Li Yankai

Biodata

Background / History

Childhood

Li Yankai lived near the Sheng family’s home as a child, where he became friends with Ji Wangyun. He admired the older boy’s willingness to try things he himself found frightening. During one outing, they poked a beehive; Ji Wangyun escaped, but Li Yankai was stung and cried. Afterward, their activities became safer, including playing in the sand. They lost contact after Li Yankai moved away and transferred schools 164 165.

He also quietly kept Ji Wangyun company on a swing at night. These memories remained important to both of them: Ji Wangyun preserved childhood photographs, while Li Yankai later worried that he was the only one who remembered their time together 302 304.

His parents raised him to believe that the family had gone bankrupt and was now an ordinary, financially constrained household. In reality, they were wealthy, and his older cousin’s family helped maintain the deception 223.

Friendship with Xie Zhuzhou

At university, Li Yankai became Xie Zhuzhou’s classmate and roommate. He promised to keep Xie’s television appearance secret and invited him to lunch. Their friendship developed through campus gossip, teasing, and Li Yankai’s concern over the hostility Xie attracted 11 63.

At Xie’s birthday banquet, Li Yankai compared the assembled potential matches to a selection of imperial consorts. His closeness to Xie led Qin Fang to mistake him for a boyfriend and offer fifty million to leave him. Li Yankai regretted correcting the misunderstanding before he could benefit, while Lin Shu attacked Qin Fang for trying to put a price on her cousin 86 88.

He later gave Xie a fountain pen as a belated birthday present. When angry Love 5 viewers pursued them on campus, Xie pulled him through a ground-floor window and carried him over a perimeter wall. Li Yankai promised to keep Xie’s extraordinary abilities secret and asked to learn them. Xie’s joke that the technique required castration prompted an alarming conversation with Li Yankai’s parents—and a beating once they learned why he had raised the subject 93 94.

Li Yankai continued joining Xie’s outings, including an amusement-park visit where he and Ji Wangyun disrupted a haunted-house attraction by dragging out its little ghost and dismantling its home. He later declined Xie’s offer of a junior management position at one of his companies 100 139.

Reconnecting with Ji Wangyun

Li Yankai visited Ji Wangyun after his head injury and apparent severe amnesia. He explained their childhood connection, took time off to keep him company, peeled apples for him, and reassured him that his family cared about him 164 165.

Their growing closeness was disrupted by Ji Wangyun’s repeated references to Li Yaokun. Li Yankai felt inexplicably uncomfortable hearing that name. Around this time, he accepted a school exchange placement recommended by his class monitor and told Ji Wangyun he would be leaving the following morning 193.

His jealousy disappeared after Ji Wangyun explained that Li Yaokun was a dog. Li Yankai then became noticeably warmer toward him 245.

Discovering His Family’s Wealth

Li Yankai initially accepted his father’s explanation that his designer shoes were unwanted hand-me-downs from his boss. Rather than suspecting wealth, he hugged Li Shangfeng and blamed himself for being unable to give his father a better life 149.

Once he discovered the truth, he confronted both parents. His anger centered on being deceived and made to feel foolish, particularly because other relatives had participated. He left home, missed the dormitory curfew, and spent the night at an internet café. Xie subsequently offered him five thousand yuan and the use of an apartment near school 223 224.

Li Yankai blocked his parents and continued living independently. Although he remained angry, he also found relief in knowing that he no longer needed to worry about supporting them in old age 226 250 266.

Kidnapping and Rescue

Men whose company had been ruined by Li Shangfeng abducted Li Yankai and took him to an abandoned factory. Ji Wangyun witnessed the kidnapping, followed their car, and contacted Xie for help 226 227.

Li Yankai tried to protect himself by portraying his father as neglectful and himself as a desperately unfortunate son. His account won sympathy from several kidnappers and convinced the listening Xie that his friend had endured serious hardship. After Li Yankai became unresponsive, Ji Wangyun attacked the kidnappers; Xie and Aolai joined him in subduing them 227 228.

The following chapter reveals that much of Li Yankai’s story was fabricated or distorted. He had not borrowed from loan sharks, lacked neither tuition nor food, and had only recently started working part-time. His claim to have long worked three jobs was also invented. Even the five hundred yuan used for Xie’s pen came from a lottery prize, not prolonged saving. Xie nevertheless repeated an embellished version of the story to Li Shangfeng, leaving Li Yankai embarrassed and his father distraught 229.

Independent Work and Romantic Realization

Li Yankai continued working rather than returning home. A café owner offered to promote him to supervisor and raise his pay, and he invited Xie to dinner to thank him for providing somewhere to live 266.

He initially described his ideal partner as a smart, mature older woman with a strong desire for control. Despite finding Qingke beautiful, he had rejected her because he wanted someone who genuinely made his heart race 267.

During the summer vacation, an evening with Ji Wangyun forced him to recognize his attraction. After an awkwardly intimate encounter while catching a chinchilla, followed by a dream about Ji Wangyun, he accepted that his feelings were romantic. By then, he was genuinely working three jobs—at a café, restaurant, and pool hall 296 297.

Coming Out and Confession

Li Yankai returned home to tell his parents he was gay. Anticipating their reaction, he wore an extra tank top under his shirt and messaged Xie beforehand. Xie and Chu Yanzhang arrived during the confrontation, preventing it from escalating into the beating Li Yankai feared 297.

Outside, Li Yankai admitted that he liked Ji Wangyun but asked Xie not to tell him. He feared burdening Ji Wangyun and did not know whether his feelings could be returned. Xie later announced at the Ji family dinner that “a friend” had come out, giving Ji Wangyun hope without directly naming Li Yankai 298.

On a walk toward Peace Temple, Li Yankai confessed first. Ji Wangyun reciprocated, admitting that he had been suppressing his feelings out of guilt. Li Yankai then directly asked whether they should start dating. They agreed, and Ji Wangyun announced their relationship to friends and family the next day 300 301.

Internship and Meeting the Parents

After they began dating, Li Yankai learned that Ji Wangyun’s cherished photographs were of him. Rather than finding the collection troubling, he kissed Ji Wangyun and thanked him for remembering their shared childhood 302.

He quit his part-time jobs to intern at Ji Wangyun’s company. The arrangement offered meals, internship certification, and time with his boyfriend; Xie also asked him to ensure Ji Wangyun did not neglect work because of the relationship. Li Yankai became Ji Wangyun’s personal assistant and learned his food preferences and clothing sizes 302 303.

Two weeks after coming out, Li Yankai received his parents’ request to meet his partner. Ji Wangyun attended with Ji Wangchen and Ji Wangyan. Although the Li couple initially feared the Ji family’s reputation, they grew increasingly satisfied with Ji Wangyun’s sincerity and affection for their son 305 306.

In the later extras, Li Yankai remains close to the Ji family. Before leaving on his honeymoon, Xie entrusts him with supervising his brothers’ work 312.

Appearance

• Complexion and build: Honey-colored skin and a muscular, well-developed physique 164 296.
• Face and eyes: Described as handsome, with bright black eyes 164 301.
• Height: Slightly shorter than Ji Wangyun 164.
• Hands: Slender; Ji Wangyun finds his movements while peeling an apple pleasing to watch 165.

Personality

Li Yankai is cheerful, talkative, and fond of irreverent jokes. He banters easily with Xie and can make formal occasions difficult to endure without laughing. His apparent simplicity is partly deliberate: he understands Xie’s wariness and consciously plays the harmless, naïve friend to remain close to him 63 86 111.

He is more resourceful than that image suggests. During his kidnapping, he improvises an increasingly elaborate story that shifts several captors from hostility to sympathy. He also recognizes that Xie responds better to gentleness than force and notices his generosity toward vulnerable animals 111 227 229.

Independence and stubbornness define his response to his parents’ deception. He refuses to return merely because he now knows they are rich, enjoys watching his own savings grow, and resists relying indefinitely on Ji Wangyun. Paid work gives him satisfaction beyond its monetary value 250 266 296 302.

Once certain of what he wants, he acts decisively. He accepts his attraction, comes out, and confesses before the more cautious Ji Wangyun can take the initiative. His confidence does not eliminate vulnerability: he fears rejection and is deeply moved that Ji Wangyun treasures memories of a childhood self he had considered unattractive and unimportant 297 300 301 306.

Abilities & Skills

Improvisation and Persuasion

• Maintains a deliberately guileless manner around the suspicious Xie Zhuzhou 111.
• Uses emotional storytelling to distract his kidnappers and weaken their resolve 227.
• His fabricated hardship story also convinces his rescuers and father, creating consequences he did not anticipate 229.

Cooking

• Grills fish skillfully, producing a crisp exterior and tender flesh.
• Learned the technique from a friend and takes over when Ji Wangyun’s attempts fail 304.

Physical Capability

• Dodges a kidnapper’s attempt to stamp on his bound hands 227.
• Carries Ji Wangyun on his back after the meeting with his parents and later carries him bridal-style after another drinking gathering 306 312.
• Asks Xie to teach him martial arts, but no actual training or supernatural advancement is documented 94.

Personal Assistance

• Learns Ji Wangyun’s everyday preferences and clothing sizes 303.
• Accepts responsibility for helping keep him focused at work; Xie later extends that supervisory request to his brothers generally 302 312.

Relationships

• Ji Wangyun — Childhood friend and eventual boyfriend. Li Yankai admires him, initiates their confession, and wants to care for him in return rather than only receive protection 165 300 304.
• Xie Zhuzhou — Classmate, roommate, and close friend. Their teasing friendship includes mutual confidence, practical support, and Xie’s assistance during both the kidnapping and Li Yankai’s coming out 94 224 228 297.
• Li Shangfeng — Father. His concealment of the family fortune causes their estrangement; he later meets Ji Wangyun and becomes increasingly receptive to the relationship 223 306.
• Madam Li — Mother. Li Yankai feels that she prioritizes his father’s feelings over his own. She initially struggles with his coming out but later investigates Ji Wangyun’s character and grows fond of him 298 306.
• Lin Shu — Older cousin and outspoken defender. She attacks Qin Fang after he suggests paying Li Yankai to leave Xie 88.
• Chu Yanzhang — Xie’s partner. He is jealous of Li Yankai’s physical closeness to Xie, but accompanies Xie when Li Yankai needs support at home and recognizes his feelings for Ji Wangyun 224 297 298.

Notable Quotes

“I was only informing them. I decide my own life.” 298

“I do, Brother Wangyun. I like you. It isn't just a simple liking. I want to be with you, to know everything about you, to share my life with you.” 300

“Brother Wangyun, I'll be good to you, too.” 304