Zhong Zixian

Biodata

Background / History

Zhong Zixian was bullied from childhood because of his slight build and shy personality. Classmates mocked him as a “sissy,” kicked him, and tore up his books. Walking with a girl he liked could lead to being cornered at the school gate and kneed in the stomach. The abuse spread as other children copied the original bully, while adults blamed him and bystanders remained silent to avoid becoming targets themselves 62.

He believed those experiences had largely faded until he witnessed Xie Ping’an’s memories of bullying. Recognizing their shared suffering, he rejected the idea that either of them had caused the abuse. His embrace and reassurance helped bring about the destruction of Xie Ping’an’s revenge Contract 62.

His ambition outside the game is to form a band. He considers music his clearest means of expressing his inner world and invites Lu Mi to become the band’s lead singer 113.

Appearance

• Build: Unusually slight, a trait that made him a target of childhood bullying 62.
• Hair: Shoulder-length curls; later described as long and untrimmed 62 118.
• Eyes: Bright eyes, often averted when he is nervous 52.
• Bo’ai Academy injuries: Has an injured arm wrapped in bandages, which Lu Mi believes Shen Yiwen applied 58.
• Temporary instance appearance: Takes on Yu Qingchen’s appearance and voice during Artist, as do the other players 72 73.

Personality

Zhong Zixian is painfully shy, soft-spoken, and uncomfortable with direct eye contact. When first speaking to Lu Mi, he clutches his blanket and speaks so quietly that Lu Mi must listen carefully. A truth-or-dare challenge requiring three minutes of eye contact and compliments leaves him trembling; he drinks for courage and ultimately passes out 52 64.

His gentleness does not prevent him from confronting cruelty. He embraces the disfigured Xie Ping’an without fear, telling him that malicious hearts are more frightening than his appearance. Shen Yiwen describes his heart as tender yet resilient 62 125.

He is protective of his friends and increasingly willing to share their risks. He searches for Cheng Cheng when Lu Mi enters a dangerous neighbor’s house, offers to take over future visits, and stands beside Lu Mi when guards threaten arrest. Despite feeling embarrassed that he often needs help, he explicitly wants to carry some of his companions’ burdens 110 111 124.

He processes grief through music rather than abandoning his commitments. After privately suspecting Shen Yiwen’s death, he writes and revises scores more frequently and does not resume smoking, which he had quit at her urging 125.

Abilities & Skills

Musicianship and Songwriting

• Guitar and vocals: Performs a spirited Spanish song while accompanying Shen Yiwen’s Flamenco dance. Their coordination is seamless despite having only one class period to prepare 60.
• Violin: Plays a newly written song for the mental-value seeds planted beside his and Lu Mi’s stone house 109.
• Composition: Writes original music, including a folk song that Lu Mi sings with him 109 113.
• Teaching and assessment: Teaches Lu Mi to read sheet music and recognizes his clear voice, good breath control, and quick learning 113.
• Vocal experimentation: Tries singing soprano while using Yu Qingchen’s vocal cords in Artist 72.
• Limit: His belief that music helps plants grow is stated by him; the chapters do not establish an independent supernatural growth ability 109 114.

Empathy and Emotional Support

• Xie Ping’an’s Contract: Shares his own bullying experiences, embraces Xie Ping’an, and tells him to stop blaming himself. The Contract spontaneously burns during their exchange, producing the Flame-Red Key 62.
• Uncertain trigger: The narration leaves open whether the burning begins with Zhong Zixian’s empathetic embrace or Xie Ping’an’s tear; it is not presented as a repeatable spell 62.
• Supporting Lu Mi: Encourages Lu Mi not to shoulder everything alone and comforts him as he confesses Shen Yiwen’s apparent death and his indirect responsibility for Jin Bi’s death 124.
• Mediation: Resolves Jin Bi and Kang Caijun’s dispute over stolen mental value, securing the return of what Kang took 116.

Observation and Instance Survival

• Timekeeping: Counts eighteen Golden Bell chimes and proposes that they indicate six in the evening when Wristband time displays become unreadable 105.
• Recognizing deception: Identifies that neighbors unable to force entry can still trick players into opening their doors 114.
• Information sharing: Tells Gao Shaohua that food can win over some neighbors 112.
• Calm cooperation: Zhang Xuerong values his composure while exploring the library’s doors and keeps him with the other players to continue investigating 136.
• Formation analysis: Identifies fire and sculpture symbols as likely matches for the keys from Bo’ai Academy and Artist 143.

Mental Value

Mental Value is a fluctuating survival resource in Companion Graves, not a documented cultivation rank. The players’ combined values determine how well their shared stone house can resist neighbors 107 108 117.

Equipment / Items

• Guitar — Spends all his gold coins on a guitar and later uses it to perform his original folk song 64 113.
• Violin — Plays it beside the newly planted mental-value seeds 109.
• Sheet music — Writes and revises scores, uses them for performances, and shares them with Lu Mi 107 113 125.
• Wristband — Used for game functions and accessing items; Zeng Deming’s immobilization prevents him from operating it during their confrontation 118.
• Stone House No. 9 key — Collects the key for the Companion Stone House he shares with Lu Mi 105.
• Mental-value seeds — Plants them with Lu Mi; their resulting sunflowers provide a substantial combined recovery 109 114.

Relationships

• Lu Mi — Close friend and frequent teammate. Zhong Zixian invites him to sing in his future band, supports him through guilt and grief, and commits to helping destroy the game 113 124 142 143.
• Shen Yiwen — The woman he loves and his musical performance partner. She comforts him after Xie Ping’an’s memories, cares for him during petrification, and persuades him to quit smoking. Their reunion in the library is followed by another separation when she stays to study the Ancient Text 60 62 72 125 142.
• Xie Ping’an — Fellow victim of bullying. Zhong Zixian’s refusal to fear or blame him creates an emotional connection that helps resolve the revenge Contract 62.
• Cheng Cheng — Friend and teammate who carries his petrified body back from the cemetery. Zhong Zixian later helps him stall Zeng Deming and desperately tries to reach him after he is sealed in a coffin 77 117 118.
• Roman — Companion who helps carry him to rest after he becomes drunk. Roman later relays Shen Yiwen’s uncertain translation of the Ancient Text 64 144.
• Zhang Xuerong — Fellow player who trusts his calm attitude and assigns him to continue exploring doors with the group 136.
• Zeng Deming — Hostile gravekeeper whom he helps distract. Zhong Zixian rejects Zeng’s claim that Cheng Cheng will inevitably betray his principles; Zeng then immobilizes and silences him 117 118.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Bo’ai Academy

Zhong Zixian shares Dormitory 302 with the other players and provides Lu Mi with an eyewitness account of Xiao Hu’s return from the communal restroom. After opening the door in response to the correct knock code, he sees a boy with a fruit knife embedded in his head asking whether Zhong can see him 52.

He and Shen Yiwen handle the group’s onstage performance, leaving their companions free to investigate. Later, his identification with Xie Ping’an’s suffering becomes decisive: their emotional exchange burns the Contract, allowing Lu Mi to recover the exit key and the players to escape 58 60 62.

Artist

Forced to drink Zheng Sinian’s water, Zhong Zixian develops plaster-like petrification around his feet. Lu Mi and Shen Yiwen find him singing despite being unable to move, and an antidote restores his mobility 72 73.

After Shen Yiwen becomes a statue, he cries beside her bed and joins Lu Mi’s cemetery investigation. He subsequently becomes a sculpture himself, which Cheng Cheng carries back to the house. He remains among the trapped sculptures at the end of the instance, when Roman explains that opening the exit with the key will restore them 75 77 81.

Companion Graves

Paired with Lu Mi in Stone House No. 9, Zhong Zixian helps interpret the bell signals, raises his Mental Value by feeding a neighbor, and tends the recovery seeds. At night, the pair play music and discuss forming a band, but must also resist a masked visitor using Zhuang Ziyi’s voice 105 106 109 113 114.

He accompanies Cheng Cheng to the Wooden Cabin to distract Zeng Deming while Lu Mi investigates forbidden Stone House No. 1. When Zeng traps Cheng Cheng’s soul in his past, Zhong Zixian pounds on the coffin and refuses to accept that his friend will make the same choice as the gravekeeper. His attempt to stop Zeng from pursuing Lu Mi ends with him immobilized and unable to speak 117 118.

Supporting Lu Mi’s Rebellion

After Lu Mi declares his intention to destroy the game, Zhong Zixian offers to face the consequences alongside him. Following the guards’ departure, he gives Lu Mi the emotional support needed to admit his grief and guilt. Zhong had already suspected Shen Yiwen’s death and quietly redirected his sorrow into composing music 123 124 125.

Five Thousand Vortices

Zhong Zixian notices the library’s frozen time display alongside Lu Mi and later explores its doors with Zhang Xuerong. Although he volunteers to accompany the dangerous South Gate investigation, he accepts responsibility for the West Gate and urges Lu Mi to return safely 126 136.

When Lu Mi and Cheng Cheng fail to emerge, he enters the South Gate to find them and reunites with Shen Yiwen. He is distressed when she chooses to remain behind, especially because she will age faster when no players are present, but reaffirms their shared goal of destroying the game 141 142.

Collecting the Fragments

Zhong Zixian helps connect the Formation Diagram’s thirty symbols to dungeon exit keys and suggests seeking keys from other players. When Shen Yiwen’s research points uncertainly toward repairing the fragments with “a human soul,” he proposes testing whether a ghost’s soul could fulfill that requirement 143 144.

Notable Quotes

“Ping’an, it wasn’t our fault. People’s malice can be greater than we could ever imagine. Stop blaming yourself.” 62

“Compared to your appearance, those hearts full of malice are far more frightening.” 62

“Music is the only way I can properly share my inner world with others.” 113

“We can’t talk about the details here. But I hope you won’t shoulder everything alone.” 124

“Right. We’ll destroy this game together.” 142