Chapter Summaries

Song Ning completed the Xingfu Road Winery handover, appointing Song Wang as its owner and Zheng Chunzhi as director. After seeing Mike and Lao Qi off, she explained her plans for reforming hospital staffing, then learned Zhou Yuanhang was likely in the interrogation room.

• Song Ning persuaded Song Wang to take responsibility for the winery, and he signed the handover documents.
• Song Ning appointed Zheng Chunzhi to manage the Xingfu Road Winery and its sales.
• Song Ning saw Mike off at the airport after he promised to arrange contacts for her hospital equipment.
• Song Ning told Lao Qi she planned to seek support for doctor exchanges and rotations at her hospital, and Lao Qi offered to join if the policy was approved.
• Song Ning and Han Xiao saw Lao Qi and the research team off at the train station as their nearly three-month project ended.
• Han Xiao told Song Ning that Zhou Yuanhang was probably in the interrogation room.

Song Ning and Han Xiao returned to the Siheyuan Courtyard, where Tang Wei invited Song Ning to lunch with Boss Huang’s group and asked to speak with her privately. He revealed that Miss Chen had confessed her feelings, and Song Ning asked him what he thought of her.

• Song Ning learned that Zhou Yuanhang was being questioned to verify details about his captivity by organization K and felt relieved that nothing seemed wrong.
• Tang Wei met Song Ning and Han Xiao at the courtyard and invited Song Ning to lunch with Boss Huang’s group before they left for Harbor City.
• Tang Wei asked to speak with Song Ning alone and explained that he had accompanied Miss Chen while she helped deliver aid to the countryside.
• Tang Wei told Song Ning that Miss Chen had confessed her feelings and asked for help turning her down.
• Tang Wei said their different backgrounds and careers made them unsuitable, and Song Ning asked what he thought of Miss Chen.

Song Ning learned that Tang Wei would give Chen Yawen a chance if they lived in the same city, while Chen Yawen said she was willing to leave her career behind to be with him. Song Ning promised to arrange another meeting and whispered a plan to Chen Yawen.

• Tang Wei told Song Ning he liked Chen Yawen but thought their long-distance relationship was impractical, then admitted he would try if she lived in Capital City.
• Han Xiao told Song Ning that Gu Zheng had left for a business trip, and Song Ning decided to travel to Flower City with Boss Huang's group.
• Song Ning treated Boss Huang and his party to a farewell meal and then accompanied Chen Yawen shopping in Wangfujing.
• Chen Yawen told Song Ning she was serious about Tang Wei and willing to give up her career and move to Capital City for him.
• Song Ning promised to arrange another meeting between Chen Yawen and Tang Wei, then whispered a plan that Chen Yawen agreed to follow.

Song Ning left Capital City with the Harbor City delegation, reunited with Deng Yixing in Flower City, and then traveled to Shen City to visit Fucheng Commune. She arrived to find Luohu District transformed by rapid development and was warmly greeted by Secretary Wu.

• Song Ning and Han Xiao arranged a call between Tang Wei and Chen Yawen, while Song Ning said she would help them overcome their practical difficulties.
• Huang Yongfu’s delegation, Song Ning, Han Xiao, and Xiong Gang departed Capital City for Flower City, where Tang Wei watched them leave and hoped to see Chen Yawen again.
• Deng Yixing welcomed Song Ning with a banquet and thanked her for inspiring his expanding distribution business; Chen Yawen and Huang Yongfu invited Song Ning to visit Harbor City.
• Song Ning traveled with Han Xiao and Xiong Gang to Shen City, where she saw that Luohu District’s infrastructure and investment system had rapidly developed.
• Song Ning went directly to Fucheng Commune, and Secretary Wu greeted her as the commune’s first client.

Song Ning went to sell her 860 mu of grade-A land and negotiated with Li Runxiang, who needed his cousin’s help to buy it. When his cousin arrived, she recognized Song Ning and rushed over to embrace her, leaving Han Xiao and Xiong Gang bewildered.

• Song Ning asked Secretary Wu to help sell all the land she held in Fucheng Commune.
• Li Runxiang arrived, examined Song Ning’s map, and confirmed that every plot was grade A.
• Li Runxiang said he could not afford all the land alone, so he called his cousin to help buy it.
• Li Runxiang’s cousin arrived in a mink coat and recognized Song Ning, then rushed over and embraced her.

Song Ning sold her land to Li Runxiang, with Li Lingshan joining the deal and defending Song Ning’s interests. After Han Xiao warned Song Ning about trusting A Qing, the group learned that something had happened to Yu Zhengyang.

• Li Lingshan reunited with Song Ning and insisted that her cousin Li Runxiang give Song Ning a favorable deal for the land.
• Song Ning agreed to sell all the land to Li Runxiang, and Secretary Wu began processing the paperwork.
• Li Runxiang invited Song Ning and the others to lunch while they waited for the payment to be processed.
• Han Xiao warned Song Ning that A Qing might leak information about the valuable deal, and Song Ning agreed to return to Capital City once the paperwork was finished.
• After lunch, A Qing called and told the group that something had happened to Yu Zhengyang.

Song Ning traveled to Harbor City with A Qing and her companions to find Yu Zhengyang and A Zhong after learning they had rushed there over trouble involving Yu Zhengyang’s woman. Their search led them to a locked architects association office and then the police station, where they discovered Yu Zhengyang had already filed a report.

• A Qing told Song Ning that Yu Zhengyang and A Zhong had gone to Harbor City after Yu Zhengyang received a call about his woman, and she gave Song Ning the address he had written down.
• Li Runxiang identified the address as Yihe Building, and Song Ning warned Li Lingshan not to hold the speculative land plots for more than a year before leaving for Harbor City.
• Song Ning and her companions reached the Harbor City Architects Association office at Yihe Building, but found it locked and could not learn what had happened to Yu Zhengyang and A Zhong.
• Song Ning and A Qing went to a police station to report their friends missing, but an officer accused them of filing a false report after noticing Yu Zhengyang had filed a report that afternoon.

Song Ning learned that Yu Zhengyang had reported Chen Yuting missing after she was abducted in Harbor City, then discovered Yu Zhengyang himself had vanished. She and the others went to the Balai Nightclub to find A Juan and learn more about the abduction.

• Song Ning questioned the police and learned Yu Zhengyang had reported Chen Yuting missing after she disappeared in Central, with A Juan listed as the friend who alerted him.
• A Qing took Song Ning, Han Xiao, and Xiong Gang to a hotel and went to gather information; Han Xiao and Xiong Gang discussed whether they could trust him and their concern for Chen Yuting.
• A Qing returned with A Zhong, who said Chen Yuting had been abducted by someone she knew and that Yu Zhengyang had disappeared after they reported it to the police.
• A Zhong explained that A Juan had called after witnessing Chen Yuting being grabbed near the Balai Nightclub, but she had not learned where Chen Yuting was taken.
• Song Ning and the others headed to the Balai Nightclub, while A Zhong explained that Yu Zhengyang had once saved A Juan and that Chen Yuting had beaten A Juan and gotten her fired.

Song Ning went to Balai Nightclub to find A Juan and learn how Chen Yuting had ended up there, while suspecting Yu Zhengyang might also be searching for her. Just as a handsome server offered Song Ning wine, someone burst into the private room before she could drink.

• A Zhong explained that Chen Yuting had secretly traveled to Harbor City with Boss Wan, the construction businessman A Juan was dating, and had run into A Juan there.
• Song Ning, Han Xiao, Xiong Gang, and A Zhong arrived at Balai Nightclub, where A Zhong failed to enter through the back and warned that the club admitted only members.
• Song Ning claimed that Li Lingshan had invited her, and the greeters let her and her bodyguards into the nightclub's reserved private room.
• A Zhong went to look for A Juan, while Song Ning suspected Yu Zhengyang was also at the nightclub and Han Xiao went to search for him.
• A handsome server opened a bottle of red wine and offered Song Ning a glass, but someone suddenly burst into the private room before she drank.

Song Ning questioned A Bin about the missing host A Pu and a woman named A Juan while waiting for Li Lingshan. Li Lingshan arrived with a surprise, and the chapter ended as a man was pushed into the room and everyone recognized one another in shock.

• Song Ning stopped Brother Cai's men from taking A Bin away and agreed to cover his fine on Li Lingshan's tab.
• Song Ning asked A Bin about A Pu, who had left the nightclub and was rumored to have been seen at Emerald Bay, and about a worker named A Juan.
• A Bin said he could not identify A Pu's friends or the villa he had visited, and he did not recognize anyone named A Juan.
• Li Lingshan arrived, learned Song Ning had helped A Bin, and said she had a surprise for her.
• A man was pushed into the room, and everyone who saw him reacted as though they had seen a ghost.

Song Ning and her companions searched the Balai Nightclub for Chen Yuting and the witness who had seen her abducted, while Li Lingshan helped them reach the kitchen staff. The manager brought in a frightened woman in a kitchen uniform, and Song Ning recognized her as someone familiar.

• Yu Zhengyang told Song Ning that A Juan had seen Chen Yuting in the alley behind the Balai Nightclub, and that he had been forced to work there after paying someone to get him inside.
• A Zhong reported finding a kitchen helper named A Juan before being caught, while Han Xiao said guards had blocked his way to the basement.
• Song Ning warned Li Lingshan to leave after explaining that Chen Yuting might be held in the basement, but Li Lingshan chose to help.
• Li Lingshan arranged for the nightclub manager to bring over a woman from the kitchen.
• Song Ning recognized the woman as a familiar face.

Song Ning learned that Chen Yuting had been abducted after following a group of men into the nightclub area, and suspected the kidnappers were connected to the K organization. She left with Yu Zhengyang to plan a search, while Song Caijuan begged to be taken home.

• Song Ning recognized A Juan as Song Caijuan, who begged her to take her home.
• Song Caijuan said Chen Yuting had left her room, followed several men, and was knocked unconscious and dragged away.
• Song Caijuan described the men as tall and muscular, and said she had watched them from a storage room behind the nightclub.
• Song Ning suspected Chen Yuting had encountered a mainland member of the K organization, possibly someone connected to the military.
• Yu Zhengyang feared Chen Yuting was in danger, and Song Ning told him they needed to plan carefully.
• Li Lingshan left after warning Song Ning to stay away from dangerous matters.

Song Ning rescued Yu Zhengyang from the Balai Nightclub and arranged for Song Caijuan to gather information about its basement and return to Shen City. Li Runxiang then invited Song Ning to a private auction in Kowloon, where she hoped to meet Fourth Young Master Hu, the nightclub's owner.

• Song Ning questioned Song Caijuan about the nightclub's basement and agreed to consider taking her back if she secretly tracked the kitchen's meal deliveries.
• Song Ning had A Zhong slap Song Caijuan so the nightclub staff would believe she had been punished, then left with Yu Zhengyang, Han Xiao, and Xiong Gang.
• The manager told Yu Zhengyang that Miss Li had arranged for him to leave with Song Ning, and the group exited the nightclub.
• Li Runxiang invited Song Ning to an auction in Kowloon and explained that Fourth Young Master Hu, who owned the Balai Nightclub, would attend.
• Song Ning accepted Li Runxiang's invitation and sent A Zhong with Yu Zhengyang to the hotel, instructing him to wait for Song Caijuan the next morning if she had not returned.

Song Ning attended an auction with Li Runxiang and recognized the Gilt Buddha Statue that Fourth Young Master Hu hoped to buy. As bidding rose, she stopped him and declared that the statue was fake.

• Li Runxiang escorted Song Ning into the auction while their bodyguards waited in a nearby lounge.
• Li Runxiang introduced Song Ning to Fourth Young Master Hu, who later took seats with them near the front.
• Auction staff unveiled a rare Gilt Buddha Statue, and two appraisers praised its Tang-era craftsmanship and condition.
• Song Ning inspected the statue and recognized it from her future, where Professor He had studied it with her.
• Fourth Young Master Hu began bidding for the statue, but Song Ning stopped him and said it was a fake.

Song Ning publicly proved that the Buddha statue auctioned as a Tang dynasty antique was a counterfeit, prompting the Feng family to withdraw it and cover the losses. As she tried to leave the embarrassed gathering, Liang Youde stopped her.

• Hu Yuanjing tried to outbid Liang Youde for the Buddha statue, but Song Ning stopped him and Liang won it for 380,000 Hong Kong dollars.
• Liang challenged Hu to explain why someone had called the statue fake, and Hu pointed to Song Ning in front of Elder Cen and the other guests.
• Song Ning explained that the flawless statue lacked the natural cracking expected of an ancient dry-lacquer piece and was missing the crescent-shaped mark found on the real statue.
• An elderly member of the Feng family examined the statue, admitted that a descendant had replaced the original with a counterfeit, and promised to cover the losses.
• The auctioneer voided the sale, and Liang Youde stopped Song Ning as she tried to slip away.

Song Ning escaped the Feng Family’s anger with Hu Yuanjing’s help and persuaded him to search for Chen Yuting, who had been taken to the Balai Nightclub. She and her companions changed hotels and waited anxiously until A Qing arrived at dawn with news that Chen Yuting had been found.

• Song Ning left with Hu Yuanjing, who warned her that the Feng Family might retaliate for exposing their fake Buddha statue.
• Song Ning asked Hu Yuanjing to find Chen Yuting, and he agreed while warning that he could not guarantee whether she would survive.
• Song Ning returned to the hotel, gathered her companions, and moved everyone to another hotel to avoid the Feng Family.
• Yu Zhengyang stayed with Song Ning through the night, worried about Chen Yuting, while Han Xiao and Xiong Gang also kept watch.
• A Qing arrived at four in the morning and announced that Hu Yuanjing’s people had found Chen Yuting.

Song Ning and the others found Chen Yuting dead in a restaurant, where Hu Yuanjing explained that A Biao had beaten and locked her in a basement after she attacked him. Song Ning took Chen Yuting’s body and unconscious Yu Zhengyang, then accepted Hu Yuanjing’s offer to arrange passage to Shen City.

• Hu Yuanjing led Song Ning and the others to a private room, where they discovered Chen Yuting’s body.
• Song Ning examined Chen Yuting and found her cold and motionless, with bruises and wounds; Yu Zhengyang collapsed unconscious.
• A Biao claimed Chen Yuting had attacked him and that he had locked her in a basement, where she died.
• Hu Yuanjing said his investigation supported A Biao’s account and that Chen Yuting might have died from hypothermia after her injuries.
• Song Ning decided to take Chen Yuting’s body, while A Zhong carried Yu Zhengyang and others carried the stretcher.
• Hu Yuanjing offered to arrange a car to Xingjie Pier, and Song Ning accepted his help getting to Shen City.

Song Ning examined Chen Yuting’s body and found that she had been smothered during a struggle, while the reason she approached the bodyguards remained unclear. Cleaning Chen Yuting’s hand revealed a deliberate mark that Song Ning recognized as a small sailboat, leaving the group wondering what message she had tried to send.

• Song Ning performed an autopsy and determined that Chen Yuting died of asphyxiation, with bruises and shallow knife wounds consistent with a struggle.
• Song Ning, Han Xiao, and Xiong Gang discussed A Biao’s partly truthful account and questioned why Chen Yuting had approached the bodyguards.
• Song Ning and the two men opened Chen Yuting’s clenched hands; one palm was empty, while the other bore cuts hidden by blood.
• Song Ning noticed that the cuts formed a deliberate mark and identified it as a simple boat with a raised sail.

Song Ning and her colleagues pursued leads in Chen Yuting’s death while arranging for her body to be returned to Sichuan Province. Back in the capital, Song Ning learned that private medical practices had been officially permitted and looked forward to using her skills.

• Song Ning and Xiong Gang discussed the sail-shaped clue, while Han Xiao investigated Zhou Yuanhang and confirmed he had stayed in Capital City.
• Song Ning urged the South China Military District to protect Song Caijuan and investigate the Balai Nightclub and Emerald Bay, and the district’s team left to begin the operation.
• Yu Zhengyang grieved over Chen Yuting’s death, and Regiment Commander Chen agreed to let him accompany her body home to Sichuan Province.
• Song Ning contacted David to request leave for Yu Zhengyang, then returned to the capital with Han Xiao and Xiong Gang.
• Song Ning read the Ministry of Health’s announcement permitting individuals and private enterprises to open medical practices.

Song Ning prepared to open Hua Country’s first privately contracted hospital, securing legal counsel and gathering help as she planned renovations and staff housing. She ended the chapter arranging to rent a nearby courtyard for the incoming workers.

• Song Ning confirmed hospital equipment orders with Mike and invited He Mingyuan to serve as legal counsel; he agreed to join her team.
• Song Ning continued handling the hospital’s handover, permits, recruitment, and departmental planning while Jiang Chengshi asked for a leadership position.
• Tang Wei visited Song Ning and offered to help with the hospital’s preparations.
• Song Ning explained that she needed temporary staff housing while the former Fuwai Hospital was renovated, and Song Lan suggested renting the neighboring courtyard.
• Tang Wei offered to negotiate with the owner and involve local police officers, and Jiang Chengshi asked who the new arrivals would be.