Volume One: Shadows under the Warm Sun
- The happy life of the protagonist Li Ming: 30 years old, married, his wife Wang Fang is gentle and virtuous, and his 5-year-old daughter Niannian is lively and cute. He has a house and a car in a second-tier city, runs a small supermarket, has a stable income, a warm family atmosphere, and harmonious neighborhood relations.
- "Small gaps" in life: occasional turnover pressure in supermarkets, consumption comparisons at friends' gatherings, Wang Fang's desire to enroll her daughter in a better interest class, Li Ming's desire to buy a more decent car to "match his status", and hidden anxiety about a "better life" in his heart.
- The first intervention of online loans: There was a temporary shortage of funds for purchasing goods in a supermarket. Li Ming saw an online loan platform with "instant payment and low interest" on a mobile phone advertisement. He borrowed 50,000 yuan with an "emergency" mentality and paid it off quickly. He thought it was "convenient and fast", which laid hidden dangers.
- Expansion of desires: Use online loan funds to satisfy non-essential consumption (buying brand-name bags for Wang Fang, treating friends to high-end dinners), self-comfort "spend first, earn later", gradually get used to spending ahead of schedule, start using multiple platforms at the same time, the debt accumulates to 200,000, but it can still be covered up by demolishing the east wall to pay for the west wall.
Volume 2: The Runaway Top
- Debt snowball: The interest rate on the platform increased implicitly, handling fees and overdue fees were superimposed. The debt soared to 500,000 within half a year. Li Ming began to suffer from insomnia and anxiety, and hid it from his family, using the excuse that "the supermarket needs turnover to expand its operations."
- Family rift: Wang Fang discovered that Li Ming frequently made phone calls and set passwords on his mobile phone while hiding his family's funds.
