Li Yi

Biodata

Background / History

Childhood and return to the Lu family

Li Yi went missing at five and returned to the Lu family at fifteen. During his absence, he lived with Dean Li in Longstone Village, Miao’an Town. In the orphanage’s earliest days, the two sometimes shared a single roasted sweet potato. After they saved Pei Ling, Pei built an orphanage in the city and brought its children there, enabling Li Yi to attend school 4 71 73.

The residents of South Mountain Nursing Home watched him grow up and taught him skills ranging from music to boxing. They later supported Lu Group because they believed his return to his biological family had made him happy; Li Yi concealed his mistreatment by assuring them that he was doing well 71 74 108.

His three years in the Lu household were marked by exclusion and physical abuse. Qiao Xinyue introduced him as a poor relative rather than a son, and he retained the surname Li. He occupied a remote guest room while the adopted son, Lu Junjia, enjoyed a large suite. Lu Hongshen made him kneel for hours on sharp garden stones, while Qiao Xinyue struck his palms and back with a ruler 2 3 4.

His grandfather’s inheritance

Previous life

Zhou Xuanze deliberately approached Li Yi under the pretext of a marriage alliance. After gaining his trust as his fiancé, Zhou established a company with him and persuaded him to become its legal representative. Contractual traps and repeated company crises left Li Yi facing public condemnation and possible imprisonment. His efforts to manage the business also caused him to miss university classes until he was expelled 1 4.

Lu Junjia then offered to save him in exchange for his inherited shares. After surrendering them, Li Yi discovered Zhou and Junjia kissing in the Lu household. Their subsequent engagement exposed the supposed alliance with Li Yi as a scheme to obtain his inheritance 1 4.

Following a severe collapse, Li Yi was diagnosed with mania. The Lu family considered psychiatric hospitalization, but instead arranged to send him to Shi Yan to secure a business partnership, exploiting his resemblance to Shi Yan’s cherished first love 1 4.

Li Yi ultimately died on June 18, two years after the point to which he returns. Later dream memories indicate that he died after jumping from a Lu family car; Shi Yan interprets these memories as evidence that the family drove him to his death. Li Yi initially knows from the novel that Shi Yan arranged his funeral and burial, despite their never having met as adults in that timeline 7 144.

Appearance

• Facial mole: A mole below the corner of his mouth matches Shi Yan’s description of his cherished first love 1.
• Features: Delicate, refined features and clear eyes; his appearance attracts considerable attention during televised performances 48 160.
• Smile: Resembles Xu Chutong, with curved eyes, lifted mouth corners, and straight white teeth when he smiles 148.

Personality

Before rebirth, Li Yi eagerly sought his family’s affection and accepted punishments because he believed he had failed to meet their expectations. He hid his suffering from the nursing-home residents rather than trouble them 4 71.

After rebirth, he becomes confrontational, sharp-tongued, and openly vindictive toward those who exploited him. He answers threats with insults, exposes family secrets, and retaliates through both physical violence and elaborate pranks. His anger can become extreme: during his fight with Li Xu, he continues attacking despite others’ attempts to restrain him 3 18 29 55.

His aggression does not extend to everyone. He remains affectionate toward Dean Li and the elderly residents, remembers kindness, and wants to repay Shi Yan for arranging his previous-life funeral. His ambitions include developing assistive robots for older people rather than simply joining a wealthy family’s business 7 10 73.

Around Shi Yan, Li Yi gradually becomes more playful and comfortable asking for things. He can miss romantic hints, yet readily offers affection and comfort once he understands Shi Yan’s feelings. The nursing-home elders welcome this change, seeing his willingness to express anger and resist mistreatment as healthier than his former silence 71 74 85 116 160.

Abilities & Skills

Knowledge of the previous timeline

Li Yi retains memories of his previous life and knows information about the novel’s events 1 7.

• Records his former death date and creates a checklist for revenge and preventing the nursing-home residents’ deaths 7.
• Uses advance knowledge to pursue Shi Yan’s gardener vacancy and avoid a gathering that previously escalated into an armed brawl 11 28.
• Tries to steer the elderly residents away from a trip to Nanwan 74.
• Recognizes that his involvement can alter events: Island Love receives new guests at a point when the previous timeline’s show had not 111.

Academic and technical skills

• Academic performance: Places third in Beicheng in the Gaokao, receives a 50,000-yuan school award, and has his Beiqing tuition waived 53.
• Artificial intelligence: Chooses Beiqing’s highly competitive artificial-intelligence major, intending both to challenge Lu Shixuan in his own field and eventually build elderly-assistance robots 7 10.
• Hacking: Learns his hacking skills through the exclusive Learning Forum and continues studying its resources weekly 111.
• Software study: Examines Yingjun’s code and discovers the hidden address of its online forum 168.

Music

Li Yi learns to play dozens of instruments through the nursing-home residents 108.

• Performs a flute-and-guqin duet with Wang Song that receives the charity show’s loudest applause and spreads widely online 48.
• Plays both flute and guqin in footage from One Hundred Percent Love 107.
• Performs at an island music festival before returning the stage to Hu Xiaobei and his team 108.

Boxing and close combat

Xu Hong teaches Li Yi boxing, giving him a practical means of defending himself 74.

• Uses punches, kicks, an elbow strike, and foot-stomping during confrontations 28 29.
• Continues training after rebirth; he later claims he can almost dislocate someone’s jaw with one hand 149.
• His fight with Li Xu demonstrates dangerous loss of restraint rather than controlled sparring 29.

Gardening

Li Yi works as the gardener at Shi Yan’s Wisteria Garden villa 11 21.

• Researches individual plants’ care requirements 14.
• Identifies needs for fertilizer, loosened soil, and regular watering 21.
• Produces a detailed care schedule that allows him to take three days off for filming 42.

Wilderness survival and fishing

Li Yi gains outdoor experience accompanying Grandpa Wang into mountains and forests as a child 117.

• Recognizes plants, animals, and some edible wild fruits; avoids gathering fruit he cannot identify 117.
• Makes improvised sandals from grass and wooden boards to protect his and Shi Yan’s feet 117.
• Builds a fire while stranded, having more practical experience with it than Shi Yan 117.
• Mixes fishing bait and teaches Shi Yan basic fishing techniques 115.

Online fan organization

As None of Your Peace, Li Yi becomes Lu Xingluo’s leading fan and helps propel her to fame as the “Nation’s Daughter” 14.

• Organizes fans against hostile online commentary while still preparing for the Gaokao 67.
• Withdraws his support after rejecting the Lu family and tells the nursing-home residents to stop supporting them as well 39.
• His identity becomes public, drawing astonishment from fans who had not known he was Lu Xingluo’s younger brother 67.

Equipment / Items

• Rebirth notebook — Records his former death date, objectives, revenge targets, and gratitude toward Shi Yan. Its discovery later helps Shi Yan connect Li Yi’s actions to their previous life 7 144.
• Learning Forum lifetime membership — A gift from Lu Shixuan, providing access to advanced technical knowledge and the resources through which Li Yi learns hacking 111.
• Pear Phone — An unreleased white model given to him by Shi Yan, replacing an aging phone originally gifted by Zhang Jin 74 84.
• Watch — An expensive gift Shi Yan presents as compensation during Island Love 100.
• Pinhole-camera equipment — Purchases a set after receiving his new phone 74.

Relationships

• Shi Yan — Initially chosen as a powerful potential ally who would not covet his inheritance. Their employer–gardener relationship develops into mutual trust and romance; they officially become a couple during a seaside livestream 10 21 117 135.
• Dean Li — His childhood caregiver and grandfather figure. Li Yi proudly shares his university admission with him, while Dean Li rejects Lu-family donations with ulterior motives and agrees to keep them away 71 73.
• South Mountain Nursing Home residents — His extended support network and teachers. They withdraw favors from the Lu family after discovering his treatment and explicitly support his decision to fight back 71 74.
• Yingjun — Shi Yan’s household robot, which welcomes Li Yi, helps with his daily needs, and secretly documents the romance online. Reading its diary deepens Li Yi’s understanding of Shi Yan’s long search for him 11 74 168.
• Sheriff — His black-and-white cat. Sheriff is his closest companion within the Lu household, although Li Yi frequently complains about his scratching and foul-smelling litter box 3 8.
• Butler Liu — The elderly Lu-family butler and the only person in that household Li Yi identifies as having shown him warmth. Liu tends him during his previous-life breakdown and helps him reclaim Junjia’s room after rebirth 1 8.
• Xu Chutong — His deceased biological mother. After learning her identity, Li Yi visits her grave with Shi Yan and promises to return 146 148.
• Lu Hongshen — His biological father and an abuser. Li Yi rejects his authority and later refuses to use Shi Yan’s influence to rescue Lu Corporation 4 24 138.
• Qiao Xinyue — The woman he initially calls his mother. She conceals his identity, punishes him, and favors Junjia; Li Yi eventually blocks her number and learns that she is not his biological mother 3 4 72 146.
• Lu Junjia — The Lu family’s adopted son and a central participant in the previous-life inheritance scheme. In the new timeline, footage shows him deliberately discarding the rescue rope that could have saved Li Yi and Shi Yan 1 125.
• Zhou Xuanze — His former boyfriend and previous-life fiancé. Li Yi accepts their breakup immediately after rebirth and repeatedly rejects Zhou’s attempts to reclaim the relationship 1 9 33.
• Lu Xingluo — His older sister and former beneficiary of his fan-organizing efforts. Their relationship becomes openly hostile after he withdraws support and she joins a publicity campaign against him 14 63 67.
• Lu Chuzhou — His older brother, who resents him and deliberately destroys his gifts. Li Yi treats him like a stranger when they meet on Island Love 83 84.
• Lu Shixuan — His eldest brother. Li Yi initially regards him as uncaring, but later learns of his efforts to secure the inheritance and find him. Their relationship improves after an honest conversation 111 140 142.
• Su Xia — A singer he befriends over the nursing-home breakfast buffet; Su later draws attention to Li Yi and Shi Yan’s closeness 42 48.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Rebirth and rejection of the Lu household

Li Yi returns to the beginning of Zhou Xuanze’s con and celebrates their breakup rather than pleading with him. He meets Shi Yan after kicking his newly purchased Pagani, then openly identifies himself as the Lu family’s biological son 1 2.

At home, he refuses Qiao Xinyue’s demands for deference, slaps Junjia, and threatens police action and public exposure if his family assaults him. He subsequently takes Junjia’s suite and demands one million yuan from Zhou as proof of a supposedly sincere apology 3 8 9.

His retaliation includes serving the family coffee contaminated with Sheriff’s feces. When they later pressure him to confess falsely to framing Lu Xingluo, he leaves with everything he owns in one backpack, sabotages household appliances and wiring, and gives Mrs. Su an account of being thrown out that spreads through neighborhood gossip groups 18 55.

Charity television and public recognition

Li Yi participates in a charity program at the nursing home, helping serve breakfast before the other guests arrive. His musical performance with Wang Song brings widespread attention to his appearance, academic achievement, and upbringing. His team wins a 500,000-yuan prize designated for donation to orphanages 42 48.

His estrangement from Lu Xingluo also becomes public. Her manager responds by organizing a campaign portraying him as an ungrateful schemer, with Lu Hongshen and Qiao Xinyue recording accusations against him 59 63.

*Island Love* and Shi Yan

On Crescent Moon Island, Li Yi’s banter and growing intimacy with Shi Yan unfold before livestream viewers. Their relationship becomes more serious after they are swept into the sea: Shi Yan reaches him, helps him stay afloat, and survives with him until rescue 84 97 100 117.

During their isolation, Shi Yan explains that Li Yi is the person he has sought for years through recurring dreams. Afterward, they obtain footage showing Junjia throwing away their rescue rope and plan to report him. Li Yi and Shi Yan eventually agree to become a couple over a seaside dinner, followed by a fireworks surprise 118 125 135.

University and the truth about his family

Li Yi receives his Beiqing admission letter and celebrates with Dean Li and the elderly residents. On enrollment day, he refuses his parents’ reconciliation attempt after recognizing that they want Shi Yan’s help with Lu Corporation’s two-billion crisis 73 138.

He then reconciles with Lu Shixuan and learns that someone in the Lu family had genuinely wanted him found. After a near collision with a van leaves him unconscious despite only superficial injuries, Shi Yan discovers his notebook and connects its death date and revenge checklist to their shared dream memories 140 142 144.

Learning that Xu Chutong is his biological mother gives Li Yi a different understanding of his place in the family. He visits her grave with Shi Yan, then insists that he will claim his grandfather’s bequest on December 25 without needing the Lu family’s permission 146 148 149.

Life with Shi Yan

Li Yi visits Shi Yan’s maternal grandparents and the Shi family residence, where he is welcomed by relatives and household staff. He comforts Shi Yan as he speaks about his painful childhood, and their relationship becomes physically intimate 159 160.

Later, Li Yi discovers Yingjun’s online diary recounting Shi Yan’s search for him, their reunion, and their engagement. Understanding how long he has mattered to Shi Yan deepens his affection 168.

Notable Quotes

“Grandpa Liu, don’t worry. I won’t let them bully me anymore.” 8

“I’ll never forgive that family as long as I live.” 73

“I trust you.” — To Shi Yan while stranded at sea 117

“It was mine to begin with. Do I need your permission to take it?” — On his grandfather’s bequest 149

Trivia

• His recorded birthday, June 18, is also the date of his previous-life death 4 7.
• He saves Shi Yan’s contact as “Sugar Daddy Shi” shortly after their first meeting 2.
• He likes strawberry and mango cake, dislikes cilantro, and says he is allergic to durian 12 100.
• Despite his gardening, fishing, and wilderness skills, he cannot cook 111.
• His remark about keeping “eighteen male models” becomes a recurring joke and inspires Yingjun’s online fiction 33 137.