Recaps

Dong Xuebin brought Yu Meixia downstairs after she fled an audition where the company had pressured her into a kiss scene. He confronted the company, assaulted another security guard, and smashed its logo, then called Xie Guobang’s secretary as General Manager Wu and other industry figures headed back to face him.

• Dong Xuebin reassured Yu Meixia in the elevator and led her to sit in the lobby while he dealt with the company.
• Dong Xuebin demanded that the company leaders come downstairs, struck a security guard who reached for him, and smashed the company sign with a large vase.
• Dong Xuebin returned to Yu Meixia and called Secretary Shen to ask that the police be kept away while he handled matters himself.
• General Manager Wu learned that Dong Xuebin had beaten two guards and damaged the company logo, then decided to return.
• General Manager Wu blamed Yu Meixia for the incident and vowed to prevent her from getting future roles as he and the others headed back.

Dong Xuebin confronted the company after Yu Meixia identified General Manager Wu as the man who had interviewed her and tried to teach her a kissing scene. The police did not arrive, and Dong Xuebin ended by slamming General Manager Wu’s face into the marble floor.

• Dong Xuebin waited in the lobby while Yu Meixia coughed on his cigarette smoke, then put it out when he noticed.
• General Manager Wu and other company executives arrived, saw the injured guards and smashed company sign, and demanded to know who was responsible.
• General Manager Wu called Deputy Director Chang, who said the police could not come because of an urgent matter.
• Dong Xuebin told Yu Meixia to identify the interviewer, and she pointed out General Manager Wu.
• Dong Xuebin confronted General Manager Wu about teaching Yu Meixia a kissing scene, then grabbed him and slammed his face onto the marble floor.

Dong Xuebin confronted an entertainment company over General Manager Wu’s alleged harassment of Yu Meixia and demanded an apology. After beating Wu and clashing with company leaders, Dong Xuebin stood firm as the police arrived.

• Dong Xuebin attacked General Manager Wu after Wu allegedly pressured Yu Meixia to perform a kissing scene and tried to grab her.
• Dong Xuebin stomped on Wu’s leg when Wu tried to kick him, then fought off the company employees who rushed to help.
• President Zhou arrived and heard the company executives accuse Dong Xuebin of causing trouble.
• Dong Xuebin demanded that Wu and the people responsible for the auditions apologize to Yu Meixia, while President Zhou refused without evidence.
• Dong Xuebin insisted he would not back down, and a police car arrived.

Deputy Director Chang arrived at the company after Dong Xuebin injured General Manager Wu and two security guards. After hearing both sides and recognizing that Dong Xuebin had influential backing, Chang refused to arrest him and suggested they settle the matter privately.

• Company employees told Deputy Director Chang that Dong Xuebin had beaten people and damaged property, while concealing General Manager Wu's alleged attempt to force Yu Meixia into a kissing scene audition.
• Dong Xuebin explained that Wu had tried to forcibly kiss Yu Meixia and said he had intervened to protect her.
• Deputy Director Chang had an officer question Yu Meixia and another check on the injured people while President Zhou urged him to arrest Dong Xuebin.
• Chang remembered his superior's instructions to give Dong Xuebin special consideration and decided not to arrest him.
• Chang told the company representatives that they should settle the matter privately because it was not a big deal.

Deputy Director Chang urged President Zhou and General Manager Wu to settle the dispute privately, but they refused and insisted Dong Xuebin be punished. Chang then ordered the police to investigate Yu Meixia’s report, leaving the confrontation between Dong Xuebin and the company’s executives under official scrutiny.

• General Manager Wu rejected Deputy Director Chang’s suggestion of a private settlement and accused Dong Xuebin of assaulting him and slandering him.
• President Zhou also refused mediation and demanded that the police arrest Dong Xuebin.
• Deputy Director Chang warned President Zhou that Yu Meixia had reported molestation and attempted abduction, and that the company’s hallway surveillance could be investigated.
• After President Zhou dismissed Chang’s warning, Chang ordered officers to inspect the surveillance footage, examine the office, and question witnesses.
• President Zhou urged his employees to cooperate while implicitly threatening them, but Deputy Director Chang insisted that the investigation proceed.
• Dong Xuebin recognized that Deputy Director Chang was helping him and grew angry again at the company’s self-righteous attitude.

Dong Xuebin watched the surveillance footage with the police, but General Manager Wu and President Zhou used it to deny wrongdoing and accuse Yu Meixia of framing them. After they rejected his offer to settle matters with an apology, Dong Xuebin called Ci Lifen for help.

• Deputy Director Chang had the police play footage showing General Manager Wu enter the office, Yu Meixia flee shortly afterward, security guards search for her, and General Manager Wu leave alone.
• General Manager Wu claimed Yu Meixia had failed an interview and run off in distress, while President Zhou and the guards supported his account.
• President Zhou accused Yu Meixia and Dong Xuebin of framing the company and demanded that the police arrest them.
• Dong Xuebin offered to leave if the company apologized to Yu Meixia, but President Zhou refused and demanded an apology from them instead.
• Dong Xuebin warned the company not to regret its choice, then left the Monitoring Room and called Ci Lifen.

Dong Xuebin called his Second Aunt, Ci Lifen, to deal with Hongye Company after its staff mistreated Yu Meixia and refused to admit wrongdoing. When he returned to the monitoring room, Hongye’s executives kept arguing until an employee reported that the company’s film and television drama had both been suspended indefinitely.

• Dong Xuebin told Ci Lifen about Hongye Company’s treatment of Yu Meixia and asked her to teach the company a lesson.
• Ci Lifen learned that Hongye’s film and television projects were awaiting approval and agreed to handle the matter.
• Dong Xuebin returned to the monitoring room and found Yu Meixia arguing with General Manager Wu and Hongye’s executives, who denied her claims.
• Dong Xuebin reassured Yu Meixia and warned Hongye’s staff that they would face consequences for their arrogance.
• A Hongye employee rushed in and told President Zhou that the company’s film release had been postponed indefinitely and its television drama had been suspended.

Dong Xuebin watched as Hongye Company learned that all its film and television projects had been suspended indefinitely. President Zhou tried to use his connections to reverse the order, but he was warned that no one could help, leaving him to realize he had badly misjudged Dong Xuebin.

• President Zhou learned that the authorities had suspended all of Hongye Company's film and television projects indefinitely, threatening the company's finances.
• Dong Xuebin stayed calm while Yu Meixia recognized his influence, and Deputy Director Chang thanked him as the police officers realized he had powerful connections.
• President Zhou called Director Sun at the General Administration and asked him to investigate the suspension.
• Director Sun called back and said the order came from a leader above and that President Zhou would get nowhere no matter whom he contacted.
• President Zhou looked toward the Monitoring Room and realized he had offended Dong Xuebin.

President Zhou’s attempts to save the company’s halted projects failed, leaving him to accept that Dong Xuebin held the power to determine the company’s fate. He backed down and sought a private settlement, but Deputy Director Chang refused to mediate and told the company to negotiate directly with Dong.

• President Zhou called several influential leaders to ask them to intervene, but they refused or ignored him, and one warned him to take care of himself.
• The company executives gathered in the corridor and realized that President Zhou had found no way to reverse the halt on their projects.
• President Zhou approached Deputy Director Chang and agreed to settle the dispute privately between the two sides.
• Deputy Director Chang refused to mediate, saying the parties had to negotiate themselves and that the police could only provide a place for them to do so.
• General Manager Wu complained about being hit and the lack of evidence, but President Zhou ordered him to shut up and apologized to Deputy Director Chang.

Dong Xuebin waited with Yu Meixia as President Zhou and the company executives returned to apologize for General Manager Wu's conduct. He rejected the company's proposed compensation and said the matter was over, then left with Yu Meixia.

• Dong Xuebin and Yu Meixia stayed in the Monitoring Room, chatting with the officers while they waited for the company executives.
• President Zhou and the executives entered and apologized to Yu Meixia, with General Manager Wu admitting he had frightened her.
• President Zhou offered Yu Meixia a supporting role in the company's next film as compensation, but she declined.
• Dong Xuebin rejected the offer and said he needed neither their money nor their apologies and had already settled the matter himself.
• Dong Xuebin told the executives their film and television projects were none of his concern, then left with Yu Meixia to eat.

Dong Xuebin left the company after settling the dispute, but President Zhou pleaded with him and the officers to attend lunch so the company could avoid ruin. President Zhou summoned several actresses to entertain the guests, leaving Chen Ying to arrive with them.

• Dong Xuebin and Yu Meixia left the company, and Deputy Director Chang agreed to join them for lunch.
• President Zhou and General Manager Wu stopped Dong Xuebin and persuaded him and the officers to accept a meal at the company's expense.
• President Zhou ordered an employee to summon actresses, threatening Chen Ying's future roles and her film's release if she refused to come.
• Chen Ying agreed to attend after the employee promised that helping the company could secure her future acting opportunities.
• Several women, including actresses recognized by the officers, arrived at the private room, while Dong Xuebin did not recognize them.

President Zhou hosted Dong Xuebin and Yu Meixia, hoping to smooth over the trouble that had shut down his company’s productions. He brought actress Chen Ying to meet Dong Xuebin, and Chen Ying agreed to help after hearing how much President Zhou had supported her.

• Dong Xuebin refused President Zhou’s starlets’ attention and ignored the executives’ toasts, while Yu Meixia grew jealous of the women around him.
• A phone call prompted President Zhou to leave the private room, where he found Chen Ying being recognized by restaurant patrons and escorted her inside.
• President Zhou told Chen Ying that someone had shut down the company’s film and television drama and that Dong Xuebin could determine the company’s survival.
• Chen Ying thanked President Zhou for supporting her career and, after hearing his emotional account of her resemblance to his late daughter, asked what he needed her to do.
• President Zhou hesitated before referring to the distinguished guest inside, and Chen Ying said she understood.

President Zhou brought actress Chen Ying to meet Dong Xuebin, hoping she could help secure his cooperation. Chen Ying and Dong Xuebin recognized each other as former elementary school classmates, and their warm reunion eased the tension in the private room.

• President Zhou asked Chen Ying to help with Dong Xuebin, and she agreed to meet him.
• Chen Ying joined Dong Xuebin at the table, offered him food and wine, and chatted with him until he warmed to her.
• Dong Xuebin and Chen Ying realized they had attended Peace Elementary School together and sat in front of and behind each other.
• Chen Ying and Dong Xuebin reminisced about copying homework, being punished, and the meals Dong Xuebin brought her afterward.
• President Zhou was pleased that the former classmates had reconnected, while Chen Ying used their memories to draw Dong Xuebin closer to him.

After the meal began breaking up, Dong Xuebin arranged for Yu Meixia to return home safely and caught up with his old classmate Chen Ying. Chen Ying declined to promise help to President Zhou, who hoped she could persuade Dong to spare the company.

• Deputy Director Chang and the police officers left after receiving an emergency dispatch.
• Yu Meixia decided to return to Fenzhou City, and Dong Xuebin arranged a car and driver to take her home.
• Chen Ying told Dong Xuebin that President Zhou had supported her and asked him to let the company off the hook; he said he would consider it.
• Dong Xuebin told Chen Ying that he was a full director at the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and they planned to talk that afternoon.
• Chen Ying returned to President Zhou and explained that Dong had not agreed to help, while President Zhou urged her to use their old-classmate connection to save the company.

Dong Xuebin left his daughter Qian Qian in Fang Wenping’s care while he dealt with Chen Ying’s former company, then took his old elementary-school classmate for a drive. Their trip revealed how much influence and wealth he had gained, and Chen Ying realized he was no longer the same.

• Dong Xuebin asked Fang Wenping to look after Qian Qian until he could pick her up that evening, and Fang agreed.
• President Zhou and the Hongye Company staff apologized to Dong Xuebin and left him alone with Chen Ying.
• Dong Xuebin and Chen Ying reminisced about their elementary-school classmates and headed to his Family Compound in his Land Rover.
• When they reached a DUI checkpoint, the traffic police recognized Dong Xuebin’s car and pass and let him drive through without a test.
• Chen Ying regarded Dong Xuebin with greater respect after seeing the police wave him through.

Dong Xuebin hosted his former classmate Chen Ying, who asked him to help Hongye Company after he halted its productions over its employees’ misconduct. When he brought her tea to the bedroom, he found her naked and asking if they should start.

• Dong Xuebin took Chen Ying to his apartment, where she praised Hongye Company for supporting her acting career.
• Chen Ying asked Dong Xuebin to help the company, but he remained angry over General Manager Wu’s public molestation of his friend and would not give her an answer.
• Dong Xuebin prepared tea for Chen Ying and found her in his bedroom when he went to bring it to her.
• Dong Xuebin saw that Chen Ying had taken off all her clothes, and she asked whether they should start.

Chen Ying took off her clothes in Dong Xuebin's bedroom, hoping he would help get her company's film released, and Dong Xuebin realized she had misunderstood his intentions. After promising to help, he learned she had willingly prepared to submit to what she thought were unspoken rules because she wanted to repay President Zhou's kindness.

• Chen Ying undressed in front of Dong Xuebin, startling him, and explained that she thought it was the only way to persuade him to help.
• Dong Xuebin realized Chen Ying wanted him to let her company's film, in which she was the lead, be released and promised to make the call.
• Dong Xuebin left the bedroom while Chen Ying dressed, then reassured her that he had never intended to exploit her.
• Dong Xuebin asked whether President Zhou or the company had pressured Chen Ying, but she said she had come willingly and praised President Zhou for treating her well.
• Chen Ying told Dong Xuebin that this was the first time she had prepared to submit to unspoken rules, and that she had done so to repay President Zhou's kindness.

Dong Xuebin and Chen Ying resolved their misunderstanding, and he arranged for President Zhou's company's film and television projects to pass review. Chen Ying planned to cook dinner for Dong Xuebin and catch up with him.

• Chen Ying apologized to Dong Xuebin and asked him to help President Zhou's company get its projects approved.
• Dong Xuebin called Ci Lifen, who agreed to let the company's projects pass review.
• Chen Ying thanked Dong Xuebin, and President Zhou mistakenly assumed she had slept with him before he relented.
• Chen Ying clarified to President Zhou that nothing had happened and said she might have dinner with Dong Xuebin's family.
• Dong Xuebin offered to help Chen Ying with future work in the Entertainment industry, and she offered to cook for him that evening.
• Chen Ying asked Dong Xuebin to forget seeing her naked, and he claimed he had already forgotten.

Dong Xuebin helped his elementary school classmate Chen Ying arrange for her husband, Zhang Bin, to return from a research assignment in Zhenshui County to the Capital City. Afterward, Chen Ying signed his shirt and kissed its collar, leaving Dong Xuebin flustered.

• Chen Ying told Dong Xuebin about her husband Zhang Bin, a researcher working in Zhenshui County under Zhong Lizhen, and Dong realized he had helped arrange the project there.
• Chen Ying called Zhang Bin and learned he wanted to return to the Capital City, where Zhong Lizhen had research better suited to his specialty.
• Dong Xuebin called Zhong Lizhen and persuaded her to transfer Zhang Bin back before the following week.
• Chen Ying thanked Dong Xuebin, signed his shirt collar, and kissed it, leaving a lip print.

Dong Xuebin discovered that Chen Ying had left her thermal shirt at his home and tried to keep his attraction to his married old classmate in check. After he lost track of time watching her films, Fang Wenping called to demand that he pick up Qian Qian and said she needed him to handle something.

• After Chen Ying left, Dong Xuebin noticed her lipstick on his neck and hid the shirt she had kissed.
• Dong Xuebin found Chen Ying’s pink thermal shirt under his blanket, called her, and agreed to keep it for her.
• Dong Xuebin looked up Chen Ying’s films online and watched them until nearly ten o’clock.
• Fang Wenping called and scolded Dong Xuebin for forgetting to pick up Qian Qian, then ordered him to come over because she needed his help with something.

Dong Xuebin visited Fang Wenping’s home to see his daughter, Qian Qian, and learned Fang wanted him to help Sun Jia enter the entertainment industry. He reluctantly agreed to ask around for her, leaving Fang insisting that helping her was part of his duty.

• Dong Xuebin went to Fang Wenping’s home and happily played with his daughter, Qian Qian.
• Fang Wenping introduced Sun Jia as the daughter of an old friend and asked Dong Xuebin to help her pursue acting.
• Fang Wenping explained that her family’s conflict with the Xie family made it risky for her to contact entertainment companies herself.
• Sun Jia overheard their argument and offered to drop the request, but Fang Wenping insisted Dong Xuebin handle it.
• Dong Xuebin agreed to ask around for Sun Jia and told Fang Wenping she now owed him another favor.

Dong Xuebin called his second aunt, Ci Lifen, to help Sun Jia and Chen Ying find opportunities in the entertainment industry. He tried to leave with Qian Qian, but Fang Wenping kept the child and joined him in scolding Sun Jia for mentioning Christmas.

• Dong Xuebin called Ci Lifen, who agreed to pass Sun Jia and Chen Ying’s information to people who could arrange auditions and contacts.
• Dong Xuebin told Sun Jia to send her résumé and said someone would call her about opportunities.
• Dong Xuebin tried to take Qian Qian home, but Fang Wenping held onto the child and said she wanted to keep her longer.
• Sun Jia offered to treat Dong Xuebin and Fang Wenping to dinner for Christmas, prompting Dong Xuebin to angrily criticize her for celebrating a foreign holiday.
• Fang Wenping agreed with Dong Xuebin and told Sun Jia that celebrating Christmas would embarrass her Party-member parents.

As the New Year approached, Dong Xuebin told his staff they could all leave early for the holiday and volunteered to remain on duty himself. The chapter ended with him taking responsibility for keeping the office staffed.

• Dong Xuebin arrived at the Ninth Office Second Division as his colleagues celebrated the early holiday schedule.
• Dong Xuebin gathered his staff and explained that each division had to leave someone on duty.
• Luo Haiting offered to stay if needed, while Zhang Lili, Han Fei, and Li Hong each indicated they could not take the shift.
• Dong Xuebin told everyone they could go home that afternoon and said he would stay on duty for the next few days.

Dong Xuebin stayed on duty through the New Year so his subordinates could go home, then reflected on his career and set his sights on reaching deputy department level within half a year.

• Dong Xuebin refused his colleagues’ offers to stay and told them to go home for the New Year while he covered the office.
• Dong Xuebin urged Luo Haiting, Zhang Lili, Han Fei, and the others to collect their New Year’s goods and warned them not to bring gifts when visiting him.
• Dong Xuebin met Fang Wenping in the cafeteria, where she gave him a gold Longevity Lock as a gift for Qian Qian.
• Dong Xuebin returned to the empty office, reviewed the past year, and set himself the goal of earning a deputy department-level promotion opportunity within half a year.

Dong Xuebin spent New Year's Eve preparing the Ninth Office for the holiday and visiting the Xie family, where he learned that Old Master Xie had been seriously unwell for about a month. The family had kept his illness secret, and the chapter ended with everyone worried about his condition.

• Dong Xuebin learned from Xie Huilan that she could not return for New Year's Eve because of work and would bring their son back several days later.
• Dong Xuebin finished his work, checked that the Ninth Office was secure, and drove to Old Master Xie's home.
• Dong Xuebin greeted the Xie family and handed out generous New Year's gifts and lucky money to the relatives who had gathered.
• Xie Guoyue arrived and asked where Old Master Xie was, prompting Han Jing to reveal that he was upstairs receiving an IV.
• Han Jing explained that Old Master Xie had suffered from heart disease and high blood pressure for about a month, despite treatment from doctors.