Chapter Nine

On the high-definition screen, a young man with a calm and aloof expression was awkwardly surrounded by a circle of people.

Qi Xiu carefully held a freshly grilled fish, removing the bones before offering it to him, his gaze filled with deep affection as he looked at the fish.

Unable to resist any longer, he finally said, “Boss, can I try a small piece first?”

After receiving permission, he quickly took a bite, his face lighting up with immense satisfaction. “Oh my god, this really is the best grilled fish I’ve ever tasted!”

He Erwang was holding two sticks, still vigorously trying to start a fire by rubbing wood together.

But his eyes kept drifting toward the fish roasting on the fire, which smelled overwhelmingly enticing. “Boss, am I doing this right?”

Gu Shengsheng sat by the fire, hugging his knees, his striking and flamboyant features dripping with desire.

With a somewhat spoiled tone, he said, “Boss, give me one more fish. When we get off this island, I’ll have my dad give you ten million!”

However, after receiving displeased looks from the others, he shrank back, though his eyes never left the grilled fish.

Mo Fan wasn’t sure what he could do. After thinking for a long time, he imitated Qi Xiu and brought a small bowl of water he had not drunk earlier.

“Boss, do you want some water?”

Qin Ye glanced proudly at the group gathered around and leisurely tossed the fish bones, now only remnants, aside.

He reached out to Shen Jinfeng. “Squad leader, where’s my second fish?”

Shen Jinfeng was speechless.

He looked at the five handsome faces before him, all displaying a “docile” expression, and silently sped up the fish grilling process.

Thus, the third season of “What Kind of Person Are You?” saw its first iconic scene since its premiere.

In fact, since the show began airing, aside from the official pre-purchased promotional trending topics by the publicity leader, it had organically hit the hot search multiple times.

#Shen Jinfeng, The Big Boss Persona#
#He Erwang Relearning Politeness#
#Gu Shengsheng’s Malice#
#Is This Just Fighting Because You Don’t Like Someone?#
#Shen Jinfeng’s Selflessness#
#The Sixth Heavyweight Guest is Qin Ye#
#Is Qin Ye’s Persona Just to Find a Partner?#
#Sun Old Dog, Come Out and Explain!#
#Shen Jinfeng, The Fish God?#
#Qin Ye and Shen Jinfeng#
#Shen Jinfeng and Fire-by-Rubbing Wood#
#Qin Ye’s Fish-Killing Moves Look Like He’s Worked at a Supermarket for Thirty Years#
...

Undoubtedly, the third season of “What Kind of Person Are You?” dominated the heat charts among all variety shows this year, rivaled only by a recently popular fantasy drama.

And this was just the beginning. With the lineup of six guests boasting fame, discussion volume, traffic, and nationwide recognition, it was nearly impossible for the show not to explode in popularity.

However, most of the trending topics were essentially effects of the show’s “persona” design.

Though the discussions were undeniable, only Shen Jinfeng’s flawless fishing skills and the almost indecipherable fire-by-rubbing-wood technique had some crossover appeal, sparking a wave of imitation after the episodes aired.

Countless internet celebrities, bloggers, and ordinary people tried to mimic, surpass, and inevitably failed.

At this moment, the live chat aptly named the current scene:

“The Big Boss and His Starving Useless Teammates.”

This harmonious scene involving all the guests was oddly picturesque, absurd, and hilarious.

Screenshots were made into various memes, instantly going viral.

The iconic line, “Boss, can I eat the fish?” became a long-lasting meme, with uninformed onlookers joining the fun.

Even after the live broadcast ended, the guests who played the “useless teammates” were interviewed.

Far from feeling embarrassed, they enthusiastically said, “Actually, I want to ask the boss now, can I still have some fish?”

Of course, they had no idea about these developments at the time.

After finishing the grilled fish, according to the live broadcast’s timeline, it was already four in the afternoon.

The island’s sun was still blazing hot.

Fifteen fish had been completely consumed.

Shen Jinfeng stood up, and Qi Xiu followed immediately. “Boss, where are you going?”

Shen Jinfeng clapped his hands once, pointing toward the dense forest still shadowed despite the sunlight.

“I’m going to check out the woods. Who wants to come?”

Seeing everyone eager and ready, like schoolchildren trailing their teacher, desperate for a field trip, Shen Jinfeng quickly added, “Not everyone needs to go.”

He directly named names. “He Erwang, Qi Xiu, you two come with me.”

The two selected stood up instantly and obediently joined Shen Jinfeng.

Qin Ye, Gu Shengsheng, and Mo Fan stayed behind to guard their camp.

As Shen Jinfeng and the two men ventured into the forest, he found the island was more surprising than expected.

The dense forest was lush and seemingly endless, like the vast, boundless sea on the other side.

Standing in the middle of the forest, surrounded in all directions by towering trees that seemed to touch the sky, every view was indistinguishable from another.

He Erwang was dazzled. “Should we just pick a direction and go?”

Shen Jinfeng nodded indifferently.

Qi Xiu quietly suggested, “My lucky direction today is east. Can we go east?”

The group then started walking eastward.

He Erwang was puzzled. “Qi Xiu, what exactly did you study? I don’t think astrology has ‘lucky directions.’”

Qi Xiu glanced at him and hesitated.

“I just cast a divination.”

???

He Erwang stopped. “What? You’re a fortune teller?”

“You’re indulging in superstition at your age?”

He paused, then, somewhat embarrassed, chose his words carefully.

“Sorry, what I mean is, you’re young and quite skilled at this.”

Qi Xiu looked at him oddly.

He Erwang asked, “What’s wrong?”

Qi Xiu opened his lips, then closed them again, moving closer to Shen Jinfeng.

“I don’t dare to say.”

His hesitant behavior made He Erwang impatient. “If you want to say something, just say it!”

Looking carefully at him, Qi Xiu whispered hesitantly, “It just feels like, judging by your face, you’re not the kind to say sorry.”

???

He Erwang’s face darkened, nearly swearing but holding back.

“Well then, you need more practice. Everyone around me says I’m a gentleman who knows manners and propriety.”

Pfft.

Even Shen Jinfeng couldn’t help but laugh.

The chat exploded with laughter.

“Hahaha, honestly, He Erwang never says sorry; it’s always others who owe him an apology.”

“Qi Xiu’s divination is pretty accurate. Yep, He Erwang looks like a proud and overbearing young master (no offense).”

“He Erwang thinks he’s a gentleman with good manners—this is hilarious. Someone should throw his roasting videos in his face now.”

Qi Xiu said nothing further.

But it was clear he didn’t agree with He Erwang’s self-image.

Shen Jinfeng glanced at He Erwang, whose face was full of unwillingness and sulking.

His purple hair fluttered in the breeze, wildly resembling weeds.

Who dyes their hair purple and is a gentleman with good manners?

Yet He Erwang firmly believed in his “persona.”

To prove Qi Xiu wrong, he relentlessly pressed, “So, did you figure out what’s in the east?”

Qi Xiu said, “I divined that we’ll find food.”

They had walked quite a distance, surrounded by trees and grass with only Shen Jinfeng occasionally plucking some grass from the roadside.

So far, Shen Jinfeng’s backpack was already stuffed with strange-looking plants, but the others paid little attention.

There was no food in sight, not even a bird’s nest.

He Erwang was about to argue when suddenly, the scenery shifted.

How did a coconut grove suddenly appear while walking?

He turned sharply, glaring at Qi Xiu. “You can’t say you predicted food just because you spotted coconuts.”

“I can climb trees—let me up to pick some coconuts! Watch me!”

Shen Jinfeng was silent for a moment, then nodded. “Go ahead, be careful.”

“Oh wow, the persona is kicking in again? Did Sun Old Dog really set this skill up?”

“That’s what He Erwang said in an interview—he loved climbing trees to pick bird nests as a kid, right?”

“Honestly, if it’s the kind of tree climbing from rural childhood, those trees are at most three or four meters tall, nothing like this coconut grove that looks over twenty meters.”

What no one expected was that He Erwang truly could climb trees as he claimed.

Without much preparation, his eyes gleamed as he faced the coconut tree, cracking his knuckles and blowing warm breath onto his hands, then skillfully began climbing.

His movements were clean and agile, and in the blink of an eye, he climbed over three meters high.

Though excited, He Erwang was not foolish.

He chose the shortest coconut tree he could see; beyond three meters, climbing required more technique and strength, so he slowed down.

He climbed slowly for almost twenty minutes before finally reaching the top, waving excitedly at Shen Jinfeng and Qi Xiu.

“Bro, am I awesome or what!”

Qi Xiu graciously shouted, “Awesome!”

Then, He Erwang, who had been waving his arms triumphantly as if celebrating in the wind, suddenly froze as he looked down.

“Damn, this high?!”

His heart sank instantly.

No one knew that the latter half of that interview was cut out:

“I was an expert at climbing trees to pick bird nests as a kid—but I never knew how to get down.”

His father always had to bring a ladder and stick to help him down, then scold him.

The chat still hadn’t caught on.

Because He Erwang turned away from looking down and focused on picking coconuts.

There were only three sparse coconuts on the tree, and he struggled mightily to snap them off and shake them down to the ground.

Viewers watching the live broadcast were impressed.

“Not bad! He Erwang talks a lot but is ruthless!”

“His tree-climbing and nest-picking skills are actually this good! Six stars!”

“With He Erwang here, the squad will never be short of coconuts!”

Qi Xiu’s eyes gleamed excitedly as he raised his voice for the first time. “He Erwang, come down now!”

He Erwang instinctively looked toward the voice but clung even tighter to the tree trunk.

“What’s going on?”

He hugged the trunk even more tightly, turning his head to avoid looking down. “I’m resting a bit.”

“Oh, after climbing and picking coconuts, a break is deserved.”

And so, all the viewers watched as He Erwang rested and rested, until the sunlight dimmed.

Qi Xiu was already sitting nearby, happily cracking open a coconut and savoring it.

Shen Jinfeng walked around the area alone. When he returned, his backpack was bulging.

“He Erwang, aren’t you coming down?”

Upon return, he saw the man who said he was resting still clutching the trunk tightly, unwilling to loosen his grip.

He Erwang hadn’t expected that when he said he was resting, his two teammates would truly leave him to rest alone.

Now the sun was setting. All he had to do was glance down, and he would see a dizzying, bottomless height.

It was psychological, but truly terrifying.

He forced a steady voice with a commanding tone but weak words: “I can’t come down.”

“I’m afraid.”

Qi Xiu looked up blankly. “Huh?”

The chat exploded: “Huh???”

Shen Jinfeng was speechless.

How was this even predictable?