Chapter Summaries

Dong Xuebin welcomed Su Jia to Fenzhou City and caught up with her new job at Fenzhou City Daily. After she heard about his drinking feat at the welcome banquet, she teased him for being a born menace.

• Dong Xuebin invited Su Jia into his office after learning she had come to see him.
• Su Jia told Dong Xuebin that she had transferred to Fenzhou City Daily and would start work the next day.
• Dong Xuebin and Su Jia discussed keeping a low profile and building connections in the city.
• Su Jia asked Dong Xuebin about rumors that he had drunk a whole case of baijiu at his welcome banquet.
• Su Jia called Dong Xuebin a menace who could never keep a low profile, and he joked back with her.

Dong Xuebin dealt with Wang Yuling’s dismissive attitude at the Guangming Street Office and inspected the staff’s lax work habits. Unable to meet the district leaders at the government offices, he headed to the district committee to seek Wang Anshi’s support.

• Dong Xuebin saw Wang Yuling arrive late and later found her uninterested in his authority, though he held back from confronting her because of her uncle, Wang Anshi.
• Wang Yuling ignored Zhou Yanru’s warnings and spent work time showing her a handbag, while Zhou Yanru tried to excuse her behavior.
• Dong Xuebin inspected the Street Office and noticed staff chatting, snacking, and neglecting their work; Wang Yuling again dismissed his questions before leaving.
• Dong Xuebin drove to the district government to report to the executive deputy district mayor and Geng Yuehua, but learned they were in a long meeting.
• Dong Xuebin went to the district committee to seek Wang Anshi’s support.

Dong Xuebin waited nearly an hour to report to Wang Anshi, while a problem involving Wang Yuling at the Administrative Service Hall demanded his attention. After Secretary Zang defended Wang Yuling and let another visitor go ahead, Dong Xuebin left the District Committee, convinced its leadership did not respect him.

• Dong Xuebin arrived at Wang Anshi's office to report on his work, but Secretary Zang made him wait while other visitors received attention.
• Qu Yiqiang called Dong Xuebin to report that Wang Yuling had directed an elderly resident to the wrong place and then cursed at her.
• Secretary Zang praised Wang Yuling and urged Dong Xuebin to be tolerant, implying that Wang Anshi valued her.
• After waiting nearly an hour, Dong Xuebin objected when Secretary Zang admitted Director Sun ahead of him, then left the District Committee.

After leaving the District Committee furious over his treatment, Dong Xuebin arrived at Guangming Street Office and found staff mistreating an elderly woman. He helped her, then publicly reprimanded Wang Yuling for her conduct and absences, leaving her in tears as residents watched.

• Dong Xuebin left the District Committee after deciding he would not tolerate Wang Anshi's cold treatment.
• At Guangming Street Office, Wang Yuling and Meng Senguo argued with an elderly woman who had been given the wrong directions, while security guards prepared to remove her.
• Dong Xuebin arrived, stopped the guards, apologized to the woman, and personally led her to the files window.
• After the woman finished her business, Dong Xuebin rebuked Wang Yuling for cursing at a resident and failing to meet her duties.
• Dong Xuebin confronted Wang Yuling over her absences and late arrival, then berated her for more than ten minutes until she cried.

Dong Xuebin reprimanded Wang Yuling for mistreating a resident and imposed stricter complaint rules on the Street Office. As staff worried about the political fallout, he remained unbothered by the prospect of retaliation.

• An elderly resident declined to pursue her complaint, and Dong Xuebin ordered Wang Yuling to submit a written self-criticism.
• Dong Xuebin announced penalties for staff who received repeated resident complaints and told Qu Yiqiang to draft the rules.
• Dong Xuebin ordered Meng Senguo to establish a complaint desk and asked Zhou Yanru to arrange a ride home for the elderly resident.
• Geng Xinke questioned the new policy, but Dong Xuebin told him to keep his opinions to himself.
• Street Office staff and Geng Faction cadres speculated about the consequences of Dong Xuebin’s confrontation with Wang Yuling, while he continued working without concern.

Dong Xuebin established a Complaint Window at the Street Office and pushed a reporting plan for the communities through a meeting with their leaders. The officials stayed silent during the meeting but complained afterward, waiting to see how Wang Yuling and Wang Anshi would respond.

• Zhou Yanru opened the Street Office Complaint Window, and Qu Yiqiang proposed extending reporting procedures to the communities.
• Dong Xuebin decided to present the community reporting plan himself and asked the Party and Government Office to draft the documents.
• Dong Xuebin met with community officials, announced the Complaint Window and matching penalty standards, and ordered implementation to begin the next day.
• After the meeting, community officials criticized the plan among themselves and chose to wait for Wang Yuling and Wang Anshi to react.

Wang Yuling surprised Dong Xuebin by bringing him a written self-criticism and admitting she had been wrong. They reconciled over a friendly conversation and lunch, leaving the Street Office staff astonished to see them getting along.

• Wang Yuling entered Dong Xuebin’s office and waited while he deliberately ignored her.
• Wang Yuling began crying and gave Dong Xuebin her written self-criticism, admitting she had been wrong.
• Dong Xuebin comforted Wang Yuling, apologized for his harsh tone, and chatted with her until she relaxed.
• Dong Xuebin invited Wang Yuling to lunch and lent her his meal card.
• Dong Xuebin and Wang Yuling ate together amicably, and Zhou Ynru joined them while the other staff watched in surprise.

On his day off, Dong Xuebin discovered a gas leak in the apartment across from his and repaired the faulty hose. He learned that the beautiful woman in the apartment was District Governor Geng Yuehua, a former Guangming Street Office Party Committee Secretary and Geng Xinke’s older sister.

• Dong Xuebin took the morning off and left his apartment to look for breakfast.
• Dong Xuebin smelled gas coming from the open apartment across the hall and went inside to investigate.
• Dong Xuebin found a leaking gas hose, replaced it, and confirmed the leak had stopped.
• Dong Xuebin called Zhou Ynru and asked her to arrange gas inspections for the Family Building and other Street Office residences.
• Zhou Ynru told Dong Xuebin that the apartment belonged to District Governor Yuehua, and he realized the beautiful woman he had helped was Geng Yuehua.

Dong Xuebin visited District Governor Geng Yuehua to discuss his resident-reporting pilot, which she allowed him to continue. As he helped close the windows during a storm, he caught and returned her red underwear, leaving their already tense encounter awkward; Geng Xinke then arrived to take Dong out.

• Dong Xuebin visited Geng Yuehua at home and explained that he had tried to report to her about his work.
• Geng Yuehua questioned Dong Xuebin about resident reports and objections to his program, then approved it as a pilot.
• When a storm blew through the open windows, Dong Xuebin shut the balcony window and caught Geng Yuehua's red underwear before it fell outside.
• Geng Yuehua calmly took back the underwear and rehung it, while Dong Xuebin struggled with the awkward moment.
• Geng Xinke arrived to invite Geng Yuehua to breakfast, and she asked him to see Dong Xuebin out.

Dong Xuebin struggled to understand his Reverse ability until an accident revealed that it could restore broken objects. He ended the chapter astonished by the power’s apparent effect.

• In heavy rain, Dong Xuebin saw Geng Yuehua rush out to manage a serious traffic accident and called Zhou Yanru to prepare the street office for dangerous road conditions.
• Dong Xuebin tested Reverse repeatedly but saw no effect and nearly exhausted his remaining time.
• Zhou Yanru brought food to Dong Xuebin’s dormitory and cooked breakfast for them.
• During breakfast, thunder startled Dong Xuebin, causing him to knock a glass off the table and forget to cancel Reverse.
• As Dong Xuebin reached for the shards, they flew together and reformed into an intact glass, revealing Reverse’s effect.

Dong Xuebin discovered that Reverse rewound a single designated object rather than the whole world, and found that its limited energy could send that object far back in time. After using nearly all his remaining seconds on a pomegranate, he left with proof that Reverse could reverse months of an object's history.

• After a cup fell, Dong Xuebin saw it reassemble intact and realized Reverse had restored the cup to its unbroken state.
• After Zhou Ynru left, Dong Xuebin smashed a porcelain cup and focused on its fragments until Reverse fused them back together.
• Dong Xuebin questioned why Reverse consumed so much time to restore one object, then remembered that the glass cup had reassembled in less than a second despite being broken several seconds earlier.
• Dong Xuebin used Reverse on a rotten pomegranate, watched it become ripe and then unripe, and discovered that it had rewound months before his remaining time ran out.

After a deadly traffic accident caused by a collapsing illegal building, Dong Xuebin led Guangming Street Office’s crackdown on illegal construction and inspected Willow Lane Alley. He discovered the cleanup was complicated by hostile residents and a building owned by a relative of District Minister Xue Qingrong, then found another illegal structure under construction.

• Dong Xuebin gathered Zhou Ynru, Yu Rongfeng, Guo Mingfeng, and Peng Gang and ordered them to begin a crackdown on illegal construction, focusing on Willow Lane Alley.
• Dong Xuebin called Geng Xinke to explain the cleanup, but Geng gave only vague support and took no practical action.
• Zhou Ynru told Dong Xuebin that previous cleanup attempts in Willow Lane Alley had stalled because residents resisted, and that a relative of Xue Qingrong had built two illegal structures there.
• Dong Xuebin decided to inspect Willow Lane Alley and issue demolition warnings before deciding how to proceed.
• Dong Xuebin and Zhou Ynru arrived in the alley and saw crowded, unsafe illegal shops, tangled wiring, and piled-up rubbish.
• Dong Xuebin spotted a nearly half-finished illegal building at the end of the alley and strode toward it.

Dong Xuebin and Zhou Ynru saw how Xue Gui’s illegal buildings had blocked Willow Lane and angered its residents. When the Street Office tried to serve demolition notices, Xue Gui and his supporters resisted and tore them up, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Dong Xuebin questioned elderly residents and learned that Xue Gui had built illegal shops, occupied neighbors’ walls, and used thugs to assault people who objected.
• Zhou Ynru explained that Top of South Alley had drawn many complaints and that Xue Gui had helped disrupt an earlier forced demolition.
• Yu Rongfeng, Guo Mingfeng, Peng Gang, and other officials entered the alley to issue demolition notices for sixteen illegal structures.
• Merchants protested the notices, and Xue Gui emerged with several young thugs to challenge the Street Office officials.
• Xue Gui tore up a demolition notice, and other merchants followed suit as Dong Xuebin watched with a cold expression.

Dong Xuebin tried to clear illegal constructions in Willow Lane Alley by arresting their ringleader, Xue Gui, but pressure from above forced the police to release him. The chapter ended with Xue Gui’s allies and local merchants blockading the Guangming Street Office compound.

• Zhou Yanru reported that Willow Lane Alley residents suffered from the illegal businesses’ garbage, smoke, and blocked traffic, while the directors failed to find a solution.
• Dong Xuebin ordered Peng Gang to arrest Xue Gui, whom he identified as the ringleader opposing the demolition effort.
• The police arrested Xue Gui at a restaurant, but a District Public Security Branch Bureau leader pressured Peng Gang to release him.
• Dong Xuebin began planning to use Xue Gui’s arrest to frighten the merchants and demolish his illegal constructions the next morning.
• Zhou Yanru told Dong Xuebin that Willow Lane Alley residents and merchants had gathered to block the Street Office entrance, demanding that the demolition notice be revoked.

Dong Xuebin faced a crowd of shop owners and thugs protesting Xue Gui’s arrest and the forced demolition notice, while senior officials pressured the Street Office to resolve the disturbance. After the crowd dispersed, Dong ordered the Street Office to prepare to demolish Xue Gui’s illegal construction in Willow Lane Alley the next morning.

• Red Hair and Yellow Hair led shop owners in blocking the Guangming Street Office entrance and demanding that the forced demolition notice be withdrawn.
• Dong Xuebin tried to reach Xue Qingrong, but Xue Qingrong did not answer his call.
• Geng Yuehua called Dong Xuebin, criticized the Street Office, and ordered him to handle the disturbance within an hour.
• A Yellow Hair thug received a call and led the crowd away from the Street Office.
• At a meeting, Dong Xuebin ordered Peng Gang to contact the Urban Management Enforcement Team and directed the staff to prepare for the forced demolition in Willow Lane Alley the next morning.

Dong Xuebin led Street Office staff, police, and urban management officials to South Willow Lane Alley to force the removal of illegal businesses and construction. After shop owners resisted and attacked a clerk, Dong publicly threatened criminal charges, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Dong Xuebin arrived with Street Office staff, police, and an urban management team, and ordered the staff and officers to warn the illegal businesses that this was their final ultimatum.
• Dong Xuebin kept Wang Yuling outside for her safety while residents praised the planned demolition and urged the government to clear the alley.
• Xue Gui and the shop owners rejected the warnings, armed themselves with tools, and threatened to fight the demolition team.
• A shop owner's punk shoved a Street Office clerk to the ground, enraging the staff.
• Dong Xuebin used a loudspeaker to declare that the illegal construction would be demolished that day and warned that anyone obstructing the operation could face criminal charges.

Dong Xuebin intimidated the merchants opposing the demolition of illegal buildings and prepared to proceed, but Peng Kun of the District Committee Organization Department arrived and urged caution. His warning emboldened the merchants again, leaving the demolition facing renewed resistance.

• Dong Xuebin threatened the merchants with arrest and prison, ordered Wang Yuling to record their actions, and convinced most of them to step back as the excavator started.
• Peng Kun arrived at the alley, and Street Office cadres suspected he had come to support Xue Gui on behalf of Xue Qingrong.
• Dong Xuebin ordered the demolition to continue, but Peng Kun objected and argued that the Street Office should first address the residents' opposition.
• Dong Xuebin and the Street Office cadres accused Peng Kun of meddling, while Peng Kun threatened to report their methods to the district.
• The merchants took heart from Peng Kun's warning about responsibility and picked up their sticks again, shouting that the Street Office did not dare act against them.

Peng Kun’s remarks turned the merchants against the Guangming Street Office during a demolition operation, and the crowd attacked officials and police. As Dong Xuebin ordered his staff to retreat, he stepped forward and knocked the tailor shop owner down with a kick.

• Peng Kun blamed the Street Office for failing to persuade the merchants, while Dong Xuebin and Zhou Yanru berated him for inciting the crowd.
• The tailor shop owner struck Zhou Yanru with an iron rod, and other merchants attacked a police officer and Street Office staff.
• Peng Kun fled to his car as Xue Gui joined the attackers and stomped on a fallen clerk.
• Dong Xuebin ordered his staff to take cover in their vehicles and stayed behind to hold off the crowd.
• The tailor shop owner charged after the retreating staff, and Dong Xuebin kicked him to the ground.

Dong Xuebin fought off shop owners who attacked the Street Office staff and tried to stop the forced demolition of illegal structures. After the Tailor Shop owner attacked him with a knife, Dong Xuebin retaliated as more shop owners rushed at him.

• Dong Xuebin ordered Peng Gang and the other staff to get the injured into the Jinbei Car while he faced the charging shop owners alone.
• Dong Xuebin knocked down the breakfast stall owner and three more attackers, then advanced on the crowd.
• Dong Xuebin targeted Xue Gui, knocked him unconscious, and defeated the thugs who rushed to his aid.
• Dong Xuebin warned the crowd that the illegal structures would be demolished and rushed to protect the officials in the Jinbei Car.
• The Tailor Shop owner attacked Dong Xuebin with a knife, and Dong Xuebin slammed his head against the car door.
• More shop owners charged at Dong Xuebin with clubs as attackers fell around him.

Dong Xuebin fought off the merchants resisting the forced demolition of Headline Hutong, then ordered the demolition to proceed. The operation succeeded, leaving the Street Office staff and local onlookers stunned by his fighting ability, while Dong blamed Peng Kun for fleeing.

• Dong Xuebin knocked down twenty-six merchants and residents who attacked the demolition team, causing the remaining opponents to drop their weapons.
• Dong Xuebin ordered Zhou Yanru, Peng Gang, and the others to arrange medical care for the injured, then discovered Peng Kun had disappeared.
• Dong Xuebin told the urban management officers to begin demolishing Headline Hutong’s illegal structures.
• When merchants shouted in protest, Dong Xuebin stood in the alley as the excavator demolished the stalls, and no one dared approach him.
• Local residents cheered the demolition, while the Street Office staff recognized that Dong Xuebin’s actions had made the operation possible.