Chapter Summaries

Dong Xuebin found Geng Yuehua’s dark red underwear and her father’s ID card in the suit she had lent him, then struggled over how to return them without embarrassing her. After Geng Yuehua told him to bring the forgotten items over, he handed them to her in an opaque bag and was left wondering what she thought of him.

• Dong Xuebin found Geng Yuehua’s underwear and her father’s ID card in the suit pocket and pieced together how they had been left there.
• Dong Xuebin debated whether to return the items, worried that Geng Yuehua would realize he had seen her underwear.
• Geng Yuehua called Dong Xuebin and told him to bring the forgotten items to her.
• Dong Xuebin put the underwear and ID card in an opaque bag and delivered it to Geng Yuehua.
• Geng Yuehua took the bag and closed the door, leaving Dong Xuebin unsure whether she resented him.

Dong Xuebin tried to gauge Geng Yuehua’s attitude after their recent conflicts, but she left without engaging him. He attended a district meeting on nursing home construction and management, where his youth and position immediately drew attention.

• Dong Xuebin caught up with Geng Yuehua as she left home, greeted her, and watched her drive away without stopping.
• Zhou Yanru told Dong Xuebin that the district had called a meeting about advancing street nursing home construction and management.
• Dong Xuebin reviewed the meeting documents and drove the Passat to the district government compound.
• At the meeting, an official asked Dong Xuebin who he was, then changed his manner after learning he was the Director of Guangming Street Office.
• The officials present noticed Dong Xuebin’s unusually young age and wondered how he had risen to his position.

Dong Xuebin learned that Peace Street Office had been nominated for a National Model Elder Care Unit, and the district was rallying behind its inspection. He returned to Guangming Street Office and shared the news, leaving his colleagues troubled by the honor going to their rival.

• Geng Yuehua praised Peace Street Office’s nursing home work and issued six directives to accelerate elder care construction across the district.
• Chu Qinghua described Peace Street Office’s work, and Shen Fei announced that a central Inspection Team would inspect it the next morning as a nominee for a National Model Elder Care Unit.
• Officials congratulated Chu Qinghua while Dong Xuebin resented his rival’s nomination and recalled Chu’s past attempt to frame him.
• Dong Xuebin convened a Party and Government Work Committee meeting at Guangming Street Office and relayed the district’s nursing home directives.
• Dong Xuebin told the meeting about Peace Street Office’s nomination, prompting Zhou Yanru, Qu Yiqiang, Geng Xinke, and other attendees to react with displeasure.

Dong Xuebin learned that the Central Respect for the Elderly Model Unit Inspection Team had secretly arrived in Nanshan District. After recognizing its members and meeting them while picking up Luan Xiaoping, he warned Chu Qinghua that they were headed to Peace Street’s Nursing Home.

• Guangming Street Office staff criticized Peace Street Office’s Model Unit nomination while Dong Xuebin worried that he lacked a major political achievement and district support.
• Dong Xuebin met Luan Xiaoping at the garden entrance and recognized the officials with her as members of the Central Respect for the Elderly Model Unit Inspection Team.
• Cheng Yandong and the other inspectors confirmed their identities and headed toward Peace Street to ask about its Nursing Home.
• Dong Xuebin decided to inform Peace Street Office and called its Party and Government Office, but the call was transferred to Chu Qinghua.
• Dong Xuebin warned Chu Qinghua that the inspectors had arrived and were asking for the Nursing Home, and Chu Qinghua abruptly ended the call.

After Chu Qinghua repeatedly insulted and undermined him, Dong Xuebin looked for a way to sabotage Peace Street Office’s bid for a Respect-the-Elderly Model Unit title. He found a report about an elderly woman who vanished from its nursing home and arranged for the family’s grievance to reach the press, leaving Su Xiaochun determined to demand answers from the visiting inspection team.

• Dong Xuebin told Luan Xiaoping how Chu Qinghua had treated him and decided to retaliate against Peace Street Office.
• Luan Xiaoping found a newspaper report about Su Xiaochun’s mother disappearing from the Peace Street nursing home.
• Dong Xuebin asked Su Jia to investigate and obtained Su Xiaochun’s contact information.
• Dong Xuebin instructed Guo Panwei to pose as a reporter and call Su Xiaochun about the nursing home and Peace Street’s nomination.
• Su Xiaochun learned that the inspection team was visiting and vowed to demand an explanation.

Dong Xuebin’s plan brought Su Xiaochun’s family’s dispute with the Peace Street Nursing Home before the Central Inspection Team. The confrontation turned into a fight as Su Xiaochun and her relatives attacked the Nursing Home director.

• Luan Xiaoping urged Dong Xuebin to get up and asked whether he would act on the Nursing Home’s failure to find Su Xiaochun’s mother.
• Zhou Yanru told Dong Xuebin that a dispute was unfolding at the Peace Street Nursing Home, and he hurried to Meizhuang Community.
• Su Xiaochun and her relatives publicly accused the Nursing Home and Peace Subdistrict Office of neglecting their missing mother, while residents joined in.
• Cheng Yandong listened as Su Xiaochun described the case, and Chu Qinghua grew worried about the Central Inspection Team witnessing the dispute.
• The Nursing Home director argued that the contract exempted the facility from responsibility because Su Xiaochun’s mother had Alzheimer’s, prompting Su Xiaochun and her relatives to attack him.

A brawl at the community Nursing Home left Cheng Yandong’s jade pendant, a keepsake from his mother, shattered and disrupted the inspection. Chu Qinghua later traced the false tip that brought Su Xiaochun’s family to the Nursing Home back to Dong Xuebin, who had deliberately left clues pointing to himself.

• Su Xiaochun and her family attacked the Nursing Home’s person in charge, and a staff member accidentally knocked Cheng Yandong to the ground.
• Su Xiaochun accused the Nursing Home staff of attacking central leaders, while Cheng Yandong’s fall shattered his jade pendant.
• Cheng Yandong set the necklace aside and told the officials to resolve Su Xiaochun’s complaint; Chu Qinghua arranged compensation of 150,000 yuan.
• Chu Qinghua learned that a caller from Nanqi Morning News had tipped off Su Xiaochun’s family about the inspection and ordered the number traced.
• The Peace Street Office traced the call to a public telephone in Yantai County, and Chu Qinghua realized Dong Xuebin had set the incident in motion.

Dong Xuebin learned that the Inspection Team could add a Model Unit nomination without an advance application and considered using the opening to get Guangming Street Office nominated at Peace Street Office’s expense. He approached Geng Xinke to gauge his support, leaving Geng stunned by the prospect of taking Chu Qinghua’s slot.

• Zhou Yanru told Dong Xuebin that an Inspection Team had once added a Model Unit nomination after its visit began, but warned him not to try the same thing.
• Dong Xuebin realized Guangming Street Office might still be nominated and saw that its selection would likely displace Chu Qinghua’s Peace Street Office.
• After lunch, Dong Xuebin walked back to the office with Geng Xinke and invited him to his office for tea.
• Dong Xuebin told Geng Xinke that Peace Street Office’s nomination was at risk and suggested Guangming Street Office could take its place.
• Geng Xinke nearly choked on his tea when he understood Dong Xuebin was proposing to steal Peace Street Office’s nomination slot.

Dong Xuebin tried to use Peace Street Office’s troubles to push Guangming Street Office into contention for a Respect-the-Elderly Model Unit nomination. After meeting Inspection Team leader Cheng Yandong, he realized his Reverse ability might restore Cheng’s shattered jadeite pendant and took the fragments to try.

• Dong Xuebin proposed that Geng Xinke help Guangming Street Office compete for the Model Unit nomination, but Geng refused to get involved.
• Dong Xuebin went to Peace Second Street to approach Cheng Yandong, while Chu Qinghua discussed Peace Street Office’s failing prospects with Shen Fei.
• Cheng Yandong accepted a ride from Dong Xuebin but gave him no sign that the Inspection Team had turned against Peace Street Office.
• Cheng Yandong told Dong Xuebin that his late mother’s jadeite pendant had shattered and could not be repaired.
• Dong Xuebin remembered his Reverse ability, asked to keep the jadeite fragments for a day, and Cheng Yandong handed them over.

Dong Xuebin used Reverse to repair the jadeite pendant that had shattered at Meizhuang Nursing Home, but his first attempt left gaps because tiny fragments were missing. After finding those fragments at the scene, he used Reverse again and restored the pendant completely.

• Dong Xuebin saw Cheng Yandong and the Inspection Team inspecting Peace Street Office's communities, where a Nursing Home resident praised the facility.
• Dong Xuebin used Reverse on the shattered jadeite pendant at home, but the restored pieces still had cracks and gaps.
• Dong Xuebin suspected missing fragments were responsible and returned to Meizhuang Nursing Home to search where the pendant had shattered.
• Dong Xuebin found tiny jadeite particles on the asphalt and used Reverse on them together with the pendant.
• Dong Xuebin inspected the pendant in his Porsche and found it smooth and completely restored.

Dong Xuebin returned Cheng Yandong’s broken jadeite necklace in apparently perfect condition and asked him to help Guangming Street Office get inspected for the Respect-the-Elderly Model Unit. After Cheng agreed, Dong convened an emergency meeting and told the officials that the inspection team was coming to assess them.

• Dong Xuebin gave Cheng Yandong his Coiled Dragon jadeite necklace, repaired with an invented biological glue, and refused payment.
• Cheng Yandong agreed to use a flexible inspection slot to have the team visit Guangming Street Office that morning.
• Dong Xuebin returned to the Street Office and ordered an emergency Party and Government Work Committee meeting.
• Dong Xuebin told the assembled officials that the inspection team planned to inspect Guangming Street Office and might nominate it to the central government.
• Geng Xinke, Zhou Yanru, and the other officials were shocked that Dong Xuebin had secured the inspection team's visit.

Dong Xuebin secured an inspection by the Respect-the-Elderly Model Unit team for Guangming Street Office, provoking Chu Qinghua and district officials who expected the team to inspect Peace Street Office. After Shen Fei summoned him, Dong defended his actions by arguing that the team had approached him voluntarily and that he had helped Peace Street Office.

• Dong Xuebin called a meeting and got Qu Yiqiang and Wang Yuling to support accepting the inspection team's visit, then sent staff to Huai'an First Lane to meet the inspectors.
• Chu Qinghua learned that Wei Yandong's team had gone to Guangming Street Office instead of Peace Street Office and rushed to the district government in anger.
• Wei Yandong praised the work at Huai'an First Lane, and Dong Xuebin arranged for the team to visit Huai'an Second Lane before Shen Fei summoned him.
• At Shen Fei's office, Chu Qinghua accused Dong Xuebin of poaching the inspectors, while Dong argued that the team had approached him and that repairing Team Leader Cheng's necklace had helped Peace Street Office.
• Dong Xuebin offered to send the inspection team away if the district considered its visit improper, leaving Shen Fei frustrated by his defiance.

Dong Xuebin secured the Inspection Team’s floating nomination quota for Guangming Street Office, taking it from Peace Street Office. The district accepted the change, while Chu Qinghua and Peace Street Office were left furious.

• Dong Xuebin and Chu Qinghua argued over their rivalry as they left the district government building.
• Dong Xuebin joined the Inspection Team’s visit to Guangming Street Office and told Zhou Yanru and Guo Mingfeng to arrange lunch and rooms for the inspectors.
• Cheng Yandong told Shen Fei that the Inspection Team had awarded Guangming Street Office its floating nomination quota after finding its conditions commendable.
• Shen Fei called Dong Xuebin and instructed him to secure the quota, signaling the district’s approval.
• Dong Xuebin announced the news at Guangming Street Office, while Chu Qinghua threw a document to the floor in anger at Peace Street Office.

Dong Xuebin smoothed things over with Shen Fei after Guangming Street Office secured a strong chance at a Model Unit nomination. He assigned Zhou Yanru to lead the application preparations and coordination, leaving other cadres to seek a share of the achievement.

• Dong Xuebin apologized to Shen Fei for his sharp words the day before and told him the central Inspection Team had seemed satisfied with Guangming Street Office's work.
• Shen Fei urged Dong Xuebin to keep up the effort and aim for the final award in the capital, not just a provincial nomination.
• Dong Xuebin heard staff celebrating the setback for Peace Street Office and watched Guo Mingfeng, Yu Rongfeng, and Geng Xinke show new interest in the selection.
• Dong Xuebin asked Zhou Yanru to prepare the application materials and gave her Party and Government Office responsibility for the application and coordination work.
• Zhou Yanru praised Dong Xuebin's foresight, and he joked that her flattery was obvious.

Dong Xuebin visited Xu Yan at the State Security Bureau Family Compound, where she invited him to spar so she could regain her hand-to-hand skills. He was repeatedly thrown by Xu Yan and continued acting as her sparring partner.

• After taking the afternoon off, Dong Xuebin accepted Xu Yan’s invitation and drove to her home in Nanshan District.
• Xu Yan welcomed Dong Xuebin and explained that she wanted to practice hand-to-hand combat with him.
• Xu Yan quickly threw Dong Xuebin to the floor during their first exchange, surprising him with her skill.
• Xu Yan threw Dong Xuebin again, and he realized she had been understating her abilities.
• Dong Xuebin kept sparring with Xu Yan and let her throw him repeatedly so she could test her skills.

Dong Xuebin sparred with Xu Yan at her home, then showered and borrowed her son's clothes. He learned Xu Yan had called him her godson, but chose to keep calling her Big Sister Xu.

• Xu Yan repeatedly threw Dong Xuebin during their sparring and asked him to fight seriously.
• Dong Xuebin landed a throw on Xu Yan, but she countered and pinned him until he admitted defeat.
• Xu Yan told Dong Xuebin to shower and lent him a new tracksuit bought for her son.
• Dong Xuebin overheard Xu Yan call him her godson while arranging to cancel a dinner engagement.
• Xu Yan let Dong Xuebin choose how to address her, and he decided to keep calling her Big Sister Xu.

Dong Xuebin found a photograph of Xu Yan in her thirties and learned how much her appearance had changed after a difficult decade. Xu Yan’s remarks about aging gave Dong Xuebin an idea: he wondered whether his Reverse ability could turn back time for a living person.

• Dong Xuebin wandered into Xu Yan’s bedroom and found a photograph of a striking woman with a young boy.
• Xu Yan told Dong Xuebin that the woman in the photograph was herself and the boy was her son.
• Xu Yan explained that divorce, family troubles, and work difficulties had marked her thirties and caused her to age quickly.
• Xu Yan pointed out her wrinkles and growing freckle, saying that time could not be changed.
• Dong Xuebin realized that he might be able to use Reverse on a living person and wondered whether he could turn back Xu Yan’s time.

Dong Xuebin considered using his reverse ability on Xu Yan but instead claimed he had learned a massage treatment that could remove freckles and wrinkles. Xu Yan agreed to let him try, leaving Dong Xuebin about to begin the treatment.

• Xu Yan massaged Dong Xuebin's neck, back, and legs until his aches eased.
• Dong Xuebin decided to try using reverse on Xu Yan and invented a story about learning a cosmetic massage technique from a secluded master.
• Xu Yan doubted his claim but agreed to try the treatment after explaining that her freckles and wrinkles had resisted other remedies.
• Xu Yan removed her makeup, and Dong Xuebin prepared to begin massaging her face.

Dong Xuebin used Reverse during a supposed beauty massage and turned back Xu Yan’s bodily age by nearly a year, removing wrinkles and lightening her freckles. Xu Yan was thrilled with the results and agreed to keep his secret and wait a few days before trying it again.

• Dong Xuebin learned that Xu Yan’s wrinkles and freckles had worsened over the past half year and decided his remaining Reverse time could reach that far back.
• Dong Xuebin pretended to massage Xu Yan while focusing Reverse on her face and body.
• Xu Yan’s wrinkles vanished and her freckles faded as Dong Xuebin’s Reverse time ran out.
• Xu Yan saw the changes in the mirror, thanked Dong Xuebin, and asked whether the treatment could remove more wrinkles and freckles.
• Dong Xuebin claimed the massage could only be repeated after a few days and asked Xu Yan to keep its effects secret.
• Xu Yan agreed, applied makeup, and happily took Dong Xuebin to dinner.

Dong Xuebin woke at Xu Yan’s home after she let him sleep in her bed, then called Yu Meixia and urgently brought her from Yantai County to Nanshan District. The chapter left them driving somewhere secluded after he admitted he had called because he missed her and began touching her in the car.

• Dong Xuebin woke in Xu Yan’s bed and learned that she had slept on the sofa after he passed out drunk.
• Xu Yan told Dong Xuebin to visit again, and he left her home feeling flustered by her teasing and his own desire.
• Dong Xuebin called Yu Meixia and promised to help Yu Qianqian attend high school in the city before asking Yu Meixia to come to Nanshan District immediately.
• Dong Xuebin waited at the station and picked up Yu Meixia when her bus arrived from Yantai County.
• Dong Xuebin touched Yu Meixia while driving and admitted that he had called because he missed her.
• Dong Xuebin said they could use the car, and Yu Meixia reacted with surprise.