Pei Zeyan

Biodata

Appearance

• Physique: Exercises regularly and develops a defined eight-pack through workouts and dietary restriction 90 281.
• Eyes and expressions: Has lively eyes that curve into crescents when he smiles. Wen Zhao finds his changing expressions unusually easy to read 181 192 290.
• Role preparation: Loses four kilograms over several days at a director’s request before playing a cancer patient 270.

Personality

Pei Zeyan is competitive, boastful, and easily provoked into proving himself. He persists through a punishing boxing match against a trained twelve-year-old for both the prize money and his dignity. His reluctance to admit weakness also leads him to drink at a gathering despite knowing his poor alcohol tolerance 90 184.

He follows online gossip closely and reacts strongly when he becomes its subject. After a joke about his intelligence trends, he spends an entire morning trying to convince netizens that he is not an idiot. His impulsiveness becomes more consequential when he attacks Wen Zhao’s detractors without realizing he is using his public account 119 200 201.

His concern for others often contradicts his defensive words. Although he insists that he wants distance from Wen Zhao, he abandons his departure plans after learning of Wen Zhao’s injury. He also pays a stranger’s hospital expenses and uses playful competition to help that patient regain his appetite and confidence 195 203 271 273.

Abilities & Skills

Acting

An established actor with credits, popularity, and acting skills the director considers decent enough to welcome him into a production 175.

• Secures a substantial guest role by emailing his résumé and offering to appear without pay 175.
• Delivers a drunken performance exceeding the director’s expectations after drinking real liquor, although his intoxication forces the next scene to be postponed 176.
• Maintains his performance and arrives on time for scenes even while avoiding his colleagues between takes 192.
• Has previously returned to filming after receiving five stitches 199.

Gaming

Identifies gaming as his marketable skill when the variety-show cast needs money 41.

• Receives a gaming-partner contact from Qin Sili offering 1,000 yuan per hour 42.
• Takes over Wen Zhao’s game and defeats the Angela player who had repeatedly killed Wen Zhao’s character 111.

Sports and Performance

• Badminton: Claims he might have pursued the sport professionally if he had not become an actor. He later plays with Lin Xu and Wen Zhao while both use wheelchairs 272 273.
• Boxing: Wins a difficult match against a twelve-year-old with seven years of boxing training; his regular workouts do not make the contest easy 90.
• Song and dance: Rehearses a joint performance with Wen Zhao, including daily dance practice and assisted leg stretches 120.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Variety-Show Tasks and House Management

• Joins Wen Zhao and Lu Chiyan in seeking Qin Sili’s advice on earning money. Qin Sili arranges a paid gaming opportunity based on Pei Zeyan’s stated skill 41 42.
• Becomes the day’s house manager after Lu Chiyan predicts his assignment. Pei Zeyan blames Lu Chiyan for jinxing him, unaware that Lu Chiyan actually caused it 63 79.
• Finalizes an eight-act performance plan after a meeting lasting until one in the morning. Given the right to appoint the next life manager, he selects Lu Chiyan in retaliation 93.
• Helps promote the performance at shopping malls, encouraging Wen Zhao to dance and advertising through a megaphone as a crowd gathers 112.

“Good Buddies” and Dating Rumors

• His closeness with Wen Zhao attracts viewers’ attention, including Wen Zhao peeling shrimp for him and later hauling him away by the collar 50 102.
• Asks Wen Zhao to repost his declaration that they are good buddies. Wen Zhao adds a secretly taken photograph of Pei Zeyan watering the villa garden, and fans interpret the exchange as a relationship announcement 123.
• Nearly falls during their stage performance and is caught around the waist by Wen Zhao. When fans treat the moment as romantic choreography, Pei Zeyan posts a video explaining the accident and reiterating that they are friends 128.

Guest Role and Wen Zhao’s Confession

• Insists on joining the production featuring Wen Zhao, Lu Chiyan, and Gu Xia’an so the four can play mahjong. He arrives two days later with a role, only to discover that his busy schedule includes night scenes when the others are free 175.
• Receives extensive care from Wen Zhao, who stays during night shoots, lends him his RV for rest, handles his meals, and looks after him when drunk 176 186.
• While intoxicated, mistakes honey water for urine on one occasion and later tears Wen Zhao’s shirt while trying to photograph his abs. Wen Zhao kisses him during the latter incident, but Pei Zeyan falls asleep before it goes further 181 182 187.
• Is shocked when Wen Zhao confirms his attraction. He tells Lu Chiyan that Wen Zhao took his first kiss and insists he is straight, but cannot name a woman he likes when challenged 188 190.
• Tries to avoid Wen Zhao and leaves the production early. After finding his car filled with flowers from Wen Zhao, he gives them away at the airport rather than throwing them out 192 194.

Hospital Visit and Public Defense

• Initially dismisses the report of Wen Zhao’s injury as a trick, then asks about changing his flight after seeing the news online 195.
• Rushes to the hospital and mistakenly concludes from an overheard conversation that Wen Zhao has undergone an amputation. Wen Zhao actually has a right lateral malleolus fracture 196 199.
• Becomes angry that Wen Zhao intends to continue filming, then learns that the director offered rest but Wen Zhao declined amid hostile online commentary 199 200.
• Attacks the commenters from his main Weibo account by mistake, reaching the number-one trending spot. His company orders Niannian to keep him away from his phone; Lu Chiyan’s public support subsequently helps turn opinion in their favor 201 202.
• Pays Lin Xu’s medical and hospitalization expenses despite not previously knowing him, and stays until arrangements are made for Lin Xu’s parents to arrive 203.

Lin Xu’s Recovery

The ZhaoYan side stories begin during the meal arranged by Lu Chiyan, revisiting the period around his departure with Qin Sili 270.

• Visits Lin Xu with Wen Zhao after Lin Xu loses his leg and becomes withdrawn. By sharing his food, joking about future visits, and starting an eating race, Pei Zeyan gets him to eat voluntarily 271.
• Offers to obtain an electric wheelchair for Lin Xu and encourages him to play badminton, praising his successful returns while teasing Wen Zhao 272 273.
• Helps Lin Xu regain enough confidence to ask his mother to contact a prosthetics doctor and promise that he will live well 273.
• Continues calling Wen Zhao an ordinary friend, prompting Wen Zhao to state plainly that friendship has never been the relationship he wants 273.

Recognizing His Feelings

• Becomes frustrated when Wen Zhao stops initiating regular conversations. He asks Lu Chiyan whether ordinary friends can chat every day and later checks whether Wen Zhao will attend a fashion gala 274 275 276.
• Walks the red carpet with Wen Zhao and enthusiastically watches his performance, then claims during an interview that he did not pay attention. Footage of his reactions produces another round of trending jokes 276 277.
• Consults an online adviser called Happiness Expert. Asked to imagine someone else confessing to and kissing him, he realizes that his acceptance of Wen Zhao may not be ordinary friendship 278.
• Follows the adviser’s suggestions by posting a meal photograph visible only to Wen Zhao and sending an abdominal selfie. Wen Zhao responds with an ab photograph of his own 279 280 281 282.
• At a private dinner, initiates a kiss to test whether his racing heart means he likes Wen Zhao. Wen Zhao reciprocates and deepens the kiss 287.
• Welcomes Wen Zhao’s surprise visit three days later. They spend an intimate night together and explicitly exchange declarations of love 290.

Relationships

• Wen Zhao — Close friend, performance partner, and eventual romantic partner. Pei Zeyan initially rejects romantic interpretations of their bond before recognizing and reciprocating his feelings 123 190 287 290.
• Lu Chiyan — Close friend and frequent teasing partner. Pei Zeyan seeks his relationship advice, defends him as someone he would also protect online, and arranges time away from filming to visit after his car accident 190 202 231.
• Qin Sili — Fellow variety-show participant who finds him paid gaming work. Pei Zeyan praises his cooking and jokes that he would marry him if he were a woman 42 79.
• Gu Xia’an — Friend and fellow actor. He turns to her after Wen Zhao’s confession, only to discover that she already recognizes Wen Zhao’s interest and challenges his denial 175 191.
• Lin Xu — Hospital patient he supports financially and emotionally, helping him resume eating and take an interest in rehabilitation 203 271 273.
• Yangyang — Assistant who handles his belongings on set and searches for him when he disappears while drunk 176 177.
• Niannian — Assistant who monitors his online behavior, coordinates with Wen Zhao’s team, and helps arrange opportunities for the two to meet 201 276 285 286.
• Happiness Expert — Online dating adviser whose suggestions Pei Zeyan follows despite doubts about their reliability. The adviser also attempts to sell him virility pills 278 282 283 289.

Notable Quotes

“What about your leg? You play badminton with your hands, not your legs. It's not like I'm asking you to play soccer with me.” 273

“I'm a sewing machine. Pulling one up while stepping on another is what I do best!” 273

“So I need to check.” — Before initiating a kiss to test his feelings for Wen Zhao 287.

Trivia

• An old rumor falsely accused him of forcing extras to drink his foot-washing water. Wen Zhao remembers encountering it in short videos two years earlier, before they knew each other 92.
• His claim of a pollen allergy is not established as a genuine medical condition: he abruptly retracts it when speaking to the director, and Niannian later questions when he supposedly developed it 193 194.
• He normally uses an alternate Weibo account to browse gossip; forgetting to switch back after an official repost causes his public argument with Wen Zhao’s detractors 201.
• He keeps Wen Zhao’s signed photograph despite insisting he is not hoping to see him again soon 277.