Zhou Chi

Biodata

Appearance

Zhou Chi is handsome, tall, and well-built, with a sunny air that attracts attention from female students 22.

• Basketball jersey: Wears number nine during the interdepartmental game 21.
• Expression: Approaches Luo Lianqing with a brilliant smile, contrasting with her largely expressionless response 21.

Personality

Zhou Chi is confident in his looks, family wealth, and romantic appeal. His pursuit of Luo Lianqing initially shows little respect for her boundaries: he continues after explicit rejections, makes sexual innuendos, and publicly speaks as though she has accepted a date when she has not. Luo Lianqing describes the encounter as sexual harassment 22.

Although characterized as a playboy, he eventually accepts that Luo Lianqing likes Wen Ce and withdraws. His rivalry does not stop him from appreciating Wen Ce’s basketball skills or later helping him with romance. He even finds himself supporting the pair while still calling Luo Lianqing his “goddess” 23 34 39 41.

His persistence also extends to basketball recruitment. Repeated refusals do not stop him from asking Wen Ce to join a tournament, and he frequently slips recruitment attempts into their conversations about dating 35 36 39 41 44.

Abilities & Skills

Basketball

Zhou Chi plays for the university team and is a strong scorer 22 23.

• Scores several consecutive baskets during the interdepartmental game 23.
• Draws the heaviest defensive coverage early in the match 23.
• Recognizes Wen Ce’s shooting ability and tries to recruit him for a separate tournament team 23 35.

Romantic Observation and Advice

Zhou Chi notices Luo Lianqing’s special treatment of Wen Ce before Wen Ce is confident that she likes him 23 39.

• Points out that Luo Lianqing never denied liking Wen Ce during his final attempt to pursue her 34 39.
• Advises Wen Ce to look for comfort with physical contact, blushing, and treatment different from that given to others 41.
• Recommends flowers to give a first romantic invitation a sense of occasion 44.
• Advises starting with holding hands and hugging when Wen Ce asks whether a kiss after confessing would be too forward 44.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Pursuing Luo Lianqing

• Announces in the men’s dormitory that he intends to pursue Luo Lianqing on the night she first visits their class. Other boys encourage him and say they will not compete 22.
• Before the basketball game, asks her to date him if the team wins. Despite her rejection, he continues until Wen Ce interrupts 22.
• During halftime, praises Wen Ce’s basketball skills but privately warns him that he intends to pursue Luo Lianqing, implicitly asking him not to interfere. Their class ultimately wins by twenty-three points 23.

Cinema Encounter and Phone Virus

• Encounters Wen Ce and Luo Lianqing outside a cinema while another girl is holding his arm. He assumes they are dating and mocks Wen Ce for not openly acknowledging the relationship 27.
• Luo Lianqing tells him to stop pestering her, believing his companion is his girlfriend. Zhou Chi denies this; he later explains that the girl is the daughter of one of his mother’s friends 27 33.
• That night, his phone begins playing explicit videos at full volume. Neither the controls nor a forced shutdown stops them; playback continues until the battery dies the next morning, after which he discards the phone. He never discovers how it became infected 28.

Final Rejection

• Temporarily abandons his pursuit after the phone incident and forum rumors that Luo Lianqing has a boyfriend 33.
• While delivering employment preference surveys, mistakes Wen Ce’s absence and Luo Lianqing’s unhappiness for a breakup and asks her to consider him again 33.
• Accepts defeat after she firmly says there is no chance. Before leaving, he observes that she has never denied liking Wen Ce 34.

Basketball Recruitment and Helping Wen Ce

• Forms a team for a five-school campus basketball tournament with a prize pool of 250,000. One player short, he repeatedly sends Wen Ce friend requests and invitations 35 36.
• Continues recruiting despite Wen Ce’s refusals. Wen Ce later explains that he does not want the photographs and news coverage associated with winning 39.
• Says his father plans to stop giving him money and jokes that he needs to become a “rich first generation” himself 41.
• Photographs Wen Ce and Luo Lianqing together near a milk tea shop and sends Wen Ce evidence of her blushing. Wen Ce demands that he delete the picture 41.
• Warns his friends to stop making suggestive remarks about Luo Lianqing, then continues advising Wen Ce as he prepares to confess 41 44.

Relationships

• Luo Lianqing — His counselor and former romantic interest. She repeatedly rejects him; after giving up, he continues admiring her and objects when his friends speak crudely about her 22 34 41.
• Wen Ce — Classmate, basketball teammate, and former romantic rival. Their initially antagonistic exchanges develop into ongoing contact in which Zhou Chi offers dating advice while trying to recruit him for basketball 23 36 39 44.
• Father — Wealthy parent whose stated plan to stop providing money motivates Zhou Chi’s interest in earning tournament winnings 41.

Notable Quotes

“Teacher, haven’t you noticed that you haven’t once denied liking Wen Ce?” 34

“Hehehehe, I’m such a miserable simp. I even have to teach you how to date my goddess!” 44