Li Ru

Li Ru is Zhang Yang's former classmate, a wealthy widow who joins Lone Desert Smoke and later provides major financial support to Silky Soft Holdings. (Chapters 195, 200, 208, 334, 339, and 416)

Biography

Lone Desert Smoke and Soaring Swords

Li Ru attends the class reunion as one of the three women once regarded as the class's leading beauties. She openly describes having left school to marry a wealthy older man in a mutually transactional relationship and inheriting his profitable company after his death. During the reunion conflict, she is attracted to Zhang Yang's forceful defense of the group and uses her contacts to seek help when he is detained. She subsequently joins Lone Desert Smoke, requests her first direct in-game favor from Zhang Yang much later, and immediately agrees to invest 300 million when he needs capital to rescue a company, despite the risk that his account could be false. By Chapter 416 she remains within his business circle and tries to pursue him during a celebration, only for Han Ying Xue to intervene. (Chapters 195, 199–204, 208, 334, 339, and 416)

Appearance and personality

Li Ru is described as a former class beauty whose adult appearance is mature and conspicuous, though much of that description is filtered through the reunion's male attendees. She is candid about valuing wealth and security, but also decisive and personally loyal: she mobilizes contacts for Zhang Yang and commits a very large investment without delay. Her attraction to him is direct and persistent rather than concealed. (Chapters 195, 199–204, 339, and 416)

Abilities and gameplay

Li Ru joins Lone Desert Smoke, but the corpus does not identify her avatar name, class, combat skills, equipment, level, or battlefield role. Her established capabilities are real-world financial and social ones: she controls wealth inherited with a profitable business, searches her contact network during Zhang Yang's detention, and can commit 300 million to his financing request. No game mechanic or combat progression can be attributed to her from the supplied evidence. (Chapters 200, 204, 208, 334, and 339)

Relationships

• Zhang Yang: Li Ru is his former classmate, later guildmate, financial backer, and would-be romantic pursuer. Her practical help ranges from seeking legal contacts to accepting a high-risk investment request. (Chapters 195, 203–204, 208, 334, 339, and 416)
• Zhao Hui Shan: A fellow former class beauty who treats Li Ru as a social rival during the reunion, particularly when Zhou Kang Ming's attention shifts toward Li Ru. (Chapters 195 and 200–202)
• Zhou Kang Ming: Zhou pursues Li Ru despite attending with Zhao Hui Shan and imagines gaining both her wealth and her body; the corpus does not show Li Ru forming a relationship with him. (Chapters 198 and 201–202)

Items

• Personal wealth and company holdings: Li Ru inherits a profitable company from her late husband and later uses her resources to support Zhang Yang's financing request. The corpus names no signature physical item or game equipment belonging to her. (Chapters 200 and 339)