Chapter Summaries

Dong Xuebin arrived as Qu Yunxuan and Sister Cao were being attacked by the tour driver and guide, but the driver knocked him down. He used Back to rewind time and turned the driver’s kick against him, then struck him with a large stone, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Dong Xuebin found Qu Yunxuan and Sister Cao being assaulted by the tour driver and female guide, who took Qu Yunxuan’s bag and destroyed her notebook.
• Dong Xuebin charged the driver, but the driver kicked him down while holding Qu Yunxuan by the hair.
• Dong Xuebin used Back to return to the moment before the driver’s kick and timed his own kick to strike the driver’s shin.
• Dong Xuebin grabbed a large stone and hurled it at the injured driver, knocking him down and leaving him bleeding.

Dong Xuebin rescued Qu Yunxuan and Cao Ping from an illegal tour guide and her driver, then used his work ID to avoid being detained after beating them. As Qu Yunxuan left for the Capital City, she promised to explain why she had been removed from her position, while Dong Xuebin reflected on how BACK had helped him fight.

• Dong Xuebin beat the driver who had attacked Qu Yunxuan and knocked the female tour guide unconscious when she tried to intervene.
• After the police arrived, Dong Xuebin showed his work ID, and an older officer let him pull the driver's hair before taking everyone to the station.
• Dong Xuebin, Qu Yunxuan, and Cao Ping left the station, and Dong Xuebin checked Qu Yunxuan's bruises while Cao Ping thanked him for rescuing them.
• Qu Yunxuan promised to explain her removal from her position after they returned to the Capital City.
• Qu Yunxuan and Cao Ping left in a van with their newspaper colleagues, while Dong Xuebin planned to take the train and considered how BACK had helped him fight.

Dong Xuebin took his large golden pearl necklace to Hanhai Auction House, hoping to sell it quickly to raise money for Aunt Xuan. He agreed to put it in a small auction scheduled for the next day and left the necklace with the auction house.

• Dong Xuebin went to Hanhai Auction House in Liulichang and asked to auction a pearl necklace.
• Teacher Sun examined the necklace and was astonished by its large golden pearls, though he noted its chain was rough.
• Teacher Sun offered to replace the chain and recommended waiting for a major auction, but Dong Xuebin insisted he needed a quick sale.
• Teacher Sun estimated the necklace would fetch at least 1.2 million yuan and proposed a starting price of 500,000 yuan.
• Dong Xuebin signed the agreement, left the necklace with Hanhai for refinishing, and went home to wait for the auction.

Dong Xuebin reunited with Qu Yunxuan, kissed her, and learned that Deputy Director Gong had punished and pressured her for refusing to date his younger brother. When Gong said his brother had gone to Qu Yunxuan’s home and hinted that dating him could restore her position, Dong Xuebin grabbed the phone and threatened Gong.

• Dong Xuebin returned home and found Qu Yunxuan cleaning his apartment and washing his clothes.
• Dong Xuebin hugged and kissed Qu Yunxuan, and she warned him not to tell anyone about their intimacy.
• Qu Yunxuan explained that Deputy Director Gong had transferred her after she refused to date Gong’s younger brother and had arranged for a client to complain about her.
• Qu Yunxuan told Dong Xuebin that Gong had sent her on the dangerous undercover assignment and that she might resign if he kept targeting her.
• Gong called Qu Yunxuan and said his younger brother was at her home, suggesting that dating him could help her return to the Advertising Department.
• Dong Xuebin took Qu Yunxuan’s phone and threatened Gong.

Dong Xuebin went to the Jingcheng Times Newspaper Office to confront its leaders over Deputy Director Gong’s treatment of Qu Yunxuan. After the Chief Editor dismissed his complaints and Gong threatened to demote Qu Yunxuan again, Dong Xuebin made a scene and called Xie Huilan for help.

• Dong Xuebin ignored Qu Yunxuan’s request to stay home and went to the newspaper office to report Deputy Director Gong’s misconduct.
• Cao Ping directed Dong Xuebin to the Chief Editor, but staff repeatedly delayed him, and the Chief Editor dismissed his complaint after he waited two hours.
• Dong Xuebin followed the Chief Editor to the Reporter Department and saw Deputy Director Gong berate Qu Yunxuan and threaten to assign her to operate an elevator.
• The Chief Editor ordered security to remove Dong Xuebin, so Dong Xuebin kicked over a desk, denounced the Chief Editor and Deputy Director Gong, and showed his police ID.
• Dong Xuebin called Xie Huilan after declaring that he would get an explanation from the newspaper office.

Dong Xuebin called Xie Huilan for help after Jingcheng Times leaders mistreated Qu Yunxuan, and the newspaper office was ordered to suspend publication and undergo rectification. The director reinstated Qu Yunxuan, removed Gong Wei from his post, and made him operate an elevator before Dong Xuebin left.

• Dong Xuebin told Xie Huilan how Gong Wei had retaliated against Qu Yunxuan, but the Chief Editor refused to take her call.
• A staff member announced that Jingcheng Times had been ordered to suspend publication and undergo rectification, and a Propaganda Department leader confirmed that the Central Propaganda Department had criticized the newspaper office and Gong Wei.
• Dong Xuebin confronted the newspaper office leaders and demanded that Gong Wei apologize, lose his position, and operate an elevator for a week.
• The director reinstated Qu Yunxuan to the Advertising Department, removed Gong Wei as Deputy Director, and ordered him to operate an elevator after he apologized.
• Dong Xuebin rode the elevator with Gong Wei, retrieved his work ID, left the newspaper office, and called Xie Huilan to say the matter was settled.

Qu Yunxuan resigned from the newspaper office after Dong Xuebin helped her stand up to Gong Wei, and the two grew closer as she let him tend to her injury. When Mother Qu arrived unexpectedly, Dong Xuebin hid under the bed, and Qu Yunxuan let him stay the night in her bed to avoid being discovered.

• Qu Yunxuan told Dong Xuebin she had resigned and described how Gong Wei had been reassigned to operate elevators after the newspaper office scandal.
• Qu Yunxuan thanked Dong Xuebin for helping her and asked him to apply ointment to the injury on her back.
• Dong Xuebin fetched Qu Yunxuan’s underwear and treated her wound, and she kissed him before telling him to go home.
• Mother Qu arrived while Qu Yunxuan was still undressed, so Qu Yunxuan pushed Dong Xuebin under the bed and told her mother she had hurt her back.
• Qu Yunxuan’s mother decided to sleep over, so Qu Yunxuan let Dong Xuebin share her bed under a thick quilt.

Dong Xuebin pressed Qu Yunxuan to define their relationship and, after she repeatedly hesitated, she agreed to sleep with him. They began having sex in her bedroom, but the chapter ended with them continuing beneath the quilt while her mother slept in the next room.

• Dong Xuebin asked Qu Yunxuan to become his girlfriend, and she said she needed time to consider the serious relationship and their age difference.
• Dong Xuebin kept touching Qu Yunxuan beneath the quilt, and she set limits before reluctantly allowing him to go further.
• Qu Yunxuan agreed to sleep with Dong Xuebin after checking that her mother seemed asleep in the next room.
• Qu Yunxuan cried out in pain, and when her mother called to ask what happened, she said she had bumped her injury.
• Dong Xuebin continued beneath the quilt while Qu Yunxuan asked him to wait, and the bed shook as they had sex.

After spending the morning with Qu Yunxuan, Dong Xuebin went to Hanhai Auction House to sell her pearl necklace. He used Back to make Wei Nan pay 1.55 million yuan for it, leaving him with more than 1.3 million after fees.

• Dong Xuebin and Qu Yunxuan woke together, and she told him she still needed time to decide whether to be his girlfriend before helping him sneak out of her home.
• Dong Xuebin met Teacher Sun at Yaan Hotel and entered Hanhai Auction House’s morning auction with bidder’s paddle number 33.
• Wei Nan argued with Dong Xuebin over seats, then competed with other bidders for Dong Xuebin’s pearl necklace as its price climbed to 880,000 yuan.
• Dong Xuebin bid 1.6 million yuan, then used Back to reverse time after Wei Nan won the necklace, restoring the auction to the bidding at 1.2 million.
• Dong Xuebin stopped bidding after Wei Nan raised the price to 1.55 million yuan, and Wei Nan won the necklace for that amount.

Dong Xuebin gave Qu Yunxuan the 1.32 million yuan he earned from selling a Golden Pearl necklace so she could pursue her dream of starting a company. After they spent the evening together, Qu Yunxuan accepted the idea of investigating business opportunities, though she insisted the money and company would remain Dong Xuebin’s.

• Dong Xuebin brought home 1.32 million yuan from the auction and ate dinner with Qu Yunxuan and Mother Qu.
• Mother Qu urged Qu Yunxuan to find a job and settle down, while Qu Yunxuan said she would handle her work situation herself.
• After Mother Qu left, Dong Xuebin and Qu Yunxuan went to the bedroom and became intimate.
• Dong Xuebin showed Qu Yunxuan his savings account, and she initially scolded him for suspecting the money might be improper before he explained its sources.
• Dong Xuebin offered the money to fund Qu Yunxuan’s company, and she agreed to investigate what business to pursue while refusing to take ownership of his money.

Dong Xuebin returned to the Chengxi Branch Bureau after leave, hoping to build a case for promotion while keeping a lower profile. He clashed with Yan Lei, the new branch chief’s secretary, and the conflict quickly became office gossip.

• Dong Xuebin returned to the General Office, where coworkers warmly welcomed him and he learned that Zhen Anguo and Wang Jie had joined the branch bureau leadership.
• Guo Panwei told Dong Xuebin that Zhen Anguo had brought Yan Lei from the Ministry of Public Security to serve as his secretary.
• Dong Xuebin reported for duty to Xu Yan, who told him to work hard and put in a good performance.
• When Yan Lei ordered Dong Xuebin to help carry things, Dong Xuebin sent Guo Panwei instead, angering Yan Lei.
• Staff members who witnessed the exchange said Yan Lei had provoked Dong Xuebin, and the clash spread through the bureau as people anticipated more trouble.

Dong Xuebin delivered housing keys to Zhen Anguo and used their shared hometown connection to build rapport, while Xu Yan warned him about his clash with Yan Lei. He left convinced his promotion to deputy section chief was within reach and spent the afternoon working conspicuously hard across the bureau.

• Xu Yan summoned Dong Xuebin, questioned him about clashing with Yan Lei, and gave him the keys to Zhen Anguo’s assigned residence to deliver.
• Dong Xuebin met Zhen Anguo, delivered the keys, and chatted with him after claiming a shared hometown in Fenzhou City.
• Dong Xuebin encountered Yan Lei in the corridor, and both men silently maintained their hostility.
• Dong Xuebin returned to the General Office and spent the afternoon eagerly completing tasks for leaders across the bureau, prompting coworkers to suspect he was pursuing another promotion.

Xu Yan tried to win Zhen Anguo’s support for promoting Dong Xuebin to deputy section chief, citing his achievements. Zhen Anguo remained undecided after Yan Lei gave him a biased account of a recent dispute with Dong.

• Xu Yan subtly signaled her willingness to work with Zhen Anguo and praised Dong Xuebin’s record while urging his promotion.
• Zhen Anguo said Dong seemed capable but questioned whether he had enough seniority, leaving his position unclear.
• Xu Yan told Dong that she had raised his promotion with Zhen and urged him to perform well in the coming days.
• Zhen Anguo asked Yan Lei for his opinion on Dong’s promotion, and Yan Lei portrayed Dong as disrespectful after twisting the story of their encounter.
• Zhen Anguo dismissed the dispute as minor and recognized that Yan Lei might be biased.

Dong Xuebin learned that the Sixth Division had wrongly arrested and injured a relative of Director Jiang, the city bureau’s top leader, prompting an emergency response from Chengxi Branch Bureau. With Director Jiang refusing to ease the tension, the branch bureau’s leaders called Dong Xuebin to Xuanwu Hospital to try to resolve the crisis.

• Zhen Anguo received an angry call from Director Jiang after the Sixth Division arrested and injured Director Jiang’s relative.
• Tan Limei and Guo Panwei told Dong Xuebin about the emergency meeting and explained that the arrest stemmed from a misleading earthquake-rumor tip.
• Zhen Anguo summoned the relevant leaders, then went with Xu Yan and Director Jian to Xuanwu Hospital to meet Director Jiang.
• Director Jiang rebuffed Zhen Anguo’s apology and told the branch bureau leaders to wait outside while he visited his nephew.
• The Sixth Division’s deputy director urged Xu Yan to call Dong Xuebin, and Xu Yan summoned him to the hospital.

Dong Xuebin was sent to defuse Director Jiang’s anger over his nephew’s arrest and beating, then used Back to redo a disastrous exchange about a calligraphy piece. He turned the discovery that Director Jiang had written it into a chance to flatter him, and Director Jiang agreed to stop pursuing the branch bureau leaders.

• Xu Yan ordered Dong Xuebin to meet Director Jiang at Kangde Restaurant and promised to settle his promotion if he handled the crisis.
• Director Jiang ignored the Chengxi Branch Bureau leaders’ apology and criticized their responsibility for his nephew’s arrest and injuries.
• After Dong Xuebin insulted Director Jiang’s calligraphy and learned it was his, he used Back three times to rewind the scene.
• Dong Xuebin defended the calligraphy as a masterwork and praised Director Jiang after the restaurant owner confirmed that Director Jiang had written it.
• Director Jiang accepted Dong Xuebin’s explanation, invited him to sit and eat, and said the incident would not be pursued further.

Dong Xuebin defused Director Jiang’s anger by praising a piece of calligraphy he knew Jiang had written, preventing further consequences for the Chengxi Branch Bureau. The bureau’s staff learned of Dong’s feat and, as Yan Lei discovered, saw it as another example of his extraordinary ability to solve crises.

• After Director Jiang left, Dong Xuebin apologized to Zhen Anguo and Xu Yan for contradicting Jiang, and explained that he had tried to signal them about the calligraphy.
• Zhen Anguo and Xu Yan praised Dong Xuebin for resolving the crisis, while the deputy director of Sixth Division thanked him for saving his position.
• Back at the branch bureau, Guo Panwei and Chang Juan told the General Office staff how Dong had praised the calligraphy until Director Jiang revealed that he had written it himself.
• Dong Xuebin told his staff to prepare to leave and warned them not to spread the story about the calligraphy.
• News spread that Director Jiang had held nobody else accountable, and bureau employees credited Dong Xuebin with solving the problem.
• Yan Lei asked about Dong Xuebin’s past achievements and realized why the other employees were unsurprised by his latest feat.

Dong Xuebin celebrated his expected promotion to deputy section chief with Qu Yunxuan, and the two grew closer during a night out. A few days later, the bureau completed its assessment and proposed his promotion, stunning colleagues with how quickly he had advanced.

• Dong Xuebin told Qu Yunxuan he was certain to be promoted to deputy section chief, and they planned a celebration together.
• Dong Xuebin and Qu Yunxuan went shopping and to a movie, where they flirted and grew more intimate.
• During the movie, Dong Xuebin spoke to Luan Xiaoping on the phone while Qu Yunxuan surprised him with an intimate gesture.
• Pang Bin and the Political Department conducted Dong Xuebin's cadre assessment, consulted colleagues and General Office leaders, and submitted their report to the bureau party committee.
• The bureau party committee proposed Dong Xuebin for promotion to deputy section chief with his position unchanged, astonishing colleagues because he had joined the agency only four months earlier.

On New Year’s Eve, Dong Xuebin celebrated his recent promotion with his mother and coworkers, who were astonished by his new standing and treated his family warmly. After Tan Limei and Sun Zhuang asked him for help, he agreed to seek a transfer for Sun Zhuang and sent them home with their gifts returned.

• Dong Xuebin prepared dumplings alone, received New Year calls, and phoned his leaders to offer holiday greetings.
• Guo Panwei visited with gifts and helped make dumplings before Luan Xiaoping arrived and learned that Dong Xuebin had become a deputy section chief.
• Tan Limei and Sun Zhuang came to help, and their attentive hospitality convinced Luan Xiaoping that her son had truly risen in the government.
• Dong Xuebin invited Guo Panwei, Tan Limei, and Sun Zhuang to share lunch with his family.
• Tan Limei asked Dong Xuebin to help Sun Zhuang get transferred to the Political Department, and Dong agreed to look into it after the New Year.
• Dong Xuebin returned Tan Limei and Sun Zhuang’s cigarettes, gave them a bottle of Maotai, and saw them off.

Dong Xuebin visited Xie Huilan to thank her and left after giving her a New Year gift. He later learned that Xie Huilan had drowned while rescuing a little girl, and he shouted “BACK” to try to save her.

• Luan Xiaoping left for the village after celebrating Dong Xuebin’s promotion with him.
• Dong Xuebin bought perfume and visited Xie Huilan at her apartment to thank her for helping him.
• Xie Huilan accepted Dong Xuebin’s gift, and they talked briefly before he left for lunch.
• Dong Xuebin saw a man shield Xie Huilan from a firecracker as she went out to lunch.
• An elderly man called from Xie Huilan’s phone and told Dong Xuebin she had drowned while rescuing a little girl.
• Dong Xuebin shouted “BACK” after hearing the news, determined to save Xie Huilan.

Dong Xuebin used his BACs to return to the moment before Xie Huilan fell into the ditch and rushed to save her from the water grass. After reviving her, he took her home to recover, where she hinted at her influence in the Capital City.

• Dong Xuebin called Xie Huilan, got no answer, and raced toward the ditch with a fruit knife.
• Dong Xuebin cut the water grass trapping Xie Huilan, then escaped the weeds himself and carried her to shore.
• When Xie Huilan had no pulse or breath, Dong Xuebin performed CPR until she coughed up water and woke.
• Xie Huilan declined the hospital, and Dong Xuebin took her to his apartment, where he helped care for her as she developed a high fever.
• Xie Huilan told Dong Xuebin she was unmarried and offered to help if he ever ran into trouble, mentioning her influence in the Capital City.