Chapter 40

Hu Fen laughed and chatted with several colleagues as she stepped out of the building.

Suddenly, she saw a familiar figure standing in front of a car, and her face immediately lit up with a smile.

“My son came to pick me up—you all go ahead.”

“Your son’s back? Where is he? Let me see!”

Qin Yun saw his mother step out and hurried over: “Mom, we’re not eating at home tonight—we’re going out.”

Hu Fen nodded and first introduced him to those around her: “This is my son, Qin Yun. Xiao Yun, this is Aunt Su Xin, Aunt Hong Lan—you’ve met them before.”

“Aunt Su Xin, Aunt Hong Lan, nice to see you,” Qin Yun smiled and greeted the two middle-aged women.

Their eyes were filled with envy. Aunt Su Xin said: “Ah Fen, how’d you raise him? Your son’s so tall and handsome—he’s way better than my rotten kid.”

“That’s true,” Aunt Hong Lan chimed in. “Xiao Yun, your mom’s praised you to us so many times.”

Qin Yun smiled but said nothing. Hu Fen gave them both a light push: “Let’s go—don’t keep me from having dinner with my son.”

After Qin Yun drove off with his mother in the Land Rover, Su Xin and Hong Lan still stood there sighing.

“Wow, that car isn’t cheap—I remember it costs over a million. Looks like Ah Fen’s son’s doing pretty well in Beijing.”

“Of course he is. His wife’s gorgeous too—I saw her photo on Ah Fen’s phone, and she’s even got Beijing hukou. Their kid’ll have it easy for college admissions.”

Both women wore looks of envy, clearly unaware Qin Yun had divorced and returned home in disgrace.

“Mom, let’s get hot pot?”

“Sure. Kaihong has a Shu Da Xia—it’s delicious. Let’s go there.”

“Perfect.”

“How was Mount Putuo? Was it quiet this time of year?” Seeing her son’s bright energy, Hu Fen thought: Song Ya really didn’t know what she was missing—she’d regret this someday.

“It was great. The weather’s been perfect these past two days, and there weren’t many people—very comfortable.”

He shared everything he’d seen and done over the past two days with his mother. Of course, he didn’t mention rescuing someone on the way back.

His mother was just an ordinary person—her first concern would always be his safety. So better not to tell her.

……

That night, Qin Yun watched the repair video Fang Nan sent him—just as impressive as always, but since it was only a single process, it lacked much entertainment value. Then he organized his carving footage—there wasn’t much to organize, just one complete video.

As he prepared to send it to Fang Nan, he opened TikTok and checked his backend—his notifications had surged to 99+. Several new comments on his first video surprised him.

“Came over from carving—why does the video owner only have one video? But this rock climbing is insane—I found a gem! Hope the owner posts more.”

“They say it’s you—don’t know if it’s true. Come prove it.”

“You do carving too?”

Qin Yun wondered: Could it be that the videos people filmed while I carved last night got pushed by TikTok?

He followed the clues in the comments and quickly found the original source—it was indeed footage of him carving a Buddha statue on the rooftop of the guesthouse.

Qin Yun thought: Since it’s already out there, there’s no need to edit or polish my own video.

So he simply clicked publish, uploading his raw footage of the carving process.

【Since many netizens asked for clearer footage, I didn’t edit anything—I uploaded the full forty-minute process. Interested friends can take a look.】

His follower count had already reached 100,000, and his first video had amassed an impressive 800,000 likes—a rare explosion on TikTok.

But 100,000 followers meant little on today’s TikTok platform. Even with millions of views, this video brought him not a single cent in revenue.

This wasn’t unusual anymore on today’s TikTok platform.

That’s why more and more content creators are shifting toward live streaming—this isn’t the early days where views meant money.

He didn’t mind. If he only wanted to earn from views, he could just activate a few platform programs later. But in the early stage, accumulating followers and defining his niche was key.

For example, if he later takes brand deals or ads, a single post might fetch hundreds of thousands. These small gains now don’t matter to him.

After posting, he stopped paying attention.

He turned off his phone and began carving the Buddha pendant from sandalwood for his mother.

The next morning, his mother had already made breakfast and left for work. Qin Yun ate, then went to the balcony to continue his carving.

Around ten, Su Huan called for a voice chat.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

Qin Yun didn’t stop carving: “Just came back from Mount Putuo, got some old Indian sandalwood—now I’m carving a Buddha. Why aren’t you at work yet?”

“I took the day off—I’m not feeling well, seems like a cold.” Su Huan’s voice had a noticeable nasal tone. “What’s old sandalwood? Just wood?”

“Drink more hot water,” Qin Yun said, then laughed at his own ridiculous advice. “Old sandalwood? It’s a type of sandalwood—exceptionally high-quality.”

“Straight man!” Su Huan said. “You’ve got 100,000 followers on TikTok—ever thought about brand deals?”

“Of course I have. But with this few followers, there’s nothing valuable to get yet. Wait till I have more.”

Su Huan said: “If you want, I can introduce you to a few. The pay won’t be high—maybe a few thousand yuan.”

Qin Yun paused his file, setting the wood aside: “What kind of deals? If it’s ads for some fruit or some transfer app, forget it.”

“Not those,” Su Huan said. “DJI—I know the regional marketing lead in Hangzhou. We could try negotiating.”

Qin Yun instantly perked up: “That’d be great—but would they even care about me?”

“So you need to give me a clear idea—what kind of video would you make? That way I can pitch it properly.”

Qin Yun thought: His skills were many, but for DJI ads, rock climbing was the most fitting. Maybe he could test a free-climbing route in Zhoushan.

“Alright, when I have a plan, I’ll tell you.”

They chatted a few more minutes, then ended the call.

Qin Yun returned to carving, but Su Huan’s words lingered in his mind.

He realized he had many skills, but in short-video content, he knew nothing about business or operations. If Su Huan hadn’t mentioned it, he might have stumbled blindly into brand deals as his follower count grew.

Things like negotiating with clients, setting prices—all unfamiliar territory.

He couldn’t take every ad. He needed deals that didn’t ruin the video’s flow—nothing like a sudden ad script interrupting the footage. That’d ruin the viewer experience.

When he scrolled TikTok himself and saw such ads, he swiped right away.

So he had standards for this.

“Forget it. A good video breaks all rules—I’m overthinking this.”

Sweeping away the worries, Qin Yun fully immersed himself in carving. Just before 4:30 p.m., an unexpected check-in task popped up.

【Check-in task released: Host must go to Dongya Cliff and complete the Duan Long Zhan traditional climb—summit equals task completed.】

Qin Yun’s heart jumped, then eased slightly as he read further.

He’d feared another no-safety, free-climb death trap—apparently the system didn’t always want him dead.

But even traditional climbing wasn’t something ordinary climbers could handle. Traditional climbing required placing temporary protection gear—like nuts, cams, and hooks—into natural rock cracks.

It demanded extreme route planning and risk assessment. A single misplacement could cause a fall—and a fatal one.

But compared to free soloing, this was child’s play for Qin Yun.

Just now he was talking to Su Huan about brand deals—and here came the perfect opportunity.

But this could wait. He’d deal with it after returning from Hunidao.

He packed up, swept the floor clean of wood shavings, and heard the front door open.

“Xiao Yun!”

“Mom, I’m here.”

The mother and son packed a few changes of clothes and set off. His uncle had received an emergency notice and had to go back on the boat—he couldn’t come.

From Shenjiamen to Hunidao, they first took a speedboat to Xiazhi Island, then a small boat from Xiazhi to Hunidao.

Xiazhi Island was large, but Hunidao was insignificant—barely worth developing. Almost no young people remained; only the elderly stayed. In a few years, when they passed away, it’d be a true ghost island.

After a one-and-a-half-hour boat ride, mother and son stepped onto Hunidao’s soil.

From the dock to his maternal grandparents’ home was another half-hour walk.

Carrying their bags, they met elderly neighbors along the way.

Seeing Qin Yun, they all asked curiously—his aura had changed drastically. His eyes gleamed with quiet confidence, something no one could fake.

Soon, they reached his grandparents’ courtyard, where chickens clucked and squawked.

Hu Fen knocked on the iron gate: “Dad, Mom, I’m here with Xiao Yun.”

After a moment, the gate opened. An old man peered out. He saw Hu Fen, then Qin Yun—and his face broke into a delighted smile.

“Xiao Yun’s here!” His grandmother pushed past Hu Fen to grab Qin Yun’s hand. Hu Fen felt a pang of jealousy and stepped inside alone.

“Grandma, how’s your health? Doing well?”

His aunts and uncles had let the two elders live so far away on Hunidao partly because they’d always been robust.

“Fine! What tasty things did you bring me?”

Inside the courtyard, after putting down their bags, Qin Yun looked around: “Grandma, is Grandpa in the vegetable patch? Where’s Dahei?”

“Dahei’s helping Grandpa hoe the garden. Go see for yourself—he’s been talking about you these past two days.”

Hu Fen had told Qin Yun: he’d kept his divorce secret from everyone except his youngest aunt—so his grandparents naturally didn’t know. But now, no need to hide it.

“I’ll go see Grandpa.”

He stepped outside, but hadn’t gone two steps when his grandmother’s scolding rang out from inside.

“Gie zhong sa la nüe… lan pie… zhi rou…” (Zhoushan curse words—those who know, know.)

Qin Yun shook his head, letting her rant, then strolled calmly toward the vegetable patch.

The patch was only about two hundred meters from his grandfather’s house.

Before he even reached it, a large black dog sprinted toward him, barking wildly.

“Woof… woof…”