A Confucian Confusion (Chinese: 獨立時代; pinyin: Dúlì Shídài) is a 1994 Taiwanese satirical comedy film directed by Edward Yang following the crisscrossing paths of a group of young friends, lovers, and acquaintances in contemporary Taipei over 3 days and 2 nights.
Wishing for something to occupy her and prodded by his friend and auditor Larry as part of his plan to force her to marry him, Akeem gives her a small entertainment company to manage.
He has since moved into an apartment alone to write darker, more pessimistic, and commercially unviable works, and their marriage has consequently deteriorated.
Concurrently, Ming and Liren have just gotten off work and walking past a restaurant, see Qiqi and Feng.
Liren enters to flirt with Feng while Qiqi leaves with Ming because they are having dinner with his father and aunt.
Over breakfast, Akeem agrees to continue funding the company in the hope that some love will blossom between them once it becomes successful.
Qiqi meets the author, who is indifferent to the plagiarism of works he now disowns and accuses her of putting on a cheerful appearance.
Returning to the company, Qiqi tells Molly that her sister is waiting for her at the studio; she confronts her about what Ming said and leaves.
While making out with Feng on-set after hours, Birdy is interrupted by the arrival of the script girl, then gets a call that he expected to be from Akeem, but it is from Molly, who is waiting outside in her car.
Moments later, he decides to go upstairs too and after running into Feng in the elevator, finds Larry chasing Birdy with a sword prop.
Outside his house, Ming finds Molly distraught over her falling out with Qiqi; he comforts her and they spend the night.
Meanwhile, Qiqi arrives at the author’s place, where he tells her that just as he was about to commit suicide, her face appeared in his mind and she is his only reason for continuing to live.
After conversing with the driver, the author realizes that the way to fight the hypocrisy he sees in the modern world is not with death, as he proposes in his recent work, but by living honestly, and walks away.
Molly agrees, on the condition that he reclaims the company, which he gladly accepts, since the script girl is also in entertainment.