Xiao Yao

Biodata

Background / History

Childhood and family tragedy

Xiao Yao grew up in the senior branch of the wealthy Xiao Family. His parents controlled most of the family’s income sources. As children, he, Chen Lin, and his younger brother Xiao Xi were notorious troublemakers in Capital City, with Xiao Yao acting as the trio’s leader 65 66.

When Xiao Yao was sixteen, a business rival kidnapped his family to obtain an important document. His parents surrendered it, but the kidnappers continued imprisoning and starving them. Because Xiao Yao had the lightest injuries, his parents helped him escape through a rusted opening in the warehouse. Xiao Xi stayed behind because the kidnappers had broken his legs 61.

Xiao Yao found help and called the police within two hours. Before rescuers arrived, the kidnappers discovered his escape, killed his parents and brother, and set the warehouse on fire. He arrived to find the building burning and tried to rush into the flames. His failure to bring Xiao Xi with him became a source of guilt for the next ten years 61.

Confinement and return to power

Xiao Yao developed post-traumatic stress disorder after the deaths. Relatives seeking his inheritance exaggerated his condition and confined him to a psychiatric hospital, where they tormented him and repeatedly blamed him for abandoning his family 61 65.

He concealed his continuing symptoms well enough to pass repeated examinations. Pressure from his parents’ former subordinates also helped secure his release at twenty, after four years of confinement. By then, his relatives had divided the shares and company interests among themselves 65 66.

Chen Lin reunited with Xiao Yao upon his release and joined his pursuit of revenge. Xiao Yao subsequently took control of most of the Xiao Family’s power and confined relatives who had abused him to a psychiatric hospital, subjecting them to the “treatment” he had received 63 66.

Appearance

Xiao Yao is exceptionally tall, with striking features and a cold, marble-like facial structure. His polished appearance often contrasts with his habit of eavesdropping, provoking people, and trading insults 7.

• Eyes: Glassy black; Chen Lin remembers his gaze after confinement as unnervingly dark and still 7 66.
• Features: Sharply defined jaw, straight nose, and long eyelashes 88 91.
• Clothing: Wears tailored coats and formal clothing, including a dark gray coat and sunglasses when collecting guests at the airport 117.
• Spy-game costume: Black official robes embroidered with gold and a jade crown; despite expecting a princely role, he is assigned the head eunuch of the East Factory 88.

Personality

Xiao Yao is flippant, laid-back, and verbally ruthless. He enjoys provoking Shen Yunzhi and can match her insults without hesitation. His reputation as an exploitative employer is supported by descriptions of nine-to-nine, six-day workweeks and policies designed to increase workloads while reducing staff 3 4 66.

His joking manner does not make him harmless. He is capable of calculated retaliation, and Chen Lin finds his sudden composure more alarming than visible anger. Although he often ignores insults, references to his family’s deaths can destabilize him 62 63 93.

His care for Shen Yunzhi usually appears through practical help rather than straightforward affection. He tends her injury, carries her to shelter, and later worries over her university arrangements, meals, and sleeping habits. Despite his confidence elsewhere, he initially fears admitting his romantic feelings because he might lose their friendship 49 109 153 156.

Abilities & Skills

Business and negotiation

Xiao Yao has a growing conglomerate and a formidable business reputation even before fully taking over the Xiao Family 3 25.

• The Ji Family’s elders treat him courteously despite their own influence in S City 25.
• Keeps commercial negotiations separate from friendship, refusing Chi Zong’s attempt to obtain better endorsement terms through flattery 40.
• Has influence over a trade route in Country X, which an enemy offers a ¥1.5-billion project to obtain 61.
• Develops residential property in Capital City 141.

Armed combat and tactical planning

Xiao Yao uses firearms and coordinates armed support through Chen Lin 61 62.

• Secretly sends Chen Lin his location before meeting a kidnapper 61.
• Shoots the kidnapper in the shoulder and pulls Shen Yunzhi into cover during the ensuing fight 62.
• Arranges backup before confronting Xiao Yongming; a targeting dot appears on his uncle’s forehead at his signal 141.
• Limit: Provocations concerning Xiao Xi can override his caution, nearly exposing him to a sniper 62 63.

First aid and outdoor assistance

Xiao Yao provides immediate care when Shen Yunzhi injures her leg on a mountain 49.

• Alerts the production crew by walkie-talkie.
• Cleans soil from her wound and immobilizes her dislocated ankle with branches and her scarf.
• Carries her out of the ditch and into an empty ranger’s cabin.
• Lights the stove and finds iodine and other treatment supplies 49.

Gaming

• Wins the show’s team-selection quiz with ten correct answers 87.
• Plays Shen Yunzhi’s Honor of Kings account overnight, raising it to King after the group’s losses drop her from Diamond to Platinum 132.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Handgun — Used during the confrontation with his family’s former kidnapper 62 63.
• Sports car — Its abrupt acceleration cuts short Chen Lin’s teasing about his age and romantic prospects 55.
• Walkie-talkie — Used to report Shen Yunzhi’s mountain injury to the production crew 49.
• Limited-edition gold-plated lighter — Thrown at Chen Lin during a teasing exchange; Chen Lin catches it and keeps it 66.
• Credit card — Given to An Zhizhi before she leaves him alone with Shen Yunzhi in a screening room; An Zhizhi uses it to buy handbags 146.

Relationships

• Shen Yunzhi — Girlfriend and former sparring partner on All Villains. Their relationship develops through mutual protection, misunderstandings, and persistent banter. By the later chapters, he openly calls her his girlfriend and discusses marriage with her, though no marriage is established 4 49 63 147 156.
• Chen Lin — Childhood friend, business partner, and trusted ally in his revenge campaign. Chen Lin defies his family to meet Xiao Yao after his release and remains beside him through repeated life-threatening confrontations. He also repeatedly interferes in Xiao Yao’s courtship 66 96 97.
• Xiao Xi — Deceased younger brother and the youngest member of their childhood trio. Xiao Yao’s guilt over leaving him behind makes supposed evidence of his survival especially effective bait 59 61 66.
• Parents — Deceased. They gave Xiao Yao the opportunity to escape captivity, and his loyalty to them initially restrains his retaliation against Xiao Yongming 61 110.
• Xiao Yongming — Third uncle, once close to Xiao Yao and largely raised by Xiao Yao’s father. He participates in Xiao Yao’s confinement and is eventually exposed as the architect of the family tragedy 110 141 146.
• Ji Nanxian — Shen Yunzhi’s former fiancé and a frequent target of Xiao Yao’s hostility. Xiao Yao exposes his treatment of her on camera and later admits that he dislikes him 25 95.
• An Zhizhi — Fellow guest and friend who helps create opportunities for Xiao Yao and Shen Yunzhi to be alone 129 146.
• Chi Zong — Fellow guest and social companion; their banter includes unsuccessful attempts to bargain over business arrangements 40 117.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Joining *All Villains*

• Xiao Yao’s arrival immediately establishes an antagonistic pairing with Shen Yunzhi. After arguing over her lost ¥50,000, she punches him hard enough to give him a black eye. He later gives her a ¥100,000 check, half as repayment and half to make her stop berating him 4.
• Their apparent truce collapses when he discovers that she owns an expensive suitcase and demands an explanation for her complaints about money 5.
• After a dark-room game leaves him with a second black eye, he contradicts Jiang Yunli’s harassment accusation against Shen Yunzhi. Following Shen Yunzhi’s apology dinner, he orders the production team to release the night-vision footage 15 16.
• As he learns about Shen Yunzhi’s upbringing and treatment by the Jiang Family, he gives her greater freedom on the show and questions Ji Nanxian on camera 25.
• During the rural filming trip, he rejects paying off Shen Yunzhi’s abusive adoptive parents, arguing that yielding would encourage lifelong demands 40.

Mountain rescue and the romance mission

• Xiao Yao treats Shen Yunzhi’s injured leg and carries her to shelter during snowfall 49.
• When her pain suppression expires, she cries while thanking him. Unaware of the system, he mistakes her tears for an emotional response to being treated kindly 49.
• The Smart Assistant detects increased affection and automatically accepts a mission for Shen Yunzhi to win him over. It subsequently directs her to intervene before his anticipated “corruption” arc 49 52.
• His jealousy becomes visible when he sees Jiang Chi carrying her and later hears rumors that Jiang Chi is her lover. Learning that Jiang Chi is her biological younger brother reverses the misunderstanding 55 83.

Kidnapper ambush

• A photograph of Xiao Xi’s bloodstained jacket draws Xiao Yao into a meeting with one of the surviving kidnappers. He brings covert backup rather than obeying the demand to come alone 61.
• Shen Yunzhi follows him and disrupts the armed attackers while Chen Lin’s men arrive 62.
• The kidnapper exploits Xiao Yao’s guilt to lure him out of cover. Shen Yunzhi spots the sniper and tackles him before the shot lands 62 63.
• Xiao Yao angrily rebukes her for risking her life. Their argument interrupts his escalating emotional collapse 63 64.
• He remains in S City under the public explanation that he is focusing on entertainment, hoping the hidden mastermind will lower their guard 66.

Drugging plot and courtship

• Shen Yunzhi warns Xiao Yao that relatives may arrange for a woman to enter his bed. He accepts her help after she explains that she considers him a friend 95.
• The plot nevertheless proceeds. While drugged and mentally impaired, he nearly strangles the woman involved, then forcibly kisses Shen Yunzhi despite her resistance. She breaks free and kicks him away before calling Chen Lin for help 106 107.
• Afterward, he admits privately that fear of losing Shen Yunzhi has kept him from confessing. Her return to check on him challenges his resolve to remain merely friends 109.
• In Capital City, he reveals that the woman was Xiao Yongming’s mistress, sent by his uncle to approach him 117.
• He arranges a New Year gathering at his villa to spend time with Shen Yunzhi, though An Zhizhi and Chi Zong also attend 117 121.

Exposing Xiao Yongming

• Xiao Yongming kidnaps Shen Yunzhi and brings her to the rebuilt warehouse where Xiao Yao’s family died 140.
• While Chen Lin’s men rescue her, Xiao Yao confronts his uncle and obtains an admission that resentment and jealousy motivated the plot against his parents 141.
• Despite threatening to kill him during the confrontation, Xiao Yao later confirms that Xiao Yongming has been confined to a psychiatric hospital 141 146.

Established relationship

• Shen Yunzhi tells Xiao Yao that she transmigrated into the book. He treats the confession as a story pitch and jokes about tipping her if she serializes it 146.
• Xiao Yao drafts a Weibo announcement calling her his girlfriend. She kisses his cheek and deletes the post before he can publish it 147.
• He helps prepare for her university life, arranging transport and offering repeated safety reminders 153.
• Their later discussions include her sleep schedule, skipped meals, and the possibility of marriage. Shen Yunzhi assures him that she will stay with him 156.

System-recorded affection

These readings measure Xiao Yao’s affection toward Shen Yunzhi, not combat strength or a cultivation rank.

Original-Novel Fate

• In The Villainous Fake Heiress’s Comeback Plan, Xiao Yao is a powerful, tragic villain with relatively little page time 59 140.
• The jacket lure leads to an ambush in which a sniper shatters his leg. He kills his attackers, but the permanent disability and confirmation of his family’s deaths precipitate his descent into darkness 59 62 63.
• Shen Yunzhi changes that outcome by tackling him out of the bullet’s path 63.
• The original novel does not establish whether he completes his revenge or identify the true mastermind behind his family’s deaths 140.

Notable Quotes

“You could just snap at me less. That’d mean more than anything.”
— To Shen Yunzhi while carrying her to shelter 49

“The only reason you can still sit here, breathing and talking to me, is that you’re using up what little goodwill my parents left you.”
— To Xiao Yongming 127