Li Yang

Biodata

Background / History

Li Yang attended university in the School of Biology. He met Shui Feiyan while queuing at a cafeteria where Shui worked part-time. After striking a man who was harassing Shui for his contact information, Li Yang asked for Shui’s WeChat himself. His initial attempts at conversation consisted of daily questions about meals and bedtime, which Shui eventually muted 37 38.

He then began visiting Shui’s serving window regularly. When Shui sprained his ankle, Li Yang covered his shifts for several days, and the two gradually became a couple. Through Shui, he met Lin Fengmian, and through Lin Fengmian, Xia Qinghe 38.

Both Li Yang and Shui Feiyan came out to their families once they were certain of their sexual orientation, causing a stir across their university. By the time they planned their wedding, Shui’s traditional father remained a complication because Shui was his family’s only son. Li Yang also agreed to their parents’ request that they not see each other before the ceremony 33 34.

Appearance

• Build: Described as big and strapping during his university years, particularly beside the slender Shui Feiyan 37.
• Fitness: Claims to exercise daily, though his circumstances in Lanhai temporarily interrupt that routine 37.

Personality

Li Yang enjoys irreverent banter, especially with Xia Qinghe. Their arguments over food and small favors are often deliberate entertainment rather than genuine hostility. He openly envies Xia’s wealth but prefers his friend’s home cooking to the expensive meals available through room service 33 38 43.

Beneath the teasing, he is attentive to his friends’ welfare. He removes Xia Qinghe’s whiskey when Xia drinks over unanswered messages, and firmly insists that Lin Fengmian receive medical attention after noticing his injuries. Professionally, he is frustrated by habitat destruction and the obstruction faced by restoration efforts, but continues contributing through his survey work 37 38 43.

Abilities & Skills

Biological Research

• Earned dual PhDs by twenty-two and subsequently published two or three SCI papers almost every year, establishing a reputation that impresses even senior researchers 36.
• Specializes in research relevant to Homologous Gametes, including artificial gamete generation and the safe erasure or reconstruction of imprinting in human cells 34.
• Identifies these processes as unresolved bottlenecks; successful same-origin reproduction is a research goal, not an achieved result 34.

Wetland Assessment

• Leads a team equipped to investigate the ecological conditions of the Lanhai wetlands 37.
• Assesses whether the habitat can support migratory animals, particularly endangered Far Eastern Curlews 43.
• Distinguishes visible cleanup from genuine habitat recovery: although some areas have improved, he finds the wetlands unsuitable as a curlew stopover 43.
• Can provide the scientific survey report, but cannot guarantee that officials will accept it or lift the project suspension 43.

Relationships

• Shui Feiyan — Long-term partner and intended spouse. Their relationship began during university after Li Yang persistently sought him out at the cafeteria and later covered his work shifts 33 37 38.
• Xia Qinghe — Longstanding friend, research funder, and client. They regularly bicker, but Xia trusts his expertise and thanks him for supporting the wetlands investigation 34 38 43.
• Lin Fengmian — Friend met through Shui Feiyan. Li Yang assumes that Lin and Xia are a couple despite their denials, and intervenes when he believes Xia has injured him through excessive intimacy 34 38. Xia later clarifies what happened, revealing that Li Yang had misunderstood the nature of their encounter 43.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Homologous Gametes Research

Li Yang proposes biotechnology research into having children partly because of the difficulties surrounding his marriage to Shui Feiyan. Xia Qinghe agrees to fund it in exchange for Li Yang handling the Lanhai testing without separate payment. Their preliminary discussion also covers artificial-womb technology capable of simulating a uterus and supplying fetal nutrients 34.

Lanhai Wetlands Dispute

After other experts refuse Xia Group’s commission, branch employee Lan Hai contacts Li Yang. He accepts, knowing that securing Xia Qinghe’s investment depends on completing the assignment properly. His survey risks a professional clash with the prominent biologist responsible for the official findings used to suspend the project 36 37.

Some officials attempt to obstruct the investigation, while Xia Qinghe arranges support to counter them. Li Yang’s team continues its work and concludes that the wetlands still cannot support the endangered migratory birds cited in the suspension. He leaves the political task of overturning the order to Xia 42 43.

By his latest appearance, Li Yang remains in the wetlands with his team, spending successive days wading through dirty water and working with microorganisms 44.

Xia Qinghe and Lin Fengmian’s Falling-Out

Li Yang’s mistaken belief that Xia Qinghe and Lin Fengmian have already become sexual partners prompts him to scold Xia and demand a medical checkup for Lin. When Xia later explains that their encounter involved Lin’s hands and legs rather than intercourse, Li Yang realizes the misunderstanding. His questions nevertheless introduce a possibility that leaves Xia flustered and distracted 38 43.