Lin Luoran

Biodata

Background / History

Family and Childhood

Lin Luoran comes from a prominent diplomatic family. Her father, Lin Guozhou, frequently serves as a spokesman for the national news department, while her mother, Lu Jiaying, works at the Ministry of Public Security. Her maternal grandfather, Lu Yuan’an, is a serving Politburo member 482 672 686 695.

Her upbringing exposes her to international affairs, extensive reading, and influential social circles. Lin Zouwen attributes her broad outlook partly to her father, who showed her the world and taught her about national affairs. Despite these advantages, she places little importance on wealth, status, or power for their own sake 378 562.

She grows up running wild with Wang Weiwei and Lin Zouwen, climbing trees, raiding birds’ nests, and exploring hills. Although she and Lin Zouwen habitually call each other brother and sister, they are cousins. Their teasing conceals considerable loyalty: when his father lashes him for resisting military academy, she shields him and suffers a swollen welt across her back and shoulder 454 562 609.

Xiahai and Friendship with Su Can

Lin Luoran accompanies the younger members of her family’s circle while their elders attend a gathering. Initially, Su Can remembers her chiefly for her striking appearance. She later takes notice of his fighting spirit when she sees him confronting other boys 13 15 69.

At City First Middle School, she is isolated from her classmates and finds school life dull. Basketball gives her a reason to spend time with Su Can, and her frequent visits to the sports field attract Lin Zouwen’s attention. She begins training Su Can, first through basic drills and later through private lessons 73 74 83 88.

Their friendship becomes increasingly personal. When Chen Lingshan shows concern for Su Can’s stabbing injury, Lin Luoran takes his arm and leads him away, only to discover that the gesture leaves her flustered. Later, while Su Can uses Wang Bu’s study to write an article, her prank with bitter coffee ends with them falling together and books tumbling from the shelves 116 151.

Their different backgrounds remain a source of tension. During a conversation by a garden swing, Lin Luoran tearfully says that they are different; Su Can answers that it is too early to decide what their futures hold. When Wang Bu faces political trouble, she also tries to prevent Su Can’s family from being drawn into the affair 182 195.

Rongcheng and Graduation

Lin Luoran previously attended No. 27 Middle School and knows several students there, offering Su Can introductions after his transfer. She later appears there during senior year, balancing schoolwork with her continuing enthusiasm for basketball 217 276 313.

Her feelings become more explicit during driving school. After leaving a theory lesson with Su Can, she tells him that her special feeling for him is worth more to her than a supposedly ideal man. During her practical test, an examiner deliberately fails her at Liao Feng’s instigation. She challenges the decision, and intervention following Wang Weiwei’s phone call results in her mark being changed to a pass; she refuses the examiner’s apology 323 326.

After graduation, she returns to Shanghai for university, renewing friendships with people whose lives had gradually diverged from hers 318 329.

University Life

At Shanghai International Studies University, Lin Luoran becomes a conspicuous campus figure through her athleticism, forceful personality, and social confidence. Without Wang Weiwei and Lin Zouwen constantly beside her, she stops concealing as much of her ability and begins demonstrating her own potential 361 482.

She visits Nanjing University as a debater and proves one of Su Can’s most difficult opponents. Afterward, she privately declares that, if they ever truly stood on opposing sides, she would accept her own defeat to secure his success 358 360 362.

Her popularity also brings unwanted attention. After discovering that forum administrators have disclosed information identifying her dormitory and room, she invites an administrator to dinner, gets him drunk with her friends, and leaves. Alongside an earlier dormitory confession incident, the episode helps make her famous by the end of her freshman year 575.

Supporting Su Can

Lin Luoran rejects Wei Ding Ding’s public claim to be her fiancé and later cuts ties with him after learning that he helped provoke the conflict involving Zheng Mingchuan at the Holy Land Clubhouse 363 413.

Her relationship with Su Can suffers after Liu Xiaojing deliberately clings to him at a Christmas party to test Lin Luoran’s reaction. Lin Luoran turns away, and the confrontation that follows ends with Su Can being expelled from the gathering. Although she finds his number afterward, she never makes the call 434 435.

The distance between them later eases. After the confrontation with Tao Chuhong, she gives Su Can Christmas chocolate, which he divides with her. When she learns that Tao Zi might intervene against him, she considers seeking help even from relatives she dislikes 454 482.

She ultimately brings Li Luo into the dispute to mediate with Tao Zi. Her intervention generates gossip in Beijing that she acted entirely for a man. She also offers to arrange a meeting with Gong Shouren through her father as Su Can develops his Chinese social-networking venture 535 562.

Staying in Shanghai

Helping Su Can inspect his new apartment briefly allows Lin Luoran to imagine a home they might share. Leaving it behind, she admits that she is suddenly jealous of Tang Wu 594.

She later considers studying abroad, possibly in Paris, but returns to Shanghai instead. She invites Su Can and his friends to the apartment she shares with An Wan, where Wei Yuanhu arrives unexpectedly. Another visit brings Su Can to her Shakespeare rehearsal and then a lecture hall, where an exercise in opening one’s heart leads them to embrace 638 641 647.

During a visit to Huangcheng, she stays at Su Can’s family home amid the fallout from Xu Dong’s deliberate vehicle collision. At a later airport encounter, she refuses Wei Yuanhu’s invitation to a gathering arranged by their families and leaves with Su Can, Tang Wu, and their friends instead 671 672 686.

Wedding to Wei Yuanhu

After Su Can graduates, he learns that Lin Luoran is marrying Wei Yuanhu. He travels to Beijing with Tang Wu and their old friends. During a private conversation, Lin Luoran asks whether their lives would have differed if she had met him before Tang Wu. Neither can resolve the question, and Tang Wu later acknowledges their bond and urges Su Can not to let Lin Luoran remain unhappy 722.

On the wedding morning, Lin Luoran has barely slept but prepares to get through the day. Lin Guozhou tells Su Can that he would not have objected to Su Can marrying his daughter and that her relatives would have respected her choice. He nevertheless believes Wei Yuanhu is an outstanding young man who will treat her well. The supplied passages do not establish the ceremony’s outcome 723.

Appearance

• Build: Tall and slender, with an athletic figure maintained through regular exercise 313 363 494.
• Hair: Black, variously worn long and loose, tied in a ponytail for basketball, or cut to shoulder length; she is also described with neat bangs 72 151 567 603.
• Eyes: Bright, dark, and repeatedly compared to clear pools or black gemstones 116 595 603.
• Clothing: Alternates between sportswear, casual T-shirts and trousers, plaid dresses, and formal party clothes. Baseball caps are a recurring part of her casual appearance 74 363 375 413 434.
• Bearing: Her quiet, graceful appearance contrasts sharply with her speed and aggression on the basketball court 74 88 358.

Personality

Lin Luoran combines an approachable exterior with considerable inward pride. Compared with Tang Wu’s outward coldness, she can seem sweet and easy to approach, yet genuine intimacy reveals a more solitary, strong-willed person. In Xiahai, her distant gaze reflects ambitions extending well beyond the small city 152 378.

She is blunt, competitive, and mischievous. Her verbal sparring frequently leaves others speechless, and she is willing to confront unfair treatment directly. With close friends—especially Lin Zouwen—she readily abandons her polished manners for teasing, arguments, and physical retaliation 323 326 328 672.

Her social behavior is highly adaptable. With acquaintances or elders, she can be attentive, elegant, and restrained; around Su Can and her childhood companions, she is far more irreverent. Su Can recognizes that her gracious public manner does not reveal the whole of her personality 363 533 534 535 572.

Beneath her independence, she dislikes parting and struggles with loneliness. She prefers straightforward relationships that allow clean goodbyes, but repeatedly finds herself unable to leave Su Can with that same ease. Material comfort matters less to her than companionship and an ordinary, happy home 378 508 594.

Abilities & Skills

Basketball

An accomplished player whose speed and ball control initially astonish the boys at school 72 74.

• Steals possession, secures rebounds, and dribbles rapidly through gaps between opponents 72 89.
• Coaches Su Can through basic drills and private practice 83 88.
• Emphasizes mental steadiness, rhythm, and a relaxed feel for the ball rather than rushing or hesitating 88.
• Remains active on university courts, where her play attracts spectators 482 575.

Debate and Reasoning

A forceful competitive debater who challenges both definitions and the logical structure of an opponent’s argument 360.

• Exposes circular reasoning when opponents expand “wealth” to include every form of spiritual attainment 360.
• Earns approving reactions from faculty judges 360.
• Becomes one of Su Can’s toughest opponents during the inter-university debate 362.

Languages and Literature

Her university friends recognize her aptitude for languages, supported by a diplomatic upbringing and extensive reading 482 533.

• Studies advanced English writing and English-language literature 482.
• Studies French as her second foreign language and Japanese alongside it 638.
• Directs a Shakespeare play rehearsal at Shanghai International Studies University 647.

Social Judgment and Networking

Her family background and personal friendships give her access to influential circles in Beijing and Shanghai 324 594 695.

• Arranges Li Luo’s involvement in resolving the Tao family dispute 535 562.
• Offers to introduce Su Can to Gong Shouren through her father 535.
• Recognizes that Tao Zi presents a substantially greater political threat than Tao Chuhong 482.
• Uses tailored manners and sharp observation to navigate different social settings 363 482 534.

Relationships

• Su Can — Close friend and enduring romantic attachment. Their bond grows from basketball lessons into emotional intimacy, practical support, and unresolved hopes for a shared future 83 323 535 594 722.
• Tang Wu — Su Can’s partner, a romantic rival, and also a friend. Their early verbal sparring develops into warmth; Tang Wu eventually acknowledges Lin Luoran’s devotion and unhappiness 265 535 686 722.
• Lin Zouwen — Older cousin treated as a brother. Their relentless teasing coexists with deep loyalty, and he strongly supports her relationship with Su Can 454 562 609 695.
• Wang Weiwei — Childhood companion and trusted friend. She once secretly had a crush on him and habitually concealed some of her ability to preserve his and Lin Zouwen’s pride 361.
• Lin Guozhou — Father. His stern manner and sparse praise disappoint her, but his quieter gestures reveal affection; he later tells Su Can that he would have accepted him as her husband 161 723.
• Lu Jiaying — Mother. Maintains close involvement in family affairs and supports the gathering with Wei Yuanhu’s family that Lin Luoran refuses to attend 672 686.
• Lu Yuan’an — Maternal grandfather. A powerful political figure with an intimidating temper whom she prefers not to face after the Huangcheng incident 672 686.
• Wei Yuanhu — Longstanding acquaintance and persistent suitor favored by her family; later her intended husband 647 686 695 722.
• Wei Ding Ding — Childhood acquaintance who calls himself her betrothed without her acceptance. She cuts ties with him over his involvement in the Zheng Mingchuan affair 363 413.
• Li Luo — Wang Weiwei’s cousin, an admired military figure, and an ally she enlists to help Su Can 494 497 535 562.
• An Wan — University friend and roommate who shares news of Su Can’s Facebook success with her and helps prepare dinner at their apartment 508 641.

Notable Quotes

“So special that even if someone offered me a top-quality man in exchange for this special feeling, I wouldn’t agree.” 323

“I just feel like you’re so close to me, yet so far away.” 434

“Tell them I have plans with my classmates today. I’m not coming to the meal.” 686