Chapter 435: Drawing with Both Hands Simultaneously

Chapter 435: Drawing with Both Hands

"Hey, we're moving forward."

A young Dutch man noticed the tall Black man in front of him hadn't moved in a while and offered a gentle nudge. The Black man turned around, flashing a wide, bright smile, apologized, and took a few steps forward before turning back to strike up a conversation with his neighbor.

The giant of a man was simply a wrestling fan of Meng Fan; he was no comic enthusiast at all, and his only purpose in buying a volume here was to catch a glimpse of the man himself. It was a rather tragic tale: he hadn't managed to secure a ticket for any of Meng Fan's five matches.

While waiting in line with a tankobon volume in hand, he had casually flipped it open to pass the time, only to find himself utterly captivated, completely forgetting to step forward.

He had never read a comic before, but he had long possessed a deep fascination with Chinese culture and knew a fair bit about it, particularly the mythologies, which held a powerful, near-obsessive allure for him. Combined with Meng Fan's transcendent artistry, the Black man found himself thoroughly engrossed, reading with relish despite not understanding a single word of the Japanese dialogue.

The young Dutch man was likewise not a comic fan of Meng Fan, though he did possess the habit of reading Western-style graphic novels. He had bought the volume but hadn't yet found the moment to look through it. Hearing the other man's words, he had intended to open his own copy, but the Black man's floodgates of conversation were wide open, his social nature triumphing over his reading interest as he began chatting with the Dutch youth, spinning words with a rhythmic, almost lyrical cadence.

The queue advanced at a measured pace, and soon the two conversational companions reached the front.

"You are much handsomer in person than on television."

The Dutch youth spoke in an impeccably authentic Beijing accent, keeping his eyes fixed entirely on Meng Fan as he approached. When Meng Fan finished signing and looked up to smile at him, the young man felt as though he might melt entirely.

In truth, the young Dutch man had encountered Meng Fan once before in the flesh, roughly a year ago. It was just after Meng Fan had returned to Beijing from his campaign in the South Korean martial arts scene, staying at Meng Caiju's residence. The following morning, while Meng Fan was dropping little Nanshan off at kindergarten, the Dutch youth had caught sight of him from afar; he happened to be the foreign language teacher at that very kindergarten.

Having received his signature, the young man lingered to the side, waiting to resume his conversation with the Black man. Just then, Meng Caiwei and her companions were escorted inside by the staff, having come to check on the progress of the signing event. Little Nanshan was with them, walking directly toward the Dutch youth, and immediately recognized his language teacher with immense delight.

Little Nanshan was thrilled, and the Dutch youth was equally delighted. It was not that he sought to use the child to ingratiate himself with Meng Fan—had that been his intention, he likely would have secured an autograph through the boy long ago, for some expatriates indeed lacked a certain "initiative" in these matters, even if they had resided in Beijing long enough to master the local dialect perfectly.

The entrance of Meng Caiwei and the others drew a wave of glances. These women were undeniably striking, each possessing an exceptional beauty that became blinding when they walked together, so much so that the queue—composed primarily of otaku—took quite some time to spot a familiar face among them.

It was neither Meng Caiwei nor Wu Tong, but the lovely Ishihara.

"Nani? It really is Ishihara-chan!"

"What is Ishihara-chan doing here?"

"Could Ishihara-chan be an acquaintance of Meng Fan-kun? Heavens, what kind of dimensional wall has been broken here!"

"I heard that Ishihara is close friends with Meng Fan-kun's older sister!"

"Yes, I knew that too! The one standing beside Ishihara-chan is one of China's most famous actresses!"

"How beautiful!"

"They are all beautiful, truth be told!"

"Those are Meng Fan-kun's sisters, and the other must naturally be his girlfriend!"

"The genetics of Meng Fan-kun's family are simply too formidable!"

"Meng Fan-kun, it is a great pleasure to see you again."

After Meng Caiwei and the others had exchanged greetings with Meng Fan, Ishihara stepped forward holding a volume of *The Classics of Mountains and Seas: Extraordinary Tales* to greet him, her perfect smile accompanied by a slightly exaggerated tone of voice: "You truly are astonishing!" She gestured with the book and smiled. "I am a fan of your work as well; I shall seek your signature a bit later."

Meng Fan had not expected Ishihara to appear. His right hand continued signing without pause, while his left hand reached out, gesturing for her to hand over the book. Receiving it, he laid it flat upon the table, picked up a signing pen with his left hand, and with a swift, fluid motion, penned his signature and sketched a small, charming cartoon avatar of Ishihara. He smiled and said, "This way, it doesn't count as cutting the line."

Those waiting in the queue watched with widening eyes, though they collectively wished to declare that they would gladly welcome Ishihara cutting the line; what was a mere queue when they would happily let her cut into the very course of their lives?

Of course, those at the very front were exceptionally fortunate, standing a mere five paces from Ishihara, with Meng Fan only four paces away—a veritable pinnacle of their lives.

As they spoke, a staff member approached to convey the latest tally of the crowd outside. The number had rapidly escalated from the previous two thousand to over five thousand, and the expansive venue outside was nearly reaching its capacity, with indications that many more were still arriving.

The staff member brought this news for three reasons: first, to prepare Meng Fan; second, to suggest a slight increase in pace; and third, to ask whether they should cut off the line. Human endurance had its limits, after all, and he could not sign indefinitely; a cap on numbers was necessary, lest those at the very back wait for hours only to be turned away with grievances.

"There is no need for any limit. Tell them that no matter how many people there are, I will not leave until I have signed for everyone."

Meng Fan made his decision swiftly; he had already resolved to dedicate the entire day to this venue. Reflecting for a moment, he added, "Bring another table over."

He then raised a hand to signal the next person in line to wait, turning his table sideways. When the second table was brought out, he aligned it parallel to the first, taking his seat squarely in the center. With one hand resting on each table, he instructed the staff, "Divide the queue from the front into two streams."

The staff member took one look at his posture and the arrangement of the tables and instantly understood—the man intended to employ both hands simultaneously. Having missed the moment Meng Fan signed for Ishihara, the staff member was deeply astonished and somewhat skeptical, a doubt that vanished only when the line split and Meng Fan's hands began flying in unison, producing flawless signatures and little cartoons on both sides.

As for the fans who entered later and witnessed this spectacle, their expressions turned utterly blank with shock. How on earth could such a thing be possible?

Facing the approaching fans directly, Meng Fan had no need to turn his head from side to side, nor did he lower his eyes. He simply looked at them with a smile, executing blind signatures and sketches with both hands. His speed was not a fraction slower than before; in fact, it had hastened considerably, as he was spared the constant motion of lowering and raising his head to smile.

"Excuse me, may I see your signature?"

A fan whose book had been signed by Meng Fan's right hand inquisitively approached another who had received a left-handed signature, curious to compare the two. Upon inspection, he found them virtually indistinguishable.

"Let me see yours."

The recipient of the left-handed signature examined the right-handed one, instantly uttering an exaggerated exclamation of awe: "Meng Fan-kun truly is a god-like entity! The signatures and drawings from both hands are nearly identical! And if I recall correctly, he signed for us at the exact same moment—which means this is the legendary synchronization of different tasks with both hands!"

"You should say it is the fabled ability to divide one's mind into two!"

"Yes, exactly!"

"It reminds me of a Chinese martial art called the Technique of Ambidextrous Mutual Combat! Meng Fan-kun must have mastered such a miraculous skill!"

"Indeed, indeed!"

Meng Fan had actually practiced drawing and writing with both hands simultaneously long ago, even before acquiring the system. However, his previous efforts had yielded only mediocre results. It was only after his hand-speed attribute increased, bringing an absolute mastery over his hand muscles, that this "Ambidextrous Combat" technique came to him naturally without a tutor. Of course, the artistry of his left hand could not truly rival his right, but drawing such simple cartoon characters required very little artistic depth, which was why they appeared identical to the untrained eye.

With both hands working in unison, the speed of the event naturally doubled. A long dragon of a queue wound into the martial arts hall, splitting into two smaller dragons upon entry, where Meng Fan sat in a commanding, martial posture, vanquishing the dragons with both hands—a magnificent sight to behold.

Nearly everyone took photographs, and some even managed to capture distant selfies with Meng Fan in the frame before uploading them to social networks, detailing the scene and expressing their sheer astonishment. No one had ever witnessed such a signing event; it was entirely magical.

The process grew smoother as time passed. Though Meng Fan did not deliberately chase speed, he still managed to sign for nearly a thousand people per hour without appearing rushed in the slightest. Each fan enjoyed ample time to admire his handsome countenance up close, bask in his smile, and even exchange a word or two.

An autograph record?

To surpass the hand speed of legendary masters and set a Guinness World Record for the fastest book signing or any form of autograph event?

What value lay in that?

The crowd had waited in line for so long; when they finally reached him and handed over their volumes, if he were to keep his head down, scrawl a few strokes, and toss the book aside to save time so they could be hurried along—such a record was something Meng Fan had never even considered, harboring no desire for it whatsoever.

He had attended signings before, and truth be told, the experience was lacking. Even when one saw their idol, the idol often had no heart for bringing joy to the fans, focused instead on mere promotion and arbitrary statistics.

His choice to use both hands was solely to reduce their waiting time while ensuring everyone could arrive with high spirits and leave with complete satisfaction.

Queuing was an exhausting endeavor, but those in line felt it was entirely worthwhile—which had been Meng Fan's greatest wish when he himself used to wait in lines for autographs.

Yet even amidst this harmonious and joyful atmosphere, Meng Fan inadvertently shattered numerous unrecorded Guinness World Records related to autograph sessions, though without an official adjudicator present, these feats remained unofficial.

Such as the record for the greatest number of consecutive individuals signed for.

Generally, no matter how popular a celebrity might be, any attempt at a signing record was aimed at the number of *volumes*—a scene typically involving fans carrying dozens of books or compact discs each. Records regarding the number of *unique individuals* were rarely challenged.

For a signing event to match the attendance of a full-scale concert was something no one else could achieve.

Save for Meng Fan.

(End of Chapter)