Bai Shen

Biodata

Background / History

Bai Shen comes from a medical dynasty respected among wealthy and influential families. Its hospitals also serve the general public throughout the interstellar world, providing affordable, effective treatment. Despite his academic credentials and the career his family had planned for him, he abandoned medicine for business—a decision that attracted widespread attention and initial skepticism 3.

He identified sealed technological fragments among the remains of a fringe civilization, then successfully invested in and restructured three nearly bankrupt civilian android AI companies. After entering venture capital, he moved from a Federation-administered planet to a capital planet and became his firm’s youngest deputy director of venture capital at twenty-nine 3.

His achievements and reports of him “defying his family” made him a subject of intense public curiosity, but he maintained a low profile. A technology magazine featuring him in a suit and luxurious wristwatch sold out the year before the story’s opening 1 3.

Two years before the show, his former high school’s elderly principal invited him to speak at its anniversary celebration. Shi Zhou attended that talk and subsequently invested in two AI Mecha stocks. Bai Shen also donated two billion to the school for laboratories and Mecha upgrades 15.

Appearance

• Build: Broad shoulders, a narrow waist, long legs, and nine-head proportions; his musculature is visible even through clothing 1.
• Face and hair: Sharp brows, deep-set dark eyes, a high nose, sculpted features, and swept-back black hair 1 3 14.
• Skin and physique: Cool, pale skin, prominent hand veins, and well-developed chest and abdominal muscles without excessive bulk 31 32.
• Clothing: Immaculate shirts, tailored suits, gold-rimmed glasses, an expensive wristwatch, and thin-soled leather shoes 3 8 14.
• Voice: A notably deep bass, with a refined and controlled delivery 3 28.

Personality

Bai Shen initially appears aloof and intimidating. The other guests admire him but hesitate to approach him because of his accomplishments and restrained expression. His heavy workload reinforces that impression, though his explanation for missing the afternoon games helps everyone relax around him 3 6.

He is observant, analytical, and accustomed to preparation. Before joining the show, he thoroughly investigated the other guests. Shi Zhou’s behavior troubles him because it contradicts his company’s predictive profile; Bai Shen initially questions the discrepancy rather than accepting that the algorithm might have failed 8.

His gentleness is practical rather than showy. He notices Shi Zhou’s distress after the reporter incident, provides food, and draws him into an easier conversation. Later, he restores Shi Zhou’s confidence without pressuring him to satisfy the production team or choose a partner 14 15 36.

He values personal autonomy and dislikes possessiveness disguised as care. When Xie Jiali asks him to watch over Shi Zhou, Bai Shen insists that Shi Zhou is his own person. Although he dismisses romance as something that makes people lose their reason, his own reactions to Shi Zhou’s other admirers become increasingly difficult for him to explain 44.

Abilities & Skills

AI and Android Technology

• Recognized valuable technological fragments from a fringe civilization and used his expertise to restructure struggling android AI companies 3.
• Leads research using Star Energy computation to allow AI to evolve independently, rather than merely incorporating the new W-113 material 28.
• His company’s predictive algorithm has a verified 99.9% success rate, but Shi Zhou does not match its behavioral predictions 8.
• Can explain advanced research clearly, although technical depth does not necessarily hold his audience’s interest 28.

Investment and Business Judgment

• Built his career through technology investment, corporate restructuring, and venture capital 3.
• Remembers the sectors represented by Shi Zhou’s two stocks and recognizes their low valuations ahead of undisclosed breakthroughs 15.
• Evaluates commercial artwork through questions about creative concept, layout, licensing, and brand identity 42.

Memory and Analysis

• Possesses a photographic memory, retaining details about Shi Zhou’s profile, clothing, and behavior 28.
• Detects the inconsistency between Xie Jiali’s knowledge of Shi Zhou’s past and his present affection for him 8.
• Recognizes the production team’s aggressive emotional manipulation during the interview-video screening 36.

Medical Knowledge

• Retains medical knowledge despite changing careers 3.
• Warns Xie Jiali that excessive worry may slow his recovery 44.

Languages and Art Appreciation

• Speaks an ancient Western language when addressing Asta 7.
• Has an eye for art and judges Shi Zhou’s painting suitable for commercial packaging 42.

Household Skills

• Handles raw meat and assists Yu Manman with food preparation, taking over tasks she cannot manage 27.
• Rarely enters a kitchen because of work and initially does not know how to fasten a magnetic, biomimetic apron 28.

Equipment / Items

• Mindnet — Receives special permission to use it for work during filming, including access to the Interstellar Network 3 46.
• Gold-rimmed glasses — Worn while working and observing the other guests 8.
• Luxury wristwatch — Part of his public image; he also uses it to check his schedule during filming and the reporter confrontation 1 6 14.
• Stretched car — Used to collect Shi Zhou from Pace and provide a quiet space after the media harassment 14.

Relationships

• Shi Zhou — Fellow high-school alumnus and someone Bai Shen comes to regard as a younger brother. Shi Zhou admires his composure and calls him “Brother Shen”; Bai Shen’s response to their growing closeness includes reactions he does not fully understand 15 38 42 44.
• Xie Jiali — Social acquaintance and temporary roommate. Their extended families have close ties, including marriages, but Bai Shen challenges Xie Jiali’s assumption that he can speak or make arrangements on Shi Zhou’s behalf 6 10 15 44.
• Yu Manman — The production team’s intended romantic match for him. They cooperate courteously, but their planned slow-burn pairing struggles to develop chemistry 27 28 46.
• Zheng Yu — Initially pursues Bai Shen after memorizing his preferences and technical interests at his parents’ insistence. Bai Shen remains largely unresponsive, and Zheng Yu chooses Asta as his roommate instead 8 10.
• Asta — First meets him at the filming location. Bai Shen remains composed despite Asta’s unconventional behavior and later finds himself thinking about Asta spending time with Shi Zhou 6 7 44.
• Family — Bai Shen is the youngest member of his generation. He recalls preparing food with his parents during childhood holidays as a warm family memory 28 38.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Joining *Heart-Pounding Expedition*

• Bai Shen is the original story’s first male lead, alongside Su Yue and Asta. The author abandoned the dating-show story before resolving their pairings 1.
• He continues working during filming and misses the afternoon games because he was told filming officially began at five 3 6.
• He volunteers to help carry groceries and later agrees to share a suite with Xie Jiali for the initial three-day room assignment 5 6 10.

The Pace Media Incident

• After Shi Zhou trends online, Bai Shen calls to collect him from Pace 13.
• He intervenes when reporters surround Shi Zhou, shielding him with bodyguards and directing further questions to his lawyer 14.
• His legal team coordinates with the show’s legal department to pursue the media outlets. Shi Zhou later receives five hundred thousand interstellar credits in compensation 14 18.

The Attempted Yu Manman Pairing

• After returning from work with food purchases, Bai Shen prepares ingredients with Yu Manman 27.
• The production team’s intended “marriage-before-love” storyline stalls because both are accustomed to others initiating conversation 28.
• Shi Zhou tries to revive the pairing by encouraging discussion of Bai Shen’s AI research. Bai Shen understands the matchmaking attempt, while Yu Manman becomes interested in the possibility of robot companions 28.

Supporting Shi Zhou

• During Old Maid, Bai Shen removes his jacket as a penalty, revealing a black turtleneck. His and Xie Jiali’s appearances help dominate the trending searches 30 31 32.
• After Shi Zhou’s interview leaves the group subdued, Bai Shen brings him warm milk and tells him he has done nothing wrong 35 36.
• The system shows only a tiny filled portion of Bai Shen’s black attraction bar. His subsequent text to Shi Zhou is explicitly friendly, reflecting his view of him as a younger brother 36 38.
• Bai Shen assesses Shi Zhou’s proposed milk-tea packaging artwork and offers continued advice. Shi Zhou’s spontaneous hug and description of him as someone close leave him visibly softened 42.

Resistance to Romantic Rivalry

• Bai Shen explicitly thinks that he did not join the show to fall in love; his actual reason remains unrevealed in the supplied chapters 30 38.
• He objects to Xie Jiali’s possessive requests, yet also wonders why he prefers Shi Zhou to be paired with less overtly threatening companions 44.
• While sheltering from rain with Yu Manman, he opens the show’s livestream and watches Shi Zhou with Asta before agreeing to join them for dinner 46 48.
• He later keeps Shi Zhou behind because he has something to say to him; the conversation is not shown in the supplied passage 50.

Notable Quotes

“Whatever happens, just be yourself.” 36

“You don't have to keep thanking me. We help each other.” 36

“Shi Zhou is his own person. He can take care of himself.” 44