Xia Qinghe

Biodata

Background / History

Childhood

Xia Qinghe spent his first three years with his maternal grandmother in Jiangnan before returning to Shengjing. On his first day of kindergarten, he immediately took a liking to Lin Fengmian. After an encounter that left Lin crying, Xia offered to let him bite his hand in return. Being bitten subsequently became a familiar part of their relationship, to the point that Xia sometimes offered his hand without being asked 5.

His father, Xia Weiting, took him to the Lin household to apologize. Xia instead became absorbed in feeding Lin Fengmian and insisted on staying overnight, having already obtained Song Su’s permission 6.

School Years and Cooking Lessons

As a student, Xia became jealous of other people giving Lin Fengmian food and insisted on learning to cook for him. He joined a cooking club and took weekend lessons from a chef. Although he could reproduce the chef’s movements within two weeks, his first pastries sent his grandfather, Xia Chengye, to the hospital with acute gastroenteritis 48.

Xia subsequently ate ten pastries himself to prove they were harmless, only to develop severe diarrhea. Lin carried him to the school infirmary and fetched food for him. Determined not to make Lin sick, Xia continued practicing, secretly testing his dishes on Xia Weiting and Bai Qingwan before serving anything to Lin 49.

Taking Control of Xia Corporation

Growing up, Xia carefully read others’ expressions and maintained a submissive manner toward his paternal grandfather while preparing his own plans. At 22, within days of the old man’s death, he swiftly displaced the Xia family’s existing power holders, reorganized Xia Corporation, and took control 1.

He used evidence to remove opposing minor shareholders from their posts wherever possible, transferring those he could not expel to branch offices. As the corporation’s profits increased, resistance among major shareholders gradually became support 32.

Appearance

Xia Qinghe combines soft facial features with a tall, muscular build; his seemingly gentle appearance can conceal his ruthlessness 3 46.

• Face: Handsome, with a sharply defined profile and jawline; Huang Xiaoying considers his looks comparable to Lin Fengmian’s 29 42 43.
• Eyes and hair: Long, narrow eyes and immaculate jet-black hair 42.
• Build: Broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and defined abdominal muscles 46.
• Complexion: Fair skin 42.
• Glasses: Regularly wears glasses; without them, he appears more aggressive 2.
• Clothing: Wears tailored suits and expensive custom-made leather shoes 1 42.

Personality

Xia is exceptionally intelligent, calculating, and openly arrogant. His childhood restraint gives way to an uninhibited temperament after he gains control of Xia Corporation. Employees and members of Shengjing society fear his temper and vindictiveness; even Secretary Su remains apprehensive after eight years in his service 1 4.

He responds aggressively to provocation and is willing to use physical violence, including against employees and executives. Nevertheless, he restrains himself for his mother and maternal grandparents, whose health, care, and teaching matter to him 5 7 16 32.

With Lin Fengmian, Xia is clingy, playful, indulgent, and intensely possessive. He seeks physical closeness, worries about Lin being exploited, and spends lavishly on his comfort. Lin’s tears—real or feigned—reliably undermine his resolve 5 16 35 46.

His parents’ marriage has left him associating marriage with deception and betrayal. Although he wants a spouse who inspires the same immediate attachment he felt toward Lin, he repeatedly describes their own increasingly intimate relationship as brotherhood. This insistence persists even when Li Yang directly challenges it 7 16 43.

Abilities & Skills

Corporate Leadership and Strategy

Xia combines long-term planning with forceful control over the corporation 1 32.

• Reorganizes Xia Corporation and consolidates authority at 22 1.
• Uses evidence against hostile shareholders rather than relying solely on family standing 32.
• Allows suspicious activity surrounding the Lanhai Bay project to develop while assessing executives’ loyalties and watching for a hidden opponent 32.
• Reviews Lan Hai’s proposed response to the project suspension, questions expert-consultation costs, and approves obtaining quotations from qualified domestic teams 35.

Cooking

Xia eventually becomes an accomplished cook after his disastrous student experiments 49.

• Prepares full meals, including shrimp, beef, vegetable dishes, casseroles, and soup 46.
• Makes bird’s nest congee for Lin Fengmian 49.
• His cooking is desirable enough that Li Yang seeks it out despite having meals covered by Xia Corporation 43 44.
• Initially mistakes accurate imitation of a chef’s technique for mastery, with medically disastrous results 48 49.

Horse Riding

• Rides confidently during the outing with Fan Jing and Lin Fengmian 19 20.
• Calls the nearby horses back with a whistle 20.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Glasses: Lin selects sixteen pairs for him to try and approves seven or eight; Xia judges each pair by Lin’s reaction rather than a mirror 5.
• Luxury car: Owns a car that Lin identifies as costing 16.8 million yuan 26.
• Custom cigarettes: Orders peach-flavored cigarettes to match Lin’s current fragrance preferences and avoid leaving an ordinary smoke smell on himself 33.
• AI-controlled office doors: His private office has alloy doors controlled by an AI that flirts with Lin Fengmian 1.
• Custom bathtub: Has an extra-large bathtub spacious enough for him and Lin to lie in together 46.

Relationships

• Lin Fengmian — Childhood best friend and the person widely regarded as capable of keeping Xia under control. Their closeness develops into sexual attraction and conflict over boundaries, while Xia continues calling them brothers. Lin estimates that he has spent two billion yuan of Xia’s money over more than ten years 1 16 41 43.
• Qian Yulan — Mother. Xia yields to her out of concern for her health but strongly resists her matchmaking. He also defends her standing within the Xia family 7 10 48.
• Xia Weiting — Father and former president of Xia Corporation. Their relationship is hostile; Xia later removes him from power, and he is in prison during the Lanhai events 6 10 33.
• Xia Chengye — Paternal grandfather. Xia cultivates his favor, receives his protection during family disputes, and personally tends to him after the pastry incident 1 48.
• Bai Qingwan — His father’s favored companion, whose attempts to occupy Qian Yulan’s place disgust him. He publicly challenges her standing and later uses her as an unwitting taste tester 48 49.
• Secretary Su — Long-serving secretary. Calls Lin when Xia becomes difficult to manage and regularly handles practical arrangements surrounding the pair 1 2.
• Chen Xiaohua — Driver and bodyguard. Originally hired by Lin to rescue Xia from kidnappers; later helps protect Qian Yulan and investigate Feng Chuyue 10 36 37.
• Li Yang — Friend and scientific researcher. Assists with the wetlands investigation, challenges Xia’s interpretation of his relationship with Lin, and receives an offer of research funding from him 33 34 43.
• Fan Jing — Childhood acquaintance and prospective marriage partner chosen by Qian Yulan. She rejects the match and obtains Lin’s contact information, provoking Xia’s jealousy 7 21.
• Feng Chuyue — Branch executive connected to Xia Weiting. Xia distrusts him, confronts him over the Lanhai project, and orders surveillance of everyone around him 32 33 37.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Drugging and Hospital Incident

• Develops an abnormal fever after a business engagement and isolates himself in his office, saying he cannot trust anyone without Lin present 1.
• Lin takes him to the hospital after using towel-wrapped ice to cool him; Secretary Su initially mistakes the resulting water trail for evidence of a beating 1 2.
• Xia orders the hospital’s evidence submitted to police and remains hospitalized while the culprit is investigated 3.
• The ensuing confrontation exposes an old woman’s hired online agitators and their attempts to deny responsibility 4.

Matchmaking and Jealousy

• Deliberately behaves badly during the dinner arranged with Fan Jing, hoping to discourage her 10 15.
• Defends Lin during Huang Yachu’s disastrous blind date and transfers him ten million yuan, insisting he should not tolerate disrespect 12.
• Asks Lin to pose as his boyfriend during a subsequent outing with Fan Jing, then becomes angry when Lin tries to preserve the potential match instead 19 20.
• Panics after learning that Fan Jing has taken an interest in Lin rather than him 21.

Lin Fengmian’s Return to Work

• Cancels Lin’s ten-million-yuan guest-singing engagement, offers to cover the penalty, and sends him fifty million yuan instead 16.
• When Lin later insists on working, Xia reluctantly lets him leave and orders a more comfortable vehicle for future trips 27.
• Visits the drama set, criticizes Lin’s makeup and working conditions, and attempts to carry him away after discovering the production adapts Fan Jing’s novel 29.
• Accepts Lin’s reassurance that he is not interested in Fan Jing, but insists on reviewing his future projects 30.

Lanhai Bay Investigation

• Investigates suspected embezzlement involving a project into which he has invested more than one billion yuan 31 32.
• Confronts Feng Chuyue over a suspension order citing endangered species in the wetlands and gives him seven days to resolve the problem 33.
• Approves Lan Hai’s expert-consultation proposal while Li Yang’s team conducts its own survey work 35 43.
• Orders broader surveillance around Feng after Chen Xiaohua reports on his movements and Yu Youyou’s involvement 37.
• By the later stages, Feng is imprisoned, branch finance staff have been arrested, and company computers have been sealed; Xia leaves the remaining work to subordinates 44.

Intimacy and Falling Out

• Uses the sleeping Lin’s hands and legs for sexual gratification, leaving bruises and abrasions. He later takes Lin to the hospital and applies ointment himself 38 39.
• Pushes for an ongoing intimate arrangement. Lin refuses, arguing that such activity belongs in a romantic relationship, while Xia experiences the refusal as rejection by his closest friend 40 41.
• Takes comfort in Lin secretly contacting him with a warning, although they continue appearing estranged to outsiders during the Lanhai investigation 43.
• Attempts to avoid Lin because of his growing desire, but breaks another promise during a shared bath and receives two black eyes. Lin then announces that he will stay at Xia’s home while working nearby 46.

Notable Quotes

“Without you here, I couldn't trust anyone.” 1

“That's the feeling I had when I first saw you. That's why we became brothers and have been close for over twenty years.” 16

“If I can't, I'd rather stay single.” 16

“Partner? What partner? Lin Fengmian and I are purely brothers.” 43

Trivia

• Xia and Lin’s agreement that their school was already too large prevents Shengjing International School’s grounds from expanding for another twenty years 49.
• A flash-forward states that the homologous gametes experiment eventually succeeds and that their twins later attend the same school 49.
• Xia offers to fund Li Yang’s homologous gametes research and tells Lin that, if it succeeds, he wants them to have at least two children together 34.