Chapter Summaries

Zhang Ke spent the night drinking and joking with Du Fei, then reflected on his father’s ruined political career before heading to work the next morning. A traffic collision struck as he spoke to Zhang Jing, and a black hole swallowed his soul.

• Zhang Ke and Du Fei went to Captain Bar, where Du Fei and Zhou Xiaolu teased Zhang Ke and bet he could not win over Zhang Jing.
• Zhang Ke told a story about a man who lost his childhood love, then drunkenly slapped Zhang Jing and pretended to be unconscious before revealing the prank to Du Fei.
• Zhang Ke returned home, spoke with his mother, and thought about how his father, Zhang Zhixing, had been ruined by the wrongful case involving Tang Xueqian.
• The next morning, Zhang Ke flirted with his neighbor Miss Luo and drove to work, annoyed when she rode away with a man in a BMW.
• Zhang Jing called Zhang Ke, and as he turned at an intersection, a vehicle hit his car and a black hole pulled his soul inside.

After a car accident in 2008, Zhang Ke woke with memories of his life and the suspicion that he had returned to 1994, when Tang Xueqian’s arrest ruined his family. He recognized his younger parents and realized the events that had once led his father to be suspected of betraying Tang Xueqian were beginning again.

• Zhang Ke woke to voices mentioning Mayor Tang and recalled how Tang Xueqian’s investigation had damaged his father’s career and his family’s fortunes.
• Zhang Ke remembered being struck by a car in 2008 and wondered whether his current experience was a dream or a return to the past.
• Liang Gezhen cared for Zhang Ke as his fever eased, and Zhang Ke recognized her as his much younger mother.
• Zhang Ke saw Zhang Zhixing and remembered Ye Xinming’s message that had once persuaded his father to leave Haizhou.
• Dr. Lu confirmed Zhang Ke’s fever had broken, while Zhang Ke examined his teenage body and continued to suspect he had returned fourteen years.

Zhang Ke woke in his sixteen-year-old body on July 18, 1994, and recognized the date of a deadly traffic accident. He saved a little girl from the dump truck, but the crash killed and injured several people, and he left the scene remembering why the traffic patrol had been absent.

• Zhang Ke ate the porridge, saw his sixteen-year-old face in the mirror, and confirmed the date was July 18, 1994.
• Zhang Ke went to North Street, where he saw a young couple and their little girl near the spot where he remembered a fatal accident occurring.
• Zhang Ke realized a dump truck was about to crash and rushed to rescue the little girl after she fell in its path.
• The dump truck struck a tree and several men, then narrowly missed Zhang Ke and the girl before colliding with a Jetta.
• Zhang Ke handed the unharmed girl to the arriving adults and left the crowd, shaken and covered in blood.
• Zhang Ke remembered that West District traffic patrol officers had been sent to Bell Tower Square to manage a protest by Xinguang Paper Mill workers.

After returning to 1994, Zhang Ke confirmed that his actions had changed the traffic accident and resolved to use his future knowledge to save his family. He tried to learn more about the case against Tang Xueqian, but his parents remained divided over whether Tang was guilty.

• Zhang Ke watched the evening news report that the Beijie Road crash had killed four people, but the little girl had survived because he rescued her.
• Zhang Ke cooked noodles for his worried parents and played Go with Zhang Zhixing, impressing him with his skill.
• Zhang Ke asked why Tang Xueqian had wanted Zhang Zhixing to leave town, and Zhang Zhixing asked what he thought of Tang.
• Liang Gezhen said the provincial inspection team must have evidence against Tang and repeated rumors that Xu Si had helped him take bribes from Jiang Mingcheng.

Zhang Ke investigated Ding Xiangshan’s villa, hoping to find evidence that could help clear Tang Xueqian, and encountered Xu Si at Xiangshan. He left the mountain with her, uncertain whether she was an accomplice in Tang Xueqian’s case or had a reason for testifying against him.

• Zhang Ke went to Xiangshan with a camera to photograph people visiting Ding Xiangshan’s secluded villa.
• Zhang Ke photographed Ding Xiangshan leaving in a Nissan and noticed a red Corolla at the villa.
• Zhang Ke encountered Xu Si outside a photo shop after she spilled a drink on him.
• Zhang Ke recognized Xu Si and learned she owned the red Corolla, but did not question her about Tang Xueqian’s case.
• Xu Si offered Zhang Ke a ride down the mountain, and he wondered what part she had played in Tang Xueqian’s conviction.

Zhang Ke rode with Xu Si to her apartment, where their teasing conversation made him feel both drawn to her and determined to save her from the fate he remembered. After Xu Si left to meet someone, Zhang Ke was alone in her apartment with the envelope of photographs she had brought from the photo shop.

• Xu Si offered to take Zhang Ke to her apartment so he could wash the fruit tea from his shirt, and he concealed his family background while flirting with her.
• As they drove, Zhang Ke told Xu Si about his life before sixteen and asked to call her his big sister, while she admitted her name and called herself a bad woman.
• Xu Si brought Zhang Ke to her apartment in Jingsheng Garden, where he noticed the photo-shop envelope she had left by the door.
• Xu Si changed clothes and washed Zhang Ke's shirt, while the two continued to tease each other in the apartment.
• When the phone rang, Xu Si said she had a guest, told Zhang Ke to watch the place, and went downstairs.

Zhang Ke recognized Ye Xinming visiting Xu Si and realized Xu Si’s testimony had been used in the evidence that sent Tang Xueqian to prison, though he still did not know why Ding Xiangshan had framed him. After Xu Si broke down in tears, Zhang Ke comforted her and promised he would not let anyone hurt her; they parted on warmer terms.

• Zhang Ke saw Ye Xinming visit Xu Si and recalled that Ye had served Tang Xueqian before becoming Ding Xiangshan’s secretary and marrying Xu Si.
• Zhang Ke examined photographs of Xu Si with Tang Xueqian, took one, and considered how her testimony had helped build the case against Tang.
• Xu Si returned with a document envelope, and Zhang Ke teased her about being beautiful enough to attract Haizhou’s municipal Party secretary.
• Zhang Ke found Xu Si sobbing in the bathroom, helped rinse her eyes, and held her as he promised not to let anyone hurt her.
• Xu Si finished washing and drying Zhang Ke’s T-shirt, and the two exchanged playful remarks before Zhang Ke waved to her from downstairs and she waved back from her window.

Zhang Ke returned home with photographs that exposed Ding Xiangshan visiting the same villa connected to Xu Si, and persuaded Zhang Zhixing to reconsider why he was being urged to leave Haizhou. Zhang Zhixing still planned to go to Dongshe, but decided to take Zhang Ke and leave Liang Gezhen behind to monitor events.

• Zhang Ke came home late and told Zhang Zhixing that leaving Haizhou could make him appear to be avoiding the provincial investigation into Tang Xueqian.
• Zhang Ke showed his father photographs linking Xu Si to Ding Xiangshan and explained how he had taken them.
• Zhang Zhixing recognized Ding Xiangshan in the photographs and began to suspect that Ye Xinming's message urging him to leave might be a trap.
• Zhang Zhixing decided to go to Dongshe as planned, but said he would take Zhang Ke while Liang Gezhen stayed in Haizhou to follow developments.

Zhang Zhixing and Zhang Ke arrived in Dong She for Zhang Zhixing’s uncle’s funeral, where Zhang Zhifei offered to help them approach Deputy Secretary Lu Yiguang. Zhang Zhixing instead used Zhang Ke’s photographs to explain why he suspected Ding Xiangshan was framing Tang Xueqian to conceal corruption at the Xinfeng Group.

• Zhang Zhixing and Zhang Ke arrived at the funeral, where Zhang Zhiwei greeted them with a sarcastic remark and Zhang Zhifei invited them to stay at his house.
• Zhang Zhifei offered to accompany Zhang Zhixing to see Deputy Secretary Lu Yiguang, but Zhang Zhixing asked him to set aside his business and run errands instead.
• Zhang Zhixing showed Zhang Zhifei photographs Zhang Ke had taken of Tang Xueqian with Xu Si and of Ding Xiangshan meeting her at a villa.
• Zhang Zhixing argued that Ding Xiangshan had likely arranged the rumors about Tang Xueqian to stop him from uncovering the Xinfeng Group’s deeper problems before its restructuring.

Zhang Ke, his father, and Zhang Zhifei planned to secretly find evidence that would clear Tang Xueqian and implicate Ding Xiangshan. Zhang Ke set out with Zhang Zhifei to search Tang Xueqian’s home, while also considering a future opportunity in mobile phone distribution.

• Zhang Ke warned Zhang Zhixing and Zhang Zhifei that they had one chance to gather evidence against Ding Xiangshan and needed proof of Tang Xueqian’s innocence.
• Zhang Ke suggested searching Tang Xueqian’s home for his work notes and warned that Ye Xinming might be untrustworthy; Zhang Zhixing agreed to send him with Zhang Zhifei.
• Zhang Zhifei arranged a nighttime trip to the city, and Zhang Ke helped conceal their plan from Zhang Zhiwei at the family dinner.
• Zhang Ke slipped into Zhang Zhifei’s car and headed toward the city to visit Tang Xueqian’s home.
• Zhang Ke dismissed his uncle’s analog mobile phone and privately considered making money by distributing Ericsson’s upcoming digital phones.

Zhang Ke returned to Yangjiang Residential Community and visited Tang Jing and Gu Jianping, bringing a message from his father that Tang Xueqian was innocent. After Gu Jianping rejected the letter because it denied the affair suggested by a photograph, Zhang Ke comforted Tang Jing and prepared to speak with her mother again.

• Zhang Ke spotted two plainclothes officers watching Tang Xueqian's apartment and went inside alone.
• Tang Jing welcomed Zhang Ke, while Gu Jianping cautiously asked why he had come.
• Zhang Ke told Gu Jianping that Zhang Zhixing believed Tang Xueqian was innocent and gave her his letter.
• Gu Jianping stormed out after reading the letter, saying Zhang Zhixing was still denying the affair; Tang Jing explained that Secretary Ye had brought a photograph of Tang Xueqian with a woman.
• Zhang Ke asked Tang Jing whether she trusted her father, reassured her that Tang Xueqian would be all right, and asked her to bring Gu Jianping back so he could speak with her.

Zhang Ke reassured Gu Jianping and Tang Jing that Tang Xueqian was being framed and searched his study for evidence. He found a concealed work journal that Ye Xinming had missed and left to investigate it while Tang Jing regained some confidence.

• Zhang Ke showed Gu Jianping that a photo of Tang Xueqian and Xu Si could have been taken secretly while they discussed work, prompting Gu Jianping to question Ye Xinming’s account.
• Zhang Ke explained that his father had gone to Dongshe to investigate the effort to smear Tang Xueqian, and Gu Jianping revealed that Ye Xinming had taken Tang’s work journals and papers.
• Zhang Ke searched Tang Xueqian’s study and found a worn notebook belonging to Zeng Jianhua that Ye Xinming had overlooked.
• Zhang Ke took the notebook to study later and urged Gu Jianping to keep his father’s investigation secret.
• Tang Jing regained some confidence, and Zhang Ke squeezed her palm before leaving.

Zhang Ke uncovered erased entries in Zeng Jianhua’s notebook showing that Jiang had withdrawn 4.78 million yuan, including the final transfers used to frame Tang Xueqian. Zhang Zhixing identified Zeng Jianhua as Xinfeng Group’s finance director and arranged to find his address, while Zhang Ke remained troubled by how the notebook had reached Tang and why its secret had gone unnoticed.

• Zhang Ke showed Zhang Zhifei the notebook and found indentations where writing had been erased, but the car was too dark to read them.
• Zhang Ke and Zhang Zhifei returned to the Old Residence, where Zhang Ke found his father resting instead of keeping vigil and grew angry at Zhang Zhiwei’s treatment of him.
• Zhang Ke shaded the notebook’s indented pages with a pencil and revealed twenty-one withdrawals totaling 4.78 million yuan attributed to Jiang.
• Zhang Ke recognized that the last three withdrawals matched the sums Jiang Mingcheng transferred to Xu Si, which would be used to implicate Tang Xueqian.
• Zhang Zhixing confirmed that Zeng Jianhua was Xinfeng Group’s finance director and asked his wife to discreetly find Zeng’s address.
• Zhang Ke questioned why Tang Xueqian had possessed the notebook without discovering its secret, and why Ding Xiangshan and Ye Xinming seemed unaware of it.

At his great-uncle’s funeral, Zhang Ke learned that Jiang Mingcheng had confessed to paying Xu Si 270,000 yuan in bribes on Tang Xueqian’s behalf, while more than four million yuan recorded earlier remained unexplained. When Zhang Ke and Zhang Zhixing went to find Zeng Jianhua, they discovered he had fled with company money and police were watching his home, so they escaped and headed for the provincial capital.

• At the funeral dinner, Zhang Ke’s father’s cousin said Jiang Mingcheng had confessed that Tang Xueqian arranged three bribe payments totaling 270,000 yuan through Xu Si.
• Zhang Ke overturned the dinner table after his father’s cousin taunted Zhang Zhixing, then pointed out that the earlier notebook entries listed more than four million yuan in unexplained payments.
• The next morning, Zhang Ke, Zhang Zhixing, and Zhang Zhifei went to Zeng Jianhua’s home, where Zeng Jianhua’s sister said he had disappeared with company money and the police were searching for him.
• Zhang Ke spotted plainclothes officers outside Zeng Jianhua’s building and pretended to recognize one of them, allowing him and Zhang Zhixing to leave without being stopped.
• After reaching Zhang Zhifei’s Jetta, Zhang Ke urgently told him to drive straight to the provincial capital.

After Zeng Jianhua disappeared with embezzled funds, Zhang Ke and Zhang Zhixing fled Haizhou with evidence that could clear Tang Xueqian and expose a wider conspiracy. Zhou Fuming warned them not to return and arranged for them to take their materials to provincial official Xu Xueping.

• Zhang Ke recognized the danger after learning Zeng Jianhua had fled abroad and urged Zhang Zhixing and Zhang Zhifei to leave Haizhou immediately.
• Zhang Ke reasoned that Zeng Jianhua’s disappearance and the notebook were connected to the attacks on Tang Xueqian, and Zhang Zhixing agreed that going to the provincial capital was their safest option.
• Zhang Zhixing explained that Zhou Fuming had insisted Tang Xueqian oversee Xinfeng Group’s restructuring despite Ding Xiangshan’s objections, and Zhang Ke suspected Zhou had been trying to undermine Ding.
• Zhang Zhixing called Zhou Fuming, who told him the Provincial Inspection Team was investigating Tang Xueqian and that Jiang Mingcheng and Xu Si had confessed.
• Zhang Zhixing asked whether he could safely deliver evidence to Zhou, and Zhou told him to go directly to the provincial capital and meet Secretary Xu Xueping.

Zhang Zhixing and Zhang Ke brought evidence about Tang Xueqian and Ding Xiangshan to provincial secretary Xu Xueping, hoping to prompt a thorough investigation. Xu’s hostility toward Haizhou officials and his son’s recent death in a traffic accident there left them waiting anxiously for the Provincial Procuratorate, while a frightened child named Zhitong turned toward Zhang Ke.

• After Liang Gezhen told Zhang Zhixing that officials had questioned her and searched their home, Zhang Ke worried about Tang Jing and Tang Xueqian’s family.
• Zhou Fuming told Zhang Zhixing that Xu Xueping had a poor impression of Haizhou officials but advised him to explain the evidence directly to Xu.
• Zhang Zhixing and Zhang Ke showed Xu Xueping photographs and Zeng Jianhua’s notebook; Xu dismissed their conclusions and arranged for the Provincial Procuratorate to take the materials.
• Li Yijiang told Zhang Ke that Xu Xueping’s son had died in a traffic accident in Haizhou, explaining Xu’s anger toward the city.
• A frightened Zhitong cried upstairs, and Xu Xueping gently took her from his wife; as she turned toward Zhang Ke, he saw her face.

Zhang Ke was recognized by Xie Zhitong as the boy who had saved her from a dump truck, bringing comfort to her family after the death of Xu Xueping’s son. Xu Xueping heard Zhang Zhixing’s account of the bribery investigation into Tang Xueqian and arranged for the procuratorate to review the evidence.

• Xie Zhitong woke from a nightmare, recognized Zhang Ke, and clung to him because he had saved her from the dump truck on the eighteenth.
• Xu Xueping and his family thanked Zhang Ke, while Zhang Zhixing explained that he had come to report evidence concerning Deputy Mayor Tang Xueqian.
• Zhang Zhixing described how Zhang Ke had uncovered connections among Xu Si, Tang Xueqian, Jiang Mingcheng, and Zeng Jianhua, including photographs and a notebook found at Tang Xueqian’s home.
• Xu Xueping praised Zhang Zhixing’s commitment to a fair investigation and asked Li Yijiang to obtain the Haizhou investigation team’s findings from Jin Guohai.
• Jin Guohai arrived at Xu Xueping’s home, followed by Xie Wanqing, who thanked Zhang Ke for saving Zhitong.

Zhang Ke’s discovery of a notebook undermined the evidence against Tang Xueqian and suggested a larger case involving Jiang Mingcheng, Xu Si, and Ding Xiangshan. As provincial officials considered their response, Zhang Ke woke beside Zhitong and learned she had not spoken since the accident.

• Jin Guohai reported that the inspection team suspected Tang Xueqian of an illicit relationship with Xu Si and accepting 270,000 yuan in bribes from Jiang Mingcheng.
• Zhang Ke showed Jin Guohai notebook entries that matched the dates and amounts of the alleged bribes, casting doubt on Jiang Mingcheng’s testimony and pointing to a wider case.
• Xu Xueping ordered Jin Guohai to analyze the evidence and prepare a report, then briefed Provincial Party Secretary Tao Jin the next morning.
• Tao Jin convened an emergency provincial standing committee meeting, while Zhang Ke stayed behind to rest instead of attending.
• Zhang Ke woke with Zhitong beside him and learned from Zhou Shuhui that Zhitong had not spoken since the accident.

Zhang Ke and Zhang Zhixing joined the Provincial Procuratorate’s Special Investigation Team as it took over Tang Xueqian’s case and moved the key people to Longhua Hotel. Newly obtained medical records suggested that Xu Si may have used the 270,000 yuan from Jiang Mingcheng to pay for her sister Xu Wei’s treatment, leaving Zhang Ke to confront the question of Xu Si’s predicament.

• Li Yijiang told Zhang Zhixing and Zhang Ke that the Provincial Procuratorate would form a Special Investigation Team and invite them to review Tang Xueqian’s case.
• The Special Investigation Team took over the case, moved Tang Xueqian and the others to Longhua Hotel, and isolated the original Provincial Inspection Team for questioning.
• Zhang Zhixing asked Jin Guohai to let Tang Xueqian stay with Gu Jianping and Tang Jing, and Jin arranged a suite and medical attention for the family.
• Zhang Ke reviewed Xu Wei’s medical records, which showed that her surgery and treatment had cost the Xu family 110,000 yuan and involved imported medication.
• The investigators considered that Xu Si might have spent the 270,000 yuan from Jiang Mingcheng on Xu Wei’s medical care instead of passing it to Tang Xueqian.

Zhang Ke met Xu Si alone and revealed how he had uncovered Ding Xiangshan’s scheme to frame Tang Xueqian, urging her to tell the Special Investigation Team the truth. Xu Si broke down and embraced him, and Jin Guohai agreed to consider the circumstances Zhang Ke described if she cooperated.

• Zhang Ke persuaded the Special Investigation Team to let him speak with Xu Si alone, arguing that he might convince her to come forward before Ding Xiangshan became suspicious.
• Zhang Ke told Xu Si he knew about her relationship with Ding Xiangshan, the money for her sister’s heart operation, and the plan to frame Tang Xueqian.
• Zhang Ke revealed that he had photographed Xu Si and Tang Xueqian and explained that the investigation concerned Jiang Mingcheng and Ding Xiangshan’s embezzlement of state-owned assets.
• Xu Si cried and clung to Zhang Ke as he promised she would not be hurt and urged her to trust him.
• Zhang Ke told the investigators that Ding Xiangshan had coerced Xu Si and asked them to take her circumstances into account; Jin Guohai agreed to consider his account if she cooperated.