In order to reduce divorce rates and minimize unhappy marriages, all unmarried men and women are sent to a designated city for systematic testing. The city is surrounded by sky-high walls, and everyone is equipped with only a communicator issued by the system. Any behavior that violates the regulations is prohibited. Through meticulous calculations, the system selects temporary trial marriage partners for each individual, with varying durations. On the final "Matching Day," the system will choose their perfect match, with whom they will spend the rest of their lives.
This was Amy's first time participating in such a trial marriage activity. When she arrived at the designated restaurant as required by the system, she met Frank, who was equally nervous. From the moment they met, it felt as though they had endless things to talk about. However, before their official date, they had to simultaneously press the button on their communicators to reveal the duration of this trial marriage. This time, it was only 12 hours, which left them slightly disappointed. After a quick dinner, they went to a small room arranged by the system to spend the night together. The shy Frank did nothing but hold Amy's hand as they lay on the bed, which made Amy feel a flutter of emotion. In the morning, during the system's final countdown, they reluctantly said goodbye, each preparing for their next trial marriage.
Soon, the system selected different partners for Amy and Frank. Amy was paired with Lenny, who had experienced five trial marriages, for a duration of nine months. Frank was paired with the extremely picky Nicola for a year. Lenny was witty and made for a good romantic partner but was far from a qualified husband. In his eyes, any affectionate gesture from Amy was seen as an invitation for sex, and he completely failed to understand the emotional connection she desired. Nicola was even worse, constantly finding fault with Frank and never satisfied with anything. Every day with her felt like an eternity to Frank, who often found himself reminiscing about Amy's tenderness.
At a gathering, Amy and Frank met again. The purpose of the gathering was to celebrate a young couple who had found true love, but Amy and Frank seemed even more excited than the newly matched pair, chatting incessantly. It wasn't until Lenny walked over that Amy realized her behavior might have been inappropriate, and she quickly distanced herself from Frank.
Time passed slowly. Amy endured nine months of a relationship filled with physical intimacy but devoid of love, while Frank still had three months of torment left. During those three months, the system paired Amy with many partners, each for only 36 hours. Amy went through partners like a revolving door, growing increasingly weary. Finally, after three months, she was surprised to find that the system had paired her with Frank again.
Their reunion made them cherish each other even more, and they agreed not to check the duration this time. This trial marriage allowed Amy and Frank to rediscover their connection, feeling like a newlywed couple who had been in love for years. Amy even began to suspect that the system's so-called algorithm was nothing more than random pairings with random durations. When someone grew tired of the process, they would compromise with the system, settle for anyone, and then deceive themselves into believing it was a perfect match. Fortunately, she had been paired with Frank, whom she liked.
Their beautiful life together began suddenly, and they were inseparable, as if living in heaven. But the more wonderful it felt, the more they feared losing it. Unable to resist, Frank secretly pressed the button on his communicator alone to check the duration of their trial marriage. The system displayed five years—shorter than he had hoped but still considerable. However, Frank had made a grave mistake: checking alone would cause the system to recalculate the duration. The time on the screen changed from five years to three, then to one, and finally settled at 20 hours.
Frank didn't tell Amy until the last hour of their final day together after spending a pleasant day with her. Amy felt angry and disappointed but had no choice but to accept reality. They returned to the unstable life of trial marriages—mundane, dull, and devoid of passion.
Amy's "Matching Day" arrived. After receiving the notification from the system, she tentatively asked if she knew her match, and the answer was no. Before Matching Day, the system allowed Amy to choose one person to bid farewell to, and she chose Frank. Unexpectedly, Frank's Matching Day was on the same day, and he also chose to bid farewell to Amy. With only two minutes to express their feelings, they couldn't possibly convey all their affection. Amy took Frank's hand and decided to defy the system's decision. They would climb over the high walls and live together according to their own wishes.
As they struggled to climb the seemingly endless wall, the city below them turned pitch black, and all the scenes gradually disappeared. Amy and Frank realized they, along with all the other test participants, were in a virtual city. The system was conducting calculations—it had tested a thousand couples, and 998 of them had rebelled against the system's matching decision. It was these 998 couples who had found their "true love."