Shen Jiaojiao, a modern journalist, is haunted by the case of Xiao Yueyue, a 19-year-old serial killer who committed suicide after being interviewed. The girl's childhood was marked by severe abuse from her mother and stepfather. Following the suicide, Shen Jiaojiao travels back in time to 1980, inhabiting the body of Xiao Yueyue's neglectful and submissive mother. She finds eight-year-old Xiao Yueyue trapped in an abusive household with her stepfather, Xi Zihua, and Xi's lover, Wang Jianjun, a middle school teacher.
Upon waking in the past, Shen Jiaojiao immediately confronts the abusers. When Wang Jianjun attempts to molest Xiao Yueyue, Shen Jiaojiao intervenes violently, beating both men with household objects and tying them up. She forces Xiao Yueyue to participate in punishing Wang Jianjun with a needle, helping the child release her trauma. Shen Jiaojiao then extorts 30,000 yuan from Wang Jianjun using compromising photographs she took of him and Xi Zihua together.
The conflict escalates when Shen Jiaojiao confronts Xi Zihua's mother, Zhang Jingui, and other relatives. She publicly reveals that Xi Zihua is a eunuch and that Xiao Yueyue is not his biological daughter, but the child of Xiao Ke, a man who left eight years prior. Using the photographs as leverage, Shen Jiaojiao demands 48,000 yuan as compensation for eight years of servitude. The Xi family, fearing scandal and the ruin of their relative's political career, reluctantly pay the sum.
Shen Jiaojiao then visits her own parents, the Shen family, who are revealed to be exploitative and patriarchal. Her father and brother attempt to manipulate her into handing over the money. Shen Jiaojiao outsmarts them, refusing to yield and instead asserting her independence. She deposits the money in a bank and plans to move to Shanghai, where she intends to use her knowledge of future events to build a new life.
Throughout the story, Shen Jiaojiao works to heal Xiao Yueyue's psychological wounds, providing her with love, education, and the confidence to stand up for herself. The narrative follows their journey as they break free from the toxic environments of both the Xi and Shen families, setting the stage for a new beginning in Shanghai.
