Shi Su

Biodata

Background

Shi Su comes from an ordinary family and earned admission to Kanlitel through excellent grades. He helps at his mother’s shop on weekends 21 46.

During elementary school, his parents’ work often kept them from collecting him before the school gates closed. His mother arranged for him to wait at a nearby restaurant, whose owner refused payment. The owner provided a table for his homework and rewarded him with food afterward. Shi Su continued visiting after the owner retired and her daughter took over 47.

Appearance

• Face: Fair-skinned and good-looking; Cen Xia considers him attractive, though not as strikingly beautiful as Lin Jiandu 14.
• Build: Tall and approximately Cen Xia’s height, with a physique Cen Xia explicitly describes as well-built 14 39 46.
• Casual clothing: Wears a gray hooded jacket and black trousers for his dinner outing with Cen Xia 46.

Personality

Shi Su is righteous, stubborn, and willing to confront people who hold far more power than he does. He challenges Shen Si directly while defending Zhou Zanli, even after being threatened with death. His refusal to bend clashes with Kanlitel’s hierarchy, where his special-admission status already makes him a target 6 7 12.

His loyalty can become self-sacrificing. Believing he owes Zhou Zanli compensation, he promises to secure him a Student Council place despite having no clear means to do so. He later uses He Wangsheng’s offer of help to fulfill that promise rather than secure protection for himself 8 18.

Initially reserved around his new friends, Shi Su becomes cheerful and lively once comfortable with them. Nevertheless, Zhou Zanli’s rejection leaves him afraid of losing another friend, and he keeps his distance at school to avoid exposing others to retaliation. His feelings for Cen Xia also bring insecurity about their financial circumstances, alongside jealousy and a desire for private time together 16 18 38 46 47 48.

Abilities & Skills

Academic Achievement

• Earned special admission to Kanlitel because of his excellent grades 21.

Gaming

• Plays at a level Ding Yiheng considers no worse than Cen Xia’s 14.
• Forms a regular team with Cen Xia and Ding Yiheng, then recruits Fang Sheng as their fourth player 14.

Student Council Duties

• Participates in dormitory inspections after joining the Student Council 23.
• Explains that the inspections followed the Disciplinary Group’s accusations that the president neglected dormitory rules and abused his authority 23.

Items

• Star-pendant necklace — A necklace whose missing star pendant Cen Xia retrieves from beneath an infirmary washing machine. Shi Su says it is not valuable; no special function is established 38.

Relationships

• Cen Xia — Friend and romantic interest. Cen Xia assists him during two infirmary stays and rescues him from the rooftop. Shi Su calls him “Brother Cen,” seeks reassurance from him, and privately considers their dinner outing a first date; Cen Xia’s reciprocal romantic interest is not established 14 16 35 38 47.
• Fang Sheng — Roommate and close friend. Warns him about Zhou Zanli’s possible resentment, offers to approach a Student Council contact, and brings dry clothing after the rooftop incident 8 36.
• Ding Yiheng — Friend and gaming teammate. Respects Shi Su’s resistance to harassment, accompanies Cen Xia to the rooftop, and helps care for him afterward 14 35 36.
• Zhou Zanli — Former close friend. Shi Su repeatedly protects him and helps fulfill his wish to join the Student Council, but Zhou blames Shi Su for his mistreatment and breaks off their friendship 8 13 18.
• He Wangsheng — Student Council president. Intervenes in Shen Si’s public bullying and grants Shi Su’s request concerning Zhou Zanli. He denies arranging Shi Su’s own admission to the council 7 18.
• Shen Si — Principal bully. Treats Shi Su as an imagined rival over He Wangsheng and subjects him to threats, beatings, and prolonged exposure to a rainstorm 6 12 35.
• Chi Zhao — Interrupts Shen Si’s confrontation with Cen Xia, allowing the group to leave the rooftop with Shi Su 36.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Original Novel Role

• Shi Su is the first novel’s protagonist, originally characterized as gentle, resilient, brave, and righteous. He Wangsheng, Wen Ci, and Yan Wuping are his intended love interests 6 15.
• Student Council recruitment is supposed to begin his bond with He Wangsheng and gradually improve his standing at school 18.
• In the original rooftop sequence, He Wangsheng rescues him and later receives a kiss at his infirmary bedside. The rain stops when they kiss. These events do not occur as written in the current storyline 35 37.

Isolation and Cen Xia’s First Intervention

Shi Su is the first person Cen Xia sees upon arriving in the novel world. In an activities-building room, students force Shi Su to kneel and apologize while filming him. Cen Xia’s attempt to intervene triggers punishment from the World Will; his collapse nevertheless ends the incident 4.

By the opening chapter, Shi Su’s isolation has become school-wide. Forum commenters portray him as calculating and accuse him of seeking the favor of powerful students. Cen Xia initially treats this persecution as a fixed part of the remembered plot 1.

Defending Zhou Zanli

When Shen Si humiliates Zhou Zanli in the cafeteria, Shi Su tries to lift his friend from the floor and openly challenges Shen Si. He Wangsheng arrives and demands an apology, after which Shi Su takes Zhou to the infirmary 6 7.

Shi Su later brings Zhou food and promises to help him enter the Student Council. Despite taking a beating while protecting him, Shi Su is accused of making matters worse. Zhou leaves him injured in the infirmary, and the two cease speaking 8 13 14.

New Friends and Student Council Admission

During Shi Su’s recovery, Cen Xia helps him move and exchanges contact information with him without shunning him over his reputation. Their encounter demonstrates to Cen Xia that the World Will cannot prevent interactions unrelated to the original plot. Gaming subsequently brings Shi Su into a regular friendship group with Cen Xia, Ding Yiheng, and Fang Sheng 14.

Shi Su approaches He Wangsheng about Shen Si’s abuse. Rather than accept an offer to stop the harassment, he asks for Zhou Zanli’s Student Council admission. Later, after the World Will repairs the recruitment storyline, Shi Su is accepted as well—despite never submitting an application himself 18.

Rooftop Rescue

Shen Si targets Shi Su again after he helps Zhou Zanli, who is struggling in the Student Council. On the rooftop during a storm, Shen Si’s subordinate kicks Shi Su down and hauls him upright while he is exhausted and soaked through 35 38.

With He Wangsheng absent, Cen Xia rescues Shi Su alongside Ding Yiheng. Chi Zhao’s arrival ends the confrontation. Shi Su develops a low-grade fever and receives treatment at the infirmary, where his friends bring medicine, food, and dry clothes 35 36.

After Cen Xia retrieves his missing pendant, Shi Su admits that he fears dragging his friends into danger. Cen Xia embraces him and says he has done nothing wrong. Shi Su, in turn, vows not to let Shen Si make Cen Xia his next target. The storm stops before midnight, without the original kiss scene 38.

Dinner and the Interrupted Movie

Concerned that Shen Si has retaliated against Cen Xia, Shi Su runs to find him. Once reassured, he invites Cen Xia to dinner alone and eagerly accepts the suggestion of a movie afterward 42.

Shi Su chooses the restaurant he frequented as a child and reserves a private room, privately treating the outing as their first date. Although the gap in their wealth unsettles him, Cen Xia’s reassurance helps him relax 46 47.

For the movie, Shi Su selects secluded back-row seats. Before the screening, Lu Mian calls Cen Xia in distress after apparently ingesting something drugged. Shi Su tells Cen Xia to go help him and remains alone in the lobby, holding their tickets and popcorn 48.

Notable Quotes

“If you've got a problem, come at me! Why are you making things difficult for my friend?” 6

“I'll do everything I can to help him and make it up to him, not stay away from him.” 8

“...I'm afraid you'll be next, in my place. … I won't let him do that.” 38

Trivia

• Shi Su is the youngest member of the four-person gaming group; the other three are the same age 16.
• He and Fang Sheng choose horseback riding as their specialty class 15.
• Cen Xia revises his description of Shi Su from a “resilient little white flower” to a “tenacious cactus” while mapping the novels’ relationships 15.
• After becoming tipsy on two sips of beer, Shi Su declares in the group chat that he will never drink again 16.