Students like "Cousin" Su Dongming are not uncommon in Napo County on the China-Vietnam border. This is a group shrouded in mystery, unsure of their past, how to deal with the present, and what to expect in the future. Classrooms have become more beautiful, room and board are free, tuition is waived, there are more teachers, more books… The objective world around Su Dongming is vibrant and colorful, yet none of it enters his subjective world.

In the film, when the principal's son, his cousin Deng Jingwen, says Su Dongming isn't studying, the cousin angrily responds with an obscene gesture. Despite not studying himself, Su Dongming feigns composure, even lending a dictionary to his struggling student and close friend Cen Jialu to help him with his homework. Cen Jialu is also his only confirmed friend at school; the two share a common language about pornography. The "improved surroundings" completely fail to interest Su Dongming; violence and pornography become the cure for his inner turmoil, providing excitement, stimulation, and even despair.

Classmates, teachers, and family all became "familiar strangers" in Su Dongming's eyes. Cen Jialu was the only friend who gave him a spark of passion and warmth, sharing laughter, arguments, and carefree days.

Evening self-study was mandatory for most left-behind children in the rural villages along the China-Vietnam border. Some of these children would learn Go. Initially, Su Dongming rejected Go. Go was Chinese, English was foreign; the comparison and choice between China and the US led him to deal with English in class and learn Go outside of class. However, his teacher's guidance gradually shifted his preference towards Go. The black and white of Go symbolized the black and white of life; black and white always change in the blink of an eye amidst the clinking of glasses, the shifting of power between black and white merely an empty "empty space" for those involved. Su Dongming couldn't understand others' games, but he was willing to pretend to offer guidance to avoid being looked down upon. His cousin was particularly afraid of being told he was from Xiahua New Village, because Xiahua New Village was a relocation site for poverty alleviation, and his status as a descendant of impoverished families was a topic he wanted to avoid.

One evening, while watching a Go game, his cousin Deng Jingwen was playing. He joined in, pretending to understand even though he didn't, to avoid being looked down upon by his cousin, whose father was the principal of the school. However, his cousin's father often verbally abused his son, Su Dongming, for his disruptive and unruly behavior. That night, bored out of his mind, he picked up a note from a third-grade student, Zhao Wanli, and started playing pranks. By the time Su Dongming's antics ended, his cousin's game was over, and his cousin still claimed he didn't understand. That night, he went to tease the female students playing and, along with his friend Cen Jialu, indulged in self-destructive behavior.

After that night, back in the daytime, he still faced his incomprehensible English. When asked whether China or America was better, he firmly chose China, saying his home was there and he had no strong desire to leave. During one of his two regular English exams, he memorized Chinese texts, and this time he did well. He was so complex, yet so simple. After a few playful and absurd acts of sexual misconduct, his fourth grade ended, but another trap began. His heart was already in the game, and leaving was difficult. In this era of material explosion, my cousin was swept up in the torrent of history, so fast that he didn't even have a chance to react.

As a former volunteer teacher at that school, I observed the rise and fall of this village school from the dual perspectives of teacher and director, and I also observed the group of left-behind children, including my cousin Su Dongming. We really should think about what these exiled teenagers truly need. Is it effective companionship from their families, precise responsibility from the school, or an improved social atmosphere? Everything changed too drastically, too quickly, leaving these teenagers no time to think before they were exiled.