Chapter Summaries

While Dong Xuebin idled at home, colleagues told him rumors that the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection would add or adjust departments, potentially reshaping its inspectorate offices. He called Han Jing for reliable information, and she said she would explain when she arrived with her sisters to visit his courtyard house.

• Han Fei called Dong Xuebin and told him colleagues were discussing possible new departments and adjustments at the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
• Lan Xuewen called Dong Xuebin to ask whether the rumored changes might affect the Letters and Visits Office, and Dong promised to share any information he found.
• Dong Xuebin called Han Jing to ask about the rumored departmental changes.
• Han Jing told Dong Xuebin that she and his First Aunt and Second Aunt were coming to his courtyard house for mahjong and lunch, and promised to explain the changes when they arrived.

Dong Xuebin hosted Han Jing, Xia Yanzhen, and Ci Lifen at his Courtyard House while asking about reforms at his unit. Han Jing explained that the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection would expand its case-investigation offices from eight to ten, though the changes would not directly affect Dong Xuebin’s Eighth Inspectorate Office.

• Dong Xuebin prepared his Courtyard House for Han Jing, Xia Yanzhen, and Ci Lifen, then welcomed them when they arrived.
• Dong Xuebin showed the women around, served tea, and joined them for Mahjong.
• Dong Xuebin asked Han Jing whether his unit was restructuring, and she confirmed the reform plan had been finalized.
• Han Jing explained that two new inspectorate offices would take over regions from the Fifth and Sixth Offices, while the Eighth Office’s responsibilities would remain unchanged.
• Han Jing warned that personnel transfers and new leadership appointments could affect every inspectorate office, including Dong Xuebin’s.

Dong Xuebin played mahjong with his in-laws, then learned that the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection’s expansion could create a rare opening for a substantive leadership post. He decided he would ask Han Jing to help him pursue it.

• Dong Xuebin deliberately lost at mahjong to Han Jing, Xia Yanzhen, and Ci Lifen until they urged him to play seriously.
• Dong Xuebin won the final hand with a Heavenly Hand, revealing that he had been holding back, and the family stopped to eat.
• Xie Ran arrived and joined Dong Xuebin in the kitchen to help cook.
• While cooking, Dong Xuebin realized that the creation of two new Supervision Offices could open leadership vacancies he might secure despite his short tenure.
• Dong Xuebin decided to approach Han Jing about obtaining a substantive Zhengchu Level leadership position through the institutional reform.

At lunch with his family, Dong Xuebin asked Han Jing to help him secure a leadership post in one of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection’s new offices. He learned that Han Jing had planned his transfer to position him for a substantive Zhengchu-level post during the restructuring, though his recent punishment left the outcome uncertain.

• Dong Xuebin fussed over Han Jing and the others at lunch before asking Han Jing to help him pursue a position in the Ninth or Tenth Office.
• Han Jing teased Dong Xuebin for seeking promotion so soon after receiving an Administrative Warning Punishment and being told to reflect on his actions.
• Xia Yanzhen explained that Han Jing had transferred Dong Xuebin to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection so he could gain a substantive Zhengchu-level post during the coming restructuring.
• Han Jing told Dong Xuebin to reflect at home, return to work after his rest, and perform well while she discussed his prospects with their Fourth Grandpa.
• Xie Ran asked for a promotion too, but Xia Yanzhen told him to focus on his grassroots training.

Dong Xuebin spent the afternoon guiding his relatives through Mahjong and then called colleagues to share news of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection reforms. He left Han Fei considering whether to seek a promotion as the reforms approached.

• Dong Xuebin watched Han Jing's Mahjong tiles and guided her to four consecutive wins, then helped Xia Yanzhen and Ci Lifen win as well.
• Han Jing, Xia Yanzhen, Ci Lifen, and Xie Ran left Dong Xuebin's home, and Xia Yanzhen urged Xie Ran to find a partner.
• Dong Xuebin told Lan Xuewen that the Letters and Visits Office would not be affected by the coming departmental mergers.
• Dong Xuebin told Han Fei that the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection would expand its Supervision Offices from eight to ten in a month, and Han Fei considered asking her father to help her seek a Fuchu Level promotion.

Xie Ran and Fang Shuiling tried to bring Dong Xuebin and Fang Wenping together so they could mend their conflict and ease their families’ opposition to the couple. The chapter ended with Dong Xuebin and Fang Wenping meeting at Fang Shuiling’s birthday gathering and preparing to leave, while their younger relatives pleaded with them to stay.

• Xie Ran and Fang Shuiling discussed their secret relationship and decided to encourage Dong Xuebin and Fang Wenping to make peace.
• Xie Ran invited Dong Xuebin to Fang Shuiling’s birthday gathering at a KTV, and Dong Xuebin reluctantly agreed to go.
• Dong Xuebin and Xie Ran arrived at the private room, where Fang Wenping was already with Fang Shuiling.
• Dong Xuebin and Fang Wenping recognized each other and both turned to leave.
• Fang Shuiling held onto Fang Wenping, and Xie Ran pleaded with Dong Xuebin to stay for the birthday.

At Fang Shuiling’s birthday gathering, Dong Xuebin and Fang Wenping nearly leave and then quarrel until Fang Shuiling breaks down and destroys the cake. Fang Wenping comforts her, and the group stays to celebrate, though the two rivals remain cold toward each other.

• Dong Xuebin and Fang Wenping tried to leave when they saw each other, while Xie Ran and Fang Shuiling urged them to stay.
• Dong Xuebin and Fang Wenping argued and traded insults until Fang Shuiling shouted, cried, and smashed the birthday cake against the wall.
• Fang Wenping took Fang Shuiling in her arms, apologized, and comforted her until she calmed down.
• Dong Xuebin agreed to stay and sing, and Xie Ran ordered a replacement cake.
• Fang Shuiling made a wish, blew out the candles, and gave cake to Fang Wenping and Dong Xuebin, asking them not to argue.

Dong Xuebin and Fang Wenping turned karaoke into a singing rivalry, then agreed to sing a duet together. Fang Shuiling and Xie Ran left them alone, hoping the two would settle their conflict, leaving Dong Xuebin and Fang Wenping together in the room.

• Fang Shuiling and Xie Ran sang first, then Dong Xuebin sang after Fang Wenping teased him.
• Fang Wenping impressed Dong Xuebin with her singing, and the two traded songs in a contest until they were tired.
• Fang Shuiling suggested Dong Xuebin and Fang Wenping sing a duet, and they chose “Walking Through the Coffee Shop.”
• Fang Shuiling and Xie Ran went outside, discussed leaving the pair alone, and turned off their phones before departing.

Dong Xuebin and Fang Wenping were left alone after Xie Ran and Fang Shuiling secretly left, and their bickering turned into a drinking contest. Both drank until they were violently sick, leaving the private room in a mess.

• Dong Xuebin and Fang Wenping noticed Xie Ran and Fang Shuiling had not returned and learned from a waiter that they had left together after settling the bill.
• Dong Xuebin and Fang Wenping argued over which of their younger relatives had arranged to leave them alone.
• Fang Wenping tried to leave, but Dong Xuebin challenged her to a drinking contest, and they drank glass after glass while singing.
• Dong Xuebin reached his limit, left the room to vomit, and returned to find Fang Wenping collapsed on the sofa.
• Dong Xuebin woke Fang Wenping, who vomited on herself and splattered his clothes, prompting him to vomit into a fruit tray.

Dong Xuebin and Fang Wenping drank until they were both sick, and Dong Xuebin decided to take the unconscious Fang Wenping home rather than leave her alone. Unable to find her address or book a hotel room without her ID, he took her in a taxi to Houhai, where his own home was.

• Dong Xuebin paid the bill and tried to leave Fang Wenping behind, but turned back when he saw she was too drunk to manage on her own.
• Dong Xuebin wiped vomit from Fang Wenping's clothes and helped her out of the KTV, but learned she had not driven and he did not know where she lived.
• Dong Xuebin took Fang Wenping to a hotel, but the clerk refused to give them a room because Fang Wenping had no ID.
• Dong Xuebin brought Fang Wenping back to the taxi and told the driver to take them to Houhai so he could bring her to his own home.

Dong Xuebin brought the heavily drunk Fang Wenping to his home, cared for her despite his irritation, and changed her vomit-stained clothes. Exhausted and drunk himself, he fell asleep at the foot of the bed beside her.

• Dong Xuebin dragged the unresponsive Fang Wenping from a taxi and carried her into his courtyard house.
• Dong Xuebin found that Fang Wenping’s phone contacts, Xie Ran and Fang Shuiling, were unreachable, then gave her water while she lay in bed.
• Dong Xuebin changed out of clothes covered in Fang Wenping’s vomit and showered.
• Dong Xuebin returned to check on Fang Wenping, removed her vomit-stained sweater and skirt, and aired out the room.
• Dong Xuebin lay down at the foot of the bed and quickly fell asleep.

Dong Xuebin and Fang Wenping argued after waking up in the same bed, where she had spent the night drunk. Their confrontation was interrupted when Xie Ran and Fang Shuiling arrived at the Courtyard House while Fang Wenping was still half-naked.

• Dong Xuebin woke up with his leg resting on Fang Wenping and remembered bringing her home after she got drunk at a KTV.
• Fang Wenping accused Dong Xuebin of taking advantage of her, and he explained that he had carried her home after her niece could not be reached and a hotel refused her without identification.
• Fang Wenping questioned why they had slept in the same bed and demanded clothes, but Dong Xuebin had nothing that fit her.
• Fang Wenping headed outside in her underwear, and Dong Xuebin realized the Courtyard House gate had been left unlocked.
• Xie Ran and Fang Shuiling entered the house and approached the room, leaving Dong Xuebin and Fang Wenping startled.

Dong Xuebin and Fang Wenping tried to hide their half-dressed state from Xie Ran and Fang Shuiling, who had arrived to apologize. The chapter left Fang Wenping wedged beneath the bed while Dong Xuebin prepared to face the visitors.

• Dong Xuebin and Fang Wenping panicked when they heard Xie Ran and Fang Shuiling enter the house, since they had spent the night in the same room with most of their clothes missing.
• Dong Xuebin stalled Xie Ran at the bedroom door by claiming he was not dressed, while Xie Ran and Fang Shuiling explained that they had come to apologize.
• Dong Xuebin told Fang Wenping to hide under the bed so he could get the visitors to leave.
• Fang Wenping struggled to fit beneath the bed, and Dong Xuebin pushed her in while Xie Ran and Fang Shuiling waited outside.

Dong Xuebin hid Fang Wenping and her belongings under his bed, then tried to conceal her from Xie Ran and Fang Shuiling when they came to apologize. He managed to steer them out of the room before Xie Ran could discover Fang Wenping beneath the bed.

• Dong Xuebin hid Fang Wenping's clothes and shoes under the bed and opened the door for Xie Ran and Fang Shuiling.
• Xie Ran and Fang Shuiling apologized to Dong Xuebin for their scheme the previous night and asked where Fang Wenping was.
• Dong Xuebin claimed Fang Wenping had returned to the Family Compound, and Fang Wenping removed the battery from her phone when Fang Shuiling called.
• Xie Ran heard a noise under the bed and offered to kill the supposed rat, while Dong Xuebin desperately stopped him from looking underneath.
• Dong Xuebin persuaded Xie Ran and Fang Shuiling to leave the room and go to the Outer Room for tea.

Dong Xuebin kept Xie Ran and Fang Shuiling from discovering Fang Wenping, who was hiding beneath his bed, until they left for her Family Compound. He then pulled Fang Wenping out, though she got stuck beneath the bed and emerged in torn clothes.

• Fang Shuiling and Xie Ran visited Dong Xuebin, and he hid his attention on Fang Wenping, who remained beneath the bed.
• Dong Xuebin agreed to stop fighting and cursing at Fang Wenping so Xie Ran and Fang Shuiling would leave.
• Fang Shuiling could not reach her aunt by phone, so she and Xie Ran decided to go to the Family Compound to look for her.
• After Xie Ran and Fang Shuiling drove away, Dong Xuebin locked the gate and told Fang Wenping to come out.
• Fang Wenping was stuck beneath the bed, so Dong Xuebin dragged her out and agreed to retrieve her clothes, shoes, and bag.

Dong Xuebin helped Fang Wenping out from under the bed and found her clothes, then stayed quiet while she reassured Fang Shuiling by phone. After the call, Fang Wenping asked him to wash her clothes before she showered, and Dong Xuebin reluctantly agreed to wash them, including her underwear.

• Dong Xuebin pulled Fang Wenping's bag and clothes from beneath the bed after getting her out.
• Fang Wenping answered Fang Shuiling's call and said she was safe at the Family Compound, while Fang Shuiling urged her to get along with Dong Xuebin.
• Fang Wenping affectionately ended the call with Fang Shuiling, then returned to her cold manner toward Dong Xuebin.
• Fang Wenping asked Dong Xuebin for clothes and a place to shower, then ordered him to wash her clothes because her waist hurt.
• Dong Xuebin first refused, but softened when he saw Fang Wenping walk away painfully and agreed to wash her clothes and underwear.

Dong Xuebin spent the morning washing Fang Wenping’s clothes and making breakfast, while she treated him like a servant. The chapter left them bickering in his house, with Dong Xuebin retreating to the study to avoid her.

• Dong Xuebin washed Fang Wenping’s clothes, then reluctantly washed her bra and panties after she tossed them out of the bathroom.
• Fang Wenping emerged in a bath towel, questioned where Dong Xuebin had hung her clothes, and relaxed in the yard while they dried.
• Dong Xuebin cooked a large breakfast for himself, but Fang Wenping sat down and ate it without asking.
• Dong Xuebin complained that he had carried her home, given her water, and washed her clothes, but Fang Wenping dismissed his efforts and asked him to make vegetable dishes for lunch.
• Dong Xuebin argued with Fang Wenping about her rudeness and her inability to wash dishes, then went to the study to play games and watch movies.

Dong Xuebin reluctantly let Fang Wenping leave his house to use the public toilet, then rushed to her defense when drunken men harassed her near the west entrance. The chapter ends as Dong Xuebin kicks one man down and the others charge him.

• Dong Xuebin refused Fang Wenping’s demand that he cook lunch, but gave her a shirt when she went outside wearing only a bath towel.
• Big Sister Ci warned Dong Xuebin that Fang Wenping had been surrounded by men near the west entrance.
• Dong Xuebin found several drunk men mistaking Fang Wenping for a prostitute and insulting her.
• Dong Xuebin charged in and kicked Lao Zhang to the ground, prompting the other men to rush at him.

Dong Xuebin defeated the men who had harassed Fang Wenping and returned with her to his courtyard. He discovered Fang Wenping had cooked lunch, though the food tasted awful, and they ate together.

• Dong Xuebin knocked down five men who had attacked Fang Wenping, sparing the one who had tried to stop the fight.
• Dong Xuebin returned to the courtyard with Fang Wenping and told the neighbors she was a relative of his.
• After talking with the neighbors, Dong Xuebin went inside and found Fang Wenping cooking lunch.
• Fang Wenping served two vegetable dishes and ordered Dong Xuebin to get the chopsticks.
• Dong Xuebin criticized the food but ate it with Fang Wenping, wondering if she had cooked because he helped her.

After returning to work, Dong Xuebin returned Fang Wenping’s sweater and argued with her over the jacket she had borrowed. Zhu Weiye then told him he had recommended Dong for a top leadership position in a subordinate department of the planned Ninth or Tenth Office, leaving Dong awaiting the organization’s decision.

• Dong Xuebin returned to work after nearly a month at home and brought Fang Wenping the sweater she had left behind.
• Dong Xuebin and Fang Wenping argued in her office after she said she had thrown away his jacket.
• Zhu Weiye invited Dong Xuebin to his office and asked what he had learned during his time at home.
• Dong Xuebin admitted he should not have traded insults with Fang Wenping and promised to work conscientiously.
• Zhu Weiye explained that the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection planned to create Ninth and Tenth Offices and said he had recommended Dong for a top leadership position in one of their subordinate departments.