Chapter 73
On the first day after leaving the deserted island, at 5:30 in the morning.
Shen Jinfeng and the others exercised solidly for an hour and a half.
By seven in the morning, more people had started waking up.
After many What Kind of Person Are You fans found out that He Erwang had started a livestream and that all six of them had gathered again to exercise, they even began calling friends and relatives, waking up the friends and family who had previously watched the livestream with them but were still fast asleep.
Many people who had followed the livestream every day but had never woken up early before also sprang up like carp flipping over, suddenly jolting awake from their sleepy dreams and rushing over at the news, opening the livestream room first thing in the morning.
Fortunately, after Weibo had crashed several times because of trending topics, its system was now terrifyingly strong.
[Ahhhhh! All six of them are really there! I’m crying to death. Why do I suddenly feel so touched?]
[Those netizens who were worried their friendship would change after they left the island, come out and get beaten! I told you, all six of them are too good. Wuwu, after going through life and death together on the island, they’ll be brothers for life! It’s like my dad and his old comrades, who had life-and-death bonds. I feel like their brotherhood has been elevated beyond ordinary friendship. It’s the kind where if one person is in trouble, the brothers really would take a knife for him.]
[Wuwu, crying in satisfaction. I can’t believe there’s still a livestream after they came out. It’s good, I love it, please do more! P.S. Suddenly, whether they continue filming or not doesn’t seem that important anymore—bushi.]
[Hahaha, I thought Dalao and the others would go through a period of confusion or transition between reality and the virtual world after coming out. I didn’t expect them to be so amazing. Their relationship and familiarity weren’t affected at all, and there’s no disconnect. They actually got up early again to exercise. And Little Purple Hair, this little genius, even thought of livestreaming it for us. Wuwu, we Season 3 What Kind of Person Are You fans are eating too well!]
[I’m dying laughing. What the heck is Gu Shengsheng wearing? Ultraman? He was hiding at the back just now, and I thought some elementary schooler had mixed in. I was even thinking, this elementary schooler is pretty tall, hahaha.]
[Shen Dalao is wearing pajamas too, right? Holy crap, Little Purple Hair’s purple hair is still wet!]
[What’s going on with these people! Aside from Shen Dalao and Ye Shen, whose movements are as standard as ever, Mo-ge is also pretty good. Xiao Qi, Little Purple Hair, Shengsheng, what’s wrong with you three? Why are your limbs stiff again? Even if you’ve been reset overnight, you can’t have made absolutely no progress, right! Pointing fingers!]
[Exactly, exactly. Compared to Shengsheng now—oh, Xiao Qi is the worst. I can KO two Xiao Qis!]
[No, my internet bros, you guys are really practicing? I’m lying down happily. I never realized before that watching Shen Dalao and the others exercise was this pleasing to the eye! If I’ve watched it, that means I’ve practiced, hehe.]
The bullet comments were lively.
After the exercise ended, He Erwang stretched comfortably and went to pick up his phone.
He was startled by the number of viewers displayed on the livestream screen.
“Holy crap, thirty million!” He rubbed his eyes in disbelief. “Why are there so many people?”
Although he had already been a top idol before, and yesterday he had seen that he had actually reached eighty million fans, so he could be considered someone who had seen the world,
in the past, whenever he announced a livestream in advance, the highest number of viewers online had only been over ten million.
If he started a livestream on a sudden whim without prior notice, the actual online audience would only be a few million.
Of course, on some platforms, where every click counted as one viewer, the displayed number of viewers could look extremely spectacular.
His fans could push data to over a hundred million in minutes.
But thirty million actual online viewers, and at seven in the morning no less—
He Erwang had never seen such a scene.
A little surprised and delighted, he turned back and said to the others, “There are so many people.”
Shen Jinfeng’s expression stiffened imperceptibly for one second. He said, “Mm. Go change clothes. Shall we go eat breakfast together?”
“Oh.” Although they had left the deserted island, He Erwang had still developed a good habit of listening obediently. He picked up his phone and said goodbye to the viewers in the livestream room.
“Good morning, everyone~ Then today’s morning livestream ends here.”
As he spoke, he was about to close the livestream.
Then he saw the colorful gift effects that had filled the screen suddenly disappear, and the bullet comments started flying like they had gone berserk.
[Ahhhhh, don’t close it! Don’t close the livestream! Wang-ge, chat with us for a bit!]
[Don’t close it! Screaming myself hoarse. Little Purple Hair, stop your hand! Livestream breakfast too!]
[Holy crap, Little Purple Hair, don’t put your face so close. This early in the morning, that beauty attack! Ahhhh! My heartbeat is about to stop! No wonder he’s a top idol. That face is truly unbeatable! I can’t believe I never got it before!]
[Can the sister in front even speak? Little Purple Hair, hurry and shove the phone in front of everyone’s face. I want to see Dalao, I want to see Ye Shen, I want to see Xiao Qi and Shengsheng, and let me see Mo-ge too! Starry eyes.]
[Don’t close it!!!]
He Erwang’s finger paused, somewhat conflicted.
With his personality, he was too embarrassed to directly ignore fans’ requests and veto them all.
So he turned back and asked the others for their opinions. “The fans said they want to see you guys. Can each of us say hello to the camera?”
He did not simply point the camera at them directly, because he was not livestreaming alone.
[Little Purple Hair, well done! I didn’t misjudge you!]
[Little Purple Hair’s fans really weren’t lying. Their Wang-ge really listens to fans, hahaha.]
Gu Shengsheng whispered, “That’s fine, but can you only film my face and not my clothes?”
He reached out to cover the Ultraman on his chest.
He Erwang could not help laughing. He glanced down at the bullet comments.
Sure enough, the bullet comments were filled with hahahaha.
[Shengsheng, your clothes look great. Be more confident! That said, we already saw them, hahaha.]
Mo Fan and Qi Xiu also agreed naturally.
Qin Ye nodded too. “That’s fine.”
Shen Jinfeng: “…That’s fine.”
Thus, He Erwang held up the phone and let the others take turns greeting the camera one by one.
Since they had already said hello, they inevitably interacted a little with the bullet comments too.
For example, Qi Xiu was asked:
[Xiao Qi, are you planning to enter the entertainment industry later? I feel like you could earn even more money by livestreaming fortune-telling!]
Qi Xiu shook his head and refused cleanly. “I haven’t decided yet, but I won’t livestream fortune-telling. Everyone should believe in science.”
[…]
Mo Fan saw many bullet comments actually cueing his new drama.
[Mo-ge, your next job is settled! Your performance in Sharp Scabbard Operation was absolutely amazing. Director Shi even said he wants to work with you on his next project!]
Mo Fan froze. “Which Director Shi?”
There was only one famous Director Shi in the entertainment industry, but he was so renowned that Mo Fan did not dare think in that direction!
[Which Director Shi could it be? Shi Zhongshan! He said it himself in an interview. He’ll invite you to audition. He said he thinks you’re very suited to be the male lead of his next film.]
Mo Fan froze on the spot, so overwhelmed by the surprise that he could not find north.
Next was Gu Shengsheng.
Because news had been released late last night that Gu Shengsheng’s parents had rushed overnight to the recording site of What Kind of Person Are You,
there was no need to guess. They were definitely going to bully their family’s child again!
Therefore, the bullet comments were filled with righteous anger. They all said—
[Shengsheng, stay far away from those stupid parents of yours! Don’t hold any expectations for them anymore! Some people really don’t deserve to be parents! They don’t deserve their child’s love!]
[Shengsheng, you’ve fed those two vampires all these years. You’ve basically been supporting yourself since you were five, right? No matter how great the debt of birth and upbringing is, you’ve already repaid it! Don’t be that foolish anymore! In the future, just give them the minimum monthly support required by law. That’s already letting them off too easily! And only after they reach retirement age!]
[I’ll reveal the bloody truth! Shengsheng, haven’t you always wondered why your parents don’t seem to love you like other people’s parents do? Because your father has a white-moonlight true love outside, and he has an illegitimate child! He thinks that the child he had with his true love is his real child. Your mother got trapped in a pig-butchering scam—serves her right—kept male models, and actually fell in love with one, lol. She even believes that a young, handsome male model truly loves her. She’s also addicted to gambling and owes a huge debt. Now she only treats you as her one and only money-making machine! Their nature is hard to change. They won’t change!]
[Do you know how your mother ended up owing so much from gambling? Someone set her up and guided her into it, but she brought it on herself. Apparently, she’s paid it off now because she took money from your rival and smeared her own biological son to save her true-love male model. I’m so angry!]
Gu Shengsheng was caught off guard when he saw this long comment, and his face turned pale in an instant.
Actually, he had already had some vague expectations.
He had debuted as a child star, and he had once been hugely popular. Over the years, he had calculated it himself. Even after taxes, he should have had nearly one small target left.
But this year, when he asked his parents for money, he was told there was not a single cent left.
He vaguely knew that his parents’ relationship was not good, but in the past, he had always thought his parents were barely staying together for his sake. As long as he worked hard to earn money, his parents would always remain together.
He had never imagined that the truth would be like this.
He Erwang, standing at the side, saw that his face looked wrong and directly took the phone from him.
He mouthed to Gu Shengsheng, “We’ll talk later.”
Gu Shengsheng nodded.
Only then did He Erwang point the camera at himself. His bright and spirited brows and eyes appeared on the screen.
“Don’t worry. Gu Shengsheng is my little brother now. I’ll protect him!”
[Pfft, as soon as the camera goes to Little Purple Hair, the vibe changes. I’m dying laughing.]
[Wang-ge, tell Shengsheng not to worry about anything next. Don’t take more acting jobs. Focus on preparing for exams! We’ll all wait for him!]
He Erwang nodded. “Easy, easy. I’ll pay my little brother’s tuition!”
His tone was matter-of-fact, but Gu Shengsheng, standing at the side, instantly reddened around the eyes.
As a result, dissatisfaction floated through the bullet comments.
[No! We fans will pay! Don’t steal our job!]
He Erwang froze for a moment and said to Gu Shengsheng beside him, “Your fans say they’ll pay your tuition.”
Although Gu Shengsheng was still feeling down, his sensitive radar instantly rang.
He waved his hands repeatedly. “No, no. I have tuition money. Everyone should keep your money for yourselves!”
[Hmph, are you looking down on us? We’re not brainless star-chasing fans. But we did vote with heart points for What Kind of Person Are You. The rules announced before said one-third of the points could go to the guest themselves! Shengsheng, don’t give the heart points to your parents. It’s enough to pay your tuition!]
Gu Shengsheng froze in place. This time, tears really shimmered in his eyes.
“Thank you. Thank you, all of you. I…” He expressed his thanks incoherently, suddenly not knowing what to say.
He Erwang very annoyingly took the phone back again. “All right, go back and be sentimental in your own livestream room. Once we’re done chatting, we’re going to eat breakfast.”
[…Little Purple Hair, you’re too much! Is there anyone who ruins the mood like you?]
He Erwang helplessly pushed his hair back and found the nickname “Little Purple Hair” funny.
“If I go dye it pink tomorrow, will you all change your words and call me Little Pink Hair?”
His fans nearly fainted.
Please don’t. They were used to Little Purple Hair and thought it was fine, but Little Pink Hair was really a bit unpleasant.
[No, from now on we’ll call you Little Buzz Cut! Hurry and let Shen Dalao fulfill his promise and cut your hair into a buzz cut! I want to see it!]
He Erwang’s eyes lit up, and he turned back to ask Shen Jinfeng’s opinion.
Shen Jinfeng: “…Sure. If you’re willing, I’ll arrange it for you later.”
He could not help thinking back in his mind to what other promises he had made on the deserted island.
After coming out, not only did the people he had promised remember, even the netizens who had watched the whole thing on livestream all remembered too!
He Erwang happily thanked the bullet comment from just now. “Thanks. My boss said he’ll cut it for me later.”
[All right, since the phone is in your hands again, Little Purple Hair, remember this! After coming out, don’t date and make fewer friends! You’re only allowed to hang out with Dalao and the others!]
[Exactly, exactly! If you make new friends, don’t forget to bring them to Shen Dalao, Ye Shen, and Xiao Qi to take a look!]
He Erwang’s face darkened.
“I’d be a ghost if I listened to you.”
He shoved the phone to Qin Ye beside him. “Brother Ye, you do it!”
Qin Ye greeted the livestream room. His manner was neither warm nor cold, the same as when he usually accepted interviews.
[Does Ye Shen have any plans to enter the entertainment industry again? I really want to watch you act again!]
Qin Ye shook his head. “No plans.”
[Then will you participate in a variety show like What Kind of Person Are You again in the future?]
Qin Ye was just about to shake his head.
The bullet comments asked again: [What if Shen Dalao invites you? If it’s with Shen Dalao, Little Purple Hair, and the others, the original cast? Would you really be unwilling?]
Qin Ye’s gaze paused. He answered, “Not sure. I’ll consider it.”
[Happy. If I hadn’t seen Ye Shen smiling so cheaply on the deserted island, I’d really have thought you were born not loving to smile.]
[Well, it depends who he’s in front of. After all, we’re not Shen Dalao.]
[Got it. Wife-exclusive, right? Sorry to ask, Ye Shen, do you think you’re the top or bottom? Can this be asked? Dog head.]
Pfft.
When Qin Ye saw this bullet comment, he subconsciously pressed the phone screen downward, not daring to let the others see it.
At the same time, his ears quietly reddened.
“What’s wrong, what’s wrong? What question did they ask?” Qi Xiu “keenly” noticed something was off from the side.
Qin Ye shook his head and said directly to the bullet comments, “Don’t talk nonsense.”
[Oh, the little couple hasn’t pierced the final layer of paper yet. Don’t worry, we won’t ask in front of Shen Dalao!]
Qin Ye quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
He stopped interacting with the bullet comments. After making sure there were no other strange questions, he handed the phone to Shen Jinfeng.
When Shen Jinfeng took the phone, he suddenly had the feeling of being forced to do business.
He greeted the viewers in the livestream room.
[Ahhhh, Dalao, Dalao, I love you. May I ask if Dalao needs a leg pendant?]
[I’m a university student. If you need a pendant, please let me come first!]
[Wuwu, Dalao. I’m sorry. The me from before was truly blind, muddle-headed, and immature. I once got led by antis and followed the crowd to scold you. But the me now is your most loyal fan! From now on, whenever I see antis, I’ll scold one if I see one and scold a pair if I see two!]
[Dalao, you’re really too amazing. You’re not secretly carrying out some mission undercover in the entertainment industry, are you?]
[Agreed! I suspect Dalao has a system. That’s why he has so many special skills!]
Seeing the screen full of rainbow farts and all kinds of guesses about how he had been too “amazing” on the deserted island, Shen Jinfeng’s eyelid twitched.
Oh my, this bullet comment guessed quite accurately.
It guessed he had crossed over from another world.
With a broken-jar attitude, he listlessly admitted it directly.
“Yes, I crossed over from another world. I also have a system.”
But when he said it like that, not a single person believed him.
[Hahahahaha, then Dalao, your system is way too unreliable! It didn’t even remind you when you joined What Kind of Person Are You? It’s so trash! It couldn’t even beat the production team of What Kind of Person Are You! It caused you to be exposed!!!]
Shen Jinfeng nodded with deep agreement.
Wasn’t that exactly right? 888 was far too unreliable!
It had caused him to expose himself in his retirement world!
The temporary livestream interaction continued for half an hour.
When the netizens who had rushed over after hearing the news, as well as those who had just woken up, arrived, they saw that the livestream had ended. They felt as if they had missed out on a hundred million.
After it ended, Shen Jinfeng and the others ate breakfast together. After returning to wash up, they gathered again.
This time, it was not only the six of them, but also the managers from each side who had arrived yesterday.
Oh, except for Gu Shengsheng’s parents.
Gu Shengsheng did not notify them, and the other managers were too lazy to call them.
This was Shen Jinfeng’s first meeting with the original owner’s manager.
The manager was called Liu Song. He was a thin, middle-aged man with shrewdness exposed in his eyes.
The moment he saw Shen Jinfeng, he approached him and smiled rather warmly. “Jinfeng, I didn’t expect you to perform so well on the show!”
However, at first glance, Shen Jinfeng saw the guilty conscience and ill intent in the manager’s eyes when their gazes met.
Qi Xiu secretly calculated a divination, and his gaze sharpened.
He leaned close to Shen Jinfeng’s ear and whispered, “Boss, your manager doesn’t seem to be a good person.”
“He came with bad intentions.”
Shen Jinfeng smiled at him reassuringly.
Then, he directly addressed this manager he was meeting for the first time. “Brother Liu, Shen Qianxi told me that all the money I earned over the past two years was secretly transferred by you under the pretense of managing connections and making financial investments?”
Liu Song’s whole body instantly stiffened.
Damn that Shen Qianxi! He was already in trouble himself, yet the first person he sold out was Liu Song?
“How is that possible? Young Master Shen Qianxi is slandering me. I can pull up all the financial management records from the past few years for you to see.” Luckily, he had been prepared.
Shen Jinfeng smiled. “Sure. But Shen Qianxi said all those operations were done with your help, and he provided me with evidence. I don’t understand it, so I’ve already handed it to a lawyer. Later, you can verify it together with the lawyer.”
“Also, he said that over the past few years, you bought off quite a few marketing accounts to spread rumors and slander me. I don’t believe it. He also gave me evidence of that. And to prove you’re not a good person, he said you once forced an artist under you to take drugs?”
Liu Song felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave on the spot.
Impossible.
Shen Qianxi should not have known about that.
He had never told anyone!
No, his heart was thrown into chaos. No wonder Shen Qianxi had been so confident working with him.
So he had been holding Liu Song’s weakness all along.
Now that he wanted to curry favor with Shen Jinfeng, he had directly pushed Liu Song out to claim credit!
Yes, he had also vaguely heard that the Shen family seemed to have run into trouble recently.
Yesterday, Shen Qianxi had specifically called him and told him not to offend Shen Jinfeng anymore.
So this was the plan he had been making!
Shen Jinfeng looked at him indifferently. “Brother Liu, the police are outside. If you didn’t do any of these things, go out and explain it to the police.”
Liu Song’s eyes nearly split with rage. What?
The police were outside?
He looked at Shen Jinfeng’s eyes, which were still “friendly” as they gazed at him.
For a moment, the image of Shen Qianxi, arrogant and full of evil ideas as he ordered Liu Song around over the past few years, contrasted sharply with the image of “Shen Jinfeng,” who had always obeyed him and trusted him wholeheartedly.
Therefore, even though he had watched Shen Jinfeng’s performance on the deserted island,
which had been so different he seemed like a complete stranger,
he still did not doubt Shen Jinfeng’s words in the slightest.
If Shen Qianxi could be heartless, he could not blame Liu Song for being disloyal.
He directly began crying in front of Shen Jinfeng. “Jinfeng, it’s all my fault. I was possessed by greed for a moment! Everything I did before was because Shen Qianxi threatened me! He was the one who made me do it.”
He pushed everything from these years—things he had been incited to do by Shen Qianxi, things they had plotted together, even bad ideas he himself had come up with—onto Shen Qianxi.
“I have evidence!”
Shen Jinfeng looked at him expressionlessly and secretly pressed the stop recording button.
“Brother Liu, I didn’t expect you to be this kind of person.”
“I don’t want to listen anymore, and I don’t want to look at the evidence. Save these words and tell them to the police.”
His acting was truly perfunctory. He said he had not expected it, but there was not even a trace of “heartache” or disbelief on his face.
Unfortunately, Liu Song had already been badly frightened by him.
He repeatedly agreed. At the very last moment, he even put on a show of “when a man is about to die, his words are good.”
“Jinfeng, I will definitely explain Shen Qianxi’s crimes properly to the police and clarify everything online for you! I’ll return your innocence.”
Shen Jinfeng smiled as he watched him go out to meet the police.
Then he turned to the lawyer Qin Ye had called over and said, “Lawyer Wu, please help me follow up on this case.”
“My demand is that the bad people be brought to justice, and that I recover my lost property and compensation for emotional damages.”
The crowd watching from the side stared wide-eyed as he made Liu Song turn himself in with just a few sentences.
Lawyer Wu nodded professionally. “Understood, Shen Dalao.”
This was only a small interlude.
Their purpose in gathering here was to discuss how to negotiate with the production team later.
“Do you all still want to continue recording?” He Erwang’s manager asked.
Continuing or stopping meant two different negotiation strategies.
This time, before anyone else could answer, Shen Jinfeng was the first to speak. “No.”
“Ah?” He Erwang froze for a moment and lowered his brows, somewhat disappointed. “I still wanted to keep being with Boss and everyone.”
Qi Xiu, Gu Shengsheng, and Mo Fan did not object, but they were visibly somewhat sad too.
Qin Ye glanced at Shen Jinfeng and analyzed rationally, “Not continuing the recording is the right choice.”
“If the show wants to be watchable, it needs to implant memories and personas in us again. Do you want us to meet again as strangers who don’t know each other?”
He pursed his lips. “I don’t.”
When the others heard this, they felt it made sense.
Shen Jinfeng looked at everyone and silently sighed in his heart.
The greatest “harvest” from coming to this retirement world was inexplicably gaining several little tails.
“We have a long future ahead of us,” he comforted them. “It’s convenient to meet in real life too. More real.”
“All right.”
Everyone reached a unanimous agreement.
As for the negotiation, they left it to the managers and lawyers beside them.
That afternoon, the group drove to the production team again.
But as soon as they entered the production team’s control room, Qin Ye spoke in surprise. “Uncle?”
Shen Jinfeng looked over at the sound.
Beside Sun Xinping sat a man with a very good spirit, sporting a buzz cut and an extremely distinctive aura.
The man was handsome, but no one had noticed him immediately earlier.
Hearing Qin Ye’s greeting,
Yun Xueshan smiled and greeted his nephew. “Xiao Ye, long time no see~”
“But I’m not here to find you. I’m here for this little friend beside you.”
