Xu Zhiqiao is the female protagonist, an 18-year-old girl who moves to Shencheng to live with her mother's new family after her mother marries Ji Shou. She is cautious, gentle, and often suppresses her true feelings to avoid conflict. She loves her mother but feels like an outsider in the Ji household, longing to move into a college dormitory. She is initially forced to attend her stepbrother Ji Huailuo's birthday party, where she meets Zhou Cong, who takes an interest in her. She is bothered by his straightforward advances and blocks him on social media. Frustrated by family tensions, she escapes to a comic convention to find temporary freedom. She has a history of being neglected by her father's family, which makes her particularly empathetic to Ji Huailuo's feelings of displacement.
