Shen Xuanrun

Biodata

Background

Before entering the novel, Shen Xuanrun was a twenty-six-year-old businessman who had taken over his father's publicly listed company after his parents left to travel. His grandfather, a master calligrapher, raised him to value literature, etiquette, and outward composure. Despite wanting a girlfriend, he repeatedly attracted male admirers instead. His younger sister, Shen Xin, persuaded him to read romance novels by claiming that shared interests would help him meet women 1.

After finishing a novel and mentally complaining about its excessively compassionate heroine, he entered the body of a supporting character with his own name and an identical appearance. The original Shen Xuanrun was a nineteen-year-old actor and the heroine Shen Qianxin's older cousin. His father was the second son of the prominent Shen family and the founder of a successful entertainment company 1 2.

The original occupant was gentle, quiet, intensely devoted to Qianxin, and notorious for poor acting. He was described as dying of rage after hearing her declare another cousin her favorite brother. Shen Xuanrun arrived in his place while sitting on the toilet during a phone call with Old Master Shen 1.

Appearance

• Build: Tall and slender, initially with little visible muscle 1.
• Features: Fair, smooth skin, crimson lips, and brown eyes that give him a gentle, attentive expression 1 5.
• Voice: Gentle and mellow, unlike the deep, imposing voice he wishes he had 1.
• Screen appearance: Particularly striking in the Republican-era opera costume worn for Zhao Ziru 10.
• Training changes: Du Jianguo's intensive coaching gives him a straighter posture, firmer muscles, faint abdominal definition, and a more forceful bearing, although he remains slim 55 56.

Personality

Shen Xuanrun's refined manners conceal a much livelier inner voice. He can appear calm and courteous while privately panicking, making sarcastic observations, or enthusiastically praising himself. This composure helps him conceal his unfamiliarity with the original owner's life and his nerves during auditions 1 6 56.

He is affectionate toward children but rejects indiscriminate indulgence. Although immediately charmed by Qianxin, he believes that sheltering her from consequences will leave her unable to judge others. His lessons emphasize independent thought, personal boundaries, and the difference between kindness and surrendering one's legitimate interests 2 3 4.

His gentleness does not prevent him from defending himself: he retaliates against Jiang Yi's unwanted touching and later removes ineffective employees from the family company. Nevertheless, after suffering online abuse, he publicly asks others not to perpetuate cyberbullying 10 22 87.

Food is a persistent weakness, especially pig's trotters. He can turn a formal speech into a review of the catering, and his enthusiasm for achieving a muscular physique repeatedly clashes with his dislike of restrictive meals and exhausting exercise 20 54 67.

Abilities & Skills

Acting

Shen Xuanrun develops from an inexperienced replacement for a poorly regarded actor into a successful leading performer 7 84.

• Studies under Teacher Sun and earns praise for his talent and rapid improvement 7 9.
• Practices lines and analyzes his characters' psychological changes, including while exhausted from physical training 55.
• Handles emotionally demanding scenes and makes performances opposite an imagined partner feel convincing during his film audition 56.
• Performs his own action scenes in The Crime You Never Knew About, drawing praise from viewers 78.

Business Management

His executive experience predates his transmigration, making business familiar territory rather than a newly acquired skill 1 88.

• Writes a company development plan that his father initially assumes Gu Weichen prepared for him 86.
• Reorganizes Shen Entertainment Company's personnel, dismissing unproductive employees and recruiting replacements 87.
• Wins over dissatisfied staff through effective management and improves the company's performance 87.
• Secures major orders and earns recognition among City H's businesspeople 88.

Brush Calligraphy

Calligraphy is a practiced interest rooted in his upbringing under his original-world grandfather 1 36.

• Writes “Autumn Gloom in a Mountain Dwelling” during a date with Gu Weichen 36.
• Becomes absorbed in the work, temporarily forgetting his embarrassment over Gu Weichen's confession 36.

Knowledge of the Novel

His memory of the original plot gives him information unavailable through ordinary observation 1 2 28.

• Recognizes the risks posed by Qianxin's sheltered upbringing before the novel's main events begin 1 3 4.
• Knows that Yan Lang is Gu Maojie's father and seeks to improve the boy's childhood by bringing them together 28.
• Uses his knowledge of a family necklace to arrange an opportunity for Yan Lang to recognize Gu Maojie 87 88.
• Prepares plausible explanations when others question how he discovered sensitive information, including evidence connected to Jiang Yi 20.

Acting Credits

Story Role / Major Arcs

Caring for Qianxin

Old Master Shen places Qianxin in Shen Xuanrun's care while visiting an old friend. Recognizing that the novel's main plot is still more than a decade away, Shen Xuanrun begins challenging the habits that will eventually make her dangerously credulous. Shopping trips, pointed fairy tales, and everyday conversations become opportunities to teach her to think for herself 2 3 4.

Their outings also bring him into contact with Gu Weichen. At kindergarten pickup, he learns that Gu's nephew, Gu Maojie, is Qianxin's new classmate and deskmate 5 6.

Breakthrough and Jiang Yi's Harassment

While preparing to play Zhao Ziru, Shen Xuanrun requests an acting teacher rather than relying on his appearance. Teacher Sun's approval surprises Chen Wei, whose previous attempts to train the original actor had ended badly 6 7.

On set, Jiang Yi disrupts his makeup session and gropes his waist during a group photograph. Shen Xuanrun pinches Jiang's hand and stamps on his foot without abandoning his pose. Jiang subsequently circulates photographs suggesting that Shen is attaching himself to Gu Weichen for influence, but commenters largely dismiss the accusation because Shen is already a wealthy heir 10 12.

The hostility escalates when a Jiang Yi fan attempts to throw sulfuric acid at him. Little Li blocks the attack, and police arrest the assailant. After the truth emerges, public opinion shifts toward Shen Xuanrun; his appeal against cyberbullying earns further support. The broadcast of Battle in the Sea of Commerce then establishes his improved acting with viewers 18 20 22 31.

Gu Weichen's Courtship

During a livestream, Shen Xuanrun identifies Gu Weichen as a suitable choice when asked which man he would marry. He subsequently participates in Let's Fall in Love!, where Gu openly chooses him as a date partner and confesses his feelings 30 35 36 46.

Shen initially says that he likes girls, but eventually realizes that he has fallen for Gu. His hesitation shifts from attraction to the fear that he might leave the novel's world and lose their relationship. Gu's promise that he wants only Shen Xuanrun helps end several days of avoidance 36 42 45.

Film Preparation and Engagement

For The Crime You Never Knew About, Shen Xuanrun undertakes intensive training with Du Jianguo while continuing to study the script. His audition demonstrates the emotional range needed for the role, and his later performance helps establish him as an A-list star 53 55 56 78.

At the film's wrap party, Gu Weichen proposes. Shen Xuanrun again asks what would happen if he disappeared, then accepts Gu's promise to search for him and agrees to spend their lives together 67 68.

Retirement and Company Succession

After achieving widespread acclaim, Shen Xuanrun declines further acting work to fulfill his promise to inherit the family business. Although he has genuinely come to enjoy acting, he considers business his stronger skill and preferred career 53 78 84.

Following the film's awards success, he announces his retirement and publicly confirms his relationship with Gu Weichen. He becomes Shen Entertainment Company's general manager, brings Chen Wei into the company, and carries out a successful personnel overhaul. His father eventually leaves him in full control of operations while retaining the chairman's title 84 85 86 87.

Gu Maojie's Parentage and Marriage

Shen Xuanrun uses his acquaintance with Yan Lang to arrange a dinner involving both families. He deliberately seats Gu Maojie beside Yan and tries to expose the boy's necklace; at the end of the meal, Yan notices a silver flash at Gu Maojie's neck 28 88.

Three months later, Shen Xuanrun and Gu Weichen marry in a lavish, rose-filled ceremony broadcast to the public. Qianxin, Gu Maojie, and their friends attend as the couple exchange vows 97.

Relationships

• Gu Weichen — Husband. His courtship develops from kindergarten encounters and shared outings into an engagement and marriage. Gu can hear Shen Xuanrun's inner thoughts, including his fear of disappearing from this world 6 10 42 68 97.
• Shen Qianxin / Little Xinxin — Younger cousin and the original novel's heroine. He dotes on her while trying to replace unquestioning compassion with independent judgment 2 3 4.
• Shen Jiangwei / Dad Shen — Father of his host body and founder of Shen Entertainment Company. Intensely protective, he eventually accepts Gu Weichen because he wants his son to be happy and later entrusts the company to Shen Xuanrun 27 79 87.
• Ruan Ling / Mom Shen — Mother of his host body. Supports his career choices and recognizes his feelings for Gu Weichen before his father does 27 29 44.
• Old Master Shen — Paternal grandfather in the novel. Entrusts Qianxin to him and remains a central figure at the ancestral residence 2 24.
• Shen Xin — Younger sister in his original world. Her suggestion that he read romance novels leads him to the book he eventually enters 1.
• Chen Wei / Sister Chen — Manager and later company recruit. Supports his acting comeback; he responds to her uncertainty about her own career by offering her a position at Shen Entertainment Company 1 7 78 87.
• Little Li — Bodyguard, practical aide, and later assistant. Protects him during the acid attack and follows him into his business career 3 18 88.
• Du Jianguo — Fitness coach. Trains him for his film role; Gu Weichen later reveals that he arranged the connection 54 55 62.
• Jiang Ziluo — Friend and fellow performer who regularly teases him about Gu Weichen 62 67 80.
• Gu Maojie — Gu Weichen's nephew and Qianxin's deskmate. Shen sometimes treats him as competition for Qianxin's affection, but also works to reunite him with his father 50 88.
• Jiang Yi — Hostile co-star responsible for harassment and damaging rumors; one of his fans attempts the acid attack 10 12 18.

Notable Item

• Pig's-trotter engagement ring — Handmade ring presented by Gu Weichen during his proposal and placed on Shen Xuanrun's left middle finger 68.

Notable Quotes

“Because I've been caught in the rain, I want to hold an umbrella over others.” 22

“You don't have to like what I say, how I look, my personality, or anything about me. That's all fine. But please don't criticize me, because I'm pretty happy with myself.” 52

“I do, too. Through every storm.” 97