Pei Yubai

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Xiu Yun Yin

Xiu Yun Yin came into being because of Qiguan Yuan. Upon his emergence, Qiguan Yuan assigned him the role of Moon Official: while Yue Lao drew bonds of fate, the Moon Official bore them. Yun Yin accepted and became Qiguan Yuan’s companion, untangling red threads, making osmanthus wine for him, and teaching him swordsmanship 121 146.

Yun Yin died, leaving a shattered soul that Qiguan Yuan sustained through the Tree of Fate. For eight hundred years, Qiguan Yuan used his power of origin to nurture the surviving soul. He recognized Pei Yubai as Yun Yin at their first meeting, despite Pei Yubai’s apparent lack of memories 135.

Family and Upbringing

Pei Yubai grew up as the only child of Pei Zhongkang and Shen Lingyi, surrounded by affection from his parents and grandparents. His father chairs Huateng Group, whose businesses include real estate, hotels, and film and television investment. His mother comes from an artistic family: her father is a nationally renowned oil painter, and her brother is an art academy dean 1 50 58.

He received an elite education, including personal guidance from his father in handling business and people. Although acknowledged as Huateng’s sole heir, he had not formally taken over the family business when the story began 58 109.

Acting Career

Pei Yubai graduated from film school at twenty and entered the industry as the second male lead in a major director’s art-house film. Within six years, he became a grand-slam Best Actor winner 1.

His family background became public when he was twenty-two, attaching the “crown prince” label to his name. He rejected the title in an interview, asking to be called Pei Yubai instead 1.

Appearance

• Build: Tall, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, defined chest muscles, and an eight-pack; muscular without being excessively bulky 118 149 150.
• Hands: Larger than Qiguan Yuan’s, capable of enveloping his hand 59.
• Clothing preference: Usually favors black. He later explains that fragmented memories left him feeling he needed to conceal something on his body to keep someone from becoming sad 141.
• Visible reactions: His ears and neck redden readily when Qiguan Yuan teases him, despite his composure before large audiences 27 52 60.
• Screen styling: One film costume pairs gold-rimmed glasses and a glasses chain with pale makeup, producing an ascetic appearance 97.

Personality

Pei Yubai is aloof, blunt, and exceptionally confident in his professional ability. He refuses social niceties he considers unnecessary, including declining a fellow actor’s photograph request simply because they are not close. His exacting standards apply equally to himself and other performers, and his criticism can be cutting enough to make inexperienced actors cry 1 2.

His indifference to criticism does not extend to attacks on his fans. Although he normally ignores smear campaigns against himself, he uses his connections and sends legal demand letters when a blogger instigates abuse of his supporters 101.

Before meeting Qiguan Yuan, he has no romantic experience and cannot tolerate others becoming physically close to him. Around Qiguan Yuan, his usual self-possession gives way to blushing, nervousness, jealousy, and a strong desire for company 50 52 72.

His affection is practical as well as openly expressed. He arranges specialist treatment for Qiguan Yuan’s back, learns to cook for him, and organizes his work so their time together remains uninterrupted. He also becomes increasingly playful and calculating in private, discovering that acting pitiful can persuade Qiguan Yuan to indulge him 57 97 145 147 172.

Abilities & Skills

Acting

• Portrays sharply different characters, including ordinary people, social elites, powerful ministers, and assassins. His performances are described as becoming the character rather than merely resembling one 2.
• Recognizes weaknesses in other actors’ performances and gives concrete corrections that improve their work 35 98.
• Initially struggles with intimate scenes because of his aversion to physical proximity 52.

Martial Arts and Swordsmanship

• Performs fluid screen combat involving throws, joint manipulation, blocks, and knee strikes 119.
• Identifies problems in Ji Shiyu’s fight choreography, including insufficient waist rotation and disconnected movements 120.
• Has formally studied swordsmanship and earned a certificate, finding the skill unusually easy to learn 121.
• Retains unconscious habits associated with Yun Yin, whose preferred and strongest weapon was the sword 121.

Fate-Thread Handling

• Untangles four intertwined fate-binding threads in less than thirty seconds, then separates a more complicated five-thread knot 157.
• Accomplishes this while still a mortal without spiritual power, astonishing Lu Zhao, the current Yue Lao 157.
• As the restored Moon Official, safeguards his bond with Qiguan Yuan through his primordial spirit 176.

Go and Five-in-a-Row

• Learned Go from Song Zhuangyi and has enough understanding to follow his game against Qiguan Yuan, though he did not pursue the game seriously 105.
• Deliberately leaves an opening during his five-in-a-row match with Qiguan Yuan and resigns, later noticing a diagonal line of five black stones 13.

Cooking and Household Care

• Begins as a poor cook, unable even to start the stilt house’s stove 32.
• Learns congee and fried eggs from Ji Shiyu, later preparing hangover soup with his help 63 133.
• Continues learning from the Pei Family cook, determined to cook for Qiguan Yuan rather than leave the work to him 172.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Marriage fortune stick — Given to him by Qiguan Yuan after their five-in-a-row match. Its verse reads, “When golden wind and jade dew meet.” He keeps it in his sleeve 13.
• Red wrist thread — Tied around his wrist by Qiguan Yuan before their departure from Cloud-Hidden Town. Pei Yubai tightens it and notices that it retains Qiguan Yuan’s fragrance 27.
• Exclusive guiding thread — A translucent red thread around his ring finger, visible only to him among the gathered guests. It points toward Qiguan Yuan and allows Pei Yubai to find him while the thread remains unbroken 60 73 130.
• Dust-Settling Red Cord — Qiguan Yuan’s sentient natal magical artifact, which Pei Yubai sometimes wears or handles. He initially mistakes it for an ordinary cord 97 117 155.
• Dyed cloth — A blue-and-white cloth bearing both their names, linked by a curved line. He folds it carefully with the names inside and keeps it in his pocket 67.
• Commissioned rings — Secretly arranges their creation before he and Qiguan Yuan post matching ring photographs on Weibo 152 169.

Relationships

• Qiguan Yuan — Lover and partner, both as Pei Yubai and as Xiu Yun Yin. Pei Yubai publicly calls him his boyfriend and later asks him to obtain a marriage certificate together 63 146 169.
• Pei Zhongkang — Father and chairman of Huateng Group. Supports his choice of a male partner; Pei Yubai also asks his parents to adopt Chenchen 1 124.
• Shen Lingyi — Mother, who enthusiastically supports his relationship, presses him to confess properly, and oversees his cooking lessons 60 172.
• Meng Xu — Childhood friend since kindergarten and producer of Travel to Those Little-Known Places. An industry blogger credits him with persuading Pei Yubai to join the show 2.
• Shen Yuzhou — Cousin and member of his innermost social circle. Often witnesses his romantic behavior and receives his sharp-tongued remarks 54 87 115 121.
• Ji Shiyu — Fellow contestant and actor. Receives acting and fight-scene advice from Pei Yubai while teaching him basic cooking 35 63 120.
• Chenchen — Child whose hospital care and placement with the Pei Family Pei Yubai helps arrange. The proposed adoptive parents are Pei Zhongkang and Shen Lingyi 112 124.
• Lu Zhao — Current Yue Lao, whose work gathering wish power helps restore Pei Yubai’s divinity. Initially mistakes him for a mortal replacement for the former Moon Official 157 160 174.
• Song Yuan — Director with whom he works closely on a film. Pei Yubai negotiates an accelerated filming schedule so he can reunite with Qiguan Yuan sooner 121 127.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Variety-Show Debut and Courtship

Pei Yubai’s casting turns the initially obscure travel program into a major attraction: its official account rises from fewer than twenty thousand followers to three million within an hour. His own announcement consists only of “Going for fun” 2.

Despite that casual explanation, he later reveals a more personal reason for joining. Insomnia, confused memories, and behavior he could not explain had led him to seek a change of surroundings after therapy attributed his difficulties to stress and irregular working hours 141.

Separation, Reunion, and Filming

• Becomes increasingly quiet after Qiguan Yuan leaves the show, spending his free time looking at a saved GIF of him 72.
• Follows their red thread into the woods to find him, then promises to return after filming 73 77.
• Wins first place with Qiguan Yuan in the Listening to the Waves Mansion puzzle challenge 85.
• Balances film work with their relationship, studying scripts during makeup and eventually moving his remaining scenes forward to finish sooner 97 127.

Yun Yin’s Identity and Divine Restoration

Pei Yubai first hears the name “Yun Yin” when Qiguan Yuan murmurs it during a back massage. His jealousy develops into a fear that he is only a substitute for a lost lover, compounded by the apparent gap between his mortal lifespan and Qiguan Yuan’s existence 50 145.

After he finally confronts Qiguan Yuan, Qiguan Yuan shares their history and reveals that Pei Yubai himself is Xiu Yun Yin. Relief is accompanied by guilt over the long years Qiguan Yuan spent waiting for him 146 147.

Everyday Companionship

• Continues acting while openly tending to Qiguan Yuan on set, including massaging his feet and straightening his clothes 183.
• Cares for a palm-sized Qiguan Yuan after a miscast shrinking spell. He commissions miniature furniture and clothing and introduces him to the crew as a lifelike robot 184.
• Appears in a behind-the-scenes clip indulgently trying to keep the miniature Qiguan Yuan inside his collar while waiting to film 186.

Notable Quotes

“Crown prince? That was a Qing dynasty thing. We don’t do that anymore. Just call me Pei Yubai.” 1

“I don’t need variety shows to boost my popularity. My acting is enough.” 2

“Our side has sent out legal demand letters. Sorry for the trouble; please accept them.” 101

“No matter who that person is, no matter whether you remember me, I’ll win you back.” 160