The protagonist You Yusheng is a high school student. Due to the "unclean" relationship between his father and society, he is lonely, depressed, precocious, melancholy and indecisive about things, and confused about the future. He has always been on the edge of political movements-life, but this does not determine that he has no chance of youthful romance. He has a sense of justice and is willing to help others. He rescued Cai Liwan who was about to commit suicide after being wronged for "anti-standard" (later we found out that it was Xiao Jianming who reported the case), and he also helped her hide in the countryside. He and she once had a passionate love.
Due to personnel disputes, he met Hu Donghe, Xiao Jianming, and Hu Xiaoyun successively. Hu Donghe is a beautiful woman who likes to think and dare to take action. Her temperament and charm even surpass Cai Liwan. But You Yusheng, who has a low self-esteem, always envied her in his heart and did not dare to appear in front of her as a strong man. Xiao Jianming, the most successful person in life, and Hu Donghe had a short love affair with each other. By the side of You Yusheng, a bystander, Xiao Jianming and Hu Donghe became the main axis of the novel, and the tragedy of these two people happened.