Chapter 403: A God-like Family

Chapter 403: A Family of Gods

Hu Yijing did not know whether to laugh or cry when she saw the rumors about Meng Fan and Meng Caiwei surfacing online. She was well aware of their actual relationship. Back when she had first schemed to sign Meng Fan and mold him into a rugged idol, she had fully factored in his connection to Meng Caiwei. Had she been the one orchestrating it, the "plotline" of their exposed relationship would never have been so simple; she could have driven wave after wave of climaxes, elevating them to a status that rivaled the famous Fan siblings and turning them into the ultimate powerhouse of collective internet traffic.

In fact, she had even once considered pairing Meng Fan and Su Qingcen as an on-screen couple for tied-in marketing.

Of course, as things stood today, there was no longer any room for comparison, and any possibility between Su Qingcen and Meng Fan had completely vanished, seeing as they hadn't even seized the chance back when their romance rumors first broke.

Soon enough, Hu Yijing noticed new reports circulating online about Meng Fan, Meng Caiwei, and Wu Tong appearing together at the Peak Martial Arts Academy, confirming that the two were indeed siblings. From a professional standpoint, she found it a terrible waste. What a golden opportunity; with a little bit of maneuvering, how much traffic could that have drawn? Yet, that was merely her thinking out loud. She knew full well that neither sibling seemed to care about traffic at all—or rather, they did not care for *this* meager amount of traffic.

Yet this "meager" amount of traffic, if dropped upon anyone else, would have made them an overnight sensation in minutes.

Then again, this brother-and-sister duo of the Meng family truly was a match made in heaven, just as the netizens said. It was enough to make anyone envious!

The elder sister was an A-list actress in the entertainment industry, possessing both formidable acting skills and striking looks, and was known as the fiercest fighter in the business. Though she paid no heed to traffic, the resources at her disposal were incredibly rich; she held several endorsements for top-tier luxury brands, and every script or production that passed through her hands was of the highest caliber in the industry. Behind her, there even seemed to stand an entity that no one in showbiz dared to provoke.

As for the younger brother, he was currently the most popular athlete, universally recognized as the fiercest fighter in all of Asia, a presence capable of "wiping out" an entire country single-handedly. He was so handsome that his looks alone drew in countless female fans, and beyond his athletic prowess, he was also, incredibly, a powerhouse voice actor who could even get his manga serialized in Japan.

Singled out, either one of them was a force of nature capable of "shattering heaven and earth." Combined, it was no wonder netizens remarked that the dimensional barrier was about to explode.

Before long, Hu Yijing saw the newly emerged hashtag #MengFamilyGodlikeSiblings thrust to the top spot of the trending topics. At the sight, she could not help but sigh with emotion. Others had to rack their brains and manipulate behind the scenes just to get on the trending list, yet for Meng Fan, trending seemed to have become a daily routine—something even the top traffic-generating young starlets and heartthrobs could not achieve.

"Hmm?"

As she scrolled, Hu Yijing noticed a highly forwarded post suddenly appear in the trending topic section.

The accompanying text read: "Godlike siblings? Let me show you what a godlike family looks like!"

Below it were three attached photographs. The first was a picture of Meng Fan participating in the wrestling tournament in Doha, capturing the moment he handed his gold medal to a couple who were undoubtedly his parents.

The second was a screenshot of Meng Chuan's encyclopedia page. The other details were minor, but one piece of award information alone was enough: he had won the Pritzker Architecture Prize, known as the Nobel Prize of the architectural world, making him the second architect from China to receive this honor.

The third was a screenshot of Liang Qing's encyclopedia page, identifying her as a renowned Chinese traditional painting master, and universally recognized as the youngest master in the field.

"Is this for real?!"

Not only did the netizens drop to their knees in awe upon seeing this, but even Hu Yijing was utterly astonished. She had genuinely been in the dark about the background of Meng Caiwei’s parents—in the entire entertainment industry, only Bai Zhi knew a few details about Meng Caiwei's family. Looking back now, she began to understand why Meng Caiwei had dared to clash so fiercely with people from the moment she entered showbiz and had still managed to survive so smoothly until now. Given her parents' status, one could well imagine the social circles they moved in. So long as she didn't cross any fundamental lines herself, what did a few industry feuds matter?

"This truly is a family of gods!"

With all four members of the family reaching the absolute pinnacle of their respective fields, it was indeed a terrifying and deeply respectable thing.

Given Hu Yijing's profession, even though Meng Fan and Meng Caiwei cared nothing for traffic and it really was none of her business, her hands always itched if she just stood by and did nothing.

Of course, she would never do anything to incur the dislike of Meng Fan and Meng Caiwei.

An idea struck her!

Hu Yijing picked up the phone and dialed the editorial team at *Marie Claire*. Since the cover shoot was already locked in, why not make it a dual-cover feature?

"Meng Fatty's mother is Liang Qing?!"

When the identity of Meng Fan’s parents was unearthed, those left most stunned and incredulous were undoubtedly the faculty and students of the Academy of Fine Arts—though a tiny fraction had known for a while, they had never spread the word. Every student of traditional Chinese painting had heard of Liang Qing's legendary journey, and the Academy students had all heard snippets of it to varying degrees.

"Meng Fatty hid this way too deeply!"

"Oh my god! Suddenly I understand where Meng Fatty used to get the confidence to just eat and wait for death!"

"Come off it. Even before this, Meng Fatty's academic grades completely crushed ours. Talent is something that really gets passed down through generations!"

"With this kind of family background, Meng Fatty still pushes himself so hard. I’m completely throwing in the towel!"

"To be honest, even if Lord Iron was still the old Meng Fatty, he wouldn't have to worry about a thing in this life. He could still use that chubby body of his to pin down delicate beauties!"

"I think I sort of understand now why Meng Caiwei fights so fiercely and why Meng Fan went charging into South Korea without batting an eye. This temperament must have been passed down entirely from Master Liang!"

"Hey, do any of you know anything about Meng Fan's dad? What kind of legendary figure is he, exactly?"

"What kind of figure? Another one who broke the simulation! Apparently, he graduated from Zhejiang University's School of Civil Engineering and Architecture. He started out as a completely ordinary student, but word has it that he fell in love with Liang Qing at first sight, and to pursue her, he began his legendary ascent. In that regard, he’s actually quite like Meng Fan!"

"Damn it, is the power of love really that immense? So, should I also set my sights higher for a romantic pursuit? How about I just go after Wu Tong directly?"

"How about you go after Meng Fan instead? That might actually be more realistic!"

Having made an appearance to crush the "romance rumors," Meng Caiwei truly did begin her weight-loss training at the Peak Martial Arts Academy. Her initial goal was set at losing twenty pounds within a single month.

Meng Fan was hardly an expert in weight loss—after all, his own weight loss results were quite unique—so Meng Caiwei naturally wouldn't actually leave him in charge of her training. Moreover, she knew his own training schedule was demanding.

Ultimately, they enlisted the coach from Peak who was most skilled in female weight loss, arranging a regimen centered around daily comprehensive conditioning, supplemented by boxing, yoga, and Zumba, alongside a scientifically sound and healthy dietary plan.

Meng Caiwei was a stubborn soul who could be ruthless with herself. When she needed to gain weight, she gained it; when she needed to lose it, she lost it. She offered no room for negotiation regarding the training volume set by the coach, and would even increase the intensity on her own at times. After all, she had a history of consistent exercise, so the foundation was there, and her diet was strictly controlled. As a result, she shed ten pounds in just one week, proving herself to be a truly fierce character.

In the blink of an eye, April 10th arrived. Meng Fan, accompanied by a professional team provided by the Weightlifting, Wrestling, and Judo Management Center—which included a nutritionist, technical consultants, and technical analysts—headed to Qinhuangdao. After participating in a training camp at the base there, he would depart for the continental qualifiers for the judo event of the Tokyo Olympics, held in Singapore.

Setting out on another journey to Singapore brought a somewhat subtle complexity to Meng Fan's mood.

The last time he came here, he had to face his own "fated crisis of life and death." This time, it was also related to "life and death," as this would be his sole chance to secure a ticket to the Olympic judo events.

A fairly large number of Chinese athletes were participating in this continental qualifier because the qualifiers for the mixed team judo event were also being contested. Otherwise, the roster would have been cut by more than half, given that Chinese judo had already secured several entry spots through the points tournaments. According to the regulations, for each weight class in the continental qualifiers, Olympic Committees were only permitted to field athletes who had not yet secured a qualification spot.

To secure qualification for the mixed team event, the judo team had dispatched their strongest lineup, forming a twelve-member team to compete. Meng Fan was, naturally, a member of this group. However, Xiao Yunlin had also noted that Meng Fan's name was merely filling a slot; whether he would actually be deployed on the mat would depend entirely on his physical stamina, schedule, and the specific opponents they faced.

Asia held four qualification spots for the mixed team judo event, meaning a finish in the top three would suffice, as judo awards two bronze medals. The powerhouse nation of Japan had already secured qualification automatically as the host country. Relatively speaking, claiming a spot would not be overly difficult, considering the Chinese team had claimed a bronze medal in this event at the 2018 Asian Games. Adding Meng Fan to the roster was simply an insurance policy to guarantee success.

(End of Chapter)