Chapter 96: An Explanation
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“This was the funniest, most interesting, and most amazing concert I’ve ever been to.”
The concert had ended successfully, although two more waves of laughter had occurred in between. They didn’t negatively impact the concert, but just took it off tangent for a moment. Overall, the fans present were ecstatic and made a great concert experience.
“Thank you for enduring such an interesting evening with me.”
Wu Tong walked out the stadium and smiled at Meng Fan. “No, technically speaking, you were the one who brought the interest.”
Meng Fan smiled bitterly. “I’m innocent, am I that funny?”
Wu Tong paused for a second. “Yes.”
What else could he say, she was always right.
“Oh right, when are you heading back to school? Want to return together?” Wu Tong and Meng Fan walked along the sidewalk. Then once in a while, running into a member of the audience who would greet Meng Fan. He had become a famous figure after this concert.
Wu Tong’s invitation was very tempting, but thinking about it, Meng Fan shook his head. “I have to head back to Wenzhou, it’s been a while since I went back home.”
It has been a while. If he hadn’t been reincarnated, he would never have seen them again!
“Alright, see you at school then.” Wu Tong pointed to a car parked nearby with its blinkers on. “My brother’s here to pick me up.”
“Okay.”
Meng Fan nodded and waved.
After Wu Tong got in the car and drove off, Meng Fan hailed a cab and headed home.
…
…
“Explain yourself!”
Meng Cai Wei opened the door and clacked her way back to the living room. She royally sat herself down on the couch, then bellowed at Meng Fan.
“Explain what?”
The corner of Meng Fan’s mouth twitched. He pointed to her high heels and said, “Why are you wearing those in the house, are you trying to increase the momentum of your interrogation?”
“Don’t change the subject with me.” Meng Cai Wei huffed a deep breath before beginning again, holding up two fingers. “Two things. First, who’s that girl?!”
“Did Sister Bai send it to you?” Meng Fan had an all-knowing expression. “Then shouldn’t she have also told you Wu Tong is my college cla.s.smate?”
“That’s all?” Meng Cai Wei slanted her eyes at Meng Fan. Seeing he did not continue, she chuckled. “You suddenly began running. It must have been for this traditional art department’s beauty, right?”
Meng Fan picked up a cranberry cookie, and upon discovering it tasted good, ate a second one before he continued, “Didn’t Qin Jiao already tell you, why are you asking me?”
“Then you don’t like boys?” Meng Cai Wei was a bit disappointed.
Cough cough.
Meng Fan almost choked.
“Alright alright alright. Girl is good too.” Meng Cai Wei sighed. “Whatever, as long as you like her.”
Meng Fan was really done. “What do you mean whatever, or alright?! And what’s with that expression of surrender?!”
“Let’s not talk about this.”
Meng Cai Wei had avoided this subject and her expression seemed unwilling to discuss the subject in fear of being hurt. “Second, what’s with all the laughing during the concert?”
When she had pulled a muscle from laughing, Meng Cai Wei did not overthink, and she had just a.s.sumed it was due to her being a homebody for too long.
For a concert to erupt into laughter like that, the people present would not overthink it either, because it could just have been an infectious atmosphere.
But once Meng Cai Wei discovered the two, then she could not help but overthink.
Meng Fan heard this and felt his blood boil. “I want to know the answer to that too! Why does it sound like it’s my fault, I just laughed for a bit, can I not laugh during a concert? It’s not worse than standing there high, okay?! I just laughed like this, why did everyone else start too, making it seem as if I am a joke! Look at me, am I laughable?”
Seeing Meng Fan break into laughter, Meng Cai Wei felt oddly happy, but not as exaggerated as she had felt yesterday. No no no, her mouth had curved along with him, but she was not crazy yet.
Could it be… She really had been home too often?
And the audience was just following the hype?
And it had nothing to do with Meng Fan?
When Meng Cai Wei did not break into laughter. Meng Fan let out an internal sigh of relief. Good good. Smile appeal can be suppressed if he really enforced it. Otherwise, it would be hard to even laugh in the future.
If he laughed, people near him would pull a muscle. That’s ridiculous!
Seeing Meng Cai Wei’s expression, Meng Fan knew that the difficult times had finally pa.s.sed. He then took another cranberry cookie and stuffed it in his mouth. “I’m going home tomorrow, do you want to come? You’re doing nothing at home anyways, why not head back and eat some food from mom.”
“Screw that, mom’s cooking can’t be eaten!” Thinking of the dark days of eating his mom’s strange concoctions, Meng Cai Wei shuddered. She then remembered something and said to Meng Fan. “You don’t have to go back, mom went to find dad I think. Dad… where is he?”
Thinking for a while, she couldn’t remember.
‘Forget it. Running around the world studying different kinds of architecture, who knows where he is.’
“Not home? I already told them I was going back, why didn’t they say anything?” Meng Fan was dismayed.
Meng Cai Wei smiled and said, “Obviously because they want you to return to an empty house, then have you call to ask her where she is, so she can say ‘guess’?! That is a picture mom is very happy to see. Aiyo, I shouldn’t have told you.” She paused, then turned solemn. “I’m just teasing you, mom’s home.”
“Meng Cai Wei, you want to become the queen of actresses based on these acting skills, keep dreaming!
“What do you mean want, I already am!”
“Yes yes yes, you’re the queen of high heels!”
Meng Fan took the remaining cranberry cookies into his bedroom.
After hesitating for a while, he sent a WeChat message to Wu Tong. “My mom’s not home, so I’m not going to WenZhou before returning to Hangzhou.”
After about five minutes, Wu Tong responded. “I looked at the tickets, there’s still a few left for tomorrow afternoon. Want to head back together?”
“Alright!”
Meng Fan was overjoyed, but not enough to ask her if her brother was driving her.
“Send me your personal ID.”
“33038119…”
“33038119…”
“I got it. Tomorrow afternoon at 1:30, boarding at south station. It will arrive at the station before 1:00.”
“Alright, how much does it cost?”
“I didn’t see, ask me again!”
“Hey, what just happened?”
Meng Fan felt feeble.
After chatting for a while, Meng Fan began to draw his ill.u.s.trations. He finished the ill.u.s.trations from before, and on his thirteenth one, an alert sounded in his mind.
“Ding! You’ve completed task phase 3 of [Ill.u.s.trator]; reward: points +500, drawing skills +3, imagination +1.”
At this point, Meng Fan was at 500 ill.u.s.trations.
From the beginning of the task to now, only a month had pa.s.sed. To produce 500 drawings in a month while maintaining their quality was a terrifying feat.
Although Meng Fan didn’t know many ill.u.s.trators, he could still confirm that few people in the industry could do what he did.
After the +3 increase in drawing skills, Meng Fan had gained a total of +6 experience in the category. In addition to his existing drawing skills, Meng Fan’s competence could smack 90% of the people in the industry.
“Drawing skills improve another step, just in time for the creation of my manga.”
As for the metaphysical attribute of imagination, Meng Fan felt that it just improved the frequency of his inspirational bursts. Only G.o.d knew when to produce results.
“Bang! Bang!”
Knocking at the door, Meng Cai Wei shouted from outside, “Are you asleep yet? If you’re not, come eat something with me.”
“I’d be awake from your screaming regardless, alright?”
Meng Fan gave her a stink eye, but as soon as he sat down at the dining table he began to drool.
“Honestly, if you didn’t become an actress, you could make a good living cooking.” Meng Fan began eating and gave her considerably high praise.
Meng Cai Wei returned a stink eye. “With my good looks, if I didn’t become an actress, my only other path would be forced marriage into a wealthy family as a mistress. Then how will I cook?”
“Do you have some misunderstanding regarding ‘wealthy’ people?”
“Do you have some misunderstanding regarding my temper?”