Chu Yilan

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Chu Yilan (楚易澜)
Alias(es)	Master Chu; President Chu; Mr. Chu 23 51. Uses the fan-account name “Ode to Loving Lian” before changing it 97.
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Hengtai; Xingkai; the Ming family through his mother 23 87 177.
Occupation/Role	Business leader controlling Hengtai and owning Xingkai; designated villain in the novel Shen Lian enters 1 23 177.
Partner	Shen Lian; explicitly acknowledges him as his boyfriend and later confirms their relationship to fans 51 219.
Status	Alive; remains with Shen Lian in the year-end side stories 272 273.
First Appearance	Chapter 1, “From superstar to washed-up nobody” 1.

Background / History

Family and early childhood

Chu Yilan is the son of Chu Changqi and Ming Mei, the wealthy daughter of the Ming family. Changqi married into the family while secretly planning to seize the Ming Group. During Ming Mei’s pregnancy, he appropriated substantial assets, ruined allied businesses, and imprisoned her when she sought a divorce 87.

After Yilan’s birth, Ming Mei deliberately kept her distance to mislead Changqi and prevent him from using their child as a pawn. Changqi exploited that isolation by telling Yilan neither parent loved him. When Yilan was nearly two, his maternal grandfather and his allies rescued mother and son; Ming Mei embraced Yilan and repeatedly reassured him of her love. Yilan describes his life afterward as happy until age seven 87.

Abuse and bereavement

During the years Changqi again controlled his life, Yilan endured repeated torture intended to force obedience. Changqi killed his pet turtle as a lesson against keeping living creatures. When Yilan stopped reacting to the abuse, Changqi sought out children resembling him and tortured them instead 159 160 170.

Yilan remembers a fire in which his mother urged him to escape. He tried to fight the flames, but Changqi dragged him away. A separate recollection shows Yilan telling his dying mother that she did not have to keep suffering for his sake. Ming Mei took her own life after their farewell; Changqi blamed Yilan and threw him against a wall. Yilan never regretted giving his mother permission to let go 159 163.

Both his mother and maternal grandfather died. Visiting their graves remained painful because they had wanted him to live happily and peacefully—something he felt unable to achieve 90.

Independence and trusted aides

Yilan eventually shot Changqi in the leg during his escape. Changqi disappeared at sea and was not found; later revelations establish that he fled to C Country. Yilan was left supporting Hengtai, while Old Master Feng continued to offer help and concern 87 177 188.

At seventeen, Yilan helped Yang Bin obtain justice after his parents died because of faulty construction-site equipment. He then invited Yang to follow him. Yang later brought Sun Binghe into their circle; the two became Yilan’s trusted assistants and, in practice, his brothers 97.

Appearance

Chu Yilan is tall, exceptionally handsome, and sharply featured, with dark eyes and a commanding presence. His beauty does not soften the sense of danger he projects 219 253 254.

• Facial scar: Sustained while rescuing Zheng Ge from a mountain-resort fire, when a falling roof plank struck him. He has just left the hospital when the story begins 1.
• Resemblance to his mother: Ming Mei’s photograph shows a strong likeness to him 90.
• Hair: Initially wears his hair very short; later keeps a neat, longer short cut because Shen Lian likes it 23 272.
• Style: Favors formal suits and selected brands of ties, cuff links, and watches 136 158.
• Expression: Even ordinary silence can make him look displeased; his glare readily intimidates strangers and subordinates 39 140 148.

Personality

Chu Yilan is reserved, demanding, and difficult to approach. His traditional elite upbringing gives him a certain rigidity, and he maintains an unmistakable distance from people seeking romantic or financial access to him. He is also a committed worker, leaving for the office before dawn and keeping long hours during busy periods 6 121 187 272.

His guardedness conceals a strong desire for companionship. Before Shen Lian, he habitually denied what he wanted, even to himself. Childhood memories can provoke panic, heavy drinking, and a blurring of his surroundings; Shen’s messages or physical presence often restore his sense of security 33 158 160.

In love, Yilan is intensely possessive but responds warmly to Shen’s equally exclusive attachment. He treasures small gifts, notices changes in Shen’s health, and expresses affection through practical care rather than declarations alone. That protectiveness sometimes becomes controlling: on one occasion, he keeps Shen home for a week and assigns Nie Sheng to prevent him from returning to work 13 81 148 223.

Yilan remembers kindness and repays it. His lasting respect for Old Master Feng, loyalty to his aides, and assistance to Chen Mu contrast with his ruthlessness toward threats. His later development is not a disappearance of that ruthlessness, but greater freedom to enjoy ordinary life without being governed by his father’s abuse 132 177 188 216.

Abilities & Skills

Business Leadership

• Controls Hengtai and owns Xingkai, giving him substantial influence in both business and entertainment 23 177.
• Manages competing interests surrounding a major port-development project and negotiates access with Xu Jingge 82.
• Uses investment to protect Shen Lian’s place in Silent Words, increasing funding after Zhou Tangsi attempts to assert authority over the production 35.
• Demonstrates a sharp memory for reports and identifies errors directly during company meetings 218.

Combat and Physical Strength

• Calmly evades Zhou Tangsi’s attacks, waits for an opening, and subdues him with a neck hold and a kick to the knee. Feng Yueshan intervenes before Yilan can escalate with a liquor bottle 66.
• Throws Wei Maopeng over a terrace railing into the water after Wei insults Shen Lian; Wei survives unharmed 85.
• In the dream side story, restrains an organizer through a finger-joint hold and throws a bodyguard to the floor with a clean, powerful movement 253.

Investigation and Security

• Directs Sun Binghe to investigate potential threats, including Jin Lei and Ming Lin 98 131.
• Removes planted spies and repeatedly tracks Changqi’s movements, forcing him to flee and draining his resources 167 173.
• Increases Shen Lian’s protection when he suspects Changqi is alive and targeting Shen to hurt him 160.
• Coordinates with his aides to secure the yacht’s destination and reach Shen Lian 172 173.

Dream / Earlier-Timeline Experience

The side story presents Yilan’s encounter with Shen Lian’s former life as a dream that feels unusually real, rather than an established ability he can freely activate 253 257.

• Retains his memories of their relationship while meeting the earlier, superstar Shen Lian 254.
• Experiences neither hunger nor fatigue during the visit 256.
• Erases Shen’s memories of their three days together with a forehead kiss before returning to the present 256.
• The erasure is not permanent: Shen later recalls blurry scenes, to Yilan’s delight 260.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Luxury watches: Keeps two drawers of watches from favored brands; Sun Binghe preorders new releases. He readily lends them to Shen Lian 136.
• Black Bugatti: An eight-figure car rare enough in Qu City that identifying it could expose its owner 213.
• Private photo collection: Saves Shen’s photographs, including costume selfies in an encrypted album, and later collects fan edits of Emperor Linxiao 31 92 201.
• Sentimental keepsakes: Keeps Shen’s framed photograph, treasures clothes from their shrimp-collecting outing, and asks how to preserve a radish flower Shen gives him 13 63 81.

Relationships

• Shen Lian — Boyfriend and source of emotional security. Their relationship begins with hostility over the resort fire, develops through mutual possessiveness and care, and becomes openly acknowledged. Yilan tells fans he intends to register their marriage, but no registration is documented in the supplied chapters 1 13 51 185 219 220.
• Ming Mei — Mother. Her early apparent rejection was protective deception; Yilan remembers her love and remains deeply affected by her suffering and death 87 163.
• Old Master Ming — Maternal grandfather. Helped rescue Yilan and Ming Mei, shared happy childhood outings with him, and is buried at the cemetery Yilan visits 63 87 163.
• Chu Changqi — Father and lifelong abuser. Yilan ultimately breaks his psychological hold and orders him kept alive rather than granting him death or a final reconciliation 160 177 216.
• Ming Lin — Cousin who imitates Yilan’s dress and mannerisms while working for Changqi. Yilan humiliates him publicly but initially leaves him free because he is unlikely to be Changqi’s only escape route 158 159 160.
• Zheng Ge — Former object of attachment. Zheng’s promise to become his family exploited Yilan’s loneliness; Yilan later recognizes that he wanted the comfort of the promise more than Zheng himself 3 21.
• Zhou Tangsi — Business competitor and antagonistic acquaintance. Their earlier clashes were affected by Zheng’s intervention; after moving on from Zheng, Yilan no longer indulges Zhou 34 66.
• Sun Binghe — Trusted special assistant with authority comparable to a vice president. Represents Yilan in major negotiations, protects Shen Lian, and offers Yilan steady support during the kidnapping crisis 31 97 172.
• Yang Bin — Trusted personal aide whom Yilan helped as a teenager. His loyalty rests on gratitude and brotherhood rather than employment alone 31 97.
• Nie Sheng — Trusted enforcer who guards Shen Lian when ordered and carries out Yilan’s instructions concerning Changqi’s captivity 177 223.
• Aunt Fen — Longtime caregiver and household support. Welcomes Shen, prepares food, and helps make their home a place of recovery 2 24 272.
• Feng Yueshan — Childhood friend with unusual freedom to tease Yilan. Their bond is reinforced by Yilan’s gratitude toward Feng’s grandfather 152 188.
• Old Master Feng — Respected elder and benefactor who quietly helped during Changqi’s control. Yilan attends his birthdays whenever possible and otherwise sends carefully chosen gifts 188.
• Ning Sixian and Zhou Yuanlin — Old friends. Ning also oversees Shen Lian’s medical follow-ups 21 91.
• Xu Jingge — Former business rival turned cooperative associate. Mutual assistance during Lin City’s flooding and their partners’ friendship improve their relationship 82.
• Chen Mu — Actor Yilan helps recruit to Xingkai after Chen assists Shen in obtaining his medicine. Yilan insists that repayment for this help is separate from Chen’s own debt to Shen 131 132.

Story Role / Major Arcs

From Hostility to Partnership

Event	Development
Resort fire and confrontation	Yilan is scarred while rescuing Zheng Ge and believes Shen Lian responsible. He pours liquor over Shen and threatens to erase his career; Shen denies starting the fire, kisses his scar, then collapses. Yilan catches him and takes him home 1 2.
Mutual possessiveness	A destructive argument over Zheng reveals that Shen’s desire for exclusive possession mirrors Yilan’s own. Yilan becomes increasingly interested and gives Shen his personal number 13.
First kiss	They kiss in a storage room. After Shen asks for genuine love, Yilan arranges food and rest, offers him a place at Xingkai, and tells his friends he is not playing with him 23.
Acknowledged boyfriend	Yilan explicitly calls Shen his boyfriend before Xu Jingge. They nevertheless agree to keep the relationship private to protect Shen’s developing career 51.
Public recognition	Yilan confirms to Shen’s fans that he is his partner, rejects the nickname “sister-in-law,” and accepts being addressed as “big brother” 219.
Long-term domestic life	Their relationship remains stable as Shen’s career advances. Yilan continues looking after his health, while Shen increasingly seeks work that leaves room for their life together 221 272.

Confronting Chu Changqi

Ming Lin’s imitation awakens Yilan’s memories of the substitutes Changqi once abused. Yilan suspects his father survived, tells Shen about the threat, and launches an extensive operation against Changqi’s spies and hiding places 158 160 167.

After Shen is kidnapped, Yilan reaches the yacht with Sun Binghe, finding that Shen has already turned Changqi’s torture devices against him. Yilan afterward blames himself for the kidnapping and remains at Shen’s hospital bedside through his recovery 172 173 176.

In their final confrontation, Changqi’s attempts to invoke old terrors fail. Yilan calmly tells him, “You lost,” and orders him returned alive to Qu City. Later, he refuses Changqi’s hoped-for visit and repentance, leaving caregivers to continue resuscitating him whenever necessary 177 216.

Dream Side Story

Yilan enters an earlier period of Shen’s life, encountering the famous but emotionally exhausted superstar. Although immediately jealous of others’ interest in him, Yilan refuses to rush intimacy with a Shen who does not remember their relationship. They instead begin dating, sharing food, conversation, and a dance 253 254 255.

Before leaving, Yilan warns Shen about his future facial scar and removes the memories of their visit. He wakes beside the present-day Shen and embraces him. Shen eventually remembers fragments of the encounter and connects it to his overwhelming attraction at their first meeting in this world 256 260.

Notable Quotes

“I'm a connection.”
— Offering Shen Lian a place at Xingkai 23.

“I wasn't playing.”
— Confirming the seriousness of his involvement with Shen 23.

“You lost.”
— Addressing Chu Changqi after his attempts at intimidation fail 177.

“Unless he dies, there’s no need to contact me again.”
— Refusing further involvement in Changqi’s ongoing medical crises 216.

Trivia

• Personally pays for Hengtai employees to attend Shen Lian’s film, including reimbursement of their tickets 91.
• Spends heavily to top Shen’s livestream gift leaderboard, but still needs help changing his username before becoming a moderator 97.
• Restrains himself from smoking when reminded of Shen’s instructions 187.
• Learns to enjoy shrimp collecting, sunset watching, and a neighborhood barbecue stall—activities far removed from his earlier, emotionally detached routine 63 216 251.