A girl prodigy of China’s one-child policy pursues a triumph in the most important exam of her life (China’s infamously high-stake college entrance exam “Gaokao”), even though she is cruelly punished by her school and shamed by her family because she falls in love. Inspired by a true story.

SYNOPSIS:

A girl born during 1980s China’s one-child policy, BINBIN is determined to prove to her traditional grandpa that girls are better than boys. After ranking at the top of all her exams and winning every single school competition, she enters as the city’s No. 1 into the high school that is famously known for its high rate of college acceptance and stern discipline.

In China, the three years of high school are to prepare the students for the most important exam of their lives - “Gaokao”, the college entrance exam, which is extremely high-stakes and on which students’ entire future depends. A score that doesn’t meet the line means staying in high school for another year at best, and suicide, at worst. Binbin’s high school earned its reputation by enforcing strict rules, including inhumanely long study hours, uniformed hairstyles, and absolutely no dating.

With high expectations from her family and the teacher, Binbin holds her place as a prodigy. Until just one year from the “Gaokao” exam, Binbin falls in love with a boy JUN OUYANG. Once caught by the teacher, Binbin and Jun are shamed publicly repeatedly as bad examples and become the laughing stock of her class. Devastated and lonely, Binbin finds herself getting closer to her best friend DAI MING, who is faking cancer in order to earn her sympathy and manipulate her love.

Just two months before the “Gaokao” exam, tension escalates between the two boys Jun and Dai. When they get into a bloody fight that calls all the parents to a meeting, Binbin learns Dai never had cancer. Everything is a lie. Her world collapses. But there is no time for emotions, Binbin must pull herself together and study for her life, even if it means shutting out Jun who she loves and cares about. If she doesn’t earn back her triumph in this exam, she will be forever considered a failure.

Binbin knows the only way is to drop out of the school where she is mocked on a daily basis, but that is a bold and shocking decision that receives strong objections from her teacher. Binbin has to open up completely to her mom, who supports her decision and fights with the teacher to make it happen. Despite a tremendous amount of pressure, with her mom’s moral support, Binbin comes through the finish line and gets into the most prestigious university in China.