Chapter Summaries

Dong Xuebin’s inspection team uncovered misconduct at the County Tourism Bureau involving Deputy Director Liu Haibin, the son of Military District commander Liu Guowei. After Dong ordered the findings reported, Liu Guowei called and told him to handle the matter as he saw fit, leaving Dong suspecting the call was meant to pressure him.

• Deputy County Chief Zhang urged Liu Haibin to be careful after the inspection team left, but Liu showed no remorse.
• Liao Huaxiong told Dong Xuebin that Liu Haibin was likely the son of commander Liu Guowei, and Dong ordered the Tourism Bureau’s problems recorded and reported to the Supervisory Bureau.
• Zhu Zhu reported that a Tourism Bureau employee’s wife had come out of Liu Haibin’s office, and Dong ordered the team to report the matter and investigate other departments.
• Liu Guowei called Dong Xuebin and said he should handle his son’s trouble as he saw fit, but Dong suspected the call was an attempt to pressure him.

Dong Xuebin vented to Xu Yan about being unable to investigate a powerful official’s son, while Xu Yan shared her distress over her son’s conflict with his stepmother and her attempt to regain custody. They drank together in a secluded car, and Xu Yan continued drinking as she became intoxicated.

• Dong Xuebin brooded over the resistance to investigating Liu Haibin and resolved to keep doing what he believed was right despite his low rank.
• Xu Yan called Dong Xuebin and asked him to meet for a drink because she was in a bad mood.
• Xu Yan picked Dong Xuebin up, drove into a secluded forest, and listened as he described the obstacles to investigating a Municipal Party Secretary’s son.
• Xu Yan told Dong Xuebin that her son had fought with his stepmother and that her ex-husband refused to give her custody.
• Xu Yan and Dong Xuebin drank Wuliangye together, and Xu Yan continued drinking as she became visibly intoxicated.

Xu Yan and Dong Xuebin drank together late at night as she confided in him about her family and her son Chao Chao’s plans to visit. After Xu Yan threw up, she removed her stained shirt and sat in her bra beside Dong Xuebin, leaving him flustered.

• Xu Yan and Dong Xuebin continued drinking in the car, and she refused to go home or to a hotel.
• Xu Yan answered Chao Chao’s call, learned he and classmates would visit Fenzhou City the next day, then informed her ex-husband.
• Xu Yan told Dong Xuebin that her son had been surprised by her youthful appearance and that she had no plans to remarry for his sake.
• Xu Yan and Dong Xuebin finished the bottle and waited for the alcohol to wear off rather than risk driving.
• Xu Yan got out of the car to throw up, and Dong Xuebin helped her clean up and offered her water.
• Xu Yan removed her stained shirt, leaving only her bra on, while Dong Xuebin became increasingly flustered.

After drinking together, Xu Yan teased Dong Xuebin about his attraction to her and then climbed onto his lap in the car. The chapter ended with Dong Xuebin protesting as Xu Yan urged him to indulge her.

• Xu Yan held Dong Xuebin's hand and rested her hand on his thigh while asking about his marriage and whether he found her attractive.
• Xu Yan asked Dong Xuebin if he was interested in her body, and he admitted that he was.
• Xu Yan suggested they stay in the car since they had both been drinking, then asked Dong Xuebin to check whether anyone was nearby.
• Dong Xuebin returned and reported that the area was empty.
• Xu Yan straddled Dong Xuebin, kissed his face and neck, and told him he could do whatever he wanted to her, while he protested.

After Xu Yan became drunk in the car, she initiated an intimate encounter with Dong Xuebin, who eventually gave in despite worrying about their former leader-subordinate relationship. They fell asleep together afterward, leaving Dong Xuebin anxious about what Xu Yan would think the next day.

• Xu Yan drunkenly kissed Dong Xuebin and urged him to respond.
• Dong Xuebin hesitated because he respected Xu Yan and feared she would regret it when sober, but he eventually embraced her and kissed her back.
• Xu Yan continued to seduce Dong Xuebin, and he asked whether she was sure she wanted to proceed.
• Xu Yan assured him and initiated sex with him in the car.
• Afterward, Xu Yan rested on the backseat, and Dong Xuebin held her as they fell asleep together.
• Dong Xuebin remained uneasy about what would happen when Xu Yan woke up.

Dong Xuebin woke beside Xu Yan after they spent the night together while drunk, and worried about the consequences. Xu Yan remembered what happened, took responsibility for her drunken actions, and asked him to keep it secret as they headed to the county seat.

• Dong Xuebin woke in the car beside a naked Xu Yan and remembered their night together.
• Liao Huaxiong called Dong Xuebin about the inspection task, and Dong Xuebin told him to investigate Ma Yang County in groups without notifying the local government.
• Xu Yan woke, confirmed that they had slept together, and dressed with Dong Xuebin before asking him to drive to the county seat.
• Xu Yan told Dong Xuebin she blamed herself for losing restraint and asked him to keep what happened between them secret.
• Dong Xuebin agreed to stay silent, and he and Xu Yan set off to get breakfast.

After a drunken night together, Dong Xuebin and Xu Yan tried to put the incident behind them, but Xu Yan stopped to take emergency contraception. They continued toward Dong Xuebin’s hotel, where Xu Yan planned to shower and wash her clothes.

• Dong Xuebin fussed over Xu Yan at breakfast, and she reassured him that she did not blame him for what happened.
• Xu Yan drove Dong Xuebin toward his hotel and asked whether he had finished inside her the previous night.
• Xu Yan pulled over, and Dong Xuebin bought emergency contraceptive pills and mineral water for her.
• Xu Yan took the pills and explained that she trusted Dong Xuebin not to exploit or expose what happened between them.
• Xu Yan asked to use Dong Xuebin’s hotel room to shower and wash her clothes, and he agreed.

After spending the morning with Xu Yan, Dong Xuebin learned that Xu Yan’s son Chao Chao and his classmates had beaten Liu Haibin, the military commander’s son, after a near-accident at the foot of a mountain. Soldiers pursued and seized the students despite Xu Yan’s intervention, leaving Xu Yan and Dong Xuebin furious and the students’ fate uncertain.

• Dong Xuebin bought Xu Yan replacement clothes, and the two washed up at the hotel before preparing to leave.
• Xu Yan received a frantic call from Chao Chao, who said he and his classmates had beaten a careless driver and fled when soldiers arrived and chased them.
• Xu Yan called Political Commissar Liu, who learned that the injured driver was Commander Liu Guowei’s son, Liu Haibin, and promised to investigate.
• Soldiers caught Chao Chao and his classmates while Xu Yan was on the phone, and the call ended as they shouted for help.
• Xu Yan and Dong Xuebin grew angry over the soldiers’ actions and suspected Liu Haibin’s influence was behind the pursuit.

After Xu Yan’s son Chao Chao was seized by soldiers following a fight with Liu Haibin, Xu Yan and Dong Xuebin tried to secure his release. Liu Guowei refused to help, and Dong Xuebin decided they could not wait until the next day to get the students back.

• Xu Yan called Political Commissar Liu and Commander Liu Guowei, but neither helped her find Chao Chao or secure his release.
• Dong Xuebin asked Du Juan about Liu Haibin’s injuries and learned that Liu Haibin had minor fractures but was not in danger.
• Dong Xuebin asked Xie Huilan to intervene, but Liu Guowei denied knowing about the military’s seizure of the students and ignored her request.
• Xie Huilan told Dong Xuebin that Liu Guowei was likely holding the students to scare them and expected them to be released by the next day.
• Dong Xuebin resolved to get Chao Chao and the other students out that day rather than leave them in the military district overnight.

Dong Xuebin rushed to the Military District after learning that Xu Yan’s effort to free her son had led to a confrontation. At the sentry post, he challenged armed soldiers to shoot him, leaving the standoff unresolved.

• Du Juan told Dong Xuebin that Xu Yan had visited Liu Haibin in the hospital and then gone to the Military District, where a conflict had reportedly broken out.
• Dong Xuebin drove to the Military District, worried that Xu Yan might be in danger.
• Dong Xuebin found Xu Yan arguing with two armed sentries who refused to let her enter and threatened to open fire.
• Dong Xuebin kicked down the barrier, crossed into the restricted area, and dared the sentries to shoot him.
• Dong Xuebin pressed one sentry’s gun barrel against his forehead, but neither sentry fired.

Xu Yan and Dong Xuebin confronted the military district after Xu Yan’s son was detained, but Political Commissar Liu refused to release the children or let Xu Yan see them. Xu Yan ignored the soldiers blocking her and found her son calling for help from a nearby building.

• Dong Xuebin challenged two sentries who pointed their guns at him, and Xu Yan disarmed one and threw both sentries down.
• An officer let Xu Yan enter the military district headquarters after checking her work ID, and Dong Xuebin accompanied her.
• Political Commissar Liu said Xu Yan’s son and several other children were being questioned for trespassing in a military forbidden zone and refused to release them.
• Xu Yan argued that the soldiers had chased her son there, offered to apologize and compensate Liu Haibin, and demanded to see her son.
• Xu Yan and Dong Xuebin left the command room, and Xu Yan called for Chao Chao until he shouted back from a nearby building for her to save them.

Xu Yan and Dong Xuebin found Chao Chao and his classmates injured and frightened inside a dark room in the military district. Political Commissar Liu blocked their attempt to leave, and Dong Xuebin prepared to force a way out while promising to use restraint.

• Xu Yan rushed into the dark room and reunited with Chao Chao, who said soldiers had beaten him and his classmates.
• Xu Yan demanded an explanation from Political Commissar Liu, but he claimed the children had trespassed and refused to let them leave without Commander Liu's orders.
• Soldiers surrounded Xu Yan, Dong Xuebin, Chao Chao, and the other children, and two soldiers aimed their rifles at Dong Xuebin.
• Dong Xuebin taunted the soldiers and told Xu Yan that even forty men would be no challenge for him.
• Xu Yan asked Dong Xuebin to get them out without seriously hurting anyone, and he agreed to use one hand and control his strength.

Dong Xuebin confronted the soldiers blocking Xu Yan and the children, threatening to fight through them after they refused to let the group leave. When Political Commissar Liu learned Dong Xuebin’s identity, he called the soldiers back, leaving the standoff unresolved.

• Xu Yan moved Chao Chao and the other children out of the way while Dong Xuebin confronted the soldiers and demanded that they let the group pass.
• Political Commissar Liu refused to back down, and Dong Xuebin taunted him until soldiers began approaching.
• Xu Yan urged Dong Xuebin to show mercy, and he said he would take them on with one hand.
• Political Commissar Liu recognized Dong Xuebin and ordered the soldiers to retreat.
• The soldiers recalled Dong Xuebin’s fearsome reputation and chose not to challenge him.

Dong Xuebin and Xu Yan confronted Political Commissar Liu and took Chao Chao and the other students out of the Military Zone without a fight. Liu Guowei learned that Dong Xuebin had intervened and vowed to remember the affront.

• Dong Xuebin challenged Political Commissar Liu's authority to detain Chao Chao and his classmates and insisted on taking them away.
• Dong Xuebin and Xu Yan led the students past the wary soldiers, who did not dare stop them.
• Dong Xuebin drove Chao Chao and the other students out of the Military Zone while Political Commissar Liu ordered his men to stand down.
• Political Commissar Liu called Commander Liu Guowei and explained that Dong Xuebin and Xu Yan had taken the students away.
• Liu Guowei accepted Political Commissar Liu's decision but grew angry at Dong Xuebin and vowed to settle the score.

After Dong Xuebin helped Xu Yan’s son and his classmates leave the Military District, he took them out for barbecue and dismissed Xu Yan’s worries about Commander Liu holding a grudge. He left the story planning to investigate Liu Haibin’s conduct before departing Ma Yang County the next day, while rumors of his clash with the Military District spread across Fenzhou City.

• Dong Xuebin drove Xu Yan’s son and the other students out of the Military District, then warned them not to fight impulsively while offering to help if they got into trouble again.
• Xu Yan explained that the soldiers had backed down because they knew Dong Xuebin’s fearsome reputation, and she thanked him while worrying Commander Liu might retaliate against him.
• Dong Xuebin refused Xu Yan’s offer to speak with Commander Liu and said he was not afraid of Liu Guowei or any consequences.
• Dong Xuebin took the students to a barbecue restaurant, where they eagerly asked him about his exploits and his official rank.
• Xie Huilan warned Dong Xuebin that Liu Guowei might resent them, and Dong said he planned to investigate Liu Haibin’s conduct and work problems.
• Stories about Dong Xuebin barging into the Military District to demand the students’ release spread throughout Fenzhou City.

Dong Xuebin arranged rooms for Xu Yan and the students after helping them resolve trouble with military personnel. Wen Ting called her grandfather, Wen Dehua, who explained Dong Xuebin’s influence and wealth, leaving the students astonished by the man who had helped them.

• Dong Xuebin booked rooms for Xu Yan and the four students, and Chao Chao saved his phone number in case they needed help again.
• Wen Ting told the group that her grandfather was a Central Party School leader, and Dong Xuebin recognized him as Vice Principal Wen Dehua.
• After the students wondered who Dong Xuebin was, Wen Ting called Wen Dehua and asked about him.
• Wen Dehua warned Wen Ting not to offend Dong Xuebin and said his fighting ability could rival a battalion, while explaining that Dong was well known in Fenzhou City.
• Wen Dehua told Wen Ting that Dong Xuebin had at least one hundred million in assets, astonishing her classmates and deepening their respect for him.

Dong Xuebin welcomed Xu Yan into his hotel room after she came to thank him for helping her son, Chao Chao. He massaged her aching shoulders and back, and the chapter ended with Xu Yan changing into a bathrobe so he could continue.

• Xu Yan knocked on Dong Xuebin’s hotel-room door late at night and came in to thank him for helping Chao Chao.
• Dong Xuebin reassured Xu Yan that Chao Chao was sensible and would be fine as he sat with her.
• Xu Yan asked Dong Xuebin to massage her shoulders, and he kneaded her back and waist while she relaxed.
• Xu Yan offered to massage Dong Xuebin, but he suggested continuing to massage her instead.
• Xu Yan slipped under the covers and changed out of her clothes, then put on a bathrobe so Dong Xuebin could resume the massage.

Dong Xuebin woke up beside Xu Yan after falling asleep during her massage, then gave in to his desire when she woke and agreed to be intimate with him. They finished around eight o’clock, agreed to keep what happened secret from her son, and Xu Yan invited Dong Xuebin to wash with her.

• Dong Xuebin woke in the hotel suite beside Xu Yan and remembered that he had fallen asleep while massaging her.
• Dong Xuebin pulled Xu Yan close and kissed her after she woke up, and Xu Yan agreed to be intimate with him.
• Dong Xuebin and Xu Yan stayed beneath the blanket together for about forty minutes.
• Xu Yan told Dong Xuebin to get dressed and shower before her son came looking for her, and asked him to keep their encounter secret.
• Xu Yan went to the bathroom and invited Dong Xuebin to wash together.

Dong Xuebin and Xu Yan shared an intimate morning before she left with her son, and he learned that Liu Guowei was pushing for disciplinary action over his intervention in the military district. After reassuring his inspection team, Dong Xuebin prepared to continue the investigation and find a way to hold Liu Guowei and Liu Haibin accountable.

• Dong Xuebin and Xu Yan showered together, then Xu Yan answered Chao Chao's call and left to meet her children for breakfast.
• Zhan Guiping told Dong Xuebin that Liu Guowei had accused him of interfering with the military district and that a Party warning might follow.
• Luo Haiting, Zhu Zhu, and Fei Fan came to warn Dong Xuebin about the city's investigation, and he told them to keep inspecting Ma Yang County.
• Dong Xuebin sent the team back to investigate matters connected to Liu Haibin while he headed to Dafeng County.
• Dong Xuebin resolved to avoid disciplinary action and deal with Liu Guowei and Liu Haibin.

Dong Xuebin arrived in Dafeng County ahead of the Inspection Team and encountered county officials and military figures gathered for a birthday banquet. He learned that the celebration was for an active-duty Navy deputy commander and considered joining the gathering.

• Dong Xuebin drove through Dafeng County while preoccupied with Secretary Zhan’s phone call and did not actively search for problems.
• Dong Xuebin spotted Liu Guowei and Liu Haibin among a crowd gathered outside a restaurant and pulled over to investigate.
• Li Feng arrived, recognized Dong Xuebin, and greeted him along with other Dafeng County officials.
• Dong Xuebin asked Li Feng whose birthday was being celebrated, and Li Feng said it was a Navy deputy commander from Dafeng County who was still on active duty.
• More military vehicles and a uniformed general arrived, and Dong Xuebin wondered whether he should join the celebration.