In the summer of 1976, a modern woman finds herself transmigrated into the body of Su Wanwan, a supporting character in a tragic novel set in rural Xiangyang Village. The original Su Wanwan was a naive village girl who fell victim to Ma Zhiming, an educated youth who exploited her family’s status to secure a quota to return to the city. After ruining her family and framing her siblings, Ma Zhiming and his accomplice, Liu Caixia, drove Su Wanwan to a tragic death. The protagonist, who had previously died from shock upon learning her crush, Xie Beishen, had passed away, now wakes up in this dangerous situation just as Ma Zhiming attempts to drug and assault her in a cornfield. Using her wits and a syringe from a mysterious spatial dimension that accompanied her, she neutralizes the drug’s effects and escapes into the night.
Desperate and feverish, Su Wanwan stumbles toward a secluded mountain pool to cool down, unknowingly entering the bathing spot of Xie Beishen, a man she had admired from afar in her previous life. Xie Beishen, initially believing she is attempting suicide, rescues her from the water. In her drugged haze, Su Wanwan mistakes him for a hallucination and kisses him, an encounter that leaves both shaken and intrigued. After she recovers and returns home, where she is found by her protective twin brother, Su Heng, Xie Beishen begins to investigate her identity, becoming increasingly obsessed with the mysterious girl who haunted his dreams.
Su Wanwan learns that her family holds a high status as the brigade leader’s household, but they are targeted by Ma Zhiming’s schemes. She devises a plan to send Ma Zhiming to a labor farm, mirroring the fate that originally destroyed her family in the novel. With her father’s authority and her brother’s physical strength, they systematically undermine Ma Zhiming, assigning him the hardest labor and having Su Heng beat him when he slacks off. Simultaneously, Su Wanwan discovers her spatial ability allows her to access modern supplies and a spirit spring with healing properties, which she uses to improve her family’s health and her own appearance.
As the story progresses, Su Wanwan and Xie Beishen’s paths cross again when they encounter each other at the mountain pool. Su Wanwan tests Xie Beishen to see if he is also a transmigrator, but he appears to be a native of this era. Despite this, a romantic tension develops between them. Su Wanwan, determined to rewrite her family’s tragic fate, encourages her brother to study for the upcoming restoration of the college entrance exam. She also confronts the familial strife caused by her biased grandparents, who exploit her father’s generosity. The narrative follows Su Wanwan as she navigates village politics, outmaneuvers her enemies, and builds a relationship with Xie Beishen, all while trying to survive the hardships of the 1970s countryside.
