Chapter Summaries

After dying in a traffic accident, Zhou Yi awoke in 2005 as his younger self, a police officer at Qinghe Township Police Station. Reunited with Chief Zhang Liping, he resolved to seize his second chance and make people take notice of him.

• Zhou Yi died after a speeding car struck him at a crosswalk, and he regretted how his life had turned out.
• Zhou Yi woke up eighteen years earlier in the police station restroom and realized he had been reborn.
• Zhang Liping found Zhou Yi soaking himself with water and reprimanded him for moping over his breakup with Li Qian.
• Zhou Yi thanked Zhang Liping, changed into his uniform, and resolved to rewrite his life.

Zhou Yi, remembering that Lü Wenhui had hidden in Chaoyang Village in his previous life, volunteered to search the village and uncovered him hiding inside a water jar. The chapter ended as Zhou Yi kicked Lü Wenhui to the ground while Qian Xiufang tried to help him escape.

• Zhou Yi recalled that Qian Wenjie had missed Lü Wenhui during an earlier search, then agreed to take Qian Wenjie's assignment in Chaoyang Village.
• Anping City launched a large-scale coordinated search, but by June 5 the three fugitives remained at large and city police leaders faced mounting pressure.
• Zhou Yi questioned Qian Xiufang at her home and followed her into the kitchen when she went to fetch water.
• Qian Xiufang panicked when Zhou Yi watched the water jar, then shouted for Lü Wenhui to run and lunged at Zhou Yi.
• Lü Wenhui burst out of the water jar, and Zhou Yi kicked him in the abdomen before he could escape.

Zhou Yi captured Lü Wenhui, forced him to reveal where Feng Wei and Yang Keming’s bodies were, and brought the Investigation and Arrest Operation to a successful end. Back at the station, Zhou Yi reflected on his plans to advance his career before rejecting a call from his ex-girlfriend, Li Qian.

• Zhou Yi knocked out Lü Wenhui and Qian Xiufang, handcuffed Lü Wenhui, and asked Meng Hongwei and Zou Qiang to watch them.
• Zhou Yi guessed that Lü Wenhui had dumped Feng Wei and Yang Keming’s bodies in a pond east of Chaoyang Village, then told Zhang Liping that Lü Wenhui had confessed and gave him the location.
• Deputy Chief Du Jiang announced that Lü Wenhui had been captured and had confessed to murdering his accomplices, prompting the command center to celebrate the operation’s success.
• Zhou Yi returned to the township police station after Lü Wenhui and Qian Xiufang were taken away and the bodies were recovered from the pond.
• Zhou Yi rejected a call from his ex-girlfriend, Li Qian, as he lay awake thinking about his future.

After breaking up with Li Qian, Zhou Yi focused on his career and reconnected with old friends. His role in capturing a Ministry-supervised fugitive earned him recognition, and the chapter ended as his name was about to be called at the commendation ceremony.

• Li Qian reflected on her breakup with Zhou Yi and her decision to go abroad at the end of the year.
• Jian Shuyue called Zhou Yi and told him that she and Tian Tian would return to Dongji next month for a reunion with their old friends.
• News spread that Zhou Yi would soon transfer from Qinghe Police Station back to the county bureau after apprehending a violent criminal.
• Anping City held a ceremony to commend the police officers who captured a fugitive under Ministry of Public Security supervision.
• As Hao Mingren read the commendation decision, Zhou Yi straightened up and waited to take the stage.

Zhou Yi received a first-class merit award and was exceptionally promoted to deputy section-chief rank and commander of the Public Order Management Brigade. As his family celebrated, entertainment venue manager Huang Guifa arrived at Zhou Yi’s home with a gift to congratulate him.

• Wang Dongsheng presented Zhou Yi with a certificate, a first-class merit medal, and a twenty-thousand-yuan award at a public ceremony.
• Dongji County appointed Zhou Yi commander of the Public Order Management Brigade at deputy section-chief rank, while Liu Changlin was transferred to head Qinghe Police Station and Zhang Liping became a deputy bureau director.
• Li Desheng, Liu Weiyan, and Liu Changlin regretted Zhou Yi’s rise, while Li Qian privately looked at his photograph and resolved to endure her heartbreak.
• Zhou Yi celebrated his promotion with his parents, Zhou Yongxin and Guo Dongmei, over a family dinner.
• Huang Guifa, manager of Golden Years Entertainment City, visited Zhou Yi’s home and offered him a gift to congratulate him.

Zhou Yi refused a gift from Huang Guifa and prepared to report to the county public security bureau, where his new position changed how colleagues treated him. He ran into Jiang Xinting and wondered whether their easy conversation came from his new status.

• Zhou Yi firmly rejected Huang Guifa's gift, and Zhou Yi's father praised him for refusing money he should not take.
• Sun Mei questioned Huang Guifa about the refusal and decided to arrange dinner with Zhou Yi's superior.
• Zhou Yi received congratulatory calls from colleagues before leaving home on July 11, 2005, to report to the county public security bureau.
• Zhang Dajiang warmly greeted Zhou Yi and directed him to the elevator.
• Zhou Yi met Jiang Xinting in the elevator, joked with her, and reflected that his changed status might explain their friendly exchange.

Zhou Yi took office as captain of the Public Order Brigade, where the bureau’s leaders welcomed him and his subordinates weighed whether he would tolerate their corrupt practices. He ended the chapter by announcing that he would inspect the Third Squad’s surprise inspection the following night, leaving the deputy captains uneasy about his intentions.

• Lei Ming personally introduced Zhou Yi to the bureau’s leaders, who greeted him warmly.
• Zhou Yi embraced Zheng Yifan and reminded the gathered colleagues that they had joined the bureau together and shared a dorm room during training.
• Lei Ming and Gao Zuobin called on the Public Order Brigade to support Zhou Yi, who modestly asked the officers for their assistance.
• Wang Jian and the deputy captains briefed Zhou Yi on the brigade’s work while Zhu Jianping, Cai Xiaobo, and Shao Mingbao hoped he would accept their corrupt arrangements.
• Zhou Yi told Zhu Jianping that he would observe the Third Squad’s surprise inspection the next night, making the deputy captains suspect he would not play along.

Zhou Yi resolved to confront corruption in the Public Security Administration Division while reconnecting with colleagues and building friendships over dinner. The evening ended with Zheng Yifan declaring Zhou Yi his brother as Zhou Yi took him home.

• Zhou Yi considered the corruption surrounding the entertainment industry in Dongji County and decided to fight it rather than join it or look away.
• Zheng Yifan received Zhou Yi's invitation to drink, then agreed to write Director Luo a report on the public security improvement campaign.
• Director Luo asked Zheng Yifan whether Zhou Yi's relationship had ended, hoping to learn whether Zhou Yi was single because he had a niece of his own.
• Zhou Yi brought Jiang Xinting, Zheng Yifan, Han Qiuyan, and Dong Hongyun together for dinner, where they shared drinks and strengthened their friendships.
• Zhou Yi supported the drunk Zheng Yifan into a taxi, and Zheng Yifan called him his brother.

Zhou Yi enjoyed his new standing at the bureau, studied police regulations, and arranged to meet Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian the following evening. As his old classmates gathered without him, Hou Xiaolei watched two polished outsiders join them and thought Zhou Yi had been right to stay away.

• Zhou Yi greeted his coworkers, gave Zhang Liping half a pack of cigarettes, and left with a carton of Soft China.
• Zhou Yi studied several laws and regulations at the bureau before Jian Shuyue called to invite him to Liu Family Barbecue.
• Zhou Yi declined that evening’s gathering because he was working overtime and arranged to treat Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian to a pork-and-sauerkraut feast the next evening.
• Zhou Yi remembered how Bai Haoxuan and Xu Heng had needled him at a previous gathering and decided he would not have attended even if he had been free.
• Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian ate barbecue with Hou Xiaolei and other classmates, while Hou Xiaolei resented Bai Haoxuan and Xu Heng for joining them.

Zhou Yi inspected several entertainment venues and avoided a premature clash over Golden Years before stopping to intervene when Xie Zhaolong attacked Jian Shuyue, Tian Tian, and their friends. He helped Yan Lingling up and knocked Xie Zhaolong to the ground, leaving everyone stunned.

• Zhou Yi and Zhu Jianping inspected Nightbeat KTV, fined it for violations, and issued a rectification notice.
• Zhu Jianping warned Zhou Yi that Golden Years had powerful connections, and Zhou Yi chose to return rather than provoke its owner, Sun Mei.
• Xie Zhaolong and his lackeys blocked Jian Shuyue, Tian Tian, and their friends outside Golden Years, and Xie Zhaolong slapped Yan Lingling when she called the police.
• Zhou Yi arrived with officers, helped Yan Lingling up, and gave her his police cap.
• Xie Zhaolong challenged Zhou Yi, and Zhou Yi kicked him to the ground.

Zhou Yi defeated Brother Long’s men and ordered Xie Zhaolong to submit to arrest, then used knowledge of Xie’s affair to stop him from calling Song Chengquan for help. Xie handcuffed himself and was escorted away, leaving the onlookers stunned by Zhou Yi’s authority.

• Zhou Yi beat four of Brother Long’s lackeys and intimidated the rest with his pistol.
• Zhu Jianping tried to mediate as Brother Long threatened Zhou Yi and started to leave.
• Zhou Yi stopped Brother Long and tossed him a pair of handcuffs, but Zhu Jianping’s attempts to intervene failed.
• Brother Long called Song Chengquan for help, and Zhou Yi quietly threatened to expose his affair and secret son.
• Brother Long told Song Chengquan there was no problem, then picked up the handcuffs and put them on himself.
• Zhou Yi retrieved his police cap, then escorted Brother Long and his lackeys into police cars while his old classmates and other witnesses watched.

Zhou Yi’s arrest of Xie Zhaolong unsettled Dongji County’s police leadership and made the Public Security Management Brigade more respectful toward him. Xie Zhaolong concealed the real reason he submitted to detention by inventing powerful connections for Zhou Yi, while Zhou Yi saw the incident as a chance to establish authority and gain support.

• Zhang Liping questioned Zhou Yi about arresting Xie Zhaolong, who had accepted ten days of administrative detention without requesting reconsideration.
• Sun Mei asked Xie Zhaolong why he was helping Zhou Yi, and Xie claimed Zhou had unfathomable connections after being secretly threatened.
• Xie Zhaolong left Sun Mei with the promise to explain more after his release, privately admitting he still needed to invent the details.
• Zhou Yi met with Zhang Liping, Song Chengquan, and the bureau director, whose unusual reactions showed their uncertainty about his motives and connections.
• Zhou Yi returned to the Public Security Management Brigade and noticed Wang Jian, Zhu Jianping, Cai Xiaobo, and Shao Mingbao treating him with greater respect.
• Zhou Yi considered Xie Zhaolong’s arrest a chance to secure his brigade’s obedience, leadership support, and a broader deterrent effect.

Zhou Yi arranged an old classmates’ reunion and caught up with his friends, including Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian, whose matching outfits sparked teasing about their relationship. The chapter ended with Zhou Yi and Jian Shuyue greeting each other warmly after a long time apart.

• Zhou Yi declined Luo Weiguo’s dinner invitation for that night and arranged to meet his old classmates at Wang's Pork Feast Restaurant.
• Zhou Yi called Tian Tian, who complained that he always called Jian Shuyue first, then vowed with Jian Shuyue to get him drunk at the reunion.
• Zhou Yi arrived at the restaurant and reunited with Hou Xiaolei, Xiao Dechao, and Dai Peng.
• Yan Lingling greeted Zhou Yi, then Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian arrived in matching outfits that prompted the classmates to tease them about being a couple.
• Zhou Yi and Jian Shuyue exchanged a knowing handshake and said it had been a long time since they last met.

At a class reunion, Zhou Yi welcomed Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian’s friends Bai Haoxuan and Xu Heng, then calmly held his own against their attempts to undermine him. The chapter ended with both men stunned when Zhou Yi revealed that he earned just under ten thousand yuan a month as captain of the public order unit.

• Jian Shuyue admired how much Zhou Yi had changed, and Tian Tian warmly embraced him when he arrived.
• Xu Heng and Bai Haoxuan introduced themselves, and Zhou Yi first appeared to send them away before inviting them to join the reunion for drinks.
• Bai Haoxuan and Xu Heng tried to overwhelm Zhou Yi with their knowledge, but his calm, wide-ranging conversation left them defeated.
• Xu Heng asked how much Zhou Yi earned, and Zhou Yi said he made just under ten thousand yuan a month, shocking Xu Heng and Bai Haoxuan.

At a class reunion, Zhou Yi outdrank his classmates and recalled the eighteen years of hardship that had changed him. After the gathering, he accompanied Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian toward their hotel, while Bai Haoxuan and Xu Heng followed in another taxi.

• Zhou Yi explained that his monthly salary was 630 yuan, frustrating Bai Haoxuan and Xu Heng after their attempt to mock him.
• Bai Haoxuan and Xu Heng tried to drink Zhou Yi under the table but ended up rushing to the restroom, while Zhou Yi remained sober.
• Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian took turns drinking with Zhou Yi, then asked how he had changed; Zhou Yi reflected on the eighteen years he had spent learning to drink, talk, fight, and play music.
• Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian poured their leftover liquor into Zhou Yi's glass, and they continued the gathering until nearly eleven at night.
• Hou Xiaolei arranged for Zhou Yi to escort Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian to the hotel, and Bai Haoxuan and Xu Heng followed their taxi.
• Zhou Yi got out with Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian near Dongji Bridge, still about five hundred meters from the hotel.

After a class reunion, Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian confronted Zhou Yi about the emotional distance he kept from them, while Bai Haoxuan and Xu Heng revealed their family ties and reported back to their elders. Zhou Yi returned home and reviewed the coded dates he planned to use to advance his ambitions in his second life.

• Jian Shuyue asked whether Zhou Yi wanted a new relationship and pushed Tian Tian toward him, but Zhou Yi rejected the idea and called them his brothers.
• Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian told Zhou Yi he had changed and kept them at a distance; Tian Tian accurately guessed he feared they would eventually part ways, and Zhou Yi left awkwardly.
• Xu Heng told Bai Haoxuan that he was Tian Tian's full brother and that Bai Haoxuan was Jian Shuyue's older cousin, and explained that they had been sent to protect the women.
• Bai Haoxuan told Jian Shuyue's aunt about Zhou Yi and sent her photos of Zhou Yi and Jian Shuyue wearing matching outfits.
• Zhou Yi replied to two good-night texts, then studied the coded dates in his notepad that he planned to use to advance his political career.

Zhou Yi learned that his mother’s student Shen Mo was being bullied and agreed to send someone to investigate, but Shen Mo climbed onto the school rooftop after his final exam. Zhou Yi rushed to Dongji No. 2 Senior High School as Shen Mo stood at the edge, wondering what it would feel like to fall.

• Guo Dongmei told Zhou Yi that Shen Mo planned to leave school and was being bullied by students and outside thugs.
• Zhou Yi reluctantly promised his mother he would send someone to look into Shen Mo’s situation.
• After the first final exam, Shen Mo appeared on the fifth-floor rooftop and drew a crowd of students and teachers below.
• Guo Dongmei called Zhou Yi in a panic, and he drove straight to the school.
• Shen Mo dropped another book from the roof and wondered whether falling would hurt.

After enduring relentless bullying, Shen Mo stood on the school roof and prepared to jump, refusing to trust the administrators who had failed him. Zhou Yi hurried to the school, hoping to reach Shen Mo in time and change the course of his future.

• Shen Mo recalled the abuse he had suffered at school and at home and climbed onto the roof, convinced that no one could help him.
• Principal Sun Qifa, Li Xiugui, and Yang Mei urged Shen Mo to come down, while teachers quietly moved toward the building.
• Guo Dongmei pleaded with Shen Mo to wait for Zhou Yi, and he stopped leaning forward but remained on the roof.
• Liu Zhi arrived with officers and relayed Zhou Yi's request that Shen Mo hold on for ten minutes.
• Zhou Yi drove toward the school, wondering whether offering Shen Mo help could change his future crimes and eventual fate.

Police officer Zhou Yi tried to stop Shen Mo from jumping by sharing his own despair, acknowledging Shen Mo’s suffering, and promising to protect him and seek justice. Shen Mo began to trust Zhou Yi, but a bully’s insult from below shattered his resolve, and he jumped from the rooftop.

• Zhou Yi reached the rooftop and told Shen Mo that he had once considered killing himself after his girlfriend left him.
• Zhou Yi acknowledged Shen Mo’s abuse and bullying, and Shen Mo broke down and described how his tormentors had hurt him.
• As Shen Mo leaned toward the edge, Zhou Yi reminded him of the wish bottle beneath the big locust tree and urged him to live for his childhood hopes.
• Zhou Yi promised to protect Shen Mo and get justice for him, and Shen Mo began reaching for his hand.
• A girl below shouted an insult at Shen Mo, causing him to lose hope and jump from the rooftop.

Zhou Yi rescued Shen Mo from jumping off the school roof, then confronted Second Middle School's administrators over their failure to address the bullying. The chapter ended with Zhou Yi demanding that they respect the Public Security Management Brigade as well as the influential families behind the students.

• Zhou Yi caught Shen Mo as he jumped from the roof and, with Liu Zhi's help, pulled him to safety.
• Principal Sun Qifa told Zhou Yi that the school would not punish Shen Mo for his suicide attempt, and Zhou Yi clarified that he wanted action against the girls who had bullied him.
• Director Li Xiugui dismissed the bullying as a minor student dispute, but Zhou Yi challenged him and said the Public Security Management Brigade had accepted a report and could question those involved.
• Zhou Yi proposed that the girls apologize publicly, promise to stop, and receive a schoolwide notice of criticism and major demerits.
• Vice Principal Gao Yongsheng cited the girls' family connections, and Zhou Yi named their powerful relatives before accusing the school of protecting them.
• Zhou Yi asked the administrators whether the Public Security Management Brigade had no face of its own to protect.