Shenzhen Love Apartment

In an old residential neighborhood in Futian District, Shenzhen, there’s a small building converted into a “shared apartment” called Deep Love Apartments. Lin Chen, an internet operations specialist fresh out of a three-year relationship, moves in to escape the shadow of his ex. Xia Wan, an outgoing new-media writer, becomes a new tenant because she “wants to live closer to the business district.” They first meet while “fighting over the last burner in the communal kitchen,” then keep running into each other after “mistaking one another’s parcels”: Lin Chen leaves the door open for Xia Wan when she works late, and Xia Wan helps Lin Chen get inside when he forgets his keys, using a spare set from the apartment manager.

Other residents include Su Rui, an accountant, and Lu Yang, a fitness trainer, who are constantly bickering; A Zhe, the apartment manager who quietly looks out for Xia Wan; and Qiao Xin, Xia Wan’s best friend, who has just gotten back together with her ex. In a city as fast-paced as Shenzhen, where “there’s no room for a slow-burning romance,” they chat while hanging laundry on the apartment’s shared balcony, bare their hearts over barbecue in the urban village downstairs, and share a bowl of instant noodles in the living room after working overtime. There are no earth-shattering career comebacks, only tender moments tucked into the everyday: Lin Chen remembers that Xia Wan doesn’t eat cilantro; Xia Wan stands up for Lin Chen when his ex gives him a hard time; everyone in the apartment helps Su Rui and Lu Yang clear up a misunderstanding; and A Zhe finally finds the courage to tell Qiao Xin, “I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.” In the end, this little apartment becomes a harbor of love for young people adrift in Shenzhen, where each of them finds someone to share a warm life with.