Chapter 15

The equipment team leader swallowed nervously and asked Sun Xinping, “Director, are we really having rain tonight?”

Sun Xinping watched the barrage of comments laughing and joking, speculating about whether he would actually make it rain for the sake of the show.

Then he looked at Qi Xiu’s face on the screen. The young man did not look as though he were joking at all, and Sun Xinping felt a shiver of unease.

Why was this kid so uncanny?

“Of course we are. Why wouldn’t we? Wouldn’t rain tonight kill two birds with one stone?”

Originally, if they raised the difficulty on the second day, the netizens might have accused him of scrambling to patch things up because he was afraid.

Now, however, he was merely cooperating with the guest’s wishes and putting on a performance!

Clearly, the audience had not taken Qi Xiu’s words seriously.

The others in the group were skeptical as well.

He Erwang narrowed his eyes at the blazing sun overhead. “You’re telling me it’s going to rain today?”

Gu Shengsheng hesitated before reminding him softly, “Qi Xiu, fortune-telling… well, it isn’t always very accurate.”

Mo Fan nodded in agreement. “There’s absolutely no sign of rain right now.”

Qi Xiu ignored them and turned his gaze directly toward Shen Jinfeng.

Shen Jinfeng narrowed his eyes slightly. Golden sunlight streamed through the gaps between the leaves, while a gentle breeze stirred them into a soft rustling.

He stopped walking and paused for two seconds.

Then he answered, “It really is going to rain.”

And judging by the look of things, it would not be a light shower.

“What? Then what do we do?”

Strangely enough, when Qi Xiu’s divination indicated that rain was coming, no one had believed him.

But the moment Shen Jinfeng spoke, the team’s trust in him—previously at precisely zero—instantly rose to seventy percent.

Even the live-stream comments were filled with similar reactions.

[This is terrifying. I’ve only just realized that whenever Shen Jinfeng reaches a conclusion, I instinctively want to believe him. What am I supposed to do?]

[Could it really rain?]

[No, seriously, how can he tell? Dragonflies flying low, frogs croaking, ants moving house, earthworms coming out onto the road—none of those signs are here!]

[Perhaps he’s a true expert while you’re merely a viewer?]

[I’m suddenly looking forward to seeing how well Shen Jinfeng can maintain his expert persona! I’m dying to know what his limits are. So far, he seems to have more than enough ability.]

[Don’t get too excited. If there really is a torrential downpour tonight, you’ll find out exactly what Shen Jinfeng is capable of.]

[Report! I suspect the comment above was posted by Director Sun’s secret account!]

Sun Xinping’s fingertip trembled against the keyboard.

How could he possibly tell?

Could these netizens read fortunes too?

[If there’s going to be a torrential downpour, shouldn’t the first problem to solve be shelter? There’s no way Shen Jinfeng can sleep outdoors like he did last night! Damn, Qin Ye has won without lifting a finger! His room is the only one with a spare bed!]

[Shocking! Yesterday’s argument has come to an entirely unsurprising conclusion today.]

Sure enough, the cool and composed young man on the screen spoke calmly, fulfilling Old Dog Sun’s wish.

“We’ll put gathering materials on hold for now. Our top priority today is to build a house that can stand firm in a storm, then store enough food.”

After all, the rainstorm on a deserted island might last only a moment—or it might continue for several days.

Even if they planned to find a way off the island, they first had to survive here properly and avoid being brought down by outside factors.

A storm, for example—or the colds and fevers that might follow if their bodies could not withstand the aftermath.

The others nodded without objection.

Even if there were no torrential rain, preparing sufficient shelter and food in advance certainly could not hurt.

Gu Shengsheng hesitated before asking, “What can I do? Do you need me to filter fresh water?”

His voice lacked confidence. Clearly, he knew that slowly filtering water was not nearly as efficient as Shen Jinfeng simply bringing back two coconuts.

He Erwang no longer insisted on joining Shen Jinfeng to gather coconuts, afraid of wasting his time. “Boss, do you need me to chop wood and prepare materials for the house?”

For a moment, Shen Jinfeng found himself at a loss.

What task could he assign these teammates that would make them feel they had a useful role to play?

“The wood and bamboo Qin Ye used yesterday—go collect more of those. You’ll need roughly five times the amount used for those few huts yesterday.”

That should be enough to build a thirty-square-meter wooden house, which would be more than adequate as temporary shelter.

The others all breathed a sigh of relief, patted their chests, and agreed.

Qin Ye had managed to build several simple beds by himself after tinkering for a few hours yesterday. There was no reason so many of them should be unable to do the same.

But once they actually began, the confident He Erwang and the others were suddenly dumbfounded.

Why was such thin bamboo impossible to cut through?

Why was this slender hardwood so difficult to chop?

How had Qin Ye managed it all alone yesterday?

Only then did Qi Xiu and He Erwang, who had not been present yesterday, along with Mo Fan and Gu Shengsheng, who had been there, finally realize how much Qin Ye had contributed.

Mo Fan considered himself to have forged a revolutionary friendship with Qin Ye the day before and was the first to sidle up beside him, hoping to learn his technique.

“Bro, how are you chopping it? You’re incredible!”

[Pfft. You don’t know until you compare them. Then you’re scared by the difference.]

[Yesterday, I watched Qin Ye strike once and hit his mark every time, then bring down bamboo with a second swing, and I thought the production team had let them off ridiculously easily—or maybe their knives were unusually sharp. Who would have thought the truth was simply that Qin Ye was the only one who was truly good at it?]

[Sorry, but Mo Fan is clearly older than Qin Ye. It’s hilarious hearing him call Qin Ye “bro.”]

[What’s so strange about that? There’s always someone who learns first, and the accomplished can be one’s teacher. There’s no shame in acknowledging someone more capable as your senior.]

[Qin Ye really didn’t waste his time filming that martial-arts movie, did he? I heard the Heavenly King Li praised him as a potential new-generation kung fu superstar. I thought that was just hype, but now it actually seems possible.]

Compared with Gu Shengsheng and the others, who were already panting after chopping for only a few minutes, Qin Ye had an enormous pile of bamboo and hardwood lying beside him. Yet his face was not flushed, and he was not breathing hard in the slightest.

He truly stood out.

Hearing Mo Fan’s question, Qin Ye continued concentrating on chopping the tree and answered casually, “My parents enrolled me in all kinds of martial-arts classes when I was young. I got used to the training and developed a little arm strength.”

He Erwang fell silent. Then he suddenly reached out and squeezed the well-shaped muscle on his own arm, looking somewhat bewildered.

“I work out and train my arms every day too.”

Then, on a sudden impulse, he reached over and yanked up the sleeve covering Qin Ye’s arm.

“Damn, your muscles are that big?” he exclaimed, his expression changing dramatically.

[Damn! Qin Ye’s muscles are huge!]

[Isn’t this the legendary “slim in clothes, muscular without them”? Qin Ye always dresses so neatly that you can’t tell at all!]

[Drool, drool. I won’t say whose saliva is all over the floor.]

[He Erwang, you’re a truly wonderful person. Listen to me say thank you—because of you, we’ve feasted our eyes.]

Qin Ye shot him an displeased look and pulled his sleeve back down.

He Erwang hunched his neck, then suddenly had another thought. “Boss is incredibly strong too. Could his muscles be even bigger than yours?”

Shen Jinfeng’s fishing skills were practically supernatural. He could smash coconuts with nothing but stones, throw them so high, and carry He Erwang around with one hand without the slightest effort.

Could his muscles be even larger than Qin Ye’s once his sleeves were rolled up?

He indulged in the thought and spaced out for a moment. Then he suddenly felt a chill run over him.

A heavy, icy-cold weight abruptly dropped into He Erwang’s arms, nearly making him fall flat on his backside.

Qin Ye looked down at him coolly. “You can’t chop trees, but surely you still have enough strength to carry them back?”

He Erwang felt insulted. But when he looked up and saw Qin Ye bringing his knife down again and again, felling each tree in only a few strokes—and appearing even more formidable than before—his entire body trembled involuntarily.

Thus, when Shen Jinfeng returned from the woods carrying a haul of coconuts, along with mushrooms and wild vegetables he had gathered along the way, he saw that Qin Ye was doing almost all of the chopping.

The other four teammates were working in pairs, carrying the trees to the house site he had selected in the clearing. Even then, they could barely keep up with Qin Ye’s pace.

When they saw him return, everyone’s eyes lit up.

Qi Xiu dropped the logs in his hands and shouted excitedly, “Boss, we’ve collected more than half the wood!”

Gu Shengsheng wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked over with bright eyes.

He Erwang’s gaze unconsciously drifted toward Shen Jinfeng’s arms, as though he wanted to see through the fabric and determine whether the muscles beneath were as impressive as he imagined.

Mo Fan said cheerfully, “Boss, why don’t you take a break first?”

Shen Jinfeng nodded.

But his gaze shifted toward the only person who had shown no reaction—Qin Ye.

Qin Ye shook out the arm that had been exerting force for so long, but showed no intention of stopping.

For some reason, perhaps because he wanted to prove that he too had a useful role to play, he merely glanced at Shen Jinfeng before swinging his arm even harder.

With one look, Shen Jinfeng understood who the main laborer here was.

He walked over and reached out to poke Qin Ye’s biceps, which had bulged with exertion.

Qin Ye startled and nearly sprang away. He hurriedly shifted the military knife in his hand, reacting far more strongly than he had when He Erwang pulled up his sleeve.

“What are you doing?”

Shen Jinfeng pointed at his muscle. “You’re exerting force in the wrong direction.”

Using that point of leverage would make his arm ache and tire easily. If Qin Ye continued chopping like this, his arm would be impossible to lift tomorrow.

But changing one’s posture while exerting force was not something that could be done instantly.

“Hold your arm flat.”

Qin Ye froze for a moment. Then he lowered his eyes and saw the cool, handsome face of the young man before him, utterly serious—as though he were examining some priceless treasure.

Almost as if possessed, he obediently straightened his arm.

Shen Jinfeng reached out and lightly pressed several acupoints along Qin Ye’s arm, then massaged and kneaded it for a full minute.

“How is it? Does it feel better?”

Qin Ye felt a pleasantly sore and tingling sensation in his right arm, incredibly soothing.

That tingling seemed to spread all the way into his chest.

Strange. Shen Jinfeng seemed especially attentive to him.

So many people had greeted him, yet Shen Jinfeng had noticed only him—the one who had made no sound.

He had even thoughtfully massaged his aching muscles. Qin Ye had never seen him treat anyone else this way.

Why was Shen Jinfeng so gentle and considerate toward him alone, seeing no one else in the crowd?

Even if one had never eaten pork, one had at least seen pigs run.

Qin Ye suddenly did not dare meet Shen Jinfeng’s focused gaze.

Flustered, he turned his head away, his voice slightly muffled. “Much better.”

“I’ll keep going.”

Damn it. He was simply too charming, and there was nowhere for all that charm to go.

Could Shen Jinfeng have fallen for him?