Lü Jiahao is the father and primary antagonist of the story. Originally a handsome man who won Shen's mother's heart, he abandoned his girlfriend Zhong Fu to become a live-in son-in-law of the wealthy Shen family after learning of their fortune. After Shen's mother died in childbirth, he took control of the vast Shen family fortune. He then married his former girlfriend Zhong Fu. During the political purges of the early 1970s, he secretly transferred the Shen family assets to a suburban cemetery. He deceived Shen Yuzhu into giving up her job and going to the countryside, promising her financial support that he never intended to keep. He also swapped Shen Yuzhu's older sister Shen Yuming with a stillborn at birth and later sold her to an old widower. He smuggled his second wife and their family of five to Port City, where they lived in luxury. He is portrayed as heartless, manipulative, and cruel, using false paternal affection to control and exploit his stepdaughter.
