Chapter 188: Ironwood True Love

Chapter 188: Temujin’s True Love

Ding Quankai has essentially finished his coursework, treating his time at the Wen Wan Sand Art Studio as an internship.

He is already capable of independently taking commissions and performing, such as creating sand art videos for weddings or performing at corporate events. He is a member who generates profit for the studio and can support himself through his craft.

There haven't been many orders lately, yet he still arrives at the studio early every day to practice and produce videos for online platforms, which still brings in some revenue.

"Hmm?"

Upon arriving at the studio, Ding Quankai spotted Meng Fan and asked curiously, "Brother Tie, you didn't go home from yesterday, did you? You're here so early!"

Meng Fan smiled. "I just woke up early."

It was early indeed; he had already run ten kilometers, showered, and eaten breakfast before arriving. However, from Ding Quankai’s perspective, this hour was exceptionally early.

"When did he leave yesterday?"

Ding Quankai asked a member who had been on duty at the studio.

"I'm not entirely sure, but he was still here when I got up past two," the person remarked with a click of the tongue. "This guy is insane! And he's back so early this morning—it's just supernatural."

Ding Quankai sighed, "There's a reason some people succeed. You have no idea how incredible his talent for sand art is..."

That morning, the time Ding Quankai spent practicing and watching Meng Fan was dwarfed by the time he spent singing Meng Fan’s praises to others. He told everyone he met, desperate for the world to know that Meng Fan was a man of both immense talent and relentless effort.

Around ten o'clock, Wen Wan stopped by. After watching Meng Fan for ten minutes, she left, feeling utterly defeated. She then called Qin Jiao, curious about what kind of creature Meng Fan really was.

What could Qin Jiao say? She hadn't even figured out how Meng Fan’s comic drawing skills had improved so rapidly, and she couldn't just parrot Meng Fan’s own words about him being a genius... though that seemed to be the only explanation.

Furthermore, Qin Jiao was curious about what level of sand art Meng Fan had reached to leave Wen Wan so shaken, so she asked her to send over a video.

After watching it, Qin Jiao was a bit dazed. It looked impressive, but not necessarily extraordinary; it seemed like a standard sand art video without any particularly dazzling features.

Then, it hit her.

He had only been learning for a single day!

In truth, Wen Wan hadn't mentioned that the video was sent by Ding the night before. If it had been today, it wouldn't just look "standard"—it would be downright formidable!

...

Learning brings me joy, practice makes me lose track of time, and focus makes me... well, my stomach reminded me right on cue that it was time for dinner.

From 7:30 in the morning until past 5:00 in the afternoon, aside from a quick lunch, Meng Fan had been practicing with complete self-forgetfulness. Under such intense focus, his conversion rate was high; Meng Fan estimated that his skill level had already reached +8 or +9.

Since there were no bottlenecks in his conversion, Meng Fan felt that after tonight’s practice, reaching +10 would be no problem. Once his sand art reached a proficient level, he could create a piece for the songs Su Qingcen and Bai Zhi had sent him. Once filmed, he could send it to them and finally broach the subject of what came next.

If his sand art wasn't at a level suitable for a grand stage, Meng Fan didn't want to trouble them. As for what would happen if they or the organizers rejected it even if he reached that level, Meng Fan didn't dwell on it. If they really didn't want it, he couldn't force them; he would just have to try and sneak into the live broadcast shots at the venue.

The reason Meng Fan was pushing himself so hard was the time constraint. It was already November 7th, and with Double Eleven only a few days away, he needed to reach a performance-ready level as soon as possible. He couldn't afford to be ready any later than the 9th; otherwise, no matter how good his sand art was, the organizers wouldn't agree to add an impromptu performance. They needed time to buffer.

Rehearsals and dress rehearsals were always necessary.

Time was of the essence.

After dinner, Meng Fan continued his work.

"Still practicing?"

After finishing her tasks, Wen Wan prepared to leave the studio around 8:00 PM. She glanced at Meng Fan in the studio and asked Ding Quankai, "Has he taken a break?"

Ding Quankai nodded heavily. "He's a madman!"

"No obsession, no success." Wen Wan recalled her own days of practicing sand art and said to Ding Quankai, "You should double your efforts, too. Otherwise, he’s going to overtake you."

Ding Quankai gave a wry smile. "You don't know, he's already surpassed my level!"

What else could Wen Wan say? Was sand art really that simple?

By 3:00 AM, Meng Fan returned home, yawning, and went to bed. His dreams that night were filled with various versions of the "Xia Sha" music video. People say the brain can get water in it, but for Meng Fan, it was sand. He spent all day staring at sand, so it was no surprise his dreams were filled with it.

Endless sand, endless sand art.

"Are you learning sand art?"

After their morning run the next day, Wu Tong asked curiously. For the past two days, Meng Fan had been sending her sand art videos, and the content was particularly shameless, making it impossible not to be curious.

"Yeah, I think it's quite fun. Just another skill for live streaming," Meng Fan nodded, not daring to mention the content of the videos he’d sent her.

Wu Tong laughed. "Do you want to learn sand sculpting, too? I saw a sand sculpture festival once; it was very interesting."

Meng Fan grew bold. "If I really learn it, I'll sculpt you."

Wu Tong "angrily" pushed Meng Fan. Meng Fan, barely maintaining his balance from his stretching, was sent straight to the ground on his backside. His posture and expression were quite ridiculous, and Wu Tong burst into giggles at the sight.

"Hmm?"

"Holy cow!"

There weren't many people out for a morning run, but there were always a few. Hearing Wu Tong’s laughter, they all pricked up their ears and widened their eyes.

At first, the entire academy had resisted the idea of Meng Fan and Wu Tong, but slowly, they had grown accustomed to it. Many even looked forward to them officially becoming a couple, or hoped they would go public if they already were.

Privately, they had bored themselves by coming up with various couple names: the Wu-Meng-Da CP, the National Comic CP, the Morning Run CP, the Date Run CP, the Rice Bucket CP, and the Same Room CP. The most popular one, however, was the "Temujin True Love" CP.

"Tie" (Iron) for the Iron Tower, "Mu" (Wood) from Tong, and "True Love" because they believed that if Meng Fan and Wu Tong could be together, it must be true love—at the very least, Wu Tong’s love for Meng Fan was real.

Of course, if Meng Fan had to choose, he would certainly hope for the "Same Room" one...

"Are they flirting already?"

"I've never seen the National Painting beauty laugh like that."

"The Iron Tower was pushed to the ground in one go! Is the National Painting beauty that strong?"

"No wonder you're single! You don't get it at all! It's obvious she's teasing him!"

To come out for a morning run and get a dose of dog food—damn, it really is... delicious!