The Academic God Becomes an Internet Sensation After Joining a Dating Show - C9 - Fire by Friction

Qing Lin stared at the wooden stick in his hand, unable to come up with any words to actually blame Shen Xuzhi.

[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA]

[What kind of terrible luck does Shen Xuzhi have?]

[Fire by friction? Are they trying to ignite romance with actual sparks?]

At the same time, Jiang Wen and Su Mingxuan had drawn a lighter. It was old and barely worked, and they had been ready to complain about it. But when they turned and saw Qing Lin and Shen Xuzhi’s situation, Jiang Wen burst out laughing.

“Look, Little Xuanxuan, they’re actually trying to make fire with flint! This production team is so cruel, picking on the pretty ones.”

Shen Xuzhi truly felt bad. The lot he picked had pushed their difficulty level to S rank.

But really, making fire by rubbing woods?

Director Hong Shanyue spoke up. “To help you all work more efficiently, we’ve invited survival expert Li Qiuhan, a top blogger on Weibo, to assist. If you encounter any problems during the process, feel free to ask him. And please make sure to stay safe while starting your fire.”

The camera panned to Li Qiuhan, a muscular, tan-skinned man wearing sunglasses, who greeted everyone with a wave.

Shen Xuzhi, however, had his eyes on Qing Lin.

Qing Lin’s hands were pale and delicate. If they really had to rely on friction, his palms would definitely be injured. Shen Xuzhi stood up and said, “I’ll go borrow a match from the other team…”

“No.”

Suddenly, someone held his fingers gently. A cool touch rested lightly on his skin, soft and calm.

He turned and saw Qing Lin looking up at him. From this angle, his already delicate features appeared even more striking. His eyes held a steady determination as he said, “We’ll lose points.”

Shen Xuzhi came to his senses immediately.

God, holding his fingers like that… it was way too adorable.

The task card clearly stated that using anything other than the assigned tools would lead to a deduction in coins.

Starting a real fire by rubbing wood together took a lot of effort. You had to hold the stick with both hands, spin it evenly, and keep it steady at the same time. It could easily cause blisters, and the chances of success were not very high.

Qing Lin said, “You’re still working on your new album. You can’t risk injuring your hands if you need to play instruments.”

He quickly collected himself, glanced over the few tools they had, then said to Shen Xuzhi, “Shen laoshi, please look for some dry branches. The drier they are, the easier it will be to start a fire. I’ll figure out this part.”

It was the first time Shen Xuzhi had heard Qing Lin call him “Shen laoshi.” On top of that, Qing Lin not only knew about his album but even cared about it. A strange warmth stirred inside Shen Xuzhi, and without a second thought, he agreed and obediently went to gather firewood.

It wasn’t until he had walked quite a distance that he suddenly realized something felt off.

Tsk, he couldn’t stand the thought of letting Qing Lin drill wood either.

But since he had already agreed, Shen Xuzhi still went to search for dry wood, planning to return as quickly as possible to help.

Meanwhile, the livestream comment section was flooding with reactions.

[Wow, QL calling him Shen laoshi is so hot, right?]

[Don’t touch my gege!! You scheming fox!]

[I think they’re totally shippable. Solo stans should stay away from watching dating shows. These shows are made for shipping! Don’t kill the vibe.]

[I’m staying right here, waiting for Qing Lin to mess up. Just look at that delicate, ethereal act, insisting on doing things. Who’s he trying to impress? Bet he’ll drag everyone down.]

Over on his end, Qing Lin also left his spot and walked toward the woods by the beach. He squatted down and flipped over a few stones.

He picked up a thin, flat, rounded stone and brought it back. Then he took the back end of the sturdy metal ladle the crew had given them and began striking the center of the stone to make a hole.

[What is Qing Lin doing now?]

[What’s he up to this time… acting strange again?]

Li Qiuhan had just finished helping the Qi Long Tea team set up a tea-making rack when he walked over and saw a pale, slim-looking young guy crouching on the ground pounding a rock.

He recognized him. An almost unknown UP content creator with fewer than a hundred followers, who had somehow landed a spot on a top-tier reality show. Recently, discussions about him had been all over Weibo.

Rumor had it he was a top student at Zhejiang University. But academic qualifications often don’t mean much in practice. No matter how much theory someone knows, it doesn’t always translate into real-world skills.

Besides, this fire-starting method using friction was tough even for someone like Li Qiuhan, a professional. For someone like Qing Lin, who looked more like a bookish type too delicate to wring a chicken’s neck, it should have been nearly impossible.

So, Li Qiuhan stepped forward with a friendly smile and said, “Need some help?”

Before the words had even fully left his mouth, Qing Lin gave the stone one final, precise strike. With a sharp clang, a clean hole appeared in the center of the thin stone.

Li Qiuhan: “…”

So the kid actually had some strength in him.

Qing Lin looked up and recognized him. This must be the survival expert the director had mentioned.

Li Qiuhan said, “If you run into any problems, feel free to ask me.”

Qing Lin paused for a moment, then asked, “Do you charge for help?”

[I’m laughing so hard I can’t breathe]

[He’s seriously all about the money, I’m in tears]

[Hahahahahahahahaha]

Li Qiuhan was momentarily stunned.

The director had explained that if any guest requested hands-on help, a gold coin would be deducted later. Verbal guidance was allowed, but physical assistance came at a cost.

Qing Lin understood right away. “Thanks, but I think I can manage on my own.”

Li Qiuhan gave a sheepish smile, already assuming this group would probably fail the task. But when he saw the tools Qing Lin was putting together, his interest was suddenly piqued.

Qing Lin took a small knife and cut the rope that had been used to tie the boxes. He split it into two pieces and wrapped them around one end of a spindle.

Next, he threaded the hole-drilled stone through the stick and rotated it back and forth to make sure it stayed in place.

Seeing the setup, Li Qiuhan immediately leaned in and said, “Wait—is this a simplified Iroquois-style fire-starting tool?”

[Iro-what now?]

[It’s the Iroquois fire-starting method. This setup is really efficient. Pulling both ends of the string back and forth spins the spindle, and the base plate helps with stability and speed.]

Although Li Qiuhan was known as a survival influencer, he had been focusing more on camping content in recent years and hadn’t used such a primitive fire-making method in a long time.
He didn’t expect Qing Lin to actually recreate an Iroquois-style fire-starting tool.

Qing Lin tested the spinning speed and said, “I saw this method online before and thought I might give it a try. Didn’t expect it to actually work.”

[Whoa, he remembered it just from seeing it once!? This is what being a top student looks like]

[I have such a weakness for smart guys, this is my kryptonite]

[He’s so calm and collected… and so cute. If he went to my high school, I would’ve had a three-year secret crush on him]

“You’re really smart—to think so quickly and build something like this,” Li Qiuhan said with genuine admiration. “Since you know about the Iroquois method, are you into wilderness camping?”

“I am. I’ve always wanted to try it, but never really had the time because of other commitments,” Qing Lin replied.

That answer opened Li Qiuhan’s floodgates. He immediately started chatting with Qing Lin about all kinds of camping experiences.

“Hey, if you’re free next time, come camping with us. A bunch of other UP creators usually join. It’s a good way to meet people too…”

He was mid-sentence when a shadow suddenly loomed overhead.

The sunlight vanished from above, and Li Qiuhan instinctively looked up, only to meet a face shrouded in shadow, with dark eyes that were steady and unreadable.

Shen Xuzhi stood with his back to the sun, golden light outlining his figure, yet his presence felt cold and distant. His pitch-black eyes swept over them, sharp and emotionless.

In a low, flat voice, he asked, “Who are you?”

Li Qiuhan: “……”

Was he not listening to the director?

Qing Lin poked his head out from the side and said, “You’re back? Thanks for the hard work.”

Only then did Shen Xuzhi shift his gaze, giving Qing Lin a slight nod before placing the dry branches on the ground.

The camera didn’t catch Shen Xuzhi’s expression, but Li Qiuhan was visibly shaken.

That was Shen Xuzhi, wasn’t it?

The presence of a real celebrity was on a different level altogether.

Shen Xuzhi stepped between Li Qiuhan and Qing Lin, glanced at the tool Qing Lin had assembled, and asked, “You made this?”

Qing Lin paused for a moment before replying, “Yeah, I made a few small adjustments to make it more efficient.”

He gave a quick explanation. “You just pull these strings, the spindle spins, and it keeps going in the same direction. It saves a lot of effort.”

“I also looked into the clay bowl steamed rice method. It’s basically the same as making claypot rice. The clay bowl conducts heat well and does not crack easily, so we can place it directly over the fire. Once we set up the cooking rack and get the fire started, we’ll be ready to go.”

As Qing Lin continued explaining, he began to feel Shen Xuzhi’s gaze fixed steadily on him. Eventually, he couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong?”

His mind quickly ran through everything he had said, checking for any mistakes, but nothing stood out.

Did he overstep again by taking the lead?

Shen Xuzhi tilted his head slightly, looking at Qing Lin with gentle eyes and a smile in his voice. “You’re really handsome.”

Li Qiuhan: “…”

Qing Lin turned away and pretended not to hear it.

[Oh my gosh, he’s so doting, I can’t take it!! Xu-ge is insanely charming!!]

[Did you see that height difference?! Feels like Ah-Zhi could completely wrap Little Lin in his arms!]

[QL is surprisingly reliable. I thought he was just a bookworm, but he’s actually great with his hands too.]

[He’s so cute! That serious way he explains things is just too precious. I want to be his mom fan!]

[It’s all scripted. You’re the only ones getting emotionally invested.]

Feeling like he had nothing else to do here, Li Qiuhan said, “Call me if you need anything,” then left.

Once Li Qiuhan left, Shen Xuzhi turned to Qing Lin and asked. “What were you two talking about just now?”

Qing Lin wedged the stick into the groove and began spinning. “Oh, Qiuhan asked if I needed help. But I realized it would cost coins to accept it.”

Qiuhan…

Shen Xuzhi frowned. “You’re planning to go camping with him?”

Qing Lin: “?”

“He’s really skilled. If I ever got the chance to camp with him, I think I’d learn a lot,” Qing Lin replied.

That didn’t sit right with Shen Xuzhi. He reached over and took the rope from Qing Lin’s hands. “I’ll do it.”

“It’s fine, I—”

“We’re doing this together,” Shen Xuzhi said. “No need to be polite. You don’t have to spend coins with me.”

Qing Lin didn’t argue. Afterall, they still had a task to finish, and if Shen Xuzhi wanted to help, he’d let him.

Shen Xuzhi rolled his sleeves up to his shoulders, revealing defined muscles and toned arms.
He even shot a look at Qing Lin, as if to say, I’m strong too.

Even though it was much easier and more efficient now, it still took time for the stick to heat up and start to char.

While Shen Xuzhi kept working, Qing Lin focused on assembling the rack. Without any instruction manual, he made a mistake midway, but quickly took it apart and rebuilt it, figuring out the correct method. Before long, the entire setup was complete.

[Wow, this looks exhausting.]

Qing Lin offered to take over for Shen Xuzhi but was immediately refused.

With no other choice, he stood by and used his jacket to block the sunlight from Shen Xuzhi. He thought about wiping off the sweat too but wasn’t sure how to do it without it feeling awkward.

Other teams started gathering around, cheering Shen Xuzhi on.

And so, another five minutes passed.

The livestream chat lit up once again.

[It’s been so long and still no fire. Is this really going to work? Xu ge is drenched in sweat, poor guy… just watching this is exhausting. My heart hurts.]

[Come on, Little Zhi, you can do it!!]

[Why does it feel like Qing Lin is just making Shen Xuzhi suffer?]

[Typical—looks good but lacks substance.]

[Please. Even top creators have said this is a highly efficient fire-starting method. Have you never heard of making fire through friction? It always takes this long.]

“Ah, embers!”

Qing Lin suddenly noticed a faint red glow forming in the groove of the board.

Shen Xuzhi quickly set the stick aside and carefully transferred the ember into the tinder.

Qing Lin leaned in right away, gently blowing air onto it.

“Slower. Blow gently,” Li Qiuhan reminded from the side, having returned without them noticing.

Everyone held their breath.

Shen Xuzhi also blew carefully, worried that even the slightest wrong breath might put out the spark.

“Yes, yes, yes! It’s catching!”

At last, the flame flared to life, igniting the tinder in a bright, steady burst.

[!!! It actually worked!]

[Oh my god, I’m genuinely emotional]

[The perseverance of humankind! What a triumph!]

[I’m making a wish! Please let me pass my post-grad entrance exams!]

“Whew—” Shen Xuzhi let out a long breath.

The fire spread quickly through the dry wood, burning bright and steady.

He wiped the sweat from his jaw, then leaned back with his hands on the ground. The veins on his arms were still tense, his muscles firm.

He turned his head, and his eyes widened.

It was a beautiful reward.

Next to the fire he had just started, the boy was smiling, his expression shining brighter than the flames.

“Well done, Shen laoshi.”

Qing Lin’s smile was radiant, his eyes shining with a clear brilliance that made Shen Xuzhi feel as if he were being pulled into that light. “Leave the rest to me.”