Chapter Summaries

Dong Xuebin faced isolation at a district investment meeting, where he cheerfully imposed himself on officials who avoided him. The meeting ended with Shen Fei criticizing Guangming Street Office’s poor investment figures, leaving others convinced that Geng Yuehua had begun targeting Dong Xuebin.

• Officials from both district factions avoided Dong Xuebin, but he sat beside Pan Zhengyi and Chu Qinghua and pushed them to have dinner with him.
• Ma Wu prepared meeting materials, and Shen Fei and Geng Yuehua arrived to begin the investment promotion conference.
• Shen Fei explained that a Japanese delegation from Tokyo would visit Nanshan District to inspect investment projects the next day.
• Geng Yuehua directed Street Offices to prepare for the delegation and offer appropriate preferential treatment to attract investment.
• Shen Fei singled out Guangming Street Office for attracting only fifteen million in investment in the first half of the year and receiving seven million in actual funds.
• Geng Yuehua left without acknowledging Dong Xuebin, who calmly gathered his things and left the meeting.

After being criticized by Geng Yuehua, Dong Xuebin decided to keep a low profile and focus on producing results, but a downpour left him sick and locked out of his home. Geng Yuehua found him collapsed outside his door and brought him to her home, where he began to see her as principled despite her hostility toward him.

• Dong Xuebin instructed the Street Office staff to prepare for the Japanese investment delegation’s visit and then left work to clear his head by the river.
• A sudden downpour soaked Dong Xuebin, and he decided to work carefully and build his record despite pressure from Wang Anshi and Geng Yuehua.
• Dong Xuebin caught a fever, lost his home keys while searching for his car, and collapsed outside his locked apartment door.
• Geng Yuehua found Dong Xuebin outside his door, brought him into her home, and left him a towel, quilt, and medicine.
• Dong Xuebin appreciated Geng Yuehua’s help and reconsidered his resentment toward her, but realized he had no water to take the medicine.

Dong Xuebin spent the night at Geng Yuehua’s home while sick and unable to leave, and she quietly cared for him despite their awkward silence. He fell asleep on the sofa beside her after eating the millet porridge she made.

• Dong Xuebin asked Geng Yuehua for water so he could take his fever medicine, and she brought him a cup.
• Dong Xuebin explained that he had nowhere else to go for the night, and Geng Yuehua agreed to let him stay.
• Geng Yuehua made Dong Xuebin millet porridge after hearing his stomach rumble and cleared his wet clothes away.
• Dong Xuebin tried to discuss the Japanese Delegation, but Geng Yuehua told him not to talk about work during rest time.
• Geng Yuehua sat at the end of the sofa beside Dong Xuebin, and he eventually drifted off to sleep.

Dong Xuebin recovered from his fever at Geng Yuehua’s apartment and offered to drive her to Dafeng County after learning its officials had intercepted Nanshan District’s Japanese investors. Geng Yuehua went to confront them, while Dong Xuebin headed to the county’s Investment Bureau to meet her staff.

• Dong Xuebin woke feeling better, thanked Geng Yuehua for caring for him, and borrowed her clothes while his own remained wet.
• Geng Yuehua’s secretary Ma Jian told her Dafeng County officials had taken the Japanese investors from the provincial capital airport.
• Geng Yuehua ordered Ma Jian and Director Pan to pursue the investors, then set out for Dafeng County after her driver failed to arrive on time.
• Dong Xuebin offered to drive Geng Yuehua in his Porsche Cayenne, and they reached Dafeng County in half an hour.
• Geng Yuehua entered the County Party Committee Compound as government office staff came out to greet her, while Dong Xuebin was told to meet Ma Fei and Pan Zhengyi at the Investment Bureau.

Dong Xuebin arrived at the Dafeng County Investment Bureau and confronted its staff for poaching investors from Nanshan District. After Wang Bo left without giving in, the Dafeng County employees scattered in alarm, revealing how widely Dong Xuebin’s notorious reputation had spread.

• Dong Xuebin saw Pan Zhengyi, Ma Qi, and other Nanshan District staff arguing with Wang Bo and Dafeng County officials over investors inspecting Dafeng County.
• Wang Bo claimed Dafeng County had not solicited the investors and said it would escort them to Nanshan District after their inspection.
• Dong Xuebin accused Wang Bo and County Chief Li of poaching investors, then berated the Dafeng County officials for taking advantage of Nanshan District.
• Wang Bo left with several officials, and Dong Xuebin told the Nanshan District staff that cursing them out was better than expecting them to give up the investors.
• Dafeng County employees recognized Dong Xuebin, feared the trouble he might cause, and hurried back inside, leaving the Nanshan District staff stunned by his reputation.

Dong Xuebin accompanied the Nanshan District delegation to Dafeng County to retrieve investors, where his history with local officials and the hotel drew wary attention. After Li Feng agreed to let the investors go, the delegation waited for Geng Yuehua’s instructions and headed to Ruihe Hotel, where staff recognized Dong Xuebin and went on alert.

• Dong Xuebin met Deputy Director Sun Pengpeng at a restaurant and taunted him about trying to take investors from Nanshan District.
• Ma Li and the Nanshan District delegation ate while Dong Xuebin stayed quiet, and Wang Bo reported his arrival to County Chief Li Feng.
• Li Feng recalled Dong Xuebin’s earlier actions at the Investment Conference and told Wang Bo to take Geng Yuehua to pick up the investors.
• As rain fell, Ma Li and the delegation waited until Geng Yuehua called them to Ruihe Hotel.
• Hotel staff recognized Dong Xuebin as he entered Ruihe Hotel and alerted the manager, leaving the Nanshan District group stunned by his notoriety.

Dong Xuebin accompanied Geng Yuehua to Dafeng County for a dinner with Japanese investors, then argued with her on the drive back. After he lost control of the Cayenne on a muddy road, they crashed into a grove and became stranded in the heavy rain.

• Geng Yuehua told Dong Xuebin to stay behind after the investors left, and he waited with her in Dafeng County.
• After meeting with County Chief Li Feng, Geng Yuehua left with Dong Xuebin driving her back to the district.
• Geng Yuehua reprimanded Dong Xuebin for cursing at Secretary Wang Bo and ordered him to submit a written self-criticism.
• Dong Xuebin argued that his harsh words had helped recover the investors, then drove too fast along a muddy back road.
• The Cayenne skidded down a slope into a small grove, stalled, and would not restart, leaving Dong Xuebin and Geng Yuehua stranded in the rain.

Dong Xuebin stayed behind with Geng Yuehua in Dafeng County after the Japanese investors returned to Nanshan District, then argued with her over his confrontation with Secretary Wang Bo. Their drive back ended with the Cayenne skidding down a slope into a remote wood and breaking down in heavy rain.

• Geng Yuehua told Dong Xuebin and the others to meet the Japanese investors at Ruihe Hotel and accompany them through dinner and an inspection.
• Dong Xuebin asked to leave early, but Geng Yuehua ordered him to stay and later had him drive her back to the district.
• After meeting County Chief Li Feng and Wang Bo, Geng Yuehua questioned Dong Xuebin about berating Wang Bo at the Investment Bureau and ordered him to write a self-criticism.
• Dong Xuebin defended his harsh words as necessary to get Dafeng County to return the investors, and he and Geng Yuehua argued during the drive.
• Dong Xuebin braked too late at a foggy fork, and the Cayenne skidded down a slope into a small wood.
• The Cayenne stalled and would not restart, leaving Dong Xuebin and Geng Yuehua stranded in the remote woods as the rain fell harder.

Dong Xuebin and Geng Yuehua waited out the storm in their broken-down car, but when she went into the woods to relieve herself, a snake bit her. They returned to the car, where Dong Xuebin realized the bite was near the edge of her underwear.

• Dong Xuebin wrung out his clothes and Geng Yuehua's wet clothes while they shivered in the car.
• Geng Yuehua went into the woods to relieve herself, and Dong Xuebin waited for her to return.
• Dong Xuebin heard Geng Yuehua cry out and found her leaning against a tree with a bleeding bite on her leg.
• Geng Yuehua told Dong Xuebin that a snake had bitten her, though she had not seen what kind it was.
• Dong Xuebin helped the limping Geng Yuehua back to the car and saw that the bite was near the edge of her underwear.

After Geng Yuehua was bitten by a snake, Dong Xuebin sucked at the wound despite her protests, then realized his own mouth had gone numb. Geng Yuehua tried to draw the venom from his lips and tongue, leaving them in the car as she treated him.

• Geng Yuehua was bitten on the thigh, and Dong Xuebin worried that the snake might have been venomous.
• Dong Xuebin insisted on sucking blood from Geng Yuehua’s wound while she warned that he could be poisoned too.
• After several minutes, Geng Yuehua’s numbness eased, and Dong Xuebin bandaged her thigh with torn seat fabric.
• Dong Xuebin’s mouth became numb and he admitted he felt slightly dizzy, prompting Geng Yuehua to order him beside her.
• Geng Yuehua sucked at Dong Xuebin’s lips and then his tongue in an attempt to draw out the venom.

After sucking snake venom from Dong Xuebin, Geng Yuehua shared the car’s only dry cover with him during the storm. When Dong Xuebin said his mouth was still numb, Geng Yuehua kissed him again, leaving their relationship at an uncertain turning point.

• Geng Yuehua sucked venom from Dong Xuebin’s mouth, and he told her he felt better.
• Geng Yuehua urged Dong Xuebin to take off his wet clothes and share the cushion with her in the cramped car.
• Dong Xuebin lay beside Geng Yuehua, struggling to keep his distance as they repeatedly brushed against each other.
• Dong Xuebin said his mouth and tongue were still numb, and Geng Yuehua asked what he meant.
• Geng Yuehua told Dong Xuebin to open his mouth and kissed him again.

In the car after a snakebite, Dong Xuebin treated Geng Yuehua’s wound and repeatedly took liberties while she remained difficult to read. The chapter ended when he moved her panties aside and Geng Yuehua opened her eyes to stare at him.

• Geng Yuehua kissed Dong Xuebin to help with the venom, then told him to sleep.
• Dong Xuebin secretly touched Geng Yuehua’s thigh while she appeared to be asleep, but she opened her eyes and questioned him.
• Dong Xuebin claimed he was checking her bite, and Geng Yuehua closed her eyes without moving her legs.
• Dong Xuebin used his phone to inspect the wound and found it inflamed and oozing pus.
• Geng Yuehua refused further treatment, but Dong Xuebin sucked the wound clean anyway.
• Dong Xuebin pulled Geng Yuehua’s red lace panties aside, and she opened her eyes and stared at him.

Dong Xuebin took advantage of Geng Yuehua’s silence in the dark car and had sex with her. Geng Yuehua remained unresponsive, and the chapter ended with them lying together after she caught her breath.

• Dong Xuebin exposed Geng Yuehua and tended to her wound while kissing and touching her, but she did not respond.
• Dong Xuebin stopped himself and tried to sleep, then changed his mind and asked Geng Yuehua whether he could continue.
• Geng Yuehua gave no clear answer, so Dong Xuebin put on a condom and proceeded while she remained silent.
• Afterward, Geng Yuehua’s breathing became rapid before gradually calming, and Dong Xuebin held her as he fell asleep.

Dong Xuebin woke beside Geng Yuehua after they had slept together in the car and struggled to understand her reaction, especially after realizing it had been her first time. He left the woods to find a signal and arrange help while Geng Yuehua stayed behind and resumed handling district business.

• Dong Xuebin woke up beside Geng Yuehua and regretted their impulsive night together.
• Geng Yuehua dressed and ordered Dong Xuebin to mind his own business when he noticed blood on the seat.
• Dong Xuebin realized Geng Yuehua had been a virgin and wondered why she had chosen to sleep with him.
• Dong Xuebin tried to call for help but could not get a signal, while Geng Yuehua remained silent.
• Geng Yuehua told Dong Xuebin to contact Xiao Ma and have District Governor Ying accompany the Japanese Investors, then Dong Xuebin left to find a signal and help.

After leaving Geng Yuehua in the car, Dong Xuebin learned from Zhou Yanru that several potential matches had abruptly ended their attempts to court the district governor. He returned to Geng Yuehua, who remained distant and focused on work, while he continued wondering what secret explained her unusual marriage history.

• Dong Xuebin reached a village with phone reception, called for repairs, and told Secretary Ma that Geng Yuehua would return that afternoon.
• Dong Xuebin told Zhou Yanru he could not return to accompany the Japanese investors and asked whether Geng Yuehua had a partner.
• Zhou Yanru said Geng Yuehua's parents had arranged several potential matches, but none had progressed; she also mentioned a city leader's son whose courtship had stopped after a few days.
• Dong Xuebin puzzled over why the men had all withdrawn so quickly, then returned to the small woods and found Geng Yuehua reading in the car.
• Geng Yuehua rejected Dong Xuebin's attempts to chat and moved outside when he lit a cigarette, wincing as she leaned against the car and continued reading.

Dong Xuebin remained preoccupied with Geng Yuehua after their night together and attended a district dance with Wang Yuling, hoping to understand Geng’s attitude. Geng arrived but ignored him, and Dong learned she had never danced at one of these events.

• Dong Xuebin called Geng Yuehua to ask about her snakebite, but she rebuffed him and hung up.
• Wang Yuling invited Dong Xuebin to be her dance partner at the District Committee dance, and he agreed to ease tensions and see Geng Yuehua.
• Dong Xuebin arrived with Wang Yuling and saw that other cadres avoided him because he had offended Wang Anshi and Geng Yuehua.
• Zhou Yanru and her husband joined Dong Xuebin and Wang Yuling, and her husband thanked Dong for helping their daughter Chengcheng with school.
• Geng Yuehua arrived at the dance, announced its start through Ma Jian, and sat apart while Dong Xuebin danced with Wang Yuling.
• Wang Yuling told Dong Xuebin that Geng Yuehua had never danced at a district gathering and that people had stopped asking her.

Dong Xuebin was left without a dance partner for the ballroom’s final number as the other cadres watched and mocked him. He invited Geng Yuehua, who unexpectedly accepted, leaving the room stunned.

• Dong Xuebin sat alone while cadres avoided dancing with him because of his reputation and political conflicts.
• As the final dance began, Wang Yuling was kept from leaving her partner, and Dong Xuebin found himself the only person without a partner.
• Several cadres watched and teased Dong Xuebin as he stood alone, while Geng Yuehua frowned at the commotion.
• Dong Xuebin ignored the onlookers and invited Geng Yuehua to dance.
• Geng Yuehua placed her hand in Dong Xuebin’s and agreed, surprising everyone in the ballroom.

Dong Xuebin danced with Geng Yuehua after she accepted his invitation, surprising officials who knew she usually refused to dance. After the ball, people remained puzzled by her actions, while the story spread that Dong Xuebin had stolen the spotlight again.

• Geng Yuehua danced with Dong Xuebin, leading him as he struggled to follow her steps and accidentally stepped on her foot.
• Dong Xuebin thanked Geng Yuehua and asked her to dinner, but she refused and said she had no time.
• Geng Yuehua ended the ball and left with Secretary Ma, while officials speculated about why she had danced with Dong Xuebin.
• Wang Yuling apologized to Dong Xuebin for failing to join him as his dance partner, and he reassured her.
• Dong Xuebin offered Zhou Yanru and her husband a ride back to the Street Dormitory, while other officials continued to avoid him.
• The story of Dong Xuebin dancing with Geng Yuehua spread that evening, and he stole the spotlight again.

Dong Xuebin returned Geng Yuehua’s clothes, but she shut the door on him before they could discuss their relationship. Later, Geng Yuehua came to his apartment after one in the morning to return his clothes, dressed in a striking red dress, and asked him to watch the news with her, leaving Dong Xuebin wondering what she meant.

• Dong Xuebin ironed Geng Yuehua’s borrowed clothes and returned them to her apartment, but she took the bag and shut the door without inviting him in.
• Dong Xuebin worried that Geng Yuehua wanted to pretend nothing had happened between them, then went to bed.
• A little after one in the morning, Geng Yuehua repeatedly rang Dong Xuebin’s doorbell until he opened the door.
• Geng Yuehua entered Dong Xuebin’s apartment and said she had come to return the clothes he had left at her place.
• Dong Xuebin turned on the light and saw Geng Yuehua wearing a bright red dress, then made tea for her.
• Geng Yuehua asked Dong Xuebin to watch the news with her, and he wondered whether she was hinting at something.

Dong Xuebin tried to determine whether Geng Yuehua wanted to be intimate with him, then told her he already had someone and expected to marry. Geng Yuehua stayed in his bedroom, let down her hair, and left his question about whether she was really going through with this unanswered.

• Dong Xuebin watched television with Geng Yuehua, who gave him terse replies and stayed late into the night.
• Dong Xuebin touched Geng Yuehua's thigh and leg while claiming he was checking her old injury, but she eventually pulled away.
• Dong Xuebin took a shower as a test, then mistakenly thought Geng Yuehua had left when he found the living room empty.
• Dong Xuebin discovered Geng Yuehua reading a newspaper in his small bedroom and told her he already had someone and expected to marry.
• Dong Xuebin got into bed and put his arms around Geng Yuehua, who set aside the newspaper and removed her hairpin.