Chapter 254: Attribute Exchange
“How is there a scandal already?”
“I didn’t see it coming either.”
Su Qingcen was in Bai Zhi’s room, a helpless expression on her face.
It began when several photos had surfaced online of Su Qingcen eating street food. Of course, there were also descriptions of why Su Qingcen was there in the first place and how everyone came to cooperate and watch her finish her food tour. This was no doubt an interesting topic.
And Meng Fan, the Iron Tower who had quieted everyone down, naturally became the subject of discussion. Once they began, everything attributed back to his fierce reputation. According to the netizens, the Iron Tower was like a turret, standing his ground. Who would dare enter his firing range? You’d be greeted by an American MMA body slam!
Then, just like when Meng Fan and Su Qingcen had left the street, some people also began raising doubts about whether the two were dating or not. It really was the plot of an idol drama.
Slowly, the situation had s...o...b..lled to where it is now.
“How are you guys going to deal with it?”
“Sister Jing is already dealing with it.” Su Qingcen was helpless, but she was relaxed as well. “There was nothing going on to begin with. All we have to do is clarify it.”
“That’s true. Don’t fret about it then; leave it to your management office to provide a statement.”
It was senseless to worry, and Bai Zhi was able to breathe a sigh of relief after hearing Su Qingcen’s explanation. But then she stared at Su Qingcen, eyes full of wonder. “Qingcen, you quite like Meng Fan, don’t you?”
“Of course, I do!”
Su Qingcen then smiled. “Not the kind of ‘like’ you’re thinking about.”
“Haha what’s the difference between that ‘like’ and the one I’m speaking off.” Bai Zhi wasn’t beating around the bush. “I think Fan is a good kid. He’s tall and broad, and his features are nice, too. He loves to exercise now and, if he follows this regimen, he’ll be in good shape in no time — the kind who will get more handsome, too! Look at Caiwei’s incredible facial features, and you’ll understand. His personality is also a winner, he’s got a great temper and is very manly. Most importantly, he respects women. He’s masculine, but not in a toxic way. Plus, he’s very talented! I’m not trying to boast about my little brother here. I just think you two would be very compatible.”
“Sister Bai, why do these qualities all sound like traits you would like?” Su Qingcen retorted immediately. She glared at Bai Zhi. “Sis, don’t tell me you ‘like’ Meng boss?”
Bai Zhi admittedly responded: “Fan is the type of guy I like, but our age difference is too big. If I was your age, and only five or six years older than him, I’d be pursuing him in an instant. I really think Fan is a great kid, so I asked you. If you like him, I think it’s doable! Fan isn’t lacking in any category, he’ll definitely be good enough for your National G.o.ddess status.”
Su Qingcen laughed as she shook her head. “Don’t make these random a.s.sumptions; Meng boss already has a girl he likes. Sis, let’s not talk about this anymore. It’s awkward and might cause misunderstandings.”
“How do I exchange this?”
Meng Fan took a shower and lay on his bed, pondering how to exchange his points.
Once the point exchange function appeared, Meng Fan a.n.a.lyzed it and then moved onto how he could increase his existing attributes.
The more times you redeem them, the more expensive it gets. He only had 18,500 points at the moment, so there was no way to pour it all into one attribute. It was much more valuable to spread them over multiple attributes.
Meng Fan counted. Presently, the system had awarded him with 18 attributes in total. Subtracting the attribute of Luck that couldn’t be increased, he could increase all of them by +1 with 17,000 points. This seemed to be the most valuable route.
But based on a utilitarian perspective, Meng Fan wasn’t going to increase all of them. At least, with the premise that he didn’t have many points, Meng Fan was going to hold off increasing the attributes he didn’t use often. He would also refrain from increasing attributes that are already at a high level, like his Drawing Skills, which wouldn’t increase much with +1 added anyways.
It was best to do this from a process of elimination.
Validation, Throwing Precision, and Photogenic Appeal were not very useful to Meng Fan and, even if he did need them, he had enough at the moment.
Drawing Skills, Charm, and Hand Speed were all very useful, but he had acquired enough points in them already; +1 wouldn’t make much of a difference.
Strength, Speed, and Endurance were all at +6 currently. Without further ado, he added one point to each, making them all +7.
Context Design and Scriptwriting were related to his manga and were both at +6. He had to redeem them. +7.
His Imagination was at +9. This was a very useful attribute and didn’t have a limit to being used. He had to exchange it. +10.
Smile Appeal, Voice Appeal, and Night Owl capability were all increased by +1 as well to reach +5, +9, and +4.
Voice Acting skill was sitting at +8, and, to be honest, it was more than enough. However, Meng Fan still enhanced it to +9.
There was another attribute he’d gained from [Night Touring G.o.d]: the attribute of Observation. Currently, it was at +1 but had proven to be very useful.
Meng Fan looked at his inventory. There were 8,500 points left. He then used the 1,000 and 2,000 point redemption functions, and then 5,000 points to turn +1 Observation into +4.
Meng Fan hesitated for a moment but ended up using 2,000 points from his 3,500 to boost his Imagination attribute to +11.
With 1,500 points left and nothing else to increase, he decided to save them.
After the full upgrade, Meng Fan felt invincible, but there was nothing to use his skills on in his room. It was also only 2:00 a.m. and, after adding another point in his Night Owl capability, he wasn’t tired at all!
He had no choice; he could only take out his pen, find some spa.r.s.e papers, and begin working on the character and setting design for his own manga to increase his stock.
Going to bed at half past three in the morning, Meng Fan woke up just two hours later, full of energy. He left the hotel and went for a jog around Yuehu Park. Unsatisfied, he then ran to the Window of the World and ran a half-marathon before returning.
The TV show began recording at one o’clock in the afternoon, and rehearsals began at ten in the morning.
Meng Fan didn’t understand how other variety shows worked, but the contestants and the guests on this one had sacrificed a lot. From Meng Fan’s perspective, out of the eight teams that had come on set, at least a dozen or so people there were yawning. They probably didn’t sleep much last night because they had been training. In comparison, Bai Zhi seemed much better off.
The contestants forced themselves awake to endure the rehearsal before immediately heading back to their hotels to catch up on their sleep. Hopefully, they will be in a good mental state during the official recording in the afternoon.
Meng Fan and Bai Zhi’s rehearsal had gone smoothly, and they were able to head back to the hotel immediately after.
As for the scandal that had blown up online, Bai Zhi was able to fill Meng Fan in on the events even if Meng Fan didn’t come across it on his own. She had also alerted him that Su Qingcen’s management office was releasing a clarification statement.
During this time, Su Qingcen and her team were already enroute to Nanjing to prepare for her concert.
After taking a short break at the hotel, the two shared a fast food meal in Bai Zhi’s room before heading off to the film set. After donning their makeup and costumes, they went over the script once more before the official recording began.
Bai Zhi, already a known figure on “Voice Legend,” began to chat and interact to stimulate an entertaining mood. Meng Fan and the other guests were waiting backstage in the lounge and would naturally appear once their celebrity contestant needed their help to collaborate.
Bai Zhi had been a.s.signed to the third group. Based on the program’s editing, she would have to wait until the second half of the annual show — that is, the last episode of the season — before her voice acting scene broadcasted.