Chapter Summaries

Dong Xuebin and the Xie family discussed Japan’s landing on Diaoyu Island while traveling to tWan, then confronted a Japanese Territorial Association vice president aboard the plane. After telling Xie Hao to sit down, Dong Xuebin kicked and slapped the Japanese man, leaving everyone stunned.

• Dong Xuebin read that Japanese right-wingers and parliament members had landed on Diaoyu Island, prompting the group to condemn Japan and discuss plans by tWan Territory Protection Activists to visit the island.
• Xie Hao wanted to join the activists, but Xie Huilan and Dong Xuebin told him the family was on vacation and he should not cause trouble.
• A Japanese middle-aged man and his interpreter argued that Diaoyu Island belonged to Japan and threatened to arrest Republic activists who went there.
• Sun Kai translated the Japanese man’s remarks, and Xie Hao and other passengers argued with him until he opened a newspaper and ignored them.
• Dong Xuebin ordered Xie Hao back to his seat, then kicked the Japanese man in the face and slapped him, shocking the passengers.

Dong Xuebin clashed with Xinhua News Agency reporters Li Shengbin, Wang Na, and Wang Ting over their investigation at the Investment Bureau Compound. After checking their IDs, he called Xie Jing, who confirmed Li Shengbin worked at Xinhua and asked to speak with him.

• Dong Xuebin furiously accused the reporters of nitpicking and refusing to seek the truth, while Cao Xupeng and Zhao Xinglong tried to calm him down.
• Cao Xupeng called Xiang Daofa, who ordered him to remove Dong Xuebin from the reception and handle the reporters himself.
• Li Shengbin questioned Wang Shaoyan about the disputed Fifty thousand yuan and photographed the county officials as they defended the Investment Bureau.
• Dong Xuebin demanded the reporters' IDs, examined them, and called Xie Hao to ask about his second sister's position at Xinhua News Agency.
• Dong Xuebin called Xie Jing, described Li Shengbin's conduct, and gave her his ID details; Xie Jing confirmed his department and asked Dong to put him on the phone.

After Qian Fei was struck by a falling flowerpot and left with severe brain damage, Qian Sen and County Party Secretary Chang Lei moved against Dong Xuebin, but Ma Dakai’s confession and evidence of Chang Lei’s affair turned the tables. Dong remained in Yantai County as Qian Sen was investigated and Chang Lei was transferred, earning the nickname “Little Dong the Plague God.”

• Dong Xuebin reported Qian Fei’s flowerpot accident, and the investigation confirmed it was accidental; Qian Fei later awoke with severe brain damage that was unlikely to improve.
• Qian Sen retaliated by circulating a post about Dong smashing a Mercedes, and Chang Lei criticized Dong and planned to transfer and demote him.
• After learning Qian Fei was unlikely to recover, Ma Dakai confessed that Qian Fei controlled Jin Di Mountain Villa and gave Dong the address of Qian Fei’s mistress.
• Dong searched the mistress’s home and found a twenty-million-yuan account and photographs linking Chang Lei to her, then turned the evidence over to Liang Chengpeng.
• Qian Sen was placed under Double Designation and Chang Lei was transferred to an idle post, while Dong kept his position and gained a reputation as “Little Dong the Plague God.”

Dong Xuebin went to the civil service exam with Qu Yunxuan's support and accepted Xiao Dong's challenge to compete. He found his seat in Room 026 and waited tensely for the exam to begin.

• Qu Yunxuan prepared Dong Xuebin for the exam and accompanied him to Capital City Fifteenth Middle School, while Mom sent him fruit and wished him luck.
• Aunt Xu and Xiao Dong arrived, and Xiao Dong questioned why Qu Yunxuan had come with Dong Xuebin.
• Dong Xuebin and Xiao Dong challenged each other to see who would get into a government office.
• Dong Xuebin followed Xiao Dong to his exam room, memorized his seat, and warned him to watch his exam paper.
• Dong Xuebin found his own seat in Room 026, calmed himself, and hoped the Administrative Aptitude Test would be easy.

Dong Xuebin visited the Fang family to propose marriage between Xie Ran and Fang Xiao Ling, but Old Master Fang rejected the match, saying Xiao Ling was still a student and not ready for marriage. Dong Xuebin argued that she was old enough and mature enough, leaving the discussion unresolved.

• Dong Xuebin entered Old Master Fang's room, and Old Master Fang sent the guard away and summoned the Fang family.
• Dong Xuebin apologized for entering without permission, greeted the family, and announced that he had come to propose marriage between Xie Ran and Fang Xiao Ling.
• The Fang family questioned Dong Xuebin's authority and suitability, while he enthusiastically praised the match and brought up betrothal gifts.
• Old Master Fang thanked Dong Xuebin but rejected the proposal, saying Xiao Ling was still pursuing her doctorate and was not ready for marriage.
• Dong Xuebin countered that Xiao Ling was legally old enough and mature, and said Xie Ran could support and care for her.

Dong Xuebin sought a way to prevent the coming investigation from ruining his career and Jiaolin County. He secretly summoned Huo Yibang and ordered him to demolish the New County Party Committee Compound before morning.

• Dong Xuebin realized the newspapers he had seen predicted an investigation, his suspension, and disciplinary action unless he intervened before morning.
• Dong Xuebin asked clerk Sun to find Urban Management Bureau director Huo Yibang’s number and burned the newspapers from the future.
• Dong Xuebin called Huo Yibang and arranged a secret meeting at the New County Party Committee Compound.
• Dong Xuebin met Huo Yibang outside the compound and ordered him to level its walls, gate, and buildings before morning.
• Huo Yibang was shocked by Dong Xuebin’s demolition order.

After more than ten days stranded on a reef, Dong Xuebin spotted a freighter and tried to signal for help, but its crew ignored him. He used STOP to run across the frozen sea, caught up with the ship, and climbed aboard.

• Dong Xuebin struggled to survive on the reef after going two days without rain and feared the Rescue Team would never arrive.
• Dong Xuebin spotted a freighter, waved his orange Life Jacket, and shouted for help.
• The freighter's crew noticed Dong Xuebin but sailed away without stopping.
• Dong Xuebin activated STOP, ran across the frozen sea, and caught up with the freighter.
• Dong Xuebin leaped from a frozen wave and pulled himself onto the freighter's deck.

At Chu Qinghua’s wedding banquet, Geng Yuehua and Madam Yan’s arrival changed the mood at the table, and Dong Xuebin tried to stay out of trouble. The chapter left him blamed for ordering the revolting dish “Woman Forty,” which turned out to be bean dregs.

• Geng Yuehua and Madam Yan arrived at the wedding banquet, surprising Chu Qinghua and the other guests.
• Dong Xuebin learned that Madam Yan was Wang Yuling’s aunt and quietly observed Geng Yuehua assigning work to Pan Zhengyi.
• Dong Xuebin ordered a dish called Woman Forty, mistaking its name for a women’s health dish.
• The other cadres discreetly removed their alcohol glasses while Dong Xuebin was in the restroom, leaving him to quickly drink his wine when the newlyweds offered a toast.
• Dong Xuebin tasted a foul dish of bean dregs, and the waitress revealed that he had ordered it as Woman Forty.

Dong Xuebin proposed holding an Investment Conference over the May Day holiday, and Xie Huilan approved it with a target of at least 150 million yuan in projects. After Zhao Xinglong left, Dong Xuebin massaged Xie Huilan in her office and tried to grope her, but she stopped him.

• Dong Xuebin presented Zhao Xinglong with a preliminary plan for an Investment Conference and assured him that Park Yong-hee's project was nearly certain.
• Zhao Xinglong contacted Xie Huilan, who summoned Dong Xuebin to discuss the proposal.
• Xie Huilan approved the conference, promised county support, and gave Dong Xuebin authority to coordinate the departments involved.
• Xie Huilan set a goal of securing at least 150 million yuan in total projects, and Dong Xuebin promised to meet it.
• After Zhao Xinglong left, Dong Xuebin massaged Xie Huilan and tried to reach into her collar, but she caught his hand and told him to behave.

Dong Xuebin asked Xia Yanzhen to help Guangming Street Office secure the Respect-the-Elderly Model Unit title, and she agreed to speak with the officials handling the assessment. After Xia Yanzhen arranged to reduce Ling Feng’s workload, Dong returned to his colleagues and told them their business in the Capital City was nearly finished.

• Xia Yanzhen teased Dong Xuebin about his bold temperament and asked how his office had received an open quota for the Model Unit assessment.
• Dong Xuebin explained that the Beihe Province Inspection Team had offered Guangming Street Office the quota, and Xia Yanzhen promised to speak with Minister Liu about the assessment.
• After a call revealed Ling Feng was coming to see her, Xia Yanzhen contacted Director Sun and asked him to arrange a meeting to lighten Ling Feng’s workload.
• Dong Xuebin told Zhou Yanru that the Model Unit matter was more or less settled and asked her not to spread what had happened.
• In the car, Dong Xuebin told Wang Yuling that their business trip was nearly over, gave the group the next day off, and said they would leave on Monday.

After Dong Xuebin defended Tang Jin from a shopkeeper who had beaten her, he helped her persuade her parents to accept her relationship with Liu Li. The family left the county-town development with a two-bedroom apartment reserved for Tang Jin, paid for by Dong Xuebin as her wedding gift.

• Dong Xuebin reassured Qin Yong that he was recovering after defending Tang Jin, and Tang Jin excitedly recounted how he had confronted the cigarette shop owner.
• Tang Jin introduced Liu Li to her family, but her parents objected to the match because his family was poor and his parents were unwell.
• Dong Xuebin offered to help Liu Li and Tang Jin find work in the county town, while Luan Xiaoping offered Tang Jin her remaining savings for rent or a home.
• Dong Xuebin agreed to buy Tang Jin a house, and her parents accepted after he said he would also cover its renovation and furnishings.
• Dong Xuebin and the family reserved a bright, north-south-facing two-bedroom apartment of more than ninety square meters for over five hundred thousand yuan, and Tang Jin thanked him tearfully.

Dong Xuebin learned that police had identified a suspect connected to Zhang Biao in the hit-and-run that nearly killed Geng Yuehua. At Yuehua’s bedside, he discovered she had secretly been living with late-stage lung cancer and might have less than a month left.

• Zhu Zhu told Dong Xuebin that police had identified a suspected hit-and-run driver linked to Zhang Biao and that the city had ordered the case solved quickly.
• Dong Xuebin spoke with Luan Xiaoping and Hui Lan, reassured them that he was recovering, and said he would return after handling his work.
• After hearing nurses say Geng Yuehua had woken, Dong Xuebin went to her ward and overheard her family and doctors discussing her condition.
• A doctor revealed that Yuehua had late-stage lung cancer that had spread, and that she might have less than a month to live without further treatment.
• Dong Xuebin collapsed against the wall outside Yuehua’s ward after hearing the diagnosis.

At the Xie Family dinner, Dong Xuebin was thanked for his help with Xie Ran’s wedding and the family planned his child’s hundred-day banquet. On his flight back to northern Shaanxi, he unexpectedly found himself seated across from Fang Wenping, and they immediately began arguing.

• Dong Xuebin’s relatives recognized how much he had done for the Xie Family, and Xie Ran toasted him in gratitude.
• The family discussed Xie Ran’s engagement and began planning Dong Xuebin’s child’s hundred-day banquet with Luan Xiaoping.
• Dong Xuebin left for the airport by taxi after Xie Ran saw him off.
• Dong Xuebin boarded his flight and discovered Fang Wenping seated across from him.
• Dong Xuebin confronted Fang Wenping for ignoring his calls, and the flight attendants and an air marshal intervened before the pair fastened their seat belts.

Dong Xuebin persuaded Zhang Dongfang to protect Qingluan Mountain after explaining that it might contain a Han dynasty imperial tomb complex. He then proposed reviving Jiaolin County’s failed application for county-level city status, and Zhang agreed to prepare the documents.

• Dong Xuebin told Zhang Dongfang that Mu Zhengzhong and archaeologists were coming to inspect the Bronze Mirrors.
• Dong Xuebin said he suspected Qingluan Mountain held a Han dynasty imperial tomb complex and explained why the site needed strict protection.
• Zhang Dongfang accepted the need to protect the area and cooperate with Dong Xuebin.
• Dong Xuebin proposed reapplying for county-level city status, citing the possible discovery’s cultural heritage value.
• Zhang Dongfang clenched his fists and agreed to prepare the application documents.

Dong Xuebin exposed the forged injury report at Second Hospital and publicly accused Xue Qingrong, Xue Xiaoliang, and Director Wu of framing him. He left the matter headed for court, while the others remained unaware that Dong Xuebin had used Reverse to restore Xue Xiaoliang’s body to its condition before the injury.

• Dong Xuebin confronted Director Wu with the X-rays showing that Xue Xiaoliang had no injuries and accused the hospital of fabricating evidence to extort him.
• Dong Xuebin accused Xue Qingrong and Xue Xiaoliang of faking an illness and arranging the forged examination, while Xue Qingrong denied knowing about it.
• Xue Qingrong blamed the hospital, leaving Director Wu feeling abandoned and making the officers suspect they had been misled.
• Dong Xuebin demanded an explanation and told Lawyer Hu to prepare a lawsuit against Second Hospital and Xue Xiaoliang.
• Dong Xuebin’s Reverse had restored Xue Xiaoliang’s body to how it had been a day earlier, before he was injured.

As the Public Security Bureau dormitory collapsed, Dong Xuebin refused to abandon Zeng Linghua, who was trapped beneath a massive stone slab. He used slower to reduce the slab’s effective weight and finally lifted it with his bare hands, though the story left her rescue unfinished.

• The dormitory began collapsing while Dong Xuebin remained inside, and officials, firefighters, and Chu Peng urged him to escape.
• Dong Xuebin examined Zeng Linghua and tried to lift the slab, but reverse did not give him enough strength.
• Dong Xuebin realized slower might reduce the slab’s weight by slowing gravity’s effect on it.
• Dong Xuebin activated slower and strained against the slab as the building continued to collapse around him.
• Dong Xuebin lifted the slab two centimeters off Zeng Linghua, astonishing everyone watching.

Dong Xuebin confronted Huang Shizhong over their daughters’ fight, then showed him and the officials a video of Huang Tingting and her classmates bullying Yu Qianqian. The footage exposed Huang Tingting’s role, but Dong Xuebin’s assault on the students left both sides at an impasse as news of his return spread through Yantai County.

• Dong Xuebin and Huang Shizhong argued in the infirmary, with Huang Shizhong denying that Huang Tingting had beaten Yu Qianqian.
• Dong Xuebin found the video online and played it for Huang Shizhong, Principal Qian Dong, and the officers.
• The video showed Huang Tingting and her classmates punching and kicking Yu Qianqian and forcing her to kneel, leaving Huang Shizhong unable to deny his daughter’s actions.
• Dong Xuebin confronted Huang Shizhong and blamed him for excusing Huang Tingting, while Huang Shizhong accused Dong Xuebin of breaking the law by hitting students.
• The dispute stalled as the officials recognized that Huang Tingting had started the bullying but Dong Xuebin had also acted improperly.
• Word spread through the Yantai County Public Security Bureau and Education Bureau that Dong Xuebin had returned and caused trouble at County No. 1 Middle School.

Dong Xuebin joined the Geng family for dinner and used the occasion to repair relations with them. As the evening ended, he secretly touched Geng Yuehua beneath the table while she remained silent.

• Dong Xuebin drank and chatted with Father Geng, Mother Geng, and Geng Xinke, easing the tension between their families.
• Geng Xinke toasted Dong Xuebin and they agreed to put their past conflict behind them.
• Mother Geng urged Geng Xinke and Geng Yuehua to consider marriage, while Geng Yuehua avoided the conversation.
• Dong Xuebin noticed Geng Yuehua's legs beside him and reached beneath the table to touch her stockings and thigh.
• Dong Xuebin continued touching Geng Yuehua beneath her skirt, and no one else at dinner noticed.

Dong Xuebin won a massive Mahjong hand, emptied Song Yuhu, Director Wei, and Director Leng of their chips, and frightened everyone at the casino away from playing him. He left the table to smoke while Zhang Longjuan and the others questioned his impossible winning streak, and he insisted it was luck.

• Dong Xuebin had the dealer confirm his Pure One Suit Magnificent Seven Pairs hand and collect the chips from Song Yuhu, Director Wei, and Director Leng.
• Director Wei and Director Leng admitted defeat, while Song Yuhu and the others paid what they owed and left the game broke.
• Dong Xuebin counted roughly ninety-eight million in chips and invited others to play, but no one dared take the vacant seats or challenge him at cards.
• Dong Xuebin gave up waiting for players and went to join Zhang Longjuan and the others for a cigarette.
• Zhang Longjuan praised Dong Xuebin's hidden skill, while Shen Xiaoyan and Shen Xiaomei questioned his repeated Heavenly Hands and roulette win.
• Dong Xuebin claimed it was luck, and the others remembered that he had once won one hundred First Prizes in the lottery.

Dong Xuebin secretly met Yu Meixia in her hotel room, and the two were intimate while he hid his injuries and avoided being discovered. He ended the night beneath her bed as Yu Meixia welcomed Yu Qianqian and Qian Lihua into the room.

• Dong Xuebin took off his clothes and showed Yu Meixia his bandaged injuries, then persuaded her to be intimate with him on the carpet.
• Yu Meixia and Dong Xuebin were intimate for a while, then dressed and tried to clear the room of signs of what they had done.
• Yu Meixia prepared a coat under the bed for Dong Xuebin and aired out the room while he hid beneath the bed.
• Yu Qianqian and Qian Lihua knocked and entered, and Yu Meixia claimed she was hot when they noticed her flushed face.