Biodata
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Xu Junshan (许均山) |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | Nearly fifty at Shen Banxia’s return 1 |
| Affiliation | Xu family; married into the Shen family; Shen Corporation 1 33 |
| Occupation/Role | Shen Corporation upper-management executive entrusted with running the business; antagonist plotting to seize the Shen family’s wealth 1 |
| Spouse | Shen Shuyi 1 |
| Children | Six sons and Shen Banxia with Shen Shuyi; Xu Mingyue and Xu Pengcheng are his illegitimate children 3 17 32 |
| Status | Alive in the altered storyline; his wife and several sons have discovered his schemes and are preparing to oppose him 38 40 48 |
| First Appearance | Chapter 1, “Reincarnation Takes Skill” 1 |
Background / History
Xu Junshan came from a poor background and married into the wealthy Shen family. Shen Shuyi insisted on marrying him despite her parents’ opposition. He spent years presenting himself as hardworking and capable, eventually gaining his parents-in-law’s approval and responsibility for running the Shen Corporation 1.
During their marriage, he encouraged Shuyi to remain occupied with childbirth and domestic responsibilities rather than take over her parents’ company. Looking back after twenty-seven years of marriage, she recognizes this as a deliberate means of consolidating his control over the business. His respectable public image was convincing enough that women in her social circle praised him as an exceptionally devoted husband 8.
When Shuyi gave birth to the twins Shen Qingfeng and Shen Banxia, Junshan’s mistress had recently delivered Xu Mingyue. He secretly exchanged the newborn girls, allowing Mingyue to grow up as Shuyi’s daughter while Banxia was abandoned in the wilderness and rescued by passersby. Unlike his sons, who bore the Shen surname, Mingyue received his surname at his request 3 32.
His mother was involved in the long-term plan to acquire the Shen fortune. The older Shen generation’s protection of the family delayed their scheme; after waiting more than twenty years, she urged him to accelerate it before Shuyi and her children became suspicious 31 33.
Appearance
- Youthful, well-maintained appearance: Despite approaching fifty, he shows little outward sign of his age 1.
- Polished good looks: Banxia describes him as having the attractive exterior of a gentlemanly scoundrel 1.
- Visible signs of strain: After the fight at Lin Xiyue’s apartment, he appears exhausted, with dark circles and scratches on his cheek. He claims he walked into a door 29.
Personality
Junshan is patient, calculating, and motivated by wealth. He tolerates marrying into the Shen family and maintains a dependable image for decades, but is unwilling to settle for merely receiving half the assets through divorce. His ultimate aim is to take the fortune and escape overseas with his mistress and illegitimate children 1 31.
His apparent generosity often costs him little. He promises Banxia a luxury yacht if she enters Jinghua University because he assumes she cannot succeed. When she later turns his vague offer of support into a direct request for money, he reluctantly transfers her 100,000 yuan 7 28.
His concern for family members is subordinate to protecting his schemes. He defends Lin Xiyue against his sister’s complaints and threatens Yanni when she considers exposing the affair. He also performs fatherly concern after attacks on his sons while privately showing disappointment that they survived 30 37.
Despite his long experience manipulating Shuyi, he underestimates her ability to change. He interprets her calm response to overhearing the affair as evidence that she knows nothing, believing she would otherwise have caused a scene 33.
Abilities & Skills
Corporate Management and Financial Manipulation
Junshan’s reputation for competence earns him access to the Shen Corporation’s management and finances. He uses that access to arrange fraudulent transactions and prepare the transfer of assets overseas 1 17.
- Loan-guarantee scheme: Attempts to make Shuyi liable for more than 100 million yuan in loans taken out by Xu Pengcheng’s shell company 11 17.
- Forgery and embezzlement: After Shuyi refuses the blank guarantee document, he forges her signature to divert company working capital. The finance department contacts her about a 20-million-yuan transfer 17.
- Investment pretext: Proposes an overseas investment promising approximately fifteen percent annual returns, presenting asset flight as prudent financial management 16.
- Misappropriation of valuables: Replaces Shuyi’s emerald necklace with a counterfeit and gives the original to Lin Xiyue. He also sells masterworks from the Shen family’s century-old collection for a pittance 21 47.
Social Manipulation and Concealment
Junshan maintains a devoted-husband persona while concealing his affair and coordinating with relatives and accomplices 8 30.
- Domestic control: Promotes the idea that Shuyi should stay home supporting her husband and raising children, then objects when she announces her return to work 17.
- Cover stories: Claims to leave for a meeting when visiting his mistress, disguises a suspicious call as spam, and lies about the cause of his facial injuries 1 29.
- Information gathering: Questions Banxia about the necklace confrontation to determine whether Shuyi suspects his relationship with Lin 28.
- Critical limitation: Cannot hear Banxia’s thoughts. Shuyi and the brothers conceal their ability to hear them, allowing the family to anticipate threats without alerting him 1 32 38.
Relationships
- Shen Shuyi — Wife and intended victim of his financial schemes. Her trust gives him years of access to the family business; after discovering his betrayal, she separates assets, gathers evidence, and seeks legal advice about divorce 8 22 40.
- Shen Banxia — Biological daughter whom he switched at birth and abandoned. He opposes acknowledging her return, while her private thoughts expose his crimes to the family. Banxia also identifies his associates as responsible for killing the original owner of her body 1 32.
- Lin Xiyue — Mistress and first love; Mingyue’s mother. He gives her stolen jewelry and plans to emigrate with her and their children, but her vanity and confrontations threaten the secrecy of their scheme 1 21 28.
- Xu Mingyue — Illegitimate daughter raised as Shuyi’s seventh child. He seeks to preserve her position in the household and discusses sending her abroad before her parentage is exposed 1 8 32.
- Xu Pengcheng — Illegitimate son whose shell company is supported through Junshan’s attempted loan guarantee and subsequent diversion of corporate funds 11 17.
- Xu Cuie / Xu Cuilian — Mother and co-conspirator, named differently across the supplied chapters. She protects his affair and proposes eliminating the Shen family together rather than targeting them individually 10 30 33.
- Xu Yanni — Younger sister who knows about the affair. Her fight with Lin creates evidence against him; after being silenced by the family, she secretly overhears the murder discussion 27 30 33.
- Shen Jinyan and Shen Ruogu — Sons who learn of his betrayal and join Shuyi’s efforts to protect the family 27 31 32 38.
- Shen Shenxing and Shen Zhishan — Sons targeted through sabotaged brakes and poisoned drinking water. Both survive after hearing Banxia’s warnings 34 36 37.
- Secretary Chen — Accomplice and Xu Pengcheng’s girlfriend, positioned to exploit Shuyi’s trust through suspicious paperwork 11 13.
- Xie Moran — In the original course of events, receives the gutted Shen Corporation in exchange for protecting Junshan 23.
Story Role / Major Arcs
Original Course of Events
- Persuades Shuyi to transfer her shares to him, becomes the largest shareholder, and pursues the chairmanship, facilitating money laundering and asset transfers 1.
- Moves part of the fortune overseas through trust channels associated with Chen Wanzhi’s husband 19.
- Ruins the Shen family, reducing its enormous wealth to crushing debt. Shuyi dies by suicide, and the children face death, disability, or destitution 1.
- His associates spread rumors blaming Banxia for the disaster, turning the family against her 2.
- Escapes overseas with his mistress, illegitimate children, and the siphoned fortune; gives the corporation’s remaining shell to Xie Moran for protection 1 23.
Altered Storyline
| Event | Chapters | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Banxia returns to the Shen family | 1 | His attempt to exclude her fails. Her thoughts alert Shuyi to the baby switch, affair, and impending financial betrayal. |
| Shuyi checks his dashcam | 8 | Recorded conversations confirm concealed wrongdoing. She begins investigating before transferring her shares. |
| Financial schemes encounter resistance | 11 13 17 | Shuyi checks documents, avoids the guarantee trap, and learns of the forged transfer. Her planned return to work threatens his control. |
| The stolen necklace is exposed | 21 22 | He admits the substitution to Lin and orders her to return the original, fearing exposure of their relationship and wider plan. |
| The affair produces witnesses and records | 27 28 29 30 | Jinyan sees him protecting Lin; Shuyi obtains investigator footage and arranges police involvement. His explanations deepen suspicion. |
| His mother proposes collective murder | 33 | Junshan agrees to consider the proposal if it can be carried out without implicating him. Yanni overhears it. |
| Attacks on his sons fail | 36 37 | Zhishan detects poison in his cup, and Shenxing survives brake sabotage. The brothers’ remaining trust in their father collapses. |
| The Shen family organizes resistance | 38 40 47 48 | The brothers plan proactive protection, while Shuyi seeks actionable evidence and returns as corporation chair. No final reckoning is shown in the supplied chapters. |
Notable Quotes
“Why don't we just pretend none of this happened? We can give her adoptive parents some money and make sure she's provided for. There's no need to bring her back into the family. Mingyue will still be our daughter.” 1
“That necklace is hers. I had someone make a fake and swapped it for the real one to give to you.” 21
“She probably didn't get here in time. With her temper, if she knew I had another woman, she'd have raised hell.” 33