renlei is soft and delicate, with sincerity in his orbs and genuineness poured into the things he does. he's very caring, directing his unbiased affection to everyone, whether they accept him or not. he's understanding of people, the type of person you'd go to just to vent out, the type of person you'll go to when you need a warm hug after a long, tiring day. renlei is always trying his best to radiate positivity, smiling through the pain, lift everyone's spirits up. he's brilliant and creative, able to think out of the box. so to say, his right brain functions way better than his left brain. he's someone who values morals greatly. he pefers honesty despite the truth might not be what he wants to hear. he's very careful around people, always making sure he says the right things and not hurt the said person. he forgives easily, never holding grudges for it just gives him negative feelings. he's quite driven and motivated as long as he sets his whole soul into what he wants, and when he does he never thought of giving up. he's like a mother hen, an aunt and grandma all mashed into one. he fusses other people and pay attention to their needs more than his own needs. he's a reliable friend, someone you'll want to keep around you forever.

 

he's innocently funny. words that came out of his mouth which he thought was normal, was actually the opposite. he's unknowingly hilarious, especially with his flat i-don't-know-what's-going-on face whenever he says something. a lot of fans commented that renlei looks like a lost kid at times. he has this weird 4d charm that's endearing. the type of person who, when asked in an interview what does he do after waking up, would pause while thinking deeply, before answering blinking his eyes and yawning.

 

he can be unpredictable at times, having occasional mood swings like a young teenage girl in her youth days. sometimes he'd suddenly get upset or angry but he won't tell what caused it, leaving s to be clueless when he'd suddenly sulk. he's quite fragile and sensitive, the type of person to cry after having an argument with someone. he needs someone to look out for him otherwise he'll be lost in his way.

 

before you get to know about renlei deeply, your first impression of him is probably a guy with a rbf. the outer layer of renlei that you see is a guy who's aloof and doesn't show much emotions. tbh its not that he's shy or cold or anything like that. he's awkward in social interactions. he didnt have a lot of friends so his skills in creating friendship is close to zero. he's quite guarded at first, and it might take a while to get to know him, but once renlei starts fussing over you, that is a sign that he trusts you and lets you in his life. renlei sometimes sets high expectations for himself, and would go berserk at even the slightest mistake. he's naive and gullible, it's very easy to fool him. despite renlei's high hopes for himself, he doesn't believe that he's good enough, he never believes that he's enough. he would tirelessly practice nonstop, and no matter how much praises that gets thrown his way, he still doesn't think he did well. to him, its only renlei himself that can judge if he did well or not. praises or compliments didn't really affect him, as long as his eyes judges that he did bad then he did bad.

 

 

zhao renlei was born with a golden spoon in his mouth. his dad was an owner of a chain of banks throughout jinan. his mom was a retired ballet teacher. renlei's name actually means humanity, since both of his parents wanted him to grow up as a kind kid that's willing to contribute a lot to the society. young renlei was born premature, and in his childhood he often fell sick.

 

renlei had always been fascinated whenever he saw old videos of his mom dancing. his mom was against him having dance lessons, not because she wanted to crush his dream or control him, but because she was his precious fragile baby that needs to be monitored 24/7. renlei had his ways, and begged his parentss nonstop until they finally let him enroll in a dance academy, where renlei learned classical chinese dance along with ballet at a tender age of 5.

 

when renlei was around 7 years old, his parents had a peaceful divorce. his new stepmom was nothing like cinderella's stepmom. her kindness and warmth reminded renlei a lot of his own mom. his mom and stepmom were even good friends with each other. his new stepmom is a retired model, and currently an aspiring artist who owns a art gallery. 

 

young renlei was a very bright and warm kid, living up to the meaning of his name. from a young age, his dad and stepmom taught him to donate to charity, look out for those who can't fend for themselves, be kind to animals, etc. they didn't want him to grow up spoiled, since both of his parents originally came from poor backgrounds, endured several hardships and sacrifices along the way to be where they are now. renlei and his family lived in a simple but modern minimalist house, with a maid or two, despite having enough to buy a mansion.

 

renlei wasn't an intelligent kid at school however. he even placed last in terms of ranks. his parents didn't mind, for not all kids are gifted academically. renlei, however, was greatly blessed in the arts department. he can draw well, loves to paint, can play musical instruments (he's a quick learner when it comes to music) and possess a nice singing voice.  at school, a lot of kids and called him stupid. he didn't have a lot of friends due to the name-calling. he was hurt by it, leaving him to have a hard time trusting people. he didn't want his parents to bring this matter up with the school because he knows that will result in even more name-calling, so he kept quiet about it and endured it. he didn't get to see his classmates often either, due to his busy schedule so that's kind of a win for him.

 

it was actually renlei who wanted to have more lessons. he pleaded his parents to let him have singing and musical instrument lessons. his parents were worried at first, since they didn't want renlei to be overworking himsel. but they finally allowed him, not wanting to stand in their little boy's passions. ever since then renlei's weekly schedule consists of school, chinese traditonal/classical dance, singing lessons and musical instruments lessons. renlei didn't complain, for that is what he asked for, and that is what he loves doing. it went on like this for a few years, each year coloured with renlei's success in winning several dancing/singing competitions.

 

in 2012, the family moved to adelaide, australia. renlei went by as oscar while living there. renlei was fortunately and adaptable kid, settling in his new environment rather quickly. in australia, renlei became interested in other forms of dancing, such as hiphop, b-boying, etc. renlei loves to try new things, and shortly after renlei began taking dance lessons, enjoying the new style of dancing. he learned how to dance hiphop, contemporary (which he was already good at due to dance lessons back in china), jazz, hiphop, break dancing etc. he discovered kpop not long after, easily swept by the dance moves of kpop boygroups. when renlei learned that he can actually become a kpop boygroup member, he excitedly proposed plan to train in korea to his parents. they were unwilling to let him go at first, since they didn't want renlei to be so far away from them. it took a while for renlei to convince his dad and stepmom to let him go. not wanting to waste a chance, renlei immediately wanted to try and audition. with his parents' hopes and wishes in his heart, renlei performed his best and sent his audition tape to several enterainments in korea. out of all entertainments, he was aaccepted and received an offer to train at pledis. finally in his last year of high school, renlei moved to korea alone. it was a tearful goodbye, for renlei had never been this far away either from his parents. he set on his way to the start of a new journey with one goal in mind ; to debut and make his parents proud.