Chapter Summaries

Dong Xuebin welcomed Luo Haiting as she joined Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office One as his deputy, and she thanked him for helping her escape a career crisis. They discussed the office’s personnel and Liu Hanqing’s influence before Luo Haiting playfully teased Dong Xuebin during their private conversation.

• Dong Xuebin returned to his office after the welcome banquet and struggled to remember the many municipal officials he had met.
• Luo Haiting visited Dong Xuebin, thanked him for helping secure her transfer and promotion, and resumed her role as his subordinate.
• Dong Xuebin asked Luo Haiting about Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office One, and she described Liu Hanqing’s control over its daily affairs and his wealthy background.
• Dong Xuebin praised Luo Haiting’s appearance, and she brought him water while secretly rubbing her foot against his leg.
• Luo Haiting thanked Dong Xuebin for treating her better than her husband did, leaving him flustered.

On his first official day, Dong Xuebin nearly arrived late after a badly parked car blocked the last space near his office. He learned that the car belonged to Liu Hanqing, the deputy director who had lost the Office One director position to him, and set out to meet the department.

• Dong Xuebin rushed from the First Guest House in his Porsche and arrived at the Municipal Party Committee Courtyard just before nine.
• Dong Xuebin found the Discipline Inspection Committee lot full because a black Crown took up part of the remaining space, so he parked elsewhere and hurried to his office late.
• Luo Haiting welcomed Dong Xuebin, prepared his office, and explained the lot's informal parking arrangements.
• Dong Xuebin learned that the Crown belonged to Liu Hanqing, whose mother was a former executive vice mayor and who had been a leading candidate for the director position.
• Dong Xuebin wondered whether Liu Hanqing had parked that way to intimidate him, then asked Luo Haiting to accompany him to Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office One.

Dong Xuebin took charge of Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office One and confronted Deputy Director Liu Hanqing’s dismissive conduct. Liu Hanqing’s careful defiance left Dong realizing the office had serious internal problems.

• Dong Xuebin and Luo Haiting heard Liu Hanqing reprimanding staff over an investigation into Deputy District Governor Zhang’s finances as they arrived at the office.
• Liu Hanqing introduced Dong to the staff but repeatedly interrupted him and directed the meeting, while Luo Haiting challenged his behavior.
• Dong let the staff introduce themselves, asked about their work, and then asked Liu to brief him on the office’s recent assignments.
• Liu said the office was investigating an anonymous corruption tip about a deputy district governor, but he initially withheld details of earlier office meetings.
• Dong told Liu he could make decisions without reporting to him if he preferred, and Liu offered to send the previous meeting documents later.

Dong Xuebin tried to understand Liu Hanqing’s defiance while settling into his new office, but Liu again parked his Crown across two spaces and ignored Dong’s repeated honking. Dong moved his Porsche elsewhere and decided to answer Liu’s provocations in his own way.

• Luo Haiting warned Dong Xuebin about Liu Hanqing, and Dong asked her to watch Liu while he familiarized himself with the office’s work.
• Ning Shaoyang delivered Liu Hanqing’s meeting documents hours late, while Zhu Zhu brought Dong Xuebin a cafeteria meal card.
• Dong Xuebin went to the Municipal Party Committee First Guest House for lunch and to retrieve belongings, then returned to find Liu Hanqing’s Crown parked across two spaces again.
• Dong Xuebin repeatedly honked, but Liu Hanqing did not come out to move his car, and staff from across the Discipline Inspection Committee watched.
• Dong Xuebin parked near the government office instead and decided to retaliate against Liu Hanqing’s provocations.

Dong Xuebin let Liu Hanqing believe he was too magnanimous to retaliate over the parking dispute, then began investigating Liu’s family and learned Liu might soon be transferred or promoted. The chapter left Dong Xuebin considering how to stop Liu from causing trouble before he left.

• Office One clerks praised Dong Xuebin as upright and magnanimous, while Luo Haiting knew his reputation did not match his real character.
• Dong Xuebin confronted Liu Hanqing about parking across two spaces, then acted as if he was willing to let it go.
• Dong Xuebin asked Luo Haiting to find Liu Hanqing’s father’s exact name and position at the municipal bank.
• Luo Haiting told Dong Xuebin that Liu Hanqing might soon be transferred or promoted, and Dong realized Liu was taking risks because he expected to leave.
• Dong Xuebin offered Luo Haiting the keys to his Porsche Panamera, and she offered to obtain him a Municipal Party Committee Pass.

Dong Xuebin tried to follow Xie Huilan’s advice and keep a low profile, but Liu Hanqing blocked the parking spaces again at the Discipline Inspection Committee. After a leader told him to park elsewhere, Dong rammed Liu’s Crown aside and parked his Porsche, leaving the onlookers stunned.

• Xie Huilan urged Dong Xuebin to stay calm and handle Liu Hanqing’s provocations with care, while assuring him their family was not afraid of anyone.
• Dong Xuebin arrived at the Municipal Party Committee Courtyard and found Liu Hanqing’s Crown taking up two parking spaces again.
• Liu Hanqing ignored Dong’s honking while speaking with his father, Liu Dong, who warned him not to cause trouble before his transfer order arrived.
• A Discipline Inspection Committee leader told Dong to stop honking and find another place to park.
• Dong Xuebin backed up, rammed Liu Hanqing’s Crown forward, and parked his Porsche in the space he had made.

Dong Xuebin rammed Liu Hanqing’s Crown after Liu’s car blocked two parking spaces, then used his ability to restore his own Porsche and left Liu’s car damaged. The public confrontation humiliated Liu and left the Discipline Inspection Committee staff reassessing their new director.

• Dong Xuebin rammed his car into Liu Hanqing’s Crown and secretly reversed the damage to his Porsche.
• Liu Hanqing rushed downstairs and confronted Dong Xuebin, who accused him of hogging two parking spaces and offered to pay for repairs.
• Liu Hanqing and the onlookers discovered that Dong Xuebin’s Porsche was undamaged while the Crown was battered.
• Dong Xuebin mocked Liu Hanqing’s parking and car before walking into the office building.
• Zhu Zhu, Fei Fan, and the other observers reconsidered their impression of Dong Xuebin.

Dong Xuebin was blamed by Xiao Bin for the parking-lot collision while Liu Hanqing escaped reprimand and expected his transfer to proceed. Furious, Dong Xuebin asked Qian Lihua to act against Liu Hanqing’s father, Liu Dong, and she agreed to bring out complaints against him.

• Xiao Bin summoned Dong Xuebin, criticized him for ramming Liu Hanqing’s car, and dismissed him without mentioning any punishment for Liu Hanqing.
• Dong Xuebin learned from Zhu Zhu that Liu Hanqing had stayed in his office, then grew angrier at the leaders’ apparent favoritism.
• Liu Hanqing told Liu Dong that Xiao Bin had called in Dong Xuebin, while Liu Dong revealed that his wife’s connections had helped protect their son and that Liu Hanqing’s transfer was expected that day.
• Dong Xuebin called Yu Meixia and asked to speak with her mother, Qian Lihua, about Liu Dong.
• Qian Lihua said she would bring out the complaint letters against Liu Dong that she had previously kept suppressed.

Dong Xuebin arranged for the Municipal Industrial and Commercial Bank to investigate Liu Hanqing’s father, Liu Dong, over alleged corruption and bribery. After evidence was found, Liu Hanqing’s transfer was revoked, leaving him furious and his colleagues shaken by Dong Xuebin’s methods.

• Dong Xuebin told Luo Haiting to assist the Municipal Industrial and Commercial Bank’s investigation and ordered Liu Hanqing to recuse himself because the case involved his father, Liu Dong.
• Luo Haiting and Zhu Zhu went to the bank, whose discipline inspection department took Liu Dong into custody and corroborated a tip-off and evidence of a 100,000-yuan bribe.
• News of Liu Dong’s detention spread through the Discipline Inspection Committee, and colleagues suspected Dong Xuebin had set the investigation in motion.
• Liu Hanqing learned that his transfer had been temporarily revoked and kicked over an office chair in rage.
• Zhu Zhu, Fei Fan, and other staff were stunned by how quickly Dong Xuebin had crushed Liu Hanqing’s prospects.

Dong Xuebin gave up the newly available Discipline Inspection Committee apartment so Luo Haiting could have it. The chapter ended with Luo Haiting cleaning his office while he struggled to keep his attention on his work.

• Dong Xuebin arrived at work and learned that Liu Hanqing had taken sick leave.
• Gao Wenrong offered Dong Xuebin the key to a two-bedroom apartment in the Discipline Inspection Committee Dormitory.
• Dong Xuebin refused the apartment and asked Gao Wenrong to assign it to Luo Haiting, who had a family and nowhere to live.
• Luo Haiting accepted the apartment key and thanked Dong Xuebin.
• Luo Haiting began cleaning Dong Xuebin’s office, and Dong Xuebin found himself distracted while she wiped his desk.

Dong Xuebin consolidated his control over Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office One and reassigned Ning Shaoyang’s bank audit duties to Zhu Zhu. His mandatory asset disclosure triggered a citywide uproar, but investigators confirmed that his fortune came from legal lottery winnings.

• Dong Xuebin inspected Office One, where staffers respectfully greeted him after Liu Hanqing’s removal.
• Luo Haiting reassigned Ning Shaoyang’s bank audit work to Zhu Zhu, and Dong Xuebin approved the change.
• Gao Wenrong gave Dong Xuebin asset disclosure forms, and Dong listed his villa, Porsche, and roughly ninety million RMB in savings.
• Gao Wenrong was shocked by Dong Xuebin’s declared assets, which exceeded one hundred million RMB, and warned that the disclosure would be investigated and publicized.
• The disclosure caused a major stir among city officials, but the investigation found that Dong Xuebin’s assets came from lottery winnings transferred by the lottery centers.

After his assets were investigated, Dong Xuebin learned that the Discipline Inspection Committee would not publicly disclose the results. He helped Luo Haiting move into the committee dormitory, where Zhu Zhu joined them and revealed her connection to Director Liang Xuan.

• Wang Youfu told Dong Xuebin that investigators had found no problems with his assets, but officials would not publish the results.
• Dong Xuebin offered Luo Haiting a ride and warned her to be careful about accepting gifts in her new Discipline Inspection Committee role.
• Dong Xuebin helped Luo Haiting pack her belongings, including a box of clothes and personal items.
• Zhu Zhu met Dong Xuebin and Luo Haiting outside the guest house and helped load their luggage into the car.
• Luo Haiting told Dong Xuebin that Zhu Zhu was related to First Office Director Liang Xuan.

Dong Xuebin helped Luo Haiting move into her new apartment, where she cooked him dinner and repeatedly left him flustered with suggestive behavior. The chapter ended with him steadying her on a chair and seeing beneath her skirt.

• Dong Xuebin helped Luo Haiting carry her belongings into her new apartment and met Liang Xuan, who asked him about Zhu Zhu.
• Luo Haiting invited Dong Xuebin to dinner, and he praised the meal she cooked for him.
• Luo Haiting changed into a revealing dress and left the bathroom door open while using it, embarrassing Dong Xuebin.
• Luo Haiting asked Dong Xuebin to pass her a box while she stood on a chair, then lost her balance and was steadied by him.
• Dong Xuebin looked up and saw beneath Luo Haiting's skirt as he held her.

Dong Xuebin led his office in a voluntary blood donation event, where he learned that he had rare B-type Rh-negative blood. He then recognized Xie Huilan arriving at the city government as the newly appointed deputy mayor, learning that she had come to Fenzhou to take up her post.

• Dong Xuebin encouraged his staff to donate blood after the earthquake and organized seven donors from his office, including himself and Luo Haiting.
• A doctor told Dong Xuebin that his blood type was B-type Rh-negative, a rare type known as Panda Blood.
• Dong Xuebin donated blood, then had Fei Fan help the pale and nauseous Luo Haiting upstairs.
• People nearby discussed the newly appointed, exceptionally promoted deputy mayor and her luxury Range Rover as she entered the city government's Office Building.
• Dong Xuebin recognized Xie Huilan and realized she had come to Fenzhou City to take up her post without telling him.

Dong Xuebin celebrated Xie Huilan’s appointment as deputy mayor and wore his extraordinarily valuable pink diamond wedding ring to work, surprising his colleagues with his wealth. The chapter ended when Xie Huilan arrived to take him to their new apartment, revealing to the Discipline Inspection Committee staff that she was his wife.

• Dong Xuebin called Xie Huilan after learning she had arrived in Fenzhou, and she told him they would talk after her appointment ceremony.
• Dong Xuebin collected his belongings from the First Municipal Party Committee Guest House and put on his pink diamond wedding ring.
• Liang Xuan and Gao Wenrong recognized the ring’s immense value, and Dong Xuebin said it was a gift from his family.
• Dong Xuebin told Gao Wenrong and Liang Xuan that his wife had already moved to Fenzhou, while colleagues spent the afternoon discussing Xie Huilan’s arrival as deputy mayor.
• After work, Xie Huilan collected Dong Xuebin outside the Discipline Inspection Committee and said she had the apartment keys.
• Dong Xuebin introduced Xie Huilan to his colleagues as his wife, leaving them stunned.

Dong Xuebin revealed to the Discipline Inspection Commission that Mayor Xie Huilan was his wife, astonishing his colleagues. The couple left together to buy ingredients for hot pot, while Dong Xuebin enjoyed the attention their marriage drew.

• Dong Xuebin introduced Xie Huilan as his wife outside the Discipline Inspection Commission, shocking the officials and staff who watched.
• Dong Xuebin loaded his luggage into Xie Huilan’s Land Rover as they chatted about making hot pot at home.
• Gao Wenrong and Liang Xuan realized that Xie Huilan’s arrival and the couple’s matching Capital license plates explained their connection.
• Luo Haiting greeted Xie Huilan, apologized for missing her post during the earthquake, and congratulated the couple on their marriage.
• Xie Huilan drove Dong Xuebin away from the Municipal Party Committee Courtyard, and he told her he felt proud of the impression she had made.

Dong Xuebin and Xie Huilan celebrated moving into their new home and her first day in office with a hot-pot dinner and wine. After teasing him throughout the evening, Xie Huilan joined Dong Xuebin in bed, where they began making love.

• Dong Xuebin finished setting up the apartment and preparing dinner while Xie Huilan watched the news, then she helped serve him at the table.
• Dong Xuebin poured wine to celebrate their move and Xie Huilan taking office, and they shared hot pot together.
• Xie Huilan undressed while they ate, and Dong Xuebin recalled that they had only made love once since their wedding.
• After dinner, Xie Huilan showered and teased Dong Xuebin before asking him to carry her to bed.
• Dong Xuebin carried Xie Huilan to bed, and they began making love under her stated boundaries.

Dong Xuebin learned that Luan Xiaoping and Uncle Yang had quietly registered their marriage and offered to arrange a lavish wedding, but Luan Xiaoping insisted on keeping things simple. Back in bed with Xie Huilan, he teased her about their relationship before they settled down together.

• Luan Xiaoping called Dong Xuebin and told him she and Uncle Yang had obtained their Marriage Certificate the day before.
• Dong Xuebin offered to arrange a grand wedding, but Luan Xiaoping explained that they wanted a simple marriage and declined.
• Dong Xuebin joked to Luan Xiaoping that Xie Huilan would not dare challenge him, and Xie Huilan revealed she had overheard him.
• Dong Xuebin appeased Xie Huilan by fetching her warm water and promising he would not scold her.
• Dong Xuebin and Xie Huilan discussed why Luan Xiaoping and Uncle Yang were avoiding a public wedding, then cuddled and traded affectionate jokes.

Dong Xuebin and Xie Huilan settled into married life at their new home before receiving a visit from Fenzhou City Education Bureau Director Liao Yimin. As Liao discussed his bureau’s work with Xie, she offered him some of her prized Big Red Robe tea to take home.

• Dong Xuebin and Xie Huilan spent the morning at home, and Xie went out to buy soy milk and fried dough sticks for breakfast.
• After breakfast, Xie received a call from Director Liao Yimin, who said he was downstairs to visit her.
• Dong tidied the apartment and greeted Liao at the door before introducing him to Xie.
• Liao brought modest gifts and discussed the Education Bureau’s work with Xie, who had recently been assigned responsibility for education, culture, and healthcare.
• Xie offered Liao an ounce of her Big Red Robe tea, and he protested that it was too valuable to accept.

Dong Xuebin received his first major assignment from the Discipline Inspection Committee: quietly investigate allegations that Geng Yuehua had an undeclared two-million-yuan bank account. He was furious and troubled by the assignment because he believed Geng Yuehua was innocent and had a personal connection to her.

• Liao Yimin visited Xie Huilan and Dong Xuebin, accepted a gift of Big Red Robe tea, and left.
• Dong Xuebin received an urgent call and went to a Discipline Inspection Committee meeting, leaving Xie Huilan at home.
• He Suien told the officials that an anonymous report alleged Geng Yuehua had an undeclared account containing two million yuan, and that a preliminary check had confirmed the account existed.
• Dong Xuebin and Liang Xuan questioned the report's credibility, while the officials agreed that the allegations had to be investigated.
• He Suien assigned Dong Xuebin to investigate a Nanshan District deputy district governor publicly while discreetly checking whether the allegations against Geng Yuehua were true.