Xiao Yu, a Beijing teenager, is abruptly left without a mother following a traffic accident.

He is unsure how to act in this role, but as time progresses their relationship matures into an affectionate one.

When her relationship with her boyfriend does not work out, she returns to Beijing to live with her father, who sees her through her pregnancy and helps her raise her child.

On one such occasion his friends decide to play a prank, and barge in on the game pretending to be the police—the stress of the experience causes Lao Yu to suffer a stroke, rendering him incapable of caring for himself.

Xiao Yu nurses him at home while caring for the baby, hoping that he will recover, but he never does.