Chapter 82
By a twist of fate, all meetings must eventually end.
Professor Gu, He Yingcai, and the others had failed to accomplish their purpose on this trip, so they could only return to work in dejection.
Feng Chenfeng had originally wanted to stay in Sha City for the night, but he suddenly received an urgent phone call and had no choice but to leave as well.
The once overcrowded reception room was now left with only Sun Xinping, a few scattered staff members from the production team, Yun Xueshan, and the original six guests of What Kind of Person Are You.
Yun Xueshan stood up and casually patted the non-existent dust off his clothes, then greeted Qin Ye. “Uncle is leaving. Don’t miss me, okay?”
Qin Ye’s expression softened slightly. He stepped forward and gave Yun Xueshan a farewell hug.
Yun Xueshan said, “Call your mom when this is over. You didn’t call her last night?”
Qin Ye’s face darkened.
After coming out, he had remembered that Madam Yun had coaxed and tricked him into joining the show, so he had deliberately not called her.
Yun Xueshan teased, “Still angry? Shouldn’t you be thanking your mom?”
Seeing Qin Ye’s still-cold expression, he continued teasing him. “Work harder and bring him home sooner. Otherwise, your mom will come up with every possible way to meet him herself. I spent so much effort last night stopping your mom from making a thousand-mile night raid just to come over and meet her son—”
Qin Ye reached out and covered his mouth.
The roots of his ears burned scarlet.
Yun Xueshan raised an eyebrow, grabbed his hand away, and spat twice.
“All right, all right. I’m leaving.”
Qin Ye calmly nodded.
Unexpectedly, Yun Xueshan made a feint. He turned around and went straight toward Shen Jinfeng instead.
“Uncle!” Qin Ye called out urgently, trying to stop him.
Yun Xueshan waved his hand without even turning back and said irritably, “What are you panicking for?”
He stopped in front of Shen Jinfeng and smiled as he said goodbye. “Jinfeng, I’m very happy to have met you today.”
One did not slap a smiling face. Shen Jinfeng also reached out and shook his hand. “Mr. Yun, I’m also very happy to have met you.”
Yun Xueshan said, “If you change your mind later, come find me anytime!”
Shen Jinfeng: “…All right.”
He would not. He absolutely would not change his mind.
Yun Xueshan could see through his perfunctory performance and sighed in disappointment.
“Jinfeng, Professor Feng truly cares about you. You must cherish this affection.” He changed the topic and reminded him.
Shen Jinfeng’s eyes softened slightly. “Mm, I know.”
Yun Xueshan smiled as well. “All right, then goodbye.”
In the future, they would definitely have a chance to meet again.
Shen Jinfeng also hugged him briefly and watched him leave.
After everyone left, the largest reception room in the building suddenly seemed empty.
The production staff now looked at Shen Jinfeng as though they were looking at a god.
They were all people who worked in the entertainment industry and had seen countless celebrities.
But a celebrity this incredible, this capable of attracting fans to such an extent, was truly unprecedented.
Without a doubt, as long as Shen Jinfeng still wanted to remain in the entertainment industry, he was destined to become a rising superstar.
Sun Xinping put on an eager smile, had the staff tidy up the reception room, and then asked the six guests in a gentle voice, “Why don’t we continue discussing things here?”
He Erwang and the others all looked toward Shen Jinfeng, waiting for him to decide.
Shen Jinfeng nodded indifferently. “Call our managers and lawyers over.”
Actually, there was not much left to discuss.
It was already a foregone conclusion that the show would not continue filming.
But a wise man submitted to circumstances.
Sun Xinping did not bring up the matter of breach-of-contract damages with them at all.
He even gave up quite a lot of benefits.
Only at the end did he reveal his true purpose.
“Everyone, the contracts we signed were for two months. This time, the early termination happened first because Shen Dalao and all of you were too outstanding and accomplished the unprecedented feat of cracking the virtual world; second, our production team did not set the scene properly.”
“This outcome is something neither side wanted to see.”
He finished his opening statement with confidence, only to find that no one paid him any attention.
Sun Xinping awkwardly wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued on his own. “Insufficient runtime is a loss for both sides.”
“The scene setup, the early preparation work, publicity, post-production difficulties, and so on—our production team is still working on ways to overcome and resolve them.”
He took a step back and sold them a little misery, only to find that aside from Gu Shengsheng, whose expression wavered with a trace of sympathy, everyone else remained expressionless.
Sun Xinping coughed. “Ahem. But this is also a huge loss for all of you guests.”
He gestured for Old Qian, the head of the publicity department who had just entered, to hand him the analysis data.
“According to our production team’s technical support, algorithmic calculations, and the statistics from our publicity staff, if the livestream could have continued for two months as originally planned, then by conservative estimates, each of your follower counts across social platforms could have doubled. The number of advertisers inquiring could have tripled, and the number of…”
Actually, the show’s popularity had already reached an unprecedented level. Because it had become a phenomenon, most viewers had already been exposed to it.
The following growth might not explode again, but the discussion volume across all areas, as well as the traffic accumulated over time, had not yet reached the harvest stage.
He was right. According to projections, the continued broadcast of the show could at least double the benefits brought to the guests.
For a moment, He Erwang, Gu Shengsheng, and Mo Fan, the three who were still working in the entertainment industry, could not help showing some reaction.
Sun Xinping said, “But now, continuing this season’s livestream is clearly difficult.”
“So I wanted to discuss with everyone whether there is a possibility that we extend the contract to the next season.”
Shen Jinfeng raised his eyes to look at him. In that instant, his gaze was chillingly cold.
Sun Xinping shivered. Noticing his gaze, he gave him a fawning smile.
“Shen Dalao, do you have any thoughts? We can refer to everyone’s opinions when designing the scene for next season.”
“Right now, the audience’s appetite has been whetted to the highest point. Their expectations haven’t been satisfied. I believe that if the original cast reunites next season, we can start at the peak and surpass our past glory!”
The more he spoke, the more he felt this was feasible.
Qi Xiu, who had not officially entered the entertainment industry, could not help roasting him, “Since ancient times, sequels always flop. No exceptions.”
He Erwang, who had just begun to feel a little tempted, said, “…”
That really was the truth.
Shen Jinfeng listened as Sun Xinping rambled on for a long time, then waved his hand. “I won’t participate in the next season. I can pay however much compensation is required for breaching the contract.”
Everyone was shocked. They had not expected his attitude to be so firm.
It even felt a little unlike him.
But perhaps because of the tacit understanding and trust they had built on the deserted island, no one questioned him aloud.
Shen Jinfeng said, “But first, I want to ask the production team, and Director Sun, whether you yourselves complied with the contract first.”
Qin Ye looked at him in confusion. For a moment, even he could not guess where this was coming from.
Shen Jinfeng’s expression was cold. He pulled out the contract in front of him and shook it in his hand.
He would not argue with the production team over the “character settings” that would have destroyed anyone else if not for his arrival.
After all, in the entertainment industry, the weak were prey to the strong. Many people chose to risk utter ruin for a chance to turn things around.
What Kind of Person Are You had publicly stated its game rules, making it clear that guests would be assigned good or bad character settings. If one signed the contract and chose to participate, then one had to be mentally prepared.
But.
He turned his head to glance at Qin Ye beside him. Their gazes met. Shen Jinfeng’s eyes flickered, but then settled, as if he had made up his mind.
For some reason, Qin Ye suddenly felt a bad premonition surge in his heart.
Sun Xinping’s heart also leapt into his throat. Hadn’t he privately messaged Shen Dalao and promised him so many benefits?
Just earlier, after hearing that Shen Jinfeng’s dream was to be an actor, he had hinted to Shen Jinfeng that he was willing to use his connections and resources to let him choose freely from the film and television projects connected to the production team and the station.
The bargaining chip could already be said to be extremely generous.
His eyes were terrified.
But Shen Jinfeng only flipped through the contract and directly dropped a nuclear bomb.
“The contract states that the character settings and memories implanted into guests will concern personality and skills, and that they will be made public. All subsequent developments are to be independently performed by the guests themselves…”
Gu Shengsheng froze. “Boss, is there a problem?”
Shen Jinfeng smiled. “There is. For example, the production team announced that Qin Ye was implanted with a subconscious desire to fall in love. Does that have anything to do with personality or skills?”
Qin Ye frowned. Seeing Sun Xinping’s lips trembling faintly, he explained, “Team leader, that exception was discussed in advance between my team and the production team.”
Although it was a trap Madam Yun had dug, he could only take responsibility for it now.
The back of Shen Jinfeng’s hand tightened slightly around the paper. He did not look at him.
He continued, “I was also implanted with a hidden memory unrelated to skills or personality, and the production team has yet to make it public.”
Sun Xinping waved his hand and had all the staff present leave. Then he asked, “Shen Dalao, can we discuss this privately?”
Shen Jinfeng refused. “No need. This is not my matter alone.”
He lowered his eyes slightly and said blandly, “I don’t know what purpose the production team had in mind when they implanted a memory in me that made me believe Qin Ye was pursuing me and had feelings for me.”
???
!!!
His words shocked everyone like a thunderclap.
“What?” He Erwang exclaimed.
Mo Fan’s face darkened. “That’s too much!”
There were no fools present. Everyone could easily read the malice hidden behind this setting.
Qin Ye’s heart jolted. He quickly looked at Shen Jinfeng, his voice slightly sluggish. “Team leader, you…”
Shen Jinfeng interrupted him and said calmly, “The two of us were both manipulated by the production team.”
He looked directly at Sun Xinping. “Director Sun, you violated the contract from the beginning.”
“Yes, no, but now…” Sun Xinping panicked for a moment, unable to organize a complete rebuttal.
Qi Xiu suddenly realized something and quietly took out his tortoise shell in an unnoticed corner, secretly casting a divination.
He looked at the hexagram, then glanced back and forth between Qin Ye and Shen Jinfeng.
After a long while, he angrily put the tortoise shell away.
Gu Shengsheng noticed and asked him, “What did you divine?”
Qi Xiu looked like he had been “tricked” and was furious. “Nothing.”
“I divined that this Director Sun is about to go cold.”
Gu Shengsheng: “…He deserves it!”
Shen Jinfeng did not look at the shocked expressions around him, nor at the way everyone reacted and united with him in shared anger.
His tone lightly skimmed over the matter.
“Also, Director Sun earlier stood up and accused Shen Qianxi of once trying to bribe you into ‘killing’ through borrowed force on the deserted island.”
“Director Sun, did you truly never put that into action?”
Sun Xinping’s expression froze. Terror several times stronger than before surged through him.
Shen Jinfeng said, “For example, the typhoon on the deserted island formed in a way that completely violated meteorological patterns.”
In truth, he was only casually probing, but from Sun Xinping’s expression, it seemed he had actually guessed around eighty or ninety percent correctly.
Sun Xinping hurriedly explained, “No, no! We were monitoring the island situation the entire time. If an accident or danger had really occurred, we would have adjusted it in time!”
Shen Jinfeng smiled. “Adjusted it in time?”
“Based on how you watched the wolf pack harm the guests and yet were powerless to do anything?”
Sun Xinping was speechless.
But he still tried to struggle. “No, actually we had already written the program. It was because we saw that Dalao, you seemed capable of rushing back and handling it…”
Shen Jinfeng did not argue with him.
He only looked at him coldly. “I originally planned to ask a lawyer to file a lawsuit against the production team.”
Sun Xinping felt his whole body soaked in cold sweat. “And now?”
Shen Jinfeng was silent for a minute.
But just as Sun Xinping had said, none of those accidents had caused irreversible consequences.
The production team could also provide evidence that they had subjectively monitored and remedied the situations. Taking it to court might not be of much use.
Moreover, Sun Xinping was a very tactful person.
After reviewing everything that had happened since coming out, Shen Jinfeng could see how this director’s mentality had changed from beginning to end.
Earlier, he had even stood up to accuse Shen Qianxi, which counted as helping him resolve a small problem.
To Sun Xinping, this one minute seemed to stretch on for a century.
Shen Jinfeng said, “The production team itself violated its positioning, and your technical capability also cannot guarantee safety.”
He asked Sun Xinping softly, “Is there still any need to hold another season?”
Sun Xinping sat there dumbly, seeing the deep meaning in Shen Jinfeng’s eyes.
He had no doubt that even if he said he wanted to continue, it would no longer be possible to do so successfully.
Because Qin Ye, sitting to the side, was also looking at him with a terrifying expression.
He Erwang and the others also looked as though they wanted to tear him apart.
After Shen Jinfeng finished speaking, he left behind the sentence, “Director Sun, think it over carefully,” then walked out. “I’m going to the restroom.”
Qin Ye’s eyes moved. He looked deeply at Sun Xinping once, then immediately followed.
A few minutes later, Shen Jinfeng washed his face and came out of the restroom, only to unexpectedly see someone waiting at the door.
“Qin Ye?”
“You’re also using the restroom?” He froze for a moment and awkwardly greeted him.
Qin Ye shook his head. “No. I think you’ve misunderstood.”
Being Implanted Into a Big Boss Character In A Survival Variety Show
