Happiness (2016) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Chan moved to Hong Kong to find his father, who had abandoned the family and started a new life elsewhere. After his mother's death, Chan had no other family ties holding him in Guangzhou, so he sought out his father hoping for a reunion.

• chan
• kai-yuk
• hong kong
• father
• guangzhou
• abandoned family

Tse was initially suspicious of Chan and reluctant to rent out her spare room. The turning point came when Chan brought her a thoughtful gift, a dozen eggs, which convinced her to trust him. This small act of kindness broke through her wariness.

• tse
• yuen-fan
• tenant
• eggs
• trust
• apartment

When Tse was diagnosed with mild cognitive disorder and began losing her way, Chan became fearful of the caregiving responsibility that lay ahead. He temporarily fled, not ready to commit to that life-changing role. However, he returned after seeing her search anxiously for him in the streets, which reminded him of his own late mother.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the film, Chan reflects on his mother's death and the care he provided, hinting at his complicated feelings about caregiving.

• tse
• cognitive disorder
• diagnosis
• caregiver
• abandonment
• memory loss

Chan took his young stepbrother to an indoor playground and gave him ice cream without knowing the boy had a severe peanut allergy. When the child suffered an acute allergic reaction at the hospital, Chan's father, influenced by his new wife, ordered Chan to never contact the family again. Chan agreed to respect this wish.

• father
• stepbrother
• peanut allergy
• hospital
• family rejection

As Tse's cognitive condition worsened, she made a compassionate decision to ensure her future care. She drafted a will naming Chan as the inheritor of all her properties, including her former boss's flat, on the condition that he would care for her as if he were her son. This formalized their chosen family bond.

• tse
• will
• inheritance
• properties
• care
• adoption
• family

Xiaoyue had actually met Chan years earlier in a Guangzhou hospital, where she witnessed his devoted care for his terminally ill mother. Though Chan did not recognize her when they reconnected in Hong Kong, she had always admired his compassion and sense of responsibility.

Foreshadowing: This revelation connects to Chan's backstory of caring for his mother before her death, which was established early in the film.

• xiaoyue
• admiration
• guangzhou
• hospital
• mother
• care
• memories

Xiaoyue eventually returned to Guangzhou, leaving a note for Chan at Beloved Community Centre. Her departure was connected to her own romantic circumstances, and she chose to rebuild her life in her home city while cherishing the connections she made in Hong Kong.

• xiaoyue
• guangzhou
• departure
• beloved community centre
• relationship

Kam, a chef at the Beloved Community Centre, saw Chan sleeping on the streets and offered him help. He wanted to give Chan a lifeline, a chance at steady work and shelter. However, Chan needed proof of address to formally accept the job, which prompted him to seek out Tse as a landlord.

• kam
• beloved community centre
• job
• homelessness
• support

After being sacked from the restaurant and unable to pay rent, Chan became homeless and slept on the streets. His situation changed when Kam offered him a job at Beloved Community Centre, but he first needed a proof of address from Tse to officially qualify for the position. Once he became Tse's tenant, he could accept the job and begin earning money.

• restaurant
• job loss
• homelessness
• beloved centre
• employment

Tse was a middle-aged former singer who had never had children. The film establishes that she lived alone after her most recent tenant moved out, making her both childless and isolated. This context explains why she was initially wary of Chan but eventually came to see him as family.

• tse
• singer
• childless
• alone
• isolation
• tenant

Chan developed a quiet crush on Xiaoyue while working alongside her at the Beloved Community Centre's food-sharing initiative. Their professional collaboration and her kindness drew him to her. However, he soon learned that Xiaoyue was already in a relationship, complicating his feelings.

• chan
• xiaoyue
• crush
• beloved
• food sharing
• romance

Their relationship evolved gradually through daily routines and shared experiences. After Tse's diagnosis with cognitive disorder, Chan initially withdrew but returned when he saw her searching for him, an act that mirrored his own mother's vulnerability. When Tse named him as her heir and asked him to care for her as a son, their bond transformed into a deliberate family relationship built on choice rather than blood.

Foreshadowing: The film foreshadows this evolution through scenes of Chan learning Tse's routines and her testing him with memory exercises.

• tse
• chan
• family
• chosen family
• care
• inheritance
• bond