Chapter 157: Liking Someone Is a Positive Energy Thing

Chapter 157: Liking Someone is a Positive Force

By the time Meng Fan and his group arrived at the Waterfront Restaurant, more than an hour had passed since the competition ended.

Immediately after the event, the official CGL Basketball Championship social media account had already posted a highlight reel, with Meng Fan’s world-record-breaking performance featured in a standalone clip.

Meanwhile, spectators at the venue had shared their own photos and videos across social media, and unsurprisingly, the content featuring Meng Fan was the most frequently reposted.

When a video carries the label "World Record Broken," it inevitably draws extra attention.

Basketball is a widely popular sport, and even those who have never played on a coin-operated arcade machine have heard of them and generally understand the rules.

Once armed with that context, watching Meng Fan’s footage produced a different effect.

"Too fast, too accurate, this is insane, holy crap, he actually broke the world record!" That was the consensus among most viewers, many of whom recalled their own meager scores of a few dozen or a hundred points.

Reposts began to climb, especially on Weibo, where anything extraordinary or impressive finds fertile ground. Before long, the official CGL post had garnered nearly a thousand shares.

Of course, one could hardly call it a viral sensation, let alone a trending topic. After all, this was a niche competition, and the world record itself lacked significant prestige—much like how, before this moment, almost no one knew who had held the previous record.

It was merely a celebration within a small circle.

Meng Fan had previously trended for his infectious, bizarre laughter at the Su Qingcen concert. By comparison, absurdity and eccentricity tend to grab more attention on Weibo than mere displays of skill.

Furthermore, the weight of that previous trend was bolstered by the fact that it occurred at Su Qingcen’s concert.

However, this time was slightly different. The CGL social media manager noticed that about an hour after posting, the repost count for Meng Fan’s record-breaking video began to surge erratically.

"Huh? Why is everyone tagging Su Qingcen in their reposts?"

"And many are mentioning 'Anchor Meng.' This 'Anchor Meng' must be the guy who broke the record, right?"

After observing for a while, the manager realized the sudden spike in traffic came from two distinct groups: Su Qingcen’s fans and the fans of this "Anchor Meng."

The latter was easy to solve; their comments made it clear that Meng Fan was a streamer with a loyal following. A quick inquiry confirmed that Meng Fan had been livestreaming during the competition.

The former group, however, was more mysterious. They kept tagging Su Qingcen and asking her to "come see your 'Haha' big shot." The manager had no idea what a "Haha big shot" was. After asking around the office to no avail, they finally traced the origin through the comment threads.

It turned out that this Meng Fan was the same "King of Laughter" from Su Qingcen’s Shanghai concert!

The manager eventually found the viral clip of that laughter and finally understood the connection. Although that video had trended previously, the manager had missed it at the time.

Shortly after uncovering the reason, the manager saw the reposts skyrocket again. Su Qingcen herself had shared the post.

Su Qingcen: "Congratulations to the 'Haha' big shot, Anchor Meng, on snagging the world record!"

Su Qingcen is an idol singer of genuine substance. In terms of traffic, she ranks among the very top of current artists; almost none of her posts, including reposts, ever fall below a hundred thousand shares.

Of course, Su Qingcen rarely reposts content from others.

As a high-traffic celebrity, her management team is strictly controlled.

But for this post, the team gave their full blessing.

Seeing an extraordinary talent emerge from an artist’s fan base is something both the artist and the agency love to see. Breaking a world record, regardless of its prestige, certainly falls into the category of "extraordinary."

"Meng, your idol Su Qingcen reposted your record-breaking video!"

As Meng Fan and Da Fei’s group entered the restaurant, Zhang Zhouwen ran over with his phone, showing him the screen. "Your idol is congratulating you on the record! This is huge!"

As roommates, the three of them knew Meng Fan was a fan of Su Qingcen. Being acknowledged by one’s idol is naturally a cause for celebration.

Xing Tage offered a mysterious smile, his gaze wise, as if he saw through everything.

It was true that Meng Fan was a fan of Su Qingcen, but after learning that Meng Caiwei was Meng Fan’s sister, Xing Tage found it less surprising that Su Qingcen would repost something about him. It was common knowledge that Meng Caiwei and Su Qingcen were close friends; the two, who had no professional overlap, were often seen in photos together on outings.

Of course, Wu Tong knew even more, having accompanied Meng Fan to meet Su Qingcen in person.

The group of nearly twenty people took the largest private room at the Waterfront Restaurant. Chen Daqiang had already ordered, and true to his reputation, the food was so delicious it would make the chef himself doubt his own skills.

The meal concluded in a harmonious atmosphere just past eight o'clock.

"Thank you for the treat, Senior. We have class tomorrow, so we’ll head back now."

Qu Jingjing and her friends were the first to leave. Once out of their "character," their tone returned to normal, leaving some of the boys who had hoped for a second round feeling a bit disappointed.

Da Fei and his friends also said their goodbyes: "We’re heading out too. Let’s hang out again."

The remaining group, including Meng Fan, chatted as they walked toward campus.

By then, Qu Jingjing and her three friends had already entered the school gates.

"Jingjing, didn't you say you were going to confess to Senior Meng Fan?" Now that they were away from the setting, the girls dropped the act. One of them asked, only to be nudged by another.

"I was going to, but I lost my nerve. Did you notice? Senior Meng Fan is even more outstanding than we imagined. And it seems Senior Wu Tong is quite interested in him, too—it’s not like the rumors say where there’s no chance at all. I have the courage to confess, and the courage to be rejected, but I don’t have the courage to face the awkwardness of him deliberately avoiding me later. Of course, I’ll keep liking him, and maybe I’ll like him even more."

Qu Jingjing smiled brilliantly. "I think liking someone is a very positive force. In the process of liking someone, you should strive to become a better version of yourself. I believe that’s exactly what Senior Meng Fan is doing as he likes Senior Wu Tong. I will become more outstanding, and then I’ll confess to him... besides, does liking someone mean you have to possess them?"

The three girls were stunned, deeply moved by her words. They nodded in unison and said firmly, "Yes!"

Qu Jingjing said helplessly, "You all say you like Senior Meng Fan too. What, are we going to be romantic rivals from now on?"

One of them nudged Qu Jingjing’s shoulder, winking playfully. "Only ordinary people become rivals. We’re going to be sisters in his harem."