Chapter Summaries

Dong Xuebin asked Yin Cheng'an for time away to visit his wife and newborn, and Yin arranged a fifteen-day business trip to Jiangnan Province for him. Dong Xuebin handed off his work and left his colleagues stunned by his second long absence so soon after taking up the post.

• Dong Xuebin brought Wuyang City's report to Yin Cheng'an and confirmed his comments on it.
• Dong Xuebin told Yin Cheng'an that his newborn was unwell and he needed to visit his wife in Jiangnan Province.
• Yin Cheng'an arranged a fifteen-day official business trip for Dong Xuebin to Jiangnan Province, telling him to use the time to care for his family.
• Dong Xuebin called Xie Huilan to say he would travel the next day or the day after, then handed his duties to colleagues and said they should not contact him about work.
• Han Fei, He Zhou, and the others were shocked and annoyed that Dong Xuebin had taken another half month off on only his third day at work.

Dong Xuebin confronted Lu Weiguo over Zhenshui County’s inferior hotel rooms and booth placement at the Investment Conference. As officials blamed the county’s lack of results, Chang Juan challenged their standards and defended Zhenshui County.

• The Zhenshui County delegation discovered that its leaders had to share rooms while officials from other counties and districts had single rooms.
• Lu Weiguo gathered the Investment Bureau leaders for a meeting, and the officials recognized Dong Xuebin as the county chief.
• Dong Xuebin confronted Lu Weiguo about Zhenshui County’s room assignments and booth location, but Lu defended the arrangements as necessary sacrifices.
• A Municipal Investment Bureau official blamed Zhenshui County’s poor conference results, prompting Dong Xuebin’s delegation to object that the bureau had interfered with their investors.
• Chang Juan argued that the county’s past results and the advance arrangements should count, leaving the junior official unable to respond.

Dong Xuebin intervened when Minghui insulted Aunt Wang’s family and demanded they pay for a home, giving Xiao Shan three million yuan and urging her to leave Minghui. Minghui walked out regretting his behavior, while Xiao Shan’s family thanked Dong Xuebin for standing up for them.

• Minghui insulted Aunt Wang for working as a nanny, broke up with Xiao Shan, and demanded that her family provide a five-hundred-thousand-yuan down payment for a Capital City home.
• Dong Xuebin entered and explained that Aunt Wang’s close ties to Secretary Xie’s family made Minghui’s contempt for her foolish.
• Dong Xuebin gave Xiao Shan a bank card containing three million yuan, telling her not to use it to buy a home with Minghui and advising her to find a better man.
• Dong Xuebin threatened Minghui, and Xiao Shan looked away instead of defending him, so Minghui left regretting that he had lost his chance to marry her.
• Aunt Wang and her husband thanked Dong Xuebin, who urged Xiao Shan not to choose another man like Minghui and offered to introduce her to someone suitable.

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.

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.

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 cared for Zhong Lizhen while trying to figure out how to win the Experimental Base project for Zhenshui County and build the achievements he needed for promotion. After treating her fever, he left her home, and Zhong Lizhen promised to update him about the project.

• Dong Xuebin cooked dinner at Zhong Lizhen's home and privately planned how to bring the Experimental Base to Zhenshui County.
• Zhong Lizhen asked Dong Xuebin to treat her fever so she could keep working through the night.
• Dong Xuebin gave Zhong Lizhen medicine, massaged her acupoints, and secretly used Reverse to restore her health.
• Zhong Lizhen's temperature returned to normal, and she thanked Dong Xuebin before he left with the car keys.
• Zhong Lizhen promised to call Dong Xuebin with news about the Experimental Base.

Dong Xuebin rushed to the hospital after learning Sun Kai had been stabbed while protecting students, only to find that Sun Kai’s injuries were critical and the hospital lacked a surgeon capable of saving him. Dong Xuebin used REVERSE to stabilize Sun Kai briefly, but faced a dilemma over whether to use it to heal the fatal wound and reveal his ability.

• Dong Xuebin hurried to Heping Street Hospital and called Xie Jing to tell her Sun Kai had been stabbed and ask her to arrange a transfer.
• Dong Xuebin learned that Sun Kai had been stabbed while shielding his students from several thugs, and the doctor warned that he was unlikely to survive.
• Dong Xuebin entered the Operating Room and spoke with the conscious Sun Kai, who wondered whether he would die and regretted being unable to protect the students better.
• Dong Xuebin used REVERSE on Sun Kai, raising his blood pressure and heart rate enough to improve his condition slightly.
• Dong Xuebin considered using REVERSE to restore Sun Kai’s wound but hesitated because doing so could expose his ability.

Dong Xuebin performed surgery on Zeng Linghua in the ambulance while County Hospital doctors rushed to the scene. When Director Feng arrived and questioned his operation, Dong Xuebin confronted him, then the medical staff’s respectful treatment of Dong left the crowd wondering how the surgery had gone.

• As the crowd waited anxiously, Li Xiaona returned with Director Feng, two doctors, and a medical staffer carrying equipment.
• Director Feng learned that Dong Xuebin was operating without a medical microscope and ordered the ambulance doors opened so he could take over.
• Dong Xuebin emerged in bloodstained gloves and scolded Director Feng for arriving late and shouting outside the ambulance.
• Pu An and Jian Xiangrong tried to calm the confrontation, and Dong stopped arguing when Jiang Fangfang addressed him.
• Doctor Qian, Doctor Wang, and the nurse treated Dong Xuebin with unusual care, leaving the crowd uncertain about Zeng Linghua’s condition.

Dong Xuebin let Liu Haibin, Wang Yue, and the others challenge him to a drinking contest at the birthday banquet, secretly using Reverse to recover after each round. He drank seven or eight jin of liquor while his challengers became too drunk to respond.

• Dong Xuebin accepted the officials’ toasts despite Li Feng’s warning and used Reverse to recover after Xiao Xiao’s drink.
• Liu Haibin, Wang Yue, and the others took turns toasting Dong Xuebin as he pretended to grow drunk, while the banquet guests watched.
• Dong Xuebin revealed he had drunk more than five jin and challenged the others to drink with him.
• When no one answered, Dong Xuebin had seven glasses poured and drank them in two minutes, stunning the banquet guests.

Dong Xuebin used his reverse ability to collapse the New County Party Committee Office Building, shifting attention from the police confrontation to the construction project’s failures. The collapse left Li Zhixin gravely injured and the Chenggang County officials facing blame for the disaster.

• Dong Xuebin watched Li Zhixin and the police outside the hotel, recognized their attempt to shift blame onto him, and decided to retaliate.
• Dong Xuebin reversed the Office Building by roughly six months, turning the cement in its foundation back into loose sand and lime.
• The New County Party Committee Office Building sank and collapsed, while officers escaped into an open area.
• Li Zhixin and the construction officials realized they would be held responsible for the building’s collapse.
• Two shards of glass struck Li Zhixin in the eyes, and the people nearby called for an ambulance.

Dong Xuebin returned from an inspection assignment and secured the removal of Liu Haibin, despite Xie Huilan advising him to handle the matter more cautiously. Just before lunch, he discovered that Nanqi Morning News had published a hostile article exposing his assets and portraying him as a corrupt, violent official.

• Dong Xuebin presented evidence against Liu Haibin at a Discipline Inspection Committee meeting, and He Suien approved removing Liu Haibin from office and investigating him.
• Dong Xuebin told Xie Huilan he had acted because Liu Haibin's misconduct warranted punishment, and they planned to have dinner together.
• Luo Haiting warned Dong Xuebin that Nanqi Morning News had published another article about him.
• Dong Xuebin read the article, which disclosed his assets and cited past incidents without context while making fabricated claims of violent law enforcement.

Dong Xuebin left Yu Meixia and Yu Qianqian’s home and headed to the Xiping District Public Security Bureau to give a statement about the recent assault case. He found the arrested suspects’ relatives gathered outside in a silent protest and decided to go speak with them.

• Dong Xuebin woke beside Yu Meixia, then shared breakfast with her and Yu Qianqian before leaving for work.
• A cadre from the Xiping District Public Security Bureau called Dong Xuebin and asked him to come make a statement about the assault case.
• Dong Xuebin drove carefully through the snowy roads to the branch bureau and saw thirty or forty relatives of the arrested people gathered outside.
• A young police officer told Dong Xuebin that the relatives had stayed outside overnight after the arrests and were protesting silently.
• Dong Xuebin felt sorry for the elderly people and children shivering in the cold, then walked toward the entrance to speak with the protesters.

Zhang Longjuan revealed that State Security had arranged for the valuable Courtyard House to be registered in Dong Xuebin’s name, and he accepted her gift. After she showed him the furnished rooms and explained the renovations, Dong Xuebin was thrilled with his new home.

• Zhang Longjuan told Dong Xuebin that State Security had legalized the gambling winnings and transferred the Courtyard House’s ownership to him.
• Dong Xuebin worried the house was too valuable and offered to repay Zhang Longjuan’s investment, but she insisted he accept it.
• Zhang Longjuan showed Dong Xuebin the furnished Northern Region and joked about leaving her clothes in the main bedroom.
• Zhang Longjuan showed Dong Xuebin the guest rooms, study, and bathroom she had arranged in the West Room and East Room buildings.
• Dong Xuebin toured the courtyard and decided he loved the house more than his villa.

Dong Xuebin woke up in the hospital after spending a day unconscious from injuries sustained rescuing people from icy water. The doctors said he was past the critical stage, and Luan Xiaoping stayed by his side, still worried about his selfless actions.

• Dong Xuebin opened his eyes and found Luan Xiaoping crying beside his hospital bed.
• Luan Xiaoping called for help, and doctors examined Dong Xuebin before saying he had passed the critical stage and should recover with rest.
• Dong Xuebin reassured Luan Xiaoping that he would be fine, while the doctors trusted his remarkable ability to survive severe injuries.
• Luan Xiaoping asked why Dong Xuebin had risked himself to rescue people who had treated him badly.
• Dong Xuebin said he had saved them because it was the right thing to do, not to earn their gratitude.

With nine people trapped underwater and professional rescuers still delayed, Dong Xuebin chose to enter the river despite his unhealed injuries. The chapter ended as he plunged into the water to save them.

• Wan Fanglei ordered officials to hurry the Fire Brigade and retrieve rescue equipment while the crowd waited helplessly.
• Relatives of the missing knelt and kowtowed, begging the officials and bystanders to rescue their loved ones.
• Dong Xuebin removed his clothes, revealing the injuries he had hidden from Xie Huilan.
• Zhong Zhengwei, Zhan Guiping, Luo Haiting, and Liu Hanqing tried to stop Dong Xuebin, but he leapt into the river.

As Dong Xuebin prepared to leave Fenzhou City after his promotion, nearly two thousand people he had rescued and their families gathered to thank him and see him off. He left the Municipal Party Committee Courtyard with the crowd walking behind his Land Rover for two kilometers before they finally dispersed.

• Dong Xuebin said goodbye to his colleagues and tried to drive out of the Municipal Party Committee Courtyard.
• A large crowd blocked the gate, alarming city officials until Dong Xuebin recognized many of the people he had rescued and learned they had come to see him off.
• An elderly woman thanked Dong Xuebin on behalf of the crowd, and the citizens praised him, thanked him, and wished him a safe journey.
• The crowd opened a path, but thousands followed Dong Xuebin's Land Rover as he drove away, continuing to see him off for two kilometers.
• Dong Xuebin thanked the citizens and felt that his past efforts and risks had been worthwhile.

Dong Xuebin began his work as Zhenshui County’s executive deputy county chief and met County Chief Jiang Fangfang, who discussed his investment work and delayed other assignments until Secretary Meng returned. Ma Bin showed Dong his office and residence arrangements, while Dong remained curious about Jiang’s unusual first look and wondered why Yao Cui had been absent.

• After welcoming Dong Xuebin, Meng Yiguang left the county compound, and Jiang Fangfang invited Dong to her office for a meeting.
• Jiang Fangfang learned that Dong had worked in investment promotion and assigned him to take charge of attracting investment, postponing other work assignments until Secretary Meng returned.
• Ma Bin introduced himself as director of the County Government Office and escorted Dong Xuebin to his office.
• Ma Bin gave Dong the Family Compound Key and explained that the county had too few official cars for him to have one readily available.
• Dong Xuebin wondered why Jiang Fangfang had stared at him when they first met and noted that he still had not seen Yao Cui.

After spending the night directing the capture of the tomb raiders, Dong Xuebin rushed back to the Capital City and arrived after his son's Hundred Days Banquet had ended. His family scolded him for missing it, but they welcomed him home, and he reunited with Xie Huilan and their baby.

• Dong Xuebin and the Jiaolin County leaders finished securing the ancient tomb after police captured the last two tomb raiders on Qingluan Mountain.
• Dong Xuebin hurried to the provincial capital, flew to the Capital City, and slept through much of the flight after working all night.
• Dong Xuebin reached his family’s courtyard after the Hundred Days Banquet had ended and apologized for missing it.
• Luan Xiaoping scolded Dong Xuebin, while Yang Zhaode and Xie Guobang defended him and urged him to rest.
• Xie Huilan brought Little Chongchong to Dong Xuebin, and the baby smiled after Dong Xuebin kissed him.

Dong Xuebin returned safely from the plane crash and reunited with the pregnant Zhai Yundong, who had feared he was dead. After learning how his family had suffered during his disappearance, he heard that Zhai Yundong planned to move to Beihe Province and seek work there so she and their child could stay close to him.

• Dong Xuebin arrived at the County People's Hospital, where staff and visitors were stunned to see him alive after the plane crash.
• Dong Xuebin found Zhai Yundong in her hospital room, fed her porridge, and comforted her as she cried with relief.
• Zhai Yundong checked Dong Xuebin for injuries and scolded him for telling her to abort the baby and marry someone else before the crash.
• Zhai Yundong told Dong Xuebin that his mother had fainted after hearing about the crash but had recovered, and that she herself had been deeply distressed.
• Zhai Yundong said she planned to leave the hospital, sell her Auction House, and move to Beihe Province to seek a television-station job near Dong Xuebin.