In 1988, Qiao Zhiwei, a woman who had transmigrated into this era with memories of the twenty-first century, returns to her family home to find it ransacked by creditors. The Qiao family has gone bankrupt after her father secretly sold their profitable daily-chemicals factory to open a television factory that failed, leaving behind massive debts. Her parents have disappeared, and her fiancé, Huo Jingchen, has not only refused to help but has hastily become engaged to another woman, He Manman, with the wedding scheduled for the first day of the next month. Qiao Zhiwei's younger sister, Qiao Zhilian, is terrified as creditors and He Gang, the cousin of He Manman, harass them. He Gang attempts to assault Qiao Zhiwei, demanding she marry him in exchange for forgiving part of the debt.
Huo Jingnian, Huo Jingchen's older half-brother and a decorated military officer known as the Jade-Faced Yama, arrives unexpectedly and rescues Qiao Zhiwei. He takes the sisters to the Huo residence, where Old Master Huo, the family patriarch, is returning from abroad. The Huo family had been saved by Old Master Huo's life being saved by Qiao Zhiwei's father years earlier, creating a debt of gratitude. However, Huo Jingchen and his mother, Chen Qingmei, along with his sister Huo Jingli, view Qiao Zhiwei as a burden now that her family is ruined. Huo Jingchen reveals he spent thirty thousand yuan of Qiao Zhiwei's money during his four years studying abroad and refuses to repay it, suggesting she marry He Gang to resolve her debts.
Qiao Zhiwei, no longer the naive girl she was in her previous understanding of events, confronts the Huo family and demands accountability. When Old Master Huo expresses his desire to repay the favor by ensuring Qiao Zhiwei is not wronged, Huo Jingnian unexpectedly declares that he will marry her. This surprises everyone, including Qiao Zhiwei, but she agrees, seeing it as a strategic move to secure protection and resolve her immediate crisis. She negotiates a one-year marriage with Huo Jingnian, after which she will return his freedom.
Huo Jingnian promptly pays off all the Qiao family's debts, including the twenty thousand yuan owed to He Gang and forty thousand yuan to other creditors, totaling over a hundred thousand yuan. He arranges for wedding photos to be taken immediately, demonstrating a thoughtful and capable nature that contrasts sharply with Huo Jingchen's manipulative and selfish behavior. Qiao Zhiwei, recognizing the difference between the two brothers, begins to see Huo Jingnian not just as a savior but as a person of integrity and strength.
Meanwhile, He Manman confronts Huo Jingchen about the broken engagement, only to discover that he casually ended it because they were not suitable, revealing his true nature as someone who uses people for personal gain. He Gang, frustrated by his failure to marry Qiao Zhiwei and lose face before Huo Jingnian, plots further revenge. The story sets the stage for Qiao Zhiwei's new life as Huo Jingnian's wife, her efforts to rebuild her family's fortune, and the ongoing tensions with the Huo family members who opposed the marriage, particularly Chen Qingmei and Huo Jingchen, who fear losing their influence and status.
