Chapter Summaries

While recovering in the hospital, Dong Xuebin faced Qu Yunxuan after she learned about his relationship with Xie Huilan, and the two women confronted him together. He chose neither of them, then collapsed as they rushed to call a doctor.

• Dong Xuebin received visitors who praised him for defusing the bomb and capturing the escaped prisoner, then called Xie Huilan, who did not answer.
• Qu Yunxuan confronted Dong Xuebin about his relationship with Xie Huilan, and he admitted it before she arrived at his hospital room.
• Xie Huilan entered and introduced herself as Dong Xuebin's girlfriend, and she and Qu Yunxuan challenged each other over their claims on him.
• Xie Huilan and Qu Yunxuan each demanded that Dong Xuebin choose one of them, but he declared that he liked neither and told them to leave.
• Dong Xuebin collapsed as Xie Huilan and Qu Yunxuan cried out and called for a doctor.

After Dong Xuebin brought Zhong Lizhen safely back to the Capital City, her family prepared to receive officials and researchers who wanted to meet her. Academician Chen arrived and asked Dong Xuebin how he had managed to bring her home.

• At lunch, Zhong Lizhen learned that Dong Xuebin was an executive deputy county chief, while Xie Guojian received a serious phone call.
• After lunch, Xie Guobang told the family that military officials and Chinese Academy of Sciences researchers were coming to receive Zhong Lizhen, and Xie Guojian warned her about the danger of spies and the pressure from M Country.
• Dong Xuebin described their route from the airport, and Xie Guojian arranged to erase surveillance footage from the airport, Hualian Shopping Mall, and the Express Hotel.
• Zhong Lizhen insisted on repaying Dong Xuebin for the money he had spent, so Han Jing lent her the amount.
• Chen Xuekai arrived with his students, joyfully greeted Zhong Lizhen, and asked Dong Xuebin how he had brought her back.

The Xie Family feared that Zhong Lizhen and Dong Xuebin had been killed in Fu Continent, while the military arranged a rescue. The family’s grief was interrupted when a woman arrived at the villa and Xie Guoliang recognized her as Lizhen.

• Old Master Xie angrily confronted Xie Guojian for telling Dong Xuebin about Zhong Lizhen, then said he had arranged help through Zhongnanhai.
• Han Jing told Xie Huilan that Dong Xuebin had gone to rescue Zhong Lizhen and might be in grave danger.
• Xie Huilan insisted that Dong Xuebin was alive and tried to book a flight to Fu Continent, so Xie Guobang arranged to have her stopped at the airport.
• The Xie Family members called in alarm as Xie Guojian contacted the airport and sought updates from Fu Continent.
• Xie Guoliang opened the villa door, saw a woman he recognized, and asked if she was Lizhen.

Dong Xuebin infiltrated the heavily guarded research institute to find Zhong Lizhen, using his time-stopping ability to get inside. After forcing a researcher to reveal her location, he rewound two minutes and headed for the sixth floor undetected.

• Zhai Shun dropped Zhang Longjuan off and followed orders to hide rather than attempt a rescue at the research institute.
• Dong Xuebin waited outside the institute, then stopped time and slipped through its gates.
• Dong Xuebin searched the building and confronted a researcher, who revealed that Zhong Lizhen was in Isolation Room No. 1 in the Sixth Floor West Zone.
• Dong Xuebin used back two minutes to erase the confrontation, stopped time again, and headed upstairs toward Zhong Lizhen's location.

Dong Xuebin revealed his undercover identity after killing Flathead and Lao Hei to rescue Hou Qing and two police officers. With the criminals preparing to escape by boat, he left the basement alone to stop them.

• Dong Xuebin watched Manager Ma and the boss capture two police officers and bring them to the basement, where they learned the gang had stolen cultural relics from the Provincial Museum.
• Flathead and Lao Hei prepared to execute Hou Qing, Brother Xu, and Xiao Wang, but Dong Xuebin disarmed and killed both men.
• Dong Xuebin freed the officers and told Hou Qing that he was an undercover officer named Dong Xuebin from the Yantai County Public Security Bureau.
• The group decided to hold the basement while waiting for police, but Dong Xuebin took the remaining gun and went upstairs alone to confront the criminals.

Dong Xuebin returned to the courtyard in his wife's Land Rover and let the officials know it was legally purchased, surprising them with his family's apparent wealth. When Pu Tao's wedding lead car broke down, he lent her the Land Rover, leaving the Pu family's procession far more impressive than Zhang Wanshui's.

• Zhang Wanshui switched to another lead car after the Lexus would not start, while Pu An's car also remained broken down.
• Dong Xuebin told Pu An and the other officials that the Land Rover belonged to his wife and had been bought with their legal income, prompting widespread surprise.
• Pu Tao refused to use a Passat as her wedding lead car and asked Dong Xuebin to lend her his Land Rover.
• Dong Xuebin handed Pu Tao the keys and said he would attend the wedding with the Pu family.
• Pu Tao and the groom rode in the Land Rover, while Zhang Wanshui's side was left with a much less expensive Audi.

After construction materials fell at the New County Party Committee Compound, Dong Xuebin’s Chenggang County targets were severely injured, and he returned to Xie Huilan’s hospital room. Xie Huilan recovered while Dong Xuebin vowed to deal with Li Zhixin next.

• Li Zhixin learned that Zhou Wei, Director Wang, Director Li, Sun, and two officers had been injured by falling construction materials, while Dong Xuebin escaped unharmed.
• Li Zhixin ordered the scene sealed off and hurried to investigate the incident.
• Dong Xuebin returned to the hospital, where Liao Yimin and Fenzhou City officials waited outside Xie Huilan’s room.
• Dong Xuebin told Xie Huilan that the people who had pushed her were crippled, and she suspected he had caused it.
• Dong Xuebin said six of the seven people involved had been dealt with and planned to target Li Zhixin, who had not been at the scene.

Dong Xuebin rushed to evacuate residents who refused to leave a demolition-dispute alley, while district and county officials argued over his actions and Xie Huilan’s earthquake preparations. The evacuation continued under pressure as the predicted earthquake drew near.

• Wang Yuling told Dong Xuebin that residents in the last evacuation area were refusing to leave, and he drove there to help.
• Dong Xuebin promised the residents their homes would not be demolished, but Old Cheng and others still refused to evacuate.
• Dong Xuebin ordered Peng Gang and the officers to move the holdouts by force, and Old Cheng struck him on the head with his cane.
• Despite bleeding and being beaten by resisting residents, Dong Xuebin urged the staff to hurry and helped load people into vehicles for the park shelter.
• At an emergency meeting, Wen Wei and Xue Qingrong condemned Dong Xuebin for detaining police officers, while Wu Liang defended his urgency.
• Xiang Daofa challenged Xie Huilan’s unauthorized evacuation, but privately believed her earthquake warning would prove false.

Dong Xuebin visited investor Peng Kenong’s home with Lin Pingping to persuade him to invest in Yantai County. After using his rewind ability to upgrade Peng’s son Little Tiger’s game staff to +11, Dong Xuebin got Little Tiger to urge his father to reconsider, leaving Peng Kenong willing to think the investment over again.

• Dong Xuebin and Lin Pingping went to Peng Kenong’s apartment after learning he planned to invest in another county instead.
• Lin Pingping explained that Peng Kenong indulged his son, Little Tiger, and Dong Xuebin went to chat with him about his online game.
• Dong Xuebin used his rewind ability to undo a failed upgrade and raise Little Tiger’s staff from +10 to +11.
• Dong Xuebin asked Little Tiger to persuade his father to invest in Yantai County if he upgraded the staff to +13.
• Little Tiger urged Peng Kenong to invest locally, and Peng Kenong agreed to reconsider the proposal.

Dong Xuebin visited the Geng family and agreed to bring Geng Xinke to Jiaolin after the county became a city, offering him a Fuchu Level position as his secretary. The family accepted the plan while Geng Yuehua was still in the bathroom.

• Dong Xuebin discussed Jiaolin's pending county-to-city upgrade with the Geng family, and Mother Geng compared his success with Geng Xinke's stalled career.
• He Suien, Zhong Zhengwei, and other Fenzhou City contacts called Dong Xuebin after hearing he had returned.
• Lin Pingping asked Dong Xuebin to help transfer Geng Xinke to Jiaolin, and he offered him a Fuchu Level secretary position once the upgrade was approved.
• Geng Xinke accepted the offer, and Lin Pingping said she would take their child and go with him if necessary.

Dong Xuebin and Yu Meixia shared a bed to keep warm, and he pressed her to overcome her hesitation and become intimate with him. The chapter ended with Dong Xuebin using a condom and having sex with Yu Meixia.

• Yu Meixia warmed Dong Xuebin's bed by lying under his quilt, then joined him beneath his warmer one when he noticed her shivering.
• Dong Xuebin pulled Yu Meixia close and kissed her despite her repeated protests and guilt about her late husband and daughter.
• Dong Xuebin undressed Yu Meixia, while she told him she was unsure about being intimate because of their age difference and her daughter.
• Yu Meixia eventually asked Dong Xuebin for a condom, and he found one and prepared it.
• Dong Xuebin kept the light on and had sex with Yu Meixia after she asked him to turn it off.

Dong Xuebin learned that the city had appointed him to Zhenshui County’s Standing Committee, and Jiang Fangfang told him to report to Secretary Meng. After Jiang gave her secretary unusual orders to let Dong in without an announcement, Li Xiaona discovered that he strongly resembled Jiang’s deceased husband as a young man.

• Li Xiaona called Dong Xuebin and told him Jiang Fangfang wanted to see him when he arrived at work.
• Dong met Chu Peng leaving Jiang’s office, then learned from Jiang that the city had approved his appointment to the county’s Standing Committee.
• Jiang told Dong to report to Secretary Meng, who had returned that morning.
• After Dong left, Jiang instructed Li Xiaona to let him enter her office at any time without announcing him.
• Li searched archived photos of Jiang’s deceased husband and found that his face at age twenty-two looked strikingly like Dong’s, then decided to keep her discovery secret.

Dong Xuebin welcomed his longtime colleagues Guo Panwei and Chang Juan to dinner at his home after they arrived to take up their new posts. As they celebrated their impending promotions and recalled their years working together, they reflected on Dong Xuebin’s rapid rise through the system.

• Dong Xuebin told Zhang Dongfang he planned to take several days off soon to help with his wife’s younger brother’s wedding, and Zhang approved.
• Guo Panwei invited Dong Xuebin to dinner, but Dong asked him and Chang Juan to eat at his home instead.
• Guo Panwei and Chang Juan brought local specialties and cooked dinner for Dong Xuebin, who opened a bottle of Moutai for them.
• The three toasted Dong Xuebin and thanked him for helping them secure promotions as the county awaited approval to become a city.
• Dong Xuebin, Guo Panwei, and Chang Juan reminisced about their early days together and discussed how far Dong Xuebin had risen in five years.

Dong Xuebin brought Yu Meixia downstairs after she fled an audition where the company had pressured her into a kiss scene. He confronted the company, assaulted another security guard, and smashed its logo, then called Xie Guobang’s secretary as General Manager Wu and other industry figures headed back to face him.

• Dong Xuebin reassured Yu Meixia in the elevator and led her to sit in the lobby while he dealt with the company.
• Dong Xuebin demanded that the company leaders come downstairs, struck a security guard who reached for him, and smashed the company sign with a large vase.
• Dong Xuebin returned to Yu Meixia and called Secretary Shen to ask that the police be kept away while he handled matters himself.
• General Manager Wu learned that Dong Xuebin had beaten two guards and damaged the company logo, then decided to return.
• General Manager Wu blamed Yu Meixia for the incident and vowed to prevent her from getting future roles as he and the others headed back.

Dong Xuebin seized an opportunity when investors’ scheduled county visits fell through and persuaded more than fifty domestic investors to visit Zhenshui County. He hurried to secure enough vehicles before the other investment teams woke or city leaders arrived.

• Investors complained to Dong Xuebin that the investment promotion staff they had arranged to meet were missing and unreachable.
• Dong Xuebin invited the waiting investors to inspect Zhenshui County, and most agreed to go.
• Dong Xuebin told Chang Juan, Chen Yunsong, and Gong Na that he had brought in more than fifty investors and ordered them to prepare vehicles immediately.
• Chen Yunsong said they could rent more vehicles, though the urgent booking might cost double.
• Dong Xuebin handed Chen Yunsong fifty thousand yuan and urged him to get the investors to Zhenshui County before the absent staff woke or city leaders arrived.

Dong Xuebin attended a class reunion where his former classmates discussed their jobs and status, then watched them prepare to surrender their private room to county officials hosting city leaders. He challenged Director Wang’s order to make them leave.

• Du Juan described how Inspection Team Three had ignored the county leaders’ welcome and refused their offers of assistance.
• Dong Xuebin told his classmates that he earned a little over four thousand, and their interest in him quickly faded.
• Director Wang entered and demanded that Pang Shuo and Du Juan’s group clear the room for the County Party Secretary’s dinner with city leaders.
• Pang Shuo agreed to leave, but Dong Xuebin stayed seated and asked Director Wang who he was to order them out.

After Dong Xuebin won more than two hundred million US dollars on the ship’s Slot Machine, he refused to take the money for himself and urged Zhang Longjuan to use it to save her company. Zhang Longjuan accepted it as an investment and made Dong Xuebin a shareholder with a twenty percent stake.

• Zhang Longjuan, Dong Xuebin, Shen Xiaoyan, and Shen Xiaomei hauled the suitcases of cash into the VIP room aboard the ship.
• Shen Xiaomei pressed Dong Xuebin to explain his Slot Machine win, but he claimed it was luck and kept the truth about Reversing to himself.
• After the ship announced it would dock in forty minutes, Zhang Longjuan arranged a vehicle to transport the money.
• Shen Xiaoyan and Shen Xiaomei left Zhang Longjuan and Dong Xuebin to discuss what to do with the winnings.
• Dong Xuebin refused to keep the money, citing his position as a cadre and insisting Zhang Longjuan use it to rescue her company.
• Zhang Longjuan agreed to take the money in exchange for shares, and settled on giving Dong Xuebin a twenty percent stake.

Dong Xuebin secured Xie Guobang’s support for his risky transfer to Jiaolin County and began arranging the connections he would need. He planned New Year visits with Han Zhenghe and Fang Wenping as he prepared to overcome the political obstacles.

• Xie Guobang told Dong Xuebin he would help clear remaining obstacles and contact the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection if Dong could establish the necessary connections.
• Han Jing and Xie Guobang discussed the risks of Dong Xuebin’s proposed move, including opposition from the Fang Family and the Organization Department of the Central Committee.
• Dong Xuebin called Han Zhenghe and arranged to visit his home for dinner on the second day of the New Year.
• Dong Xuebin called Fang Wenping to arrange a New Year visit, and she reluctantly agreed to see him on the evening of the second day.

Dong Xuebin used a staged interrogation to make Deputy District Governor Chu believe Secretary Song had betrayed him, prompting Chu to confess that Song had relayed Deputy Mayor Feng Jie's instructions about the Third Middle School Teaching Building. Dong submitted the preliminary investigation report to Zhan Guiping, who accepted the result but warned him not to use such tactics again.

• Luo Haiting and Xiao Zhang pretended to question Secretary Song, leading Deputy District Governor Chu to believe Song was blaming him for the case.
• Chu returned to Dong Xuebin and confessed that Song had told him to remove the substandard materials at the Third Middle School Teaching Building, citing Deputy Mayor Feng's intentions.
• Dong had Chu write down his testimony, then revealed that the apparent questioning of Secretary Song had been a staged trap.
• Dong compiled the investigation findings and delivered the preliminary report to Zhan Guiping.
• Zhan Guiping confronted Dong about his deceptive methods, let them pass under the circumstances, and warned him not to repeat them.

Dong Xuebin remained troubled about allowing the county to move into the wasteful New County Party Committee Compound, so he used Forward to look ahead at the newspapers. When the drawer stayed empty despite his attempts to account for it, he suspected something major would happen the next day.

• Office staff and county leaders discussed the imminent move to the New County Party Committee Compound, while Dong Xuebin privately regretted allowing it.
• Dong Xuebin worked late, ate dinner with Su Yan, and told him to come in early for the move the next day.
• After Su Yan left, Dong Xuebin used Forward on the afternoon newspapers to try to see the next day's news, but found the drawer empty.
• Dong Xuebin called Su Yan and told him to put all newspapers directly in the drawer, then tried Forward again and still found nothing.
• Dong Xuebin reasoned that the missing newspapers might mean an extraordinary event would disrupt the next day.