Chapter Summaries

Dong Xuebin accompanied Zhan Rourou to the hospital, where Professor Ci confirmed her leg might be treated but delayed surgery until the day after tomorrow. His unexpected meetings with prominent officials revealed to the Zhan family that he had powerful connections, leaving them astonished by his hidden background.

• Professor Ci examined Zhan Rourou's scans and said surgery had a chance of success, but the earliest opening was the night after tomorrow.
• Dong Xuebin ran into Old Master Wu, whom he had met at Hui Lan's wedding, and escorted him back to his room.
• Vice Minister Zhang and Secretary Chen greeted Dong Xuebin, congratulated him on Hui Lan's pregnancy, and Secretary Chen jokingly proposed a future match between their grandchildren.
• The Zhan family watched Dong Xuebin speak with the senior officials and wondered how someone they thought unconnected could know so many powerful people.

Dong Xuebin arranged Zhan Rourou’s surgery for the next morning and introduced Xie Huilan to the Zhan family. After the couple left, Zhan Guiping and his wife wondered whether Xie Huilan was the powerful Xie they suspected.

• Dong Xuebin persuaded Professor Ci to schedule Zhan Rourou’s surgery for the next morning and helped the family complete her examinations.
• Mrs. Zhan apologized to Dong Xuebin, and Zhan Guiping thanked him for helping their daughter.
• Xie Huilan arrived, met Zhan Guiping and his family, and offered to help them during Zhan Rourou’s recovery.
• Dong Xuebin and Xie Huilan left, and Zhan Guiping told his family that the people who had spoken with Dong Xuebin included powerful officials.
• Mrs. Zhan suspected that Xie Huilan might be the Capital City Municipal Party Committee Leader surnamed Xie, but Zhan Guiping stopped her from speculating.

Dong Xuebin and Xie Huilan told Xie Guobang and Han Jing that Hui Lan was pregnant, and the family celebrated the news. Their relatives gathered at the villa, where Xie Hao and Xie Jing eagerly fussed over Hui Lan and her unborn child.

• Dong Xuebin and Xie Huilan visited Xie Guobang and Han Jing and shared Hui Lan's pregnancy test reports.
• Xie Guobang and Han Jing delightedly congratulated the couple, and Han Jing called relatives to spread the news.
• Xie Guobang planned to celebrate with Moutai while Xie Huilan told Old Master Xie about the pregnancy by phone.
• Xie Hao arrived and eagerly touched Hui Lan's stomach, joking that he would take his nephew out to play.
• Xie Jing, Xie Ran, and other younger relatives arrived and joined the family's cheerful celebration.

Dong Xuebin cared for pregnant Xie Huilan before she left on a weeklong business trip, then visited Qu Yunxuan, who had knitted him a sweater. Qu Yunxuan told him that Xie Huilan and Sister Luan had agreed to be more open about their relationship, and Dong Xuebin ended the evening touched by her care.

• Dong Xuebin prepared breakfast and packed Xie Huilan's luggage after learning her work trip had been moved up to that day.
• Xie Huilan left with several city leaders to catch her flight, and Dong Xuebin went to work.
• Qu Yunxuan told Dong Xuebin that his mother had taken Xiao Qianqian to a neighboring city and that Sister Luan would stay with her for a while.
• Qu Yunxuan said she had discussed being open about her closeness with Dong Xuebin with Xie Huilan and Sister Luan, who would help smooth things over if needed.
• Qu Yunxuan gave Dong Xuebin a sweater she had knitted for him, and he thanked her for looking after him over the years.

Dong Xuebin waited for Qu Yunxuan while she went to dinner with Wan Sichao to seek his help transferring to an anchoring job. Mother Qu called to say Qu Yunxuan had jumped from the fourth floor of Liuyang Restaurant and might not survive.

• Qu Yunxuan told Dong Xuebin she planned to ask Wan Sichao for help moving from logistics to anchoring at the Television Station.
• Wan Sichao arrived at the Qu residence and drove Qu Yunxuan to Liuyang Restaurant, touching her back as she got into his car.
• Dong Xuebin waited for Qu Yunxuan, grew worried when she did not answer his call, and drove toward the restaurant.
• Mother Qu called Dong Xuebin and said the Public Security Bureau had reported that Qu Yunxuan jumped from Liuyang Restaurant's fourth floor and might not make it.

Dong Xuebin rushed to the hospital after learning that Qu Yunxuan had jumped from a building and forced his way into her emergency treatment. After doctors stabilized her, they warned that the next twenty-four hours were critical, leaving him to wait beside her in intensive care.

• Dong Xuebin learned from Mother Qu that Qu Yunxuan had jumped from a building and raced to the scene.
• Dong Xuebin found blood at the restaurant, learned that Qu Yunxuan had been taken to the City Emergency Center, and drove there.
• Dong Xuebin kicked open the operating-room door and saw doctors treating Qu Yunxuan's severe injuries.
• The doctors stopped Qu Yunxuan's bleeding but said her survival depended on her condition over the next twenty-four hours.
• Dong Xuebin followed Qu Yunxuan into a private intensive care room and stayed beside her.

Dong Xuebin secretly healed Qu Yunxuan’s internal injuries as her parents arrived at the hospital, and she soon woke and revealed that Wan Sichao had assaulted her before she jumped from a restaurant window. Dong Xuebin promised to leave matters to the police, but his fury made clear he intended to retaliate against Wan Sichao himself.

• Dong Xuebin used Reverse to heal Qu Yunxuan’s internal injuries, but stopped when Father Qu and Mother Qu rushed into the ward.
• Mother Qu slapped Dong Xuebin and blamed him for failing to protect Qu Yunxuan, while Father Qu urged her to wait for news.
• Qu Yunxuan stirred and mentioned Wan Sichao, then woke fully and identified him as the man involved.
• Qu Yunxuan recounted how Wan Sichao blocked her in a private room, tore at her clothes, struck and kicked her, and drove her to jump from the window to escape.
• Dong Xuebin told Qu Yunxuan to rest and repeat her account to the police, but privately vowed to make Wan Sichao pay.

After Qu Yunxuan nearly died escaping Wan Sichao’s attempted rape, Dong Xuebin vowed to make him pay and began looking into his record. He obtained years of complaint letters about Wan Sichao, despite warnings that the case was politically sensitive.

• Dong Xuebin told Xie Huilan that Qu Yunxuan was out of immediate danger and that Wan Sichao had tried to rape her; Xie Huilan urged him to wait until she returned before taking further action.
• Dong Xuebin visited Qu Yunxuan in the hospital, reassured her parents that he would seek justice, and then went to work.
• At the Discipline Inspection Commission, Dong Xuebin asked Director Liang Xuan whether the Letters and Visits Office held complaints about Wan Sichao.
• Dong Xuebin explained that Qu Yunxuan was his cousin, and Liang Xuan had a staff member bring over seven or eight complaint letters.
• Liang Xuan warned Dong Xuebin that Wan Sichao’s ties to a municipal leader made the matter sensitive, but Dong Xuebin left with the letters determined to pursue him.

Dong Xuebin reviewed multiple reports accusing Wan Sichao of rape and molestation, then contacted Criminal Investigation Brigade Captain Li Taibo to ask why the cases had not been pursued. Li Taibo dismissed the allegations with explanations about relationships and insufficient evidence, leaving Dong Xuebin convinced the police had protected Wan Sichao.

• Dong Xuebin read several reports accusing Wan Sichao of rape, drugging women, and molestation, including a detailed real-name complaint from a clerk surnamed Liu.
• Dong Xuebin suspected the victims had turned to the Discipline Inspection Committee because the Municipal Public Security Bureau had failed to act on their complaints.
• Dong Xuebin called Li Taibo and offered to transfer the reports to the Public Security Department, but Li Taibo said his investigators were busy.
• Dong Xuebin asked Li Taibo about the reported assaults on the clerk surnamed Liu and Teacher Feng, and Li Taibo claimed the allegations had been disproved or lacked evidence.
• Dong Xuebin described the remaining reports, but Li Taibo dismissed them as relationship disputes or unsupported accusations, angering Dong Xuebin.

Dong Xuebin tried to get the Discipline Inspection Committee to investigate Wan Sichao, but Xiao Bin refused, and the police then declared Qu Yunxuan’s fall unrelated to Wan Sichao. After discovering Liuyang Restaurant had reopened, Dong Xuebin confronted the officers and owner over their account and recorded their names, determined to hold everyone involved accountable.

• Xiao Bin rejected Dong Xuebin’s request to investigate Wan Sichao, insisting that Office One follow procedure and wait for the police investigation.
• Dong Xuebin noticed Liuyang Restaurant had reopened and heard owner Xu Dabing claim Qu Yunxuan had been drunk when she jumped.
• Captain Li Taibo told Dong Xuebin that the police had found insufficient evidence against Wan Sichao and were treating Qu Yunxuan’s fall as voluntary.
• Dong Xuebin challenged Li Taibo’s conclusion and accused Xu Dabing of giving false testimony, but both stood by their account.
• Dong Xuebin wrote down the names Wan Sichao, Li Taibo, and Xu Dabing, vowing not to let anyone involved escape responsibility.

Dong Xuebin learned that the Criminal Investigation Brigade had used fabricated evidence to clear Wan Sichao, who then visited Qu Yunxuan's hospital room to taunt her family. Dong Xuebin promised to find another way to bring Wan Sichao and everyone protecting him to account.

• Dong Xuebin told Qu Yunxuan's parents that officials had arranged false testimony and evidence to blame her for her fall and likely close the case.
• Wan Sichao entered the hospital room with flowers, claimed Qu Yunxuan had fallen while drunk, and said he had paid her medical bills.
• After Wan Sichao left, Qu Yunxuan revealed she had heard the exchange, and Mother Qu demanded that Dong Xuebin punish him.
• Dong Xuebin vowed to handle the case himself and make the people protecting Wan Sichao answer for what they had done.

Dong Xuebin decided to retaliate against Wan Sichao and the men who helped him escape responsibility for Qu Yunxuan’s case. He arranged a lunch meeting at Liuyang Restaurant with Wan Sichao, Li Taibo, and Xu Dabing, setting his plan in motion.

• Dong Xuebin told Xie Huilan he would handle the matter himself and refused to wait for her return.
• At the Discipline Inspection Committee, Dong Xuebin heard colleagues discuss the closed case and the suspicions surrounding Wan Sichao’s alibi.
• Dong Xuebin asked Luo Haiting to invite Li Taibo and Xu Dabing to lunch at Liuyang Restaurant.
• Dong Xuebin called Wan Sichao and arranged to meet him at the restaurant at noon.
• Luo Haiting confirmed that Li Taibo and Xu Dabing would attend, and Dong Xuebin reviewed his plan.

Dong Xuebin met Wan Sichao at Liuyang Restaurant to confront him about the evidence in Qu Yunxuan’s case. The two headed to the room where Qu Yunxuan had fallen, while Captain Li Taibo grew suspicious and summoned colleagues to the restaurant.

• Dong Xuebin bought an inconspicuous bicycle and rode to Liuyang Restaurant at noon.
• Wan Sichao told Xu Dabing that he had arranged for district departments to eat at the restaurant and asked him to prepare a private room for his meal with Dong Xuebin.
• Dong Xuebin gave Xu Dabing one last chance to admit whether he had really seen Wan Sichao buy alcohol before Qu Yunxuan fell, but Xu Dabing repeated his testimony that Qu Yunxuan had been drunk.
• Dong Xuebin asked for Room 18, where Qu Yunxuan had met with her accident, and Wan Sichao agreed to go there with him.
• Luo Haiting and Captain Li Taibo saw Dong Xuebin and Wan Sichao together, and Captain Li called several colleagues to come to the restaurant.

Dong Xuebin confronted Wan Sichao at Liuyang Restaurant while arranging for Li Taibo and Xu Dabing to be drawn away. After Wan Sichao boasted that he would pursue Yun Xuan, Dong Xuebin prepared to act before his Discipline Inspection Committee meeting.

• Dong Xuebin met Wan Sichao in the room where Yun Xuan had been attacked and noticed that Xu Dabing had given false testimony for Wan Sichao.
• Li Taibo brought criminal police officers to a nearby room to watch Dong Xuebin and protect Wan Sichao, prompting Dong Xuebin to circle Li Taibo and Xu Dabing’s names in his notebook.
• Dong Xuebin learned that his Discipline Inspection Committee meeting had been moved to 12:40 and locked the private-room door while he and Wan Sichao ate.
• Wan Sichao denied harming Yun Xuan and boasted that he would keep pursuing her, while Dong Xuebin warned that he would show Wan Sichao who he was.
• Luo Haiting lured Li Taibo and Xu Dabing into drinking and left for the restroom, giving Dong Xuebin the opening he had been waiting for.

Dong Xuebin used Stop to frame Li Taibo and Xu Dabing for Wan Sichao’s death, then set Wan Sichao up to fall from the restaurant window. With Stop nearly expired, he raced to the Municipal Party Committee Courtyard and entered the Discipline Inspection Commission building just as time resumed.

• Dong Xuebin dragged the frozen Wan Sichao into Li Taibo and Xu Dabing’s room and planted their fingerprints and traces on him.
• Dong Xuebin kicked Wan Sichao through the fourth-floor window and struck his back, making his fall more deadly when time resumed.
• Dong Xuebin left the restaurant and rode a bicycle toward the Municipal Party Committee Courtyard because vehicles could not move during Stop.
• Dong Xuebin reached the Discipline Inspection Commission Office Building and ran toward the Conference Room as Stop expired.

Dong Xuebin used Stop to leave Liuyang Restaurant and attend a Discipline Inspection Committee meeting, while Wan Sichao remained unaware of what had happened around him. Wan Sichao fell from a fourth-floor window and died, leaving Li Taibo, Xu Dabing, and the Criminal Investigation Brigade to secure the scene.

• Dong Xuebin appeared in the Discipline Inspection Committee building and joined Secretary He Suien and the others for their meeting.
• After Stop ended, Wan Sichao resumed talking with Dong Xuebin and privately thought about pursuing Qu Yunxuan and Xie Huilan.
• Wan Sichao suddenly flew out of the restaurant window and struck the concrete below, dying immediately.
• Li Taibo and Xu Dabing rushed into Wan Sichao's private room, found the broken window, and saw his body below.
• Luo Haiting left the restroom after hearing the commotion, and Li Taibo ordered the Criminal Investigation Brigade to protect and seal off the scene.

After Wan Sichao was found dead, Li Taibo accused Dong Xuebin of murder and sought to have him arrested. Dong Xuebin established that he had been at a Discipline Inspection Committee meeting at the time, then gave Li Taibo the same liquor-buying alibi Li Taibo had once used to protect Wan Sichao.

• Li Taibo found Wan Sichao dead at Liuyang Restaurant and told Cao Hai he suspected Dong Xuebin, prompting a search for Dong.
• Li Taibo called He Suien to request Dong Xuebin’s information and family addresses, but He pointed out that Dong had been in a meeting at the time of the murder.
• He Suien refused to let the police arrest Dong without proper evidence or paperwork, and the meeting was adjourned when police arrived to question him.
• Dong told Li Taibo he had left the restaurant before the murder and returned to the Discipline Inspection Committee for a meeting.
• Dong claimed he had gone out to buy XO liquor, repeating the excuse Wan Sichao had used in the earlier investigation and angering Li Taibo.

Li Taibo investigated Dong Xuebin for Wan Sichao’s murder, but witnesses at the Discipline Inspection Committee and the restaurant undermined his suspicions. Unable to find evidence, Li Taibo pressured Xu Dabing into changing his account to support a theory that Dong Xuebin had used a double.

• Dong Xuebin denied killing Wan Sichao and warned Li Taibo not to treat him as guilty without evidence.
• Li Taibo received orders from a Public Security Bureau leader to find the murderer and punish them severely.
• Liang Xuan told Li Taibo that Dong Xuebin had returned to the Discipline Inspection Committee at twelve forty and rejected his attempt to inspect complaint letters.
• Discipline Inspection Committee staff told Li Taibo that Dong Xuebin had been at the meeting and remained there during the murder.
• Xu Dabing told Li Taibo that no one had seen Dong Xuebin leave the restaurant, while witnesses had accounted for Luo Haiting.
• Li Taibo insisted Xu Dabing had seen Dong Xuebin at twelve thirty-eight, and Xu Dabing agreed to change his statement.

As the investigation into Wan Sichao's death focused on Dong Xuebin, Li Taibo and Xu Dabing testified against him. Fingerprints and DNA evidence instead implicated Li Taibo and Xu Dabing, who were arrested as Dong Xuebin hinted that he had outmaneuvered them.

• Dong Xuebin ignored the uproar over Wan Sichao's death and went to the Public Security Bureau to cooperate with the investigation.
• Li Taibo brought Xu Dabing to the bureau, where Xu testified that he had seen Dong Xuebin with Wan Sichao around the time of the murder.
• Li Taibo argued that Xu's testimony undermined Dong Xuebin's alibi and waited for the fingerprint comparison results.
• The report showed Li Taibo's and Xu Dabing's fingerprints on Wan Sichao's clothes, and a second comparison confirmed the match.
• Investigators found Wan Sichao's DNA beneath Li Taibo's and Xu Dabing's fingernails, and Cao Hai ordered both men taken away.
• Dong Xuebin passed the arrested men, and Li Taibo shouted at him before realizing Dong Xuebin had likely framed them.

After fingerprints and DNA linked Li Taibo and Xu Dabing to Wan Sichao’s death, both accused Dong Xuebin of planting evidence, while Dong urged investigators to examine their past handling of rape cases. Witness testimony revealed that Li Taibo and Xu Dabing were alone during an unexplained gap around the time of the crime, strengthening the case against them.

• Investigators questioned Li Taibo and Xu Dabing separately, and both denied killing Wan Sichao and blamed Dong Xuebin for framing them.
• Dong Xuebin rejected their accusations and urged the officers to investigate Li Taibo and Xu Dabing’s connections to Wan Sichao and earlier rape cases, including Qu Yunxuan’s.
• Luo Haiting testified that she had gone to the restroom before the crime and heard the commotion about two minutes later.
• A waitress confirmed that Luo Haiting had gone to the restroom, and Criminal Investigation Brigade members said they found only Li Taibo and Xu Dabing in Room 18 when they arrived.
• Officials reviewing the testimony concluded that Li Taibo and Xu Dabing had been unaccounted for during a two- or three-minute window around the crime.