Chapter 75
Inside the conference room.
Qin Ye and the others, who had originally gathered here to negotiate with the production team about no longer continuing the recording, were now sitting quietly on the sofa.
For the moment, no one spoke, and the negotiation did not continue.
Shen Jinfeng had been pulled away by Yun Xueshan to another private conference room to talk, so one person was missing.
Originally, even so, the negotiation could have continued.
After all, they had not intended to personally step in. Matters such as follow-up work with the production team and contract termination were supposed to be handed over to their managers and lawyers.
But none of them had expected this.
After Shen Jinfeng left, Sun Xinping also became so busy he barely touched the ground.
He had only just sat down, said a few words to the managers, and started the conversation when he was called away by a staff member.
Then, after being gone for over ten minutes, he returned, sat down, and took a sip of water.
Less than two minutes later, he was called away again.
For their side of the negotiation, having the managers present was enough. Whether the guests themselves were there did not matter.
But on the production team’s side, the negotiation could not proceed without Sun Xinping, the director.
Thus, the discussion was delayed again and again, temporarily shelved.
With nothing to do for the time being, the managers and guests chatted on and off.
At the same time, they looked outside at wave after wave of people arriving, their eyes full of surprise.
This conference room had one-way glass, so the people sitting inside could clearly see what seemed like an endless stream of visitors arriving outside.
The managers were well-informed and worldly. At the very least, they recognized several rather famous CEOs.
He Erwang and Qin Ye also knew some people because of their family backgrounds.
Strange. Why had these people all appeared here in droves today?
And were they here to look for Sun Xinping?
It did not seem like it, because all of them had been led by Sun Xinping into the same reception room, but Sun Xinping had not stayed with them the whole time.
“Is the director that busy today? So many people are here looking for him?” Sitting inside the room, Qi Xiu looked outside and could not help voicing his doubt.
“And they all look like important people.”
He Erwang’s manager looked at him in surprise. “Xiao Qi, you know those people who just passed by?”
Qi Xiu honestly shook his head.
“No. I just sensed it from their faces.”
Wait, why was it that whenever he was with the little friends he had met on the deserted island, his mouth started leaking like a broken pot, answering whatever people asked?
“I just have a feeling. I’m not accurate at reading faces,” he added.
That was the truth.
Otherwise, if he did not add that, he felt like the managers and production staff in this room were all looking at him with eagerness.
He had promised the old man not to make a living from this.
Usually, it was purely habit and self-amusement.
However, He Erwang confirmed his guess.
“They really are important people. I recognized a few just now. There are people from academic circles and business circles.”
Gu Shengsheng asked, “Why are these important people here? Do they want to take part in the recording too?”
Qin Ye looked toward the people who had just walked in, his thick brows slightly furrowing.
Hearing Gu Shengsheng’s question, he shook his head and guessed, “They’re probably here for the little captain.”
A staff member nearby was just about to speak when Qin Ye unexpectedly guessed the general situation himself.
They all nodded together.
Xiao Li’s tone was practically full of reverence as he said, “Yes. All these people are here for Shen Dalao.”
“Huh?” Gu Shengsheng froze. “All these people are here for our boss?”
“Why are they looking for him?” Mo Fan also asked in surprise.
He Erwang knew roughly what fields some of them worked in and slowly reacted. “My goodness.”
“Because our boss is too amazing.” He took a moment to calm down, then told the others his guess.
The group was stunned speechless by his speculation.
“You’re saying these people might have come to ask for cooperation because they saw how amazing Boss is?”
Hm? Could such a fantasy-like thing really happen in real life?
After He Erwang casually introduced a few of their identities, he suddenly remembered that although so many people had come looking for Shen Jinfeng, and all of them had some status,
none of them had actually met Shen Jinfeng yet.
He suddenly looked at Qin Ye. “Ye-ge, your uncle is here for Boss too. Why is he looking for him?”
“Is your uncle also in business?”
It was very strange. Logically, since they were in the same circle, he should know Qin Ye’s uncle.
But he searched through his mind and realized he had no impression.
He had not even heard much about such a person.
Qin Ye shook his head. “No. He works in art.”
This was Yun Xueshan’s identity to the outside world.
He Erwang thought for a moment. “I haven’t even heard of your uncle.”
“Did you call Sun Xinping ahead of time and open a back door for your uncle?”
Otherwise, why were even academicians outside still waiting, while Qin Ye’s uncle had already gotten to meet him first?
Qin Ye: “…”
Gu Shengsheng refuted him. “How could that be?”
“When we came in, it was obvious Ye-ge himself didn’t even know his uncle was here.”
“So it’s useless to ask Ye-ge. He himself doesn’t know why his uncle is looking for Boss. But since he works in art, he must have taken a liking to Boss’s talent.”
He Erwang said, “Fine.”
“Boss actually met Ye-ge’s family first.”
The way he said this was truly ambiguous.
Qin Ye’s heart skipped a beat, and he had just raised his head
when he heard He Erwang continue, “It still has to be because of the friendship we built with Boss on the deserted island. Otherwise, if you wanted to meet Boss, you’d have to make an appointment and line up first.”
“Boss has already met Ye-ge’s family, so he definitely won’t favor one over the other, right? My mom called me last night and told me to bring Boss and all of you home for a meal.”
?
“Go to your house and eat with your family?”
Mo Fan was a little unable to hold it together.
They were all adults. Whose parents would ask their child to bring friends home for a meal? Shouldn’t they entertain their own friends themselves?
He Erwang nodded as if it were only natural. “Yeah. Why are you so surprised? My dad said I finally made real friends this time and that I should keep in touch with you guys often.”
“My mom was too lazy to entertain my previous friends.”
This time, even Gu Shengsheng could feel Father He and Mother He’s earnest “love for their son.”
So funny.
Was this the first time they had seen their son make reliable friends?
He Erwang’s manager covered his face from the side as he watched his artist explain.
He coughed twice and interrupted, “Wang-ge, you just came out and don’t know everything yet. Maybe President He and Madam didn’t remember to tell you.”
He Erwang froze. “Tell me what?”
The manager glanced at Qi Xiu before saying, “Besides wanting to meet your friends, President He and Madam probably want to properly thank everyone for taking care of you on the deserted island, especially Shen Dalao and Xiao Qi.”
Now that Shen Jinfeng was not here, he would not say more about him.
But the life-saving grace was there. It was not something that could be ignored.
“Before, on the deserted island, didn’t Xiao Qi tell your fortune? He even specifically pointed out that after you left the island, you needed to pay attention to your family’s health.”
He Erwang reacted, and his voice suddenly rose three degrees. “Something happened to my parents?”
“No, no, don’t get excited!” The manager quickly held him down and could not help complaining, “If something had happened, who was it that contacted you yesterday? Didn’t you have a video call with them last night?”
He Erwang was pushed back into his seat. “Oh, right. I was too worried and acted stupid.”
The manager said, “When that part aired live, President He arranged for the whole family to have a full physical checkup. President He was found to have a lung tumor, confirmed to be early-stage lung cancer. Luckily, it was discovered in time, and he’s fine now.”
Seeing He Erwang instantly grow nervous, he quickly sped up and said everything in one breath.
He Erwang stood frozen in place for a long while. The lingering fear made his whole body stiff even now.
His eyes faintly reddened. “It’s all my fault. I don’t care enough about my dad. I actually didn’t notice.”
Qin Ye looked at him and comforted him. “Early-stage lung cancer has mild symptoms. It really is difficult to detect.”
Mo Fan said, “Yes. It’s good that he’s fine now.”
After waiting for him to calm down, the manager continued, “Don’t worry. President He is recovering very well now. Early-stage lung cancer is just a small operation.”
“Madam and the others are all fine too.”
“So President He and Madam also want to thank Xiao Qi in person.”
He looked at Qi Xiu comfortingly and said, “He Erwang’s parents are both very easy to get along with. Don’t be nervous.”
Qi Xiu shook his head. “I’m not nervous.”
“Hm?”
Qi Xiu smiled until his eyes curved. “Secret.”
Why was he not nervous?
Because he had calculated that he would soon receive unexpected wealth.
Sure enough, He Erwang suddenly remembered. “Qi Xiu, I promised to pay you the divination fee!”
He turned to his manager and said, “Go to the bank later and transfer it for me.”
“I promised five million before. With the divination fee added, round it up to six million.”
Qi Xiu: “!”
Damn. He really was going to receive unexpected wealth!
The manager said, “…All right.”
Birds of a feather truly flocked together.
As far as he knew, President He and Madam had already transferred ten million to the bank card Qi Xiu had only just opened over the summer.
And he estimated that this was only the appetizer.
The main event would depend on what happened when Qi Xiu actually visited the He family.
However, President He had told him
that the divination fee He Erwang had promised must also be paid. There was no need to remind him.
Thus, he said nothing and merely agreed with a smile.
Besides, since He Erwang had promised it himself, that was fine. Here, there were still production staff present too. They could not be too ostentatious and invite hatred.
Though, he followed He Erwang every day, and he himself was the number one hater of wealth!
This feeling could only be eased when He Erwang waved his hand and gave him bonuses.
Qi Xiu suddenly remembered the saying the old man had often repeated: wealth and honor obtained unjustly are to me like floating clouds.
Although he had always felt the old man was just deceiving and comforting himself.
This was proper wealth on his part.
But when a poor person suddenly became rich, their heart would feel uneasy. He had to do good deeds.
He said, “If you’re going to give me this much money, please help me donate half of it directly.”
The remaining three million could be used to choose a luxurious cemetery plot for the old man.
He calculated silently in his heart.
After he casually said this, he attracted everyone’s gaze.
The staff who had known about this agreement while watching the livestream, but still could not help feeling sour when they saw the promise of six million being fulfilled in front of their eyes, could not help freezing.
Upon suddenly receiving such a huge sum of money, Qi Xiu’s first reaction was actually to donate half of it?
They asked themselves honestly: if it were them, they probably could not do it.
Even if this money had come “easily.”
The manager looked at Qi Xiu and suddenly had the urge to reflect on whether his conscience was insufficient.
He could not help imitating the gesture he had learned from watching Shen Dalao in the livestream and rubbed Qi Xiu’s head, praising him, “Good child.”
Unexpectedly, Qi Xiu immediately twisted his head away, covered it, and protested, “Uncle, don’t randomly touch my head.”
The manager: “…Oh, all right.”
Understood. Exclusive to Shen Dalao, was it?
Qi Xiu reminded He Erwang again, “You should also tell your family to do more good deeds regularly.”
He Erwang nodded solemnly. “Okay!”
At this moment, Sun Xinping walked back in.
He asked Xiao Li, “Shen Dalao and Qin Ye’s uncle still haven’t finished talking?”
Xiao Li shook his head. “Not yet.”
It really had been quite long.
Sun Xinping thought for a moment, then waved at Qi Xiu. “Xiao Qi, can you come out for a bit?”
Although he had not finished negotiating with the managers and lawyers, he more or less understood the guests’ intentions now.
The possibility of persuading the guests to continue participating was not high. He could only strive for future cooperation.
Now, he needed to maximize benefits.
He remembered that Qi Xiu had been the one he had recruited into What Kind of Person Are You.
At the beginning, he had also promised to introduce him to a company.
No matter what, he could count as half of Qi Xiu’s benefactor, right?
Unfortunately, he did not know that just a few minutes earlier, Qi Xiu had already received a huge divination fee from He—big spender—Erwang.
When Qi Xiu saw Sun Xinping call him, he thought for a moment and did not refuse.
“Ye-ge, I’ll go out with him for a bit. I’ll be right back.”
Qin Ye nodded. “Come find me if you need help.”
Qi Xiu said, “Mm!”
He followed Sun Xinping to another room and spoke first. “Director Sun, I don’t need you to help arrange my master’s funeral anymore. I also don’t plan to enter the entertainment industry anymore.”
Sun Xinping’s stomach full of prepared lines abruptly got stuck.
Qi Xiu looked at him quietly, his gaze a little apologetic.
After all, back then, he had calculated that Sun Xinping could help him arrange the old man’s funeral and buy a cemetery plot.
Now, he could buy it himself, but there was no denying that he had accepted Sun Xinping’s favor.
Moreover, it was precisely because of What Kind of Person Are You that he had met Boss and the others.
If their relationship were calculated now, he owed Sun Xinping.
Thus, Qi Xiu thought for a moment, then suddenly said, “Director Sun, you said before that you wanted me to read your fortune.”
“I’ll read it for you. No charge.”
Sun Xinping’s attention was diverted. “Sure.”
Qi Xiu’s fortune-telling ability shown in the program was still very worth anticipating.
“Do you need me to provide my birth characters?”
Qi Xiu shook his head. “Wait a moment.”
Sun Xinping waited patiently and watched the young man take out his turtle shell, slowly shaking it.
Three minutes later, Qi Xiu raised his head and looked at him, his expression somewhat hesitant.
Sun Xinping’s heart thudded. “What’s wrong?”
Qi Xiu dragged out his tone. “The divination result isn’t very good.”
Sun Xinping’s heart tightened.
Qi Xiu said, “Director Sun, the divination says you’re about to go cold.”
!
Sun Xinping’s eyes suddenly widened. “What does that mean?”
Qi Xiu paused, realizing that his words were somewhat ambiguous.
He comforted him. “Don’t be nervous. ‘Going cold’ doesn’t mean you’re going to die.”
Sun Xinping: “…”
Thanks.
Now I’m even more nervous, thank you.
Inside the most private room in this building,
in fact, this room had already been inspected.
Shen Jinfeng looked at Yun Xueshan, who was middle-aged but still faintly showed the outstanding appearance of his youth. “May I ask who you are?”
Yun Xueshan had already quietly sized him up for a moment.
In his heart, he could not help sighing inwardly. The real person was more inwardly refined than in the videos, yet also not someone anyone could underestimate.
Now that Shen Jinfeng had spoken first, he did not intend to compete with him in aura.
The curve of his lips deepened, revealing an amiable smile.
“No rush. When we talk business later, I’ll introduce myself properly.”
“You can call me uncle along with Qin Ye.”
Shen Jinfeng: “?”
Yun Xueshan smiled and said, “I watched the livestream. Qin Ye really performed too poorly on the deserted island. When dealing with the wolves, he almost dragged you down. Now that he’s out, I’ll help you train him properly later.”
Shen Jinfeng was stunned for a moment.
What did he mean, help him train him?
Train what?
He said, “No. Qin Ye did very well on the deserted island. He’s very smart, and his skills are also excellent.”
Yun Xueshan stared at him for several seconds, then suddenly laughed loudly.
“Xiao Shen, you’re too modest! I know that boy Qin Ye. Among ordinary people, he’s not bad, but compared with you, he’s completely incomparable.”
Although in truth, Qin Ye’s overall quality absolutely counted as among the best even among geniuses.
But indeed, compared with Shen Jinfeng, who had been respectfully called “Dalao” by tens of millions of netizens, he was still somewhat lacking.
However, Yun Xueshan frowned and thought for a moment.
“That boy always feels superior compared to his peers. Now that he’s been beaten by someone from his own family, it’s not a loss, hahaha.”
Yun Xueshan had indeed watched most of the livestream clips, but he had not followed it around the clock.
He had taken his sister’s call first.
When Madam Yun recommended Shen Jinfeng to him, she called him Qin Ye’s partner.
With this impression, when he watched the livestream, naturally, all he saw was the two flirting with each other and already having something going on.
As soon as he said this,
Shen Jinfeng finally knew what was wrong.
Someone from his own family?
Qin Ye’s uncle thought he and Qin Ye were a couple?
Had he behaved that obviously in the show?
Where did he see that?
He and Qin Ye had not even confessed to each other.
It was probably because of the overwhelming CP brainwashing content online.
Shen Jinfeng’s tone stiffened slightly as he said, “You may have misunderstood something.”
Yun Xueshan: “?”
Shen Jinfeng explained to him seriously, “There is a lot of online public opinion, and it is mixed. It is not easy to distinguish real information.”
Fortunately, Yun Xueshan worked in intelligence. Otherwise, he really would have been fooled by this sentence.
But after thinking carefully, he understood what Shen Jinfeng meant.
What was going on?
Had the young couple quarreled?
Or had Qin Ye still not pierced that final layer of window paper, still lacking a bit of fire?
Over these days, he had repeatedly studied various clips of Shen Jinfeng on the deserted island. Naturally, he could easily read the slight unnaturalness in his explanation.
He understood.
It was not that he had no feelings at all, but perhaps he himself had not yet realized that layer of meaning.
His sister had been happy too early.
He had also been happy too early.
The ready-made back door could not be used anymore.
Yun Xueshan cursed his useless nephew in his heart.
Only then did he smile and say, “Online information really is like that. It reverses black and white, and public clamor can melt metal. It’s very difficult to tell truth from falsehood.”
“Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Yun Xueshan.” He handed Shen Jinfeng the proof representing his identity. “I am the captain of Special Central Team One.”
The title of captain sounded like a small fry.
But if one understood the significance of Special Central Team One, probably no one would look down on him.
Clearly, Shen Jinfeng understood.
So he easily inferred it.
This was really bad…
He had been noticed by the country.
Or rather, he had entered the eyes of a relevant department, such as the current Special Central Team One.
Only, he had originally thought it would not happen this quickly, and the atmosphere would not be this relaxed.
Of course, the relaxed atmosphere might be because this captain, Yun Xueshan, had misunderstood his relationship with Qin Ye.
“Shen Jinfeng, twenty-two years old, originally from Shanghai. At the age of five, on Shenxiang Road…”
Yun Xueshan read Shen Jinfeng’s life story at an unhurried pace.
It could be said that before participating in What Kind of Person Are You, the original owner seemed to have lived in some melodramatic tragedy.
After being found by the Shen family as an adult, he officially began the plotline of being suppressed and bullied.
But aside from his experiences, the original owner himself had not displayed any extraordinary skills.
Until he participated in the What Kind of Person Are You livestream and was implanted by the production team with an almost perfect dalao persona.
“Shen Dalao, you truly deserve the title ‘Dalao.’ Whether it is your combat skills, martial arts, wilderness survival experience, your knowledge reserves in various fields including but not limited to architecture, clothing, medicine, archaeology, all of them can be called top-notch. If my guess is correct, you also have deep involvement in technology?”
Shen Jinfeng sat on the sofa, only quietly listening without interrupting.
Clearly, because of 888’s oversight, he had arrived in this retirement world, received the production team’s “dalao” persona, believed it to be true, and leaked flaws like a sieve.
However, it was not impossible to find a reason for this.
Only after Yun Xueshan finished speaking did he smile faintly and prepare to speak.
Yun Xueshan said, “Wait. Let me say one more thing.”
“Obviously, the reason you have such a performance today is because you once had some fortuitous encounter, or recently had one. This isn’t important.”
He paused. “Of course, if you’re willing to share it with me, that would be best.”
“It’s just that I probably wouldn’t be able to judge whether what you say is true or false.” He shrugged. “We’re not evil villains from movies. We can’t drag people off to dissect them.”
Shen Jinfeng blinked.
How had this person already said everything he could have said?
Then what was he supposed to do?
Yun Xueshan slowly took several documents out of the bag he carried with him.
He deliberately lowered his voice. “As for the reasons and whatnot, later you can cooperate with me and casually put together a report to submit.”
Shen Jinfeng: “…”
“Don’t relax so quickly. Later, you’ll have to come back to the team with me and take a few little tests.”
Shen Jinfeng nodded.
Standard procedure.
For a “special talent” who had drawn the attention of relevant departments, even in the most relaxed and tolerant small world, they at least had to ensure that you were loyal to the motherland.
A little test was only a test.
The relevant department would put the talent on record and secretly observe them continuously for years or even decades.
Yun Xueshan raised his brows and gestured to him. “The main event is these documents.”
“I’m really curious. What are you best at?”
He pointed at the first document.
“Here. This one is from the military. They think you’re highly skilled and suitable to serve the country.”
“The second one is from the Academy of Sciences. Their president wants to commend you. Oh, right, Professor Feng Chenfeng probably wants to take you as a student.”
“And the National Museum wants you to go over and do research.”
“This one is from the Language Research Institute.”
…
“There are a few more. They’re more or less the same.”
Yun Xueshan bonelessly shook the document bag for him, indicating that there were more inside.
“Given how all-powerful you appeared in the program, I actually think that if you had stayed a few more days and had more room to perform, maybe the hospital, Agricultural Development Department, Public Security Bureau, Ministry of Finance… and so on might also come to me for your background check.”
Shen Jinfeng said, “I don’t know the things you just mentioned.”
As for the things he had not revealed, he was not going to be lured into exposing them by a probe.
Yun Xueshan sighed regretfully. “All right.”
“Is there anywhere you want to go?”
He began to promote himself. “Please allow me to introduce Special Central Team One to you.”
“Our team is full of capable people. There are those who can commune with spirits, those who can see through things, the strongest martial artist in the present world, mind readers, people with special bloodlines, people who can predict the future, koi, and…”
As he spoke, he observed Shen Jinfeng’s expression, his tone tempting. “How about it? Isn’t it interesting?”
He was certain that Shen Jinfeng knew so many skills—regardless of how he knew them—because he must be a person with strong curiosity, ambition, diverse interests, and a love for broadening the boundaries of his abilities.
“Only in our team can you witness the magnificent but unknown other side of the world.”
“Our tasks are also very rich and diverse. It’s basically various special talents handling unusual incidents that occur in every corner of the world and treating each case accordingly. There are several directions, such as…”
He introduced it endlessly.
He spoke for nearly twenty minutes and only stopped to drink water when his mouth felt dry.
“So? What are you most interested in? Do you have any dreams?”
“You can think it over carefully.”
Shen Jinfeng had listened to his introduction very politely the entire time.
Now that he was asked,
his long eyelashes fluttered, and he looked extremely sincere.
“Actually, my dream is to become an actor.”
