Chen Lüli

Biodata

Background / History

Family and Childhood

Chen Lüli comes from a large, wealthy family with considerable influence. His father, Chen Songlin, repeatedly punished him by holding his head underwater. Ming Yu witnessed one such incident after her father intervened and later told Lin Yu that the abuse had happened many times 37 49.

Tan Hui, a relative on his mother’s side, also tried to help, but the Chen family blocked his involvement. His disagreements with Chen Songlin continued into Chen Lüli’s adulthood. Chen Lüli himself remains distant from his father; warm exchanges between them are rare 48 49.

School and University

At school, Chen Lüli consistently ranked first in his year. Lin Yu first noticed him on a bus, where he gave her his place; she learned his name afterward from a class photograph. Her feelings for him began during this period 4.

He became part of a friendship circle that included Lin Yu, Ming Yu, Jiang Zao, and Jiang Yan’an. He later studied computer science, while Lin Yu studied finance. During college, he and Jiang Yan’an developed a program they continued discussing and maintaining after graduation 5 16.

His appearance attracted numerous admirers in both high school and college. Because he was difficult to approach, girls often passed their love letters through Lin Yu instead of giving them to him directly 25.

Career

At Star Rise, Chen Lüli combines executive responsibilities with technical work. He attends client meetings, negotiates business cooperation alongside Jiang Yingshan, reviews game data, and participates in development decisions for Dream Fiend 3 11 13 29.

Star Rise occupies four floors in Block A of Genesis Tower, with Chen Lüli’s and Jiang Yingshan’s offices on the forty-sixth floor. During the Spring Festival period, he continues working as the company prepares a game release and trials holographic technology 44 49.

Appearance

• Build: Tall and lean, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, long legs, and defined abdominal muscles 22 47.
• Features: Sharply cut features, long, narrow eyes, and thin lips. Even longtime classmates still find his appearance striking 1 16 21 41.
• Clothing: Frequently wears black shirts, dark trousers, or a black casual jacket; he also wears leather gloves when returning Lin Yu’s scarf 16 27 35 47.
• Scent: Lin Yu repeatedly recognizes a faint cedar scent around him 1 30.

Personality

Chen Lüli usually presents a cool, detached exterior. His speech is often languid or blunt, and even friends who have known him for years find him difficult to approach. At business gatherings, he can handle attention competently but quickly grows impatient, leaving the more tactful Jiang Yingshan to manage prolonged socializing 12 18.

He is particular about cleanliness and prefers simple, austere interiors. His housekeeper recognizes his discomfort with a messy living room, while his friends describe his predominantly black decorating style as cold 39 46.

His feelings for Lin Yu bring out both tenderness and possessiveness. He notices her injuries, remembers her preferences, and becomes patient and encouraging when teaching her a game. He also reacts sharply to her defending Li Yin and glares at a stranger who looks back at her 21 30 33 44 47.

His pursuit is not consistently respectful of her boundaries: at Threshold, he forcibly kisses her while she is drunk and struggling, and she bites his lip hard enough to draw blood. When they later discuss the incident, he asks whether she blames him for taking advantage of her 23 27. After they become involved, he accepts her request to keep their relationship private despite openly disliking the secrecy 41 44.

Abilities & Skills

Programming and Game Development

• Co-developed a program with Jiang Yan’an in college and continues discussing its technical issues with him 16.
• Checks and adjusts map data while playing Dream Fiend 3.
• Reviews game problems and planning proposals, including a New Year plaza and portals to battlefields from different dynasties 29.
• Helps test Star Rise’s unfinished holographic survival game and explains its couple-linking mechanics to Lin Yu 44.

Competitive Gaming

• Defeats three opponents single-handedly in successive team battles while protecting Lin Yu 3.
• Quickly kills Li Yin’s character in a two-on-two match, though Lin Yu and the revived Li Yin subsequently defeat him 13.
• Holds off a black bear in the holographic survival game so Lin Yu can shoot from behind him 44.
• Encourages Lin Yu through her uncertainty, then praises her after all three of her shots strike the bear’s vital points 44.

Business Management

• Secures a cooperation agreement with a sensor company in Nan City alongside Jiang Yingshan 11.
• Handles client meetings and industry gatherings, where others address him as “President Chen” 13 18 23.
• Oversees work involving Star Rise’s games and its experimental holographic technology 29 43 49.

Equipment / Vehicles / Items

• Black Brute sports coupe — His regularly used car, described as expensive and powerful, with dark windows and sensitive acceleration 5 21 23 43.
• Heavy motorcycle — Parked beside his car in the underground garage 48.
• Black SUV — A spare vehicle that he rarely drives 48.
• Tray — A household robot that sweeps up Xiao Diu’s fur. Chen Lüli charges it and uses controls on its head to stop or activate it 8 46 47.
• Game cosmetics and weapons — Uses Heavenly Demon robes and a Heaven-Escape Hammer in Dream Fiend; also receives a Dark Emperor skin. Other weapons are assigned according to the map or match 3 13.
• Virtual couple’s bracelet — Receives one when Lin Yu accepts his partner invitation in the holographic game. The linked bracelets synchronize location and safety information and reserve a teammate slot for the partner 44.

Relationships

Romance and Friends

• Lin Yu — High school and university friend who becomes his girlfriend. She regularly cares for Xiao Diu and nurses Chen Lüli through a fever. Their relationship begins privately at her request; he confirms that it is his first romantic relationship 2 7 41 44.
• Ming Yu — Longtime friend and gaming companion. Her father asked him to look after her, and their closeness led Lin Yu to believe they liked each other. Chen Lüli denies that they were mutually in love and explains their apparent intimacy through favors and convenience. His father later offers to arrange a relationship between them without knowing about Lin Yu 13 27 48.
• Jiang Yingshan — Business partner and confidant. He accompanies Chen Lüli on business trips, discusses development work with him, and openly teases him about his jealousy over Lin Yu 2 11 19 29.
• Jiang Yan’an — School-era friend and college programming collaborator. He reacts dramatically when Chen Lüli hints at becoming his rival for Lin Yu’s affection 5 16 47.
• Jiang Zao — Longtime classmate and friend. She occasionally feeds Xiao Diu and drives Chen Lüli and the sleeping Lin Yu home after the Threshold incident 12 23.
• Li Yin — Lin Yu’s former boyfriend and the focus of Chen Lüli’s jealousy. Despite disliking him, Chen Lüli removes him from a banquet when Qin Jialan gets him drunk and arranges a car home 18 19.
• Xiao Diu — His pet cat. Xiao Diu is notably docile with him and affectionate toward Lin Yu, who frequently helps with feeding and grooming 2 5 12.

Family

• Tan You — His mother. She notices his unusual gentleness toward Lin Yu and warmly welcomes Lin Yu’s company 35 36 45.
• Chen Songlin — His father, who abused him during childhood. Their adult relationship remains emotionally distant 37 48.
• Tan Hui and Xiao Xi — Relatives on his mother’s side. Tan Hui tried to intervene during his childhood and later discusses Star Rise’s work with him 48 49.
• Tan Yucheng — Older cousin with whom he has limited contact. Learning that Tan Yucheng and Ji Ting also went from close friends to spouses catches his interest 49.
• Ming Huaixian — Ming Yu’s father and a former neighbor. He intervened during Chen Songlin’s abuse and is greeted respectfully by Chen Lüli at the Chen family home 37 48.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Lin Yu’s Relationship with Li Yin

As Lin Yu tries to move on from her longstanding feelings for him, Chen Lüli becomes increasingly attentive to her relationship with Li Yin. He studies a photograph of the couple, reacts coldly after their arena match, and eventually sends Lin Yu an unexplained message telling her to break up with Li Yin 12 13 16.

After helping the drunken Li Yin leave a business banquet, he asks Lin Yu what she likes about him. Jiang Yingshan recognizes his jealousy, but Chen Lüli does not acknowledge it aloud 18 19.

He later drives Lin Yu to East City after Jiang Yingshan sees Qin Jialan escort Li Yin to his hotel room. During the confrontation outside the hotel, Chen Lüli covers Lin Yu’s eyes and tells her to send Li Yin away 21.

Acknowledging His Feelings

Following the forced kiss at Threshold, Chen Lüli tells Lin Yu that Li Yin’s appearance stirred an impulse to take her away. He clears up her assumptions about Ming Yu and asks her to consider him instead; she requests time to think 23 27.

Their intimacy grows through everyday encounters and a New Year’s Eve trip to watch fireworks. On the mountain, Chen Lüli recognizes that his memories of caring for Lin Yu had already been tending toward more than friendship 30 33 34.

Private Relationship

After a gathering at his villa, Chen Lüli and Lin Yu become sexually intimate. The following morning, she proposes dating privately for three months while she adjusts to their change from friends to lovers. He agrees that they will make the relationship public if they are still together afterward 39 40 41.

They subsequently test Star Rise’s holographic game together, link their characters as romantic partners, and narrowly avoid revealing their real relationship to his mother. His care becomes increasingly domestic: he sets aside toiletries for Lin Yu, orders her preferred congee, stays on a video call after she falls asleep, and buys handbags for her and Jiang Zao 44 45 47 50.

Notable Quotes

“Li Yin isn’t good. Look at me.” 23

“How strange. It’s my first relationship, and I have to sneak around like this.” 44

“Take it slow. Shoot when it feels right. Don’t panic.” 44