At the age of 55, Fang Qiuxia has spent half her life slaving away for her only daughter, Fang Yueran. After retiring, she travels to the big city to look after her grandchild and handle all household chores. Every month, she also taps into her pension to cover her daughter’s mortgage and daily expenses.
On her birthday, however, she is publicly accused of being greedy and stingy just for accepting an 18.8-yuan red envelope from her daughter. In stark contrast, Fang Yueran splurges generously on her mother-in-law to curry favor, rendering all of Fang Qiuxia’s sacrifices utterly worthless.
Crushed by heartbreak, Fang Qiuxia immediately unlinks her salary card from her daughter’s accounts, packs her luggage and heads back to her hometown, refusing to be her daughter’s unpaid domestic helper any longer.
This falling-out sparked by an 18.8-yuan red envelope lets her see clearly her daughter’s selfishness and cold indifference, marking the start of her brand-new life. Her old house in her hometown is demolished, bringing her a huge compensation payout. She finally breaks free from living solely for her daughter, spending her days dancing, traveling and enjoying her retirement.
Without her mother’s safety net to fall back on, Fang Yueran is soon overwhelmed by life’s burdens: endless conflicts with her mother-in-law, a fractured marriage, and a poorly disciplined child, leaving her life a complete mess.
After waking up to her mistakes, she begs her mother for forgiveness many times, yet Fang Qiuxia has long let go of her obsession. She resolves to live the rest of her life only for herself. Their mother-daughter bond fades to something as thin as water, scarred forever by that 18.8-yuan incident, a cautionary tale for all misplaced devotion and distorted family affection.
