"Inside and Out of the Classroom: The Crossroads of Marriage" takes the workplace and family life of Chen Jingming, the admissions director of an adult education institution, as the main line to show the complex dilemmas and human struggles of modern marriage. The novel progresses through six parts: in the early stage, the undercurrent of the estranged relationship between Chen Jingming and his female colleague Li Yanmin, his subordinate Zhao Qian and trainee Zhang Peilan is laid out. In the middle stage, conflicts break out, the frustration of workplace bidding is intertwined with the crisis of family trust, and the cold war and suspicion of his wife Lin Xiuzhi intensify the emotional collapse; in the climax, the protagonist is lost in multiple relationships, which ultimately leads to the painful price of a broken marriage and a career setback; at the end, through character reflection and redemption, it is revealed that sincerity is the cornerstone of marriage.
The work depicts the swings of urban men and women in the siege of marriage with delicate brushstrokes: Lin Xiuzhi's awakening from meekness and forbearance to determination to run away, Zhao Qian's desire for emotional sustenance under family oppression, and Chen Jingming's self-torsion between responsibility and temptation. Social issues such as workplace competition and workplace sexual harassment are cleverly nested, reflecting the deeper existential anxiety behind the marriage crisis. In the end, through brokenness and reconstruction, the core insight of "marriage is a two-way practice" is conveyed.
