Hu Ouhua wakes up in 1978, having been reborn three days before her arranged marriage to Yang Wei, a man who would ruin her life in her previous timeline. Her mother, Wang Chunlan, and younger sister, Hu Jingsheng, view Hu Ouhua as a commodity to be sold for three hundred yuan to fund Hu Jingsheng’s education. In her past life, Hu Ouhua was stripped of her college entrance exam eligibility, forced into a abusive marriage, and ultimately died tragically. Determined to change her fate, Hu Ouhua confronts her mother, exposing the family’s greed and refusing to go to the matchmaking meeting. She escapes to her former teacher, who helps her reapply for the exam and arrange a new medical checkup, restoring her chance to enter university.
While fleeing her family, Hu Ouhua accidentally falls into a medicinal bath in the basement of a courtyard house in Ning City. She finds herself in the arms of Lu Yuetang, a high-ranking military commander from the Beijing Military District who is suffering from a mysterious poison. The encounter turns physical due to the effects of the medicine and the poison, leaving both parties in a complicated situation. Lu Yuetang, initially believing she was a schemer sent by his enemies, is surprised by her demeanor. Meanwhile, the Yang family, led by Yang Wei and his sister Yang Jiaojiao, attempts to blackmail Lu Yuetang into taking responsibility for Yang Jiaojiao, but he dismisses them. Hu Ouhua, needing money and shelter to prepare for the exam, secures a job as a live-in household helper for Lu Yuetang, unaware at first that her employer is the same man she met in the bath.
As Hu Ouhua works for Lu Yuetang, their relationship evolves from employer-employee to something more complex. Lu Yuetang, intrigued by her competence and beauty, provides her with study notes and a dictionary to help her prepare for the college entrance exam. He also gives her a military knife for self-defense after learning of her abusive family situation. Hu Ouhua, in turn, cooks for him and cares for him during his medicinal baths, gradually breaking down his icy exterior. Lu Yuetang’s condition improves significantly under her care, leading his doctor to suggest that emotional connection may be part of his cure.
Hu Ouhua’s family, however, remains a persistent threat. Wang Chunlan and Hu Jingsheng expose their affair with a neighbor, Old Zhao, to gain sympathy and discredit Hu Ouhua, but Hu Ouhua turns the tables by revealing their hypocrisy to the community, leading to Old Zhao’s arrest and her mother’s public humiliation. Despite this victory, the family’s resentment grows. Hu Jingsheng, jealous of Hu Ouhua’s success and beauty, conspires with Wu Weiwei, a former classmate, to lure Hu Ouhua into a trap. They plan to have Yang Wei and his thugs assault her in an alley, aiming to ruin her reputation and prevent her from taking the exam.
Hu Ouhua anticipates the trap and arrives armed with the military knife Lu Yuetang gave her. When the thugs attack, she fights back, stabbing one man severely. The incident draws police attention, and Hu Ouhua is arrested, facing charges that could jeopardize her future. Lu Yuetang, alerted by Shen Fubai, rushes to the detention center to intervene. The story concludes with Hu Ouhua imprisoned, awaiting resolution, while Lu Yuetang works to clear her name and protect her from her family’s relentless schemes.
