to finalize the contract. Liang signed a twenty-million-yuan deal that afternoon, and Dong rewarded Business Section One with generous bonuses, sparking enthusiasm across the bureau.

• Dong Xuebin pretended to be drunk after finishing the liquor, and Liang Zeyuan agreed to invest in Yantai County.
• Zhao Xinglong praised Dong Xuebin as the Mercedes drove away, and Dong revealed that he was sober and ordered his team back to the Investment Bureau.
• Dong Xuebin told Lin Pingping to check the project details and contact Liang Zeyuan immediately to secure the contract.
• Lin Pingping reported that Liang Zeyuan had signed a twenty-million-yuan contract and that the first payment would arrive the following week.
• Dong Xuebin gave Lin Pingping a 150,000-yuan bonus and arranged bonuses for Business Section One, inspiring other bureau staff to pursue investment deals.

After the county praised Dong Xuebin for securing a twenty-million-yuan project, he shifted the Investment Bureau’s focus toward aggressively pursuing new investors to meet its five-hundred-million-yuan target. He decided to personally help Lin Pingping pursue a chicken-manure treatment project, and they prepared to meet its investor that evening.

• Zhao Xinglong told Dong Xuebin that County Chief Xie and the county government praised the Investment Bureau for signing the twenty-million-yuan pork processing plant project.
• Dong Xuebin commended Lin Pingping and Business Section One at a staff meeting, while Sun Shuli and Jiang Hailiang responded by pursuing a project for Business Section Two.
• Dong Xuebin saw that his staff had become more motivated and resolved to focus on bringing investment into Yantai County.
• Lin Pingping told Dong Xuebin that most of her section’s tracked projects were unlikely to come to Yantai County, but one still had a small chance.
• Dong Xuebin urged Lin Pingping to keep fighting for investors and said he would personally help pursue deals of any size.
• Lin Pingping described a chicken-manure treatment project expected to bring in around ten million yuan, and Dong Xuebin arranged to meet its investor that evening.

Dong Xuebin visited investor Peng Kenong’s home with Lin Pingping to persuade him to invest in Yantai County. After using his rewind ability to upgrade Peng’s son Little Tiger’s game staff to +11, Dong Xuebin got Little Tiger to urge his father to reconsider, leaving Peng Kenong willing to think the investment over again.

• Dong Xuebin and Lin Pingping went to Peng Kenong’s apartment after learning he planned to invest in another county instead.
• Lin Pingping explained that Peng Kenong indulged his son, Little Tiger, and Dong Xuebin went to chat with him about his online game.
• Dong Xuebin used his rewind ability to undo a failed upgrade and raise Little Tiger’s staff from +10 to +11.
• Dong Xuebin asked Little Tiger to persuade his father to invest in Yantai County if he upgraded the staff to +13.
• Little Tiger urged Peng Kenong to invest locally, and Peng Kenong agreed to reconsider the proposal.

Dong Xuebin arranged for Luo Haiting to represent the Investment Bureau at the County Party Committee Dance, then decided he might attend after all because Xie Huilan would be there. Luo Haiting left for the dance while hiding her plans from her suspicious husband, and Dong Xuebin drove there afterward.

• Zhao Xinglong told Dong Xuebin that Xiang Daofa had revived the monthly County Party Committee Dance and urged him to attend.
• Lin Pingping reported that President Peng had reconsidered the chicken manure processing investment and wanted to revisit the proposed site.
• Dong Xuebin asked Lin Pingping to represent the Investment Bureau at the dance, but she declined because she had plans with her son.
• Dong Xuebin asked Luo Haiting to attend as the bureau’s representative, then reconsidered when he remembered Xie Huilan would be there.
• After arguing with her husband over his suspicions, Luo Haiting ignored his call and left for the dance without telling him.
• Dong Xuebin finished dinner and drove to the dance, determined not to leave Xie Huilan vulnerable to other men.

Dong Xuebin arrived at the County Party Committee Guest House dance party hoping to dance with Xie Huilan. When Ding Li invited her first, Dong cut in, and Xie chose Dong as her dance partner, honoring his earlier claim on her first dance.

• Dong Xuebin arrived late and found Xie Huilan watching the dancers from a sofa rather than dancing.
• Dong Xuebin watched Luo Haiting dance and noticed Ding Li behaving intimately with his partner from the Cultural Troupe.
• Ding Li invited Xie Huilan to dance as the other officials watched.
• Dong Xuebin stepped in with the same invitation, interrupting Ding Li and drawing attention from the guests.
• Xie Huilan told Ding Li that Dong Xuebin had reserved her first dance the day before and chose Dong as her partner.

Dong Xuebin used his BACK ability to get through a dance with Xie Huilan without embarrassing himself, impressing the officials watching. Afterward, Xie Huilan declined further invitations, while Dong Xuebin danced with Hu Silian and then Luo Haiting.

• Dong Xuebin asked Xie Huilan to dance so Ding Li could not invite her, then used BACK to correct his mistakes and keep up with her steps.
• Xie Huilan and Dong Xuebin finished the dance to applause, and Ding Li left the room’s dance floor area in displeasure.
• Xie Huilan turned down an invitation from a young official from the Sports Bureau, and Dong Xuebin stopped worrying that another man would dance with her.
• Hu Silian invited Dong Xuebin to dance, and he used BACK only to correct a few awkward mistakes before they finished.
• Luo Haiting invited Dong Xuebin to dance and carefully led him through simple steps, while he suppressed his growing desire.

Dong Xuebin performed a magic trick at the county dance, making a marked coin vanish and reappear in Xiang Daofa’s pocket. As the crowd applauded, Luo Haiting abruptly left the dance floor in anger, leaving Dong Xuebin wondering what had upset her.

• Dong Xuebin danced with several women throughout the evening and became the dance’s most popular partner.
• Xie Huilan asked Dong Xuebin to perform a magic trick as the dance’s finale, and he agreed.
• Dong Xuebin invited Zhao Xinglong to inspect a one-yuan coin and mark it with the character “Zhao.”
• Dong Xuebin covered the coin with a cloth, made it disappear, and revealed it in Xiang Daofa’s pocket; Zhao Xinglong confirmed it was the same coin.
• Luo Haiting stopped dancing with Ding Li and walked away angrily, leaving Dong Xuebin confused.

After Ding Li groped Luo Haiting during a dance, Dong Xuebin retaliated by making Ding Li’s leather coat disappear during a supposed magic trick. Dong Xuebin left the gathering after standing up for Luo Haiting, while Ding Li vowed to remember the humiliation.

• Ding Li touched Luo Haiting while they danced, and she cried out before retreating to a sofa.
• Dong Xuebin noticed Luo Haiting’s distress and, recalling how protective he was of his staff, announced another magic trick.
• Dong Xuebin borrowed Ding Li’s leather coat, covered it with a red cloth, and made it disappear, then pretended the trick had failed.
• Ding Li and his associates searched the stage but could not find the coat, while the guests recognized Dong Xuebin’s deliberate retaliation.
• Xie Huilan ended the dance, and Ding Li watched Dong Xuebin leave while promising himself he would remember the slight.
• Dong Xuebin offered Luo Haiting a ride home, and she thanked him as they left the County Committee Guest House.

After a late night at a dance, Dong Xuebin learned that Luo Haiting had been arguing with her husband, though she concealed the real cause. While reviewing office documents, Luo Haiting flirted with Dong Xuebin, leaving their relationship ambiguously charged as she returned to work.

• Dong Xuebin arrived late after the dance and heard office staff say Luo Haiting had been in a bad mood and argued with someone by phone.
• Luo Haiting told Dong Xuebin she had argued with her husband, while privately reflecting that her husband suspected her of having an affair with Dong Xuebin.
• Luo Haiting brought documents to Dong Xuebin, who approved them and admired her appearance.
• Luo Haiting touched Dong Xuebin's hand, leaned against him while discussing work, and brushed against him as she gathered the documents.
• Dong Xuebin told Luo Haiting to keep using the existing regulations and to follow up on the county's promised three million yuan in funding for vehicles.
• Luo Haiting left the office, privately chiding herself for flirting with Dong Xuebin but feeling encouraged that he had not reacted angrily.

Dong Xuebin learned from Qu Yunxuan’s parents that she was pregnant and had kept the news from him. Unable to reach her and fearing the child was not his, he left Yantai County for Beijing to confront her and learn the truth.

• Luo Haiting flirted subtly with Dong Xuebin while reporting on work, and he let their ambiguous interaction continue within limits.
• Dong Xuebin failed to reach Qu Yunxuan and called her parents, whose unusual questions made him suspect something was wrong.
• Father Qu told Dong Xuebin that Qu Yunxuan was pregnant and had refused to say whether the child was his.
• Dong Xuebin told Luo Haiting and Guo Panwei he was returning to Beijing, then rushed out to find Qu Yunxuan.

Dong Xuebin rushed to Qu Yunxuan’s parents’ home after hearing she was pregnant with someone else’s child, but a medical report revealed the pregnancy was less than three months along and the baby was his. Qu Yunxuan agreed to have the baby and planned to wait until Dong Xuebin’s Five-Year Agreement with Xie Huilan ended before they married and lived together as a family.

• Dong Xuebin hurried to the Qu Family home and confronted Qu Yunxuan about her pregnancy.
• Qu Yunxuan left a medical report on the table and went into a bedroom without explaining herself.
• Mother Qu read the report and realized Qu Yunxuan was less than three months pregnant, so Dong Xuebin understood the child was his.
• Dong Xuebin apologized to Qu Yunxuan, and she forgave him for believing the misunderstanding.
• Dong Xuebin insisted that Qu Yunxuan have the baby, and she agreed to wait until his Five-Year Agreement with Xie Huilan ended before they married.

Dong Xuebin and Qu Yunxuan celebrated the pregnancy with her parents, who welcomed Dong as family and fussed over their daughter. After the couple went to bed, they began making love, but Mother Qu overheard them and scolded them through the door.

• Dong Xuebin called Qu Yunxuan's parents Mom and Dad and happily listened to her belly, imagining their child calling him Daddy.
• Mother Qu invited Dong Xuebin and Qu Yunxuan to stay the night and urged them to rest for the pregnancy.
• Dong Xuebin warmed the bed for Qu Yunxuan, and the couple affectionately teased each other before becoming intimate.
• Someone knocked on the bedroom door, briefly interrupting the couple, but they soon resumed.
• Mother Qu overheard Dong Xuebin and Qu Yunxuan's intimate banter and told them to stop and go to sleep.

Dong Xuebin spent a playful morning with his pregnant partner Qu Yunxuan at her parents’ home, then took her out for a drive and a movie. They discussed her pregnancy and plans to hand off day-to-day work at Yun De Auction Company, while Dong Xuebin remained eager to stay by her side.

• Dong Xuebin woke beside Qu Yunxuan and fussed over her belly, but she stopped him from being too physical because of the pregnancy.
• Qu Yunxuan made breakfast while Dong Xuebin clung to her, and they awkwardly endured Mother Qu’s repeated advice about pregnancy and limiting sex.
• Qu Yunxuan led Dong Xuebin out of her parents’ home, and they decided to take her Mercedes to the movie theater.
• Qu Yunxuan told Dong Xuebin that Yun De Auction Company’s assets had grown to about fifty million and that she planned to hand its general manager duties to a deputy.
• Qu Yunxuan said she would step back from the auction house’s daily affairs and focus on having the baby, while Dong Xuebin joked about the child’s future and appearance.

After returning to Yantai County from three happy days with Qu Yunxuan, Dong Xuebin learned that the Finance Department had withheld the Investment Bureau’s approved allocation, preventing it from paying bonuses. He decided to confront Director Ding Li himself.

• Dong Xuebin returned to the Investment Bureau in high spirits after spending several days with Qu Yunxuan, and kept his impending fatherhood a secret.
• Lin Pingping and Jiang Hailiang told Dong Xuebin that the county allocation had not arrived and that delayed bonuses were hurting staff morale.
• Luo Haiting explained that the Finance Department had postponed the bureau’s three-million allocation, leaving it without enough money to pay bonuses.
• Sun Shuli reported that the Finance Department had again refused to release the funds, and Dong Xuebin told the section chiefs to assure staff that bonuses would be paid that week.
• Dong Xuebin complained to Zhao Xinglong, who explained that funds had been diverted to emergency relief while some departments had still received allocations.
• Dong Xuebin suspected Ding Li was retaliating over their earlier conflict, declined to ask Xie Huilan for help, and decided to visit the Finance Department himself.

Dong Xuebin went to the Finance Bureau to demand funding for the Investment Bureau, which had received none despite other departments getting appropriations. After Ding Li refused to release money, Dong Xuebin said he would wait in the office until the funds were transferred.

• Hu Silian told Dong Xuebin that county finances were tight and the Investment Bureau should manage without its appropriation for now.
• Dong Xuebin took Luo Haiting to the Finance Bureau, where they met Health Bureau Director Xu Xu, who was also seeking money.
• Finance Bureau office director Tang Xiaojun claimed Ding Li was away at a meeting, but Dong Xuebin searched the offices and found him hiding in another room.
• Xu Xu asked Ding Li for another million for the Health Bureau, while Dong Xuebin challenged Ding Li over the Investment Bureau receiving nothing.
• Ding Li refused to release funds, so Dong Xuebin announced he would wait in the office until the money was transferred.