Biandan, Guniang plot
Dong Zhi and Goa Ping are two friends who, like so many others in the 1980s, move from the Chinese countryside to the city to try their luck there. Dong Zhi finds a job in the harbor; hard and honest work is the fastest way to success according to him. Goa Ping, on the other hand, opts for petty crime. In a nightclub they meet the singer Ruan Hong. Goa Ping learns that she knows Su Wu, a mobster who has deviously extorted money from him. When she refuses to tell where he is, Goa Ping decides to kidnap her with the help of Dong Zhi. They take her to their apartment, where she is initially their prisoner. Gradually, however, a more complex relationship develops between the three.