Xia Fen

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Xia Fen (夏芬)
Alias(es)	Xiao Fen; Fenfen; “Great Sage” 103 105
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Sacred Fire Meow Cat Cafe (part-time employee) 139 151
Occupation/Role	Student; Xia Yan’s younger half-sister; cat-café employee 139 151 270
Status	Alive 271
First Appearance	Chapter 103

Background / History

Xia Fen is Xia Yan’s younger half-sister. She grew up with the comfortable, well-supported life provided by their father Xia Zhongshan and mother Yang Rong, while Xia Yan lived separately and supported himself. After learning the circumstances of her father’s past and Xia Yan’s childhood, she develops lasting guilt over having received the security and affection she believes should also have been his. 105 269 270

During high school, she regularly visits Xia Yan in Shanghu during holidays. Their relationship is built on constant bickering, but she sincerely wants him to find happiness after years of living alone. 103 105

After Xia Yan prepares to meet his online girlfriend, Cat Wife, Xia Fen attempts to secretly follow him. She wants to ensure he is not being deceived and to meet the girl important to him. This leads to her first encounter with Hua Xin, whom she immediately treats with admiration and familiarity. 105 108

Appearance

Xia Fen changes her presentation sharply depending on where she is and what role she is playing.

• At home, she is usually seen in fluffy pajamas and a cape-like outfit. 139
• For her cat-café job, she wears a light beige long-sleeved uniform, pants, a brown apron, and the Sacred Fire Meow Cat Cafe logo on her back. 139
• When covertly observing Xia Yan and Hua Xin, she uses a hood and sunglasses to conceal her face. 115
• She is conscious of her image and wants to be regarded as a “tall, aloof, highly intelligent” beautiful girl rather than merely funny. 184

Personality

Xia Fen is lively, theatrical, and shamelessly teasing toward Xia Yan. She turns ordinary sibling arguments into exaggerated performances, calling him names, threatening to expose him to their grandfather, and exploiting his embarrassment over romance. 103 105 151

Behind that playful exterior, she is observant and calculating. She pieces together the connection between Hua Xin and Gu Xin Hua, recognizes that Hua Xin paid Xia Yan’s hospital fees, and deliberately withholds what she knows so she can investigate without forcing Hua Xin into a confession. 132 133

She also has a protective and empathetic side. Her interference in Xia Yan and Hua Xin’s relationship is motivated by her belief that they both care for each other, and by her wish for Xia Yan to have the happiness he lacked growing up. 105 188

Despite being raised in privilege, Xia Fen eventually pursues part-time work and reflects honestly on how easily she has lived compared with Xia Yan. 151 270

Skills & Traits

Social Manipulation and Observation

Xia Fen is skilled at gathering information while pretending to be casual or harmless.

• Notices clues linking Hua Xin’s male and female identities, including her voice, scent, hair, and behavior. 132 133
• Invites Hua Xin to the Sacred Fire Meow Cult cat cafe partly to learn more about her relationship with Xia Yan. 133 134
• Uses teasing, staged helplessness, and indirect questions to make others reveal information. 133 136
• Is considered a “witch” by Mu Feng and Xiang Guan because of her habit of quietly blackmailing and provoking them. 352 472

Cat-Café Work

Xia Fen adapts quickly to work at the Sacred Fire Meow Cat Cafe.

• Accepts the job after her self-described “spy plan” succeeds; the position offers a monthly salary of 6,000 yuan and meals. 139
• Works alongside Hua Xin at the counter and participates in opening-day simulations under Li Xue’s training. 144
• Becomes more competent after the initially chaotic training period and helps care for the café’s cats. 151 152
• Films content for the café’s cat-focused short-video projects. 184

Employment at the Sacred Fire Meow Cat Cafe

• Xia Fen visits the café with Hua Xin, initially using the outing to investigate her brother’s relationship. 133 134
• Li Xue hires Xia Fen after the visit; Xia Fen sees the work as an ideal combination of earning money, acting as Xia Yan’s “mole,” and spending time with cats. 139
• She works winter-break shifts with Hua Xin and helps her adjust to the job’s demands. 144 152
• Xia Fen deliberately hides Hua Xin’s employment at the café from Xia Yan, anticipating that his eventual discovery will be entertaining. 151
• After leaving Shanghu for the New Year, she remains welcome to return to the café in the future. 188 270

Relationships

• Xia Yan — Her older half-brother. Their relationship is full of banter and mutual concern; Xia Fen feels guilty over the disparity between their childhoods and wants him to be happy. 103 105 139 270
• Hua Xin / Gu Xin Hua — Friend and former cat-café coworker whom Xia Fen affectionately calls “Sister Xin Hua” and, at times, “sister-in-law.” She suspects Hua Xin’s concealed identity but chooses not to expose it. 108 132 133 188
• Li Xue — Manager of the Sacred Fire Meow Cat Cafe. Li Xue recruits Xia Fen and trains her alongside Hua Xin. 139 144
• Yang Rong — Xia Fen’s mother. Xia Fen meets her after completing the college entrance examinations. 270
• Xia Zhongshan — Xia Fen’s father and Xia Yan’s father. He supports Xia Fen’s university choice and later informs her of her grandfather’s terminal illness. 270 271
• Mu Feng and Xiang Guan — Xia Yan’s friends and later fellow students whom Xia Fen enjoys intimidating and teasing. 352 472

Story Role / Major Arcs

Supporting Xia Yan’s First Date

Xia Fen learns that Xia Yan is meeting Cat Wife in person after four months of online dating. Concerned that he may be scammed and eager to assess his girlfriend, she tries to accompany or follow him. 105

Meeting and Investigating Hua Xin

At the subway station, Xia Fen meets Hua Xin while Hua Xin is presenting as male. She mistakes Hua Xin for Xia Yan’s girlfriend because of their resemblance and quickly becomes attached to her. 108

As she gathers more clues, Xia Fen concludes that Hua Xin and Gu Xin Hua are the same person. Rather than expose Hua Xin, she quietly observes her and tries to understand the reasons for her disguise. 132 133 134

Cat-Café Partnership

Xia Fen brings Hua Xin to the Sacred Fire Meow Cat Cafe, then becomes her coworker after accepting Li Xue’s offer. The job gives Xia Fen a degree of independence while allowing her to remain near Hua Xin and continue encouraging her relationship with Xia Yan. 134 139 144 153

Returning to Baijing and Planning Her Future

After the winter break, Xia Fen returns to Baijing. Following the college entrance examinations, she considers enrolling in a university in Shanghu so she can live near Xia Yan and Hua Xin, resume work at the cat café, and keep watch over them. 188 270

She later learns from Xia Zhongshan that her grandfather has late-stage liver cancer and may have less than a year to live. 271

Trivia

• Xia Fen maintains an unusual sleep schedule: she tends to sleep after returning from work around 8 p.m., wake around 3–4 a.m., play until morning, then go to work. 169
• She is an avid consumer of anime, games, novels, dramas, and online couple-shipping content. 104
• Xia Yan initially finds her decision to take a part-time job surprising because she owns expensive electronics and had previously spent much of her free time gaming at home. 151
• She rejects an unfamiliar boy’s WeChat confession by deleting and blocking him without hesitation. 271