Yuan Man

Biodata

Background / History

Before Starstruck Moments, Yuan Man and his bandmate Yu Xinyan already had an enormous shipping fanbase. Their pairing, “Taro Balls,” held the top position on shipping charts year-round. Viewers traced its popularity to an “eye contact without falling in love” challenge at an idol sports meet, followed by fans uncovering photographs of Yuan Man gazing at Yu Xinyan during other events 8 18.

That sports-meet challenge also marked the beginning of Yu Xinyan’s ability to hear Yuan Man’s thoughts. Yuan Man did not initially know about this, believing that his outward antagonism successfully concealed his attraction to his teammate 18 26.

Appearance

Yuan Man has a delicate, sweet-looking face and a fresh-faced appearance. His gentle smile briefly entrances Chen Mingyi, while his features distract Yu Xinyan during their piano-side eye-contact task 12 14 19.

• Hair: Short 15.
• Dimples: Two appear when he smiles 12.
• Nose: Delicate and slightly upturned, with a small mole at its tip 19.
• Lips: Rosy or soft red 13 19.

Personality

Yuan Man combines teasing banter with considerate gestures. He mocks Song Nianxing’s uneven potato cutting but immediately offers to teach him; he also notices Chen Mingyi struggling with her hair and lends her a hair tie. With Yu Xinyan, his apparent antagonism conceals intensely affectionate and sexual thoughts, including repeatedly calling him “hubby” or “husband” 9 11 12 15.

His attraction is possessive: he recognizes Shen Siyi as the same “kind” of person who refuses to let others target his “prey.” Nevertheless, Yuan Man becomes dejected when he believes Yu Xinyan genuinely hates him and considers backing off. Once he discovers that Yu Xinyan can no longer hear his thoughts, he decides to use his own newly acquired access to Yu Xinyan’s mind to become the sort of person his teammate likes 12 25 26.

Abilities & Skills

Thought Hearing

Yuan Man unexpectedly begins hearing Yu Xinyan’s inner voice while they are at a performance venue. He recognizes that the voice is internal because Yu Xinyan has not spoken aloud 25.

• Demonstrated target: Yu Xinyan; no other target is shown in the supplied chapters 25 26 30 41 42.
• Discovering hidden feelings: Hears Yu Xinyan’s uncertainty about date invitations, enthusiasm for food, jealousy, and desire to be kissed 26 30 41.
• Tailoring his behavior: Uses those thoughts to identify Yu Xinyan’s preferences and accommodate wishes that he refuses to express openly 26 30 42.
• Interpretive limitation: Initially mistakes Yu Xinyan’s internal denial of attraction for genuine hatred 25.
• Unexplained mechanism: No activation method or cause is established. Yuan Man later learns that Yu Xinyan previously possessed the reverse ability 25 26.

Entertainment Career

• Yuan Man is his boy band’s officially designated all-round ace. The supplied chapters do not identify individual performance specialties 8 18.

Cooking and Practical Care

• Offers to teach Song Nianxing knife work and later teaches him to fry eggs 12 20.
• Makes longevity noodles for Song Nianxing’s birthday alongside other guests 31.
• Investigates skincare products with Yu Xinyan in mind and previously offers him hair ties 15 25.

Equipment / Items

• Wrist-worn hair tie: Lends it to Chen Mingyi while she washes dishes. Yu Xinyan recalls repeatedly refusing Yuan Man’s earlier offers of hair ties 15.

Relationships

• Yu Xinyan — Bandmate, romantic interest, and the other half of “Taro Balls.” Yuan Man privately calls him his husband long before their attraction becomes openly reciprocal; their thought-hearing connection changes direction during the show 9 18 25 26 50.
• Song Nianxing — Fellow guest whom he compliments, teases, and helps with cooking. He defends Song against Qiu Bailu’s insinuations and participates in his birthday celebration 8 11 13 20 31.
• Chen Mingyi — Fellow guest who chooses him as her romantic interest because his smile feels beautiful, familiar, and warm. After their date, Yuan Man doubts that she truly likes him because she talks continually about Du Yuesi 17 42.
• Du Yuesi — Fellow guest and Yu Xinyan’s alternative date partner. She teases Yuan Man about his date with Yu Xinyan and later reveals that Yu Xinyan spent their own date talking about him 30 42.
• Shen Siyi — Industry senior whose possessiveness Yuan Man recognizes. Shen’s pointed discussion about keeping pets under control makes Yuan Man nervous after he shows interest in Song Nianxing 12 13.
• Xu Sui — Senior at the same entertainment company. Xu Sui’s attempt to choose Yuan Man as an island partner alarms Yu Xinyan 44 45.
• Si Bonian — Fellow company entrant who joined at the same time as Yuan Man and Yu Xinyan; later teases Yu Xinyan about initiating a second kiss 44 50.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Initial Pairing and Rejection

• Yuan Man and Yu Xinyan choose each other for the first intimacy task. They later complete thirty seconds of eye contact at a piano, where Yuan Man’s smile leaves Yu Xinyan wanting to kiss him 9 19.
• Yuan Man sends Yu Xinyan the romantic message “Big brother,” but Yu Xinyan chooses Du Yuesi instead. Yu Xinyan also tells him not to choose him again, then leaves the resulting misunderstanding uncorrected to distance himself from their ship 17 20 21.

First Date

• After learning that Yu Xinyan once heard his private thoughts, Yuan Man writes his name on the first-day invitation. Their choices match 26.
• He takes Yu Xinyan to a Western restaurant previously used for a team dinner, orders his favorite charcoal-grilled steak, and offers to share dessert after hearing his unspoken wish for it. Yu Xinyan’s thoughts reveal that he wants Yuan Man to kiss him 30.

Open Affection

• When Yu Xinyan complains about being left out of Yuan Man’s Weibo tags, Yuan Man responds by tagging him separately 35.
• On the island, Yuan Man admits that he was the one who could not leave Yu Xinyan untagged. Having learned that his secret attraction was already known, he stops pretending they do not get along 41 42.

Island Kiss Task

• Yuan Man and Yu Xinyan choose each other as tent-sharing and intimacy-task partners 45.
• Their replay shows Yuan Man asking whether Yu Xinyan will accept a kiss, then pulling him closer by his collar and kissing him. After Yuan Man withdraws, Yu Xinyan kisses him again, later insisting that it was only to complete the task 50.

Notable Quotes

“I'll give you what you want~” 9

“Mm, I was the one who couldn't do it.” 41

“Then let's win together.” 50

Trivia

• Yuan Man owns a puppy and has posted a photograph of it 13.
• His considerate exchange with Chen Mingyi prompts viewers to propose a separate ship called “Man-Yi” 15.