Song Shiwei, a twenty-year-old woman who has been transported into the world of a period novel titled "Reborn in the 1970s: Married into a Wealthy Family and Gave Birth to Three Babies," finds herself inhabiting the body of a tragic cannon-fodder character. In the original story, this character obsessively pursues the male lead, Ji Yanli, only to be humiliated, physically crippled, and ultimately driven to suicide. Determined to escape this grim fate, Song Shiwei realizes that the plot forces her into interactions with Ji Yanli and the novel's heroine, Jiang Xinxin. Her strategy to break free from the storyline is to marry someone else and move as far away from the protagonists as possible.
The narrative begins with Song Shiwei attending her ninth blind date, where she encounters a misogynistic man who demands she serve his family and bear many children. After rejecting him, she is confronted by Ji Yanli and Jiang Xinxin, who accuse her of stalking them. To escape the situation, Song Shiwei grabs the arm of a stranger, Zhou Tingyue, a handsome regimental commander, and claims he is her boyfriend. Zhou Tingyue, initially confused but amused by her desperation, plays along. He learns that Song Shiwei is trying to avoid the novel's plot and, finding her directness and courage appealing, agrees to date her with the intention of marriage.
Zhou Tingyue reveals that he is twenty-nine, divorced, and raising four orphaned children he adopted to repay a debt of gratitude to their deceased parents. Despite these complications, Song Shiwei is undeterred, seeing him as her best chance for a quick marriage and relocation to the East China Sea Naval Garrison, far from Beijing. Zhou Tingyue, moved by her sincerity and lack of pretense, agrees to marry her. He returns to his unit, secures approval for the marriage, and arranges housing before coming to Beijing to propose.
Meanwhile, Song Shiwei faces hostility from her extended family. Her grandmother and aunt favor her cousin, Song Yingying, and attempt to force Song Shiwei to give up her engagement so Yingying can marry the regiment commander instead. Song Shiwei counters this by exposing her family's past injustice, where her eldest cousin was sent to the countryside while her uncle's sons secured city jobs. The tension is further complicated when Zhou Tingyue's mother, Shen Xiu'e, accidentally collides with Song Yingying and is injured. Song Shiwei helps Shen Xiu'e, unaware that she is meeting her future mother-in-law. Shen Xiu'e is impressed by Song Shiwei's kindness and integrity, solidifying her support for the union.
Zhou Tingyue arrives in Beijing with his parents, bringing formal gifts and a marriage report. The family dynamics shift as Zhou Tingyue's status and character win over Song Shiwei's initially skeptical parents. However, the children Zhou Tingyue is raising are wary of a new stepmother, fearing abuse based on past trauma. Song Shiwei must navigate not only the lingering threats of the novel's plot but also the complex relationships within her own large, divided family and Zhou Tingyue's household. As she prepares to leave for the military base, she hopes to finally leave the tragic storyline behind, though the forces of the narrative continue to test her resolve.
