Pu Yu

Biodata

Background / History

Pu Yu’s mother, Lin Qian, died following an accident while working overtime at a factory several years before Pu Yu’s transfer. Before her death, she told Pu Yu to seek refuge with Li Suhua if she ever had nowhere else to go. Although unrelated by blood, Li Suhua had raised Pu Yu’s father, Pu Zhiming; Lin Qian maintained contact with her through letters and had helped support her 1 3 8 45.

At seventeen, Pu Yu resisted her father and stepmother He Shuowan’s attempt to make her leave school and marry Chen Jun. Her maternal aunt had introduced the match, and her father and aunt hoped to establish business ties with Chen Jun’s wealthy father. Pu Yu called the police, leading to Chen Jun’s detention and questioning 1 3 42 45.

Determined to continue studying, she arranged her transfer, accepted what appeared to be two thousand yuan from her father, and left the city with her few belongings. After three connecting buses, she reached Li Suhua’s neighborhood—but knocked on Yuan Su’s door by mistake. Finding him surrounded by debt collectors, she invented a summons from “Officer Li” to make them leave 1 2.

Li Suhua took her in and accompanied her to enroll at the town school. Pu Yu soon discovered that the money her father had given her was counterfeit. After obtaining a short tuition extension from Cheng Siyi, she broke down at home; Li Suhua supplied more than a thousand yuan for tuition and living expenses 3 4 6 7 8.

Her science-track enrollment was also her father’s decision rather than her own. He had filled out her track-selection form while drunk and subsequently refused to let her change it. Despite her stronger aptitude for language and literature, she committed herself to improving her science results 8.

When Li Suhua later needed surgery for a serious back injury, Pu Yu returned to her former home to seek money. Pu Zhiming refused assistance and slapped her when she asserted her late mother’s interest in the family apartment. Pu Yu then demanded repayment of the two thousand yuan in counterfeit tuition money. Holding her infant half-brother and threatening his parents with a knife, she forced them to produce cash, left the baby on a bench after checking the surroundings, and fled. Yuan Su subsequently lent her ten thousand yuan toward the surgery, which was successful 70 71 72 73 75 76.

After completing the college entrance examinations, Pu Yu learned that Yuan Su had sold his repair shop and left town with his mother. She found a letter addressed to her in their telescope case on North Mountain. She subsequently entered Dongzhou University, supported herself through part-time work and writing, and continued sending him unanswered messages 79 85.

During university, she developed a successful academic and literary record but remained emotionally attached to Yuan Su. Questions about the way educational aid was distributed prompted her to reconsider the postal remittances associated with her own aid. She obtained leave from her adviser and traveled north to find him, searching Rinzhou’s industrial district through heavy snow before their reunion 91 92 93 94 95 97.

Determined to help free Yuan Su from his father’s debt, Pu Yu later returned south in secret with eighty thousand yuan in savings. She posed as a wealthy young woman surnamed Su, enlisted Sister Chen’s assistance, and persuaded Boss Zhao to locate Yuan Hongzheng. During a subsequent meeting, she secretly recorded Yuan Hongzheng while questioning him about the loan and Yuan Su’s guarantee. When police arrived, Yuan Hongzheng attacked her and stabbed her left shoulder; Yuan Su reached her during the confrontation, and she was taken to hospital 131 132 133 134 136 137 138 139.

Following her discharge, Li Suhua’s alarm over her injury exposed a concealed part of the family history. Pu Yu learned that Pu Zhiming’s biological parents had wanted to reclaim him as a potential organ donor for their younger son, and that Li Suhua had opposed their plans. She came to understand that her grandmother had endured Pu Zhiming’s resentment rather than risk his safety 146 147.

In the later extra stories, Pu Yu and Yuan Su move into a lakeside villa. Li Suhua joins their household, and they bring Lu Zhen home after her condition improves 162 165.

Appearance

• Eyes: Clear amber eyes, repeatedly associated with her gentle but unwavering resolve; also described as almond-shaped and curving into crescents when she smiles 22 24 50 62.
• Hair: Wears her hair casually gathered into a bun while tending Yuan Su during his recovery. For her wealthy-heiress disguise, she has her long hair styled into loose curls and later pins it up 35 131 133.
• Complexion: Has a fair neck; nervousness and embarrassment frequently flush her cheeks 2 15 35.
• Clothing: Initially owns old clothes and heavily washed, faded shoes; later usually appears in her school uniform 1 28 35.
• Disguise: Buys a fur-trimmed cape dress with bow ties, a beige knitted dress, and a coordinating coat, and has professional makeup applied to suggest a wealthy background 131.
• Injuries: Sustains a deep knife wound to her left shoulder during Yuan Hongzheng’s attack, requiring hospital treatment and a substantial bandage afterward 137 139 146.
• Voice: Speaks quietly, with a soft Jiangnan accent 4.

Personality

Pu Yu is reserved and polite, but not submissive when her education or safety is threatened. She openly rejects responsibility for her father’s new children, refuses an early marriage, and leaves home rather than surrender her chance to study. Later, she insists that Yuan Su should not have to accept unfair treatment simply because he has become accustomed to it 1 22.

Her early behavior at Li Suhua’s house reflects her fear of losing another home. She panics at waking late, volunteers to help in the kitchen, and worries that even a small mistake could cost her shelter. She is also reluctant to accept favors without repayment, offering money, breakfast, or assistance in return for Yuan Su’s help 4 12 28.

Her empathy comes from recognizing circumstances similar to her own. After initially appealing to Yuan Su’s talent and future, she realizes that judging his choices without understanding his hardships is unfair and apologizes. She understands that pity can expose a person’s humiliation rather than comfort them 16.

With people she trusts, she becomes more playful and direct. She coaxes Xu Suiran out of anger with offers of steamed buns and gently exposes Yuan Su’s attempts to hide his concern behind irritation 22 40 47.

Her loyalty is active rather than passive. At university, she explains that she is moving forward while keeping a place for Yuan Su in her heart, rather than putting her entire life on hold. She rejects Liang Yanxiu’s confession because Yuan Su’s self-sacrificing love remains irreplaceable to her, even when she cannot know whether they will meet again 87 92.

Her determination can become dangerous self-sacrifice. She refuses to leave Li Suhua’s medical expenses entirely to Yuan Su, confronts her father despite the risk of violence, and later places herself among loan sharks to investigate Yuan Hongzheng. Her apparent composure during the latter operation conceals trembling, nausea, and considerable fear 71 72 73 131 133 134 136.

She maintains demanding standards for her own writing. Although offered the chance to publish a book, she declines because she considers her work too immature to sustain one. She values emotional honesty, while Professor Meng Song encourages her to broaden her themes beyond longing and separation 91.

Abilities & Skills

Academic Performance

Pu Yu arrives with a solid academic foundation, although transferring during her final year requires adjustment to a less well-resourced school and a science-track course of study 4 5 8.

• Reviews related physics problems immediately after receiving an explanation 11.
• Follows Yuan Su’s instruction to think through a problem three times before asking him for help 36.
• Maintains neat notes and handwriting, copying his solutions into her notebook 22 29.
• Continues working toward stronger mathematics and physics results for the college entrance examination 8.
• Receives a fully annotated combined-science examination paper from Yuan Su, including detailed physics and chemistry explanations 57.
• Later prepares a suitcase of study guides and a study schedule to help Yuan Su prepare for the college entrance examination himself 154.

Writing

• Her school essays are repeatedly selected as model essays, according to Xu Suiran 47.
• Keeps a diary and mentally addresses entries to her deceased mother 36 48.
• Writes a manuscript and seeks publication, with Cheng Siyi offering to approach additional outlets and an editor at the Nanhua Daily literary supplement 47.
• Initially receives no response during the week after mailing her manuscript, but subsequently learns from Cheng Siyi that her essay has been accepted by the Nanhua Daily supplement and will earn payment 48.
• Begins writing stories and essays partly to ease Li Suhua’s financial burden 47.
• Writes about a wary, rain-soaked animal named Roundy, drawing on her encounters with Yuan Su 57.
• Secures a monthly column with the Nanhua Newspaper, providing steady writing income during university 85.
• Has “Rewind,” a piece about Yuan Su, selected for the Literary Society’s Dongzhou Poetry Pages. Teacher Meng purchases its publication rights and asks her to expand it for Wild Grass 87.
• Publishes articles in several leading literary journals and receives a book proposal, which she declines because she considers her writing insufficiently mature 91.
• Becomes president of the university Literary Society and organizes a hometown feature for the campus magazine 92.
• Continues to prefer handwritten manuscripts, using Xu Suiran’s fountain pen even when typing has become more common 148.

Improvisation and Persuasion

• Bluffs debt collectors into leaving by invoking a fictitious police summons, despite being frightened herself 1 2.
• Defends Yuan Su against misunderstanding rather than accepting the town’s assumptions about him 22 26.
• Explains to Cheng Siyi that the student accusing Yuan Su of misconduct had harassed her during an examination and tried to obtain her answers, prompting an investigation 21.
• Calms Lu Zhen during a hospital outburst by introducing herself as Yuan Su’s friend and apologizing for being late, without pointing out that she had not known about the expected visit 38.
• Constructs a wealthy-heiress persona through clothing, makeup, deliberate aloofness, and generous tips. She convinces Sister Chen and Boss Zhao that she is a Su family daughter willing to pay Yuan Hongzheng’s debt for Yuan Su’s sake 131 132 133 134.
• Secretly records Yuan Hongzheng while questioning the origin of the debt and the signature on Yuan Su’s guarantee 136.

Caregiving and Domestic Skills

• Prepares simple breakfasts, including reheated flatbreads and congee, and helps Li Suhua with household tasks 4 13 47.
• Tends Yuan Su’s fever by replacing cold towels, wiping away sweat, checking his temperature, and remaining beside him past midnight 33 34.
• Regularly visits Lu Zhen, brings food, and notices changes in her mood and willingness to take medication 39 40.
• Helps the badly injured Yuan Su stand and cleans his wounds after his father’s return brings violence to Wind Chime Alley 55.
• Stays with Li Suhua throughout preparations for surgery and later balances school with her grandmother’s recovery. She rises at five thirty to prepare meals and receives permission to leave campus as needed to provide care 75 76 77.
• Helps establish a shared household with Yuan Su, welcomes Li Suhua to their villa, and offers the empty yard for her grandmother’s vegetable garden 162 165.

Limitations

• Poor sense of direction: Gets lost in the town’s similar-looking alleys and records a simpler school route in a notebook. Li Suhua compares this trait to Lin Qian’s 7 8.
• Low stamina: Becomes exhausted halfway up North Mountain and needs Yuan Su’s help to continue 49.
• Limited physical strength: Resists Chen Jun and his accomplices but cannot overpower them 42.
• Physical vulnerability under stress: Arrives in Rinzhou exhausted and underfed, then becomes dizzy after the emotional strain of reuniting with Yuan Su 97.
• Dangerous personal exposure: Her convincing disguise does not remove her fear or protect her from physical violence; Yuan Hongzheng overpowers and stabs her during the police raid 133 134 137.

Equipment / Items

• Tin box — Carries her mother’s photograph and an envelope among the belongings she takes when leaving home 1.
• Mother’s letter — Provides the connection to Li Suhua and helps Pu Yu locate her home; becomes softened and blurred by rain 2 3.
• Red cord with a silver bead — A deeply treasured keepsake associated with her mother. When her purse is recovered, Pu Yu checks for it before checking the money. She later gives the red cord to Yuan Su as a birthday wish for his safety and refuses to take it back after it becomes bloodstained 43 55.
• Portable cassette player / Walkman — Refurbished and secretly given to her by Yuan Su. He ties its acceptance to an academic challenge, then lets her keep it on the strength of her Chinese and English rankings 28 29 36 37.
• Fountain pen — A birthday gift from Xu Suiran, who hopes to receive Pu Yu’s first autograph when she becomes a famous writer. Pu Yu continues using it for handwritten manuscripts during university 48 148.
• Birthday notebook — Given by Xu Suiran alongside the fountain pen 48.
• Secondhand desk lamp — Supplied by Li Suhua and repaired by Yuan Su using replacement parts after it breaks 11 12.
• Annotated science examination paper — Left on her doorstep by Yuan Su, with detailed solutions and explanations for every question 57.
• Folding knife — Given to her by Yuan Su for protection; she grips it when encountering the men who have beaten him 76.
• Pearl handbag and disguise wardrobe — Used to support her “Miss Su” identity while approaching gambling establishments and debt collectors 131 132 133.
• Fruit knife — Concealed for protection at her meeting with Yuan Hongzheng. He seizes it during his attack and uses it to wound her shoulder 136 137.
• Study materials for Yuan Su — A suitcase of examination guides and a prepared schedule intended to support his return to study 154.

Relationships

• Lin Qian — Deceased mother. Pu Yu preserves her photograph and keepsake, writes to her in her diary, and describes her as having “become a star.” In the extra stories, Lu Zhen recalls Lin Qian affectionately, revealing a connection between the two women that surprises Pu Yu 1 43 45 48 165.
• Pu Zhiming — Father, from whom she separates after he tries to end her schooling and arrange her marriage. His counterfeit payment destroys her remaining hope that he acted with genuine affection. When she returns for Li Suhua’s medical expenses, he refuses to help and slaps her; she forces repayment of the original two thousand yuan. She later learns that Li Suhua’s opposition to his biological parents’ donor plans underlies his resentment toward her 1 6 7 71 72 147.
• He Shuowan — Stepmother. Supports the attempted marriage and urges Pu Zhiming to give Pu Yu money and send her away. Later produces cash when Pu Yu threatens their infant son during her demand for repayment 1 72.
• Infant half-brother — Pu Zhiming and He Shuowan’s son. Pu Yu uses the threat of harming him to force repayment of her tuition money, then leaves him on a bench after checking the surroundings before fleeing 71 72.
• Li Suhua — Non-biological grandmother and refuge. Provides housing, food, tuition money, and practical support beneath a harsh manner. Pu Yu worries about her workload and objects to her traveling alone to the city. She buys Li Suhua a new jacket for the school rally, fights to obtain money for her surgery, and cares for her during recovery. After learning the truth about Pu Zhiming’s biological family, she recognizes the extent of Li Suhua’s unacknowledged sacrifices. Li Suhua later joins Pu Yu and Yuan Su’s villa household 3 8 40 47 65 71 75 77 147 165.
• Yuan Su — Neighbor, deskmate, physics tutor, and eventual boyfriend and cohabiting partner. Their bond develops through reciprocal help, her defense of his character, his protection of her, and their shared understanding of family hardship. After his disappearance, she continues building her own future while preserving her love for him, then seeks him out in Rinzhou. She offers her savings toward his debts, risks her life investigating his father, and supports his return to academic study. Their relationship later becomes physically intimate, and they establish a shared home; they are explicitly not yet married while shopping for its furniture 2 11 22 34 45 50 79 87 94 95 105 136 137 151 154 162.
• Xu Suiran / Suisui — Close friend. Welcomes her, protects her from public embarrassment over the counterfeit money, shares food, and encourages her writing ambitions. Continues supporting her during university and hospitalization, and helps bring her home after her shoulder injury 5 6 13 48 87 143 146.
• Cheng Siyi — Homeroom and Chinese teacher. Processes her transfer, grants a tuition extension, encourages her academic goals, and helps her seek publication. Selects her as the class representative for the hundred-day rally and arranges flexible campus access while she cares for Li Suhua 4 7 8 47 65 77.
• Lu Zhen — Yuan Su’s mother. Pu Yu becomes a regular hospital visitor; Lu Zhen grows especially affectionate toward her and reserves a stool brought specifically for her. Pu Yu’s affection continues after her reunion with Yuan Su, and she later helps bring Lu Zhen home from care. Lu Zhen recalls loving Pu Yu together with Lin Qian 38 39 40 101 155 165.
• Chen Jun — Rejected prospective husband and antagonist. Retaliates for her police report by abducting and assaulting her during her return to the city 42.
• Song Jinnian — School acquaintance and dependable friend. Gives her a collection of high-scoring essays, discusses her enduring attachment to Yuan Su during university, visits her in hospital, and helps Xu Suiran take her home after discharge. He also encourages Yuan Su to reclaim his former academic ambitions 47 87 143 146.
• Lin Jia and Chen Sisi — University roommates. Lin Jia urges her to consider moving on from Yuan Su, but Pu Yu explains why she continues to cherish him 85 92.
• Xu Lang — Former town-school student whom she meets again at Dongzhou University. He offers help as a fellow hometown student; she wonders whether he was the other student nominated for financial aid but does not establish this during their conversation 85.
• Liang Yanxiu — Senior student and Literary Society president who first approaches her at the bookstore. Later offers her the presidency and confesses his feelings; she accepts the role but rejects the confession because she is waiting for Yuan Su 85 92.
• Meng Song / Teacher Meng — Literary mentor who arranges publication opportunities and praises her developing style, while urging her to write beyond the recurring themes of longing and separation 87 91.
• Su Xiao — First-year Literary Society member whose account of institutional educational aid prompts Pu Yu to question the postal-money-order arrangement connected with her own aid 92 93.
• Sister Chen — Intermediary in the gambling district. Pu Yu wins her cooperation through the “Miss Su” disguise and pays her for assistance locating Yuan Hongzheng and meeting Boss Zhao 132 133 134 136.
• Boss Zhao — Debt-related contact whom Pu Yu persuades that she is a wealthy Su family heiress. He agrees to locate Yuan Hongzheng and arranges the meeting at which she questions him 134 136.
• Yuan Hongzheng — Yuan Su’s father and the target of Pu Yu’s debt investigation. She explicitly tells him that her efforts are for Yuan Su, not for him. During the police raid, he attacks her, takes her knife, and stabs her left shoulder 136 137.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Notable Quotes

“I’m only seventeen. I can’t get married. I want to stay in school.” 1

“I shouldn’t have judged your life by my own ideas.” 16

“Just because you’ve resigned yourself to that unfairness doesn’t mean you should have to accept being treated unfairly.” 22

“As long as I’m here, I won’t stand by and let people misunderstand you.” 22

“I won’t. I’m right here.” 33

“She’s my grandma. I have to do something.” 73

“I’m not waiting for him. I’m moving forward. I just keep a place in my heart as I go.” 87

“I trust you to be good to me.” 107

“I’m not helping you. I’m helping Yuan Su.” 136

Trivia

• She introduces her name as “Pu as in cattail, and Yu as in rain” 4.
• Her mother told her that it was pouring when she was born 48.
• Her December 31 birthday falls at the opposite end of the year from Yuan Su’s January 1 birthday, a contrast she notices after seeing his identification 43.
• Her first meeting with Yuan Su involves her telling a lie to protect him; she later reflects that their separation likewise involved his telling a lie to push her away 87.
• She prefers the sound and feel of a fountain pen moving across manuscript paper to the convenience of typing 148.
• In the shared-home extra, she corrects a furniture saleswoman’s assumption that she and Yuan Su are newlyweds, explaining that they are not married yet 162.
• When Lu Zhen asks when Lin Qian will visit, Pu Yu replies that her mother will return after looking at the stars 165.