Liang Zhirou

Biodata

Background / History

Liang Zhirou grew up in a mountain village. During a childhood visit to Hangcheng more than ten years before the main story, she watched other children playing in a park but felt too inferior and unfamiliar with city life to join them. Her father was suffering from an incurable illness. A young Chen Lu comforted her with a bubble machine and fruit candies, introducing himself as “Flame Dragon.” She reciprocated with a handmade wooden bracelet 4.

Her father died while she was still little. Remembering his worried expression, she regretted never having the chance to promise that she would look after her mother. Studying, earning money, and supporting Xiao Xunfang subsequently became the focus of her life 8 16.

Liang Zhirou chose a university in Hangcheng partly because of her memory of the boy from the park: even without expecting to meet him again, she wanted to return somewhere they could see the same clouds. She lives with her paralyzed mother and saves for an operation that may improve her mother's legs 4 9 47.

Appearance

• Face: Fair, smooth skin, delicate features, bright eyes, and shallow dimples. Chen Lu describes her loose-haired appearance as having a classical Jiangnan charm 4 13 14.
• Hair: Long and black, usually worn in a low ponytail for work or loose at other times. Her long bangs obscure her eyes; she deliberately lets them grow to make herself less vulnerable to bullying 5 14 42 45.
• Build: A slim waist and curvy figure, often concealed beneath loose T-shirts 43 45.
• Hands: Callused from years of work and household chores, which Wang Xiaoxia notices when they meet 27 28.
• Clothing: Initially wears practical jeans, jackets, and loose tops. Chen Lu later buys her a pale green dress—the first dress she has worn since childhood 5 44 45.

Personality

Liang Zhirou is intensely introverted and self-conscious. She habitually lowers her head, avoids eye contact, and fidgets with her fingers or clothing when nervous. Even sending Chen Lu a simple greeting requires considerable courage; after sending “good evening,” she panics and recalls it 5 9.

Her kindness is accompanied by a tendency to neglect herself. She feels guilty after spending more than thirty yuan on lunch because she believes the money should have gone toward her mother's treatment. Yet she does not regret treating Chen Lu to a meal, explaining that he is “different” 12.

She takes gratitude and reciprocity seriously. As a child, she refused to accept gifts without giving something back; as a university student, she thanks Chen Lu through meals, homemade breakfast, and milk tea. Her attentiveness can become excessive: she fans him for two hours while he sleeps and studies vocabulary with her free hand 4 6 13 14 24.

Although easily embarrassed and slow to challenge others, she is determined about her mother's care. She refuses suggestions to abandon treatment or return to their hometown. With Chen Lu's encouragement, she gradually begins expressing her wishes, including admitting that she does not want to attend a dinner full of strangers 9 40.

Abilities & Skills

Academics and English Tutoring

• Studies consistently around her jobs and caregiving responsibilities, aiming for excellent grades, a scholarship, and better future employment 41.
• Prepares for the College English Test Band Six in June and continues memorizing vocabulary even while helping at the drama club 13 41.
• Tutors Chen Mo, whose enthusiastic praise establishes her strength in English 27 28.
• Shows gentle firmness as a teacher, making Chen Mo complete additional work before agreeing that she can attend the university anniversary gala 34.
• Initially lacks confidence in tutoring interviews despite her academic ability 26.

Cooking and Household Care

• Has performed household chores for more than a decade and is experienced enough that her mother doubts she would casually burn herself through clumsiness 9.
• Prepares foot baths, washes her mother's feet, and massages her legs daily 9.
• Makes century egg and pork congee for Chen Lu after learning that his stomach is bad, sacrificing sleep to prepare it 14.
• Learns Chen Lu's food preferences and continues adjusting what she brings him 19.

Personal Items

• Handmade wooden bracelet: A smooth wooden bead on a red string, made during childhood and given to the boy who comforted her. Chen Lu still keeps it years later 4.
• Bubble machine: A childhood gift from Chen Lu, associated with the encounter she remembers fondly. Her WeChat profile picture depicts a bubble machine 4 6.
• Pale green dress: Bought by Chen Lu after she rejects clothes she considers too expensive. He conceals the purchase behind a supposed store promotion 44 45.

Relationships

• Chen Lu — Childhood benefactor and developing romantic interest. Their present-day closeness grows through shared meals, practical help, and mutual care. He encourages her confidence and seeks better work for her, while she becomes increasingly attached to his reassurance. He explicitly rejects treating her as a substitute for Mo Yuqing 4 16 26 37 38.
• Xiao Xunfang — Her mother and the person she is determined to support. Liang Zhirou handles her daily care and saves for surgery; Xiao Xunfang worries that these responsibilities leave her daughter without a life of her own 9 16.
• Lin Miaomiao — Her closest friend and the drama club's vice president. Liang Zhirou makes time to help her despite her work schedule. Miaomiao is protective of her, questions Chen Lu's intentions, and later tells him not to leave her 11 13 43.
• Chen Mo — Her tutoring student and Chen Lu's younger sister. Chen Mo quickly becomes affectionate toward her, praises her teaching, and hopes she will become her sister-in-law 28 34.
• Wang Xiaoxia — Chen Lu's mother. After an awkward first telephone conversation, she warmly welcomes Liang Zhirou into the family home and becomes sympathetic to her circumstances 26 27 28.
• Mo Yuqing — Chen Lu's former unrequited love. Her public apology unsettles Liang Zhirou, who fears that Chen Lu may leave her 36 37.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Growing Close to Chen Lu

Tutoring and the Chen Family

Chen Lu proposes tutoring his younger sister as an alternative to Liang Zhirou's exhausting part-time jobs. She initially doubts her suitability, but he urges her to prioritize preparing for lessons so she can earn more without working such long hours 25 26.

Her first visit takes place on the final day of the May Day holiday. The Chen family's warmth moves her, although their cheerful closeness also reminds her of what she has missed since her father's death. Her first lesson succeeds, and Chen Mo quickly grows attached to her 27 28.

By the shopping trip in Chapter 45, Liang Zhirou recognizes the difference tutoring makes: buying Chen Lu clothes worth several hundred yuan would take only a few hours of teaching. She begins to see a more realistic route toward funding her mother's operation 45.

Fear of Abandonment and Growing Assertiveness

Notable Quotes

“Mom only has me. No matter what, I don't want to give up...” 16

“You're different.” 12

“Will you leave me?” 43