Ji Chi

Biodata

Background

Ji Chi grows up pampered and loved in the wealthy Ji family. The author explains that, because he has never lacked affection, he initially struggles to recognize romantic love. His closest model for an unfamiliar attachment is Quan Chongnian’s affection for his dog, Xiao Guai, leading him to misinterpret his interest in Wen He as something like keeping a pet 27.

The Ji and Xie families have business ties, primarily handled by Ji Chi’s father and older brother. Xie Zhengci approaches Grandpa Ji while arranging his own participation in the dating show, and Ji Chi ultimately joins under family pressure. He expects to amuse himself briefly and then go home 30 130.

Appearance

Ji Chi is tall and handsome, with long legs and a strong physique. His hair and distinctive earring make him recognizable to Wen He even before the details of his face become clear in Wen He’s dreams 4 5 10.

• Hair: Black with a few red strands 10.
• Earring: A tiger-head blue diamond in his earlobe, which he frequently touches or rubs 5 31.
• Neck: A prominent Adam’s apple with a tiny black mole to its left 77.
• Build: Strong enough to carry Wen He easily and complete twenty push-ups with him seated on his back 7 33.
• Expressions: Often wears an arrogant or mocking look; Wen He later notices that his sincere smiles make his eyes look like stars 13 39 84.

Personality

Ji Chi is arrogant, impatient, and openly resistant to being told what to do. He gives other contestants a cold reception, dislikes people who hesitate, and can be contemptuous toward those he finds uninteresting. His treatment of Zhou Siyu during their seaside outing—culminating in leaving him alone at a café—draws criticism from livestream viewers 4 13 22 82.

With Wen He, his favorite form of interaction is teasing. He invents excuses for attention, feigns vulnerability, and deliberately provokes reactions from Wen He’s usually absentminded expression. These tactics include pretending to have lost his phone, exaggerating his distress while ill, and faking tears to secure comfort and physical affection 9 19 59.

His early affection is possessive rather than well understood: he resents Wen He spending time with others while denying that his own feelings are love. Over time, this develops into practical care, a direct confession, and a willingness to let Wen He influence him. He tells Wen He that he may boss him around, though his continued smoking shows that this change is not immediate or complete 21 23 85 110 116.

Ji Chi is particular about dirt and smells. He immediately washes his hands after the push-up dare, sends Wen He to shower after contact with a dog, and objects when Wen He smells of alcohol and roses 7 16 33.

Abilities & Skills

Physical Strength and Coordination

• Completes twenty push-ups with Wen He on his back without apparent difficulty 7.
• Repeatedly carries Wen He, including while he is asleep or recovering from injury 33 80 126.
• Clears the rope during an orchard challenge that Jiang Ye struggles with 43.
• Pops balloons with darts after previously pretending that his sore hands prevent him from playing properly 46.

Photography

• Takes a candid photograph of Wen He that captures his smile beneath the reef’s patterned sunlight; Wen He is pleased with the result 88.
• Contrasts this successful shot with the unflattering photographs taken on Wen He’s cheaper phone 88.

Games

• Helps Wen He win a board game by directing his moves 85.
• Volunteers to carry Wen He through a partnered four-player card game 122.
• Exploits an orchard challenge’s rules by collecting the twenty peaches Jiang Ye has placed on the task table, despite having picked none himself 43.

Caregiving

• Initially knows little about handling illness and seeks instructions when Wen He develops a high fever 34.
• Learns to dry Wen He’s hair gently, improving from his earlier rough handling and poor control of the dryer’s temperature 75 97.
• Checks injuries, supplies sunburn ointment, arranges medical examinations, and prepares prescribed herbal medicine 47 97 114 116.
• Uses milk candies and water to help Wen He tolerate the medicine’s bitterness 114 116.

Equipment & Possessions

• Tiger-head blue-diamond earring — His most recognizable accessory and a habitual focus of his hand movements 5 31.
• Limited-edition sports car — Drives it away from his seaside outing without waiting for the production crew 13.
• Modified stretch Bentley — Uses it to take Wen He home after his hospital discharge 37.
• Red panda plush — Initially receives a gray seal from Zhang Shengsheng, then keeps Wen He’s red panda after they exchange toys. The panda later sits beside his bed 16 31 83.
• Three claw-machine plushies — Gifts Wen He wins and brings to his room 101.

Relationships

• Wen He — Romantic partner and eventual spouse. Ji Chi’s initial amusement becomes jealousy, sustained caregiving, and an explicit declaration of love. They become an acknowledged couple in Chapter 110 and later marry 110 130.
• Grandpa Ji — His grandfather, who watches the show, warns him not to bully Wen He, and celebrates their growing closeness. He warmly welcomes Wen He into the family home 6 27 127.
• Ji Han — His older brother. Handles much of the family’s business contact with the Xie family; Quan Chongnian also notes that having an older brother gives Ji Chi fewer family burdens 30 104.
• Quan Chongnian — Close friend and confidant. Offers advice about Ji Chi’s feelings, helps investigate Wen He’s medication, and works with him. They later live next door to one another 21 76 104 130.
• Jiang Ye — Romantic rival for Wen He’s affection. Ji Chi mocks him, resents his dates with Wen He, and proves an uncooperative teammate during the peach-picking challenges 23 30 43 46.
• Zhou Siyu — The person Ji Chi’s dream predicts he will love. After deliberately assessing him on an outing, Ji Chi finds that he has no romantic interest in him 12 13 23.
• Xie Zhengci — Business-family acquaintance whose dating livestream Ji Chi watches for lessons. Ji Chi also becomes jealous at the prospect of Wen He sharing a room with him 30 44.
• Zhang Shengsheng — Fellow contestant who finds Ji Chi intimidating and worries about his treatment of Wen He. He gives Ji Chi the seal plush that is later exchanged for Wen He’s red panda 16 22 73 119.

Story Role & Major Arcs

Joining the Show and Testing the Dream

Ji Chi arrives with little enthusiasm for the program but quickly becomes interested in Wen He’s unusual reactions and vacant expression. Meanwhile, the dream’s prediction that he will pursue Zhou Siyu prompts him to investigate Zhou Siyu personally. Their outing leaves him unimpressed, and he abandons the date after paying for coffee and desserts 4 5 12 13.

Jealousy and Learning to Court

Ji Chi becomes increasingly upset by Wen He’s attention to Jiang Ye. He initially dismisses his attachment as a desire to keep an amusing “pet,” then decides that keeping Wen He beside him matters more than immediately defining his feelings. Encouraged by livestream comments, he begins watching other contestants’ dates to learn how courtship works 21 23 27 30 31.

Wen He’s fever exposes the limits of Ji Chi’s confidence: he panics, seeks medical guidance, and stays attentive through the illness and hospital discharge. His care continues afterward through food, medicine reminders, and protection from the sun 34 36 37 39 40.

First Kiss and an Undefined Relationship

On Saint Ma Island, Ji Chi claims Wen He as his “wife” to a photographer and draws him into a couple’s photograph. Later, in the pear orchard, he tells Wen He that best friends kiss and persuades him to initiate their first kiss 88 90.

Ji Chi takes the kiss as proof that they are a couple and proudly tells Quan Chongnian that he is in a relationship. Wen He, however, remains uncertain because neither has confessed. This mismatch is resolved when Ji Chi explicitly declares his love and asks Wen He to be his boyfriend; Wen He accepts 91 104 109 110.

Investigating Wen He’s Health

After noticing Wen He’s medication, Ji Chi asks Quan Chongnian to investigate it. He learns that it is associated with Frozen Blood Disease and resolves to seek treatment, including abroad if necessary 76 83.

A comprehensive examination at Anxin Private Hospital reveals serious harm from the medicine Wen He has been taking. Wen He says he does not expect to live past forty and tries to refuse a future together, but Ji Chi comforts him and begins preparing the newly prescribed herbal treatment. His distress at being unable to cure Wen He immediately continues beneath his teasing behavior 114 116.

Leaving the Show and Marriage

Near the program’s end, Ji Chi and Wen He finally leave for their first arranged date together. Afterward, Ji Chi brings Wen He home and persuades him to move in 116 126 127.

While collecting Wen He’s belongings, Ji Chi discovers a drawer full of empty medicine bottles and is visibly shaken. He asks Wen He to stop packing and promises to buy new things instead 128.

In his final retrospective, Ji Chi reveals that they move into a new home next door to Quan Chongnian. He also states that it takes him two years to persuade Wen He to marry him 130.

Notable Quotes

“I give you permission to boss me around.” 85

“I don't want to be a scumbag... I want to be your boyfriend. I want to be your husband...” 110

“Wen He... I love you. Will you be my boyfriend?” 110

“Things will get better. Everything will.” 126

Trivia

• Ji Chi hates tomatoes and ketchup, although he eats a ketchup-dipped fry while preoccupied with Wen He and Jiang Ye 23.
• He is unfazed by the haunted house’s effects but imagines how Wen He might react to them 22 23.
• Viewers describe a deliberately contrary response—“Because I can”—as “the Ji Chi personality type” 101.
• He does not like pear blossoms, but later regards the pear tree beneath which he and Wen He first kissed as a witness to their relationship 130.
• The author explicitly identifies Ji Chi as the male lead and describes his initially warped understanding of affection as something he must learn to change 27.