Su Ran wakes up in a cramped, moldy apartment with a headache and a five-million-yuan check in her hand. She realizes she has transmigrated into the body of Su Ran, the vicious supporting female antagonist from a billionaire romance novel titled After Transmigrating as Cannon Fodder, Saved the Villain. In the original story, this character cheats the male lead, Fu Yechuan, out of his money, betrays him at his lowest point, and is eventually destroyed by him. The timing is critical; Fu Yechuan stands before her, on the verge of snapping, holding the check that the original owner swindled from him. Su Ran knows that if she follows the original plot, she will be betrayed by a trap set by the true heroine, Bai Weiwei, using a fake check, leading to her imprisonment and death.
Instead of running or begging, which would trigger Fu Yechuan's disgust, Su Ran tears up the check. She gambles on the fact that the original owner was greedy, so by rejecting the money, she appears ambitious rather than mercenary. She reveals that the check is a trap from the Bai family and that Fu Yechuan’s company is about to be destroyed by creditors. Recognizing her value as an insider with knowledge of the future, Fu Yechuan agrees to a partnership. They pool their remaining resources, redeeming a pawned diamond necklace for one hundred and ten thousand yuan, and invest a total of four hundred and sixty thousand yuan into Qiming Technology, a stock Su Ran knows will surge due to an upcoming acquisition by Tianhuan Group.
The partnership is fraught with tension. Fu Yechuan is paranoid and violent, having just been betrayed by his trusted assistant, Zhou Zhe, who is secretly a mole for the Bai family. Su Ran warns him about Zhou Zhe before he discovers the betrayal himself, planting seeds of doubt that prevent Fu Yechuan from acting impulsively. They move into a cheap serviced apartment in East City, living in close proximity while waiting for the stock to rise. During this time, Bai Weiwei’s brother, Bai Jingshan, visits Su Ran to deliver a threat: leave Fu Yechuan, or face consequences. He reveals that he knows about their investment in Qiming Technology, though he is unaware that the shares have been split across multiple accounts to evade detection.
On the fourth day, Qiming Technology announces a major asset restructuring with Tianhuan Group, and trading is suspended. The stock is guaranteed to hit limit-ups upon resumption, securing their financial comeback. However, the Bai family’s three-day deadline expires the same day. With the stock frozen and no way to sell, Su Ran and Fu Yechuan are trapped. Bai Jingshan returns to deliver a final ultimatum, shifting the target from the money to Su Ran herself. The story ends with the two partners facing an imminent physical threat from the Bai family, their financial salvation locked in a suspended account, and their survival depending on Fu Yechuan’s ability to protect them both.
