The dismembered body of a hooker is found, and police arrest her pimp and his crew for the crime. During interrogation, they explain how the girl stole from her pimp, and so they group kidnapped, raped, tortured, and finally murdered and dismembered her.

Hua Heng is a poverty-stricken aspiring painter whose day job involves painting the ads that go up on the sides of buildings. He and his buddies hang out in a makeshift gym set up in an abandoned building where they train and practice kung fu. His girlfriend is Gao Xin, a bar maid who is in debt to loan sharks. Into their lives comes Jiaji, who happens upon Hua Heng in a street fight with local thugs who'd made fun of the painting he's carrying and decides to help him out.

The story happened in 1990 when Beijing hosted the Asian Games. Zhou was someone who lived a normal life, taking care of her mom. She has a passion for her life, such as watching and donating to the Asian Games instead of buying Jeans. Li Mo was someone who didn't like his parents' arrangement (maybe to work at the factory). He likes writing poems and traveling. Something that was trending in China at that time but not being understood by many others. He had just completed his trip and had to go back to reality. He had that poet look at the beginning but cut it later on to show that he had moved on to his normal life. The two met. They shared some common and trivial things. They can potentially understand each other better and treat each other as friends.

The story revolves around four good friends who slowly discover their feelings for each other, and how their relationship changes from friends to lovers.

Growing up together, Lin Ran is not only Gu Jia's best friend but whom taken as a backup boyfriend unconsciously, until one day Lin Ran announces his engagement with the naive and rich Meng Yi-Xuan, and Gu Jia determines to win him back.