1980s Military Marriage After Toppling Her In-Laws Her Husband Came Back from the Dead

Xia Wan, a elite soldier from a post-apocalyptic future, dies after being betrayed and stabbed by a trusted teammate. She awakens in the body of an eighteen-year-old widow named Xia Wan in 1980, whose husband, Lu Jingxing, died on the front lines a year prior. The original owner was abused by her mother-in-law, Yang Shufen, and sister-in-law, Lu Hongmei, who forced her to work as a servant and eventually beat her to death to seize a coveted factory office job for Su Lijuan, the male lead’s childhood crush. Upon absorbing the memories, Xia Wan realizes she has transmigrated into a novel and resolves to reclaim her dignity and escape her toxic family.

Immediately after waking, Xia Wan confronts Yang Shufen and Lu Hongmei as they attempt to beat her again. Using her combat skills, she easily subdues them, shocking the neighbors who gather to watch. When Yang Shufen and Lu Hongmei try to manipulate public opinion by claiming Xia Wan attacked them, she exposes their lies by pointing out their lack of visible injuries and revealing that they struck her first. The crowd turns against the abusive women. Yang Shufen then brings up the compensation money from Lu Jingxing’s death, attempting to guilt Xia Wan. Xia Wan firmly states that she only claims her rightful share as a martyr’s spouse and refuses to give up the job she earned through her own hard work.

Su Lijuan, who is also reborn, steps in to pressure Xia Wan into yielding the job. However, Xia Wan outmaneuvers her by agreeing to give up the position only if she can sever all ties with the Lu family and reclaim her dowry. Yang Shufen, eager to get rid of Xia Wan and secure the job for Su Lijuan, agrees to the terms. Xia Wan packs her belongings and leaves with the compensation money, refusing to let the Lu family keep her father’s legacy. She returns to her childhood home, which has been neglected and dusty since the fire that killed her parents. Using a system from her past life, she cleans the house instantly and prepares for her new life.

Yang Shufen, Lu Hongmei, and Su Lijuan later visit Xia Wan’s home, demanding she go to the factory director to resign so Su Lijuan can take the job. Xia Wan fakes a concussion to delay them and demands medical expenses, forcing Yang Shufen to pay her three thousand six hundred yuan. The next day, Xia Wan visits the factory director, her father’s close friend, and announces her decision to take the college entrance exam instead of working. The director supports her and keeps her resignation secret. While at the factory, a machine malfunctions, and a foreign expert is called in. Xia Wan volunteers to translate, impressing everyone with her fluent English and technical knowledge inherited from her father.

Lu Hongmei, jealous and desperate to undermine Xia Wan, secretly swaps a gear during the repair to sabotage the machine. Xia Wan notices the switch but remains calm, silently replacing the part with a correct one from her system storage. When the machine initially fails to start, Lu Hongmei gloats, but Xia Wan reveals they had simply forgotten to turn the power back on. The machine starts working perfectly, and the foreign expert praises the factory’s maintenance. The director, aware of Lu Hongmei’s sabotage, warns her to keep her word in a bet she made with Xia Wan. Xia Wan then decides to study medicine to cure her mother’s mental illness, which was caused by the trauma of the fire.

Xia Wan visits her maternal family, the Chens, where her mother is being cared for. She reconnects with her grandmother, uncle, and cousins, promising to take her mother to live with her after the exam. The next day, Xia Wan and her cousins go to the Lu family home to reclaim her dowry. They empty the house of all items purchased with Xia Wan’s money, including her wardrobe, sewing machine, and even the flowers in the garden. Yang Shufen and Su Lijuan try to stop them, but the neighbors and Xia Wan’s family protect her. Su Lijuan attempts to manipulate the situation by pretending to regret rejecting Lu Jingxing, but Xia Wan and her cousins expose her true intentions. Xia Wan asserts her independence, telling her cousin that women should rely on themselves rather than men. The story ends with Xia Wan focused on her studies, having successfully cut ties with her abusers and taken control of her future.