Writer
Xiao Dou is a shy and naive mailworker living in Beijing with his sister. When a coworker is fired for reading people's correspondences Xiao Dou takes over the same mail route. He soon finds himself indulging in the same curiosity, eventually developing an obsession. Xiao Dou chooses to spend time reading letters instead of socializing with friends or coworkers. As he becomes increasingly tied to the letters, he begins to intervene in the lives of those who write and receive the letters.
Writer
Jingshen works as a nurse in a psychiatric hospital. At first he experiences the world as complete chaos, but slowly he gets used to the behavior of the patients, and he takes part in their recreational activities. One day, young Jiyun is brought in. There is a severe shortage of space, so her bed is put in the cellar and Jingshen is told to keep an eye on her. He becomes intrigued by her and her dreams, tries to find out what precisely is wrong with her and above all what secrets are hidden by that recurring dream of the red beads...
