Jiang Yan, a 23-year-old junior designer at Li Corporation, faces a desperate situation when her mother requires an urgent kidney transplant and her brother needs university tuition fees. Yu Lan, the matriarch of the wealthy Li family, proposes a contractual marriage: Jiang Yan will wed Li Yancheng, the CEO who has been in a vegetative state for six months following a car accident, for two years. The terms include a monthly allowance of one million yuan, an immediate one million yuan payment, and a fifty million yuan settlement upon divorce. Jiang Yan agrees, signing the contract to secure her mother's surgery.
Upon entering the Li family mansion, Jiang Yan learns that Li Yancheng has been in a coma since the accident. Butler Du, the family steward, instructs her to care for him personally, including daily body wipes and massages to prevent muscle atrophy. Jiang Yan performs these duties diligently despite her inexperience. On her first night, Du Yaoyue, the butler's daughter who harbors feelings for Li Yancheng, delivers a glass of milk to Jiang Yan. Suspecting foul play, Jiang Yan only allows Li Yancheng to taste a small amount on his lips using a cotton swab. Shortly after, Li Yancheng's lips swell, and the family doctor discovers he has been poisoned. Yu Lan forces both Jiang Yan and Du Yaoyue to kneel. Jiang Yan deflects blame to Du Yaoyue, who claims the milk was merely a prank intended to cause itching, not death. Yu Lan sentences Du Yaoyue to twenty lashes and Jiang Yan to fifteen for negligence. As punishment is carried out, Li Yancheng weakly utters the word "itchy," revealing he is regaining consciousness. The poisoning incident inadvertently stimulates his recovery.
Li Yancheng awakens but remains hostile toward Jiang Yan, viewing her as a gold-digger. He discovers through private investigation that Jiang Yan had secretly admired him for years, maintaining a secret Weibo account dedicated to him and waiting to catch glimpses of him. This revelation softens his attitude slightly. He begins applying wound ointment to her back at night after she had reopened her whip wounds. Over the following weeks, Li Yancheng undergoes rehabilitation and gradually regains the ability to walk. He returns to work at Li Corporation while Jiang Yan remains at the mansion, caring for him.
Jiang Yan seeks to gain favor with the family patriarch, Grandpa Li, by baking low-sugar desserts for him daily. After ten days of persistent effort, Grandpa Li agrees to receive her. During a family dinner, Grandpa Li tests Jiang Yan by asking her to choose between collaboration proposals prepared by Li Yancheng and his rival brother Li Yanshen. Jiang Yan supports Li Yancheng's proposal, securing his position. Grandpa Li gifts Jiang Yan a jade bracelet, which Yuan Liru claims is the family heirloom. However, Li Minghai discovers it is a replica, revealing Grandpa Li's intent to use Jiang Yan as a buffer against family factions while testing her loyalty.
Jiang Yan's efforts please the family, and Yu Lan offers her a reward. Jiang Yan requests to return to work at Li Corporation and visit her mother. Li Yancheng agrees, on the condition that she keep their marriage secret. At work, Jiang Yan faces gossip and ostracism from colleagues who resent her status. Li Yancheng, observing photos of male colleagues pursuing Jiang Yan, becomes jealous and orders transfers and firings. He calls Jiang Yan directly, but she mistakes the call for a scam. The story establishes a complex dynamic where Jiang Yan navigates family politics while Li Yancheng gradually shifts from hostility to protectiveness, unaware of the deeper conspiracies surrounding his accident and the true intentions of those around him.
