Tao Yan

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Tao Yan (陶堰)
Alias(es)	President Tao; Mr. Tao
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Yanchuan Group; Yanchuan Technology; Yanchuan Capital; Yanchuan Real Estate
Occupation/Role	Trader, financier, corporate founder, and capital-operations strategist
Status	Alive
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Background / History

Raised as the sole heir of the Tao family, Tao Yan received an intensely demanding elite education. His parents prioritized academic achievement, professional competence, and preparation to inherit Tao Group; the pressure to continually prove himself shaped his workaholic nature. He chose finance partly because he intended to one day acquire Tao Group and free himself from his parents’ control. 64 71

Before the time-travel incident, Tao Yan was a stern Wall Street trader known for wearing three-piece suits, maintaining a rigid routine, and treating work with machine-like precision. He had known Huo Baichuan since high school and had roomed with him in college, but the two had barely spoken despite their long acquaintance. 1 2 8

While rescuing a drowning child, Tao Yan is caught in a sea vortex alongside Huo Baichuan and transported to June 1990 in a teenage body. He wakes in a traffickers’ hideout, survives an attempted assault, and becomes separated from his former life and resources. 2 4

During their years in the 1990s, Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan build Yanchuan Technology and its related ventures, use advanced knowledge and investment skills to develop businesses, and support public-welfare efforts including a missing-persons website and DNA database. 41 67 115

A second vortex encountered during a cave expedition returns the pair to their original era, where their families believe they had been missing for only ten hours. Tao Yan later investigates the altered legacy of Yanchuan Group and deals with threats to his present-day company. 105 107 110

Appearance

Tao Yan is a refined, sharply dressed man whose cold and meticulous bearing makes him appear distant and difficult to approach. Even at a seaside pier, he initially wears a fitted black suit, meticulously combed hair, and gold-rimmed glasses. 2

• High nose bridge and dark eyes. 2 18
• Usually favors business suits and white dress shirts, even after arriving in the 1990s. 29 30
• Initially appears physically slight compared with Huo Baichuan and lacks significant upper-body muscle. 19
• Later grows to approximately 1.78 meters tall. 53
• Temporarily adopts a sky-blue floral shirt after Huo Baichuan pressures him to dress more casually. 30

Personality

Tao Yan is serious, exacting, and exceptionally self-disciplined. He believes rigor is necessary in both work and everyday life, approaches problems methodically, and dislikes vague plans or careless execution. His demanding standards extend to employees, business partners, and himself. 11 50 68

His reserved exterior masks a practical concern for others. He rescues a drowning child without hesitation, assists the orphanage where he stays after arriving in the 1990s, and designs public-welfare initiatives that can sustain themselves financially. 2 23 41 68

Tao Yan is not conventionally idealistic about charity. He openly states that Yanchuan Technology’s public-welfare work also serves as long-term promotion for the company, believing that commercial success and social aid can reinforce one another when structured responsibly. 68

Although he initially views himself as an efficient “machine” built for work, the time-travel experience lets him enjoy ordinary routines, cooking, travel, and companionship. His relationship with Huo Baichuan gradually forces him to confront his tendency to neglect personal life for work. 8 63 64

Abilities & Skills

Capital Operations and Trading

Tao Yan is an elite trader and corporate strategist capable of managing large-scale speculative positions, acquisitions, restructurings, and market operations.

• Grows trading capital from under 30 million to more than 600 million in less than four months. 37
• Gains a reputation in Hong Kong Island for aggressive, high-return stock and futures trading. 38 42
• Sets strict investment terms to preserve Yanchuan Capital’s independence, including high minimum capital requirements and non-interference clauses. 45
• Specializes in increasing company valuations through acquisitions, restructuring, and asset integration. 77
• Oversees Texas Chips’ restructuring after Yanchuan becomes its controlling shareholder. 49 50
• Plans to exploit a potential Tao Group liquidity crisis through contract penalties, market pressure, short selling, and share acquisition. 73

Enhanced Memory

After traveling through time, Tao Yan discovers that his memory has become extraordinarily detailed.

• Can recall stored memories with image-like clarity, including minor visual details. 18
• Uses his memory to retain complex code and later identify future business figures, brands, and investment opportunities. 17 65
• Attributes the change to a possible alteration of his physical makeup during time travel. 18

Corporate Planning and Management

Tao Yan excels at converting long-term visions into structured operational plans.

• Designs a missing-person assistance website with case information, policy outreach, and victim-support functions. 41
• Establishes financial structures for Yanchuan Capital and later expands into technology, real estate, tourism, aerospace, maritime navigation, and outdoor industries. 43 61 68
• Creates a twenty-year corporate development plan to guide Yanchuan Group in the event of his death or disappearance. 69
• Arranges for 30% of future annual profits to support technological innovation and 10% to sustain public-welfare and relief funds. 69

Adaptation and Self-Defense

Tao Yan is quick-thinking under pressure, though he is initially less physically capable than Huo Baichuan.

• Rescues a drowning child despite the danger of being dragged under. 2
• Defends himself against traffickers with an improvised wooden club, but struggles when outnumbered. 2
• Agrees to train in combat and close-quarters fighting under Huo Baichuan to improve his fitness and ability to protect himself. 11 12

Cooking

Tao Yan develops practical cooking skills while living at the orphanage.

• Prepares braised pork hocks, Liangpi, Tiger-Tooth Potatoes, and potato pancakes. 11 14 23
• Uses cooking as part of his arrangement with Huo Baichuan, who teaches him self-defense in exchange for meals. 12

Relationships

• Huo Baichuan — Former classmate and college roommate; time-travel companion, business partner, and eventually Tao Yan’s boyfriend. Tao Yan accepts Huo’s confession by weaving a grass ring and placing it on his finger. 2 42 55 56
• Chairman Tao — Tao Yan’s father and chairman of Tao Group. Though initially opposed to Tao Yan’s relationship, he later prevents Mrs. Tao from using the company to suppress their son. 71 117
• Mrs. Tao — Tao Yan’s mother, whose strict upbringing contributes to his workaholic tendencies. She strongly opposes his relationship with Huo Baichuan and initially attempts to use Tao Group’s influence against him. 64 71 117
• Andrew — Tao Yan’s college friend, business partner, and vice president. Tao Yan becomes suspicious when Andrew acquires company shares and contacts minority shareholders; Andrew eventually withdraws his investment and leaves rather than become an enemy. 72 73 74
• He Zhaoting — Representative of the Wanxin United Chamber of Commerce who attempts to recruit Tao Yan to manage substantial capital. 37
• He Zhenming — Chairman of He Group and president of the Wanxin United Chamber of Commerce; seeks reconciliation and a business relationship after his son’s conduct causes conflict. 43
• Mayor Jiang — Former mayor of Jiangzhou during Tao Yan’s time in the 1990s. Tao Yan works with him to attract investment and advance Jiangzhou’s development. 74
• Huo Baichuan’s younger sister — Tao Yan tells her to seek him out if she encounters problems, formally recognizing her as family after beginning his relationship with Huo. 71

Story Role / Major Arcs

Time Travel and Survival

• Saves a drowning child, is rescued by Huo Baichuan, and is pulled into a sea vortex with him. 2
• Awakens in 1990 as a teenager and survives an assault by traffickers with Huo Baichuan’s intervention. 2 4
• Adapts to life at an orphanage, experiencing an unfamiliar degree of freedom from family expectations. 8 14

Building Yanchuan’s Enterprises

• Uses his enhanced memory and market knowledge to enter stock and futures trading. 18 37
• Establishes Yanchuan Capital with Huo Baichuan and rejects investors who would interfere with their operations. 43 45
• Expands into international business through Texas Chips, technology parks, real estate, and global capital operations. 48 49 61

Relationship with Huo Baichuan

• Begins training with Huo Baichuan after recognizing his own physical limitations. 11 12
• Gradually becomes emotionally dependent on Huo’s presence and begins reassessing his work-life balance. 63 64
• Accepts Huo Baichuan’s confession and commits to spending their lives together. 55 56 57
• Publicly defends their relationship to both families after returning to the present. 71 72

Return and Corporate Conflict

• Disappears with Huo Baichuan during a cave expedition and returns to the present after a second vortex. 69 70
• Investigates the consequences of Yanchuan Group’s altered history and removes internal moles. 72 74
• Prepares to counter Mrs. Tao’s interference and Andrew’s suspected ambitions through calculated financial maneuvers. 73 74
• Fails to acquire Tao Group after Chairman Tao and other shareholders refuse to support Mrs. Tao’s plan against him. 117

Notable Quotes

“I simply fell in love with a man.” 71

“My lover is not trash. And besides, I do not need anyone’s permission to be with him.” 71

“The shackles on my back are too heavy. Besides finding a way to remove them, I can also take the key and make it my own.” 71

Trivia

• Tao Yan explains his given name as “Yan as in a dam,” while Huo Baichuan’s name refers to a sea that embraces a hundred rivers. A child interprets this as Tao Yan being responsible for stopping Huo Baichuan. 14
• He initially finds 1990s fashion gaudy and prefers formal businesswear. 29 30
• Tao Yan keeps multiple phones to ensure that equipment failure does not disrupt his work. 110
• He considers retiring at thirty after experiencing a more balanced lifestyle during his travels with Huo Baichuan. 66