The Shen family of Zhuangyuan Lane in Rongcheng has two daughters. The elder sister Shen Nianwei is good-looking and has a bright mind. After graduating from the Foreign Languages Institute, she joined a foreign travel agency. My younger sister, Shen Nianqing, looks ordinary and has mediocre grades. After failing the college entrance examination, she worked in the canteen of a machinery factory to sell meal tickets. As long as she can remember, Nian Qing has lived in her sister's shadow. She even developed a habit of turning her face sideways when looking in the mirror, because at least she looks less mediocre from the side.
There is never a shortage of men around Nianwei. Lu Ziye was the wildest boy in the alley. He rode a motorcycle with a sidecar, and Nian Wei rode through the alley on the sidecar. Everyone felt that they would get married sooner or later. But Nianwei's eyes had already crossed the eaves of Zhuangyuan Lane and landed on Gu Shenhan, a young scholar from the provincial capital research institute.
Nian Qing's love affairs were simple. The eldest sister in the factory introduced her to a partner, Zhao Tiesheng, who worked in the hospital's logistics department. When they first met, he was so dull that he couldn't even speak. Until one day on the bus, a gangster made a move, and Zhao Tiesheng rushed towards him and punched him without saying a word. Nian Qing looked at him grinning after being beaten with a bruised nose and swollen face, and suddenly felt that this man was a bit ugly, but his heart was clear.
But life never allows simple people to stay simple. Lu Ziye took risks for Nian Wei and went to the detention center; Nian Wei was pregnant with Lu Ziye's child and married Gu Shenhan; Nian Qing was instigated by her sister and broke up with Zhao Tiesheng and instead married Lin Xiuyuan, a seemingly gentle and decent elementary school teacher. After getting married, I discovered how deep inferiority and naggingness was hidden under this man's gentle exterior.
