Tan Yaya

Biodata

Personality

Tan Yaya is sociable and tactful, changing the subject after Gu Yanzhou's confrontation with Xie Yuan to bring Mu Ze into the conversation. With Zhang Jue, she favors mutual consideration: when planning dinner, she proposes that they each choose a favorite dish rather than letting him defer entirely to her 4 12.

She openly enjoys shipping couples, particularly Xie Yuan and Mu Ze, and proudly acknowledges being a BL fangirl. Her playfulness also appears in her teasing of Zhang Jue and her laughter at Xie Yuan's retorts 19 21 39 40.

She is affectionate toward the orphanage children, eagerly holding Xiao Hua and expressing reluctance to leave. Despite joining the dating show under family pressure to marry, she does not rush into marriage with Zhang Jue: she questions whether his proposal reflects a serious commitment or a passing impulse 3 50 55 97.

Abilities & Skills

Singing

Tan Yaya is an established pop diva whose performances attract enthusiastic audiences 3 37.

• Her singing quiets the bar's partying crowd, followed by loud cheers when the song ends 37.
• During the show's employment challenge, she generally sings seven or eight songs per night, with breaks between performances; pay depends on the number of songs performed 37.
• She continues performing concerts after the dating show ends 181.

Drawing

Tan Yaya draws clear, recognizable pictures during the drawing-and-guessing challenge 10 11.

• She conveys “doctor” with a simple stick figure wearing a stethoscope 11.
• She and Zhang Jue score seven points, with most answers taking only two or three guesses 11.
• Her drawing ability is explicitly described as better than Liu Yan's, who has studied some drawing 11.

Other Skills and Limitations

• Flexibility: Completes an acceptable, though imperfect, middle split during the room-selection game 4.
• Gaming: Initially plays poorly and repeatedly dies beneath an enemy tower. She favors attractive support characters and later follows Zhang Jue to collect assists 14 21.
• Cooking: Admits she cannot cook; her first dinner with Zhang Jue turns out badly despite staff guidance. Later, they successfully prepare cucumber salad with Mu Ze's help 10 17 18 55.

Relationships

• Zhang Jue — Dating-show partner and eventual boyfriend. Their initial pairing develops into mutual affection, a successful final confession, and plans to marry. He helps rescue her at the bar and reassures her that he will wait until she is ready for marriage 5 38 43 59 97 181.
• Xie Yuan — Friend, gaming teammate, and one of her rescuers. She admires his artwork; he agrees to paint for her in exchange for gaming with Zhang Jue. She later firmly rejects suspicions that he cheated in a partner-recognition challenge 11 14 38 58.
• Mu Ze — Friend, gaming teammate, and fellow rescuer. He shares his porridge with her and Zhang Jue, helps subdue the bar attacker, and guides their successful cucumber salad preparation. She enthusiastically supports his relationship with Xie Yuan 25 38 39 40 55.
• Su Wanyue — Fellow contestant whom she increasingly dislikes. Su Wanyue's remarks about fan numbers during the orphanage voting results further worsen Tan Yaya's opinion of her 55.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Joining *Heartbeat Means Action*

Tan Yaya enters the dating show because her family is already pressuring her to marry at twenty-seven. Introduced under the code name “Microphone,” she initially stays in a room alone and declines the production team's offer of a teammate for the room-selection game 3 4.

When the temporary couples are formed, the other guests' choices leave her paired with Zhang Jue. Their rapport grows through the drawing challenge, shared gaming sessions, and dinner planning. After noticing her admiration for Xie Yuan's phoenix drawing, Zhang Jue offers to ask him for a painting 5 11 12 14.

Their rooftop dinner exposes their shared lack of cooking skill. Unable to enjoy their dishes, they bargain the production team's rice price down from ten yuan to five yuan per bowl. Later, Tan Yaya splits her roses with Zhang Jue after asking whether he likes flowers 16 17 18 19.

Bar Employment and Rescue

For the three-day earnings competition, Tan Yaya and Zhang Jue draw jobs as bar singers. The late hours leave her exhausted: after one shift ends past three in the morning, she appears at breakfast yawning with dark circles beneath her eyes 25 31.

During a later shift, a man threatens her while she shelters inside a restroom stall. Xie Yuan, Mu Ze, and Zhang Jue rush to the restroom; Xie Yuan forces entry and subdues the attacker, while Mu Ze binds him. Tan Yaya emerges physically unharmed but crying and visibly shaken. The female bar owner comforts her without forcing physical contact 38.

To keep the incident from becoming public, Tan Yaya follows Xie Yuan's suggestion to pretend to faint. Zhang Jue carries her out, and the group attributes her condition to low blood sugar. On the ride home, she maintains the explanation and resumes joking about their wages and the competition prize. Xie Yuan also asks the Wicked System to watch for attempts to smear her online 39.

Divergence from the Original Novel

In the original novel's plot, Tan Yaya escapes physical violation at the bar but suffers severe psychological trauma. She forces herself to finish the show, then withdraws from the entertainment industry as her condition deteriorates. Some of her opportunities pass to Su Wanyue 39.

Her aversion and Zhang Jue's guilt prevent their budding relationship from developing; neither ever marries, and both careers decline. In the altered storyline, Xie Yuan observes that she can still accept Zhang Jue's touch, identifying her changed response as evidence that the original plot can be altered 39.

Orphanage Challenge and Final Confession

At the final partner-selection opportunity, Tan Yaya and Zhang Jue exchange roses again. She tells him that she feels at ease with him 43.

During the orphanage visit, she worries about standing idle while the children cook, happily holds Xiao Hua, and works with Zhang Jue on a child's wish for a flying toy rocket. The pair struggle with the construction but later succeed in making cucumber salad under Mu Ze's guidance. They place second in the viewer vote, and Tan Yaya expresses a desire to visit the children again 50 52 55.

When Zhang Jue fails to identify her among veiled participants, she reassures him rather than blaming him. At the show's final confession, she accepts his roses and agrees that she would like to get to know him better, making them a successful match 57 59.

Relationship After the Show

During a later studio appearance, Tan Yaya directs a blindfolded Zhang Jue through an obstacle course. They fail at the final obstacle and must maintain eye contact for thirty seconds, leaving both visibly embarrassed. Asked about the game afterward, they instead compliment each other's appearance, prompting further teasing from Teacher He and the audience 83 84.

In a subsequent gaming session, Xie Yuan reveals that Zhang Jue wants to marry her. Tan Yaya questions whether he has merely been influenced by Xie Yuan and Mu Ze's pace. Zhang Jue confirms that he is serious and will wait for her, but she leaves the team without giving an answer 97.

By the second season of Heartbeat Means Action, Tan Yaya has returned from performing concerts and remains together with Zhang Jue. Asked when they will marry, she answers, “Soon.” The couple reunites with Xie Yuan and Mu Ze as special guests for the new season 181.