Recaps

After the Shaohua fire, reporters found that victims’ families defended Mayor Zhou Yi and Secretary Sima Yanan, derailing attempts to smear them online. The provincial investigation confirmed the fire’s cause and issued penalties, including Party warnings for Zhou Yi and Sima Yanan.

• Reporter Tian interviewed victims’ families, who blamed Zeng Xiaoguang for the fire and rejected reporters’ attempts to draw criticism of the city’s leaders.
• Ji Weizhen and other relatives confronted Jimu News reporter Fang Ling and defended Mayor Zhou and Secretary Sima.
• Reporter Tian sent her material to Lin Fang, whose online post helped shift Weibo comments toward people jokingly competing to have Zhou Yi transferred to their cities.
• The provincial investigation team concluded that a faulty cable in the Auto Parts City building’s electrical distribution room ignited nearby combustible materials and submitted its report on September 15.
• On October 15, the Jingchu Provincial Government approved criminal action against thirteen people and disciplinary penalties for Xu Pei, Luo Hao, Zhou Yi, and Sima Yanan.

After the August 18 fire killed eleven people, Zhou Yi and Sima Yanan confronted the tragedy’s consequences and reaffirmed their commitment to Shaohua City. Zhou Yi received a call from his sworn elder sister Jiang Xinting, whose anxiety eased when he answered.

• Sima Yanan and Zhou Yi demanded sweeping workplace safety inspections after the fire exposed serious failures and caused eleven deaths.
• Zhang Hui and the other standing committee members worried that Zhou Yi and Sima Yanan might leave, since their leadership had driven Shaohua’s growth and helped their careers.
• Zhou Yi told Sima Yanan he had no plans to leave unless higher-ups transferred him, and she said she wanted to finish at least three years in Shaohua.
• Sima Yanan explained that Zhou Yi’s poverty alleviation approach had drawn praise from senior leaders, and Zhou Yi asked after her recovering throat.
• Jiang Xinting called Zhou Yi, and hearing his familiar voice eased her anxiety.

Jiang Xinting asked Zhou Yi to protect her from Wan Hongshan, who had used a trap involving her husband to pressure her into becoming his mistress. Zhou Yi promised to intervene, while Jiang Xinting’s marriage appeared to end after Kang Shaofang proposed they part ways and she collapsed after their farewell drink.

• Jiang Xinting told Zhou Yi how Wan Hongshan had blocked her promotion and arranged for Kang Shaofang to be trapped in a compromising situation so he could pressure her.
• Jiang Xinting’s husband and in-laws urged her to appease Wan Hongshan, but her retired uncle could not help her.
• Zheng Yifan suggested that Jiang Xinting ask Zhou Yi for help, and Zhou Yi assured her he would handle the matter.
• Zhou Yi asked Sima Yanan about contacts in Anping, and she named Chai Xiongwei and Lu Jiefeng as people who could rein in Wan Hongshan.
• Kang Shaofang told Jiang Xinting they should part on good terms, and she drank a farewell toast before collapsing at their restaurant table.

Kang Shaofang took his unconscious wife, Jiang Xinting, to a hotel suite for Wan Hongshan, but Zhou Yi’s warning that Jiang was Lu Jiefeng’s niece frightened Wan into leaving. Jiang woke unharmed, realized Kang had betrayed her, and confronted him by phone.

• Kang Shaofang carried the drunk Jiang Xinting to suite 606 at the Spring Day Hotel and left her there for Wan Hongshan.
• Wan Hongshan arrived intending to take advantage of Jiang, but Chai Xiongwei called to warn him that she was Lu Jiefeng’s niece, so Wan hurried out.
• Jiang woke in the hotel, read Zhou Yi’s messages, and recognized his claim about Lu Jiefeng as a protective charm.
• Jiang called Kang Shaofang and learned from his anxious questions about Wan that Kang had knowingly delivered her to him.

Jiang Xinting’s career recovered after Zhou Yi helped resolve her predicament, while her marriage to Kang Shaofang collapsed and he eventually went to prison. At home, Zhou Yi teased his pregnant wife Jian Shuyue about reading Xia Mingyue’s novel, and she reflected on how meaningless her life would be without him.

• Jiang Xinting thanked Zhou Yi, who advised her to seek help from Chai Xiongwei if she faced further problems.
• Yan Jinqiao told Jiang Xinting she had passed the Organization Department’s vetting, and Wan Hongshan apologized and asked about transferring Kang Shaofang back to the city.
• Jiang Xinting said Kang Shaofang’s affairs no longer concerned her, while Kang waited for Wan Hongshan’s promised transfer and promotion; he eventually went to prison after Wan was placed under Shuanggui.
• Zhou Yi found Jian Shuyue reading Xia Mingyue’s novel, teased her about it, and washed and massaged her feet.
• Jian Shuyue told Zhou Yi that a dream of life without him had made her realize how meaningless that life would be.

Jian Shuyue and Zhou Yi joked about whether their lives were written by an author, while Jian Wanyan presented the city’s smog-control proposals to visiting leaders. Gan Liansheng praised Zhou Yi’s contribution and then raised a question that pointed to tensions with Municipal Party Secretary Fu Xueqian.

• Jian Shuyue wondered whether their lives were controlled by an author, and Zhou Yi compared the idea to fate before joking that he would be the male lead of a wish-fulfillment novel.
• Jian Shuyue and Zhou Yi laughed together and went to bed before ten.
• On October 20, Jian Wanyan reported the city’s air-pollution data and proposed forceful smog-control measures to Gan Liansheng and the visiting leaders.
• Jian Wanyan credited Zhou Yi with proposing an average PM2.5 limit, and Gan Liansheng praised Zhou Yi’s abilities.
• Gan Liansheng asked Jian Wanyan about the relationship between a secretary and party committees, leading Jian Wanyan to say that a secretary could represent the party committee but was not the party committee.

Jian Wanyan recognized that Gan Liansheng’s personnel plans involved recruiting Jian Wanyan’s son-in-law, Zhou Yi, to oversee discipline inspection in Qingning City. Zhou Yi accepted the unexpected transfer from Shaohua City and left with Jian Shuyue, moved by the crowds gathered to see him off.

• Jian Wanyan told Gan Liansheng that top officials needed strong oversight, and Gan revealed he was considering Lu Jiefeng for Qingning mayor and asked Jian to recommend a new discipline inspection secretary.
• Gan Liansheng’s plan to transfer Zhou Yi to Qingning City as Discipline Inspection Commission secretary surprised Provincial Party Secretary Wei Siqi, who had hoped to bring Zhou to Huaining City.
• Zhou Yi and Sima Yanan learned of the transfer, and Zhou prepared to report to Qingning by November fifteenth.
• Zhou Yi told Jian Shuyue about the transfer, and she reassured him that she would go wherever he went.
• Zhou Yi handed his unfinished work to Zhang Hui and received an emotional farewell from Shaohua City officials.
• Zhou Yi and Jian Shuyue left their home on November tenth, and Zhou wept when he saw the crowds gathered along the road to say goodbye.

Zhou Yi left Shaohua amid an emotional public farewell, and Old Xiao approved of his work there. In Qingning, Fu Xueqian learned that Zhou Yi would arrive as the new mayor and recognized him as a serious threat to his influence.

• Residents, officials, and reporters gathered to see Zhou Yi off, praising his work and wishing him well as his sedan departed.
• Inside the sedan, Zhou Yi complained that someone had arranged the farewell, while Jian Shuyue understood how much the public’s support meant to him.
• Old Xiao watched coverage of Zhou Yi’s departure and approved of the changes Zhou Yi and his granddaughter had brought to Shaohua.
• Fu Xueqian spoke with Wang Yang, who was transferring to Gaotai as mayor, and assured him that the provincial authorities had their reasons for appointing Zhou Yi to Qingning.
• After Wang Yang left, Fu Xueqian concluded that Zhou Yi’s arrival, backed by powerful connections, posed the greatest danger to his position.

Zhou Yi arrived in Qingning as the new Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary, while Lu Jiefeng became acting mayor, and Fu Xueqian saw Zhou’s appointment as a direct challenge to his authority. As Zhou learned the commission’s responsibilities, he heard about an investigation into Shang Xinfeng and considered Fu’s role in the case.

• Chen Yueqing and Ma Yongru announced Lu Jiefeng’s appointment as deputy secretary and mayor nominee and Zhou Yi’s appointment as Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary.
• Fu Xueqian interpreted the provincial leaders’ remarks on democratic centralism and oversight as warnings directed at him, while Lu Jiefeng resolved to support Zhou Yi.
• Zhou Yi met Qingning’s discipline inspection officials; Fu Xueqian skipped the introduction meeting to signal his opposition.
• At a commission Standing Committee meeting, Guo Mingjin briefed Zhou Yi on the suspected corruption case against Shang Xinfeng and said Fu Xueqian had ordered a thorough investigation.
• Zhou Yi recalled Fu Xueqian’s forceful leadership, his clash with Shang Xinfeng, and the subsequent investigation that placed Shang under Shuanggui.

Shang Xinfeng escaped his interrogation room but jumped from a building while fleeing through the Case Investigation Center. As Zhou Yi began reviewing Shang's case, he learned that Shang was being rushed to the hospital, leaving the commission's leaders facing a major crisis.

• Shang Xinfeng used a demand to use the bathroom to knock down Lin Xiaoyi, hit Yu Cheng with a meal tray, and escape with food.
• Shang Xinfeng ran through the Case Investigation Center, entered an opposite office building, and jumped from a third-floor window after stealing a cigarette.
• Zhou Yi asked Guo Mingjin to send him the detailed materials on Shang Xinfeng's case and heard about Wu Haili's repeated protests over Yu Jiangbo's detention.
• Hu En told Zhou Yi and the commission's Standing Committee that Shang Xinfeng had jumped from a building and was being rushed to the hospital.

After Shang Xinfeng jumped from the third floor during an investigation, Zhou Yi questioned the investigators and uncovered that they had tortured him to extract a confession. Zhou judged Shang’s case to be poorly supported and planned to report it to the Municipal Party Committee, setting up a confrontation with its leadership.

• Zhou Yi ordered Shang Xinfeng to be taken to the hospital and summoned investigators Yu Cheng and Lin Xiaoyi to explain the jump.
• Yu Cheng claimed Shang had escaped while they were helping him, but Zhou Yi questioned why they had assisted him and challenged their account.
• Zhou Yi described prohibited interrogation tactics, prompting Lin Xiaoyi and Yu Cheng to admit they had tortured Shang to extract a confession.
• Zhou Yi ordered the investigators to submit detailed reports and await disciplinary decisions.
• Zhou Yi said Shang’s case had unclear facts and insufficient evidence, and announced that he would report his concerns to the Municipal Party Committee.

After opposing the investigation and Shuanggui measures against Shang Xinfeng, Zhou Yi questioned General Office Director Shen Huiying about Yu Jiangbo’s wife and learned she accused Wang Yang and Fu Xueqian of framing her husband. Zhou Yi prepared to test Fu Xueqian’s influence at an upcoming standing committee meeting and planned to constrain him through his subordinates.

• At the Discipline Inspection Commission meeting, Zhou Yi opposed opening a Formal Investigation into Shang Xinfeng and using Shuanggui against him.
• In his office, Zhou Yi asked Shen Huiying about Wu Haili, and Shen revealed that Wu accused Wang Yang of framing Yu Jiangbo.
• Zhou Yi told Shen to bring Wu Haili to meet him if she returned, noting that Shen and Wu had been classmates.
• After reflecting on his difficult task of restraining Fu Xueqian, Zhou Yi received notice of a Municipal Party Committee standing committee meeting the next morning.
• Zhou Yi decided to use the meeting to assess the committee members and planned to deal with people under Fu Xueqian if he could not confront Fu directly.

New Discipline Inspection Commission secretary Zhou Yi opposed the handling of Shang Xinfeng’s case, giving the hospitalized Shang hope that he might be saved. Fu Xueqian learned of Zhou’s stance and prepared to challenge him through the officials under Zhou’s authority.

• At lunch, Zhou Yi told Organization Department Head Song Guowen that Shang Xinfeng’s case had questionable evidence and methods, and that he opposed the hasty decision to place Shang under Shuanggui.
• At the hospital, He Yuqin told Shang Xinfeng that Zhou Yi had publicly questioned the case and intended to raise it with city leaders.
• Shang Xinfeng recognized Zhou Yi’s name and excitedly declared that he was saved.
• Song Guowen reported Zhou Yi’s opposition to Fu Xueqian, who resolved to use Guo Mingjin and the others to resist Zhou’s efforts.

Fu Xueqian resolved to assert his authority over Zhou Yi, while officials in the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection struggled to reconcile Fu’s orders with Zhou’s authority in Shang Xinfeng’s case. They agreed to delay the investigation, but Shen Huiying secretly reported Fu’s instructions to Zhou, and Guo Mingjin left the karaoke lounge with a sudden thought.

• Fu Xueqian decided he had to teach Zhou Yi to respect the rules and responsibilities of a subordinate.
• Guo Mingjin gathered commission officials, who debated whether to follow Fu Xueqian’s order to investigate Shang Xinfeng or risk opposing Zhou Yi.
• Shen Huiying proposed keeping the investigation moving slowly so they could avoid openly offending either Fu or Zhou, and the others agreed.
• After the gathering, Shen Huiying called Zhou Yi and told him that Wei Quanheng had relayed Fu Xueqian’s order to continue investigating Shang Xinfeng rigorously.
• At the karaoke lounge, Guo Mingjin said he felt dizzy and left early.

Shen Huiying chose to back the newly arrived Secretary Zhou, while Zhou Yi learned that several officials had warned him about Secretary Fu Xueqian’s pressure to keep targeting Shang Xinfeng. At the Standing Committee meeting, Lu Jiefeng raised the allegations against Shang Xinfeng just as Zhou Yi gave him a signal.

• Shen Huiying called Wu Haili and confirmed that Wu would visit Secretary Zhou the next afternoon for help.
• Shen Huiying, Guo Mingjin, and Hu En each told Zhou Yi that Wei Quanheng had relayed Fu Xueqian’s instruction to continue taking measures against Shang Xinfeng.
• Fu Xueqian welcomed Zhou Yi and Lu Jiefeng at the Standing Committee meeting, then warned the leadership team to preserve unity and follow the broader interests.
• The Standing Committee reviewed guidelines for the People’s Congress and heard a report on thematic education without Zhou Yi taking an active role.
• As the meeting ended, Zhou Yi audibly sipped from his cup, and Lu Jiefeng raised the allegations that Shang Xinfeng had violated the law and Party discipline.

At a standing committee meeting, Mayor Lu Jiefeng raised Shang Xinfeng’s suicide attempt and asked Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary Zhou Yi to explain the case. Zhou challenged the evidence against Shang and left the committee facing unanswered questions about whether anyone had investigated the alleged bribe.

• Lu Jiefeng asked whether the standing committee knew Shang Xinfeng had jumped from the third floor of the Discipline Inspection Commission Case Handling Center.
• Fu Xueqian dismissed the suicide attempt as an effort to evade responsibility and insisted Shang’s case should proceed.
• Wei Quanheng suggested Zhou Yi knew little about the case because he had just taken office, but Zhou said he had reviewed it.
• Zhou pointed out that accuser Xiang Qiushi had changed his account of the bribe’s date and location several times.
• Zhou questioned whether Shang himself had obtained the bank card linked to the million yuan, and Gao Bin admitted no one had investigated who had obtained it.

Zhou Yi challenged the handling of Shang Xinfeng’s case and persuaded the standing committee to lift the shuanggui measures while he investigated. He gave Fu Xueqian a one-month deadline, secured help from the public security bureau, and ordered his staff to question Shang Xinfeng and Xiang Qiushi.

• Zhou Yi argued that Shang Xinfeng’s questionable dealings had not been properly investigated and called for lifting the shuanggui measures until the facts were verified.
• Fu Xueqian gave Zhou Yi one month to report his findings, warning that he would hold Zhou accountable if he missed the deadline.
• Zhou Yi asked Gao Bin for public security support, and Gao agreed to lend a criminal investigation brigade for one week.
• Zhou Yi ordered Guo Mingjin to lift Shang Xinfeng’s shuanggui measures and arrange questioning of Shang and Xiang Qiushi.
• Hu En felt relieved that he had shared what he knew with Zhou Yi, while Shen Huiying considered how to help Zhou fulfill his pledge.

Wu Haili told Zhou Yi that she and her daughter were in danger and handed him a USB Drive containing evidence connected to corruption and powerful figures. Zhou Yi accepted the drive, setting him on the path to investigate a case that reached beyond Yu Jiangbo.

• News spread that Zhou Yi had pledged to resolve Shang Xinfeng's case within a month, while city officials waited to see whether he would succeed.
• Wu Haili evaded a suspicious taxi after enduring attacks and threats, fearing that criminals wanted to seize what she possessed.
• Wu Haili met Zhou Yi and explained that she had been making public appearances to protect herself and her daughter from shadowy forces.
• Zhou Yi confirmed that Wu Haili accepted Yu Jiangbo's guilt and asked what had put her family's safety at risk.
• Wu Haili gave Zhou Yi a USB Drive and described allegations against a Qingning City vice mayor and pressure on Yu Jiangbo over the Artificial Island Tourist Resort project.

Zhou Yi learned why Yu Jiangbo had been sacrificed and took possession of the evidence Wu Haili had safeguarded. As he set investigators to protect Wu Haili and find Xiang Yicong, Xiang Yicong revealed that his tearful breakdown had been an act.

• Wu Haili explained that Fu Xueqian had arranged Yu Jiangbo’s investigation and that Yu had hidden evidence on a USB drive to protect his family.
• Zhou Yi accepted the USB drive, then ordered Yang Ye han to guard Wu Haili and Xu Jin to locate Xiang Yicong.
• Wu Haili felt safer under Zhou Yi’s protection and had already warned her daughter to stay on campus.
• In a basement, Xiang Yicong pretended to grieve after assaulting Chu Yuzhen, while a woman in sunglasses threatened to release a recording and had Chu Yuzhen taken away.
• Xiang Yicong watched Chu Yuzhen being removed, then asked the woman in sunglasses how his acting had been.

Wang Qiong manipulated Xiang Yicong into continuing their scheme while explaining that her priority was now to provoke a clash between Zhou Yi and Fu Xueqian. After Wang Qiong left, Chu Yuzhen admitted that her encounter with Xiang had been exciting despite his mediocre performance.

• Wang Qiong slapped Xiang Yicong when he made a sexual advance, then warned him to stay in his place.
• Xiang Yicong apologized, and Wang Qiong promised to take him to Capital City if he continued serving her.
• Wang Qiong ordered Xiang Yicong to record another video of himself being abused so his father would not waver during the Procuratorate's interrogation.
• Xiang Yicong asked why Wang Qiong had shifted from framing Shang Xinfeng to stirring up trouble between Fu Xueqian and Zhou Yi, and Wang Qiong said their conflict was now her priority.
• Wang Qiong reasoned that Zhou Yi and Fu Xueqian were evenly matched opponents and planned to let them fight while she stayed clear of the danger.
• Chu Yuzhen told Wang Qiong that Xiang Yicong's performance was only passable but that the encounter had felt exciting.

Wang Qiong plotted to inflame the conflict between Zhou Yi and Fu Xueqian, while Zhou Yi reported allegations against Vice Mayor Fang Hang and challenged the official account of Shang Xinfeng’s case. Fu Xueqian rejected Zhou Yi’s suspicions about Xiang Yicong, but Zhou Yi remained determined to pursue them.

• Wang Qiong decided to use others as pawns to intensify the conflict between Zhou Yi and Fu Xueqian.
• Xu Jin reported that Xiang Yicong had been found at a mountain villa and claimed he had merely hidden away after his father’s arrest.
• Zhou Yi told Fu Xueqian that a tip and video evidence implicated Fang Hang in corruption, abuse of power, and rape, and recommended referring the case to the provincial commission.
• Fu Xueqian ordered Zhou Yi to handle the Fang Hang matter as he saw fit, while expressing anger at the accusations.
• Zhou Yi argued that Xiang Yicong might have staged his disappearance to help frame Xiang Qiushi, but Fu Xueqian dismissed the theory as absurd.

Zhou Yi tested Fu Xueqian's trustworthiness over allegations against Vice Mayor Fang Hang, then reported the accusations to Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary Ma Yongru. Fang Hang learned that a major crisis was unfolding and abruptly left Guangshan County.

• Zhou Yi told Fu Xueqian that his suspicion of Fu was only speculation, and explained that he had arranged protection for Wu Haili after she reported being followed and attacked.
• Fu Xueqian realized Zhou Yi was testing whether he would warn Fang Hang, while Zhou Yi acknowledged he did not fully trust Fu.
• Zhou Yi called Ma Yongru to report allegations that Fang Hang had embezzled, accepted bribes, kept a mistress, and raped female students, and Ma ordered him to bring the evidence to the Province.
• Fang Hang continued an inspection visit in Guangshan County, where he privately mocked Deputy County Magistrate Liu Tai for not knowing about Fang's affair with Liu's wife, Lin Hua.
• Fang Hang received a phone call during dinner preparations, panicked, and hurried back to the city, leaving Cai Ming and the county officials wondering what had happened.

Wang Qiong told Fang Hang that Zhou Yi had delivered evidence against him to the Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission and urged him to write a suicide note to protect powerful people. Fang Hang left the nightclub in despair, but Wang Qiong’s bodyguard reported that someone had abducted him.

• Fang Hang returned to Qingning City and met Wang Qiong at the Richman Nightclub.
• Wang Qiong explained that Zhou Yi had taken evidence against Fang Hang to the Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission and said he faced a likely death sentence.
• Fang Hang asked Wang Qiong to help him flee, but she said investigators would reach Qingning within hours and told him to write a suicide note.
• Wang Qiong pressed Fang Hang to accept his fate, and Fang Hang said he had no last wishes before leaving the private room.
• Wang Qiong sent her bodyguards after Fang Hang, but one soon called to report that someone had abducted him at the entrance.

Wang Qiong’s plan to force Fang Hang to kill himself was disrupted when kidnappers seized him, while officials investigating Fang Hang struggled to locate him. The kidnappers claimed they were helping Wang Qiong, and the chapter ended with Fang Hang’s whereabouts still unknown.

• Wang Qiong learned that men had abducted Fang Hang outside the Richman Nightclub and ordered her bodyguards to investigate.
• Fang Hang suspected Wang Qiong had sent the kidnappers, who said they were taking him somewhere to ensure he could not back out of killing himself.
• Lai Rongxiang and Lu Jiefeng arrived in Qingning to arrest Fang Hang, but found his phone switched off and learned he had disappeared.
• Investigators traced Fang Hang to the Richman Nightclub and discovered he had been taken away in a gray van.
• Fu Xueqian ordered Gao Bin to find Fang Hang and the kidnappers, fearing Zhou Yi would blame him for leaking information.
• Wang Qiong monitored the investigation through her contacts and remained anxious because Fang Hang had not been found.

Zhou Yi brought Fang Hang to the Provincial Procuratorate after preventing his planned suicide, while Zhang Yingde investigated whether Zhou Yi was behind Fang Hang’s disappearance. Fang Hang realized Zhou Yi had likely uncovered a mole in the Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission, and Zhou Yi prepared to let the law take its course.

• Zhou Yi stayed overnight in the provincial capital after arranging for Guo Mingjin to help the Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission investigate Fang Hang.
• Zhang Yingde met Zhou Yi at breakfast, learned he planned to return to Qingning, and reported that Fang Hang’s disappearance likely had nothing to do with him.
• Zhou Yi went with Xu Feifeng and Feng Yaliang to the Provincial Procuratorate, where Fang Hang was being held after being abducted by men posing as kidnappers.
• Fang Hang recognized Zhou Yi and suspected he knew about the mole inside the Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission.
• Zhou Yi reflected that Fang Hang had planned to die by suicide and decided he would instead confess, face the law, and receive his eventual punishment.