Chapter Summaries

Lin Fang defeated Sun Yuan in an online public-opinion battle and warned him against taking money to defend Wen Mosheng. Zhou Yi received tickets to the Misty Rain Jiangnan gala, considered its security risks, and spoke by phone with Tian Tian, whose relationship with him prompted speculation from Lin Fang and Zhou Xiaofan.

• Lin Fang urged Sun Yuan to stop defending Wen Mosheng for money, and Sun Yuan acknowledged that she had changed and accepted her warning.
• Sun Yuan offered Lin Fang tickets to the Misty Rain Jiangnan gala, and she asked him for five.
• Zhou Yi found three gala tickets in his office and remembered the stampede at an earlier event, so he decided to alert Tang Nan about security.
• Tian Tian called Zhou Yi, and he guessed that she had just arrived in Jiangnan.
• Lin Fang and Zhou Xiaofan watched Tian Tian call Zhou Yi and wondered whether they were romantically involved.

Lin Fang, Zhou Xiaofan, and Tian Tian were caught in a chaotic airport crowd after a celebrity entourage and fans shoved passengers aside. When Bao Lingxin insulted Zhou Xiaofan and refused to help clear the hall, Lin Fang recognized that she had offended Secretary Zhou’s close friend, leaving the confrontation poised to escalate.

• Security guards shoved Lin Fang and Zhou Xiaofan aside as they escorted Yu Jingxuan through the airport, and Yu Jingxuan’s assistant knocked Lin Fang’s phone from her hand.
• Fans rushing to see Yu Jingxuan knocked Tian Tian to the ground, and Lin Fang and Zhou Xiaofan hurried over to help her.
• Tian Tian told Zhou Yi by phone that the crowd had trapped them, so Zhou Yi arranged for someone to pick them up.
• Zhou Yi called Tang Nan, who ordered Yu Zhengxing to clear the airport and escort Zhou Yi’s friends out safely.
• Police arrived to disperse the crowd, and Lin Fang identified herself as a reporter while Zhou Xiaofan urged Yu Jingxuan and Bao Lingxin to leave and control their fans.
• Bao Lingxin insulted Zhou Xiaofan and refused to cooperate, while Lin Fang realized Bao Lingxin had offended Zhou Yi’s close friend.

Bao Lingxin challenged Lin Fang and tried to use her connections to obstruct the police as they cleared Yu Jingxuan and his fans from the airport. After her bodyguards tried to detain Tian Tian, Lin Fang, and Zhou Xiaofan, Gui Zhongdong intervened and escorted the reporters away.

• Lin Fang warned Bao Lingxin that she would pay for her words, and Bao Lingxin mocked her as a mere reporter.
• Gui Zhongdong ordered Yu Jingxuan to cooperate and clear the terminal, while Bao Lingxin argued that Yu should not be held responsible for the fans.
• Bao Lingxin called Bao Youcheng, who told her to make Yu cooperate and avoid causing trouble, but she insisted that the police apologize and discipline Gui Zhongdong.
• The police escorted Yu Jingxuan from the terminal, and his fans left with him as videos of the confrontation began stirring online harassment.
• Bao Lingxin's bodyguards blocked Tian Tian, Lin Fang, and Zhou Xiaofan, but Gui Zhongdong drove them off and escorted the reporters to their car.

Bao Lingxin learned that the reporters she had insulted were Zhou Yi’s close friends and was pressured to apologize. Zhou Yi accepted Zhu Changlei’s call but insisted Bao Lingxin apologize in person, leaving her facing a direct meeting with him and his friends.

• Bao Lingxin waited for the airport police to apologize, while Tang Nan explained to Zhu Changlei that the reporters were Zhou Yi’s friends and Bao Lingxin had not been wronged.
• Tang Nan told Zhu Changlei that Bao Lingxin had insulted the reporters and nearly had them taken away by force, prompting Zhu to warn her father and urge an apology.
• Bao Lingxin initially protested when her father called, then agreed to apologize in person after learning the reporters were Zhou Yi’s friends.
• Zhou Yi treated Tian Tian, Zhou Xiaofan, and Lin Fang to lunch, then received Zhu Changlei’s apology call on Bao Lingxin’s behalf.
• Zhou Yi told Zhu Changlei that Bao Lingxin herself needed to apologize in person and said he wanted to meet the woman who had insulted his friends.

Bao Lingxin apologized to Zhou Yi’s reporter friends and tried to resolve the online backlash against airport deputy director Gui. Yu Jingxuan, angry that his fans had backed down from defending him, challenged a commenter from an alternate account.

• Bao Youcheng warned Bao Lingxin to apologize humbly to Zhou Yi’s friends, and she called the three reporters to invite them to dinner.
• Bao Lingxin apologized to Tian Tian, Lin Fang, and Zhou Xiaofan at dinner, then introduced them to Zhang Shoushi and Wu Lina.
• Lin Fang accepted Bao Lingxin’s apology but said the matter might not be over, and Tian Tian showed her a trending story and hostile comments about Deputy Director Gui.
• Bao Lingxin promised to call someone and get the misleading story and online harassment addressed.
• Yu Jingxuan watched fans and paid trolls attack Deputy Director Gui online, then tagged a commenter and wrote, “What’s wrong with ‘heh heh’? Bite me!”

Yu Jingxuan reluctantly posted an apology for the airport incident after Bao Lingxin ordered him to, but a screenshot of his deleted comment mocking Director Zhou spread online and sparked a new scandal. Bao Lingxin had just persuaded Secretary Zhou’s friends to let the airport matter go when Yu Jingxuan’s call revealed that a bigger problem had begun.

• Yu Jingxuan accidentally posted a comment from his main account, deleted it, and thought no one had seen it.
• Bao Lingxin ordered Yu Jingxuan to apologize for the airport incident and rein in his fans, and he reluctantly consulted his manager, Pan Yin.
• Yu Jingxuan posted a brief apology, prompting his fans to defend him and blame the police.
• Pan Qin told Yu Jingxuan that his deleted provocative comment had been screenshotted and was trending, setting off arguments among his fans, Director Zhou’s supporters, and Lu Yi’s fans.
• Bao Lingxin persuaded Secretary Zhou’s three friends to put the airport affair behind them, then received Yu Jingxuan’s call about the new scandal.

Yu Jingxuan panicked after provoking Zhou Yi online, and Bao Lingxin told his team to issue a groveling apology while seeking help from her father. As Chu Yi and his colleagues publicly praised Zhou Yi as their idol, Yu Jingxuan realized his rival was using the scandal to promote his drama.

• Bao Lingxin ordered Yu Jingxuan’s team to claim his account had been hacked, praise Zhou Yi, and apologize again.
• Bao Lingxin ended her meeting with Tian Tian and the reporters, then called her father, who told her Yu Jingxuan would have to fend for himself.
• Yu Jingxuan’s team published a lengthy statement describing him as a devoted admirer of Zhou Yi and apologizing for his remarks.
• Sister Pan showed Yu Jingxuan an interview in which director Qi Xiu said his drama was inspired by Zhou Yi’s story and Chu Yi called Zhou Yi his idol.
• Song Qingsi said she and Chu Yi hoped to meet Zhou Yi at the upcoming Misty Rain Jiangnan gala, and Yu Jingxuan angrily shut off the video.

Zhou Yi’s Jiangnan inspection ended, and he returned to Capital City to discuss his next assignment with his father-in-law and mother-in-law. His father-in-law offered him three possible posts and asked which one he preferred.

• Zhou Yi asked Lin Fang to prepare articles that would cool down the public attention surrounding him, but other stories eventually displaced the discussion from the trending topics.
• The Fourth Inspection Group completed its Jiangnan inspection, reported its findings, and proposed corrective measures for the province’s cultural and artistic sectors.
• Zhou Yi returned to Capital City and recounted his Jiangnan trip to Jian Wanyan and Mu Yalan.
• Jian Wanyan explained that the inspection had been intended to broaden Zhou Yi’s perspective and offered him three possible assignments: director of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, or Municipal Party Secretary.

Zhou Yi chose to become Municipal Party Secretary of his hometown, Anping, hoping to revive its declining economy. After taking office, he proposed developing cultural tourism, but Vice Mayor Liu Wei doubted the plan could overcome the city’s deep-rooted problems.

• Jian Wanyan offered Zhou Yi three more city choices: Baishun, Anping, and Tianlai.
• After returning to Qingning, Zhou Yi learned that Fu Xueqian and Lu Jiefeng had received new appointments, while Qingning named a different mayor.
• Zhou Yi chose Anping because he wanted to contribute to his hometown and test whether he could revitalize its struggling economy.
• On September 25, 2012, Zhou Yi convened an expanded meeting in Anping and won approval for a plan to develop integrated cultural tourism and build a distinctive tourist city.
• After the meeting, Liu Wei told his wife, Cui Yingmei, that he doubted Zhou Yi’s plan would solve Anping’s structural economic problems.

Zhou Yi discussed plans to revitalize Anping with his former superiors and colleagues, showing them affection through modest gifts. After they left, Jian Shuyue came home without the baby, leaving the couple alone for the night.

• Liu Wei doubted Zhou Yi's ability to lead a prefecture-level city, while Liu Zilan defended Zhou Yi's record as mayor of Shaohua.
• Zhou Yi discussed Anping's economic decline and his metropolitan circle integration strategy over dinner with Yan Xiangyu, Lei Ming, Zhang Liping, and Zheng Yifan.
• Lei Ming supported Zhou Yi's strategy, Zheng Yifan proposed developing Anping's historical and cultural attractions, and Zhang Liping promised to implement the plans in his county.
• Zhou Yi gave Yan Xiangyu, Lei Ming, Zhang Liping, and Zheng Yifan modest gifts as they departed, recalling his bond with Zhang Liping.
• Jian Shuyue returned home without the baby, who was staying with her parents, and teased Zhou Yi about spending the night alone together.

At a dinner with his former civil-service classmates, Jiang Xinting explained that Zheng Yifan had joined Zhou Yi’s meeting with local leaders, and the group resolved to show Zhou their willingness to serve Anping. Meanwhile, Li Yang backed Zhou Yi’s plans for the city, while Zhao Songhai questioned whether they could be implemented successfully.

• At Penglai Restaurant, Jiang Xinting told Han Qiuyan and the others that Zhou Yi had invited her to dinner with Yan, Lei Ming, and Zhang Liping, but she had declined, while Zheng Yifan attended.
• Jiang Xinting said Zhou Yi planned to treat his former civil-service classmates to dinner soon, and the group admired his loyalty to old ties.
• Han Qiuyan and the others agreed that they should tell Zhou Yi at their next gathering that they wanted to help develop their hometown.
• Zhao Songhai told Li Yang that Zhou Yi had invited Yan and Zheng Yifan to dinner, then asked whether Zhou’s Metropolitan Cultural Tourism Integration proposal had potential.
• Li Yang argued that the plan’s success depended on implementation and pointed to the stalled Shangfang New City project as a warning.
• Zhao Songhai admitted he doubted Zhou Yi, but Li Yang said he expected Zhou’s arrival to bring tangible benefits and hoped to earn a place in Zhou’s faction by cooperating with him.

Zhou Yi learned that his longtime neighbors’ grandson had been seriously injured by a minor whose family refused to pay, and that their son Fu Ning had now been hit by a car. As Zhou Yi wondered whom he could ask for help, Jian Shuyue offered to handle the matter.

• Li Yang persuaded Zhao Songhai to support Zhou Yi’s plans and warned him not to pretend to comply while secretly resisting.
• Fu Zhengrong and Yao Qingyan told Zhou Yongxin and Guo Dongmei that their grandson had been badly injured by a boy under fourteen, whose family refused to cover the medical costs.
• Fu Zhengrong received a call saying Fu Ning had been hit by a car and was being treated at the hospital, and Yao Qingyan collapsed.
• Guo Dongmei called Zhou Yi and asked whether he could help the neighbors pursue justice in Tianlai City.
• Zhou Yi considered asking Sima, Shan, Qu Hongying, or Gao Songzhi for assistance, but Jian Shuyue offered to take care of the matter.

Jian Shuyue called Chen Yurong to help arrange a favor, and Chen Yurong used the call to demonstrate her close relationship with Jian Shuyue to the people at a Capital City gathering. The chapter left Chen Qingyan facing an uncertain future while Chen Yurong and Xie Fangfei planned to visit Jian Shuyue during the National Day holiday.

• Zhou Yi was surprised that Jian Shuyue considered her request easy, and she promised to handle it before the evening was over.
• Chen Qingyan attended a gathering after his release from prison and felt ashamed among his former peers.
• Zhang Hengyuan offered Chen Qingyan a deputy general manager position at a state-owned enterprise subsidiary, but Chen Qingyan declined to commit.
• Chen Yurong arrived and spoke with Zhang Hengyuan about her brother's employment, then received a call from Jian Shuyue.
• Chen Yurong warmly agreed to Jian Shuyue's request and said she and Xie Fangfei would visit during the National Day holiday.
• Jian Shuyue put down the phone and announced that the matter was settled.

Jian Shuyue asked Chen Yurong to use her family’s connections to help a neighbor of Zhou Yi’s parents, giving the Chen family a chance to ease tensions with the Jian family. Chen Yurong arranged the favor through Vice Governor Zhong, while Chen Qingyan accepted that he needed to adapt and agreed to take a job arranged by Zhang Hengyuan.

• Jian Shuyue explained that asking Chen Yurong for help would reassure the Chen family that the Jian family did not intend to settle old scores.
• At the banquet, Chen Yurong warned Liu Zhaolu that Zhou Yi’s return as Anping Municipal Party Secretary could put Liaodong businesses at risk.
• Chen Yurong called Vice Governor Zhong and asked him to help resolve the neighbor’s problem, and he agreed.
• Chen Yurong told Chen Qingyan to accept reality and make peace with Zhou Yi’s side rather than seek revenge.
• Chen Qingyan said he understood and agreed to take the job Zhang Hengyuan had arranged for him.

Mayor Wang Jinyu acted on Vice Provincial Governor Zhong Baixiang’s request to ensure the guardians of a thirteen-year-old who had brutally injured four-year-old Fu Ning faced civil liability. Zhou Yi learned that his wife had intervened for the family, then prepared to visit Dongji and Westwind Counties for a cultural tourism fact-finding tour.

• Vice Provincial Governor Zhong Baixiang asked Mayor Wang Jinyu to take charge of a case involving Shao, who had attacked four-year-old Fu Ning and left him in a coma.
• Jing Fei told Wang Jinyu that the police had declined to open a criminal case because Shao was under fourteen, and warned that Shao’s parents had connections to Deputy Department Director Wei.
• Wang Jinyu ordered Jing Fei to personally oversee the case and ensure Shao’s guardians paid civil compensation and protected Fu Ning’s rights.
• Secretary Zhou told his mother that his wife had handled the matter and that public security authorities would investigate; he learned Fu Ning had woken up.
• Liang Xingjian informed Zhou Yi that the car was ready, and Zhou Yi set out to visit Dongji and Westwind Counties for a fact-finding tour.

Shao Tianxiao continued tormenting others while Shao Xichun and Wei Ling defended him, until the older brother of a three-year-old girl he had brutally injured stabbed him. Shao Xichun rushed Tianxiao to the hospital, but Tianxiao stopped breathing as the police car entered its gates.

• Shao Xichun and Wei Ling let Shao Tianxiao stay home from school and gave him money, while Shao Xichun dismissed the Fu family's complaints and planned to use his influence to protect his son.
• Shao Tianxiao stole snacks from a three-year-old girl and kicked and stamped on her until she suffered severe head injuries.
• Police and the girl's family confronted the Shao family with supermarket surveillance footage, but Shao Xichun and Wei Ling defended Tianxiao and insisted they would only pay compensation.
• The girl's older brother stabbed Shao Tianxiao several times, and Zhang Shan pulled him away as Shao Xichun carried his wounded son to a police car.
• Shao Tianxiao repeated that he did not want to die, then stopped breathing as the police car entered City Hospital.

After Shao Tianxiao died, Shao Xichun and Wei Ling sought revenge on the boy they blamed, but police arrested Shao Xichun and Hao Qi for arranging an attack on Fu Ning. Wei Yan tried to use his influence to secure Shao Xichun’s release, and the chapter ended with Tan Yanzhong questioning Jing Fei about the case.

• After Zhang Shan warned that Tianxiao’s killer was under fourteen and could not be held criminally responsible, Wei Ling called her brother Wei Yan for help.
• Wei Yan and Shao Xichun planned to target the boy’s family, while Zhang Shan received word that the Criminal Investigation Detachment was coming.
• Police arrested Shao Xichun and Hao Qi after Qu Yilin revealed they had hired him to injure Fu Ning, and Shao Xichun confessed.
• Wei Yan failed to persuade Jing Fei to intervene because Mayor Wang Jinyu had taken a special interest in the case.
• Wei Yan’s former superior said he had contacted Tan Yanzhong, who then summoned Jing Fei and asked about the case.

Jing Fei told Tan Yanzhong that Fu Ning’s case was connected to Zhou Yi’s family, prompting Tan Yanzhong to order him to oversee it without granting favors. Meanwhile, Zhou Yi inspected Two-Dragon Mountain and urged Dongji County to shift from relying on its entertainment industry to developing cultural tourism; he ended by spotting someone familiar among the people greeting him.

• Jing Fei explained Fu Ning’s connection to Zhou Yi’s family, and Tan Yanzhong ordered him to personally oversee the case without doing anyone favors.
• At Two-Dragon Mountain, Ji Wei described the county’s slow tourism development, and Zhou Yi criticized Dongji County’s dependence on its entertainment industry.
• Zhou Yi recalled Brigade Chief Liang’s refusal to release an investor arrested in an anti-prostitution raid and praised the need for lawful enforcement.
• Zhou Yi called for integrated cultural and tourism development, and the gathered city and county leaders agreed.
• Visitors recognized Zhou Yi on the mountain and greeted him, and he noticed a seemingly familiar figure in the crowd.

Li Qian’s family discussed her divorce as they toured Two-Dragon Mountain, where she unexpectedly encountered her former partner Zhou Yi, now a prominent municipal Party secretary. Their young daughter Qinqin eagerly kissed Zhou Yi without either of them knowing their connection, while Li Qian watched with complicated feelings.

• Li Qian’s relatives discussed why she had divorced Sun Chengqian and praised her prospects, while Li Qian reflected that she had once given up Zhou Yi.
• Li Changlin hurried to greet Zhou Yi, who was visiting Two-Dragon Mountain with municipal and county officials.
• Li Qian and Zhou Yi recognized each other after seven years, exchanged polite smiles, and kept their thoughts about the past to themselves.
• Qinqin ran up to Zhou Yi and asked him to pick her up, then kissed his face and refused to leave his arms.
• Li Qian watched Qinqin with Zhou Yi and thought their meeting resembled a father-daughter reunion, though Qinqin simply liked handsome people.

During a visit to Dongji County, Zhou Yi reunited with his former classmate Li Qian and met her daughter, Qinqin, before continuing his tour of the county’s industries. The chapter left him considering an advertising request from the local deer farm after its founder offered him a new liquor product.

• Zhou Yi recognized Liu Mei and warmly reunited with Li Qian, who introduced her daughter Qinqin to him.
• Qinqin showered Zhou Yi with kisses, while he greeted Li Desheng, Liu Weiyan, and former superior Liu Changlin with courtesy.
• Li Qian left with Qinqin after suggesting a class reunion, reflecting that she and Zhou Yi had followed separate paths.
• Zhou Yi toured Dongji County’s key industries, including the Sika Deer Breeding Base.
• Zhang Dalu offered Zhou Yi two bottles of Divine Deer Liquor and asked him to promote it.
• Zhou Yi told Liang Xingjian to pay the market price, and Zhang Dalu offered a twenty percent discount.