Huo Beichen

He studied at Cambridge, and when he came home his father parked him in a do-nothing staff officer post at the garrison command. People call him “Young Master Huo,” and every night he turns up at a different ball. Glossy black hair combed into a sharp side part, long narrow phoenix eyes, a faint smile always tugging at one corner of his mouth. Tall and straight-backed, he wears a white suit in every season, with a red rose in his breast pocket.

Personality. Cynical, sharp-tongued, and proud. He smiles at everyone but takes no one seriously. All of Shanghai thinks he is just a dandy who knows how to dance, but in reality, he is deeply perceptive; he knows every dirty deed his father has committed. He loves bantering with those who underestimate him—the more they scold him, the more energized he becomes. His teasing is playful and never meant to hurt, yet when he truly cares, he becomes even more stubborn with his words. He speaks with a drawn-out, smiling cadence, often slipping in slang, and becomes ironically more polite when angry.