Lin Qing, a modern woman with a pragmatic and resilient personality, transmigrates into a poorly written military marriage novel set in 1960s China. She finds herself trapped in the body of the original novel's female lead, Zhang Hong, who is engaged to the scheming and ambitious Zhao Huizhou. The transmigration occurs alongside System 118, a malfunctioning and pitiful AI companion. Together, they discover they are prisoners within a narrative created by a malicious "dog system" that plagiarized System 118's original work. The dog system is hunting them, and if caught, System 118 will be formatted and Lin Qing will be erased from existence. Their only path to survival is to disrupt the plot sufficiently to destabilize the dog system's control.
Lin Qing awakens in a dilapidated wooden house in Shanglin Village, starving and facing a bowl of sweet potato porridge she cannot eat because the plot demands she starve herself to prove her willpower. She refuses to comply, breaking the initial script by accepting food from her loving but worried parents, Lin Dahua and Wang Lanfeng. The original owner of the body had been on a hunger strike because the Zhao family was attempting to break off their engagement. Instead, they planned to marry Zhao Huizhou to Lin Qing's second cousin, Cui Cuifang, a woman of poor character and appearance, in a scheme to use the Lin family's connections while discarding Lin Qing.
Understanding the dire consequences of the original plot, which leads to the destruction of the Lin family, Lin Qing decides to take control. She learns that the original Lin family suffers a tragic fate: the eldest sister dies after selling blood to fund a trip to confront Zhao Huizhou; the second sister dies from injuries sustained in a family brawl; the original Lin Qing commits suicide after being humiliated; and the youngest sister, Lin Xia, is sold into slavery by the novel's antagonist, Zhang Hong, leading to their parents' deaths. Determined to prevent this catastrophe, Lin Qing resolves to focus on the upcoming college entrance examination, the only opportunity for social mobility available to her at the time.
While Lin Qing studies intensively for the exam, System 118 captures the dog system, which had been distracted by watching Zhao Huizhou and Zhang Hong develop a romantic relationship. This capture allows Lin Qing and System 118 to operate with more freedom, though they remain under threat. Meanwhile, the village is thrown into chaos by Cui Cuifang's false claim that she is pregnant with Zhao Huizhou's child. This lie triggers violent confrontations between the Zhao and Cui families, exposing the moral bankruptcy of both households. Lin Qing remains aloof from the drama, dedicating herself to her studies and using her scientific background to navigate the liberal arts curriculum in a short period.
The story highlights the stark contrast between Lin Qing's rational, self-preserving approach and the melodramatic, destructive impulses of the original characters. As the college entrance examination approaches, Lin Qing faces the challenge of passing as a liberal arts student despite her science background. The narrative sets the stage for her to use her education as a weapon to secure her independence and protect her family from the ruinous fate dictated by the original plot.
