However, ever since his mother's untimely death in an accident, Ah Wu became quiet and sullen and withdrew into his own shell.
Ah Wu helps out at his father, He Yingxiong's (Zheng Geping) laundry shop.
He Yingxiong is furious that his son is seemingly useless and wasting his life away paddling a table tennis ball against an empty wall on most days.
Even though Ah Wu does not have any actual experience playing against a real opponent, and in fact could not even beat a young child at a game of table tennis, he possesses an innate talent for reading his opponent's moves and strategy in the game.
This enables him to be the dark horse in some matches, coming back from the brink of defeat to win the game.
Ah Wu is secretly in love with Xiaofen but being inarticulate, finds it difficult to express his feelings for her.
To make things worse, Xiaofen admires a new player in her table tennis team, the good-looking He Jiajun (Dai Xiangyu).
Xiaofen admires Jiajun's skills as a table tennis player and is also infatuated with him thus making her oblivious to Ah Wu's quiet love and concern for her.