Under compet.i.tive circ.u.mstances, the ten-kilometer run had consumed a large amount of physical energy. Even though Meng Fan had consumed four or five energy chews before and after the process, it was difficult for it to recover fully, not to mention the labor it involved.
Therefore, once Meng Fan returned to the dorm and showered, he could not get out of bed once he laid down.
"Still didn"t eat yet? Are you waiting for me?"
Zhang Zhou Wei, still bearing a gut full of grief and anger, returned to the dorm. Seeing the unopened takeout containers from the waterfront campus restaurant sitting on the table, he felt touched, melting away half of his anger and grief.
When Xing Ta Ge saw Zhang Zhou Wei whose head had been suffocated to the point of growing ticks from his helmet, and then looked at himself who had been enjoying the A/C in a car during the entire process, he didn"t have the heart to trigger him more by telling him that the food was actually Meng Fan"s. He had bought take out for himself and fell asleep before eating it. Xing Ta Ge forced a small nod and responded, "Meng Fan said to wait until you"re back to eat it, but he waited and waited and fell asleep."
After that, he continued to read "Dong Xuan Zi". The book had emphasized adjusting a bedroom"s atmosphere using Qi Gong, which Xing Ta Ge thought to be bullsh*t, but the descriptions of the postures and methods still made him believe that these ancestors knew how to have a good time.
In "Dong Xuan Zi", the "nine shapes" and "six potentials" combine "ten fixes" and "eight movements" from "He Yin Yang", the "Eight ways" from "The World of Tao", the tension and pitch from the "Su Nu scripture", and the eight events from "Before The Inflection". Xing Ta Ge could basically imagine the richness and diversity that was imbued in the night lives of his ancestors during ancient times.
Listen to the names of these poses; backflip b.u.t.terfly, backward flying dragonfly, c.o.c.kroach pine, lintan bamboo, flying seagull, wild horse leap, white tiger ta.s.sel, floating silkworm... So elegant!
Newly learned postures must be practiced.
When Xing Ta Ge saw Meng Fan refuse to wake up, he helped Zhang Zhou Wei finish the food and headed out to go on a date.
Zhang Zhou Wei was also quickly drawn out of the dorm to the library by w.a.n.g Ya Nan. Postgraduate exams had been forced onto his agenda.
Buzz buzz buzz.
Meng Fan woke to the sound of his phone. It was a call from the witch Qin Jiao, so he answered it immediately.
"Xiao Ti"s new novel"s ill.u.s.trated version is on the market, and a copy has been sent to you. Come grab it now, it"s in my office."
Qin Jiao said and hung up.
Meng Fan rubbed his eyes and looked at the time. It was almost five o"clock.
He didn"t know if it had been his depleted physical energy that had given himself a reason to sleep until the sun was down.
Time to get up.
Five minutes later, Meng Fan left the dorm with his drawing tube in tow.
Along the way, all the unfamiliar students and teachers that he ran into had turned to Meng Fan and gave him a big thumbs up.
This was... returning all the thumbs up he had given to them before?
Apparently not.
Some people who recognized him not only gave him a thumbs up but also chided along the lines of "Wow! You can actually run a mini-marathon. How impressive".
At least it let Meng Fan know the reason behind the thumbs up. After all, his validation was there, and there were viewers from the school that watched his stream. Most of the school had also known about his mini-marathon.
"Five volumes, all autographed."
She pointed at the books on her desk and then at the chair across from it, indicating for Meng Fan to sit. "Let"s hear it. What"s up with you lately?"
"What do you mean?"
There were no other professors in the office, but Meng Fan was still cautious.
"Streaming, running, thumbs up dances, catching thieves, and your increased drawing skill." Qin Jiao gave Meng Fan the "I"ve seen through you" look. "When you"re streaming, your drawing skills have increased a lot, but the speed at which it"s going up is a bit too fast... I took your one-month duration and compared it back and forth and found a few problems."
"G.o.d took pity on me and gave me a legendary exterior sh.e.l.l; letting me stream, run, dance, catch thieves, and then rewarded me by increasing my drawing skill." Meng Fan threw out his standard response, at the same time giving Qin Jiao a questionable look.
"How are you this bored?"
"You"re not gonna tell me the truth?"
If she actually believed him, then she would be a ghost. She smiled. "It"s fine if you don"t want to tell me. I"ll tell your sister about you trying to pursue Wu Tong. She will definitely be very happy and will give you nonstop advice and pointers. Oh right, I think I have Wu Tong"s photo as well, I"ll send it over to professor. She"s so pretty, professor will like her for sure."
"Who says I like Wu Tong!?"
Meng Fan wouldn"t admit even if it killed him. If his sister and his mom found out, he would have to turn off his phone for the next few days and maybe even pretend to lose contact.
"You don"t?" Qin Jiao smiled. "Then I"m going to tell this to them anyway, and they can decide if it"s their business that you"re chasing Wu Tong or not."
"Professor, if you do this, you will lose a motivated student with good grades!" Meng Fan regretted fearing the smog and not going to The Central Academy of Fine arts instead, but Qin Jiao"s existence was way more dangerous than some smog.
"Okay, what do you want me to do!?"
Meng Fan knew that Qin Jiao must be surprised knowing all this information and not being able to tell his mom and his sister.
At this time, hehe… his stomach gurgled in protest.
"Hungry?"
Qin Jiao, who was just about to speak, almost laughed out loud. She stood up and said, "I"m hungry too. Let"s find somewhere to eat and talk."
"Let"s agree first. Don"t invite me out and make me pay like last time!"
"Does a hero who donates ten thousand dollars so easily have to be so stingy towards his professor?"
"Yes, he does!"
Meng Fan called Zhang Zhou Wei over to pick up his books. Zhang Zhou Wei was ready to leave the library to take a breath from w.a.n.g Ya Nan"s pressure and gladly ran over. Seeing it was Xiao Ti"s new book and autographed, he immediately broke into a smile. If Qin Jiao hadn"t been nearby, he would have jumped Meng Fan and hugged him for a while.
"It"s still about the historical costuming."
They went to the waterfront restaurant outside of the campus and sat down, ordering their dishes. Qin Jiao began to talk about business. "I have a student from before who"s recently preparing to produce a manga. She needs a large number of ancient costume samples. They don"t need to be very sophisticated or historically accurate, as long as it"s before the Ming dynasty and aligns with the traditional aesthetic of China. Yesterday, she asked me to chat, and when this came up, I thought of you. You"re familiar with this stuff, plus you"re fast."
He should be thanking Qin Jiao for this, but why did he still feel like she was "threatening" him?
"And?"
Qin Jiao gave Meng Fan a bottle of iced cola and smiled. "And, she will pay you the art supply cost at most."
Meng Fan froze for a moment. "Free labor?!"
"She"s asking for a lot, and the required drawings are very demanding of the artist of their profession. Plus, she has certain requirements for drawing skills." Qin Jiao handed a straw to Meng Fan and continued, "In our academy, you"re the only person who is most familiar with this aspect. Plus, I showed her your homework a.s.signment from last time, and she really liked it. She wants to pay you based on these standards. Since you"re already ill.u.s.trating for Xiao Ti, your price is already set high. She really can"t afford it."
"Am I this bada.s.s already? You can"t think about trapping me to do free labor." Meng Fan took a sip of the iced cola, feeling pleasant in his heart.
"Why would I trick you!? I just want to direct your graduation thesis towards this aspect and organize it in advance. By then you just need to arrange a graduating exhibition." Qin Jiao continued, "Just treat it like you"re doing your big sister a favor. Of course, she says she will thank you in the future."
Meng Fan couldn"t eat this kind of treatment, but he was still curious. "What does this person have to do with you? You even pulled out the "big sister" card."
"Just between teacher and student, but we have a good relations.h.i.+p, just like me and w.a.n.g Ya Nan and the other girls. If w.a.n.g Ya Nan asked us to help, I"d have to help her out; don"t you think?"
Qin Jiao had always treated the students she favored with the utmost focus, always willing to give them opportunities. She was also eager to help them create opportunities and help them solve problems or find other people to help solve their problems.
"You speak of it so lightly, but the person who gets trolled ends up being another student."
Meng Fan knew how much attention Qin Jiao gave to the students she helped. He had been one of them after all. Even if he disregarded their special relations.h.i.+p, he knew that Qin Jiao would help him as well. He only just wanted to diss her a bit. Seeing Qin Jiao half angry and half pleading, he immediately surrendered. "I"ll do it. I"ll draw it."
Ding!
An alert sounded in his "mind", signaling that he had unlocked a new task.