The Glamorous Beauty of the 1980s

Song Shixi, a modern live-streamer, dies in a car accident and transmigrates into a period novel set in 1988 Beijing. She inhabits the body of a cannon-fodder supporting character with the same name, a young woman who had been taken in by the wealthy Qin family. The original host was insecure, vain, and obsessed with marrying early to escape her status as a dependent. She had alienated the novel’s female lead, Qin Zhiyi, by pushing her down the stairs and nearly ruining her dancing career. Desperate for attention, the original host attempted to drug Qin Zhiyi’s fiancé, Li Yanxing, at a birthday banquet. However, due to a mix-up, the drugged drink was given to Qin Zhiyi’s older brother, Qin Yue, a ruthless and powerful businessman known as a madman in the story. Song Shixi wakes up in a storage room with a drugged Qin Yue, realizing she has inherited a disastrous situation with no family support and a reputation in tatters.

Qin Yue, under the influence of the drug, is volatile and dangerous. When someone tries to force open the storage room door, he hides Song Shixi against him to avoid scandal. During the close contact, Song Shixi bites his hand to escape his suffocating grip, leaving a visible wound. After the intruder leaves, Qin Yue orders her to find his secretary, Xu Jinze, to help manage his condition. Song Shixi complies, not out of loyalty, but to secure some goodwill from the powerful man. She helps carry him to the car and ensures he receives medical attention at a hospital. Her actions are misinterpreted by the secretary as an attempt to climb the social ladder, but Song Shixi is merely trying to survive. She uses the opportunity to get her own head injury treated, having been knocked unconscious earlier, and charges the expenses to Qin Yue.

At the hospital, Qin Yue confronts Song Shixi after waking up. He accuses her of scheming to trap him, referencing her history of blind dates and social climbing. Song Shixi, knowing that admitting her true intent would seal her fate, improvises a confession. She claims she drugged him because she has secretly liked him for a long time, playing the role of a foolish, infatuated girl. Qin Yue sees through her lies but finds her audacity intriguing. He decides to cut ties with her rather than pursue further conflict. He offers her a house in Beijing and a sum of money on the condition that she leaves the Qin family and never contacts them again. Song Shixi accepts immediately, relieved to escape the toxic environment and the wrath of the female lead.

Back at the Qin residence, Song Shixi navigates a tense breakfast with the family. Qin Yue’s mother, Zheng Huilan, despises her for the incident with Qin Zhiyi and tries to arrange a marriage with a man named Wei Shuqiang to get her out of the house. Song Shixi politely declines, asserting her independence. She realizes that her only path to safety is financial self-sufficiency. With almost no money left, she decides to sell the expensive clothes the original host bought but never wore. She reconnects with Wu Qiuhong, a former friend whom the original host had neglected, and uses Wu’s knowledge of the local area to find a suitable spot to sell her goods. She rents a stall near the university back gate, demonstrating her business acumen and determination to build a new life. Meanwhile, Qin Yue observes her from a distance, his curiosity piqued by her sudden change in behavior and her efforts to stand on her own feet.