Love for Life

A deadly fever, locally known as 'the fever', quietly slips into the mountain village of Goddess Temple. The illness proves merciless and incurable, and fear spreads as the community tries to respond. Daily life fractures under the weight of uncertainty as the crisis begins.

Lao Zhuzhu, a village teacher, bears guilt because his son Zhao Deyi helped cause the outbreak through blood commerce. He proposes a radical plan to gather all the infected in the abandoned village school so they can care for one another. The decision reframes the crisis as a moral experiment about solidarity and responsibility.

Shang Qinqin enters the village, her striking red jacket immediately catching attention in the tense environment. The jacket becomes a symbol of life, desire, and danger within the fever’s shadow. Her arrival unsettles the fragile balance already strained by illness.

The community's paranoia erupts when Qinqin's red jacket is stolen, triggering accusations and whispers. Fear erodes trust and makes people quick to blame others. The theft marks the first crack in the fragile social order.

Villagers vote to require the thief to return the jacket at night, when everyone supposedly sleeps, but the plan never comes to pass. Suspicion remains high and vigilante impulses creep into daily life. The unresolved theft deepens the sense that fear governs behavior.

A second theft targets the Village Head’s diary and some money, intensifying mistrust. Zhao Deyi organizes a search for the culprit, but the truth lies elsewhere: the red jacket is found among Old Bump’s belongings while the diary stays missing. The incident amplifies the fever’s reach into private lives.

The Village Head dies in his bed, clutching the missing diary, a grim reminder of the fever’s reach and the fragility of life. His death deepens the village’s guilt and fear as rumors swirl about who bears responsibility. The event marks a turning point in how the community faces the crisis.

Qinqin and Zhao Deyi begin living together in the deserted school, finding empathy in shared rejection. Their growing closeness becomes a quiet romance in a world suspicious of outsiders and the fever’s shadows. They rely on each other as a fragile family forms amid harsh conditions.

Qinqin’s husband Xiaohai interrupts, having learned of the affair, and forces her to leave the school. He sends her back to her in-laws, where divorce becomes inevitable after he finds a new wife. The couple’s romance faces a brutal test from the surrounding community.

To escape hostile judgment, Deyi and Qinqin move to a small hilltop cottage and attempt to build a life together. They endure poverty and social condemnation as their love stubbornly persists. The fragile shelter of the hilltop home becomes a symbol of resilience.

Deyi asks for a proper marriage and asks Lao Zhuzhu to help secure a divorce from Qinqin’s in-laws. The in-laws demand that Deyi give up the house he shared with his late wife Haoyan. They move back to Deyi’s home while waiting for the city to restore their marriage licenses.

When the official license is granted, they walk the village streets as a newly married couple, bright red clothing symbolizing hope and defiance. They hand out lucky candies to villagers who respond with curiosity and fear. The act stands as a quiet protest against stigma and a testament to human resilience.

Winter arrives with brutal cold as Deyi falls seriously ill with a high fever. In a desperate act of care, Qinqin immerses herself in a tub of icy water to try to ease his suffering. The village’s harsh conditions and fear frame their bid to sustain life.

The morning after Qinqin’s desperate act, Deyi stirs and reaches for her, only to find her lying dead on the floor, cold as the frost outside. Their love is sealed in hardship and loss, underscoring the film’s meditation on grace amid ruin. The fever takes its final toll on the couple’s world.