novelraw Chapter 73: Movie Star Dad (11)
Chapter 73: Movie Star Dad (11)
Qi Sheng was like a walking source of light. Even if he did nothing, whenever the camera swept across the scene, the audience’s eyes were always drawn to him first.
In the seaside city, the production team, always happy to stir up some chaos, announced an island treasure hunt mission. After giving a few completely cryptic hints, they fell silent, offering no further explanation.
The guests stared blankly at the mission cards, checked their empty wallets, glanced at the program-issued phones, and fell into collective silence.
Seriously? They were still on the mainland, completely penniless — how were they supposed to get to the island? Were they supposed to swim there?!
The final reward for the treasure hunt was the chance to freely enjoy all the services of a seven-star hotel on the island. Of course, no matter how tempting the reward was, they had to actually complete the mission first.
The five families spent ages just trying to solve the riddles. By the time they finally confirmed the island’s location, everyone protested in unison: the island didn’t even have a public transportation route open yet — how were they supposed to get there?!
The island was called Fengming Island, the latest large-scale tourist island being developed by Bin City. It was still in its promotional phase and hadn’t officially opened yet. Staff had special yachts to travel back and forth, but the guests? No such luxury for them.
Originally, the third stop planned by the production team wasn’t this island. They had considered beach activities but, given their limited budget, hadn’t settled on anything grand. However, once Qi Sheng officially confirmed his participation, the show instantly became a hot commodity. Sponsors and advertisers flooded in, and all kinds of conditions and treatment levels skyrocketed — that’s how the island promotion plan came to be.
Compared to the other families who looked worried and confused, Qi Sheng was much more relaxed. Still, he didn’t want to appear too conspicuous, so most of the time he guided his son to complete the tasks instead.
“Hahaha, Dad! I finally cracked it! Look, if we get the task hint at this location, the next step will lead us to the island! Dad, let’s hurry over! I think Xiaoshuo and the others must be rushing there too!” Qi Rui said excitedly. “Alright, but… how are we getting there?” Qi Sheng raised an eyebrow, deliberately asking his son.
“Huh?”
Right — they had no money!
Qi Rui looked around. There were plenty of people nearby, many of whom were watching the commotion. Some people who overheard Qi Rui’s excited announcement even offered to drive them there. Unfortunately, before Qi Rui could cheer, the production team sent a ruthless reminder: No free assistance from passersby allowed!
Damn it!
Qi Rui was furious. They just couldn’t stand to see them have an easy time!
Whether he protested or not, it was clear — they had to find a way to earn some money.
“Dad, how do we make money quickly?” Qi Rui asked urgently.
“And besides the money for the ride, shouldn’t we prepare a bit more? I have a feeling we’ll need money for future missions too.”
Qi Sheng glanced around. Nearby were restaurants, shopping malls, flower shops, pet stores, internet cafés — a good variety. He gestured for his son to look around. “There — which one do you think suits you?”
Qi Rui scanned the surroundings with him. Restaurant? Cooking was out of the question. Waiting tables or washing dishes? Could they not be that miserable?
Flower shop? Pet shop? He’d seen Grandma tend to flowers before, but as for pets, since Grandma had a fur allergy, their family had never kept any — so those were a no-go.
Internet café! Qi Rui’s eyes lit up.
“Dad! Let’s work at the internet café doing game boosting! I’m good at that!”
Qi Sheng gave him a silent look and said, “You’re good at hiring game boosters, aren’t you? And you still dare to offer your services?”
“Hehehe, but that’s why I have you, Dad! Come on, I think this is our best shot!”
On screen, Qi Rui pushed Qi Sheng toward the internet café, and the audience watching behind their screens were all confused.
[??? Was Baby Rui saying he wanted to be a game booster, but Brother Sheng disdained his skills? Then Baby Rui said there’s still Brother Sheng, meaning Brother Sheng’s a gaming expert?!]
[With my almost perfect reading comprehension, I can confidently say: yes, that’s exactly what it means!]
[I can’t believe it… I feel like they’re probably both gaming noobs, but Brother Sheng is just slightly better than Baby Rui.]
[Hahaha, can’t wait to see them gaming!]
The audience was full of curiosity. On screen, Qi Rui was already talking to the internet café manager.
The manager felt like he was insanely lucky that day. Not only did Qi Tianwang himself come to his humble shop, but he even wanted to work as a booster! The manager was already scheming in his mind — once this episode aired, wouldn’t his café instantly become a viral sensation?
Thus, the manager agreed eagerly, smiling from ear to ear as he cooperated with Qi Rui.
“Alright, alright, alright.”
“You’re right!”
“I think this idea is pretty good.”
The person in charge was so easygoing that Qi Rui turned proudly to his dad and said, “Dad, look, settled!”
The viewers behind the screen saw Qi Rui’s smug little expression and couldn’t help but laugh. Baby Rui, take a closer look at how the manager is actually looking at your dad.
The manager didn’t really know their true skill levels. To make it easier for them, he even introduced a few especially easygoing customers to them.
One customer, when he turned around and saw it was Qi Sheng, got incredibly excited. Thinking about how close he was to ranking up in the game, he gritted his teeth and decided—if he lost points, so be it. How often do you get a king like him as your booster?
Qi Sheng caught the fleeting look of heartache on the customer’s face. Originally, he had wanted to let his son play for a bit first, but seeing this, he gave up on that idea. Forget it—this customer was already being generous by paying for a booster. Better not let his son torment him.
Thus, Qi Sheng naturally sat down at the computer, quickly skimmed through the game interface and character stats, and without wasting a second, jumped right into a match.
[Judging from how familiar he looks, Brother Sheng must play quite a bit normally too.]
[My male god not only looks young, he’s young at heart too. Amazing!]
[Hold up, don’t praise too soon. I looked carefully just now, and this account is pretty high-ranked. Plus, it’s almost about to rank up. If you don’t have real skills, you’ll crash and burn. It might get ugly for the male god.]
[Whispering here—if Brother Brother Shengts crushed, we can’t laugh, alright? It’s already inspiring enough for someone his age to be gaming. If anyone dares laugh him out of the esports world, I’ll fight them!]
[Who are you calling old!!!]
Originally, the viewers were discussing the game seriously. But one comment calling Qi Sheng “middle-aged” instantly changed the entire tone of the chat.
[My Brother Sheng is clearly youthful and vibrant—people would believe it if you said he was eighteen!]
This was the fans’ top-level “delusional fan” skill at work.
To be fair, Qi Sheng did look very young. Most people could accept that he was in his thirties. But because he had a fifteen-year-old son, compared to all those 34-year-old still-single male stars, he really was a rare species.
The debate over Qi Sheng’s age completely blew up. The first fan who called him middle-aged was bombarded with an intense brainwashing campaign. In less than five minutes, the comment section unified:
[My Brother Sheng is young and beautiful, forever eighteen—no arguments accepted!]
The viewers were happily spamming the chat when suddenly, two blood-red characters popped up:
(“Holy sh*t.”)
At first, fans thought someone was ruining the vibe and were about to mob them, but then they glanced at the video—and their hearts screamed the same thing: Holy sh*t.
The people at the internet cafe were stunned. The fans were even more blown away. Wait, he won that fast? And got MVP?!
[My god, my male god is amazing!]
[I’m kneeling—how is he so good at gaming?!]
[I even rewound and watched carefully—Brother Sheng is incredible. He carried the whole match single-handedly!]
[Same, I went back and watched. One word: RESPECT.]
[Uh, that’s four words…]
In just one match, Qi Sheng shattered everyone’s expectations. Especially the people inside the net cafe—once Qi Sheng started playing, they flocked over to watch. Seeing the godlike control and flawless maneuvers live, they practically wanted to kneel.
[Qi Tianwang (King Qi), you’re clearly an esports god who got delayed by an acting career!]
Qi Sheng played a total of ten matches. Not only did he successfully rank up the account, but the rank just kept soaring.
The account’s original owner looked at how his character was soaring to the top and felt both thrilled and bitter. Uh… now that my rank’s so high, how am I supposed to play later? I’m just going to get destroyed by pros and hemorrhage points!
The viewers, of course, didn’t care about the account owner’s pain. They were completely conquered by Qi Sheng, spamming the screen with “666” (Chinese slang for “awesome”), and “I’m kneeling.”
[All you guys know how to say is Holy Sh*t and 666. Can’t you be a little more cultured?]
[Holy Sh*t gets you through life! Lalala]
[You are the wind, you are the light, you are the only legend — how’s that for culture?]
The silly fans kept switching tones, but their love for Qi Sheng just grew crazier and crazier. My male god is truly a god-tier treasure!
After earning enough money, the father and son smoothly arrived at the task point. After getting the mission clue box, Qi Rui eagerly opened it.
“Huh? Why are there two keys? And a hint card!”
“What’s this supposed to mean?”
Qi Rui opened the card and glanced through it. One key was for the supply station’s door, where they could get essential items for the island trip. As for the other one, Qi Rui couldn’t quite figure it out.
Qi Sheng took it and studied it carefully. He guessed that they were supposed to find someone before heading to the island, but the clues about that person were incredibly vague. He frowned, then decided they should go to the supply station first.
The supply station was right next door. When they opened the door with the key, Qi Rui stared at the rows upon rows of supplies, completely stunned.
“Dad, there’s way too much stuff! What’s the real goal of going to this island?”
There were tons of daily necessities, lots of outdoor survival gear, and a bunch of other miscellaneous items. Qi Rui was completely baffled.
Could the production team give us a little more information? Are we going on a vacation or an adventure? Why are there so many survival supplies?
Unfortunately, the production crew fully embodied the principle of “silence is golden.” They just kept smiling at Qi Rui’s barrage of questions but said absolutely nothing.
Although these items were called “supplies,” they had to be bought with money. Qi Rui glanced at their remaining cash, then looked at the price tags and fell silent. Isn’t this pricing a little outrageous?
The viewers laughed even harder. The production team is a bunch of con artists! Our Baby Rui’s face is turning green!
“The second key is probably for the dock. How about we go check it out?” Qi Sheng suggested.
Since he wasn’t sure what exactly they’d be doing on the island, he decided they should familiarize themselves with everything they could first.
When they arrived at the dock, they searched for a while and finally realized that the second key unlocked a yacht. Looking at the empty yacht, Qi Sheng finally understood: They were supposed to find someone to drive it for them!
Following that line of thinking, they asked around—and the answer they got left both of them speechless.
“Five hundred yuan a day?! That’s way too expensive!”
Qi Sheng thought about the pricey supplies and now the cost of hiring a boatman. He finally understood the production crew’s strategy: They were forcing them to either earn a lot more money or settle for very few supplies!
Looking at the money in his hand, Qi Sheng made up his mind.
“Come on, son, let’s go back and buy what we need.”
Qi Rui was stunned for a moment but quickly followed his father’s steps, asking in confusion, “But we don’t have that much money. If we deduct the driver’s wages, we won’t be able to buy much at all.”
“We’ll drive the yacht ourselves. That way, we’ll still have money left.”
“Dad, you can even drive a yacht?!”
Qi Rui was shocked but also extremely happy — going on a trip with his dad was so effortless!
While Qi Rui was happily experiencing it firsthand, the viewers behind the screen could only scream internally: Brother Sheng, is there anything you can’t do?!
To prepare for any unexpected needs, the father and son each bought a backpack and stocked up on plenty of necessary daily supplies and wilderness survival gear. Just as they were about to leave after packing everything, Zhang Yu and his father rushed over.
Zhang Yu glanced at the mountain of supplies they had prepared and looked at them in utter shock. “Uncle Qi, how much money did you guys make to be able to buy so much?!”
They had arrived at the supply station just after Qi Sheng had left for the dock. After looking through the available supplies, they had planned to check out the situation at the dock, just like Qi Sheng. Originally, they were still worrying about their budget, but seeing Qi Sheng’s group spending so freely, they were completely stunned. How much did they earn in such a short time?
“Hehehe, that’s a secret.”
Qi Rui deliberately kept them guessing, showing off his backpack a little and making Zhang Yu envious before dragging Qi Sheng away hurriedly.
Zhang Yu turned to his father, hesitating. “Dad, should we go make a bit more money? Or should we just buy less? If the island really has nothing, it’ll be a huge problem.”
Zhang Yunzhi thought for a moment and said, “Let’s go back and earn a bit more. It’ll be easier once we get on the island if we prepare well.”
The two of them agreed and hurried back to the nearest city to earn more money.
Meanwhile, Qi Sheng and Qi Rui had already reached the dock. After quickly familiarizing himself with the yacht’s controls, Qi Sheng set off directly with his son.
Under the bright blue sky, fluffy white clouds, and deep blue sea, the scenery was stunningly beautiful. Add to that the image of two handsome “gods” — one big, one small — and fans couldn’t stop drooling over their screens.
[Aaaaah, I’ve replayed this segment ten times already, my screen is about to melt!]
[Frantically taking screenshots, can’t stop!]
[Baby Rui is living the dream, while the other kids are still busy earning money…]
[Feeling bad for the other kids, but so jealous of Baby Rui. This is what a real vacation looks like!]
Fans screenshot like crazy, unable to decide which frame was better — every shot looked perfect for a phone wallpaper. It was a beautiful kind of pain for anyone with decision fatigue.
The program continued. After Qi Sheng and his son landed on the island and saw all the unopened shops, he immediately knew how useful their packed supplies would be.
According to the mission clues, the treasure was located deep within the largest rainforest in the island’s center. Qi Sheng found a sightseeing vehicle, hopped on, and casually drove his son straight toward the destination.
The production team was speechless watching this. Wait, sightseeing vehicles weren’t meant for you to drive yourselves! You’re supposed to complete tasks, earn money, and then hire a driver!
But Qi Sheng didn’t play by the rules. Upon reaching the rainforest, he started an authentic tropical wilderness adventure with his son.
Of the five participating families, Xu Congwen also managed to drive a yacht with his daughter and reached the island. Hearing that Qi Sheng drove a sightseeing car straight to the rainforest, he decided to copy him and also cheerfully reached the destination.
The other three families, who couldn’t drive yachts, had to either work hard earning more money or settle for fewer supplies. Compared to the ease and luxury of the other two groups, their struggles made for much more dramatic and watchable content.
Then, the viewers were even more amazed — Qi Sheng’s wilderness survival skills were practically top-notch. With him leading the way, Qi Rui’s rainforest expedition looked more like a casual stroll through their backyard.
The audience was completely in awe of Qi Sheng. After this episode aired, he and Qi Rui dominated five spots on the trending topics:
#King Qi – Gaming Master#
#Qi Sheng Drives a Yacht#
#Father and Son Duo – A Picture of Beauty#
#Qi Sheng – Full Marks in Wilderness Survival#
#Happy Baby Rui#
Discussions about Qi Sheng flooded the internet, making “Traveling with Dad” the hottest reality show around. The production team’s staff were glowing with pride, and the advertisers were practically dancing with joy.
Especially the developers of Fengming Island — they were laughing so hard they couldn’t close their mouths. After just the first episode, there were already endless discussions about Fengming Island. With three more exclusive episodes planned, it was almost guaranteed that Fengming Island would explode in popularity in the domestic travel market.
Sure enough, just as the developers had predicted, every subsequent episode delivered high-energy highlights that never disappointed. The executive who had initially decided to sponsor the program smiled knowingly — As expected, our idol is the best!