Chen Zhuo

Biodata

Background / History

Early Career and *Brave Challenge*

Chen Zhuo originally dreamed of becoming a singer and eventually a king of pop, but a series of setbacks led him to debut in a boy band instead. He became the youngest member of DX, which had grown hugely popular during the year before his introduction 2 94.

He met Su Li while filming the third installment of Brave Challenge at a manor in C City. Immediately taken with Su Li’s appearance, he greeted him enthusiastically and soon began offering him snacks 2 5.

Their friendship strengthened when Meng Chichi accused Su Li of deliberately frightening her. Chen Zhuo challenged her account on the livestream and later publicly defended Su Li against fabricated sugar-daddy rumors. He refused his manager’s demand to delete his supportive Feibo post 11 14. When Meng Chichi subsequently lunged at Su Li, Chen Zhuo kicked her away while An Hui shielded him 16.

By the end of filming, Chen Zhuo, An Hui, and Cheng Sirong understood that Su Li was no ordinary person but continued to accept him as their friend. The four celebrated the show’s completion with hot pot 34 35.

Solo Breakthrough

After Brave Challenge, Chen Zhuo faced hostility from his six bandmates and online accusations that he lacked talent and relied on Su Li’s popularity. He attributed the conflict to their jealousy and criticized his manager for caring only about money 47 48.

Su Li offered him “Fairy Tale” and “Back-to-Back Embrace.” Chen Zhuo initially wanted no revenue share, saying that he only wanted to prove his ability, but Su Li insisted on a proper split. Recording took a week because both songs demanded precise emotional delivery; Chen Zhuo stayed up late studying individual lines and sometimes worried that he was disappointing Su Li 48.

The two songs became his first solo release and took first and second place on the charts. Their reception challenged doubts about his singing, with listeners praising both his vocal technique and emotional expression 49 50.

He later reunited with Su Li on Life in the Peach Blossom Spring. Director Wang Xiang secured his participation by telling him that Su Li would also appear 52. During filming, Su Li removed a resentful spirit from his room and helped him complete a troublesome goose-feeding task 56 58.

Fated Beginning Entertainment and *Unparalleled*

By the time his company sought to retain him, Chen Zhuo had become an A-list star. He refused to renew his contract and confronted Manager Du over an earlier attempt to replace him with He You on Brave Challenge 88.

Chen Zhuo publicly announced his departure from DX and Lianxing Entertainment, removed “DX” from his Feibo username, and joined Su Li’s Fated Beginning Entertainment. Amid sarcastic farewell messages from his former bandmates, he announced his first album, Unparalleled: his three previously released songs together with four new songs written and composed by Su Li 89.

The album’s release brought widespread praise, particularly for “Nocturne,” and sharply increased his popularity. His new manager subsequently told him that, with further effort, he could contend for the title of king of pop—and potentially become its youngest holder. Chen Zhuo tearfully shared the news with his parents, recognizing how close he had come to his childhood ambition 93 94.

Fated Beginning Entertainment provided him with an individual lounge, unlike the shared space he had used at his former company. Plans for physical editions of Unparalleled followed fan requests, and the album’s physical release marked another career high 99 100.

Huang Xicheng Romance

Chen Zhuo met Cheng Sirong’s student Huang Xicheng at the company and invited him to join a board game. His encouragement helped Huang Xicheng face his own recording opportunity with greater confidence 99 100.

After Huang Xicheng brought him snacks as thanks, Chen Zhuo reciprocated by buying him a meal. They discovered shared interests, exchanged messages frequently, and later chose each other as partners on a music variety show. Their duet of “How Can I Say I Don’t Love You” won the opening round 104.

Their growing closeness prompted Chen Zhuo to distinguish his feelings for Huang Xicheng from his brotherly admiration for Su Li. At Su Li’s wedding, he caught a flower ball blessed for love and instinctively looked toward Huang Xicheng 105.

A month later, after another variety-show appearance, Chen Zhuo pretended to be drunk when Huang Xicheng escorted him home. He used the opportunity to test whether Huang Xicheng returned his feelings. After a kiss, he revealed that he was sober; Huang Xicheng confessed, and Chen Zhuo accepted him as his boyfriend 105.

Appearance

• Hair: Flaxen 2.
• Features: Handsome, youthful, and delicate, with a radiant smile 2 99.
• Build: Light enough for Huang Xicheng to carry easily during a variety-show game 105.
• Public image: Sunny and cheerful as DX’s youngest member 2.

Personality

Chen Zhuo is openly affectionate with people he trusts. He quickly warms to Su Li, blushes at his compliments, and shows his appreciation through snacks, small gifts, and enthusiastic praise. Despite his cheerful image, he has few close friends and values genuine kindness over professional advantage 2 50 104.

His loyalty is confrontational rather than passive. He challenges Meng Chichi’s accusations, refuses to retract his defense of Su Li, and answers his bandmates’ insinuations directly. He is particularly alert to attempts to use Su Li for publicity, intervening when Han Xuan’er tries to attach herself to him 11 14 50 54.

He takes singing seriously and is sensitive to the suggestion that he lacks talent. During his first solo recordings, he scrutinizes the emotions of each line and blames himself when progress is difficult. His ambition remains becoming a great singer rather than merely maintaining idol popularity 48 94.

His confidence around ghosts depends heavily on his trust in Su Li. When shown the spirit occupying his room, he reacts with curiosity rather than panic and says that he is not afraid with Su Li present 56.

Abilities & Skills

Singing

Chen Zhuo has a richly textured, versatile voice that Su Li considers highly adaptable to different songs 36 48.

• Delivers “Fairy Tale” with tenderness, steadfast affection, and melancholy 49.
• Uses a more resonant, storytelling delivery in “Back-to-Back Embrace” 49.
• Demonstrates noticeably different vocal colors across his album, including “How Can I Say I Don’t Love You” 93.
• Wins the opening round of a music variety show with Huang Xicheng through a duet of his own song 104.

Rap and Musical Training

• Is specifically noted to be good at rap, a skill later praised in “Nocturne” 36 93.
• Completes a music-composition task during Brave Challenge and says that he learned a great deal from Cheng Sirong 11.
• Records under Su Li’s direct guidance, working extensively on emotional interpretation 48.

Interpersonal Judgment

• Is sensitive to other people’s emotions and can distinguish sincerity from insincerity 11.
• Recognizes Han Xuan’er’s efforts to manufacture closeness with Su Li and warns him about her intentions 54.
• Does not initially see the resentful spirit in his room; it becomes visible after Su Li acts 56.

Cooking

• Learns to make tofu with minced pork and cauliflower with cured sausage from Xiao Qian 55.
• Describes himself as good at hands-on tasks; Su Li confirms that his stir-fries taste good 55.

Music Releases

All songs listed below are credited in the story to Su Li’s lyrics and composition 48 73 89 93.

Relationships

• Su Li — Close friend, songwriter, recording mentor, and eventual company boss. Chen Zhuo regards him as family and an admired older brother 48 50 89 105.
• Huang Xicheng — Friend, duet partner, and boyfriend. Their relationship develops through mutual encouragement, meals, gifts, and frequent conversations 104 105.
• Cheng Sirong — Senior singer and close friend whom he calls “Sister Cheng.” He learns from her during Brave Challenge and meets Huang Xicheng through her 11 99.
• An Hui — Close friend and fellow member of the four-person chat with Su Li and Cheng Sirong; encourages Chen Zhuo’s confidence in his singing talent 48 50.
• Xiao Qian — Longtime assistant who views him as a younger brother. Teaches him to cook and helps with his daily arrangements 54 55 56.
• Qi Yuan — Su Li’s boyfriend and later husband. Chen Zhuo meets him with their friends and subsequently refers to him as “Brother-in-law” 68 88.
• Manager Du — Former manager whom Chen Zhuo distrusts for his opportunism and attempt to give his Brave Challenge place to He You 48 88.
• DX members — Former bandmates whose jealousy and exclusion contribute to his dissatisfaction with the group. He rejects their later requests for introductions to Su Li 47 48 50.
• Meng Chichi — Former music-video and variety-show collaborator. He resents her ambiguous publicity about their relationship and opposes her attacks on Su Li 11.
• Parents — Support his singing ambitions and urge him to repay Su Li’s kindness through hard work 94.

Possessions

• Blessed flower ball — Catches it at Su Li’s wedding. Its black and red flowers are accented with gold, and Su Li has placed a love-related blessing on it 105.
• Streaming orb — Uses a Liyuan Technology orb requiring no manual operation to livestream Su Li’s wedding 102.
• Company-provided apartment — An upscale apartment supplied by Fated Beginning Entertainment, which he decorates into a cozy home 105.
• Personal lounge — Receives his own customizable lounge at Fated Beginning Entertainment, where he hosts board games and meets friends 99 104.

Notable Quotes

“I give sincerity and get sincerity back. Brother Su treats me well. So what? Go ahead and keep smearing me online if you’ve got what it takes. I don’t care!” 50

“That depends on fate. But does my true match necessarily have to be a girlfriend?” 105

Trivia

• Fans are surprised when he offers Su Li snacks because he normally guards his food even from his bandmates 5.
• Chocolate and pork jerky are among his favorite snacks; Huang Xicheng’s first thank-you gift includes both 104.
• Manages his own Feibo account rather than leaving it entirely to his team 14.
• Says that he has been able to hold his liquor since childhood, revealing why his apparent drunkenness does not fool him into an unintended confession 105.