Zheng Ge

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Zheng Ge (郑歌)
Alias(es)	“Everyone’s darling” — fan nickname; “Little Chang Qing” — promotional comparison that attracted backlash 42 53 101
Gender	Male
Birthday	July 11 64
Affiliation	Zheng Ge’s studio; an unnamed entertainment company 6 195
Occupation/Role	Actor and variety-show guest; one of the original novel’s romantic protagonists, paired with Zhou Tangsi 1 6 30
Status	Alive after the mountain-road incident; reputation and career destroyed following exposure of his misconduct 194 195
First Appearance	Mentioned in Chapter 1; appears as a variety-show guest in Chapter 6 1 6

Background / History

Zheng Ge and the original Shen Lian debuted through the same boy-band talent show. Shen initially enjoyed better prospects and the favor of their dance instructor and several industry figures. Zheng envied him and secretly celebrated when a dispute with a well-connected participant cost Shen opportunities 183.

Despite his own setbacks, Shen comforted Zheng after an instructor scolded him and later intervened when Zheng was close to being dropped from the group. Shen’s help gained Zheng access to an industry reception, where he first encountered Zhou Tangsi 183.

At the reception, Zheng followed Shen upstairs and watched him put the drunken Zhou to bed without taking advantage of him. After Shen left, Zheng approached Zhou, who mistakenly asked whether Zheng had brought him upstairs. Zheng seized the opening, deliberately presenting his most innocent-looking profile. They spent the night together, and Zhou quickly became attached to him. Zheng delighted in Shen’s shock when Zhou subsequently embraced him and ordered Shen to keep his distance 183.

Position in the Original Novel

• Canonical romance: Zheng and Zhou Tangsi were the central couple. The original Shen Lian served as expendable interference in their romantic disputes 1 3.
• Chu Yilan’s attachment: Zheng promised Chu, “From now on, I’ll be your family,” but treated him as a backup while remaining with Zhou 3.
• Expected family acceptance: In the original plot, Zheng happened to save Old Madam Zhou, winning her approval of their relationship. After Shen and Chu departed from their prescribed roles, this reconciliation did not occur 91.

Appearance

• Fresh, clean-cut image: Carefully styled hair and an innocent-looking face support his public presentation as sweet and harmless 6 17 183.
• Deliberately cultivated profile: He knows that his side profile appears especially pure and uses that angle during his first intimate encounter with Zhou Tangsi 183.
• Dependence on styling: During the outdoor variety show, flattened hair exposes an unflattering head shape, while mud and exhaustion diminish his usual appeal 17.
• Visible deterioration: Later appearances describe him as haggard, with makeup unable to hide his exhaustion; photographs also draw comments about his dark circles and thin frame 51 182.
• Screen costume: In Silent Words, he wears white clothing and carries a folding fan, resembling an elegant young gentleman 30.

Personality

Zheng’s gentle public image conceals intense competitiveness. He interprets the original Shen Lian’s genuine kindness as condescension and feels pleased when Shen loses opportunities. After his own rise, he mistakes satisfaction at Shen’s downfall for sympathy. Repeated praise for his kindness eventually leads him to believe in that image himself 52 183.

He is highly sensitive to public judgment and depends heavily on reassurance, influential supporters, and favorable comparisons. Shen’s recovery unsettles him even when Shen makes no attempt to compete socially. Losing Chu’s attention is especially painful because Zheng has become accustomed to its privileges despite not genuinely liking him 26 33 75.

His resentment becomes possessive: he would rather Chu remain emotionally withdrawn than see him genuinely happy with Shen. As Zheng’s relationships and career deteriorate, his harmless persona gives way to insults, threats, outbursts, and reckless violence 53 65 136 191.

Abilities & Skills

Acting

Zheng has acting ability, but his performances have become repetitive rather than developing with his career 91.

• His acting settled into a fixed mold approximately two years before the release of Silent Words, making different roles feel interchangeable 91.
• Direct comparisons with Shen’s performance as Li Kuan expose the limitations of his approach 91 92.
• He uses a stunt double for Silent Words’ fight scenes 30.

Image Management and Emotional Manipulation

Zheng uses apparent innocence and vulnerability to secure sympathy and avoid responsibility 33 183.

• He allows Wei Fanchen to pressure Shen into surrendering his room, then intervenes as though merely trying to stop an argument 33.
• He presents himself as the reason for conflicts between Chu and Zhou, even when their companies’ rivalry is unrelated to him 34.
• When other support disappears, he invokes concern about the anniversary of Chu’s mother’s death to attempt a return to Chu’s life 89.

Protagonist Luck

Shen identifies Zheng as a beneficiary of the original plot’s extraordinary protection rather than someone whose success rests solely on merit 53 194.

• Shen suspects that a force he calls the “World Will” subtly steers events and favors Zheng 194.
• Zheng’s mountain-road attack is described as occurring under a powerful, difficult-to-resist influence 194.
• After finding Zheng injured in the snow, Shen concludes that his luck has run out. This remains Shen’s assessment, not a quantified power or cultivation ability 194.

Relationships

• Zhou Tangsi — Lover and principal career backer. Their relationship begins through Zheng’s opportunistic encounter with him and later deteriorates under family opposition, jealousy, and revelations about Zheng’s past 183 191.
• Original Shen Lian — Fellow talent-show contestant and former benefactor. Zheng responds to his kindness with envy and later enjoys seeing him displaced and humiliated 183.
• Shen Lian — Professional rival and eventual enemy. Shen refuses the old romantic rivalry, exposes Zheng’s treatment of Chu, and survives Zheng’s deliberate vehicle attack 7 53 194.
• Chu Yilan — Former source of favors and emotional refuge. Zheng believes Chu loves him, but Chu later explains that rescuing him from the fire was driven by childhood trauma rather than romance 26 71. Chu ultimately rejects further contact 89 195.
• Wei Fanchen — Ally in targeting Shen, including the room dispute and birthday-party accusation 33 65. Wei is later charged with arson and deliberate injury; the public identifies the victim surnamed Zheng as Zheng Ge 70.
• Old Madam Zhou — Opponent of his relationship with Zhou Tangsi. She rejects his entry into the Zhou family and blames him for her grandson’s troubles 65 71 75.
• Sun Binghe — Openly hostile to Zheng’s conduct. Sun rebukes him on set and later prevents him from approaching Chu 33 195.
• Feng Yueshan — Distrusts Zheng’s treatment of Chu and eventually dismantles his claim that Chu once loved him 21 195.
• Chang Qing and Xu Jingge — Zheng’s promotional comparison with Chang Qing provokes backlash. Xu retaliates against the publicity campaign and later warns Zheng against spreading information that could upset Chang 42 101.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Variety Show Reunion

• Zheng joins Stars, Boldly Charge Ahead as a popular guest, while Shen’s inclusion creates publicity around their existing scandal. Zheng’s studio keeps his participation secret until the live reveal 6.
• Shen’s rejection of Zhou Tangsi’s name overturns Zheng’s expectation that he remains romantically obsessed 7.
• Zheng falls into a muddy pit and aggravates an old ankle injury. Staff rush to assist him, while Shen simply continues walking 9.
• Teamed with Li Jiabo and Feng Susu, Zheng struggles through muddy terrain while Shen and Zhu Yingyu reach Clear Creek Bank clean and composed 14.

*Silent Words*

• Zheng is cast as the male lead, with Shen joining in a supporting role. He explains away evidence connecting Shen to Chu and assumes Chu deleted him because of unrequited love 26 29.
• After storm damage leaves his room wet, Wei proposes that Shen surrender his drier room. Zheng initially remains silent, then criticizes Sun for challenging Wei. Director Dai resolves the dispute by giving Zheng his own room 33.
• At the wrap party, Zheng learns that Chu no longer wants updates about him or intends to help him. Shen’s growing prominence further aggravates his insecurity 52.
• Zheng insults Chu to provoke Shen. Shen drags him aside, physically intimidates him, and forces him to acknowledge his own shameful conduct 53.

Birthday Confrontation

• On Zheng’s birthday, Chu openly kisses Shen and shows no interest in renewing contact with Zheng 64.
• Zheng confronts Shen, threatens him, and falls amid shattered champagne glasses. He and Wei attempt to make the scene look like an attack by Shen 65.
• Shen forces Zheng toward the broken glass. Zhou charges in with a wine bottle, but Chu intercepts and knocks him down 65.
• Zheng’s attempt to make Chu yield on Zhou’s behalf fails. After Zhou is beaten and escorted away, Shen sends Zheng after him 66.

Professional and Romantic Decline

Event	Consequence
Fails to obtain a place on Poseidon’s Arrival	Zhou can no longer secure opportunities simply by displacing Shen 75.
Attempts to reconnect at Chu’s gate	Chu orders him to stay away; Zheng subsequently loses a commercial deal 89.
Is overshadowed by Li Kuan’s breakout popularity	His repetitive acting attracts unfavorable comparisons and another fan conflict 91.
Interrupts Zhou’s arranged date	A fight becomes public and generates damaging rumors about the couple 91.
Behaves erratically on the Flowers in Bloom set	He fights the second male lead, reportedly loses several roles, and is not invited to the Golden Scale Awards 136.
Suffers failed business negotiations	Seeing Shen thriving nearby leaves him humiliated and too intimidated to confront him 183.

Mountain-Road Attack and Downfall

• Consumed by jealousy and Zhou’s accusations that he lied about his past, Zheng follows Shen and Sun toward Floating Green Mountain in a battered minivan 191.
• He deliberately rams their vehicle, injuring his left leg. Believing them unconscious, he panics and flees into the storm 194.
• Shen and Sun find him collapsed but breathing and arrange helicopter evacuation before settling accounts. Sun later clarifies that the tunnel’s dangerous condition resulted from years of neglect, not Zheng’s driving alone 194 195.
• Zheng makes one final appeal to Chu’s supposed former affection. Feng rejects the premise, Sun blocks his approach, and Chu remains indifferent 195.
• His misconduct becomes public, including role theft, intimidation of other artists, problematic endorsements, and the deliberate collision. The vehicle attack raises the scandal to a criminal matter; his career collapses, with contract termination, compensation claims, and lawsuits described among the consequences 195.

Notable Quotes

“From now on, I’ll be your family.”
— His promise to Chu Yilan in the original novel 3

“Who would want to be liked by someone like Chu Yilan?”
— Provoking Shen at the wrap party 53

“But you used to like me so much...”
— His final appeal after the mountain-road incident 195