Ding Ding

Biodata

Background / History

Childhood and Estrangement

Born Ding Yaozu, Ding Ding grew up in a poor fishing village near a small coastal city, more than three thousand kilometers from M City. His family’s remaining property consisted of an old house and a fishing boat. As the treasured son among four older sisters, he received the best education and was indulged by most of the household 26 34 35 67.

When he came of age, his father brought home a girl intended to become his child bride and urged him to produce a son. His family’s refusal to accept his sexuality led to months of conflict: his mother cried, his father wanted him taken to a hospital, and his sisters hit and scolded him. His father eventually drove him out with a stick 34.

At eighteen, he began supporting himself and refused financial help from his sisters. He changed his name to Ding Ding, choosing the character for a heavy bronze cauldron as a symbolic weight for what he considered his unforgivable sins. A year after his departure, his parents had another son, Ding Xianzong—the name his father had originally chosen for Ding Ding’s future child 34 70.

Starting Over in M City

Ding Ding’s first job in M City was as a restaurant kitchen assistant. Unable to master the work, he was dismissed before completing a month and received 840 yuan. A subsequent bout of gastroenteritis exhausted his savings; a sympathetic landlord allowed him to remain despite overdue rent 127.

He then joined the dock laborers to make a living. During these early years, he taught himself to cook because purchased meals were too expensive and insufficiently filling. It took four or five years for him to become an accomplished home cook 31 127.

He eventually established himself in textiles and bought a home partly to transfer his household registration to M City. Before bankruptcy, work dominated his life: although he owned the house for three years, he spent most nights in his company’s break room 9 68.

Appearance

Ding Ding is tall and is described as good-looking by Bai Congming. His appearance deteriorates noticeably under the strain of bankruptcy, when he develops heavy eye bags and unkempt stubble and wears the same clothes for days 6 13 22.

• Business attire: Wears a suit and leather shoes during his early visits to Bai Congming’s courtyard 7.
• Temporary injury: A badly injured ankle requires a cast and leaves him dependent on Bai Congming during his recovery 22 39 46.
• Tattoo: Undergoes a painful tattooing session after reflecting on his desire to remain with Bai Congming even after death; the supplied passage does not identify the design 119.
• Ring: Later wears an eye-catching palladium ring set with a gemstone and tiny diamonds 136.

Personality

Ding Ding is proud, resilient, and unwilling to submit quietly to intimidation. When creditors and hired workers confront him, he challenges their threats rather than appeasing them. His pride also shapes his business dealings: he believes reliable production, quality control, and after-sales service should allow him to negotiate without groveling 5 90.

His temper coexists with a strong sense of responsibility. During liquidation, he prioritizes employees’ wages and social insurance and pays the two accountants an additional two hundred yuan each from his wallet. Years earlier, he carried a collapsed factory worker to hospital, paid the medical fees, and later donated toward treatment after a tumor was discovered 13.

With Bai Congming, he becomes affectionate, playful, and unusually transparent. He pretends to transform into Ultraman to protect him, prolongs the appearance of being ill to enjoy his attention, and openly boasts about him to his sisters. Sun Xiangxiang’s ability to read his feelings surprises him because he was once known for being calculating and difficult to read 50 51 54 71.

He can also be jealous and overprotective. Seeing Bai Congming hold Xie Xiao Hua’s hand upsets him, while his desire to provide everything Bai might enjoy leads to arguments about unnecessary spending. He is nevertheless capable of apologizing and explaining himself patiently 45 87 140.

Guilt remains a recurring weakness. He feels indebted to his sisters for the advantages he received as a child and readily blames himself when work prevents him from noticing Bai Congming’s troubles 65 97.

Abilities & Skills

Textile Expertise

Ding Ding has practical knowledge of fabrics, production processes, and quality control 90 105 122.

• Identifies a rayon-spandex sample by touch 90.
• Develops a matching rayon-spandex jersey for a customer’s sample 105.
• Coordinates yarn deliveries, mill deposits, production schedules, and shipping samples 105 113 115.
• Uses Bai Congming’s observation that an old sample smells different to investigate moisture absorption as the cause of a fabric-weight discrepancy 121 122.
• Reproduces the original sample’s condition by spraying fabric with water and leaving it sealed overnight 122.

Negotiation and Business Management

He negotiates both large commercial orders and everyday purchases, treating bargaining as a transferable skill 83.

• Rebuilds his business by registering a new company, negotiating investment terms with a lawyer, and reconnecting with former clients 83.
• Maintains monthly financial reporting to Zheng Xixi even when she shows little interest in overseeing her investment 86.
• Secures Jeff’s polar-fleece business despite Li Hao offering a lower price 90.
• Resists pressure to ship rejected fabric or allow Li Hao’s inferior stock into his shipment 120.
• Poses as a landscaping purchasing agent and uses a fictitious deal to manipulate Wang Lao’er into offering increasingly expensive inducements 48 50.

Cooking and Household Care

Ding Ding becomes a skilled cook through years of practice, though he eventually realizes that his renewed enthusiasm for cooking is largely about feeding Bai Congming 31.

• Establishes a routine of preparing breakfast, taking Bai Congming to work, and collecting him afterward 46.
• Teaches Bai Congming to answer calls, make video calls, and contact the police 33.
• Handles minor household repairs, including fixing Sun Xiangxiang’s balcony light 131.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Matching palladium rings — Made by Ding Shu over more than half a year and given to Ding Ding around Bai Congming’s birthday 113.
• MPV — Purchased for business travel and maintaining a professional appearance 83.
• “Old Man’s Joy” vehicle — His preferred vehicle for collecting Bai Congming, who likes it; Ding Ding distinguishes it from the MPV he uses for work 83.
• Cigarettes — Smokes during stressful periods. After bankruptcy, he switches from requesting a twenty-five-yuan pack to an eight-yuan pack 17.

Relationships

Bai Congming and His Household

• Bai Congming / Little Bai — Romantic partner. Bai offers him his savings and cares for him when he has no money, work, or physical independence. Ding Ding gradually accepts their shared home, protects Bai from exploitation, and later offers him work at his company 9 23 97 150.
• Bai Fang — Bai Congming’s deceased mother. Ding Ding speaks to her through the bougainvillea associated with her, introduces himself, and promises that he still has the skills to give her son a decent life. He later accompanies Bai Congming to her grave 26 58.
• Auntie Zhou — An important connection to Bai Congming’s past. Her suggestion that Bai meet a woman creates tension, but she also helps Ding Ding understand Bai’s bereavement and takes them to the cemetery 42 58.
• Sun Xiangxiang — Friend within their shared social circle. Ding Ding sometimes worries about her influence on Bai Congming, but seeks her help planning his birthday and repairs a light at her home 54 114 131.
• Gouzai — Their kitten. Caring for her strengthens Ding Ding’s wish for a home with a courtyard; when she unexpectedly gives birth, he urgently calls Sun Chang’an for help 58 176.

Family

• Ding Shu / Ding Zhaodi — Fourth older sister, two years his senior. Their exchanges are abrasive but mutually supportive. She offers financial help after his bankruptcy and makes the couple’s matching rings 31 34 113.
• Ding Pan Di — Eldest older sister. Preserves his childhood room because she expects him to return. She declines his invitation to move to M City, choosing to continue caring for their parents and younger brother 71.
• Ding Nian Di — Second older sister. Their reunion includes an uneasy discussion of old resentment, but she accepts making chestnut cake for his male partner 69 70.
• Ding Lai Di — Third older sister. Ding Ding acknowledges that she once took a beating for him, but later insists that she apologize for hurting Bai Congming 150.
• Ding Changyuan and Mother Ding — Parents who reject his sexuality. During his return home, Ding Ding gives them money and tells them he intends to marry his partner abroad; they deny that he is their son 34 68 69.
• Ding Xianzong — Younger brother born after Ding Ding left home. Their parents direct family resources toward his future 34 68.
• Sun Chang’an — Brother-in-law and doctor whom Ding Ding asks to check on Bai Congming while he is away; later also calls him during Gouzai’s delivery 71 176.

Business Connections

• Zheng Xixi — Investor in his new company. Her support is motivated by a wish for people in same-sex relationships to have an easier life, rather than romantic interest in Ding Ding 83 84 85 86.
• Jeff — Client and business collaborator whose polar-fleece and specialty-yarn orders contribute to Ding Ding’s recovery. Both have money at risk during the Roman-fabric dispute 90 105 113 121.
• Manager Liu — Business contact who attempts to repair their strained relationship with a large rayon-spandex order. Ding Ding later challenges his criticism of Jeff and his attempt to obtain Jeff’s business through Zixin 33 90 105.
• Li Hao — Business antagonist who coordinates pressure against Ding Ding during his collapse and later tries to interfere with his orders. Ding Ding ultimately rejects his excuses and warns him to stay away 5 120 135.
• He Jing — Director of Jinghe, initially a production contact. She later offers Ding Ding the factory at a favorable price on condition that he retain its employees 118 145.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Bankruptcy and a Shared Home

Family Confrontation and Return

Learning that his father has cancer prompts Ding Ding to reconsider years of separation. He returns to his hometown, gives his parents money under a written gift agreement, and announces his intention to marry his male partner abroad. Their rejection remains unchanged 56 65 68 69.

His meetings with his sisters are warmer but emotionally exhausting. He proudly describes Bai Congming to them, confronts memories preserved in his childhood room, and unsuccessfully asks Ding Pan Di to leave with him. He then returns to M City ahead of schedule to reunite with Bai 70 71 75 76.

Later, he draws a firm boundary around their treatment of his partner. He requires Ding Lai Di to record an apology, explaining that Bai’s happiness matters more than maintaining family harmony at his expense 150.

Rebuilding the Textile Business

Alternate Continuities

“Just Right” IF Extras

• Ding Ding meets Bai Congming while Bai works delivering water. Attracted to him, he considers buying flower tea for the office partly to increase water consumption and encourage more deliveries 161.
• Invites Bai Congming to live with him and shows him his assets in an unsuccessful attempt to persuade him that he need not work 162.
• Accompanies him on deliveries, helps him quit, and accepts the wages Bai gives him as support 164.
• Buys a two-story row house and two nursery greenhouses, retaining the nursery workers so Bai can grow flowers in an easier workplace 164.
• Chooses to delay further sexual intimacy until their relationship develops naturally; his business priorities also shift from aggressive expansion toward stability and avoiding overtime 164.
• Replaces Bai’s old Nokia and discovers recent calls to a contact labeled “Mom,” prompting him to explain that the caller is not Bai’s deceased mother 166.

“Parallel Universe” Extra

• Experiences a reality in which Bai Fang is alive despite his conflicting memories 177.
• Accepts the unexplained change because it gives Bai Congming another person who loves him 177.
• Submits to Bai Fang’s scolding about smoking and returns to a household where the family waits to eat together 177.

Notable Quotes

“This house is yours, and the things in it should be yours too. So am I.” 87

“You're not an idiot! Don't call yourself that again!” 122

“He's living his life with me. I don't want him to be unhappy.” 150