Chapter 541: University Roommates

Chapter 541: College Roommates

"Woke up this morning, embrace the sun! Full of positive energy, slowly positive energy! Oli give!"

Meng Fan got up in a frenzy, pulled open the curtains, letting sunlight flood the room.

Wu Tong pulled the blanket over her head, refusing to get out of bed.

"The little girl picking mushrooms, with big wavy hair, barefoot in the morning, hides in the bed and stays. The mushrooms she picks are mine..."

Wu Tong threw a pillow at him.

"Little Meng Fatty, up at dawn, pants in hand, heads to the kitchen. Grabs the big pot, fries a sausage, adds two eggs for the wife."

Meng Fan hummed a little song into the kitchen, made breakfast, Wu Tong got up too, they ate together, then squinted in the sun for a while until it felt a bit hot, then went back inside. Wu Tong practiced yoga while watching a movie, Meng Fan hummed tunes and prepared lunch. Prepping the side dishes took an hour, savoring every tiny detail of each ingredient, enjoying this rare, luxurious time.

A few days after announcing his break from competition, Meng Fan went to the final stop of the Diamond League, completing all events before the Asian Games, winning both the javelin and shot put titles at the Diamond League finals, and setting the world record for javelin at 106.66 meters, and for shot put at 24.08 meters.

Meng Fan cooked over a dozen dishes, and around noon, Zhang Zhouwei and the others arrived one after another.

Zhang Zhouwei successfully passed the graduate exam and stayed at the Academy of Fine Arts, also taking on the role of freshman advisor for the animation department. No doubt about it, the guy had truly found his "ideal career," busy as could be, his "verbal sparring" talent fully unleashed.

Wang Yanan, who had dragged Zhang Zhouwei into the graduate exam, ultimately gave up on it. After graduation, she didn't stay at Damei Studio either, but went to Xizi Pictures. The management skills she'd cultivated at Damei Studio, combined with her natural talent and ability, let her become a project manager on her own merits within two months of joining Xizi Pictures—though Meng Fan's connections also helped clear the way for her promotion.

Not long ago, Wang Yanan proposed to Zhang Zhouwei. Yes, Wang Yanan proposed to Zhang Zhouwei. The result, of course, was that this kneel would cost Zhang Zhouwei a lifetime of keyboards, durians, and remote controls. After that kneel, Zhang Zhouwei finally lived the "kept man" life he'd always dreamed of.

Chen Daqiang continued as Meng Fan's manga assistant, and also started his own manga. His talent was mediocre, but his tenacity was something even Meng Fan marveled at—a tough guy, hardworking and steady, with a good external environment. Needless to say, money wasn't an issue; he'd just bought a large three-bedroom apartment in Hangzhou.

As for Xing Tage, his story was more peculiar. After graduation, instead of becoming a manga scriptwriter as he'd envisioned, he went home to take over the family business. The business had been struggling, but in the last two years it picked up and was booming. However, Xing Tage ran away after less than half a month back home. He returned to Hangzhou without meeting Meng Fan or Zhang Zhouwei, crashing at the place of a former fling—as for the white-collar older sister he'd met at the gym, neither of them could withstand the grind of time, and once the novelty wore off, it fizzled out.

What was peculiar?

Peculiar in that one day Xing Tage suddenly contacted Meng Fan and Zhang Zhouwei, saying he'd won the lottery—a grand prize totaling 190 million yuan!

Meng Fan once suspected his own luck attribute had been stolen by him!

After getting the money, Xing Tage, always a wild one, did something very down-to-earth: he gave five million to his family, kept five million to buy a house, and shoved the rest—all of it—into Meng Fan's hands, letting him manage it. In his words, the money was for Meng Fan to do whatever he wanted, even donate it. Meng Fan certainly wouldn't donate it, nor did he refuse. Over a hundred million wasn't a small sum, but it wasn't huge for him either. He treated it as Xing Tage's investment, distributing it across the studio and other ventures. He couldn't give shares, only dividends. He couldn't promise Xing Tage spectacular returns, but it was definitely better than putting it in the bank—at the very least, the money wouldn't disappear.

In short, everyone was doing well, and they were all in Hangzhou now. Except for Meng Fan, they could meet anytime, and often did.

After eating, they chatted idly, drinking coffee with garlic.

The girls made plans to go shopping and get facials. Chen Daqiang and the others headed to the studio. Meng Fan had class in the afternoon, so he went to the Academy of Fine Arts with Zhang Zhouwei. Xing Tage had nothing to do, but at the entrance to the neighborhood, he decided to go back to the academy for a stroll.

Meng Fan had been teaching at the academy for a few months. Xing Tage had only been back once since graduation, and he was curious to see Meng Fan in class. Though he'd seen some video clips online, he wanted to go and listen in person.

Meng Fan's class was open to all freshmen, with a registration cap of 300, but each time over 500 students squeezed in. Many upperclassmen came to audit, initially drawn by Meng Fan himself, but soon got hooked on the lectures.

Xing Tage pulled Zhang Zhouwei into a corner. He was one of the few who couldn't focus in class; his mind wandered off, not asleep, but thinking about a lot of things from their college days. Looking back now, if back then he could have imagined Meng Fan as he was now, he also couldn't have imagined Zhang Zhouwei and himself like this. But some of Chen Daqiang's patterns and development were within his expectations, just that the quality was much better.

Class ended, but the students were reluctant to leave, hoping Meng Fan would run overtime. Some crowded around him with questions. Xing Tage dragged Zhang Zhouwei out of the classroom, strolling and chatting while waiting for Meng Fan.

Xing Tage pondered for a moment, then said very seriously, "Zhouwei, tell me, what should I do next? You're not someone with good ideas or proper guidance, but you can talk. Give me your take, and I'll do the opposite."

Zhang Zhouwei, who had just gotten excited, got annoyed at the last part. He cursed as he walked away, then cursed as he came back, and then his little mouth didn't stop, rattling off a whole bunch of stuff, leaving Xing Tage deep in thought.

"What's with that look! What's there to worry about? You're a billionaire now, aren't you? No worries about food, drink, or fun! If you really feel empty, go to Damei Studio or Meng Fatty's animation park, find a place to write scripts. Write if you want, wander if you don't. It's not like you care about making money. Just do what makes you happy."

"You don't understand the troubles of a billionaire..."

"Ge~ yun!"

...

Meng Fan came out and found them: "What are you two chatting about?"

"Nothing."

Xing Tage gave Zhang Zhouwei a look worth eight hundred bucks—a big meal—then asked Meng Fan, "You said you're going to the studio after class, right?" Seeing Meng Fan nod, he smiled and said, "I've got nothing to do, I'll tag along." When he saw Zhang Zhouwei was also going, he immediately gave him a look worth a dozen bucks—a pearl milk tea—and said, "Didn't a student just tell you there's something over there? You'd better go."

Getting into the long-unseen Highlander, parking at the Xizi Cultural and Creative Park, before getting out, Meng Fan asked, "Are you holding something back?"

"No, what could I have?" Xing Tage shook his head.

Meng Fan smiled and didn't press further. At Xizi Pictures, Meng Fan said, "I have a meeting to attend. I'll find someone to show you around."

"Sure."

Meng Fan specifically found someone from the scriptwriting department, gave a few instructions, and then headed to the meeting room.

(End of chapter)