Chapter Summaries

Gu Zheng visited Song Ning before her business trip abroad, bringing money and advice while seeking reassurance about their relationship. Song Ning told him he was still her first choice as he prepared to leave.

• Gu Zheng arrived at Song Ning's room after two sleepless days, and Han Xiao and Chen Liang discussed his chances with her.
• Gu Zheng told Song Ning that the operation was going smoothly, explained the status of Hu Yuankai's transferred money, and gave her German marks for her trip.
• Gu Zheng warned Song Ning to stay safe abroad and pretended to fall asleep on her sofa before asking whether he was still her first choice.
• Gu Zheng admitted that he was jealous of Zhou Yuanhang accompanying Song Ning, and Song Ning scolded him for insulting Zhou.
• As Gu Zheng left, Song Ning told him that he was her first choice.

Song Ning left for Germany with the reporting delegation, while Gu Zheng waited for her return and she considered having a serious talk with him afterward. After arriving in Munich, she settled in with her roommate Cheng Hui, who became interested in Zhou Yuanhang.

• Song Ning reassured Gu Zheng before leaving, and he hugged her and said he would wait for her return.
• Song Ning joined the delegation's send-off and rode to the airport, where Yang Ye rearranged the seats and took the place beside her instead of Zhou Yuanhang.
• Song Ning flew through Frankfurt to Munich, with Yang Ye sitting beside her and Zhou Yuanhang unable to chat with her comfortably.
• The delegation arrived in Munich late on September 1 and learned that their formal welcome and ten-day program would begin on September 3.
• Song Ning shared a hotel room with Cheng Hui, who asked about Zhou Yuanhang and revealed her interest in him.

Song Ning spent time with Yang Ye before the delegation’s official visit to Germany began. After the welcome banquet, the delegation started its Siemens tour, with procurement inspections and CT equipment cooperation discussions still ahead.

• Song Ning met Yang Ye in the hotel lobby, where he complained that Gu Zheng was his biggest threat and number one enemy despite their supposed good terms.
• Yang Ye intercepted Mike’s attempted hug, and Mike invited Song Ning to dinner, but Professor Qi explained that the delegation had a group dinner and meeting planned.
• The delegation attended the official welcome banquet at noon on September 3, where representatives from Hua Country and Germany held cordial exchanges.
• On September 4, the delegation began its visits at Siemens, where it would spend three days touring and learning about the company.
• After the Siemens visit, Director Sun and Professor Qi planned to lead procurement members in inspecting and testing CT equipment before technical cooperation discussions began.

Song Ning negotiated a broad cooperation agreement between Hua Country and Germany, linking Chinese technical support for fourth-generation CT to concrete benefits for Chinese universities and manufacturers. When the German side resisted finalizing partner lists, she threatened to delay setting a deadline for solving the technical challenges, then confirmed she was confident she could solve them.

• Song Ning offered Hua Country’s support in solving fourth-generation CT detector-motion and motion-artifact problems in exchange for Germany’s equipment manufacturing and technical expertise, winning the German team’s unanimous approval in principle.
• Song Ning proposed German-funded laboratories, university exchanges, manufacturer training, and low-cost equipment imports, and presented specific lists of Chinese universities, manufacturers, and potential projects.
• German representatives resisted confirming specific partners, while Director Sun and Professor Qi urged Song Ning to accept verbal policy commitments and finalize the lists later.
• On September 10, Song Ning said Hua Country would provide no definite deadline for solving the technical challenges unless Germany finalized the partner lists.
• The German representatives asked whether Song Ning was confident she could solve the problems within a set time, and she nodded.

Song Ning negotiated Siemens’s cooperation with Hua Country, trading broader university and factory exchanges for a shorter timeline to develop Fourth-Generation IC Equipment. When Siemens’s technical director pressed her to shorten it further, she argued for deeper, open-ended cooperation and urged the delegation to consider Hua Country’s future potential.

• Song Ning told the German delegation that the timeline depended on their sincerity, prompting them to offer exchange programs with Qingbei University and a factory in Capital City.
• After Siemens asked for a shorter timeline, the delegation added partner universities and factories, and Song Ning reduced the promised timeline from one year to nine months and then six months.
• The delegations reached a consensus, but Siemens’s technical director arrived and asked whether deeper cooperation could shorten the timeline further.
• Song Ning proposed broad cooperation with Hua Country’s key universities and outstanding enterprises, arguing that lasting partnerships should consider the future as well as present capabilities.

Song Ning secured De Country’s agreement to grant Hua Country broad educational and industrial benefits and signed a technical cooperation agreement after promising to solve the Fourth-Generation CI’s technical obstacles within three months. As the delegation’s mission wrapped up, Song Ning and Professor Qi prepared for a laboratory discussion, while Zhou Yuanhang and Cheng Hui stayed behind at the hotel entrance after he spilled a drink on her shoe.

• Song Ning proposed equal cooperation and broad policies for Hua Country, then promised to overcome the Fourth-Generation CI’s technical obstacles and improve its performance within three months.
• The De Side agreed to report Song Ning’s proposal to its superiors, and Professor Qi predicted that they would accept rather than risk losing Hua Country as a partner.
• The next day, the De Side presented official documents offering fair benefits to Hua Country’s universities and factories, and Song Ning signed the technical cooperation agreement.
• The delegation completed its mission after the purchased third-generation CT equipment passed inspection and calibration, while Song Ning arranged to meet Mike’s technical team and Professor Qi about establishing a laboratory.
• Song Ning declined Zhou Yuanhang’s invitation to the Eisen-De Museum, then saw him and Cheng Hui at the hotel entrance, where he had tried to wipe a drink stain from her shoe.

Song Ning attended a Siemens dinner at Mike’s home and met his father, Kurt, a top-ranked Hoz Society researcher who supported cooperation with Hua Country. Kurt’s expertise in materials made Song Ning suspect that the suspicious car accident might have targeted him rather than Mike.

• Song Ning impressed Siemens’ technical staff with her knowledge, and they grew more confident that Hua Country could solve the technical challenges within three months.
• Mike invited Song Ning, Professor Qi, Yang Ye, Zhou Yuanhang, and Cheng Hui to a dinner at his home, where he revealed that his father was a U3-level Hoz Society researcher.
• At the party, Mike brought Song Ning upstairs to meet Kurt, who thanked her for saving Mike and spoke warmly about Hua Country.
• Kurt discussed science and cooperation with Song Ning and offered her books from his collection, many of which concerned materials.
• Song Ning wondered whether the car accident in Shanghai City had actually been aimed at Mike’s father.

Song Ning saved Kurt from a shot fired through his study window, but the incident ended with Cheng Hui dead in the garden. The evidence indicated that Cheng Hui had fired at Kurt before being killed by a shot to the back of her head.

• Song Ning sensed danger and shoved Kurt down as a bullet shattered the study window.
• Yang Ye rushed in, warned everyone away from the window, and went downstairs after a second shot; Kurt was unharmed and taken to safety.
• Professor Qi told Song Ning that Cheng Hui might be dead, and she saw Cheng Hui's body in the garden as police arrived.
• Yang Ye asked Song Ning to interpret for the officers, and she saw that Cheng Hui had been shot in the back of the head while still holding a gun.
• Song Ning realized that the bullet aimed at Kurt had apparently come from Cheng Hui's gun.

After Cheng Hui was shot dead while apparently trying to kill German researcher Kurt, Song Ning and Yang Ye waited at the police station as the investigation began. Song Ning reasoned that Cheng Hui could not have carried the Walther Super pistol herself, leaving the question of who supplied it unresolved.

• Yang Ye and Song Ning accompanied Cheng Hui's body to the police station while the rest of the Chinese delegation waited to give statements.
• Yang Ye explained that a German security guard had shot Cheng Hui after finding her aiming at Kurt's second-floor study, and that he was among the first to reach her body.
• Song Ning questioned how Cheng Hui obtained the gun and concluded that she must have had an accomplice among the banquet guests.
• Song Ning ruled out the Chinese delegation members and security personnel, leaving a foreign national as the likely supplier, though she doubted Cheng Hui could have had such an accomplice.
• Yang Ye was impressed by Song Ning's composure, observation, reasoning, and trust in Hua Country's soldiers, and thought of Gu Zheng's admiration for her.

Song Ning and Yang Ye reviewed evidence that appeared to implicate Cheng Hui in the attack on Kurt, while requesting further investigation into the gun and banquet guests. On the way back to the hotel, Song Ning connected the attack to an earlier incident involving Mike and the K organization, and Yang Ye asked whether she already had a suspect in mind.

• Song Ning and Yang Ye reasoned that Cheng Hui may have had an accomplice among the banquet guests, and the Police Station gave them her autopsy, scene, and ballistics reports.
• Yang Ye requested the gun's origin and statements from banquet attendees, while Song Ning asked for the handgun to be checked for fingerprints; the Police Station agreed.
• Mike arrived on Kurt's behalf, asked the Police Station to assist Song Ning and Yang Ye, and later drove them back to the hotel.
• Mike told Song Ning that Kurt had faced many threats but had never before been attacked at home, and he assured her that he and Kurt trusted her.
• Song Ning told Yang Ye that she had pushed Kurt aside because she suspected the earlier attack on Mike might have been aimed at Kurt and connected to the K organization.
• Yang Ye asked Song Ning whether she already had a suspect in mind.

Song Ning and Yang Ye revisited Mike’s villa and compared their accounts with Wei Ping’s to reconstruct the moments before Cheng Hui shot Kurt. Their timeline narrowed the Chinese delegation members who might have seen Cheng Hui leave the living room to Xiao Pan and Zhou Yuanhang.

• Song Ning searched Cheng Hui’s luggage again but found no clues, then joined Yang Ye and Wei Ping the next morning to return to Mike’s villa.
• Yang Ye recounted how he heard the shots, found Song Ning and Kurt in the study, and saw Cheng Hui on the lawn with a gun.
• Wei Ping described staying near Professor Qi, who had gone to the storage room with Helai and Lisa when the first shot sounded.
• Song Ning concluded that only Xiao Pan and Zhou Yuanhang had remained in the living room and might know when Cheng Hui left.

Yang Ye, Wei Ping, and Song Ning tested whether someone else could have fired from the lawn and returned unnoticed, but their reenactment suggested Cheng Hui had been alone when the shot was fired. At the Police Station, they began reviewing witness statements for clues to Cheng Hui’s motive and weapon, and Yang Ye noticed something as Song Ning finished reading the first accounts.

• Yang Ye and Wei Ping measured the lawn and considered whether another person could have fired the first shot before framing Cheng Hui.
• Yang Ye and Wei Ping reenacted the possible routes back to the living room, and each attempt showed that the yard-gate guard would have seen the other person.
• The group concluded that Cheng Hui had been alone on the lawn when she fired and went to the Police Station to search for her motive and the weapon’s source.
• Song Ning reviewed Professor Qi, Xiao Pan, and Zhou Yuanhang’s statements, which placed them in the living room or storeroom around the time of the gunshot.
• Yang Ye looked up at Song Ning, who asked whether he had found a problem.

Song Ning and Yang Ye reviewed statements about the shooting at Mike’s party while the police questioned them. Mike’s account revealed that Cheng Hui had shown interest in attending the party and persuaded Zhou Yuanhang to come, leaving Song Ning to continue investigating her role.

• Song Ning gave the police a vague explanation for saving Kurt, then disarmed Carl during questioning and said her quick reflexes came from lessons learned from her soldier grandfather.
• Song Ning and Yang Ye joined the team in reviewing thirty-two statements, which offered some corroboration of Xiao Pan’s account but little new evidence about the shooting.
• Song Ning compared Anna’s and Peter’s statements and noted that Anna had named Zhou Yuanhang as a witness, suggesting they had been near each other.
• Mike told Song Ning that Kurt’s tests showed no physical harm and explained that Cheng Hui had asked about parties before he invited her and Zhou Yuanhang to the gathering.
• Mike said Cheng Hui had persuaded Zhou Yuanhang to attend, confirming that she had taken the initiative to come to the party.

Song Ning and Yang Ye suspected Zhou Yuanhang may have helped Cheng Hui get into Mike's villa and kill Kurt, but they agreed not to accuse anyone without evidence. At the hotel, Zhou Yuanhang confessed that Cheng Hui's death had a lot to do with him.

• Song Ning explained why she suspected Zhou Yuanhang, Cheng Hui, or both of them had planned the attack on Kurt.
• Yang Ye added that Zhou Yuanhang's research field overlapped with Kurt's and agreed the two may have committed the crime together.
• Yang Ye warned Song Ning to keep their suspicions private until they had solid evidence.
• Song Ning and Yang Ye found Zhou Yuanhang waiting in the hotel lobby, exhausted after a sleepless night.
• Zhou Yuanhang told Yang Ye he had hidden the truth in his statement and that Cheng Hui's death had a lot to do with him.

Zhou Yuanhang recounted rejecting Cheng Hui shortly before her death and insisted she had been framed, while investigators continued questioning the delegation. After Song Ning completed her interview, she told Yang Ye she wanted to meet Anna, the other witness who had seen Cheng Hui before the gunshot.

• Zhou Yuanhang told Yang Ye and Song Ning that Cheng Hui confessed her feelings at the banquet, and he rejected her before she ran into the garden.
• Zhou Yuanhang insisted Cheng Hui could not have been the killer and said he had watched her leave the living room shortly before the gunshot.
• Director Sun took Yang Ye and Song Ning to meet the delegation, where Professor Qi and Director Sun discussed Cheng Hui's background and her family's efforts to come to De Country.
• A security team member summoned Song Ning for a formal interview about her movements and interactions with Cheng Hui.
• After her interview, Song Ning told Yang Ye that she wanted to meet Anna, who had also seen Cheng Hui before the gunshot.

Song Ning and Yang Ye questioned Anna, whose account supported Zhou Yuanhang’s alibi, then learned forensic evidence indicated Cheng Hui had fired the gun herself. The fingerprint report was ready, leaving the investigators to examine their last remaining lead.

• Song Ning questioned Anna, who described Cheng Hui confessing to Zhou Yuanhang, running out after his rejection, and Zhou rushing to the window when the shots rang out.
• Yang Ye and Song Ning concluded that Anna’s testimony supported Zhou Yuanhang’s account and looked to the gun’s fingerprint report for further evidence.
• Cheng Hui’s parents visited her body at the morgue, but the sight overwhelmed them and Yang Ye arranged for them to be taken to the hospital.
• Song Ning asked the forensic pathologist whether Cheng Hui could have fired the gun, and he showed her a bruise on her index finger consistent with pulling the trigger.
• Yang Ye told Song Ning that the fingerprint report had arrived and asked her to go review it with him.

Karl’s fingerprint and soil analysis led investigators to believe Cheng Hui retrieved the gun from Mike’s flower bed and shot Kurt, while they searched for whoever had planted it. The delegation prepared to return home, but Cheng Hui’s ashes remained in De Country, and Director Sun and Yang Ye stayed behind as Song Ning encountered the haggard Zhou Yuanhang.

• Karl reported that the handgun carried only Cheng Hui’s fingerprints, but soil on it matched soil from a disturbed flower bed at Mike’s house.
• Investigators concluded that someone attending the banquet had hidden the handgun in the flower bed, where Cheng Hui later retrieved it and shot Kurt; the Chinese Side’s members had alibis.
• The delegation was confined to its hotel while the police investigated the suspected gun supplier, and the embassy secured permission for the group to return on September twentieth.
• Cheng Hui’s parents attended her cremation, but De Country’s police kept her ashes as evidence until the investigation ended; Yang Ye promised to bring them home.
• Director Sun decided to stay behind with Yang Ye and three delegation members while Professor Qi led the others home, and Song Ning saw the haggard Zhou Yuanhang leave without speaking.

Song Ning and Yang Ye learned that Ghost had supplied Cheng Hui with the gun in an attempt to kill Kurt, using Ryder as a paid accomplice. The German side closed the case after Kurt asked them to preserve relations with Hua Country, leaving Song Ning wondering what Cheng Hui had received and whether the truth would ever emerge.

• Song Ning asked Yang Ye to find out whether her university admission letter had arrived and how she should report for the semester.
• Carl told Song Ning and Yang Ye that Ryder had hidden the gun, received money from Ghost, and died in a house fire.
• Carl explained that Ghost had used Ryder and Cheng Hui as pawns in another attempt on Kurt's life, and Yang Ye recognized Ghost as a dangerous international organization.
• Yang Ye told Song Ning that Ghost stole advanced research and had clashed with Hua Country, while Gu Zheng knew more about the organization.
• Director Sun and Professor Qi learned that the German side would close the case after Kurt publicly thanked Song Ning and urged officials not to pursue it.
• Song Ning accepted that the case was over but wondered what Cheng Hui had received from Ghost and whether anyone would ever find out.

Song Ning prepared to leave De Country for Capital City after Yang Ye arranged her admission plans and she reflected on Cheng Hui’s case with Sister Dong. At the Frankfurt airport, after the delegation departed, a tall stranger stopped Song Ning and asked to get to know her.

• Yang Ye told Song Ning that Gu Zheng had arranged for her admission letter and a meeting in Capital City.
• Sister Dong recalled Cheng Hui’s innocent nature and described how Cheng Hui tugged at Comrade Zhou on the bus before his cola spilled onto her shoes.
• Song Ning told Sister Dong that Yang Ye’s team would continue investigating, though not every mystery would necessarily be solved.
• On September twenty-first, Song Ning said goodbye to the delegation in Frankfurt and prepared to fly alone to Capital City.
• Yang Ye brushed off Song Ning’s farewell and pushed Professor Qi into the boarding passage after reassuring him that Song Ning could protect herself.
• A tall stranger complimented Song Ning’s eye rolls and asked if he could get to know her.

Song Ning reunited with Gu Zheng, agreed to seriously consider their relationship, and told him about her lingering doubts over Cheng Hui’s case. Gu Zheng comforted her and revealed that Zhou Yuanhang was connected to Ghost.

• Gu Zheng met Song Ning, admitted he had missed her, and embraced her; she told him she would give their relationship serious thought.
• On their flight home, Song Ning recounted the investigation into Cheng Hui and explained why she still suspected Cheng Hui had been framed.
• Gu Zheng said Ghost had a history of exploiting innocent people and reassured Song Ning that she could share her concerns with him.
• Song Ning admitted she had suspected Zhou Yuanhang, and Gu Zheng revealed that Zhou Yuanhang had a connection to Ghost.