Min path cover problem in Cormen et.al. question about notation
The graph $G'$ has $2n+2$ vertices. We give them the names $x_0,\ldots,x_n,y_0,\ldots,y_n$ to make it easy to refer to them. So $x_i,y_i$ are just names of vertices. They have no value, and do not refer to anything. In that regard, they are akin to indeterminates.
What might be confusing you is the existence of a different graph $G$, which has $n$ vertices. The vertices $x_i,y_i$ are just vertices – they are not variables referring to vertices of $G$. The &quot;value&quot; of $x_i$ is just $x_i$.