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.

Appearance

• Eyes: Clear amber eyes, repeatedly associated with her gentle but unwavering resolve 22 24 50.
• Hair: Wears her hair casually gathered into a bun while tending Yuan Su during his recovery 35.
• 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.
• 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.

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.

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.
• Has received no publication response one week after mailing her manuscript; the supplied passages do not establish its eventual outcome 48.

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.
• 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.

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.

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.

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 43.
• 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 48.
• Secondhand desk lamp — Supplied by Li Suhua and repaired by Yuan Su using replacement parts after it breaks 11 12.

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” 1 43 45 48.
• 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 1 6 7.
• He Shuowan — Stepmother. Supports the attempted marriage and urges Pu Zhiming to give Pu Yu money and send her away 1.
• 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 3 8 40 47.
• Yuan Su — Neighbor, deskmate, physics tutor, and increasingly intimate companion. Their bond develops through reciprocal help, her defense of his character, his protection of her, and their shared understanding of family hardship 2 11 22 34 45 50.
• Xu Suiran / Suisui — Close friend. Welcomes her, protects her from public embarrassment over the counterfeit money, shares food, and encourages her writing ambitions 5 6 13 48.
• Cheng Siyi — Homeroom and Chinese teacher. Processes her transfer, grants a tuition extension, encourages her academic goals, and helps her seek publication 4 7 8 47.
• 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 38 39 40.
• Chen Jun — Rejected prospective husband and antagonist. Retaliates for her police report by abducting and assaulting her during her return to the city 42.

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

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.