Xia Jinshu

Biodata

Background / History

Family and upbringing

Xia Jinshu is the eldest of Yan Zhenxia’s three daughters. She and her sisters supported their mother’s divorce: although moving out of their father’s home left them financially worse off, they were happier afterward. Jinshu remembers little paternal affection and is later surprised to see Song Yunshen and his father interact comfortably, rather than through a rigid hierarchy 62 203 210.

To reduce their mother’s workload, Jinshu and Xia Yunuo usually handle the housework. Jinshu envies classmates who can freely buy snacks, drinks, and trips, but recognizes that her mother already gives the family everything she can. Her wish to contribute financially leads her to consider summer work, despite Yan Zhenxia initially insisting that she concentrate on university entrance preparation 13 14.

Discovering Song Yunshen through his diary

Jinshu gains an unexplained ability to read Song Yunshen’s diary. Before meeting him properly, she uses its entries and Xia Yunuo’s account of him to form an impression of his character. Suspecting that Yunuo likes him, she decides to get to know him so that she can protect her sister from being hurt 13 14 32.

Reading the diary soon becomes a nightly habit. It helps persuade her that Song Yunshen has no bad intentions, but references to several girls also make her question his faithfulness. She keeps her access secret and plans to observe him more closely while tutoring him 32 77.

Becoming his tutor

After exchanging letters, Jinshu and Song Yunshen arrange a Saturday lunch to discuss tutoring. They hide in a stairwell when Xia Yunuo appears at the cafeteria, partly because Jinshu has asked him not to disclose her tutoring plans 20 44 45.

Jinshu sends the proposed contract to her mother for review before signing it. The agreement pays her 3,000 yuan per month. Unknown to Jinshu during the negotiations, Song Yunshen is the son of their landlord, Song Mingyuan; Yan Zhenxia recognizes his name but chooses not to explain the connection 40 50.

At their first formal lesson, Song Mingyuan watches remotely through the study camera, exchanges WeChat contacts with Jinshu, and encourages her to report any misbehavior. She promptly establishes herself as a strict tutor by beginning early and asking for Song Yunshen’s final-exam paper 106.

Growing attachment

Tutoring develops into a routine of grocery shopping, lessons, cooking, and shared dinners. Song Yunshen gives Jinshu slippers to keep at his apartment, and she becomes familiar enough with the home to enter using her code and fetch her own jasmine tea 116 117 148.

Her supposed task of assessing him for Xia Yunuo becomes increasingly complicated by her own attraction. She briefly imagines dating him, then rebukes herself for wanting someone she was meant to be evaluating for her sister. Their arcade and barbecue outing further blurs the distinction between tutoring and dating 130 150 169.

Eighteenth birthday

On July 20, Song Yunshen takes Jinshu to his grandparents’ fishponds. Raised in the city and unfamiliar with the countryside, she tries hoeing, planting, picking vegetables, and fishing. She also warms to the family dog, Big Yellow, after initially being frightened by its barking 183 187.

Song Yunshen surprises her with a birthday cake, then gives her glasses during a sunset kayak outing. Jinshu realizes that an earlier visit to an optician had been arranged for her benefit after she casually mentioned being nearsighted 185 187.

The celebration deeply affects her. She had often let birthdays pass unmentioned to avoid extra expense, and his attention makes her recognize wishes she had habitually placed behind her family’s needs. That evening, her mother and sisters give her an academy-style outfit with a pleated skirt—the first skirt in her wardrobe 186 187.

First pay and emotional support

After receiving her first 3,000-yuan payment, Jinshu transfers 2,000 yuan to her mother and keeps 1,000 yuan. Yan Zhenxia initially refuses, saying the family is no longer short of money, but accepts after Jinshu insists 200.

When Song Yunshen discovers that his father concealed heart surgery, Jinshu learns the circumstances through his diary and goes to comfort him. She listens while embracing him, then encourages him to speak with his father rather than remain angry 204.

She subsequently prepares meals for Song Mingyuan and accompanies Song Yunshen to the hospital. Their easy father–son banter contrasts sharply with her own memories of family life. She also offers to prepare a welcome-home dinner for Song Mingyuan’s discharge, with Zhao Lisong and his wife attending 210 211 236.

Cat café and the new school term

Song Yunshen uses one of Jinshu’s promised weekly favors to arrange a change of study environment. At the cat café, she bonds with a blue cat selected for her and names it QQ Candy. Her choice also prompts him to realize that the snacks she takes home are intended for her sisters, rather than herself 236 245.

By the new term, Jinshu is in third-year Class Four and gives a flag-raising speech after receiving only that morning’s notice. Before Song Yunshen’s next English exam, she prepares a dressed-up surprise and incorporates clothing vocabulary into their lesson 253 258 259.

During the visit, she sprains her left ankle. Song Yunshen carries her to his bedroom, applies ointment, and later supports her as she leaves. Song Mingyuan returns home just as the two emerge from the bedroom 260.

Future Diary projections

• Song Yunshen reads a projected future in which he begins dating Jinshu in 2032 and divorces in 2036 13.
• He later interprets future entries as suggesting an affair involving Jinshu, but remains uncertain about the sequence of relationships and whether Xia Yunuo or Xia Kening is his future wife. These are his interpretations of future clues, not established events in Jinshu’s present-day relationship 70 164.

Appearance

• Build: Tall and long-limbed, with a slender waist, straight legs, and a clean shoulder line 223 260.
• Face: A softly oval face with a defined jaw and angular bone structure; her gentle almond-shaped eyes soften its dashing quality 45 70.
• Hair: Long hair, often worn loose over her shoulders 40 108.
• Usual clothing: Ningjiang Middle School’s blue-and-white uniform or understated casual clothes, generally with long trousers 108 116 148.
• Later clothing: An off-white academy-style jacket and pleated skirt become part of her tutoring wardrobe after her eighteenth birthday 186 189 193.
• Glasses: Wears the rimless glasses Song Yunshen gives her to correct her nearsightedness 185 259.

Personality

Jinshu is responsible, studious, and strongly family-oriented. She prioritizes reducing her mother’s burden and providing for her sisters, often treating her own purchases and celebrations as unnecessary expenses. After her birthday outing, she worries that simply wanting more for herself might be selfish; Song Yunshen recognizes this as part of her habit of putting her wishes last 13 187 188.

She is protective without automatically opposing teenage romance. Rather than forbidding her sisters from dating, she wants to understand their prospective partners and prevent them from being hurt. She also respects Xia Yunuo’s independence, quietly supporting her tutoring work once she believes the arrangement is safe 13 58 62.

Despite her capable manner, Jinshu has little experience interacting romantically with boys. Compliments and changes in how Song Yunshen addresses her can unsettle her. As her feelings grow, she repeatedly describes their closeness as friendship while privately experiencing attraction and jealousy 149 204 218 231.

Her anger becomes quieter rather than louder: her tone grows calmer and her words fewer. Xia Kening finds this particularly intimidating, but also considers Jinshu rational and willing to accept sincere apologies followed by genuine correction 193 247.

Abilities & Skills

Diary access

• Can read Song Yunshen’s diary through a diary in her possession; she does not understand the ability’s origin or mechanism 13 203.
• Uses the entries to monitor his emotional state, assess his character, and learn about interactions he has not discussed with her 32 77 204.
• Receives no new information when he does not write, leaving her anxious when expected entries fail to appear 32 227 231.
• Experiences an apparent interruption in access, but reads his diary again afterward 203 204.
• Keeps the ability secret because she fears he might stop writing if he discovers it 200.
• Can still misinterpret entries: his nicknames obscure identities, and she initially assumes the frequently mentioned “little brat” may be a cousin 231 247.

Academics and English tutoring

• Consistently ranks among the top ten students in her year, sometimes reaches the top three, and takes first place in a midterm examination 11.
• Teaches vocabulary through context, repeated reading, and interesting passages rather than relying entirely on isolated memorization 118 178.
• Prepares lesson plans, reviews exam papers, conducts vocabulary spot checks, and adjusts assignments as Song Yunshen improves 106 117 148.
• Uses weekly rewards to encourage consistency; their later agreement allows one request she finds acceptable for each completed week of vocabulary work 113 161.
• Prioritizes developing self-motivation so that progress will continue without constant supervision 178.
• Can prepare and deliver a school assembly speech on short notice 253.

Cooking and household management

• Handles household chores with Xia Yunuo to reduce their mother’s workload 13.
• Bargains efficiently for ingredients and regularly cooks dinner during tutoring visits 116 117.
• Teaches Song Yunshen safe knife handling and guides him through preparing dishes 178 185.
• Creates a printed menu to make choosing their daily meals easier 190.
• Prepares additional meals for Song Mingyuan during his hospitalization 210.

Equipment / Items

• Diary — The means through which she reads Song Yunshen’s entries; she stores it out of sight and keeps its function secret 13 200.
• Rimless glasses and case — Birthday gifts arranged by Song Yunshen after learning of her nearsightedness 185 186 188.
• Lesson plans — Prepared notes used for English instruction and vocabulary checks 117 148.
• Off-white slippers — Kept at Song Yunshen’s home for her regular visits 117 148.
• Academy-style outfit — A family birthday gift consisting of a white shirt, light-colored jacket, pleated skirt, and decorative tie 186.

Relationships

• Song Yunshen — Her English student and increasingly close friend. Their paid tutoring arrangement develops into shared outings, emotional support, and mutual attraction, though she continues to describe them as friends 50 130 185 204.
• Yan Zhenxia — Her mother. Jinshu wants to ease her financial and domestic burdens; Yan Zhenxia initially opposes summer work to protect her study time 13 14 200.
• Xia Yunuo / Xiao Nuo — Her younger sister and roommate. Jinshu’s concern about Yunuo’s relationship with Song Yunshen motivates her investigation of him, while her own attraction later produces guilt and jealousy 13 130 169 231.
• Xia Kening / Ningning — Her youngest sister. Jinshu monitors her suspected romance and academic progress, and is moved by her improved examination results 62.
• Zhuang Lujun — Her deskmate and close friend, who invites her on a beach trip and teases her about Song Yunshen 13 70.
• Song Mingyuan — Song Yunshen’s father and her family’s landlord. He supports her authority as a tutor, and she later cooks for him during his hospitalization 40 106 210.
• Zhao Lisong and his wife — Song Yunshen’s maternal grandparents. They welcome her to the fishponds, share family stories, and help celebrate her eighteenth birthday 183 185.

Notable Quotes

“If I can earn one or two hundred yuan an hour, who needs pride?” 13

“Once I get paid, I’ll pay next month’s rent~” 40

“I had thought I was someone who could sacrifice everything for my mother and younger sisters. But today, I suddenly realized that I seemed to have a selfish side too.” 187