Seventeen-year-old Pu Yu lives with her father, Pu Zhiming, and her stepmother, He Shuowan, in a city apartment. Her mother, Lin Qian, passed away when she was young, leaving behind only a damp letter with an address in a remote town called Baiting Town. The letter instructs Pu Yu to seek refuge with an elderly woman named Li Suhua if she ever has nowhere to turn. Her life at home is hostile. Her father and stepmother view her as a burden and a source of income. They pressure her to drop out of high school and marry the son of a local boss in exchange for a bride price. When Pu Yu refuses and calls the police after the boss's son attempts to abduct her, the family's anger escalates. Her father throws scalding tea at her and demands she comply. Pu Yu threatens to expose their plans to her father's employers and her stepmother's son's school, forcing them to give her two thousand yuan to leave. She boards a series of buses and arrives in the rainy, dilapidated town, clutching the letter and her meager belongings.
Upon reaching Wind Chime Lane, Pu Yu knocks on the wrong door and encounters a tense scene involving debt collectors and a brooding young man named Yuan Su. She lies to the collectors, claiming Officer Li sent for him, which scares them away. Yuan Su, who lives next door to the woman she is seeking, notices her distress and helps her knock on the correct door. Li Suhua, her grandmother figure, initially appears cold and sharp-tongued but ultimately takes Pu Yu in after hearing her story. Pu Yu transfers to Tingnan Middle School, where she sits next to Yuan Su. She learns from a classmate, Xu Suiran, that Yuan Su was once a top student from a wealthy family, but his father's gambling addiction ruined them, leading to his mother's mental breakdown and his father's disappearance. Yuan Su now works at a repair shop to pay off debts and keeps to himself, alienated by the town's gossip.
The core conflict deepens when Pu Yu discovers the two thousand yuan her father gave her is counterfeit. A shopkeeper exposes the fake bills, leaving Pu Yu with no money for tuition or food. Her stepmother and father intended to strand her in the town with no means of survival. Devastated and desperate, Pu Yu breaks down in front of Li Suhua. The old woman, though initially stern, reveals her own savings—earned through years of tailoring work—and lends Pu Yu over a thousand yuan to cover her expenses. She warns Pu Yu never to return home, knowing her family would force her into the marriage.
At school, Pu Yu struggles with the physics curriculum due to the teacher's heavy local dialect. Yuan Su, despite his aloof demeanor, demonstrates exceptional aptitude, finishing tests quickly and sleeping through class. When Pu Yu asks for help with a difficult problem, he patiently explains the concepts, revealing a softer side beneath his defensive exterior. Their interactions grow more frequent. Pu Yu brings him breakfast as a gesture of gratitude, insisting on paying for his help rather than offering charity. Yuan Su accepts her kindness reluctantly but begins to open up slightly. The story follows Pu Yu's determination to succeed academically despite her financial hardships and family betrayal, while her relationship with Yuan Su develops against the backdrop of their shared struggles and the oppressive atmosphere of their small town.
