Tang Wu

Biodata

History

Original Timeline

Tang Wu graduated from Xiahai No. 3 Middle School and entered the city’s prestigious No. 1 High School with excellent grades. Su Can remembered her as his aloof class monitor and a girl he had secretly liked 3.

She later became a successful investment broker and the director of Morningstar International’s new projects division. An online report remembered by Su Can described her as an independent, accomplished professional who had handled over a hundred million in securities-market funds 4.

According to that report, a relationship dating from her school years deteriorated, and she developed feelings for a wealthy client. After their breakup, her former boyfriend arranged a final meeting under the pretense of reconciliation. When she refused to resume their relationship, he fatally stabbed her. The supplied account does not identify him 4.

Su Can later recalled that Tang Wu and this boyfriend had attended the same university and had been regarded as a golden couple. He initially associated the danger with Yue Zijiang, but subsequently concluded that another man who appeared around Tang Wu was the person connected to her original death. This later passage does not name that man 57 221.

Final Days of Junior High

After Su Can returned to 1998, Tang Wu noticed his newfound confidence and willingness to study. She paid the 1.50-yuan photocopying fee for Dong Qingyun’s advanced mathematics exercises when Su Can had no money. He repaid her the following day and asked to copy her practice papers for the other subjects 3 4 7.

On the last day of school, she kept their arrangement by waiting at the school gate. After the copying was finished, she invited Su Can to walk around campus with her. Sitting together on a lawn, she encouraged him to study seriously, although she mistakenly believed his extraordinary mathematics results were an attempt to gain respect through copied answers. Her kindness strengthened Su Can’s resolve to prevent her future murder 9.

Tang Wu expected their high-school paths to separate. Nevertheless, she greeted him first on the bus to the entrance examination and later invited him to the class graduation meal. His polite refusal left her quietly disappointed 9 17 26.

No. 1 High School

Tang Wu entered Class Five at No. 1 High School, where the attention and gossip surrounding her made her uncomfortable. Su Can’s unexpected arrival recalled their farewell walk. He chose to sit beside Xue Yiyang rather than her; Chen Lingshan subsequently became her deskmate 42.

During military training, Tang Wu and Su Can maintained a restrained friendship, exchanging smiles when they met. When Xiao Yunyun brought him cola, Tang Wu turned away with a fleeting shadow in her eyes 43.

Her academic standing remained exceptional: she took first place in Class Five, surpassing Wang Xuebing, whom students from No. 1 High School’s junior division had considered their undisputed top student 45.

Their relationship gradually became more intimate. During an after-school walk, Tang Wu urged Su Can to concentrate on his grades and dreams rather than worry about learning basketball. At the Route 3 bus stop, he took her hand; after initially drawing back, she gently squeezed his palm before boarding. Xiao Rihua witnessed the exchange and subsequently summoned Su Can 77.

As she grew more familiar with her classmates, Tang Wu became less withdrawn. Du Ting and other high-achieving students approached her, and she occasionally spoke up in class, although her reserve softened most noticeably around Su Can 96.

While studying piano, she performed at a teahouse run by her father’s former classmate, Uncle Gong. Her mother approved the arrangement as an opportunity for practice and social experience. Tang Wu earned 160 yuan per piece, sent drinks to Su Can’s table when she saw him among the guests, and left with him afterward 123.

A public incident after a flag-raising ceremony led many students to regard Tang Wu as already romantically attached. Nevertheless, Su Can recognized that her personal boundaries could not be disregarded simply to establish their relationship before onlookers 150 154.

When Su Can stayed overnight at her Xiahai home, Tang Wu admitted that she had grown accustomed to being alone but still felt lonely. She asked him to forget her after that night; he refused and held her while she cried. Their closeness on this occasion did not involve sexual intercourse 156.

Their impending separation became explicit when Mu Xuan invited them to dinner and announced that she would take Tang Wu away. Tang Wu reluctantly left with her mother after holding Su Can’s hand. Mu Xuan challenged his ability to remain significant in her daughter’s life, while Su Can insisted that he would not forget their years together 162.

Transfer to No. 27 Middle School

After moving to Rongcheng, Tang Wu lived with her parents and transferred to No. 27 Middle School. Over roughly half a year, she went from an unfamiliar transfer student to one of the school’s most admired students, remaining largely unmoved by her growing reputation 216 231 232.

Mu Xuan expected the new city, school, and social environment to help Tang Wu leave her earlier attachment behind. Tang Wu wrote an unsigned farewell letter in the hope of freeing Su Can from the burden of their relationship, despite still wanting to contact him 216 217 222.

Su Can eventually appeared at her school and reunited with her in her classroom. Tang Wu asked whether he was angry, apologized tearfully for the letter, and explained that she had wanted to spare him. They embraced, walked hand in hand beneath a vine arbor, and reaffirmed their connection before returning to their respective classes 223.

Their relationship became established without a formal confession. Away from school, they walked hand in hand through the streets, treating their shared experiences and mutual attachment as sufficient acknowledgment 267.

Tang Wu continued to worry about circumstances that might separate them. When Zhao Chengyan’s group threatened a confrontation involving outside help, she feared that Su Can could be expelled and their lives would diverge again. She nevertheless left school with him, and they met Zhao Lijun at a tea stall before his intervention as the newly appointed Public Security Bureau chief ended the confrontation 248 249.

At No. 27, Tang Wu developed friendships with Sun Man and Zhang Feifei. Sun Man’s declared interest in pursuing Su Can briefly unsettled her, and Tang Wu attempted to explain that she and Su Can were more than ordinary friends, but Sun Man left before hearing her out 226 274 306.

Mu Xuan later invited Su Can to Tang Wu’s birthday celebration, much to Tang Wu’s delight. On her eighteenth birthday, Tang Wu received his flowers with an unusually radiant smile. The gathering also revealed the interest of families hoping to match her with their sons, including Yang Cheng and Lü Xianming 281 284.

Tang Wu and Su Can subsequently studied in the United States as exchange students. Returning from Boston, they stopped in Shanghai, where He Guoke and Ning Dong welcomed them and Tang Wu’s father joined them for dinner 297 324.

Lü Xianming’s public declaration that he liked Tang Wu brought students from No. 4 Middle School onto No. 27’s campus. Tang Wu rejected Wang Qinglin and Qumu Zhuoya’s attempts to befriend her. At a joint basketball game, Lü Xianming’s mother, Zhou Rong, tried to give her a jade bracelet and then grabbed her wrist, insisting that she attend dinner 306.

By the end of high school, Tang Wu had begun to imagine a shared future with Su Can. His arrival in Rongcheng, their exchange trip, and their admission to the same university had overturned her earlier expectation that distance and graduation would inevitably separate them 324.

University Life

Tang Wu enrolled at Nanjing University with her parents accompanying her registration. Although happy to remain near Su Can, she understood that university and the passage of time could change both of them, and did not assume that promises alone guaranteed a lasting relationship 332.

She shared a dormitory with Tong Tong, Ruan Si’ou, and Cheng Congcong. Her appearance attracted attention from registration onward, but her daily life remained centered on classes, study, exercise, and time with Su Can. She also treated him to meals and shared food with him without the elaborate courtship assumptions made by nearby students 336 339 346 602.

Tang Wu’s attachment did not make her entirely passive. Tong Tong admired her willingness to kick a tall male senior for Su Can, considering it unexpectedly forceful behavior from someone usually so quiet 345.

Su Can encouraged her to learn swimming and bought her a modest, flower-patterned swimsuit. Their visit to the Holiday Hotel pool brought an unexpected encounter with her roommates and other freshmen, followed by another with her parents. The latter meeting led to dinner with her family and Li Ying’s family 346 347 348 350.

Tang Wu joined the Student Union through a senior student’s recruitment. Mo Xue regarded her as unusually promising and a potential successor after further development. Tang Wu nevertheless continued to devote substantial time to her coursework, including economics 356 429.

Reports concerning her father’s company unsettled her. Although she initially reassured Su Can that the newspaper claims were untrue, the instability made her question whether she could spend four peaceful years at university while her father faced difficulties 370 371.

During this period, Su Can bought a bicycle to spend more time with her. Riding behind him and embracing him, Tang Wu said that she believed they could eventually earn a home and practical comforts, but wanted their simple life together to continue forever 381.

Her strong midterm results, freshman welcome-party performance, and family background led to an invitation to join FEEC. Su Can encouraged her to decide for herself rather than treating his own circumstances as a reason to refuse 429.

Tang Wu maintained an exacting academic schedule even as Su Can’s business activities expanded. She supported his ambitions but worried that practical experience might displace the theoretical education he could gain at university 394 414.

Family Acceptance and Life with Su Can

When Mu Xuan invited Su Can to a gathering of the Tang and Mu families in Shanghai, Tang Wu worried that cold or judgmental relatives might hurt him. She explained that her hesitation concerned their treatment of him, not embarrassment about their relationship 388.

At the dinner, she took his hand and led him into the private room, openly presenting their closeness to her relatives. Her grandparents’ restrained response initially made her anxious. Su Can’s subsequent appearance in a Bentley astonished the gathering and temporarily quieted the family’s speculation about him 391 393 394.

Tang Wu disliked relatives comparing Su Can with Song Pengcheng and did not regard wealth or social polish as sufficient grounds for preferring another partner. At a later family meal, she warned Su Can against excessive drinking, but he continued until he collapsed onto the dining table 438 439.

After returning to Shanghai on another occasion, Tang Wu invited Su Can to stay at her new home in Peninsula Bay. They consummated their relationship there. In the aftermath, she promised that she would always remain with him 477 479 480.

Her support increasingly extended to his career. She encouraged him to spend time with capable friends and develop useful connections rather than work in isolation. When she feared that he was remaining at university only for her sake, she told him she would support a leave of absence for his ambitions, despite the distress that separation would cause her 449 519.

Tang Wu accompanied her grandparents to Facebook Chinese during a recruitment dispute. Their intervention changed the police response, and her grandmother openly welcomed Su Can and declared that she would not allow him to be bullied. The subsequent meeting was considerably more harmonious than his earlier family inspection 540 541.

Tang Wu’s feelings toward her grandparents remained complicated by their authority and their past interference in her parents’ lives. She hoped that they would accept Su Can without repeating those mistakes 546.

She also became more willing to use her understanding of family connections. Although she normally avoided participating in her parents’ political discussions, she proposed inviting Yucheng deputy mayor Sun Changjie, a request her father accepted despite his reservations about deeper involvement with him 576.

Business Experience and Later Developments

As nearly half of her university years passed, Tang Wu moved toward applying her studies in practice. Her university subjects included economics and organizational behavior, and Su Can regarded her natural ability highly enough to doubt that he could outperform her under equal conditions 644.

During a university break, she took on business-planning work at Facebook Chinese and learned quickly. Zhao Yanbin helped her understand business operations, and she explicitly acknowledged that she was Su Can’s girlfriend 653.

Her father had also considered allowing her to manage one of his companies for practical experience during her third university year. This remained a contemplated arrangement rather than an established appointment 576.

Tang Wu and Su Can later appeared together in business-related social settings, including a meeting with Song Zhen and Senchuan Enterprises executives. The respectful reception they received surprised Xue Yiyang and Du Shun, who had underestimated Su Can’s standing 691.

Despite Tang Wu’s growing independence, Mu Xuan insisted that she complete her studies and receive her degree before deciding whether to seek employment, enter her father’s company, or pursue another course 701.

Following Su Can’s conflict with United States Facebook, Tang Wu’s grandparents specifically requested his presence at another family dinner. The elders received him warmly and encouraged him, while also reminding Tang Wu not to neglect her studies. Their public support eased relatives’ uncertainty about his place in the family 714.

In a later private conversation, Tang Wu recognized Su Can’s unease about Lin Luoran’s prospective marriage and admitted that she, too, might find it difficult to feel at peace afterward. She told him that, from their reunion at No. 27 Middle School, she had known he would change her life. When Mu Xuan asked how she had judged him so well, Tang Wu replied that she had inherited her mother’s genes 722.

Appearance

• Features: Delicately beautiful, with bright eyes and long, slender legs; widely recognized as a campus beauty during junior high 3 9 17.
• Bearing: Usually cool and composed. Her rare blushes and moments of visible nervousness stand out against that reserve 3 42.
• Clothing: Wears a spotless white T-shirt on the final school day. On entrance-examination day, she wears a hooded tracksuit top and jeans and carries a small pink backpack 9 17.
• Hair and Eyes: Frequently wears her black hair tied back. Her eyes are described as dark brown under changing light and elsewhere compared to obsidian 156 219 268 433.
• Resemblance: Strongly resembles Mu Xuan; observers repeatedly associate her beauty and cool bearing with her mother rather than her portly father 268 284 339.
• Later Development: Grows taller over her high-school years and acquires a more mature, graceful presence. She remains conspicuous among university freshmen even when simply dressed 224 336 339 433.
• Performance Dress: Ordinarily favors conservative clothing, but wears a dress for her teahouse piano performance that is unusually elaborate by her own standards 123.

Personality

Tang Wu is fair-minded, disciplined, and conscious of her responsibilities as class monitor. She checks homework, dislikes classroom note-passing, and refuses to join classmates in mocking Su Can. Despite her strong grades, she is not conceited about her abilities and recognizes that difficult problems can still challenge her 3 7.

Her cold exterior conceals kindness and emotional sensitivity. She helps Su Can without demanding anything in return and keeps her promise to lend him papers despite the awkwardness of waiting alone for a boy. She is also deeply attached to her school memories, asking to revisit the campus before graduation 4 9.

She is perceptive but reluctant to express her feelings openly. Her growing fondness for Su Can appears through small gestures and private reactions rather than a confession. Unwanted attention, particularly the scrutiny she receives on entering high school, makes her uncomfortable 9 17 26 42.

Her reserve is not a rejection of friendship. Those who know her distinguish her coolness from arrogance, and she smiles at people she respects. Former classmates remember her enthusiastically cheering at a school sports meet, a side of her that many admirers never see 226 232 654.

Independence and loneliness coexist in her character. Repeated school changes separate her from friends, while widespread admiration does not necessarily provide genuine companionship. She has few close friends and generally prefers quiet, undemanding contact to an extensive social life 156 302 429 445.

Tang Wu is financially self-contained and reluctant to spend Su Can’s money. Even after he buys her a swimsuit, she suggests taking the bus to save money. Her family’s wealth does not displace her commitment to fulfilling a student’s ordinary responsibilities 322 346.

Her relationship with Su Can gradually makes her more expressive and willing to challenge expectations. She reaches for his hand even when embarrassed or annoyed, openly acknowledges him before relatives, and becomes less willing to accept family judgments that she previously tolerated 272 390 391.

She values a partner’s character and the quality of their shared life over public approval. Although she worries about family opposition, she does not believe her happiness requires relatives’ inspection, nor does she prefer a socially impressive alternative simply because others recommend him 391 439.

Tang Wu supports Su Can’s ambitions without ignoring their costs. She worries about his burdens, protects him from unnecessary family pressure, and encourages useful friendships and business opportunities even when they reduce their time together. Her willingness to support his leaving university is accompanied by visible distress rather than indifference 388 414 449 519.

Her emotional insight extends to matters she does not discuss immediately. She quietly follows Su Can’s career, notices his moods, and recognizes the importance of Lin Luoran’s place in his emotional life 558 629 722.

Abilities & Skills

Academic Ability

Tang Wu combines consistently high performance with sustained preparation, working through difficult exercises even when the available review time feels inadequate 7 12.

Her studies include economics and organizational behavior. She continues annotating textbooks outside class and regularly reminds Su Can about his own study obligations, including foreign-language practice 356 558 644.

Investment and Finance

Her professional achievements are known through Su Can’s recollection of the original timeline 4.

• Served as director of Morningstar International’s new projects division.
• Established a reputation as an investment broker.
• Handled over a hundred million in securities-market funds 4.

In the reborn timeline, she begins gaining practical business experience before graduation. At Facebook Chinese, she handles business planning, learns operations from Zhao Yanbin, and adapts quickly to the work 653.

Her father deliberately exposes her to social complexity, business relationships, and information rather than sheltering her entirely. She consequently understands her parents’ connections in considerable detail, although she does not ordinarily intervene in their political discussions 576.

Piano

Tang Wu is an accomplished piano student whose performances attract considerable attention. At Uncle Gong’s teahouse, she captivates the guests and receives 160 yuan for each piece, treating the arrangement as both practice and experience outside school 123.

Her training originated in Mu Xuan’s desire to cultivate both refinement and substance. Repetitive practice sometimes strained her hands badly enough to cause pain at night, but Tang Wu persisted and developed satisfaction in being able to perform music she had heard on television and recordings 340.

Games

• Chess: Regularly defeats Su Can so decisively that his winning rate is negligible 545.
• Dou Dizhu: Understands the game well enough to identify and tactfully discuss Su Can’s poor play 625.

Exercise and Physical Activities

• Attends aerobics and fitness sessions with Mu Xuan during her school years and continues exercising at university 266 602.
• Participates in bowling and occasionally practices golf at Muge Yunshan Golf Course 266.
• Agrees to learn swimming with Su Can; the early pool visit establishes that she is taking it up rather than already being an expert 346 347.
• Tries yoga with encouragement from Tong Tong 436.

Relationships

• Su Can — Junior-high classmate, former secret admirer, later high-school and university companion, and established boyfriend. She initially expresses her fondness through small gestures, then reciprocates his hand-holding and eventually treats their relationship as established without requiring a formal confession. Their separation and reunion strengthen the bond, and they later become sexually intimate as university students. She supports his career while worrying about his burdens and their future together. His affectionate references to her as his “wife” do not establish a legal marriage in the supplied chapters 3 9 17 42 43 77 223 267 479 480 519 628 653.
• Dong Qingyun — Deputy class monitor, academic peer, and persistent suitor. He proposes studying together and becomes jealous of Su Can’s interactions with her; whether his pursuit ever succeeded is unknown to Su Can 3 4.
• Cheng Yun and Cheng Lan — Friends who accompany her outside school and organize the graduation meal. Her personal invitation to Su Can surprises them. Their later paths separate them from Tang Wu 4 26 302.
• Chen Lingshan — High-school deskmate and rival. Their first friendly smiles conceal mutual hostility, and Chen Lingshan later acts indifferent to Tang Wu’s first-place examination result 42 45.
• Mr. Zhou — Junior-high homeroom teacher, who highly values her as class monitor. Seeing her leave campus with Su Can, he mistakenly concludes that they have been secretly dating 9.
• Mu Xuan — Mother, a forceful judicial-system official whose discipline strongly shapes Tang Wu’s reserve, independence, piano training, and exercise habits. Her decision to take Tang Wu away from Xiahai causes a painful separation from Su Can. Her attitude later becomes more accommodating: she invites him to Tang Wu’s birthday and family gatherings, although she continues to insist that Tang Wu complete her degree before pursuing other plans 162 222 281 340 388 541 602 653 701.
• Tang Zongyuan — Father and chairman of Tang Corporation. Tang Wu regards him as a steadfast source of security and admires the strength he shows at home despite business pressures. He dotes on her, once humbling himself before a headmaster to secure her formal enrollment in Xiahai. He also encourages independence, broad experience, and knowledge of society, and considers giving her management experience in one of his companies 286 370 576 583 667.
• Mu Qin and her maternal grandfather — Influential elders who favor Tang Wu and hold high expectations for her education and future. Mu Qin is identified as a former deputy governor and executive vice principal of the Central Party School. Tang Wu feels both affection and distance toward her grandparents because of their imposing authority, and hopes that their acceptance of Su Can will avoid the family conflicts experienced by her parents. They later openly support him 405 540 541 546 552 714.
• Mu Kaizhu — Younger cousin and the relative among the younger generation to whom Tang Wu is closest. Childhood competition and misunderstandings give way to greater appreciation. Mu Kaizhu tells her about relatives’ matchmaking efforts and keeps her informed about family gossip 391 392 439.
• Du Ting — Friend at No. 1 High School who helps draw Tang Wu into a group of high-achieving classmates. Their everyday friendship is interrupted by Tang Wu’s transfer 77 96 302.
• Sun Man — No. 27 schoolmate whose desire to befriend Tang Wu coexists with a competitive impulse. They grow closer over meals, but Sun Man’s interest in Su Can creates an awkward situation because she initially fails to understand that Tang Wu and Su Can are already romantically involved 226 274.
• Zhang Feifei — No. 27 friend who moderates her rich-girl habits around Tang Wu. Although Tang Wu initially dislikes some of her behavior, Zhang Feifei comes to value her as a trustworthy friend who does not create the insecurity she feels around other girls 306.
• Tong Tong, Ruan Si’ou, and Cheng Congcong — University roommates. Tong Tong admires Tang Wu’s unexpected boldness on Su Can’s behalf and encourages her to try yoga. Cheng Congcong privately regards her as a rival while maintaining outward harmony 345 346 347 436 515.
• Lin Luoran — Friend within Su Can’s wider circle and a point of comparison for Tang Wu, who recognizes Lin Luoran’s social confidence and useful connections. Tang Wu nevertheless encourages Su Can to maintain valuable friendships. Later, she perceptively acknowledges that Lin Luoran’s prospective marriage troubles both Su Can and herself 324 429 449 722.
• Mo Xue — University senior who recognizes Tang Wu’s potential and considers her a promising future successor after further training 356 486.
• Uncle Gong — Her father’s former classmate and the teahouse proprietor who arranges paid piano performances to give her practice and social experience 123.
• Lü Xianming and Zhou Rong — Lü Xianming openly pursues Tang Wu, while his mother, Zhou Rong, hopes to make her a daughter-in-law. Zhou Rong’s attempts to give Tang Wu jewelry and force her to attend dinner disregard Tang Wu’s preferences 284 306.
• He Guoke and Ning Dong — Family friends who welcome Tang Wu and Su Can to Shanghai after their return from Boston and later help receive them on another trip 297 477.
• Zhao Yanbin — Facebook Chinese colleague who teaches her about business operations and learns directly that she is Su Can’s girlfriend 653.
• Unnamed former boyfriend — Her partner in the original timeline, in a relationship that began during her school years and continued through their attendance at the same university. He murders her after she rejects reconciliation. Su Can later believes he recognizes the danger in an unnamed man around her, but the supplied passages do not disclose the killer’s name 4 57 221.

Notable Quotes

“If you want other people's respect, you don't have to go about it that way.” 9

“I want to go back inside and take another look around. After today, there might not be many chances.” 9

“Every morning, I'll leave you. Every evening, you have to win me back.” 479

“Su Can... I'll always be with you.” 480

“Sometimes struggling to live takes more courage than decisively choosing death. Isn't that what makes it all the more worth challenging and scaling?” 667

“From the moment I met you again at No. 27 Middle School, I knew and was certain that you were someone who would change my life.” 722

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