The story takes place in Zengjiang, a coastal city in southern China. From the end of the twentieth century into the twenty-first, this prosperous city undergoes dramatic changes. Eight-year-old Lin Huaizhi returns from the countryside to live with his parents, where he meets Xia Zi, a girl his age, in an old apartment block. Their childhood friendship takes root through their parents’ social ties. In elementary school, the Lin family is suddenly rocked by a marital crisis. His father’s affair tears the family apart, and after his mother leaves, Lin Huaizhi is bullied at school. To protect Xia Zi, he chooses to distance himself from her. After his parents divorce in middle school, Lin Huaizhi moves to Sucheng with his mother, where he meets the Bai sisters, Bai Lu and Bai Shuang. But when their parents divorce, he suffers another separation. In high school, he reunites with Xia Zi, and they share their youth, only for her to disappear unexpectedly after the college entrance exam. At Sucheng University, Lin Huaizhi reunites with Bai Lu, and they fall in love. After graduation, they marry. When Xia Zi suddenly returns with a child, the fates of all three become intertwined in the tide of the times, reflecting how different generations understand marriage, neighborly bonds, and love.
