No One Can Escape Beneath the Wheels

In the 1990s, the orphan Wang Lao’er makes a living pedaling a three-wheeled bicycle. Life is hard, but he has something to look forward to. He and his wife Xiaofang, also an orphan, support each other through thick and thin and build a warm little home.

When the 21st century arrives, the city bans three-wheelers. Wang Lao’er borrows money to buy an electric bike and starts driving for Didi. Business is good at first, and the couple takes out a loan to buy a small home. The birth of their son, Xiaobao, fills them with even more hope.

When five-year-old Xiaobao suddenly develops a high fever that turns into meningitis, he dies. Xiaofang suffers a mental breakdown, and Wang Lao’er shoulders the burden of the household alone in his grief. Driving becomes his only way to escape reality.

Competition in the rideshare industry intensifies, and platform commissions rise. Even working 16 hours a day, Wang Lao’er struggles to support himself and pay for his wife’s medical care. His life falls into a vicious cycle.

Long-term overwork and emotional repression gradually rob Wang Lao’er of his ability to feel. He becomes mechanically indifferent toward both his passengers and his wife, and even begins to numb himself with alcohol.

Wang Lao’er’s transformation from a hardworking, optimistic tricycle driver into a numb, uncaring Didi driver reveals the mental collapse of an ordinary man crushed by both the tides of the times and a family tragedy.