Yu Xian

Biodata

Background / History

Yu Xian grew up in Yuecheng in a family originally from Sichuan-Chongqing. After her mother died, her father remarried, and Yu Xian lived with her grandmother. Her mother left her a small amount of money, but accepting further support from her father provoked arguments in which her stepmother insulted both Yu Xian and her deceased mother 22 40.

To keep her mother from being blamed, Yu Xian refused her father’s money and worked at a convenience store to save for university tuition. By the time he visited her workplace, she said she had saved most of what she needed. She planned to support herself at university by teaching children to draw 15 21 22.

Appearance

• Build: Tall and slender, with long legs and a narrow waist 6 17 25.
• Hair: Waist-length hair with red or burgundy highlights and naturally curling ends 6 17.
• Face: Delicate oval face, fair skin, long lashes, bright almond-shaped eyes, a straight nose, and rosy lips; usually wears light makeup 6 17.
• School clothing: Wears her uniform loosely; during her first encounter with Chen Zhu, she has an unzipped uniform jacket over a short, fitted tank top 6.
• Work clothing: Appears in a white long-sleeved shirt and ink-blue jeans; later wears an apron at the convenience store 17 44.

Personality

Yu Xian is outspoken, proud, and quick to reject unwanted attention. Repeated approaches from boys have left her impatient with attempts to chat her up, and she responds to harassment with cutting remarks rather than polite evasions. She admires academically strong students, initially declaring that only boys with grades high enough for Tsinghua or Peking University impress her 6 14 17.

Her independence is deliberate: she sees no shame in earning money through part-time work and dislikes owing others favors. Her fierce manner also conceals vulnerability. During Zhang Chao’s attack, she grips a pen tightly enough to cover it in sweat; Chen Zhu’s reassurance gives her a sense of security she has lacked 17 19 33.

In romance, she is affectionate without becoming submissive or hiding her feelings. She openly seeks opportunities to see Chen Zhu, insists that liking him is no reason to pretend they are strangers, and expresses jealousy through teasing. She also imagines giving her future boyfriend her savings if he needs money for a house or car 15 25 44.

Abilities & Skills

Fine Art

• Studies fine art through her school’s art track 40.
• Plans to teach children drawing lessons to earn money while attending university; the supplied chapters do not show her doing so yet 15 22.

Cooking

• Prepares fish ball noodles for convenience-store customers and cooks for Chen Zhu, Huang Bohan, and Zhao Yuanyuan 17 22.
• Makes stir-fried noodles for herself and Chen Zhu during a power outage 22.
• Prepares breakfast for the Qingming cemetery trip, including corn and eggs; Chen Zhu recognizes her as a capable cook 33.

Retail Work

• Handles checkout payments, keeps accounts, prepares food, and arranges merchandise at the convenience store 17 19 21.
• Continues serving customers while refusing to indulge Zhang Chao’s attempt to monopolize her register 18.

Items

• Ballpoint pen: An accounting pen she grips as an improvised means of self-defense when Zhang Chao charges at her. Chen Zhu takes it away because its point could also injure her 18 19.
• Evidence envelope: Given to her by Chen Zhu after the police-station settlement. He organizes evidence against Zhang Chao, including witness statements; Yu Xian later tells Wu Yu that he also preserved the security footage on a disc 21 25.

Relationships

• Chen Zhu — Her schoolmate and developing romantic interest. His protection during the convenience-store incident changes her impression of him, but they are not established as a couple in the supplied chapters. He calls them friends and privately postpones choosing between her and Song Shiwei until college 19 25 31 40.
• Wu Yu — Best friend and classmate. Accompanies her to work, defends her, and becomes her confidante about Chen Zhu 15 25 39.
• Mother — Deceased. Yu Xian protects her memory from her stepmother’s insults and visits her grave every Qingming 22 33.
• Father — Their relationship is strained. He secretly saves money for her, but she rejects it and resents his inability to prevent the conflict at home 21 22.
• Stepmother / Aunt Tang — Objects to her father giving Yu Xian living expenses and insults Yu Xian and her mother during the resulting arguments 21 22.
• Grandmother — Lives with Yu Xian; her age is one reason Yu Xian has previously visited the cemetery alone 23 33.
• Huang Bohan — Helps Chen Zhu stop Zhang Chao. Yu Xian learns his name and greets him to acknowledge his help; he subsequently regards her as his personal choice for the school’s beauty 18 25.
• Zhang Chao — Unwanted pursuer who escalates from trying to hold her hand to threats and a confrontation at her workplace. He signs a promise not to bother her again 18 20 25.
• Song Shiwei — The subject of dating rumors involving Chen Zhu, which make Yu Xian jealous. No direct confrontation between the two girls is shown 39 44.
• Chen Peisong and Mao Xiaoqin — Chen Zhu’s parents. His father praises Yu Xian’s sincerity and genuine concern for his son; his mother is courteous to her but privately prefers Song Shiwei 39 40.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Initial Misunderstanding

• Chen Zhu remembers watching Yu Xian during school exercises as part of his youthful crush, though that old emotional response has faded after his rebirth 6.
• When Huang Bohan loudly draws attention to her, she mistakes Chen Zhu’s greeting for another unwanted approach and scolds him for neglecting his studies 6.
• Her opinion changes after learning that Chen Zhu scored 654 points and ranked eighth in the year. His confident, unscripted assembly speech further overturns her assumption that top students are awkward speakers 14 15.

Convenience-Store Confrontation

• Yu Xian gives Chen Zhu’s group an extra bowl of noodles, explaining that it compensates for their long wait 17.
• Zhang Chao demands an explanation for the slap she gave him after he tried to hold her hand. When he charges at her, Chen Zhu and Huang Bohan intervene 18.
• Unable to ride in the police car, she follows it on foot and waits for Chen Zhu at the station. He obtains Zhang Chao’s written apology and promise to stop harassing her 19 20.
• Later, she identifies Chen Zhu’s concern over the pen in her hand—not simply his intervention—as the moment that stirred affection and a feeling that she could rely on him 25.

Growing Closeness and Qingming

• After revealing her family circumstances, Yu Xian shares dinner with Chen Zhu. She playfully flicks his lips instead of kissing him, then persuades him to walk her home 22 23.
• She begins looking for him outside Class 11 and welcoming exercise breaks as a chance to see him 25.
• On April 5, Chen Zhu accompanies her to her mother’s grave. They share her homemade breakfast, and she feeds him a peeled egg. He waits outside while she visits the grave privately 31 32 33.

Dating Rumors and University Plans

• Hearing that Chen Zhu has been hurt, Yu Xian rushes to the police station, leaving a traffic-stalled taxi to run the remaining distance. She finds him unharmed and meets his parents 38 39.
• Chen Zhu shows her his QQ contact list to refute the rumor that he added Song Shiwei; Yu Xian then adds him herself 39.
• She says she would visit him even if he studied in the capital, taking the train to save money. Learning that he actually intends to attend SYSU delights her, and she organizes a hot pot outing with their friends 44.

After the Gaokao

• Yu Xian returns to Sichuan-Chongqing for summer vacation. She and Chen Zhu exchange daily QQ messages about their ordinary routines 50.
• Before returning to Yuecheng, she tells him she has brought local specialties for him and his parents. Chen Zhu decides to buy a phone so he can meet her 50.

Notable Quotes

“I don't want my mom getting blamed even after she's dead.” 22

“Just because I like him, I have to act like we're strangers? Wu Yu, that's not who I am.” 25

Trivia

• Her “Sis Cos” nickname comes from the resemblance between her name and the Chinese word for cosine 31.
• Her burgundy highlights were created with leftover dye while Wu Yu was having her own hair done; Wu Yu jokes that she effectively paid for Yu Xian’s better-looking result 25.
• Although Wu Yu compares her beauty favorably with Song Shiwei’s, Yu Xian explicitly says she does not care about taking the school-beauty title 14 25.