Love Contractually (2017) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A transactional relationship becomes a love story as Xiao Bo and Ye Jin confront grief, family wounds, and emotional dependence.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

A Contracted Beginning

Xiao Bo works as a courier to finance his nephew's surgery, while Ye Jin organizes a secret IVF and sperm-donor search. Their paths meet when Xiao Bo applies for her assistant position.

Key Events

• Courier's Financial Goal — Xiao Bo works as a courier to fund his nephew's ear implant surgery. Characters: Xiao Bo Location: City streets
• Yellow Color Ban — After discovering her fiancé's affair through a yellow notepad, Ye Jin bans yellow items at work. Characters: Ye Jin Location: Ye Jin's company
• Secret IVF Plan — Ye Jin tells her secretary that she wants a baby through IVF and a secret sperm donor. Characters: Ye Jin Location: Ye Jin's office
• Fake Assistant Interviews — A fake personal-assistant interview screens candidates who do not know they are being considered as donors. Characters: Ye Jin Location: Ye Jin's office
• Delivery Meets Opportunity — While delivering a package, Xiao Bo sees the assistant advertisement and applies because he needs money. Characters: Xiao Bo, Ye Jin Location: Ye Jin's company

The Reluctant Assistant

After saving Ye Jin from an attack, Xiao Bo becomes her assistant. Their workplace friction gradually gives way to trust when his motorcycle gets them to an important client meeting.

Key Events

• Attack at the Office — A dismissed former employee tries to stab Ye Jin, but Xiao Bo intervenes and saves her. Characters: Xiao Bo, Ye Jin Location: Ye Jin's company
• Assistant Contract Begins — Ye Jin interviews Xiao Bo after his rescue and hires him as her assistant. Characters: Xiao Bo, Ye Jin Location: Ye Jin's office
• Repeated Workplace Friction — Xiao Bo is often late and disorganized, causing Ye Jin to threaten dismissal. Characters: Xiao Bo, Ye Jin Location: Ye Jin's company
• Motorcycle Meeting Rescue — Stuck in traffic, Xiao Bo obtains his motorcycle and takes Ye Jin to the client meeting. Characters: Xiao Bo, Ye Jin Location: City traffic
• Client Partnership Secured — The client admires the motorcycle and Ye Jin's willingness to ride it, agreeing to become partners. Characters: Xiao Bo, Ye Jin Location: Client meeting

Confessions and Paris

A conflict at the care center exposes Ye Jin's unresolved family pain and Xiao Bo's financial burden. Their emotional disclosures lead to a successful IVF journey in Paris.

Key Events

• Care Center Confrontation — Xiao Bo drives Ye Jin to a care center and criticizes how she treats her father. Characters: Xiao Bo, Ye Jin Location: Care center
• Assistant Quits — Xiao Bo brings Ye Jin's father to her house, leading to anger, his resignation, and a contract penalty demand. Characters: Xiao Bo, Ye Jin Location: Ye Jin's house
• Private Confessions — Ye Jin explains her hostility toward her father, while Xiao Bo reveals his nephew's medical need. Characters: Xiao Bo, Ye Jin Location: Ye Jin's house
• Paris IVF Success — Xiao Bo and Ye Jin travel to Paris, where the IVF process succeeds despite Ye Jin's insistence on independence. Characters: Xiao Bo, Ye Jin Location: Paris
• Sophie Recognizes Love — At Sophie's party, Sophie notices the love between Xiao Bo and Ye Jin as Xiao Bo interacts warmly with children. Characters: Xiao Bo, Ye Jin, Sophie Location: Party venue

Loss Across Distance

Xiao Bo's nephew recovers, but Xiao Bo remains focused on Ye Jin and their unborn child. Ye Jin suffers a miscarriage, falls into depression, and disappears after receiving his storybook.

Key Events

• Sophie Recognizes Love — At Sophie's party, Sophie notices the love between Xiao Bo and Ye Jin as Xiao Bo interacts warmly with children. Characters: Xiao Bo, Ye Jin, Sophie Location: Party venue
• Surgery and Separation — Xiao Bo's nephew's ear surgery succeeds, but Xiao Bo remains preoccupied with Ye Jin and their unborn baby. Characters: Xiao Bo, Ye Jin Location: France
• Storybook Sent Abroad — Xiao Bo creates a storybook about their love and ships it to Ye Jin in France. Characters: Xiao Bo, Ye Jin Location: Xiao Bo's home
• Miscarriage and Disappearance — After a miscarriage, Ye Jin suffers depression and disappears after receiving Xiao Bo's storybook. Characters: Ye Jin, Sophie Location: Ye Jin's home

Love Above the Cliff

Xiao Bo finds Ye Jin near a cliff and refuses to abandon her. Their parachute descent ends with a kiss and a later family epilogue.

Key Events

• Cliffside Rescue — Xiao Bo finds Ye Jin near a cliff and tells her he will die with her if she chooses to die. Characters: Xiao Bo, Ye Jin, Sophie Location: Cliff in France
• Cathedral Kiss — Xiao Bo opens the parachute, carries Ye Jin across the sky, and kisses her after they land on a cathedral. Characters: Xiao Bo, Ye Jin Location: Cathedral in France
• Family Epilogue — The epilogue shows Xiao Bo and Ye Jin with two babies. Characters: Xiao Bo, Ye Jin Location: Home

Story Breakdown

• Xiao Bo's Motivation — Xiao Bo's work and financial goal establish the reason he accepts Ye Jin's unusual opportunity.
  • Courier Work — Xiao Bo rides a modified classic motorcycle while working as a deliveryman.
  • Surgery Funding — He needs money for his nephew's ear implant surgery.
• Ye Jin's Withdrawal — Ye Jin reacts to betrayal by controlling her surroundings and pursuing motherhood independently.
  • Yellow Symbolism — Her fiancé's affair makes Ye Jin hate the color yellow.
  • Secret IVF — She seeks IVF and a sperm donor without marriage.
• Unexpected Employment — A dangerous encounter transforms Xiao Bo from deliveryman into Ye Jin's assistant.
  • Office Attack — Xiao Bo saves Ye Jin from a knife attack by a dismissed former employee.
  • Assistant Contract — Ye Jin hires Xiao Bo despite his unconventional background.
• Growing Dependence — Professional conflicts and shared experiences reveal the growing bond between Xiao Bo and Ye Jin.
  • Motorcycle Meeting — Xiao Bo gets Ye Jin to a client meeting on his motorcycle.
  • Private Confessions — They exchange painful family and financial secrets over wine.
• Parisian Parenthood — The IVF journey brings the pair physically closer while Ye Jin still tries to maintain independence.
  • IVF Success — The IVF procedure succeeds in Paris.
  • Sophie Notices — Sophie recognizes the love developing between Xiao Bo and Ye Jin.
• Grief and Rescue — Pregnancy loss drives Ye Jin into depression, forcing Xiao Bo to make a desperate act of devotion.
  • Storybook Delivery — Xiao Bo sends Ye Jin a storybook about their relationship.
  • Cliffside Promise — He tells Ye Jin he will die with her and rescues her by parachute.
• Family Resolution — The lovers survive their crisis and are shown together as a family.
  • Cathedral Kiss — Xiao Bo and Ye Jin kiss after landing on a cathedral.
  • Two Babies — The epilogue shows them with two babies.

Directed by

Liu Guonan

Key Cast

• Joseph Chang Hsiao-Chuan — Xiao Bo
• Sammi Cheng — Ye Jin
• Joyce Feng — Vivian
• Jin Qiaoqiao — Sophie
• Raquel Xu Dongdong — Jenny