Shen Yannian

Biodata

Background

Shen Yannian is Shen Chuannan’s younger son, Shen Zhongyuan’s younger brother, and Shen Kezhou’s youngest uncle. He heads one of the capital’s most elite wealthy families and commands considerable deference in business and social circles 1 12.

He graduated from University A. His experience of family life in the Shen household was marked by scheming and solemnity rather than the affectionate teasing he later encounters in the Su family 11 45.

A year before his engagement, Shen Yannian met Su Cimu at the Shen family’s ancestral home, where Su Cimu had accompanied Shen Kezhou as his boyfriend. Shen Yannian was attracted to him immediately but refrained from pursuing his nephew’s partner 4.

Appearance

• Tall stature: At 190 cm, he stands noticeably taller than the 178 cm Su Cimu 32.
• Glasses: He adjusts his glasses while speaking privately with Su Cimu after their engagement banquet 3.
• Business attire: He appears at Su Cimu’s university in a suit and dress shoes, wearing a watch worth seven figures 47.
• Eyes: His deep eyes draw Su Cimu’s attention during their first private conversation after becoming engaged 3.

Personality

Shen Yannian is composed, calculating, and accustomed to exercising authority. When his family challenges his engagement, he exposes Shen Kezhou’s infidelity and turns their business interests into an argument for accepting the new match. His standing is intimidating enough that even Su Cimu’s father and older brother initially doubt their ability to protect Su Cimu from him 2 12.

With Su Cimu, he is teasing, openly affectionate, and materially generous. He prepares food and entertainment at his office, cancels evening appointments for a family dinner, and readily buys expensive gifts. He also enjoys indulging Su Cimu’s boastfulness rather than undermining it 3 9 11 18.

His protectiveness is inseparable from possessiveness. He becomes jealous of Su Cimu’s closeness with other men and initially uses the Su family’s interests to pressure him. Although he apologizes and promises not to repeat that threat, he later resorts to threatening language again during an argument over Su Cimu’s injuries before recognizing his mistake and apologizing 4 12 18 44 48.

He takes their engagement seriously and reacts coldly when Su Cimu casually suggests ending it. At the same time, he is willing to concede fault, comfort Su Cimu, and accommodate changes such as moving into Su Cimu’s apartment during the semester 8 18 40 48.

Abilities & Skills

Business Leadership

Shen Yannian controls Shen Group and has the authority to direct major projects, personnel, and company resources 3 13.

• Personally takes over the Su–Shen joint venture, valued at ten billion, and excludes Shen Kezhou from it 2 3.
• Makes Shen Group’s top legal team available to Su Cimu after the dispute with Han Yi 47.
• Uses his wealth to arrange a limited-edition car’s airfreight delivery and offer a ten-million investment to Jing Jun’s hospital 18 48.

Driving & Racing

• Places second in his first exhibition race, behind Su Cimu 8.
• Refuses to drive after drinking even a small amount of alcohol and calls for a driver instead 8.

Physical Strength & Combat

• Restrains and carries Su Cimu during their early confrontations 4.
• Knocks down a knife-wielding attacker at a bar and pins the man’s palm beneath his foot 24.
• His strength does not make restraining Su Cimu effortless; during a later argument, he is surprised by how difficult Su Cimu is to hold still 48.

Possessions & Properties

• Huaishan Manor — His most frequently used residence, managed by Butler Shen 4 8.
• Chairman’s office — Includes a private elevator and an adjoining lounge with a bed. He registers Su Cimu’s fingerprint for convenient access 9 11.
• Hotel suite — Used for business discussions and meals; later becomes the setting for a date with Su Cimu 20.
• Luxury watch — Worth seven figures and noticed by Han Yi during the university confrontation 47.
• Ninety-nine roses — A gift from Su Cimu that prompts his first-ever Moments post; he refuses to hand the bouquet to anyone else at the hotel 19 20.

Relationships

• Su Cimu — Fiancé. Shen Yannian’s attraction predates their engagement by a year. Their relationship develops through affectionate care, jealousy, disputes over boundaries, and increasing involvement in each other’s daily lives 4 9 21 40 50.
• Shen Kezhou — Nephew and Su Cimu’s former boyfriend. Shen Yannian removes him from the joint venture after his affair humiliates the Su family 1 3 12.
• Shen Chuannan — Father and former chairman of Shen Group. They frequently exchange barbed remarks; Shen Yannian resists his initial refusal to recognize Su Cimu 12 13.
• Shen Zhongyuan and Hao Mei — Older brother and sister-in-law. They accuse him of taking Shen Kezhou’s partner, prompting him to reveal the circumstances of the broken engagement 12.
• Su Huaiyuan and Liang Zhen — Prospective parents-in-law. He insists on treating them as family and values the warmth of their household 5 11.
• Su Yunchao — Prospective brother-in-law. Initially wary of the match, Su Yunchao secures Shen Yannian’s agreement to remove Shen Kezhou from their families’ project 2 3.
• Wan Ke — Assistant. Handles his schedule, documents, purchases, and arrangements for Su Cimu 3 9 18.
• Butler Shen — Household manager, introduced to Su Cimu as “Uncle Shen.” Oversees domestic needs at Shen Yannian’s residence 4 8.
• Fang Youwei — Friend who teases him about his relationship and later dates Su Cimu’s cousin Liang Tian 23 24 40.
• Liang Tian — Su Cimu’s older cousin. Shen Yannian initially regards their closeness warily before learning they are relatives 7.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Unexpected Engagement

Shen Yannian arrives at his nephew’s engagement banquet after finishing corporate business, only to be selected as Su Cimu’s replacement fiancé. He accepts publicly and refuses the Su family’s attempts to dismiss the proposal as an impulsive joke 1 2.

He invokes the families’ ten-billion joint venture to reinforce the engagement, but subsequently states that a business deal alone would not have persuaded him to marry. At Su Yunchao’s request, he takes personal control of the project and removes Shen Kezhou 2 3.

Their first night together establishes a conflict over control: Shen Yannian insists on sharing a bedroom and pressures Su Cimu using his family’s interests. He later apologizes and solemnly promises not to threaten him through the Su family again 4 12.

Public Recognition & Family Opposition

Shen Yannian brings Su Cimu to Shen Group, introduces him as his fiancé, and grants him unrestricted access to his office. His visible affection becomes a subject of employee gossip 9 14.

At the Shen estate, he rejects accusations that Su Cimu seduced him away from his nephew and reveals Shen Kezhou’s affair with Liang Xi. He continues defending Su Cimu at Shen Chuannan’s seventieth birthday banquet, where the older man eventually accepts the engagement 12 27 29.

Afterward, he shields Su Cimu from Su Huaiyuan’s anger over an eight-hundred-million painting taken without permission. He offers to replace it with a more valuable painting while also requiring Su Cimu to apologize 30.

Courtship & Negotiating Boundaries

After wrongly suspecting Su Cimu of taking a male escort away for sex, Shen Yannian accepts his explanation that he was helping the indebted law student Su Xiaoke. He apologizes and agrees to buy Su Cimu a twenty-million limited-edition car 18.

Su Cimu later surprises him with ninety-nine roses and a date. Their intimacy leads Su Cimu to demand a written agreement limiting sexual activity; Shen Yannian signs and fingerprints it, then immediately argues over when its terms begin. Following further disputes about his failure to observe it, they void the agreement and later negotiate semester living arrangements and weekday limits 19 20 21 36 40.

Shen Yannian moves into Su Cimu’s apartment after accompanying him to university registration. By the end of the supplied chapters, they have moved into a new apartment and host friends for lunch 41 44 50.

Han Yi Dispute

When Su Cimu calls after fighting Han Yi, Shen Yannian leaves a departmental review meeting and rushes to University A. He supports Su Cimu’s refusal to settle, offers the company’s legal team, and tells the teacher to contact him directly whenever Su Cimu needs help 45 47.

His anger over Su Cimu’s injuries causes another argument on the way to the hospital. He apologizes for raising his voice and explains that he is upset because Su Cimu was hurt, not because the incident interrupted his work 48.

He subsequently forces Han Yi to strike his own face, demanding twice the injuries Su Cimu suffered and threatening intervention by his men. When Su Cimu asks whether he beat Han Yi, Shen Yannian denies doing so 49 50.

Notable Quotes

“Don't worry, Brother-in-law. Now that we're engaged, Xiao Ci is mine. Dealing with any trouble he causes is part of my responsibility.” 3

“Do I need a reason to be good to you? You're mine, and I've always protected my own.” 18

“No matter what time it is, I'll always put Su Cimu first.” 47

Trivia

• He is afraid of heights, forcing a change of plans when Su Cimu takes him to a suspended restaurant 20.
• His first-ever Moments post shows off the ninety-nine roses Su Cimu gives him 19.
• He rarely drinks beer and is initially unfamiliar with Su Cimu and Liang Tian’s casual late-night dining setting, though he denies looking down on it 8.
• He claims to have drunk a glass of milk every day since puberty while persuading Su Cimu to drink milk to grow taller 32.