Su Yu

Biodata

Background

Family origins

Su Yu is initially presented as a wealthy family’s false heir who was switched at birth with Su Weiwang. A later investigation reveals that his placement was deliberate: his grandfather approached the indebted Su couple, promised that Su Yu would change their fortunes, and arranged for their biological son, Su Weiwang, to be adopted elsewhere 1 107.

The family that raised Su Weiwang was not Su Yu’s biological family. Yan Yi’s investigation identifies this as the reason Su Yu had no genuine family connection to the people he was criticized for failing to visit. Their lack of biological ties is subsequently made public 107 117.

Education and entertainment career

After the true heir was found, Su Yu volunteered to study music abroad, presenting his departure as a way to avoid interfering with Su Weiwang’s place in the family. He continued living on the Su Family’s money overseas, then returned to their home and entered entertainment 1 35.

He was raised in luxury and continued having a chauffeur and housekeeper abroad. By the dating show’s events, he had worked on television productions, appeared in idol dramas, and obtained brand endorsements 6 13 97 109.

Original storyline

In the original novel, Su Yu’s resilient, innocent public image attracts Si Chen. Their popularity as a dating-show pairing develops into a relationship, and Su Yu uses Si Chen’s resources to become a top star. These are the outcomes described in the original plot, rather than the events that ultimately unfold after Shen Ting’s change 1 83.

Appearance

• Has loose strands of hair around his face, which he tucks behind his ear while addressing the other guests 6.
• Wears a white shirt with elaborate embroidery when approaching Yan Yi for a dinner pairing 21.
• Uses light makeup, shy smiles, lowered eyes, and carefully timed blushes as part of his on-camera presentation 8 16 31.

Personality

Su Yu cultivates a gentle, modest, easily hurt persona while privately calculating how others can advance his position. He initially expects Shen Ting to serve as his foil, requests paid commenters to promote a pairing with Yan Yi, and considers befriending Wang Yilin because of the painter’s family wealth and connections 17 41 80.

He resents losing attention and increasingly attributes his setbacks to Shen Ting. When frustrated, he repeatedly injures his own hands: digging his nails into his skin during an embarrassing confrontation and biting his finger until it bleeds after being blocked online and while planning retaliation 6 43 83.

His treatment of subordinates and fans sharply contradicts his public image. Recorded footage shows him throwing an assistant to the floor, pouring iced coffee over him, and angrily blaming fans after failing to win an award 109.

Although dependent on his adoptive parents, Su Yu eventually recognizes their affection as conditional on his usefulness. He secretly records them and threatens exposure when he learns they may abandon him 92 102 106.

Abilities & Skills

Dreams of an alternate future

After an elderly woman touches the space between his eyebrows, Su Yu begins dreaming nightly about his past, present, and apparent future 82.

• His dreams show a successful future that differs substantially from his current circumstances 82 83.
• Comparing the dreams with reality leads him to identify Shen Ting’s changed behavior as the apparent turning point 83.
• The dreams do not guarantee their depicted outcome; Su Yu seeks his mother’s help to restore it 83.

Fortune and luck borrowing

An elderly fortune-teller describes Su Yu as originally destined for wealth and high status, but says an unforeseen factor is changing his fate 82.

• His adoptive parents regard his supposed good fortune as a source of prosperity for the Su Family 82 92.
• An occult book connects Su Yu and Shen Ting to “soul expulsion and borrowing luck” 106.
• Yan Yi’s investigation suggests that Su Yu’s luck may have been borrowed from Shen Ting. This is presented as a possibility, not a confirmed power Su Yu knowingly controls 107.

Public-image management

Su Yu uses performed vulnerability and selective explanations to influence viewers and influential acquaintances 17 35 80.

• Coordinates promotional pairings and requests paid commenters through his manager, Jin Wang 17.
• Recasts the heir scandal and Pei Ming’s rescue as misunderstandings when speaking to Wang Yilin’s livestream audience 80.
• Retains Si Chen’s belongings and displays them during a room-tour livestream, generating speculation about their relationship 105.
• His explanations lose credibility when contradicted by witnesses, Su Weiwang’s testimony, and recorded footage 59 90 109.

Music and cooking

• Music: Studies music abroad before entering entertainment; the supplied account does not establish a particular instrument or performance specialty 1.
• Cooking: Repeatedly volunteers to prepare meals, and Si Chen praises a late-night snack he made on set. Shen Ting questions his claimed competence because of his pampered upbringing 6 13.
• Swimming limitation: Shen Ting states that Su Yu cannot swim, undermining Pei Ming’s belief that Su Yu rescued him from drowning 38.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Dating-show rivalry

• Su Yu invokes his childhood friendship with Shen Ting while attempting to discredit Shen Ting’s online comments. Shen Ting instead recounts his childhood embarrassment in front of the other guests 6.
• After losing the water game to Shen Ting and Yan Yi, he complains that Shen Ting’s popularity is approaching his own 17.
• Jin Wang recommends pursuing Yan Yi after revealing his influential parents. Su Yu agrees, but Yan Yi does not answer his door, leaving him to pair with Si Chen for dinner 17 21.
• Su Yu later admits privately that he had asked Shen Rui to let Shen Ting participate as a foil. Both Shen Ting and Su Weiwang gain fans instead 41.

Real-and-fake-heir scandal

Shen Rui’s livestream remarks expose the Su Family’s unequal treatment of its two sons. Su Yu learns of the resulting scandal in hospital after fainting during a zoo outing when he encounters the python draped over Yan Yi 26 27.

• The Su parents plan to claim that both sons were cherished and that Su Weiwang avoided public events because of social anxiety 27.
• Su Yu repeats the family’s account, but Shen Ting challenges his continued reliance on the Su household and his failure to visit his supposed birth parents 35.
• Su Weiwang later states publicly that he has never lived with the Su Family and that they have never shown concern for him, contradicting the family’s defense 90.

Pei Ming’s mistaken rescuer

Su Yu knowingly allows Pei Ming to believe that he saved him from drowning, although Xia Qing performed the rescue. The misunderstanding earns him the Pei parents’ affection and helps the Su Family secure a business agreement within two days 55 58.

• Shen Ting first unsettles Pei Ming’s certainty by pointing out that Su Yu cannot swim 38.
• Xia Qing explains that he left to find help after pulling Pei Ming from the water; Su Yu had arranged for Pei Ming to be taken away before he returned 58.
• Wen Nuannuan’s confrontation prompts Pei Ming to recognize the deception and apologize to Xia Qing. The Su Family loses its Pei partnership and discusses presenting Su Yu’s conduct as ignorance rather than deliberate fraud 59.

Conflict with Shen Ting

• Su Yu repeatedly tries to provoke conflict by suggesting that Shen Ting still pursues Si Chen. Shen Ting rejects the accusation and openly declares his preference for Yan Yi 52.
• Shen Ting retaliates against one setup by writing “I’m a two-faced faker!” on Su Yu’s face with rouge 53.
• After comparing reality with his dreams, Su Yu sends his mother his suspicions about Shen Ting and seeks the Su Family’s help to eliminate the perceived obstacle to his future 82 83.
• He eventually accuses Shen Ting of not being the real Shen Ting. Shen Ting pins him down, and Su Yu subsequently agrees to describe the incident as an accidental fall 94.

Loss of Si Chen’s support

• Su Yu publicly says that nobody on the show particularly makes his heart flutter, despite previously demanding promotion as a couple with Si Chen 78.
• Si Chen witnesses hatred and smugness on Su Yu’s face and begins questioning his image of him 87.
• Si Chen later denies liking Su Yu during a call-in segment and refuses his subsequent attempts to visit or message him 90 92.
• Su Yu’s livestream display of Si Chen’s coat and cufflinks triggers renewed relationship controversy. He loses 700,000 followers in one hour, falling from eight million to 7.3 million 105 106.

Downfall

After overhearing his adoptive parents discuss abandoning him, Su Yu records their conversation and threatens to send it to influential reporters if anything happens to him. His mother persuades him that he still needs the family’s power 102 106.

Xia Qing supplies videos of Su Yu abusing an assistant and insulting fans, while Yan Yi submits evidence of the Su Family’s tax evasion. The family business is sealed, former coworkers corroborate the accusations against Su Yu, and brands demand contract penalties he cannot afford 109.

Su Yu leaves the family home for a rented apartment but cannot preserve his career. His repeated calls to Si Chen go unanswered, and Si Chen’s permanent retirement announcement destroys his remaining hope of obtaining help from him 109.

A later circulating video shows Su Yu insisting that he remains the Su Family’s eldest son and denying that his surname is Ye. Public discussion also exposes that Su Weiwang’s adoptive parents were never Su Yu’s biological parents 117.

Relationships

• Shen Ting — Childhood acquaintance turned principal rival. Su Yu recruits him as a foil, then blames him for the collapse of his expected future 6 41 83.
• Si Chen — Promotional partner and major source of professional and family support. Their pairing deteriorates as Si Chen becomes suspicious of Su Yu; he ultimately stops answering his calls 17 78 87 109.
• Su Weiwang — The Su Family’s biological son, whose place Su Yu occupies. Su Yu expects him to make a favorable contrast on the dating show, while publicly claiming the family treats him affectionately 35 41.
• Mr. and Mrs. Su — Adoptive parents who protect Su Yu while his connections and supposed luck remain useful. Their relationship becomes openly threatening when he learns they may discard him 59 92 106.
• Jin Wang — Manager who advises him on publicity, influential connections, and responses to scandals 17 27 59.
• Pei Ming — Devoted supporter who mistakes Su Yu for his rescuer. He turns against Su Yu after learning Xia Qing saved him 55 59.
• Xia Qing — Pei Ming’s true rescuer and a witness to Su Yu’s deception. He later provides the videos central to exposing Su Yu’s abusive conduct 58 109.
• Shen Rui — Initially attentive to Su Yu. Su Yu hopes to exploit that attention to influence Shen Ting, but Shen Rui instead publicly defends his brother and exposes the heir scandal 16 26.
• Yan Yi — A prospective publicity partner targeted for his appearance and family background. He instead supports Shen Ting and investigates the scheme behind Su Yu’s origins 17 107.
• His grandfather — The old man who selected the Su Family to raise him and arranged Su Weiwang’s removal from the household 107.

Notable Quotes

“There isn't anyone who particularly makes my heart flutter yet. I hope he comes along soon.” 78

“If anything happens to me, this recording will definitely end up in the hands of several extremely influential reporters.” 106

“I'm the eldest son of the Su Family! I'm the eldest son of the Su Family! My surname isn't Ye! I have nothing to do with you!” 117