Us and Them

Two strangers, Lin Jianqing and Fang Xiaoxiao, meet on a long train ride home during the Chunyun travel season. They quickly discover they both live in Beijing and share similar dreams of success. The chance meeting plants the seed for a complicated, evolving relationship.

After meeting, they move into Xiaoxiao's tiny room in a Beijing complex and start making money selling computer software and Japanese porn. The cramped space and financial pressures test their budding relationship. Their shared hustles bind them as they chase a chance at success in the city.

During the first Chinese New Year after they become a couple, they get drunk together and begin a romantic relationship. Both land new jobs, signaling a hopeful start despite looming pressures. Their early happiness hints at a bright future that will be tested by time.

At the next New Year’s party, Jianqing spends lavishly to impress friends back home, blurring the line between success and insecurity. The display of wealth foreshadows later financial strain and tension between them. Xiaoxiao starts feeling the widening distance.

A manager forces the couple out of their cramped living space, stripping away their sense of stability. The eviction intensifies their quarrels and pushes their relationship toward a breaking point. They must confront life without a shared home.

While at work he provokes a heated exchange with a caller and ends up beaten, damaging his pride and prospects. The incident fuels his anger and strains his relationship with Xiaoxiao even further. Ambition collides with vulnerability as their bond frays.

The couple's relationship collapses as Jianqing grows distant and angry, culminating in Xiaoxiao breaking up with him during a gaming session. When he discovers she is gone, he races to find her on a subway, and they stand in silence as the train departs. The moment leaves both aching for what might have been.

After the breakup, Jianqing dedicates himself to his work and finishes his game, which becomes a big hit and lands him a job. Xiaoxiao later sees him on the news, where he explains the game's inspiration and its ties to their past. The triumph marks a new chapter that sets them on divergent paths.

In the present, during a Chunyun flight, Jianqing unexpectedly encounters Xiaoxiao again. They end up sharing a hotel room for the night due to a delay and reminisce about their relationship. The encounter forces them to confront whether the young love they shared truly mattered.

The story slips back to their past as they travel to Jianqing's hometown for a New Year visit. Jianqing's father reveals that he is slowly going blind, complicating the idea of Xiaoxiao moving with them or staying. The visit exposes the pull between family duty and personal ambition.

Jianqing's father refuses to move to Beijing, and Jianqing's tension erupts at the family restaurant as he berates its limits. The clash deepens the rift between his dreams and his heritage. Xiaoxiao's presence is tested as the couple navigates family obligations.

On the street, Jianqing asks Xiaoxiao to give him a second chance now that he's successful. She reveals that she did not stay with him for money or a house, but because she genuinely liked him, then she leaves. The moment marks the final fracture of their romance in the past timeline.

Back in the present, it is revealed that Xiaoxiao remains single while Jianqing is married with a child. They admit that their young love might have been real and that fate might have had a flawed plan for them. They part with a bittersweet, accepting silence.

After Jianqing's father dies, he visits the restaurant to reminisce and process the loss. Earlier, the father had written a final letter to Xiaoxiao, expressing the wish that she would have ended up with his son. The letter reveals the depth of his longing and the fragility of destiny.

The film returns to color as Xiaoxiao revisits Jianqing's game and discovers hidden messages. The past is reconciled in the present, suggesting memory can redeem or redefine what happened. Color blooms again as they accept their separate journeys and move forward.