On and Off the Track

In the eyes of those around him, Wei Chengyun has a “perfect-score” life: a renowned provincial doctor, a professor for a wife, understanding elders, and a bright, well-behaved daughter. But the undercurrents of a midlife crisis and the storm of the middle-school entrance exams are quietly tearing cracks in this perfect world.

When his daughter Wei Anyue's report card bears the glaring score of “87,” when a scalpel can't mend the family's hidden wounds, and when philosophical wisdom fails to ease the anxieties of real life, this family that has never known failure finds itself at a loss for the first time.

Ahead lies the high-profile “elite track,” while on either side stretch ordinary sights that no one pays attention to. Caught between the tide of cutthroat competition and the voice within, what will they choose? This is a story about stopping, listening, and setting out again, about seeking the place we truly want to run toward in an age of anxiety.