1980s: A Stunning Beauty Spoiled to the Heavens by a Returned Overseas Tycoon!

Lin Qiqi, a modern woman with business experience, transmigrates into the body of a girl in 1980s China. The original Lin Qiqi had collapsed from hunger and low blood sugar, an event that occurs just days after her mother, Jiang Yunling, a skilled textile factory worker, suffered a catastrophic accident at work. The accident resulted in the amputation of Jiang Yunling’s left leg. In the aftermath, Lin Qiqi’s father, Lin Zhengxian, stole the two-thousand-yuan compensation money intended for his wife’s medical treatment and disappeared with a pregnant mistress, Shui Lian, leaving the mother and daughter in dire poverty. Lin Qiqi resolves to save her mother from despair and escape the toxic Lin family, starting by ensuring Jiang Yunling divorces Lin Zhengxian to protect her remaining rights and assets.

During this turbulent period, Lin Qiqi encounters Jian Yushu, a tall, handsome man with distinctive smoky blue eyes who saves her from fainting by feeding her White Rabbit milk candy. Their paths cross again when Jian Yushu returns her handkerchief, revealing he is an overseas Chinese or connected to foreign trade, evidenced by the rare imported goods he carries. Meanwhile, Lin Qiqi’s childhood sweetheart, Meng Ziping, appears with his new fiancée, Hao Yajie, to publicly announce their engagement. Meng Ziping, who had previously relied on the Lin family for food and education, now views Lin Qiqi as a burden due to her disabled mother. Hao Yajie, motivated by jealousy and a desire to dominate, humiliates Lin Qiqi in front of neighbors, offering her pitiful gifts of cheap candy and eggs while mocking her family’s misfortune.

Lin Qiqi responds with sharp wit and cold indifference, exposing Meng Ziping’s ingratitude and demanding repayment for the tuition and meals her family supported him with over the years. She uses Jian Yushu as a shield to deflect the couple’s attacks, creating the impression that she has a powerful new partner. This intervention allows her to reclaim her dignity and drive Meng Ziping and Hao Yajie away. However, the emotional turmoil takes a toll on Jiang Yunling, who, feeling like a burden to her daughter, attempts suicide by drinking pesticide. Lin Qiqi intervenes just in time, saving her mother’s life. During the struggle, Lin Qiqi suffers a severe laceration on her leg from broken glass, requiring stitches at the hospital where she coincidentally encounters Jian Yushu, who is being treated for an eating disorder.

Lin Qiqi’s kindness continues when she sends Jian Yushu homemade porridge and sesame pancakes, which successfully stimulate his appetite and help him eat a proper meal for the first time in days. Jian Yushu, touched by her care and cooking, leaves scar removal ointment for her leg injury anonymously. This act deepens the connection between them, though Lin Qiqi remains focused on her primary goal: financial independence. She begins planning to start a small business selling boxed meals to construction workers, utilizing aluminum lunch boxes she identifies as a profitable opportunity. Simultaneously, she works to persuade Jiang Yunling to finalize the divorce, emphasizing the need to secure housing and stop Lin Zhengxian from exploiting them further.

The conflict escalates when Yang Sufen, Lin Qiqi’s grandmother, and Lin Zhengxian’s relatives attempt to seize the family’s allocated housing. They argue that since Jiang Yunling married into the Lin family, the house belongs to them. Secretary Wang, a factory official in charge of housing, intervenes and clarifies that the house is state property and cannot be claimed by the Lin family. She threatens legal action for abandonment if they do not leave, forcing them to retreat. Despite this victory, Yang Sufen devises a new plan to take Lin Qiqi back to the village, intending to force her into a marriage with a violent widower to extract a bride price. The chapter ends with the Lin family arriving in the city to kidnap Lin Qiqi, setting the stage for further confrontation as she fights to protect her mother and her future.