Ji Yonglin

Biodata

Background / History

Ji Yonglin came from a poor background and built a prosperous family involved in the jewelry business. Despite his efforts to present himself as refined, the narration describes his cultivated manners as an act rather than an established aristocratic upbringing 39 40.

His biological son, Ji Mingzhu, was switched at birth and grew up outside the Ji household. When a marriage alliance with the Gu family arose, Ji Yonglin investigated Mingzhu’s upbringing. Learning about the boy’s abusive home and interrupted education prompted no sympathy: he regarded Mingzhu as a disgrace and a lost cause 1.

Ji Yonglin instead favored Ji Zhian, whom he had raised and considered educated, sociable, and useful to the family’s ambitions. He wanted Zhian to marry Gu Yan, believing the connection would help the Ji family rise in status. Mingzhu became his substitute for the proposed marriage to Gu Shang, whose feared reputation made Ji Yonglin unwilling to risk Zhian’s welfare 1.

Personality

Ji Yonglin evaluates his children largely by their usefulness to his business and social standing. He prizes elite education and wealthy connections, condemns Mingzhu’s disadvantaged upbringing, and regards sacrificing him to secure a marriage alliance as a mutually beneficial arrangement. At the wedding, praise for Mingzhu embarrasses him because the attention comes through the son he neglected rather than the son he favored 1 10.

He treats fatherhood as a claim to obedience, gratitude, and property. Challenges from Mingzhu provoke insults and threats of violence, but Gu Shang’s presence quickly makes him cautious and apologetic. His concern for appearances also restrains him: before the wedding, he suppresses an urge to beat Mingzhu because visible injuries could expose the family’s mistreatment 4 24 38 39 40.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Forcing the Marriage

• Selecting a substitute: Ji Yonglin brings Mingzhu back to marry Gu Shang while preserving his preferred future for Zhian. He considers Mingzhu expendable and assumes access to wealth should make the boy grateful 1.
• Confinement: The original Mingzhu refuses the marriage and attempts suicide by jumping from a locked room into the family swimming pool. Ji Yonglin resents the public embarrassment caused by the ambulance rather than showing concern for his son 1.
• Renewed surveillance: After Mingzhu awakens in hospital and rejects the family’s demands, Ji Yonglin orders bodyguards to watch him around the clock until the wedding 1.
• Unequal treatment: Mingzhu is relegated to a third-floor storeroom after Zhian expresses fear of losing their parents’ affection. Ji Yonglin also gives him a gold card with a credit limit of only fifty thousand, which fails to cover his haircut and two selected outfits 2 39.

Wedding and Social Ambitions

• Ji Yonglin initially assumes Mingzhu’s makeover was paid for with Zhian’s money. Learning that Gu Shang’s intermediary paid instead shifts the dispute toward the family’s reputation 4.
• At the wedding, he and Cao Wanhua concentrate on networking and do not check on their biological son backstage. Ji Yonglin lends Zhian the jewelry shop’s treasured five-carat diamond ring after repeated requests 7.
• He succeeds in exchanging contact details with influential guests, but takes their praise of Mingzhu as a deliberate reminder that the Ji family did not raise him 10.

The Wedding-Ring Confrontation

• Summoning Mingzhu: Ji Yonglin orders him to return for the post-wedding visit alone, wear Gu Shang’s wedding ring, and avoid embarrassing the family. Mingzhu answers with mocking messages, prompting an angry tirade about manners and filial gratitude 19 24.
• Claiming the ring: Mistaking Mingzhu’s apparently solitary arrival for evidence that the Gu family disregards him, Ji Yonglin demands the pink diamond ring for his shop. He argues both that a father owns his son’s possessions and that the ring rightfully belongs to Zhian because the marriage was originally intended for him 38 39.
• Threatening violence: When Mingzhu refuses, Ji Yonglin reaches for his belt and threatens a beating. Gu Shang enters after overhearing the confrontation 39 40.
• Retreating before Gu Shang: Ji Yonglin calls the threat mere pretense and recasts his demand as a request to borrow the ring for an exhibition. Gu Shang rejects his attempt to blur ownership through family ties 40.
• Failed proof of affection: Ji Yonglin cites hospital care, spending money, and a replacement phone as evidence of his generosity. Mingzhu returns the inadequate card and Zhian’s old phone, undermining the claim and provoking another accusation of disloyalty 41.

Supporting Zhian’s Replacement Scheme

After Gu Shang and Mingzhu leave, Ji Yonglin smashes dishes by pulling the tablecloth off the breakfast table. He blames Mingzhu for failing to secure benefits from his marriage and resents Zhian’s silence during the confrontation 42.

Zhian proposes pursuing Gu Shang himself, speculating that the marriage has not yet been legally registered. Ji Yonglin approves the scheme and supplies money for new clothes, urging Zhian to outshine Mingzhu in their upcoming classes and win Gu Shang’s attention 42.

Relationships

• Ji Mingzhu — Biological son whom he treats as a disposable marriage substitute. Their conflict escalates from confinement to demands for Mingzhu’s wedding ring and accusations of ingratitude 1 24 39 41.
• Ji Zhian — Favored son raised in the household. Ji Yonglin prioritizes his comfort, praises his academic and artistic accomplishments, and eventually funds his attempt to replace Mingzhu as Gu Shang’s partner 1 39 41 42.
• Cao Wanhua — Wife and ally in pressuring Mingzhu. She supports the ring demand, helps excuse Ji Yonglin’s threats, and appeals to family unity when Mingzhu rejects their gifts 39 40 41.
• Gu Shang — Son-in-law whose wealth Ji Yonglin hopes to exploit but whose authority intimidates him. He resents Gu Shang’s refusal to provide benefits and his continued use of “Uncle” rather than “Dad” 40 41.

Notable Possessions

• Jewelry-shop showpiece: A collectible five-carat diamond ring with H color and VS1 clarity, with an auction starting price of two million. Ji Yonglin normally keeps it in a blast-resistant display case but lends it to Zhian for the wedding 7.
• Gold spending card: Issued to Mingzhu with a fifty-thousand credit limit; later returned when Ji Yonglin tries to use it as proof of parental generosity 2 41.

Notable Quotes

“You think you have a say?” 1

“What do you mean, yours or mine? I'm your father. What's yours is mine!” 38