In the winter of 1965, Feng Mingshu suddenly finds herself back in her body at age eighteen, fifteen years after a traumatic period spent in a labor reform farm. Having lived through the devastating political turmoil that would soon engulf China, she returns to her family home in Bincheng with a singular, urgent mission: to protect her mother, Yu Jingqiu, and her younger twins, Mingyu and Mingxue, from the suffering that awaited them in her previous life. Her father had already abandoned the family for a mistress in Hong Kong, leaving Yu Jingqiu to raise the children alone while managing the family business. Upon her return, Feng Mingshu is overwhelmed by the sight of her living mother and collapses into tears, seeking comfort in her embrace. She reveals to Yu Jingqiu that their family will face severe persecution within six months, leading to separation and fifteen years of hardship. Yu Jingqiu, a woman of quiet strength and sharp intellect, accepts her daughter’s words without question, recognizing the precognitive nature of the event as a blessing that offers a chance to alter their fate.
Feng Mingshu’s primary objective is to shield her family from the impending storm by severing ties with their dangerous class status. She refuses to sign her college entrance examination intention form, rejecting the path her class monitor, Zhang Yunxiao, had hoped to share with her. Zhang, unaware of the depth of her trauma and the political reality she remembers, persists in his affection, only to be rebuffed when Feng Mingshu reveals she is attending a military matchmaking dance. This decision is orchestrated by Yu Jingqiu, who understands that aligning their family with the military is the safest route for protection in the coming years. Meanwhile, Feng Mingshu confronts her cousin, Chu Xuanxuan, and Zhang Yunxiao’s mother, exposing their manipulative schemes and asserting her independence from their social games.
The family takes decisive action to sanitize their public image. Yu Jingqiu donates the entirety of the Feng family’s known assets, including land deeds, antique collections, and equity documents, to the state. This act of selflessness earns them praise from municipal officials and secures a recommendation for Feng Mingshu to attend the matchmaking dance. However, Yu Jingqiu secretly retains hidden wealth in a concealed compartment within their home, ensuring a safety net for her children’s future dowries and marriages, demonstrating her foresight and resolve. Feng Mingshu also insists on immediate medical check-ups for the family, aiming to catch any health issues before the healthcare system collapses.
At the Red Star Auditorium, Feng Mingshu encounters Zhai Qingping, a student from a prestigious Beijing family, who is initially attracted to her but retreats upon learning of her capitalist background. The pivotal moment arrives with the entrance of Zhou Jinshan, a decorated soldier recovering from severe wounds. Zhou, who had previously locked eyes with Feng Mingshu in a hospital corridor, approaches her with direct intent. Unlike Zhai, Zhou explicitly states that he is interested in her as an individual, disregarding her family history. He offers to walk her home, signaling the beginning of a relationship that could provide the military protection Yu Jingqiu seeks. Feng Mingshu, initially resistant due to her fear of dragging others into her political troubles, finds herself drawn to Zhou’s unwavering conviction, setting the stage for a new path that diverges sharply from her previous life’s tragedies.
