Qin Fen (Ge You) is no spring chicken any more, and he feels that it's time find someone to share his life with. His search begins in the cut-throat world of blind dating, and his online dating profile makes no attempt to sugar coat the facts: He knows exactly what type of woman he's interested in, and he carefully explains which types of women he wants nothing to do with. The profile is a somewhat jaded read.
Qin Fen is a strange combination of cold, bitter realist, and dreamer. A pragmatic romantic, if there is such a thing, and as a result he meets with little success in his new endeavor. The first date he is on turns out to be an old friend. An old male friend that is, who's now gay. Second date is a woman who ends up selling him a burial plot.
The third date is a little different, though. The woman, a stunningly beautiful flight attendant called Smiley (Shu Qi), is quiet, sad, and distant. She seems to carry an enormous load on her shoulders, and she doesn't really seem to be ready for dating. She quickly admits that she might have made a mistake coming to this blind date, and Qin Fen - being the realist that he is - abruptly ends the date, so they don't waste any more time, and leaves. However, she follows, invites him out for a drink, and suddenly this miss-matched couple is on their second date. This one doesn't go that much better than the first.
It turns out that Smiley drinks. A lot. Mostly to forget her heartache. Tearfully she explains that her current demeanor is due to an affair with a married man, who has broken her heart, but still owns it.
Having confessed in this manner Smiley demands that Qin Fen does the same. Against his better judgement he takes a big gulp of his drink and explains how he came to be the man he is today. A story that reduces him to a blubbering fool along the way. Then he asks her to leave, and so ends this disaster of a date.
The story could have been over now, but of course it isn't. These two poor souls do meet again, and the story is far from over. In fact it has barely begun.
David Bjerre