Xia Zhi

Biodata

Power Progression

Xia Zhi receives system rewards rather than cultivation ranks. The corruption values below belong to Lu Heng, not Xia Zhi.

Background / History

Original World

Xia Zhi lost her parents early and grew up with her grandmother and older brother, Xia Tian, while the family kept a theater running. Her grandmother was a veteran actress, and the theater’s performers taught Xia Zhi from childhood. She also learned drawing alongside her talented brother 7 18 50.

A talent scout discovered her at ten, and an advertisement for a learning device made her a household name. Someone later deliberately injured and disfigured her. Despite this, she entered a renowned film academy with outstanding grades and refused her brother’s offer of reconstructive surgery, insisting that she was selling her acting rather than her looks 18.

She continued working as an extra and was nearing a career breakthrough when a car accident preceded her transmigration into the novel 1 18.

Transmigration

Xia Zhi takes over the body of Lu Heng’s wife, a woman whose jealousy and mistreatment of the novel’s female lead contribute to his descent into villainy. Knowing that the original wife eventually drowns, Xia Zhi initially wants to sign the divorce agreement and escape her fate 1.

Little Sponge then explains that her survival depends on reforming Lu Heng: if his corruption reaches one hundred, she will die. Completing the mission is also presented as her route home to her grandmother and brother 2 19.

Unlike most people around her, Lu Heng quickly recognizes that someone else inhabits his wife’s body. He can hear Xia Zhi’s thoughts and exchanges with Little Sponge, including her plans to leave after completing the mission 2 3 42.

Appearance

• Build and features: A graceful figure, slender waist, fair skin, and bright, clear, doe-like eyes 7 11 22.
• Hair: Long and wavy; she sometimes ties it back casually 28.
• Everyday style: Favors comfortable clothes, simple styling, and a bare face over the original owner’s heavy makeup and revealing outfits 7 12 28.
• Formal style: Can carry elegant long dresses and elaborate luxury outfits with confidence; her audition appearance is described as alluring without vulgarity 22 31 40.
• System enhancement: Beauty powder visibly improves her appearance 36.

Personality

Xia Zhi is expressive, imaginative, and quick to complain internally. Her fear of Lu Heng often turns ordinary encounters into imagined murder scenarios, yet she can also become distracted by his appearance—even to the point of getting nosebleeds 4 6 16 35.

Her survival instinct encourages preparation rather than blind trust. She recognizes Tang Fangjing’s malicious advice, removes toxic contacts from the original owner’s social circle, and brings a recording watch to a party where she expects trouble. However, she is much less perceptive about Lu Heng’s attraction to her, repeatedly interpreting his behavior through her mistaken belief that he prefers men 15 18 22 26 37 48.

She values kindness and reciprocity, following her grandmother’s teaching not to take advantage of others. She buys gifts for Aunt Liu’s grandson and readily helps Song Ye after believing his fabricated account of family hardship. This generosity can make her vulnerable to manipulation 21 22 50.

Acting remains her strongest personal ambition. She takes pride in her training, accepts hardship as part of doing the work well, and studies scripts and experienced performers even while managing her system mission 18 31 39 50.

Abilities & Skills

Acting

Trained in theater from childhood and later educated at a renowned film academy, Xia Zhi combines technical preparation with natural performance 18 31.

• Imitates the original owner’s fiery temperament when necessary to avoid exposing her changed identity 1 24.
• Uses staged affection and improvised explanations to manage hostile social situations 26 27.
• Wins the role of Shu Man in A Woman’s True Colors at her audition 31 39.
• Writes character notes and studies veteran actors’ performances to prepare for filming 39 50.

Drawing and Painting

Xia Zhi learned alongside her older brother but describes painting as a hobby rather than professional training 7 29.

• Paints portraits of her grandmother and brother from memory 7 19.
• Works with intense concentration and dislikes interruptions while painting 19.
• Seeks Ji Qinghe’s advice on improving her portraits 30.

Knowledge of the Novel

Her knowledge of the original plot helps her identify threats and plan around future events 1 4 18.

• Recognizes Lu Kuo as the male lead and anticipates the female lead’s arrival 7 10.
• Identifies Tang Fangjing’s role in worsening the original wife’s relationship with Lu Heng 18.
• Retains the original owner’s memories, though impressions of people other than Lu Heng can be faint 9.
• Frequently misreads people whose behavior differs from her expectations of the novel 27 30.

System Access

Little Sponge advises Xia Zhi, explains rewards and punishments, and provides access to missions and the system shop 2 13 34.

• Main objective: Reduce Lu Heng’s corruption and prevent it from reaching one hundred 2.
• Restriction: Deliberately harming the target counts as mission failure 2.
• Currency: Shop purchases require system coins earned through missions, not ordinary money 13.
• Side missions: Randomly assigned tasks involve people in the novel world. Once chosen, a mission must be completed to avoid punishment 13.
• Documented completion: Collects Lu Kuo’s hair after Lu Heng plucks it for her 39.

System Punishments

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Recording watch — Captures her rejection of Fu Ting’an and her resistance to his advances, allowing her to challenge misleading photographs of their encounter 37.
• Lu Heng’s supplementary card — Used to buy gifts and other purchases with his permission 20 21.
• Drawing supplies — Purchased after transmigration to paint her family from memory 7 19.
• A Woman’s True Colors script and character notes — Her principal materials for preparing the role of Shu Man 39 50.
• Inherited luxury wardrobe — Includes expensive dresses, handbags, and jewelry; she selectively uses these to confront Tang Fangjing’s vanity 22 40.

Relationships

• Lu Heng — Husband and mission target. She initially fears him as her future killer, but his care during her punishments complicates that judgment. Their growing physical attraction coexists with jealousy, misunderstandings, and her determination to return home 1 17 42 43.
• Little Sponge — System guide and frequent bickering partner. It encourages her to win Lu Heng’s affection, while she objects to its incomplete explanations and matchmaking advice 2 8 13.
• Xia Tian — Older brother in her original world. She learned drawing beside him, remembers shopping with him, and dreams about their childhood squabbles 7 49 50.
• Her grandmother — Veteran actress who helped raise her and shaped her principles of gratitude and caution. Xia Zhi deeply misses her 18 19 22 37.
• Ji Qinghe — Close friend bonded with her through painting and gaming. Encourages Xia Zhi to pursue acting and connects her with a screenwriter 29 30 31.
• Lu Kuo — Brother-in-law and the novel’s male lead. Xia Zhi helps with his blind date, while his teasing of Lu Heng repeatedly creates trouble for her 27 29 30.
• Old Madam Lu — Grandmother-in-law who welcomes Xia Zhi’s changed demeanor and presses the couple about children 6 7 9.
• Tang Fangjing — Adversary posing as a friend. Xia Zhi recognizes her efforts to sabotage the marriage and counters them with pointed gifts, verbal barbs, and displays of intimacy with Lu Heng 18 23 26 43.
• Fu Ting’an — Pursuer who attempts to force himself on her. Xia Zhi rejects him and records evidence of the encounter 24 37.
• Song Ye — Young man she hires as a supposed romantic partner for Lu Heng. She later buys him clothes and lends him one hundred thousand after believing his invented family tragedy 45 48 50.
• Aunt Liu — Household caretaker. Xia Zhi buys gifts for her grandson and credits Lu Heng with the gesture 21.
• Jiang Cheng — Lu Heng’s assistant. Her courtesy and simple appearance make him question whether she is still the same Xia Zhi 7.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Reforming Lu Heng

Xia Zhi’s approach shifts from escaping through divorce to addressing Lu Heng’s resentment. She believes the Lu and Xia families’ treatment of him helped cause his corruption and prefers making amends over allowing him to take bloody revenge 4 6 19 20.

His practical kindness—tending her injuries, choosing clothes to conceal them, and arranging breakfast when she is alone—gradually weakens her assumption that he is irredeemably cruel 17 21. Nevertheless, she continues to regard completing the mission and returning home as her ultimate goal 42.

Tang Fangjing’s Birthday and the Photo Scandal

Expecting a trap at Tang Fangjing’s birthday celebration, Xia Zhi prepares a recording watch and chooses an antique tea set that doubles as a pointed insult. She refuses to follow Tang Fangjing’s advice to provoke Lu Heng by being caught with another man 22 23 26.

Photographs of Fu Ting’an’s unwanted advances circulate through their social circle and provoke Lu Heng’s jealousy. Xia Zhi later plays the recording to establish that she rejected Fu Ting’an and kicked him away 31 33 37.

Returning to Acting

Ji Qinghe challenges Xia Zhi’s decision to put her ambitions aside for her marriage. With her encouragement, Xia Zhi auditions for A Woman’s True Colors and signs a contract to play Shu Man, a materialistic woman determined to marry the ideal wealthy man 31 39.

Filming is scheduled to begin a month later in Jiangcheng, allowing Xia Zhi to treat it as a commute rather than a prolonged absence from her mission target 39.

The Song Ye Misunderstanding

Convinced that Lu Heng prefers men, Xia Zhi hires Song Ye from a gay bar as a birthday surprise. She arranges a hotel meeting and attempts to leave the two together, failing to understand Lu Heng’s reaction 45 46 47.

After learning that Lu Heng paid Song Ye two hundred thousand, she interprets the payment as satisfaction and continues supporting the supposed match. Song Ye exploits her sympathy with a fabricated story and obtains a loan backed by an IOU promising repayment within six months 48 50.

Notable Quotes

“She was selling her acting, not her looks.” 18

“Of course it’s tough if you want to do it well. But I’m not afraid of hardship, because I love it.” 31

“You should never intend to harm others, but you should always guard against them.” 37