Liu Xinyu

Biodata

Background / History

Liu Xinyu comes from a wealthy family that has been in business for three generations. His grandfather began by trading grain and cloth ration coupons, while his father opened factories and entered foreign trade. Liu describes business as something that shaped his thinking throughout childhood 37 39.

His father initially prohibited him from doing business at university, hoping the family would produce a scholar—preferably someone who could become an official. During Liu’s final university year, his father changed his plans and insisted that he return home to help with the business, ruling out graduate school and civil-service examinations. Liu speculates that his father may be feeling his age 39.

At university, Liu lives next door to Wang Xiaoliang and Li Jun and maintains friendly relations with both. He considers the friendships and personal growth he witnessed more valuable than his academic achievements, admitting that he learned little and copied most of his thesis from the internet 14 37.

Childhood and Family Upbringing

Liu’s grandfather expanded from trading into factory ownership, including a cannery and garment, shoe, and frozen-treat factories. After handing the businesses to Liu’s father, he returned to running his early-morning wine establishment and kept Liu beside him. Yang Qingyu’s and Fan Qishan’s parents had been important employees at the cannery and later became factory directors; as their work grew more demanding, the three children grew up together around Liu’s grandfather 121.

Liu and Fan Qishan attended Fucheng No. 1 High School, a closed boarding school that allowed them home only once a month. Fan consistently ranked first in the city, whereas Liu says he worked hard merely to remain around the middle of their year. Qingyu attended vocational school to study accounting and remained the one caring for their grandfather 122.

The family’s three mansions embody his grandfather’s intended succession arrangement. Each generation was to move into the previous generation’s home, with the next generation living nearby but separately. Liu explains that this arrangement represented each generation supporting the one after it while reducing the conflicts of sharing a roof 116.

Despite his outwardly comfortable family background, Liu admits that he has hated his father since childhood. He recalls his father bringing another woman home and his grandfather driving them both out with a broom, throwing out the gifts they had brought. Liu learned early to agree with his father outwardly while disregarding instructions privately, believing direct arguments would accomplish nothing 123 124 126.

Return Home and Marriage

After graduation, Liu returned home promptly at his father’s request. His father spoke with him for four hours, spending the first three apologizing. The subsequent wedding preparations reveal that his father was gravely ill, placing Liu’s return and sudden marriage in a different light from his earlier explanation to his university friends 126 127 139.

Liu proposed to his childhood sweetheart, Yang Qingyu, by telephone. He admitted that he had wronged her while away and asked whether she would still marry him; she accepted without reproach. Nevertheless, he felt ashamed of returning to her after his university relationships, especially when the family wanted a wedding to bring good fortune during his father’s illness. He avoided meeting her and repeatedly delayed their marriage registration under the excuse of being busy 127 130.

Before the wedding, Liu confided in Wang Xiaoliang, Zhou Qiang, and Fan Qishan. Talking and crying through his distress helped him release his guilt and face Qingyu more openly. He subsequently told his friends that the awkwardness had passed and treated her with renewed ease and affection 123 127 130 147.

Liu invited Wang to serve as his best man at his October 2 wedding, asking him to arrive by September 30. He paid lavishly for visiting classmates’ accommodation, meals, entertainment, and extended stays in Fucheng. The wedding itself included traditional rites, a seven-car Mercedes-Benz procession, and matching red Chinese-style wedding attire for the couple 106 114 131 137.

Chengyu Group and Chengyou Labor Service

Liu takes a leading role in the family enterprise after returning home. Although older managers initially regard him as an inexperienced graduate, he quietly develops personnel arrangements and monitoring networks rather than openly confronting their dismissive treatment 203 513.

His relationship with his father remains entangled with the business succession. Liu later explains that his father raised his younger, illegitimate son, Liu Xinyou, as an heir while Liu Xinyu grew up apart from him. Although the group is renamed Chengyu, the small subsidiary Chengyou retains a name associated with Xinyou. Liu interprets this as his father reserving that company for his younger brother. Resenting the favoritism rather than simply the assets involved, he stops construction on the Comprehensive Building and moves to wind down Chengyou Labor Service 434.

When Qingyu becomes pregnant and faces a possible threatened miscarriage, Liu asks Wang Xiaoliang to manage the Fucheng construction labor company for six months while he stays with her. He offers accommodation in his grandfather’s empty villa, use of a Lexus, and a ten-percent commission on old debts recovered during Wang’s tenure. He also asks Wang to watch Fu Zhaojun, revealing his distrust even of a senior family associate 397.

Liu tells Wang that the company’s remaining task is to settle old contracts and accounts before deregistration, and arranges for Wang to become its legal representative. Wang instead clears out obstructive employees and develops the premises into a dining plaza and night market. Liu subsequently wants to fold Chengyou into property management and bring Wang into the group, imagining that they could build Chengyu into another Anyang together 420 442 508.

Wang eventually resigns, recommending Li Yongling as finance director and urging Liu to stop treating everyone with suspicion. Liu accepts the departure and explains that his Second Uncle had misused Chengyou’s loans and joined Sima in trying to displace Wang. Cui Wanqiu assumes operational responsibility as acting leader 549.

After returning from Singapore with Qingyu and their daughter Jiaojiao, Liu apologizes for concealing Fan Qishan’s warning that he should stay away and bring Wang to Fucheng instead. He had suspected danger but followed Fan’s instruction not to explain it. To thank Wang after his brush with danger, Liu offers him a twenty-percent stake in Chengyu Group. Wang accepts on the condition that Liu also take a stake in Xiaosheng Media. Liu says he is extending the principles of Wang’s successful transformation across the group 563.

Appearance

• Height: Wang Xiaoliang teasingly describes him as five foot nine 41.
• Looks: Described as not bad-looking 41.
• Voice: Normally loud and booming 41.
• Resemblance: Wang observes that he takes more after his mother than his father 118.
• Post-graduation styling: At his wedding reunion, he wears well-fitted clothes, carefully styled hair, trimmed facial hair, and black-framed glasses, giving him a more mature and deliberately cultivated appearance 113 114.
• Glasses: His black-framed glasses have no lenses and are worn only for show 114.
• Wedding attire: Wears bright red Chinese-style formal clothing embroidered in gold with a dragon and phoenix 137.
• Later appearance: Both he and Qingyu have put on a little weight when they return with their daughter after the Lunar New Year 563.

Personality

Liu is cheerful, generous, and widely liked. He readily helps Wang Xiaoliang with meals, carrying stock, and moving belongings. Although wealthy, he keeps his background unobtrusive; Wang initially assumes that he comes from an ordinary family 26 30 37 40.

His friendliness is paired with close observation. He initially disapproves of Wang’s dormmates for drifting through university without plans, while still considering them decent people. After watching Wang begin selling drinks, making videos, selling calligraphy, and collecting recyclables, he openly revises his judgment and expresses admiration 38.

Liu wants to build a business from nothing, following his grandfather’s example rather than merely joining an established family enterprise. He finds the prospect of returning to the family business boring and wishes he could start something with his friends instead 37 38.

In romance, he distinguishes companionship and physical intimacy from the sincere, lasting relationship he wants. He has dated several girls but feels disappointed by relationships driven by status, financial security, or loneliness. Not finding the right person is his greatest regret about university 41.

Despite his ease with acquaintances, Liu is selective about genuine intimacy. Zhou Qiang believes that few people are truly accepted into his confidence, and Liu’s father identifies the small group brought home before the wedding as the friends his son genuinely values. Liu’s cheerful surface can conceal considerable distress, family resentment, and calculation 111 118 123.

His emotional maturity becomes an important example for Wang. Rather than remaining trapped in shame and fear, Liu releases his distress through a candid conversation and prolonged crying, then faces his circumstances with greater clarity. Wang later contrasts this with his own habit of suppressing grievances and repeatedly dwelling on them 127 130 147.

That capacity for openness coexists with suspicion and a tendency to withhold information. His monitoring of company personnel and undisclosed arrangements sometimes frustrate Wang, who eventually advises him to trust people more. Qingyu likewise remarks that he can be physically present while mentally occupied elsewhere 397 420 442 549.

Liu later begins changing this pattern. Qingyu says that, for the first time, he has told her everything without concealment, and she finds him increasingly open and happy. She credits Wang with helping bring about this change 565.

His loyalty remains practical as well as emotional. When Wang begins a seven-day calligraphy livestream after being told that Wei Zijin may never wake up, Liu cancels a meeting, goes to the villa, and decides to stay with him for the entire seven days 640.

Abilities & Skills

Social Skills

Liu uses attentive hosting, candid compliments, and humor to make others comfortable 37 44 46.

• Personalized invitations: Following his father’s advice, he favors small dinners where each guest feels specifically invited rather than lost in a crowd 37.
• Thoughtful preparation: At the graduation dinner, he arrives early and prepares fruit, drinks, and tea despite being a guest himself 44 45.
• Tactful praise: He credits Li Lanxiang’s good fortune to talent, hard work, and beauty without offending either her or Zhou Qiang 46.
• Building rapport: His joking questions about Zhou and Lanxiang’s romance bring the group closer without appearing like calculated flattery 46.
• Discretion: When Li Jun reveals his coercion of Feng Yuan, Liu closes the private-room door and tries to redirect the conversation before others overhear 38.
• Rapid trust-building: Zhou Qiang describes him as naturally able to make people feel close to him on first meeting and quickly win their affection and trust 111.
• Managing awkward exchanges: He defuses Zeng Haiyan’s pointed comments about his wealth with self-deprecating humor and smooths over tension when she speaks sharply to Zhou Qiang 114 117.
• Selective confidence: Wang later recognizes Liu’s habit of asking about private matters as a way to gauge whether someone already regards him as trustworthy 147.
• Large-scale hospitality: He organizes accommodation and activities for visiting wedding guests while keeping the atmosphere relaxed and avoiding overt displays of superiority 114 131 132.
• Maintaining boundaries: When a private dinner has no room for Zhao Shengkai, Chen Xiaoying, Ouyang Hai, and Wang Fen, he stops them from following while promising to treat them another day 186.

Business Instincts

Liu attributes his commercial instincts to growing up in a business family 39.

• Attention to costs and quality: At Fly Restaurant, he questions why good Sichuan dishes are served with poor rice and considers whether the rice is where the owners protect their profit margin 40.
• Recognition of initiative: He argues that Wang’s experience earning money from scratch will remain valuable regardless of his eventual career 38.
• Practical boundaries: He agrees to deliver existing library orders but refuses to actively pitch drinks. He also insists on splitting profits equally rather than accepting all of them 30.
• Early experience: His father prevents him from conducting business at university; his later management experience develops through the family enterprise rather than a company he establishes as a student 39 203 513.
• Long-term preparation: Zhou Qiang notes that Liu began observing people, cultivating teachers and his counselor, and preparing for his future from the beginning of university, while many classmates were simply enjoying their newfound freedom 146.
• Negotiation preparation: Before discussing a partnership with Hu Yang and An Peiwen, he prepares several possible approaches involving pricing, distribution, and profit sharing 202 203.
• Personnel strategy: He places Chen Zhifei in Finance to watch the accounts, arranges for Fang Dongxu to be observed at Chengyou, and uses Xie Hui to monitor Gu Junhao. His apparently disadvantageous transfer of Xie also allows the latter’s replacement in property management to expose his own shortcomings 434 513.
• Recognizing others’ value: He seeks to move Wang from Chengyou into group leadership and later offers him equity, while adopting the lessons of Wang’s successful redevelopment more broadly 508 563.
• Commercial risk assessment: When discussing Li Xiude’s rapid expansion, he independently suspects a pyramid scheme and a cash grab. He also analyzes the profit structure of cultural-tourism developments, temple niches, policy incentives, and associated businesses 672.
• Fair compensation: He warns Wang not to let Wei Zijin host a classmate’s wedding for free and insists that she should receive a fair fee 267.

Reading People

Liu’s grandfather taught him to assess people, and years spent around the older man exposed him to many different personalities. Fan Qishan says that reading people is the one area in which Liu surpasses him. Liu acknowledges that intuition contributes, but agrees with Zhou Qiang that his advantage also comes from sustained observation and experience rather than an inexplicable mystery 119 120 123.

• Wang Xiaoliang: Identifies him as meticulous and capable, but prone to overthinking, mental exhaustion, strong pride, and emotional hurt. He recognizes that selling drinks publicly required Wang to overcome a substantial barrier of pride 120.
• Zhou Qiang: Describes him as outwardly plain but inwardly perceptive, combining shrewdness with loyalty and adaptability. He also identifies excessive guardedness as a weakness 120.
• Limits: Liu says that he could not read Hu Yang at first sight, finding his presence and facial features unusually complicated. His assessments are presented through his own judgments; no separate supernatural power or cultivation advancement is established 202.

Emotional Awareness and Learning

Liu can work through intense emotions by seeking trusted company and expressing feelings he normally conceals. Wang recognizes this as a form of maturity distinct from social cleverness or business planning 123 127 147.

He also studies and discusses philosophical ideas with Fan Qishan. During Wang’s vigil for Zijin, he asks Fan about Instructions for Practical Living and later explains the unity of knowledge and action to Luo Bisheng, modestly describing himself as someone who asks questions and passes on what he has learned 642 649.

Relationships

• Wang Xiaoliang — Close friend, neighboring dorm resident, and drink-delivery partner. Wang introduces him as his best friend and recognizes him as a benefactor because of his unconditional job offer. Liu encourages Wang’s independence and remains available as a fallback 30 39 42 45 49. He later asks Wang to be his best man, entrusts him with Chengyou, and offers him twenty percent of Chengyu Group. Their friendship includes friction over Liu’s secrecy and suspicion, but develops toward greater mutual trust and business cooperation 106 397 442 549 563. He gives Wang a second phone, a Huawei, during his recovery in Fucheng, and later remains with him during his seven-day vigil for Zijin 413 640.
• Li Jun — University friend whom he includes in his small farewell dinner. Their conversation becomes strained when Li resents Liu’s secure family prospects and refuses his attempts to change the subject 37 38.
• Wei Zijin — Fellow student whom he initially finds difficult to imagine as Wang’s close friend. Later, he exchanges contact details with her, jokingly calls her “sister-in-law,” and offers to help her reprimand Wang 26 47. He defends her right to be paid fairly for wedding-hosting work and later arranges a Chengyu promotional video with her at the Starlight Archway 267 672.
• Zhou Qiang — Admired alumnus and entrepreneurial idol. Liu repeatedly reads Zhou’s profile in Finance Youth, meets him at the graduation dinner, and exchanges WeChat details with him 45 47. They remain in contact, with Liu consulting him about personal matters. Zhou recognizes Liu’s social talent and becomes one of the trusted friends who hear his family troubles before the wedding 111 123 127. Liu later imagines building the group together with Wang and putting Zhou in charge after his return 508.
• Li Lanxiang — Fellow student whose volleyball performance he has watched. His praise and playful questions encourage her to recount how she pursued Zhou Qiang 46.
• Yang Qingyu — Childhood companion, later wife, and mother of their daughter Jiaojiao. She grew up alongside Liu and Fan Qishan and became his grandfather’s chosen successor to the beef offal recipe and shop 121 137 563 686. Liu initially feels ashamed of his past behavior and avoids her despite proposing marriage; after confiding in his friends, he becomes more comfortable expressing affection 127 130. He later stays with her during a pregnancy threatened by possible miscarriage, and gradually becomes more honest with her about his burdens 397 565.
• Jiaojiao — Daughter of Liu Xinyu and Yang Qingyu. Returns to Fucheng with her parents after their stay in Singapore 563.
• Fan Qishan — Childhood companion raised around Liu’s grandfather. Liu respects his concentrated mind and unusual abilities, while Fan acknowledges Liu’s superior experience in reading people 119 121 123. Fan is one of the people Liu seeks when troubled, and his warning that Liu should remain away from Fucheng later becomes the subject of Liu’s apology to Wang 123 563.
• Zeng Haiyan — Former student-council partner and past intimate partner. She ended their romantic involvement after asking about his living allowance and later regretted her judgment when she learned the extent of his wealth 118 160. Liu hosts her generously at his wedding but refuses to pressure Fan Qishan into explaining his unfavorable reading of her, instead advising her to seek opportunities through capable people already around her 142 160.
• Father — Liu Chengde — Source of his advice about hosting and the authority behind his post-graduation plans. His father’s ambitions shift from academic or official distinction to bringing Liu into the family business 37 39. Their relationship is troubled by Liu’s childhood resentment and Chengde’s favoritism toward Liu Xinyou 123 124 434. Chengde’s grave illness contributes to Liu’s return and marriage; a later critical-illness notice takes Liu and Qingyu to Singapore, preventing them from attending Zhou Qiang’s wedding. Liu subsequently reports that his father is recovering after Third Uncle introduces an expert 127 139 305 434.
• Mother — A warm and attentive presence who welcomes Liu’s close friends and supports Qingyu as her daughter-in-law 118 144. She later cares for Wang during his recovery and, with Fu Zhaojun, agrees to represent Zijin’s parents at Wang and Zijin’s wedding 413 661.
• Grandfather — Founder of the family’s business tradition and the model for Liu’s ambition to build something from nothing 37 39. He is also Liu’s principal teacher in understanding people and a formative influence on his ideas about friendship, succession, and happiness 116 120 121 203.
• Liu Xinyou — Younger, illegitimate brother whom their father raised as an intended heir. Liu resents the preferential treatment represented by Chengyou’s retained name and refuses to preserve the Comprehensive Building as an income source for him 434.
• Fu Zhaojun — Senior family and business associate whom Liu directs Wang to contact upon arriving in Fucheng. Despite relying on him, Liu privately asks Wang to keep an eye on him 397. Fu delivers Liu’s gift of a new Huawei phone to Wang 413.
• Hu Yang and An Peiwen — Business partners whom Liu comes to admire after negotiations and extended conversations. Hu Yang’s account of building an enterprise with trusted friends broadens Liu’s view of how many deep friendships a person can have 202 203.
• Xie Hui — Trusted employee transferred from property management to Chengyou to observe Gu Junhao and report developments. Xie comes to respect Liu’s strategic judgment and later returns to property management with both Liu’s and Wang’s approval 513.
• Ma Yuanyuan — Cousin for whom Liu asks Wang to make an exception when she seeks to return to Chengyou after leaving with Gu Junhao’s side 508.
• Second Uncle — Relative whose misuse of Chengyou’s loans and alliance with Sima against Wang become part of the company’s internal conflict. Liu explains that his grandfather had warned against giving this uncle excessive financial support 549.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Notable Quotes

“Actually, I really want to start a business. Like my grandfather did. Build something from nothing and make a career of my own.” 37

“Your good luck has arrived.” 38

“Keep in touch, and if you run into trouble, say something. Don’t shoulder it all alone. If things don’t work out here, come straight to me. You’ll always have a place at my table.” 49

“I’ve hated my dad since I was little.” 123

“My grandpa always used to tell me that you don’t need many friends in life. Having even one person you can speak your heart to is already an incredible blessing. But in Third Brother, I saw another possibility. Having lots of people you can speak your heart to is pretty good too. No, not pretty good—it’s fucking fantastic!” 203

“Brother, I’m really sorry. Back then, Qishan told me not to come back and insisted that I get you to come here. I sensed something was up, but I didn’t tell you the truth. Even though he told me not to tell you, I should have.” 563

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