Chapter Summaries

After dying in a truck crash with Qu Yunxuan and an old man, Dong Xuebin suddenly returned to the moments before the accident. He saved them from the truck and was left wondering whether he had truly reversed time.

• Dong Xuebin watched Qu Yunxuan and the old man die in a truck collision, then felt himself approaching death.
• Dong Xuebin abruptly reappeared at the intersection before the crash and realized the scene was repeating.
• Dong Xuebin warned Qu Yunxuan and the old man as the truck ran the red light, then shoved them clear of its path.
• Dong Xuebin, Qu Yunxuan, and the old man survived with minor injuries, and the old man introduced himself as Grandpa Hu and asked for Dong Xuebin's contact information.
• Dong Xuebin questioned how he had returned to the past and tried, unsuccessfully, to rewind time again.

Dong Xuebin struggled with guilt over his family’s poverty and his uncertain future, then discovered that his new power could rewind time by one minute. He suspected he could use it once a day, with midnight as the point of return.

• Dong Xuebin comforted Luan Xiaoping when he found her crying over old photographs of her late husband.
• Dong Xuebin worried that he would fail the Civil Service Exam and disappoint his mother, who went to ask Aunt Xu’s son to tutor him.
• Dong Xuebin realized that Luan Xiaoping’s words had repeated after he tried to activate his power, confirming that time had turned back about a minute.
• Dong Xuebin repeatedly recited the words associated with his power and rewound time by sixty seconds at 12:02:28 a.m.
• Dong Xuebin checked a television clock and guessed that Return could be used once a day to rewind time to one minute before midnight.

Qu Yunxuan visited Dong Xuebin and his mother, Luan Xiaoping, after Dong Xuebin saved her from a truck, and spent the day caring for their household. She left with Dong Xuebin’s laundry, while he reflected on how narrowly he had saved her life.

• Qu Yunxuan brought groceries and a new shirt to Dong Xuebin’s home and helped him put it on.
• Qu Yunxuan told Luan Xiaoping that Dong Xuebin had saved her and an old man from a truck, then called him her real little brother.
• Qu Yunxuan and Luan Xiaoping cooked together, and Qu Yunxuan spent the day washing dishes and cleaning.
• Qu Yunxuan took Dong Xuebin’s dirty clothes home to wash despite his protests.
• Dong Xuebin felt embarrassed but realized that without his quick action, Qu Yunxuan might have died.

Dong Xuebin tested his ability to turn back time after an embarrassing incident at Qu Yunxuan’s apartment and learned he could use it only once a day. After his mother’s tears and Aunt Xu’s dismissive visit renewed his resolve, he vowed to pass the Civil Service Exam.

• Dong Xuebin accidentally took Qu Yunxuan’s panties, then used BACK to rewind one minute and avoid being caught; he discovered he could no longer use the ability that day.
• Dong Xuebin told his mother he had little chance of passing the Civil Service Exam, while she encouraged him to keep trying.
• Aunt Xu visited with Xiao Dong, bragged that her son would pass and had help from his father at Customs, and dismissed Dong Xuebin’s prospects.
• Dong Xuebin found his mother crying over his father’s photograph and praying that he would enter government service.
• Dong Xuebin promised his mother he would pass the exam and vowed to win pride for them both.

With the civil service exam only days away, Dong Xuebin practiced memorizing answer patterns and visited Grandpa Hu for help with essay questions. He used Back to retract a careless complaint about exam setters and praised Grandpa Hu’s son, leaving Grandpa Hu eager to teach him.

• Dong Xuebin practiced answer patterns at home while preparing for the civil service exam.
• Grandpa Hu invited Dong Xuebin to the hospital and offered to teach him essay-writing techniques.
• Dong Xuebin brought study materials to Grandpa Hu, who explained how to write persuasive exam essays.
• Dong Xuebin complained that exam setters made questions too difficult, then realized Grandpa Hu’s son had written many questions on the Shanghai exam.
• Dong Xuebin used Back and revised his remarks to praise the Shanghai essay questions, pleasing Grandpa Hu, who promised to help him score highly.

After several days of intensive tutoring from Grandpa Hu, Dong Xuebin prepared for the Civil Servants exam while clashing with Section Chief Xu’s family over their treatment of his mother. The chapter ended with Qu Yunxuan encouraging Dong Xuebin to take the exam well and prove that he could enter government service too.

• Dong Xuebin spent three days practicing his memory and using Back to prepare for the exam, then studied essays and government-related topics with Grandpa Hu.
• Grandpa Hu told Dong Xuebin to rely on understanding the material and wished him success in the exam.
• Section Chief Xu kicked Luan Xiaoping’s garbage bag, blamed her for dirtying his shoe, and argued with Dong Xuebin when he defended his mother.
• After Section Chief Xu’s family left, Luan Xiaoping warned Dong Xuebin that they could not afford to provoke them.
• Qu Yunxuan told Luan Xiaoping and Dong Xuebin that Section Chief Xu had insulted her for rejecting Xiao Dong’s advances.
• Qu Yunxuan encouraged Dong Xuebin to pass the exam and show Section Chief Xu’s family that he could become a civil servant too.

Dong Xuebin went to the civil service exam with Qu Yunxuan's support and accepted Xiao Dong's challenge to compete. He found his seat in Room 026 and waited tensely for the exam to begin.

• Qu Yunxuan prepared Dong Xuebin for the exam and accompanied him to Capital City Fifteenth Middle School, while Mom sent him fruit and wished him luck.
• Aunt Xu and Xiao Dong arrived, and Xiao Dong questioned why Qu Yunxuan had come with Dong Xuebin.
• Dong Xuebin and Xiao Dong challenged each other to see who would get into a government office.
• Dong Xuebin followed Xiao Dong to his exam room, memorized his seat, and warned him to watch his exam paper.
• Dong Xuebin found his own seat in Room 026, calmed himself, and hoped the Administrative Aptitude Test would be easy.

Dong Xuebin found the Administrative Aptitude Test far harder than expected and used his ability to reverse time to copy answers from Xiao Dong's paper. He returned to the exam room with enough answers memorized to expect a high score.

• Dong Xuebin struggled with the AAT's difficult reasoning and data analysis questions and marked dozens of uncertain answers.
• With fifteen minutes left, Dong Xuebin stole Xiao Dong's answer sheet and memorized as many answers as he could before staff tackled him.
• Dong Xuebin shouted "Back!" and reversed time to the moment before the proctor confronted him.
• Dong Xuebin quickly filled in the copied answers from memory, reproducing more than thirty letters and approximating the rest.
• Dong Xuebin finished copying the answers and believed his AAT score would be high.

After struggling with the difficult Administrative Aptitude Test, Dong Xuebin feared he would fail the essay exam, but recognized its questions from Grandpa Hu’s tutoring and answered them confidently. He then rushed to the hospital, learned Grandpa Hu had been discharged, and realized the old man had secretly given him the essay questions before they parted.

• Dong Xuebin traded taunts with Xiao Dong after the Administrative Aptitude Test and worried that he would do poorly on the essay exam.
• Dong Xuebin found the essay paper extremely difficult at first, then recognized its questions as material Grandpa Hu had taught him and rapidly completed his answers.
• An invigilator watched Dong Xuebin write and later nodded approvingly as the exam ended.
• Dong Xuebin left Qu Yunxuan and Mom waiting outside the school and hurried to Tumor Hospital to see Grandpa Hu.
• Dong Xuebin discovered that Grandpa Hu had been discharged, could not obtain his contact information, and bowed three times before the empty room.
• Dong Xuebin realized Grandpa Hu had secretly tutored him on most of the essay exam’s questions.

Dong Xuebin returned home after the civil service exam and let his family believe he had failed, while Xiao Dong admitted he expected to miss the cutoff. Dong Xuebin began preparing for the interview for his State Security application, hoping to secure a job there.

• Dong Xuebin apologized to his mother and Aunt Xu for missing the exam-day gathering, then met Section Chief Xu and Xiao Dong outside their apartment building.
• Xiao Dong said the essay questions had been unusually difficult and feared his scores would not reach the interview cutoff; Section Chief Xu blamed his lack of preparation.
• Aunt Xu and Dong Xuebin's mother assumed Dong Xuebin had also done poorly, and he chose not to correct them until he knew whether he could pass the interview.
• Dong Xuebin searched online for past interview questions but found no information about the State Security agency he had applied to.
• Dong Xuebin recalled choosing State Security because its recruitment requirements excluded fewer applicants and it was hiring four new graduates.

Dong Xuebin continued practicing his Back ability and preparing for the civil service interview. He learned that he had passed the written exam and ranked fourth among the State Security Bureau’s interview candidates, and he began preparing for the interview scheduled for the day after tomorrow.

• Dong Xuebin tested Back repeatedly and learned that it could reverse time when deliberately triggered, refreshed after midnight, and left him briefly disoriented after moving.
• Dong Xuebin studied regulations and interview materials for hours each day while his mother and Qu Yunxuan tried to cheer him up.
• A woman from the Municipal State Security Bureau Political Department called Dong Xuebin and told him he had passed the written exam, ranked fourth, and needed to attend an interview at 9:00 a.m. the day after tomorrow.
• Dong Xuebin wrote down the interview address, asked his mother to wake him early, and returned to his room determined to pass.

Dong Xuebin secretly went to his State Security Bureau interview, where he struggled through the examiners’ questions and suspected that the tall examiner was deliberately obstructing him. The interview continued to go badly, leaving him worried that he would lose his chance at one of the four positions.

• Dong Xuebin hid the interview from his mother and Aunt Xuan, then traveled alone to the waiting room at Baiyun Times Building.
• Three examiners began Dong Xuebin’s interview, and he answered a question about the stock market by discussing the national economy.
• Dong Xuebin used memorized response templates to answer questions about grassroots units submitting opinions online.
• The tall examiner repeatedly pressed Dong Xuebin to say more after his answers, while the other examiners wrote their evaluations.
• Dong Xuebin suspected the tall examiner was deliberately making things difficult and feared his interview would end badly.

Dong Xuebin faced a rigged interview designed to disqualify him, but he used his instant-memory ability to answer an absurd observation question in precise detail. The examiners were left stunned as he departed to await notification.

• The tall examiner planned to lower Dong Xuebin’s score so a favored candidate could advance, then challenged him to describe the clothes and shoes of people who had just passed the doorway.
• Dong Xuebin objected to the unfair question, but the tall examiner ended the interview and told him to wait for notification.
• Dong Xuebin used Back and watched the passersby closely when they crossed the doorway again.
• Dong Xuebin accurately described each passerby’s clothing, shoes, and other details, astonishing the examiners.
• The tall examiner left to verify the details, returned in a daze, and told Dong Xuebin to await notification.

Dong Xuebin received a call informing him that he had passed the Civil Service Exam and political review and must report to the Chengxi State Security Bureau Branch. He announced the news to his mother and Qu Yunxuan, who initially thought he was joking, while Aunt Xu and Xiao Dong were left stunned.

• Dong Xuebin sat quietly as Aunt Xu praised Xiao Dong’s exam score and Xiao Dong offered to tutor him.
• A caller from the Chengxi State Security Bureau Branch told Dong Xuebin that he had passed the exam and political review and assigned him to the General Affairs Department.
• Dong Xuebin agreed to report to the branch bureau the following Monday with his required documents.
• Dong Xuebin told his mother that he had passed the Civil Service Exam, but she and Qu Yunxuan initially thought he was joking.
• Dong Xuebin insisted that the bureau had called to notify him, leaving his mother, Qu Yunxuan, Aunt Xu, and Xiao Dong stunned.

Dong Xuebin told his family he had passed the Civil Servants exam and would report to the Chengxi Branch Bureau the following Monday. As his mother prepared to return to her teaching job, Dong Xuebin decided to aim for the highest levels of government and dreamed of entering the Politburo.

• Dong Xuebin revealed that he had passed the Civil Servants exam with nearly 130 points and had been assigned to the Chengxi Branch Bureau.
• Mom celebrated Dong Xuebin’s success, while Aunt Xu and Xiao Dong left in embarrassment; afterward, Section Chief Xu’s angry shouts and Xiao Dong’s cries came from upstairs.
• Mom, Dong Xuebin, and Qu Yunxuan shared a celebratory lunch, and Mom thanked Qu Yunxuan for helping Dong Xuebin study.
• Mom packed to return to her teaching job in Beihe Province and advised Dong Xuebin to be careful in government work.
• Dong Xuebin resolved to pursue advancement through the ranks and set his ultimate goal as entering the Politburo.

Dong Xuebin reported to the Chengxi Branch Bureau of National Security and met fellow new hire Sun Zhuang. They learned they had both been assigned to the short-staffed General Affairs Office and were told to begin work the next day.

• Dong Xuebin ate breakfast near the bureau and watched Sun Zhuang kindly feed a stray cat.
• Dong Xuebin entered the bureau compound, registered with the Receptionist Old Man, and found the Political Department.
• Dong Xuebin met Sun Zhuang in the corridor, and they introduced themselves before completing their paperwork.
• The deputy director of the Political Department assigned Dong Xuebin and Sun Zhuang to the General Affairs Office and told them to start work the next day.
• A clerk introduced Dong Xuebin and Sun Zhuang to Tan Limei, Lao Yan, Guo Panwei, Guo Shunjie, and Chang Juan.

On Dong Xuebin’s first official day at the Chengxi Branch Bureau, he and Zhuangzi learned the office’s pecking order while handling work that their colleagues avoided. Tan Limei explained the staff’s roles and ambitions, leaving Dong with a clearer picture of the complicated office.

• Dong Xuebin volunteered to help Tan Limei copy urgent documents, and Zhuangzi joined him while other clerks avoided the task.
• After the documents were ready, Guo Panwei and Chang Juan eagerly divided them up to deliver to bureau leaders.
• Guo Shunjie ordered Dong Xuebin and Zhuangzi to make Excel forms, then spent the morning browsing fish forums while they worked.
• At lunch, Lao Yan offered meal coupons, but Tan Limei took Dong and Zhuangzi to the cafeteria and told them about the office staff.
• Tan Limei described Lao Yan as sidelined, Guo Panwei as ambitious, Guo Shunjie as well-connected, Chang Juan as eager to attract leaders, and herself as the person who handled most of the work.

On his second day at the Chengxi Branch Bureau, Dong Xuebin accidentally offended Zhou Changchun by calling him Deputy Director Zhou, then used BACK to rewind the encounter and address him as Director Zhou instead. Zhou Changchun responded warmly, leaving Dong Xuebin relieved that he had corrected his mistake.

• Qu Yunxuan invited Dong Xuebin to breakfast and advised him to watch what he said and follow the rules at his government job.
• Dong Xuebin ran into Aunt Xu and Xiao Dong, then went to work and swept the office corridor.
• Zhou Changchun arrived, and Dong Xuebin called him Deputy Director Zhou, prompting Zhou to give him a cool response.
• Dong Xuebin realized that the other clerks addressed Zhou Changchun as Director Zhou and used BACK to rewind their meeting.
• Dong Xuebin greeted Zhou Changchun as Director Zhou, and Zhou praised him and encouraged him to work hard.

Dong Xuebin was summoned by Zhou Changchun to deliver sealed documents to the Confidential Office with Guo Shunjie. After using Back to correct his relaxed sitting posture in Zhou Changchun’s office, he left with the documents, newly wary of workplace rules.

• Dong Xuebin helped Zhuangzi with a computer password, and Tan Limei reminded them of the office’s file security rules.
• When Zhou Changchun left his office, the staff pretended to work, then went back to their distractions after he returned.
• Tan Limei told Dong Xuebin that Zhou Changchun wanted him to deliver documents to the Confidential Office with Guo Shunjie.
• Dong Xuebin sat comfortably on Zhou Changchun’s sofa while waiting, then noticed Guo Shunjie sit stiffly and realized he had made a mistake.
• Dong Xuebin used Back to return to the moment before Guo Shunjie entered and changed to a stiff, respectful posture.
• Zhou Changchun handed Dong Xuebin the documents, and Dong Xuebin left with Guo Shunjie to deliver them.

Dong Xuebin tried to build good relationships at the General Office, but Guo Shunjie’s demands escalated after Dong refused to become his subordinate. By the end, Guo Panwei was also assigning him errands, and Dong resolved that he could not keep accepting their bullying.

• Guo Shunjie asked Dong Xuebin to proofread his document, and Tan Limei warned Dong that Guo had driven another young coworker out by dumping work on him.
• After Dong returned the corrected document, Guo Shunjie offered to help advance his career if Dong followed him, but Dong tactfully refused.
• Guo Shunjie took offense at Dong’s refusal and later ordered him to print multiple copies of documents for an afternoon deadline.
• Guo Panwei then asked Dong to deliver a box of items to Finance, and Dong clenched his fists and decided he had to stop passively accepting their demands.