Lan Xiangxian

Biodata

Background / History

Childhood and financial hardship

Lan Xiangxian grew up in a small village and began working young, receiving little formal education. His father gambled away money, abused him, and repeatedly demanded payments. Lan believed that even divorce would not protect his mother, because his father would continue pursuing and threatening them 86 103 113.

After his mother became ill and unconscious, Lan supported her treatment while working several part-time jobs, including appearing as a corpse in films and television dramas. His father's demands and mounting hospital expenses left him nearly penniless. When the theater owner called with news that Universal Entertainment's president's assistant wanted to meet him, Lan was drinking on a rooftop and questioning whether he should have been born 23 100.

Arrangement with Gu Chupei

Gu Chupei offered to arrange treatment for Lan's mother and pay off his debts. Lan understood the offer as a kept-lover arrangement and accepted because of his mother's condition. At Gu's villa, he initially expected sex, but Gu only wanted someone to hold while sleeping 100 101.

Gu later explained that insomnia led him to seek sleeping companions who resembled Xi Qingyan, the person he believed he loved. Lan resembled Xi and understood himself to be a substitute. Although Gu's medical arrangements helped his mother regain consciousness, Lan remained frightened that the contract might end before she could safely leave the hospital 104 106.

Lan initiated their first sexual encounter after drinking. He later explained that despair, and his belief that Gu looked down on him, had shaped that decision. Gu subsequently arranged his participation in Let's Travel Together 93 104 105 106.

Variety show and growing isolation

On the show, Lan initially tried to remain unnoticed, treating the assignment much like his previous background roles. He feared that public attention would expose his arrangement with Gu and believed he lacked the talent or backing enjoyed by the other participants 23 106 107.

His friendship with Wen Liangtian gave him opportunities to go out and enjoy himself after years spent almost entirely working. Gu became increasingly jealous of their closeness, objected to their outings, and hesitated to arrange further acting work because Lan might meet more people. By the time Chu Xinghui and Wen checked on him, even his previous corpse role was gone 36 52 107 108.

Despite developing feelings for Gu, Lan continued saving money for his mother's future care rather than using Gu's bank card. He expected Xi Qingyan's return to end the arrangement and did not want to become dependent on an expensive lifestyle 24 107 108.

Coercion and separation

When Wen offered to help him leave before Xi's return, Lan revealed that Gu was using his mother's treatment to compel him to come home. Lan described her illness as incurable and believed that enduring the arrangement until Xi returned would eventually make him free 50.

After Lan returned from watching Chu Xinghui's livestream, Gu accused him of being involved with Wen. Lan wanted to discuss their contract, but Gu restrained and sexually assaulted him. Chu and Wen later found him distressed and covered in kiss marks; Chu confronted Gu, who defended the relationship as a transaction 52 109 110.

At the airport, Lan met Xi and, despite visibly trembling, told Gu that he was moving out. Chu and Wen's protection helped him stand by that decision. He left with only a few clothes and initially stayed at Wen's home, while Pei Hanmo supplied information about alternative medical care for his mother 53 54.

Independence and cautious reconciliation

During an amusement-park visit, Lan recognized Gu beneath a wolfdog mascot costume through his pheromones and politely declined his invitation to play. He also discovered that his father had been blocked on his phone and that an attempted money transfer to him failed 85 86.

Xi later met Lan under the pretext of discussing a rental property. He disclosed his childhood abuse of Gu and offered his own interpretation of Gu's attachment to him as a trauma-related psychological condition rather than genuine romantic love. Xi also told Lan that Gu had developed feelings for him, while explicitly leaving the decision about forgiveness to Lan 112 113 114.

Lan rented the loft and remained unwilling to forgive Gu immediately. Chu reassured him that his mother's treatment was secure and that she was recovering quickly. The account at this point clarifies that delayed treatment and lack of money, rather than an inherently incurable condition, had worsened her illness 114.

After Gu acknowledged his mistreatment and asked to begin again as friends, Lan agreed and unblocked him. He nevertheless maintained financial boundaries, paying rent and reimbursing Gu for delivered meals. By then, he had ended his acting contract and begun pursuing an unspecified new dream 115.

Lan subsequently brought Gu to meet his mother at her request. Gu admitted that he had wronged Lan and described their current relationship as friendship. Lan's mother welcomed him and asked him to continue caring for her son; the text does not explicitly establish that Lan and Gu had resumed a formal romantic relationship 116.

Appearance

• Cute features: His appearance is described as cute, contrasting with Xi Qingyan's more rugged handsomeness 53 106.
• Resemblance to Xi Qingyan: Lan estimates that he looks about fifty percent like Xi and initially uses makeup to imitate the remaining differences 24.
• Cat ears: His ears become visible after Gu's heat, and he is temporarily unable to retract them 52.

Personality

Lan is gentle and readily shares in other people's happiness. Early in the variety show, watching the other guests enjoy themselves makes him smile even while he is trying to avoid attention 23.

Poverty, abuse, and his dependence on Gu leave him withdrawn and deeply self-conscious. He apologizes for his limited schooling, compares himself unfavorably with his fellow performers, and often interprets Gu's tenderness as affection intended for Xi rather than himself 24 103 107. His mother describes him as someone who generally does not make friends unless approached first 116.

His devotion to his mother governs many of his choices. He saves for her future treatment, hopes to take her traveling, and initially tolerates Gu's control because he fears losing her medical care 15 50 108.

Friendship gradually strengthens his ability to set boundaries. He comes to distinguish genuine support from acquaintances who only discussed gossip and transactional relationships, refuses Gu's invitation at the amusement park, and later accepts renewed contact without immediately granting forgiveness 53 85 114 115.

Skills & Interests

• Background acting: Previously worked as an extra, particularly playing corpses; he does not regard himself as a highly skilled actor 23 106.
• Handcrafting: Makes a bracelet for Chu Xinghui as thanks for helping him recover 93.
• Flower care: Grows and waters flowers at Gu's villa, hoping to bring warmth to its sparse interior 103 107.
• Quiet time: Enjoys being alone because the absence of other people's voices helps him think 85.
• Outings: Likes going out for fun, something he had scarcely done after arriving in the city because of his workload 107.

Relationships

• Gu Chupei — Former patron and intimate partner. Gu's financial assistance becomes a means of coercion, prompting Lan to leave. Lan later agrees to restart as friends while maintaining separate housing and paying his own expenses 50 53 115.
• Wen Liangtian — Close friend who regularly invites him out, protects him during filming, offers help leaving Gu, and houses him after the separation 36 50 54.
• Chu Xinghui — Protective friend who confronts Gu over the assault, supports Lan's decision to move out, and helps secure his mother's care. Lan gives him a handmade bracelet in gratitude 52 53 93 114.
• Pei Hanmo — Arranges for Wen to look after Lan ahead of Xi's return and provides access to alternative medical care when Lan leaves Gu 44 54.
• Xi Qingyan — The person Lan initially believes he is replacing. Rather than confronting him as a rival, Xi explains Gu's past and helps him obtain separate accommodation 24 112 113 114.
• Mother — His primary source of family attachment and the reason he accepts Gu's arrangement. She later recognizes that their relationship involved an exchange and welcomes Gu after he admits his wrongdoing 100 104 116.
• Father — Abusive gambler who extorts money from him. Gu secretly confronts him; when later told that his father has died, Lan feels relieved that he no longer has to live in fear 86 105 115.

Notable Quotes

“I'm moving my things out today.” 53

“I've sorted myself out now. I can handle it.” 114

Trivia

• Gu points out that their names appear in the same couplet of Li Shangyin's Three Poems on the Blue City: “The purple phoenix, indulging its charms, holds the Chu pendant; red-scaled fish dance wildly, plucking the Xiang strings.” Lan checks the claim on his phone 103.
• Lan kneads Gu's stomach in his sleep, a catlike behavior that Gu interprets as a sign of trust 105.
• During a haunted attraction, he mishears Man Feiluan shouting that there is space for him as an instruction to go away, then runs off with the lamp 84.