Reborn in 1985: Knowledge Changes Destiny

I. Story Synopsis

Chen Xiulan, weathered by hardship and miserable throughout her life, dies in sorrow in her old age. When she opens her eyes again, she is shocked to find herself back in 1985, on the day she turned eighteen and a matchmaker came to arrange her marriage.

Memories of her previous life surge back. She knows that if she accepts an arranged marriage again and marries Wang Laohan, an impoverished man much older than her, she will be condemned to repeat the endless suffering of her former life. At the crossroads of fate, she makes a completely different choice: she resolutely refuses the match!

Faced with her brother’s guilt, her neighbors’ criticism, and the reality of their bare-walled home, Xiulan summons astonishing resolve. She will pick up her textbooks again, arm herself with knowledge, and change the fate of both herself and her family. With the help of Teacher Lin, the mentor who recognizes her potential, she overcomes the obstacles of returning to school at an older age and starts over with middle-school textbooks, drawing on the resilience of someone who has lived two lives.

Inspired by her, her brother Shizhu, who had resigned himself to their lot, also begins to awaken. Together, the siblings fight poverty. In the end, Xiulan’s forward-looking perspective and hard work help her catch the final chance to take the revived college entrance exams. She earns a place at her dream university, truly leaves the mountains behind, and begins a new chapter in her life.