Liu Xiao

This game is all about the thrill, right? For people, there are many ways to spin a lie. With the right choice of words, even a lie can sound like the truth. But there's one thing you can't fake — heartbeat. That's my power.

— Liu Xiao to Xiang, Episode 25 — Prelude

Liu Xiao (Chinese: 刘枭 Liú Xiāo) is a supporting character in the Link Click donghua series and presumably the overarching antagonist. In the Bridon Arc, he is a student studying in Bridon.

Appearance

Liu Xiao has medium-length messy dark hair, has round glasses, and wears a large black sun hat. He wears a long black coat on top of a charcoal colored t-shirt and black pants. He also wears a silver necklace, silver rings, and has a tattoo near his collar bones.

Personality

Liu Xiao is characterized as a composed and calculating person. On the outside, he presents himself as charitable, in one instance acting kind and generous to Cheng Xiaoshi when saving him from a fight at the airport. However, his more mysterious and deceptive nature is seen in his other actions.

Despite his controlled demeanor, Liu Xiao is no stranger to deception. He once posed as a naive student to deceive Xiang into giving him information and playing Russian Roulette with him. During which, he showed no fear of death, highlighting his willingness to take calculated risks. Once the act served its purpose, he reverted to his strategic, confident nature, potentially even taking enjoyment in the manipulation.

Liu Xiao has high emotional control, appearing unaffected by insults or even his own brother's passing. Additionally, he often refers to his associates as his "friends", though this seems to be more as a way to build trust rather than genuine attachment. He is willing to use others as a tool in his schemes such as when he employed Xia Fei to spy on Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang. Liu Xiao has a fascination with games, with his actions and words suggesting he views real-life scenarios as a game.

In promotional material, he is often being depicted in positions of control such as a cult leader or puppet master.

Story

Liu Xiao is the younger brother of Liu Min and the second son in the Liu family. He met Li Tianchen by chance when they were both children.

For university, Liu Xiao traveled abroad and was an international student studying in Bridon. While there, he searched for information regarding Cheng Weimin and worked with Vein to track Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi. As part of his investigations, he confronted Xiang about his ties with Cheng Weimin and later got him arrested.^[2]

Liu Xiao returned to China a few months after the events of Liu Min's passing and the Li Tianchen incident. Soon after, he met with Li Tianchen again and stated his plan to "bring more parallel lines together."^[3]

Abilities

Hearing Heartbeats

Liu Xiao has the ability to hear another person's heartbeat. He uses this ability against Xiang during a game of Russian roulette to detect Xiang's nervousness as the game progresses. He has also used this ability during games of poker to spot bluffs.^[2]

Multiple Unspecified Powers

In an interview with series director Li Haoling released after the conclusion of the Bridon Arc, it is said that Liu Xiao possesses many powers. It is currently not known how many or what other powers he has, or how he obtained them.^{[citation needed]}

Relationships

Li Tianchen

Liu Xiao and Li Tianchen met when they were both children in a park. Liu Xiao helped Tianchen get his ball from a fountain and inspired Tianchen to be brave and stand up for himself. Years later, they met again in the same park. Liu Xiao offered to let Tianchen help him in his plan to "bring more parallel lines together",^[3] which Tianchen accepted, leaving behind his phone and past life to do so.

Liu Min

Liu Min is the older brother of Liu Xiao. As children, Liu Min rarely brought his brother up in conversation and, according to Liu Xiao, the two of them weren't close as siblings^[2]. Liu Xiao generally seems unfazed by the death of his brother.

Liu Jing

Liu Jing is his father. He thinks highly of his younger son, comparing Liu Min to him and lamenting how he wished that Liu Min had "half the ability of his younger brother." On the other hand, Liu Xiao seems ambivalent towards his father. Liu Xiao respects his father as he refers to him as 老板 (lit. "Boss") and quotes advice that his father gave him. However, in another instance, Liu Xiao candidly attributes one of Xiang's flaws with Liu Jing.^[2]

Vein

Vein and Liu Xiao are closely affiliated and work together to investigate Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang. They both have motivations pertaining to maintaining the timeline.

Xia Fei

Xia Fei was hired by Liu Xiao to spy on Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang while they are in Bridon.^[4] During their brief interactions, Liu Xiao appeared to be amused by Xia Fei's demeanor, mentioning how he liked how upfront Xia Fei was, despite Xia Fei openly showing his dislike of Liu Xiao. On the other hand, Xia Fei was distrusting of Liu Xiao for asking him to spy on others and regarded him with caution.

Episode Appearances

Quotes

• (To Li Tianchen) "It's the law of the jungle. Some are born to eat, and some are born to be eaten. Some are so terrified of being eaten that they spend their whole lives hiding. Some are born as bloodthirsty beasts. But some are special and learn to evolve. They evolve, and they grow. Until one day, in this jungle of men, they become... a hunter. So which of those do you want to be in the future?"^[5]
• "Finally, we can start the game."^[6]
• (To Xiang) "Boss Liu once told me, never trust anything someone says after they say, 'Whatever.'."^[2]
• (To Xiang) "Looks like luck's on my side. The game's over."^[2]
• (To Xia Fei) "Vein has mentioned before that you're the kind of guy who never hides his thoughts. He's right. I like that about you. But it feels like you're not too fond of me?"^[4]

Trivia

• Liu Xiao's character color is represented as shades of purple.
  • His animal depiction is a white owl that wears glasses.
• In the Bridon Arc's Opening, The Eye, several of the letters in the credits are highlighted in red. When put together, they spell out Liu Xiao's English name, "Xavier".^[7]
• In the Bridon Arc's Opening, The Eye, the bookcase behind Liu Xiao has a single row of black, white, and gray books spelling out the sentence, "Don't trust him." in Morse code.^[7]
• In Episode 26 when Liu Xiao is introducing himself to Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang, a man in the background can be seen holding a red flag in multiple shots that Liu Xiao is the focus of, suggesting he is not to be trusted.^[8]

Notes

References

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