Three Years of Marriage: Even a Military Union Must End in Divorce

Jiang Ning, a renowned medical researcher from the 21st century, transmigrates into the body of a minor character in a 1970s motivational novel titled "1970s Counterattack: How a Rural Girl Becomes Wealthy." In the original story, she was a disposable substitute bride who was tricked by the reborn protagonist, Jiang Ting, into marrying a military man named Shen Mo. Jiang Ting swapped household registration documents to secure her own future, leaving the original Jiang Ning to live a lonely, impoverished life of widowhood in the countryside while Jiang Ting pursued education and wealth. Upon transmigration, Jiang Ning immediately decides to reject this fate. Despite the era's strict laws regarding military marriages, she boards a crowded green train to the capital to find her husband and file for divorce.

During the journey, Jiang Ning encounters human traffickers and robbers. Using her quick wit, she pretends the trafficker is her partner to deflect their attention and alerts train attendants to the danger. She is rescued by two soldiers from the Capital Military District: Shen Mo, her nominal husband, and his subordinate Yang Zhengtu. Jiang Ning is shocked to discover that the brave, handsome soldier who saved her is actually the man she is married to. Upon arriving in the capital, she learns through the unit's orderly, Qian Feng, that Shen Mo is the Deputy Regiment Commander. He has been sending her thirty yuan monthly, but the money was intercepted by her family, specifically Jiang Ting, who used the funds to prepare for the reinstated college entrance exams.

Jiang Ning stays in the military unit's guesthouse and begins teaching English to a young boy named Huo Zhiqi, who is temporarily staying with the regiment commander's family. When Shen Mo returns from a mission, Jiang Ning directly proposes divorce, citing the lack of emotional foundation and his three-year absence. Shen Mo, who had been away due to dangerous missions and family political complications, agrees to the divorce but is unable to process it immediately because Brigade Commander Wang rejects the application. The leadership insists he cannot divorce during a critical period of career advancement, as it would negatively impact his moral evaluation for promotion to Regiment Commander.

Forced to remain married, Shen Mo applies for family housing and selects a house with a yard for Jiang Ning, fulfilling her casual wishes for a swing and a fish pond. He covers all her expenses and treats her with unexpected kindness, surprising Jiang Ning who had anticipated hostility. As they navigate their forced cohabitation, Jiang Ning plans to find employment and achieve financial independence. Meanwhile, Jiang Ting, now a university student and engaged to a high-ranking officer, remains unaware that her scheme has been uncovered and that her victim is actively dismantling the life she stole. The story follows Jiang Ning's efforts to establish herself in the capital while managing the complex, evolving dynamic with Shen Mo, whose feelings for her begin to grow despite his initial detachment.