Chapter 444: Graduation, Postgraduate Studies, and Staying at School

Chapter 444: Graduation, Graduate School, and Remaining at the University

Penguin Animation headquarters had made extensive arrangements to welcome Meng Fan’s arrival, with numerous executives, including the editor-in-chief, lining the welcoming party.

Setting aside Meng Fan’s honor as a five-time Olympic gold medalist, the sheer benefits he currently brought to Penguin Animation in the comic industry were enough to warrant such treatment.

The welcoming party also included several god-tier cartoonists under the Penguin Animation Network. Initially, they had all used the excuse of a "comic seminar" to meet this sports-superstar-level cartoonist. In the end, they truly reaped a bountiful harvest from the "comic seminar" and returned fully satisfied.

During the meeting with the executives, a proposal was raised for Meng Fan to endorse the Penguin Animation App. Meng Fan only said he would consider it, which the executives naturally understood. First, the price they offered was indeed not high—a friendship price given Meng Fan’s current fame—and they simply could not afford anything higher. Second, Meng Fan was currently a "clean slate" without any endorsements, so it was impossible for him to give his very first endorsement to them; even if he were willing, they still could not afford it.

The fact that Meng Fan agreed to consider it was enough for them. If, after Meng Fan opened the door to endorsements, he could be persuaded to take this endorsement at a friendship price later on, the possibility was still very high. After all, Meng Fan did not endorse competing products, and his work was serialized on their website anyway.

Unless... unless Meng Fan changed platforms!

That would be disastrous!

Although Penguin Animation was powerful, who knew if Meng Fan would change his allegiance? He still had to be coddled like a grand master. Even though most of the copyrights for "Shanhai Qiren" were not held by Penguin Animation, this brand absolutely could not be lost; its symbolic significance was far greater.

After Meng Fan took a stroll around the Penguin Animation headquarters, the members of his temporary team finally recovered their spirits. Meng Fan politely declined the dinner gathering hosted by the headquarters, returned to the hotel, and led his team to charge into the most expensive restaurant in Shenzhen. This time, when he asked everyone if they wanted to add some wild entertainment, every single one of them howled with excitement. Of course, since there were women present, no matter how wild it got, it couldn't go too far. Therefore, after the second round ended, everyone returned to the hotel, and the males, armed with the "funds," secretly went out to start a third round.

"You didn't go?"

Meng Fan had returned to his room after handing out the funds. Not long after, Zhang Zhouwei, who was also a member of the temporary team, knocked on the door and walked in.

"Didn't you stay behind too?"

Zhang Zhouwei handed Meng Fan a bottle of ice-cold Coca-Cola, sank into the sofa, and held a bottle of good liquor brought back from the second round. Taking a sip, he looked blissful, yet also somewhat resembled someone drinking to drown his sorrows.

Meng Fan opened the cold Coca-Cola: "I'm somewhat of a public figure now, it's not appropriate."

"I... I have to remain chaste for Yanan!" Zhang Zhouwei took another large gulp.

Meng Fan burst into laughter upon hearing this, realizing their relationship was still so pure. Speaking bluntly, he said: "It's just getting a foot massage, you didn't do anything else, what chastity are you talking about?"

Zhang Zhouwei gave Meng Fan a look that said 'do you think I'm a kid': "Fine, fine, my feet smell so bad I was afraid of suffocating the technician, alright?"

The two of them chatted casually, Zhang Zhouwei drinking alcohol and Meng Fan drinking Coca-Cola. The content of their conversation amounted to nothing much, but for Meng Fan, it counted as a relaxation of mind and body.

From preparing for the Olympics to the end of the games, and then to the conclusion of the autograph signing session, while he wasn't physically and mentally exhausted, his mind had certainly been tightly strung.

His family could relieve part of it, Wu Tong could relieve part of it, and friends he could talk to about anything could relieve part of it, but the remaining portion had to be digested by Meng Fan himself.

"When I came back from Kyoto, I went straight home after arriving in Shanghai. I brought Yanan back with me too. To be honest, I was a bit muddled, but I knew Yanan understood perfectly what it meant. Later, when I came to my senses, do you know how happy and how foolish I felt?"

"Fatty, sometimes when I think about it, I really envy you! I don't envy your cheat-like abilities, nor do I envy your maxed-out reincarnation skills, and I certainly don't envy that you found a goddess-level girlfriend like Wu Tong. Instead, I envy your mindset! Although you often do mysterious or even outrageous things, I feel your mindset is very stable—a bit too stable. It always feels like you don't care about a lot of things, yet you cherish certain things deeply... hum, almost like you've died once before!"

"At first, I didn't really want to take the postgraduate entrance exam. After being forced by Yanan for a while, I accepted it. Looking back now, it seems that besides taking the exam, I don't know what the hell else I should do! Ever since you picked me into this team, to be honest, I was incredibly excited at the beginning, feeling that my strengths would finally be put to good use. But after these past few days, it's completely useless. I found out I can't do this! I can manage if I'm just fooling around, but if I really have to put my mind to it, it turns out poorly. Fine, I'll go back and study hard for the postgraduate exam. Maybe remaining at the university after the exam is my best way out."

"Hey, do you think I count as the most useless one in our dorm? Pigeon loves to play and plays wholeheartedly. Daqiang is a practical worker and focuses solely on working. I won't even mention you... then there's me, I can't succeed at anything, and I don't even know how to play!"

"Hehehe... fortunately, I have Yanan!"

Zhang Zhouwei had started by comforting Meng Fan, but later it turned into enlightening himself. As he spoke, he fell asleep on the sofa clutching the half-empty bottle of liquor—what a terrible alcohol tolerance. Meng Fan carefully picked him up and tossed him onto the bed. Not daring to take off his shoes, Meng Fan covered him directly with an air-conditioning blanket, and then sat down by the side to continue drawing. Around three o'clock, he lay down beside Zhang Zhouwei and went to sleep.

After waking up, the people sent by Penguin Animation in the team stayed behind, while the rest returned to Hangzhou together. After returning, Zhang Zhouwei still withdrew from the team. The four people from Damei Studio became a permanent fixture, and along with Huang Dian, who was recommended by Hu Yijing, they formed a five-person team specifically responsible for the "business" related to Meng Fan’s comics.

Upon learning that Meng Fan had returned to Hangzhou, Hu Yijing rushed back from Shanghai. She handed Meng Fan the information of five merchants who had already undergone preliminary negotiations and agreed to most of Meng Fan's demands, asking Meng Fan to finalize the meeting time. Because school was about to start, Meng Fan pushed things back a few days and set it for September 3rd, scheduling talks with all five companies on the same day.

The start of the school year meant that Meng Fan was entering his final year of university. Having reached his senior year, Meng Fan also began to make plans for the future.

Comics would absolutely be continued, and as for sports competitions, having reached this stage, he had to keep competing, though he would minimize the tournament arrangements to the lowest level. What about his studies? Should he continue to take the postgraduate entrance exam like Zhang Zhouwei and the others, or just graduate peacefully?

Although it seemed there was nothing left for him to learn in graduate school, Meng Fan always felt that the status of a student provided a sense of security. For the time being, he had no intention of leaving Hangzhou or the Academy of Fine Arts.

It seemed—staying at the school to become a teacher would be a very good arrangement for Meng Fan.

The freshman orientation ceremony began early at 7:00 PM on the evening of September 1st. Meng Fan had promised the dean to speak on stage as a representative of the senior students. Before going on stage, Meng Fan shared this thought with Qin Jiu. He knew he was definitely qualified to remain at the school, and the university would certainly welcome it; the key issue lay in the curriculum arrangement.

Wanting to stay at the school as a teacher while also wanting fewer classes assigned to him, Meng Fan discovered that he was quite difficult to please.

(End of Chapter)