In the early years of the Republic of China (approximately 1920-1930s), Shanghai was a prosperous coastal city with a blend of East and West, a mixture of Chinese and foreign, prosperous on the surface but undercurrents surging inside. Ling Xiao and Shen Zhibai gradually developed into each other's most trusted confidants and best partners from "informal partners" who disliked each other and tried to take advantage of each other. They are highly complementary, one focuses on the outside (action, interpersonal), and the other focuses on the inside (reasoning, technology).
