Gu Zhijing

Biodata

Background / History

Leaving the Gu Family

Gu Zhijing grew up in a wealthy household without experiencing significant hardship. After he graduated from high school, his family planned to send him abroad to study management. He bought himself a small right-ear earring as a coming-of-age gift and a discreet affirmation of his sexual orientation 8.

Before his departure, his parents pressured him to meet a girl from the Lin family. Recognizing the proposed meeting as a step toward a business marriage, he refused. His father’s explanation—that Gu Zhijing belonged to the Gu family while his sister would eventually marry out—made him realize that their parents treated both children as instruments of family interests 9.

When Gu Zeduan confronted him about his earring and sexuality, Gu Zhijing refused to deny who he was. He left home, and his family cut off his financial support to pressure him into returning, accepting the marriage arrangement, and following their plans for his future 9.

Becoming a Trainee

Unable to find work and running short of food, Gu Zhijing accepted Fei Yue’s offer to become a trainee in exchange for meals, accommodation, and a base salary. Fei Yue recruited him for his looks; Gu Zhijing initially regarded the arrangement as a livelihood rather than a calling. By his introduction, he had trained for four months 1 8.

He met Sheng Chi while posting a company recruitment notice and mistook him for an applicant for a staff position. Interpreting Sheng Chi’s description of himself as an “all-rounder” as technical versatility, Gu Zhijing immediately tried to befriend him. He only learned afterward that Sheng Chi was a trainee who intended to become his captain 1 2.

After Gu Zhijing placed fifth in the July evaluation, Sheng Chi offered to help him debut. His personalized training improved Gu Zhijing’s fundamentals and gradually replaced his habit of prolonged slacking with a more consistent routine 7 8.

Family Pressure and the Debut Decision

Gu Zhixing continued contacting her brother despite his repeated changes of phone number. She warned that their father might have his entire group banned if he debuted. Worried about harming Leap Entertainment and destroying Sheng Chi’s opportunity, Gu Zhijing deliberately withheld his singing during an evaluation and claimed that becoming an idol had never been his dream 8 10.

The claim concealed how much training and performing had come to mean to him. After their argument, he challenged his family directly, telling them he would be ashamed of them if they interfered. Gu Zeduan ultimately decided to let him proceed and asked Gu Zhixing whether she wanted to learn management 11.

Gu Zhijing then reconciled with Sheng Chi and committed to pursuing a debut alongside him. Sheng Chi suggested rap as a way to distinguish himself in the final evaluation and offered to teach him 11 12 13.

Color4’s Debut and Breakthrough

Gu Zhijing debuted in Color4 alongside Sheng Chi, Jiang Yu, and Xu Linyuan. Their debut initially attracted little attention and hostile comments, while their obscurity prevented them from securing a promotional appearance on Music New Trends 15 16.

The group’s fortunes changed after an autumn music festival performance. Gu Zhijing and Sheng Chi traded rap lines in a duet, and an audience member’s recording spread rapidly on Weibo. Viewers sought out Color4’s other performances, bringing the group a sudden influx of fans 20 21.

Their growing visibility also brought harassment. After collecting an unexpected package, Gu Zhijing discovered that sasaengs were following him and had obtained his phone number. Sheng Chi helped him evade them, and the company subsequently promised tighter security and a statement 23 24.

Competition and Growing Confidence

On Starlight Show, Gu Zhijing’s blind-box draw paired Color4 against Shooter. He suggested performing the unreleased song “Tonight,” combining their competitive stage with promotion for their first album 26.

During the performance, faulty in-ear audio left him struggling to hear the backing track. Sheng Chi’s promised harmony helped steady him, allowing him to recover and finish the stage. Color4 subsequently defeated Shooter by 149,536 votes to 146,871 28 30.

For a collaboration with Light, Gu Zhijing accepted a center role in an unfamiliar style. His live performance exceeded his rehearsals, combining Light’s choreography with his own sharper, more explosive delivery. The experience gave him a new sense that he belonged onstage 36 37 38.

Color4 later earned first place on New Direction with “Set off” and attended the CMJ Music Awards. Their subsequent activities included a romantic stage for “Customized Heart-Fluttering,” a company-arranged aquarium date filmed with Sheng Chi, and a fan signing 40 41 44 45 47 49.

Appearance

• Face and eyes: Exceptionally good-looking, with dark pupils and expressive peach-blossom eyes. His usual appearance is clean-cut and youthful, softening the naturally alluring shape of his eyes 1 13.
• Right-ear piercing: Has a single small piercing in his right earlobe. His understated silver stud is described as luxurious and worth at least five figures 3 8.
• Build: Appears noticeably thin without his bulky winter jacket 36.
• Stage styling: Wears dark chestnut hair for an early Color4 performance and smudged eye makeup for the Light collaboration, departing from his sweeter everyday image 17 38.
• Formal styling: Draws attention on the CMJ red carpet in a suit and gold-rimmed glasses 41.

Personality

Gu Zhijing is outgoing, playful, and skilled at making people comfortable. He readily adopts affectionate forms of address, jokes with staff, and gets acquainted with Light’s senior members within two hours of practice. At Leap Entertainment, he often mediates disputes out of gratitude to Fei Yue and a desire to spare him additional trouble 1 3 4 37.

His agreeable manner does not mean he lacks resolve. He refuses to deny his sexuality or accept his family’s prescribed future, even after losing their support. He is especially vulnerable to threats against people close to him: fear of harming his teammates, rather than fear for himself, drives his attempted withdrawal from debut contention 8 9 10.

Initially lax about training and idol rules, he enjoys snacks, takeout, games, and opportunities to avoid practice. He also eats junk food when unhappy. As his commitment develops, he becomes willing to tackle unfamiliar performances and maintains a cheerful on-camera manner even when physically uncomfortable 1 10 36 45.

Abilities & Skills

Stage Expression

Gu Zhijing’s most distinctive strength is his ability to hold an audience’s attention through expressions, eye contact, and changes in persona 6 17.

• Maintains controlled facial expressions throughout his early improvised evaluation performance 6.
• Shifts from a sweet, approachable image to a rebellious or seductive stage presence 17 38.
• Performs better in front of cheering audiences than in rehearsal, visibly responding to their enthusiasm 38.
• Uses flirtatious camera interaction to open Color4’s romantic stage 47.

Singing and Dance

His early training improves both singing and dancing, though his fundamentals initially lag behind his natural expressiveness 1 6.

• Improvises an entire evaluation dance to a song whose choreography he has never learned 6.
• Initially lacks strength and becomes short of breath partway through that performance 6.
• Develops substantially under Sheng Chi’s individual coaching 8 9.
• Adapts Light’s choreography into a clean, forceful personal style, although his technique remains below that of the group’s experienced members 38.

Rap

Sheng Chi teaches Gu Zhijing rap to broaden his performance options and create a stronger contrast with his youthful appearance 12 13.

• His early flow and diction strongly reflect Sheng Chi’s instruction 17.
• Performs an audience-rousing exchange of rap lines with Sheng Chi at the autumn music festival 20.
• His initial delivery is still described as somewhat raw 17.

Social Skills and Fan Interaction

• Defuses trainee conflicts through interruptions and changes of subject 1 3 4.
• Defends Jiang Yu against a dismissive senior guitarist using pointed but outwardly courteous language 20.
• Adjusts his manner to fans, readily wearing their offered accessories and putting on a bridal veil at a signing 49.
• Recovers from being publicly skipped by a fan by warmly inviting the next attendee forward 50.

Equipment / Items

• Coming-of-age earring — The gift he bought himself before leaving home; closely connected to his assertion of independence and sexuality 8 9.
• Headbands and wristbands — Accessories he wears during training 12 23.
• Snacks and chocolate — Frequent personal staples. His snacking is partly connected to low blood sugar, though he also eats for enjoyment and comfort 1 10 33 34.

Relationships

• Sheng Chi — Captain, roommate, mentor, and romantic interest. His instruction shapes Gu Zhijing’s singing, dance, rap, and stage habits. Gu Zhijing credits him as the starting point of his idol dream, but repeatedly mistakes his affection and jealousy for ordinary concern or professional strictness. The supplied chapters show mutual pining, not an established relationship 11 24 28 33 46 49 50.
• Xu Linyuan — Roommate and teammate who knew him before Sheng Chi arrived. He recognizes Gu Zhijing’s distress, helps him request leave after the evaluation dispute, and understands more of his family situation than Gu Zhijing explicitly tells him 3 10 44.
• Jiang Yu — Roommate and teammate. Gu Zhijing often mediates his conflicts with Qi Wang and later stands up for him when a guitarist dismisses his request for advice 3 4 20.
• Fei Yue — Recruiter and company head. He gives Gu Zhijing material support and encourages him not to belittle himself, calling him his ideal boy-group visual 1 8 11.
• Gu Zeduan — Father. Attempts to enforce the family’s succession and marriage plans by withdrawing financial support; eventually allows Gu Zhijing to pursue entertainment without intervening 9 11.
• Gu Zhixing — Older sister. Initially acts on their parents’ behalf, repeatedly contacting him and warning that his career could endanger his group 8 9.
• Chen Bei — Shooter’s captain, who directly expresses attraction to him. Gu Zhijing politely rejects him over WeChat using the warning that idols are “beheaded” for dating 31 33.
• Color — Color4’s adopted cat. Gu Zhijing persuades Sheng Chi to agree to the adoption and later helps feed the cat 18 24.

Fandom

• Secret fan account: Creates the Weibo account “Centrifugal Heart·” to support Sheng Chi and explore trainee fan communities 12.
• Changing fan identity: Initially imagines becoming Sheng Chi’s fan-club president, tries calling himself a “mom fan” to redirect his attraction, and eventually privately identifies as a girlfriend fan 24 25 40 43.
• Shengjing: The fan pairing of Sheng Chi and Gu Zhijing, popularized by their duet rap and interactions in Color4’s variety show 21.
• Popularity: By the preparations for the paired shopping dates, he has quietly become Color4’s most popular member, attracting particularly high proportions of mom fans, feminizing fans, and CP fans 44.

Notable Quotes

“But I have a new dream. … I want to debut with you.” 11

“We’ll keep learning. Anyway, this industry is only so big. I hope we’ll have another chance to meet in the future.” 20

“Senior, in our line of work, idols get their heads chopped off for dating. I don’t want to die just yet, sorry.” 33