Inside and Outside the Siege

This film (drama)Also known as围城内外，is aMainland ChinaProducerbeauty live，At2005Released in year 。The dialogue language isMandarin/&国语，Current Douban rating0.0(For reference only)。

[Synopsis 1] 　　"Inside and Outside the Siege" tells a story that draws inspiration from Qian Zhongshu's classic "The Fortress Besieged." However, the story reflects the modern end-of-century emotions of over half a century later. The narrative revolves around the extramarital affair of the male protagonist, Zhou Yixiong. "Inside and Outside the Siege" presents a panoramic depiction of the complex emotions of people: Zhou Yixiong, an adult man, has reached the age where women refer to him as "forty is like a flower." Thus, facing power, reputation, family, and his lover, Zhou Yixiong finds himself caught in extreme conflict. On one side are his promising career and personal ambitions, on the other, a small family with a high official's daughter that is the envy of many, and yet another side is the romantic artist Ye Tiantian. Should he choose his career, his beauty, or his family? Zhou Yixiong makes choices amidst this pain... 　　[Synopsis 2] 　　Zhou Yixiong, chairman and general manager of a large state-owned enterprise, possesses everything to envy: power, wealth, status, and he is impressive in appearance, gentle in personality, with extraordinary demeanor that is aspirational yet unattainable. What is more admirable is that he remains humble and principled, never succumbing to lust, earning him the reputation of an incorruptible official. His wife, Yu Tong, is also a strong woman, and his father-in-law was formerly the director of the provincial power bureau and party secretary, supporting Zhou Yixiong in his career. However, all of this becomes the greatest pressure in Zhou Yixiong's life. Yu Tong's extremely high expectations also burden Zhou Yixiong, making him feel stifled at home. Their life together lacks the usual domestic struggles, but is filled with inexpressible psychological frustrations and mental torment. Although their family life appears harmonious on the surface, Zhou Yixiong and Yu Tong often experience unbearable pain. 　　Yu Tong, who is proud by nature, has always deeply loved Zhou Yixiong but is afraid of losing him and never expresses her feelings directly. Instead, she silently endures loneliness and the bitterness of being misunderstood; upon sensing an external threat, she is willing to use underhanded methods to harm those around Zhou Yixiong, thus plunging herself deeper into inner turmoil. Zhou Yixiong, who values his image, has always played the role of a wooden man who doesn’t understand affection in marriage. He never looks at any other women and is reluctant to change anything. 　　After just resolving the bankruptcy of the real estate company in which the power company invested, a building collapse in the motor factory occurs, which he initially thinks is just an ordinary safety accident. However, through investigations from above and reflections from below, it unexpectedly brings to light issues left by his father-in-law. Should he turn in the problems or take responsibility? As the son-in-law, husband, and head of his unit, Zhou Yixiong feels uncomfortable inside... 　　The century building of the power company is about to commence public design bidding, and various parties present themselves, laying out all kinds of relationships before Zhou Yixiong and deputy general manager Song Jiajun. At this point, Yu Tong unexpectedly informs Zhou Yixiong that her company will also participate in the bidding for the project. 　　The beautiful and scheming female secretary of the company, Xiu Ling, has many concerns of ordinary family life. To help her husband repay debts, she is doing everything possible to secure the company's engineering projects, fiercely competing with foreign representative Peng Yan over project contracts, maneuvering between internal and external company affairs. To gain Zhou Yixiong's support, she keenly observes the potential family crisis between Zhou Yixiong and Yu Tong, under the pretext of enriching the employees' cultural lives, introduces the divorced, beautiful, naïve, and artistically accomplished dance teacher Ye Tiantian, who has always wanted to hold a solo dance performance, to Zhou Yixiong, and suggests Zhou Yixiong's daughter, Zhou Pingping, take dance lessons with Ye Tiantian, which greatly pleases Zhou Yixiong. Upon hearing this, the clever Yu Tong, with rich experience, senses that a family disaster is approaching. Deeply bound by profound pain, Yu Tong pretends to be indifferent. Meanwhile, Zhou Yixiong is still immersed in his career, unaware that traps have been laid around him and a love is approaching. 　　In fact, Ye Tiantian is also unaware that she would fall in love with the seemingly successful Zhou Yixiong. When her sister informs her that Zhou Yixiong has agreed to sponsor the dance special, Ye Tiantian feels grateful and respectful towards Zhou. During her dance lessons with Zhou Pingping, her impression of Zhou Yixiong deepens, and she hopes to interact with him naturally. However, the advertising man Wen Hao, who is determined to win over Ye Tiantian, anticipates the competition and unleashes a fierce emotional pursuit, exhausting Ye Tiantian completely. 　　Ye Tiantian's sister, Ye Susu, is a television reporter. By chance, along with her mother, she saves a woman named An Li from suicide and voluntarily helps An Li become self-reliant. However, An Li has always remained tight-lipped about her background and the reasons for her suicide. A woman's intuition leads Ye Susu to sense that there are hidden truths, prompting her to pursue the matter relentlessly. Eventually, she discovers that An Li lost her job, was abandoned by her husband, and has a disabled daughter hospitalized with no money for medical treatment. However, An Li never reveals the identity of her husband. When Ye Susu learns that An Li is married to Wen Hao and witnesses his heartlessness towards her, she gains a deep understanding of Wen Hao's character and warns Ye Tiantian to maintain distance from him. Kind-hearted Ye Tiantian believes that Wen Hao cannot be that bad. 　　Ye Tiantian's mother, Ye Yuhan, has a student, Hardy, who, after a divorce, relocates from outside the area to work as a piano teacher at the cultural palace, doing everything he can to help Ye Tiantian out of various dilemmas in life and work. Ye Tiantian is deeply grateful for and trusts Hardy, who always treats her like a protective older brother. However, like Ye Susu, Ye Tiantian does not understand the reasons for Hardy's divorce. Hardy vaguely states that his marital misfortune was caused by certain factors, while Ye Susu encourages him to forget everything from the past and start anew, introducing him to several promising young women who are both knowledgeable and graceful, yet Hardy responds with sarcasm, pursuing one then dismissing another, displaying a reckless and carefree attitude, which irritates Ye Susu, leading to several discordant encounters. 　　Although others do not know who the so-called third party affecting Hardy's life is, Hardy reveals his innermost feelings at his father’s grave, confessing that he cannot forget the innocent love he shared with Ye Tiantian and is aware that there is nothing else. He can only bury these feelings deep within himself, stepping in as a protective big brother to Ye Tiantian against her many pursuers, clashing with Wen Hao on several occasions, leading to fights that leave both injured. 　　At this point, due to Xiu Ling's relentless efforts at matchmaking, Zhou Yixiong's daughter gradually grows attached to Ye Tiantian and the art of dance, prompting Yu Tong to start interfering. Under their shared care for Zhou Pingping, Zhou Yixiong and Ye Tiantian begin to connect on a deeper emotional level and develop feelings for each other. Zhou Yixiong starts to realize for the first time through the differing attitudes of Ye Tiantian and Yu Tong in response to various events that women can differ in perspectives, reflecting on his own emotional world which, despite being a married man with children at 42, remains completely void of meaning when it comes to love. 　　Xiu Ling's motive for matchmaking Zhou Yixiong and Ye Tiantian is clear to Song Jiajun, but he does not show opposition. However, while possessing Xiu Ling, he also targets foreign representative Peng Yan, who is incredibly knowledgeable and has formerly been a mistress of foreign businessmen. She is highly practical and cognizant that the ambiguous relationship between Song Jiajun and Xiu Ling has caused dissatisfaction for Song Jiajun's wife, Zhang Hua, leading her to flatter Song Jiajun while simultaneously stirring up trouble and instigating further domestic conflict, aiming to exploit the chaos for her own gain in acquiring the engineering project. Song Jiajun, approaching the final stages of his career, holds a life creed of “enjoying every day to the fullest,” maximizing his indulgence but firmly upholding the traditional belief that “home is a besieged city,” regardless of what that means, proving cunning and strategic until he finally wins over Peng Yan. 　　Zhang Hua, at the menopausal stage, maintains traditional views about family. Under various provocations, after numerous failed attempts to catch her husband cheating, she begins to self-reflect, realizing that all happy families are alike, while each unhappy family is unhappy in its unique way, and thus adopts a “see no evil, hear no evil” attitude, tolerating Song Jiajun's infidelities. Even when Zhang Hua catches Song Jiajun with Xiu Ling, she sides with him and, alongside Xiu Ling, retaliates against Peng Yan. 　　At this time, Wen Hao intensifies his pursuit of Ye Tiantian and discovers the romantic relationship between her and Zhou Yixiong. This sets him in competition with Zhou Yixiong, using various means to pressure him and Yu Tong, causing Zhou Yixiong to face an agonizing choice between his career and love. At this moment, Yu Tong, while aware of Zhou Yixiong and Ye Tiantian's relationship, pretends not to know, caught in a torment of mixed feelings yet appearing calm on the surface, leaving Zhou Yixiong perplexed and unsure of what to do. The project bidding then reaches a fever pitch. Yu Tong, involved in the competition, stands alongside Xiu Ling and Peng Yan. Xiu Ling, utilizing her introduction of Ye Tiantian to gain Zhou Yixiong's trust, subtly sows discord and incites Song Jiajun to eliminate Yu Tong and her company from the competition, while Yu Tong is diagnosed with cancer due to long-term mental stress. 　　Yu Tong, this proud and cultured woman, shows remarkable resilience, patience, and profound inner qualities during this critical period when her family, career, and life face severe challenges. On one hand, she prevents her company's staff from targeting Zhou Yixiong, on the other, she negotiates with Song Jiajun, yearning for Zhou Yixiong's love, yet firmly suppressing her emotions and not revealing her illness to him. Simultaneously, she harbors jealousy of Zhou Yixiong's nearly perfect character, fearing the possibility of losing him and growing to resent Ye Tiantian, all of which lie beneath her proud and shrewd exterior, churning within. 　　As the chairman and general manager of a large corporation, Zhou Yixiong faces many inconvenient disputes with the extremely modern ad man, Wen Hao. At this point, Hardy learns of the love affair between Ye Tiantian and Zhou Yixiong, and for Ye Tiantian's happiness, he steps up during a heavy rainstorm to block Zhou Yixiong's car, demanding that he vow to take care of Ye Tiantian, confronting Wen Hao. Frustrated, Wen Hao changes his strategy, feigning concern for Ye Tiantian's happiness, tolerating the love between Zhou and Ye, while secretly plotting a more significant revenge. 　　Ye Tiantian's sister, Ye Susu, and their mother Ye Yuhan, continuously help the laid-off employee An Li, who is actually Wen Hao's wife. Wen Hao's extreme self-interest in dealing with An Li and their sick daughter sparks immense dissatisfaction in Ye Susu, who stands up for An Li, only to be stopped by the cowardly An Li. Just like the ongoing wars within the besieged city wearing down lives, An Li, Hardy, Ye Tiantian, Ye Susu, and Ye Yuhan are all engaged in a life-draining battle beyond the siege in various forms for survival and reputation. 　　Ye Tiantian finally understands the connection between Wen Hao and An Li, rebuking Wen Hao for his unfair treatment towards An Li and doing everything she can to help her. Grateful, An Li expresses her thanks, and to prove his true love for Ye Tiantian, Zhou Yixiong resolutely approaches Ye Susu to express his feelings, sincerely reflecting on his emotional experiences and intending to file for divorce from Yu Tong. 　　Yu Tong, while enduring the pain of cancer, also reflects deeply on her emotional experiences with Zhou Yixiong. However, in front of him, she remains sharp-tongued and aloof, maintaining silence in the face of Wen Hao's provocations. Wen Hao, unwilling to give up, stalks Zhou Yixiong and Ye Tiantian, threatening Zhou with his family and political future to force him into a dilemma between his career and love. 　　Under Yu Tong's sarcastic remarks, Zhou Yixiong strengthens his determination to break up with her. However, that night, he receives the news that Yu Tong is terminally ill, finding himself once again trapped in a moral and emotional dilemma. 　　Unexpectedly, although Yu Tong is gravely ill, she remains proud and confronts Zhou Yixiong's uncertainties. Meanwhile, Ye Tiantian, wishing to spare Zhou Yixiong from difficulty, makes the painful decision to leave him, agreeing to Wen Hao's proposal to protect Zhou Yixiong's family and political future. Wen Hao, overjoyed, destroys all evidence concerning Zhou Yixiong and Ye Tiantian, and as Ye Tiantian exits Wen Hao's office, lost in sadness and confusion, she is struck by a car, leaving her severely injured. Wen Hao wails in despair. 　　Zhou Yixiong is devastated by Ye Tiantian's misfortune and must find a doctor for Yu Tong. However, Yu Tong declares her hatred for Zhou Yixiong and hands him a divorce agreement she had previously drafted, plunging Zhou Yixiong into unbearable anguish. 　　An Li's daughter passes away due to lack of treatment. Upon hearing about Ye Tiantian’s misfortune, she resolutely seeks out Wen Hao in a fit of rage for herself, her daughter, and in gratitude towards Ye Tiantian’s family. Wen Hao, burdened by guilt over Ye Tiantian's situation, becomes agitated and fights with An Li, leading to An Li accidentally stabbing Wen Hao in the liver, resulting in him being rushed to the hospital... 　　Zhou Yixiong, with extremely complicated feelings, runs around seeking treatment for Yu Tong, only for Yu Tong, in tears before her surgery, to reveal her true feelings for Zhou Yixiong after eighteen years of marriage, confessing her deep love for him and her fear of losing him. She explains that her harsh treatment towards him was because she felt unworthy and loved him too much... the two have been a couple for eighteen years, unable to communicate properly. 　　At this point, the engineering project competition concludes, with Xiu Ling and Peng Yan each achieving their goals. Reflecting on their own circumstances, they lament the frustrations and resentments of gains and losses, which suddenly seem insignificant, simultaneously voicing a life sentiment of "it is just like this." 　　Yu Tong's condition stabilizes temporarily as the family boards a train to Beijing. Meanwhile, Ye Tiantian, sitting in a wheelchair, regains her confidence in life under Hardy's care, dedicating herself again to her dance career.