Character Relationship Map: Us and Them

Characters

• Lin Jianqing (played by Jing Boran) — protagonist

  Main protagonist who moves to Beijing to become a game maker. He shares a cramped apartment with Fang Xiaoxiao, sells software, and struggles financially. After a painful breakup and a career breakthr...

• Fang Xiaoxiao (played by Zhou Dongyu) — supporting

  Co-protagonist who meets Jianqing during Chunyun. After leaving her boyfriend, she moves in with him and they sell software together. Their relationship sours due to Jianqing's distance and anger, lea...

• Jianqing's Father (played by Tian Zhuangzhuang) — supporting

  Jianqing's parent who advises him against pretending to be wealthy for friends. He slowly loses his eyesight and refuses to relocate to Beijing. After his death, he leaves a final letter to Xiaoxiao e...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Jianqing's Father → Lin Jianqing (father)
• Lin Jianqing → Fang Xiaoxiao (Romantic Partner) — Their romance develops from companionship and shared hardship into a lasting emotional bond.

  After becoming friends and roommates, Jianqing and Xiaoxiao get drunk during Chinese New Year and have sex, beginning their relationship.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Jianqing's Father → Fang Xiaoxiao (Social Emotional Supporter) — The father accepts Xiaoxiao emotionally and views her as the partner he wanted for his son.

  He spends time with Jianqing and Xiaoxiao during their hometown visits and later writes Xiaoxiao that he wished she had ended up with Jianqing.

Story Analysis

A nonlinear romance follows two people whose love survives separation, success, marriage, and the passage of time.

Plot Progression

1. Chance Encounters and Shared Rooms — Jianqing and Xiaoxiao meet during Chunyun and discover a shared life in Beijing. Friendship, cohabitation, and informal business gradually create emotional intimacy.
2. Love Beneath Financial Pressure — Their drunken New Year encounter becomes a relationship, and both initially gain new jobs. Jianqing's anxiety about status and money begins to undermine their fragile happiness.
3. The Breakup on the Subway — Eviction, workplace violence, anger, and arguments with his father push Jianqing and Xiaoxiao apart. Xiaoxiao leaves, and their silent subway encounter becomes the emotional breaking point.
4. Success Cannot Restore Love — Jianqing completes a hit game inspired by Xiaoxiao and achieves the success he once lacked. His invitation home creates hope, but his request for another chance is rejected.
5. Messages Across Time — In the present, both acknowledge that their love was genuine even though they did not remain together. The father's letter and the game's hidden messages allow them to accept the past.