Liu Shuyi

Zhang Guimei, a middle school teacher in China's western mountains, was determined to help girls escape the cycle of poverty after seeing many drop out due to financial struggles. She founded a free high school for girls, providing them with the opportunity for education and a better future. Despite ongoing challenges, her efforts continue to bring hope to girls from the mountains.

Hong spent ten years in prison for killing her husband. Thanks to her contribution to the prison art workshop, she receives an unexpected opportunity to reduce her sentence. Her son, Lele, was raised by his grandmother and was never prepared to live with his mother. After their reunion, Lele always treats her coldly. Faced with a lonely grandmother who longs for Lele to return to her and a society that treats ex-convicts poorly, can Hong escape her invisible prison and regain happiness?

A group of performing art troupe members each face their own trials and tribulations in Chengdu; from escaping a family scandal to dealing with unrequited love, each experiences rejection that shapes their lives.

After a decade as a Beijing drifter, Fang Chunshu returns to Chengdu, grappling with urban alienation from her single mother, until a local youth helps her rediscover familial bonds through emerging cultural spaces and find renewed purpose amid the city's transformation.