Pai Chan is a young martial artist and rising action film star from Hong Kong who appears in the anime adaptation of Virtua Fighter. She is the only daughter of Lau Chan, the founder of the Koen-Kan martial arts organization, and she was trained from childhood in the Mizongyi style, which is referred to as Ensei-ken in Japanese. In the anime, this training was imposed on her by her father rather than chosen freely, and she was left with complicated feelings about her upbringing. Her mother, who is shown in the anime, died of illness when Pai was still very young, and that early loss deepened the rift between Pai and Lau, who had become absorbed in his pursuit of martial mastery.

Pai is introduced into the story when she crosses paths with the protagonist Akira Yuki. They first meet on a film set in Taiwan, where Akira is trying to protect her co-star Lee Hong from an attack. Later, after an encounter in the Los Angeles Chinatown district, she joins Akira and his traveling companions. She is fleeing the Koen-Kan, pursued by renegade fighters from the organization, her estranged father Lau Chan, and Liu Kowloon, the leader of the Koen-Kan to whom she has been promised as a fiancée. Early in the series, the fighter Jacky Bryant suspects her of being connected to the Koen-Kan mafia group, but she ultimately proves herself a loyal ally in the struggle against the criminal organization.

In terms of personality, Pai is cheerful, determined, and headstrong, with strong personal principles. Her moods can shift very quickly, moving from passionate warmth to cool detachment depending on the situation. She carries herself with pride and independence, and she is not afraid to speak her mind or stand by her convictions. Beneath her spirited exterior lies the emotional weight of her family history, particularly her resentment toward her father and her desire to escape the path that others have chosen for her.

Her motivations in the anime are rooted in her family ties. She wants to break free from the Koen-Kan and the arranged marriage that binds her to Liu Kowloon, and she struggles with her complicated feelings toward Lau, whom she both loathes and longs to understand. Her role in the story is that of a key companion to Akira, helping him in his fight against the criminal network while working through her own past. Over the course of the series, she develops a close bond with Akira, getting along with him despite his bottomless appetite, and the two grow to have strong feelings for each other.

Pai is a highly capable fighter whose style emphasizes speed, agility, and technical precision over raw power. She moves quickly, using flips and rapid short-range strikes, and her arsenal includes high and low attacks, counter techniques, and throws, such as twisting an opponent's arm and throwing them over her shoulder. Her balanced approach leaves few openings after an attack, making her well suited to fast, aggressive offense. Throughout the story, she matures from a young woman fleeing her past into a fighter willing to face her father and the legacy of the Koen-Kan directly, ultimately seeking to reconcile with the family she once rejected.