Xie Huan

Biodata

Background / History

Xie Huan was found beside a small river near the village where he grew up. His master raised him in a mountain temple, while the villagers treated him like one of their own children. When he returns during filming, they welcome him with homegrown produce and livestock 21 276.

His master divined that he was the Gu Household’s biological son and would eventually return to that family. Knowing that his mother’s surname was Xie, he named the child Xie Huan. The name also carries the interpretation “thank me, and I’ll return the child to you” 266.

Xie Huan studied Mystic Arts from childhood and became locally well known for his work. His divinations helped people find missing livestock, assess business prospects, and locate abducted children; he also assisted police with several child-trafficking cases. These skills had already made him financially comfortable before the Gu Household found him 93 133.

As a child, he knew Pei Tingyun and bought him buns. Pei Tingyun remembers saving the boy he knew as Little Coal Ball, but does not initially recognize the adult Xie Huan. Their shared past becomes clear after Xie Huan complains that Pei remembers the buns but not the person who bought them 25 26.

After being acknowledged by the Gu Household, Xie Huan retains his informal habits. He does not adopt formal clothing to please others, and his family does not force him to do so 83.

Appearance

• Build: Tall, burly, and muscular, with strong arms and prominent abdominal muscles 11 34 221.
• Complexion: Usually described as dark or wheat-colored; covered areas of his body are considerably paler 82 110.
• Hair: Initially wears a buzz cut. He later grows his hair out for Pei Tingyun 34 256.
• Lips: Distinctively heart-shaped 138.
• Hands: Lightly calloused palms; viewers remark on the appearance of his hands during a blindfolded game 50 214.
• Clothing habits: Comfortable in tank tops or without a shirt; initially unfamiliar with suits and unable to tie a tie 65 83 94.

Personality

Xie Huan is outgoing, sunny, and quick to joke. His conspicuous Northeastern speech becomes part of the group’s banter, with the other guests imitating his accent. He trades insults and chases Gu Lin around, but also smooths over their disagreements rather than treating their competing positions in the family as a feud 3 44 124.

His care is practical and observant. He notices Pei Tingyun’s distress in the dark, remembers minor injuries, prepares food especially for him, and recognizes that Pei wants a pair of gloves despite not understanding the shopkeeper’s language. He also protects Pei’s private information instead of explaining his touch aversion to the others 4 10 96 183.

Despite this attentiveness, Xie Huan is inexperienced in romance. He initially understands his intimacy with Pei Tingyun as brotherly affection and is genuinely shocked by Pei’s confession. His reluctance to accept a relationship later stems from fear that breaking his master’s prohibition could endanger Pei, rather than a lack of affection 138 161 178.

Praise easily delights him, and he is often quick to follow Pei Tingyun’s requests. Romance can make the otherwise sociable Xie Huan conspicuously shy, especially when other people watch him being pampered. Once he accepts his feelings, however, he becomes more direct about wanting Pei’s company and increasingly shows jealousy himself 39 51 189 211 251.

Abilities & Skills

Divination

Xie Huan’s strongest documented specialty is divining matters concerning the living. He often conceals accurate predictions behind claims that he simply noticed something or guessed correctly 5 7 93.

• Finding people and objects: Locates missing livestock, identifies where fishing rods were left, and helps trace abducted children 7 93.
• Practical forecasting: Advises on business prospects and employment, determines that bringing a sweet potato will be useful, and identifies favorable numbered balloons 27 76 93.
• Reality-show challenges: Identifies the correct boarding gate, completes an unfamiliar dish name, and predicts the director’s randomly selected menu numbers 2 41 52.
• Locating resources: Uses divination before leaving to find the island’s generator 4.
• Daily restriction: His master instructs him to use Mystic Arts no more than five times a day because his fate is unfavorable. Xie Huan conserves those uses rather than spending them on minor conveniences 27 61 105.
• Romantic blind spot: He normally cannot divine romantic fate; attempts involving his relationship produce a blank. One later attempt unexpectedly shows Pei Tingyun teaching him intimate matters, leaving Xie Huan confused by the apparent exception 194 214.

Blood Arrays and Talismans

Xie Huan can perform targeted supernatural workings using blood, hand seals, and spoken incantations 214.

• Nightmare array: Draws a blood array intended to torment the people refusing to release Pei Tingyun from his company contract 214.
• Blood talisman: Directs bees to pursue and sting Si Shengfan, who is eventually hospitalized after losing consciousness 235.
• Composure around magic: Calmly sidesteps a returning blood-red array that flies toward his face 223.

Supernatural Perception

• Sees the ghostly child accompanying Fu Zheng and Jiang Che 93.
• Recognizes that their animal companions are unusual and senses Fu Zheng’s heavy yin and baleful energies 93.
• Cannot identify Fu Zheng’s exact species and believes he would probably be unable to defeat the two guest stars even at the cost of his life 93.
• Has little prior experience with ghosts or gods because his master forbade him from dealing with such matters 93.

Cooking

Xie Huan loves cooking and serves as the Roaming Group’s principal cook. He can both prepare meals himself and coach inexperienced companions through dishes 17 65.

• Improvisation: Turns a limited set of vegetables and eggs into several dishes, and combines shore-foraged ingredients with rice obtained from production 9 17.
• Large meals: Cooks all available ingredients for approximately forty or fifty people in exchange for a next-stop budget of 35,000 65.
• Knife work: Opens coconuts, prepares meat and vegetables, and uses quick, rough-cutting methods suited to hearty dishes 62 212 276.
• Resourcefulness abroad: Arranges to borrow a Chinese restaurant’s kitchen so he can cook for the group 174.
• Limits: Initially does not know how to slaughter a pig and offers to learn. His kitchen knife skills also do not immediately translate into using Western table knives and forks 21 83 108.

Outdoor and Travel Skills

• Boat handling: Drives the fishing boat away from the director’s unproductive fishing spot; later handles a sailboat competently under professional instruction 12 46.
• Foraging: Collects food along the shore for breakfast 9.
• Problem-solving: Gets the island villa’s generator running and repeatedly negotiates food or resources out of the production team 5 9 65.
• Learning winter sports: Initially struggles with snowboarding but improves while being pulled by the husky and following Pei Tingyun’s instruction 105 106.

Restrictions and Vulnerabilities

Story Role / Major Arcs

Relationships

• Pei Tingyun — Childhood acquaintance, travel companion, and eventual husband. Xie Huan is initially the only person whose touch does not cause Pei discomfort. Pei credits his support with helping his touch aversion improve 26 46 215 281.
• Master — Raised and named Xie Huan, taught him Mystic Arts, and imposed the restrictions he takes seriously. Xie Huan describes him as a “fake monk” and is accustomed to his ability to teleport 21 27 242 266.
• Gu Debai — Biological father. Thanks Pei Tingyun for looking after Xie Huan and angrily offers support when he learns that Pei’s company has used Xie Huan as leverage 86 205.
• Xie Qiulan — Biological mother. Insists that both Xie Huan and Gu Lin are equally her sons, regardless of whether she gave birth to or raised them 86.
• Gu Lin — Younger brother raised in Xie Huan’s place in the wealthy family. Their constant bickering gradually softens Gu Lin’s fear that Xie Huan will resent or displace him. Xie Huan later offers to buy him clothes when his luggage is lost 3 124 162.
• Tang Keni and Yao Xuan — Close companions who praise his cooking and enthusiastically support his pairing with Pei Tingyun. Xie Huan remains oblivious to their own romance until the extras 17 118 284.
• Six’er — The husky Xie Huan affectionately treats as a “little bro.” The dog retrieves a kitchen knife, helps him learn snowboarding, and fetches plush toys for a team assignment 21 106 111.
• Jiang Che and Fu Zheng — Guest stars whose supernatural nature challenges Xie Huan’s understanding of the world. Seeing them kiss also reveals his unfamiliarity with male couples 93 97.
• Si Shengfan — Target of Xie Huan’s blood talisman after causing Pei Tingyun a year of mental torment 235.

Notable Quotes

“Rest easy! I’m sleeping on the outside. Ain’t no way I’m letting you fall!” 39

“I can participate, but I’ve gotta share a bed with Ting’er. Otherwise, there’s no negotiating this!”
“Aw, geez! Slip of the tongue! One boat! Not one bed!” 52

“Don’t go. Stay here with me a bit. I’ve only got two more dishes to cook.” 189

Trivia

• His pairing with Pei Tingyun is called White Clouds and Black Soil. Xie Huan initially thinks people shouting the name are referring to a comedy sketch 114.
• He repeatedly mispronounces “idol” as “eye-dull,” much to Pei Tingyun’s exasperation 3 25 114.
• He turns Pei Tingyun’s “kept canary” metaphor into a “house sparrow,” which Pei accepts as sounding more intimate 192.
• Both wedding rings fit only on a pinky: the gold ring Xie Huan gives Pei Tingyun and Pei’s mother’s silver ring, used to propose to Xie Huan 281.