Xie Yuan

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Xie Yuan’s parents died early, leaving his eldest sister, Xie Ran, and second elder brother, Xie Mo, to raise and protect him. Xie Ran was engaged to Gu Yanzhou, whose public displays of affection with Su Wanyue prompted Xie Yuan to confront her during a livestreamed celebrity documentary 1.

After Su Wanyue hit him with her car, Xie Yuan briefly died in hospital. He revived with memories of his previous life as a demonic cultivator and the knowledge that his current world was a novel. According to its plot, he was malicious cannon fodder who died less than a chapter after appearing 1 74.

His cultivation-world memories include a massacre, revenge, and abandoning his original appearance. Although he believes the people responsible are dead, recurring nightmares leave him terrified, sleepless, and determined to protect his present family 33 71 128.

The Wicked System bound itself to him after detecting his exceptionally vicious disposition. Xie Yuan refused to cooperate unless it cured his leukemia first; the system eventually conceded, and he left hospital fully recovered after three days. He nevertheless questioned the novel’s accuracy, rejecting its portrayal of Xie Ran and the claim that he would leave his inheritance to Su Wanyue 1 2.

Appearance

Xie Yuan has a youthful, deceptively delicate appearance that contrasts with his physical strength and aggression. Livestream viewers frequently describe him as cute or soft-looking, while stylists praise the condition of his skin 2 19 24 103.

• Small face and fine skin: His face is described as palm-sized, and his skin requires no foundation when professionally styled 18 103.
• Slender, flexible waist: His waist draws attention during his swallow kick into a backbend 4 5.
• Red mole: Mu Ze remembers an enticing red mole alongside Xie Yuan’s supple waist 7.
• Dark circles: His otherwise minimal styling includes concealing noticeable dark circles 103.

Personality

Xie Yuan is confrontational, sharp-tongued, and openly vindictive toward people he considers enemies. He answers online abuse himself, mocks Su Wanyue’s displays of innocence, and readily escalates arguments into physical violence. His refusal to be embarrassed or intimidated becomes a major attraction of his livestreams 2 8 12.

His aggression is not indiscriminate. When the system suggests earning more Villainy Points after his principal enemies are detained, he rejects the idea of abusing random people. He also shows practical concern for vulnerable people: he respects the orphanage children’s independence, helps move supplies, and persuades Director Wu to seek medical attention 47 51 174.

Family is his central priority. He is ruthless toward threats to his siblings but affectionate and teasing with them in private. His protectiveness is intensified by memories of past losses and knowledge of their original endings; even after events diverge from the novel, he fears that the same tragedies might recur 2 92 128 136.

With Mu Ze, he is bluntly affectionate, playful, and increasingly attentive. His early interest combines attraction with the comfort of Mu Ze’s scent, but he later insists on protecting Mu Ze from his original fate and worries about his meals, sleep, and workload 7 23 39 101.

Abilities & Skills

Body Tempering and Combat

Xie Yuan practices a technique that strengthens the body and unlocks its potential. He keeps its movements off the dating show’s livestream 23.

• Completes the first form’s nine movements and experiences a direct increase in strength 23.
• Performs an elegant, powerful swallow kick into a backbend, winning first place in a show challenge 4.
• Disarms a knife-wielding attacker by kicking his wrist, breaking the bone, then incapacitates him with another kick 38.
• Repeatedly carries twenty-five-kilogram rice bags without apparent strain 51.
• Can deliver painful blows without leaving visible marks, preventing police from confirming Gu Yanzhou’s accusation through an immediate inspection 149 150.
• The technique can supposedly withstand firearms at its peak; the documented first-form completion does not establish that Xie Yuan has reached that level 23.

Scent Perception

Xie Yuan can perceive distinctive personal scents that reflect a person’s character rather than perfume 23 61.

• People who commit extensive evil smell foul; people who do good deeds smell sweet; most people have ordinary scents 61.
• Mu Ze has the sweetest scent he has encountered, making proximity to him especially comforting 61 128.
• Identifies Xia Yunrou in the dark after his nose twitches 129.
• Explains that scents generally remain stable unless a person commits something exceptionally unforgivable, such as betraying their country 61.

Medicinal Preparation

Xie Yuan knows ancient medicinal and skincare formulas and prepares them from purchased herbs 101 111.

• Makes skincare ointment for Mu Xiao, Xie Ran, and Mu Ze 117 128.
• Explains that the skincare treatment does not cause rebound after years of use, provided ordinary skincare and sun protection continue 111.
• Offers to write down a formula for Mu Xiao to manufacture and sell 128.
• Prepares a calming decoction following the attack on Xie Ran 138.
• States that an ointment can also stop bleeding from external injuries, though its effects are weaker than in his previous life 152.

Art and Tea Appreciation

• Drawing: Rapidly produces recognizable, highly detailed images during a guessing game, including a mountain-and-water scene and a lifelike phoenix 11.
• Tea appreciation: Evaluates tea through its color, aroma, texture, and aftertaste, explaining that he learned from elders who enjoyed it 27.

Plot Knowledge and Planning

Xie Yuan uses his knowledge of the original novel to identify threats and disrupt opportunities that once benefited its protagonists 73 92 160.

• Investigates Cui Chengyou’s connection to the Cui Family before the original theft of Xie company secrets 92 93.
• Anticipates surveillance and trackers controlling Zhao Zhiyu and her son, then delegates their removal to the system 130.
• Allows an enemy scheme to develop far enough to obtain evidence and expose the human traffickers behind it 137.
• Recognizes that the novel omits important information and that altered circumstances can produce dangers it never described, including armed kidnappers 133 137 138.

Wicked System Support

The Wicked System is an external assistant, not an innate ability. Xie Yuan earns Villainy Points through wicked behavior and uses the system’s services while frequently bargaining with or intimidating it 2 20.

• Healing: Cures his leukemia in advance, leaving him with a points debt 2 20.
• Rewards: After his loans are paid off, points can be exchanged for things within the world’s limits 98.
• Investigation: Monitors enemies, collects evidence, and develops improved internet capabilities 109 129.
• Covert assistance: Is tasked with blocking surveillance, dealing with trackers, and concealing Zhao Zhiyu’s departure abroad 130.
• Limits: Cannot locate traffickers who leave no usable online or surveillance trail, and fails to warn Xie Yuan that the kidnappers have a gun 137 139.
• Duration: Says it will automatically unbind when Xie Yuan’s life ends 174.

Relationships

• Mu Ze — Husband and primary source of emotional comfort. His scent helps Xie Yuan sleep and regain a sense of reality after nightmares. Xie Yuan accepts his possessiveness rather than demanding that he change 23 93 111 128 163.
• Xie Ran — Eldest sister and guardian. They trade affectionate insults, but Xie Yuan fiercely opposes anyone threatening her safety or independence 2 64 159.
• Xie Mo — Second elder brother, a researcher. Xie Yuan mocks his romantic judgment while working to protect him from manipulation and the theft plot targeting his research 121 134 160.
• Wicked System — Bound assistant with a frequently contentious relationship with its host. Xie Yuan relies on its intelligence gathering but challenges its mistakes and hidden expenditures 109 139 174.
• Su Wanyue — Principal enemy. Beyond their public confrontations, she arranges to have Xie Ran kidnapped and later uses underworld connections to target the siblings 8 129 163.
• Gu Yanzhou — Xie Ran’s former fiancé and another principal enemy. Xie Yuan condemns his infidelity, repeatedly beats him, and opposes his attempts to benefit at the Xie Family’s expense 8 64 150.
• Mu Xiao — Mu Ze’s sister. Xie Yuan welcomes her as family, makes skincare ointment for her, and offers her a formula for commercial production 111 112 128.
• Shen Shuyao and Mu Ying — Parents-in-law who warmly accept him. Their affection matters to Xie Yuan because he has lacked parental care since his own parents died 94 95 102.
• Tan Yaya and Zhang Jue — Fellow dating-show participants and later returning special guests. Xie Yuan saves Zhang Jue from a knife attack 38 181.
• Feng Leyao — Xie Ran’s suitor. Xie Yuan initially resents his apparent absence from her original tragedy, then agrees not to interfere after learning that Feng Leyao had searched for her 133 136.
• Xiaomai and Director Wu — Orphanage residents whose concerns he takes seriously. He encourages the children to value one another as family and secures Director Wu’s agreement to a medical checkup 47 51.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Hospital Revival and Public Notoriety

Immediately after reviving, Xie Yuan attacks Gu Yanzhou and Su Wanyue verbally and physically in front of the documentary cameras. The footage makes him an online sensation. Rather than retreat from the backlash, he argues with Su Wanyue’s fans and launches a roasting livestream that is eventually banned 1 2.

He joins Heartbeat Means Action as both a guest and a ten-million investor. He later admits that he entered the dating show to make someone’s life difficult, not because he lacked admirers 2 27.

Dating Mu Ze

Xie Yuan agrees to try dating Mu Ze, initially understanding the proposal through the show’s trial-couple arrangement. Their closeness grows when he discovers that sleeping beside Mu Ze gives him his first proper night’s rest since awakening his memories 7 22 23.

He brings Mu Ze home and supports Xie Ran through the end of her engagement. Later, Mu Ze reveals that he has also returned after death: in his original timeline, a car accident killed him and Gu Yanzhou took over Mu Group 61 64 74.

Xie Yuan and Mu Ze register their marriage and publicly announce it by posting their certificates on Weibo 90 92 93.

Protecting the Xie Family

Xie Yuan encourages Xie Ran to learn his exercises because he knows how helpless she became in the original plot. He also investigates Cui Chengyou and guards access to the study containing company documents and Xie Mo’s experimental materials 92 93 128.

After learning of the kidnapping scheme, he helps organize surveillance and seeks to expose the traffickers rather than merely interrupt one attack. The kidnappers’ use of guns reveals that changed events can be more dangerous than the novel’s account 129 136 137 138.

His investigation expands to the Cui Family’s connection with stolen state-related research. The system eventually confirms that the family has been engaged in espionage for generations 160 174.

Defeating the Original Protagonists

Xie Yuan monitors Su Wanyue’s dealings with underworld figures and assesses whether she can be caught with drugs in her possession. He and the others watch her arrest from nearby 163 164 171.

Police subsequently report that Su Wanyue confessed to transporting drugs to retaliate against him and Xie Ran. Xia Yunrou also confesses to stealing company secrets at the instigation of the Cui Family, Cui Chengyou, and Gu Yanzhou 171.

Return to *Heartbeat Means Action*

In their final meetings, Su Wanyue and Gu Yanzhou describe dreams of another reality. Xie Yuan and Mu Ze conclude that Su Wanyue has glimpsed the original novel’s plot, but she can no longer change their circumstances 181.

The main story ends with Xie Yuan and Mu Ze returning as special guests for the second season of Heartbeat Means Action, greeting the audience hand in hand alongside Tan Yaya and Zhang Jue 181.

Notable Quotes

“Cure me first, or go back where you came from.” 2

“Now that’s bullying you.” 8

“Whether it's the influence of the plot or something else, I won't let those things happen.” 136

“I am Xie Yuan.” 181