Chapter 46 - Famous Again (1/2)

Once he went back to the dormitory, Meng Fan changed into his workout clothes and ran his usual 10 kilometers to blow off some steam. After showering, he once again thought of the misunderstanding he had with Mr. Ma.

That won’t do.

He assumed he had to make another run to the police station, not clear if proof was still attainable. He still had to try; after all, this was his professional course selection on the line.

Chen Da Qiang burst in, Meng Fan’s meal in hand. He then said, “I sent you the money on WeChat.”

“What money?” Meng Fan responded. “I said I would treat you. If you don’t go, it’d be a waste.”

As he spoke, he picked up his phone and carefully turned off its airplane mode. Suddenly, seven missed calls and over twenty text messages buzzed in along with fifty WeChat messages. It was quite a spectacle.

The texts were evidently scams, but the phone calls had been made by people he knew. But among the WeChat messages, half were accidentally sent out, while the other half were from people who were bored and were looking to chat.

Of course, there were also the casual WeChat messages asking for donations and votes.

Of these, one was the red envelope that Chen Da Qiang had sent. It was exactly 1002 HXB. Meng Fan had never mentioned how much that meal at Mu Shang cost; evidently, Da Qiang was considerate enough to remember.

Meng Fan opened it and sent the money back. “My salary from drawing illustrations is not bad, at least enough to treat you three to a meal. Count it as a gift in advance.”

“Today my tutoring salary came in, plus they gave me a 500 HXB bonus. If you want to treat us, you have to at least be here. Next time, we will definitely eat your wallet empty.”

Chen Da Qiang sent the money again. He looked at the time, then said, “It’s settled then, I’m going on a date. Oh right, judging by how you turned on your phone, you probably don’t know you’re famous again, right?”

Leaving Meng Fan to ponder the ambiguous statement, Chen Da Qiang sprayed on some perfume he pulled from Xing Ta Ge’s special cabinet and ran out the door.

“I’m f*cking eating.”

Meng Fan, still holding his food, quickly sidestepped to avoid the perfume. As for what Chen Da Qiang had been saying, Meng Fan would find out as he continued reading his WeChat.

“Gagagaga! Fatty you’re famous again!”

That was a voice message from Zhang Zhou Wei. As soon as he opened it, a toad-like cackle erupted from the other end, followed by a video message.

After clicking it open, he saw a guy who was roughly 30 years old with small eyes feeling up a fat guy’s bag. A passenger next to the fatty had warned him. The small-eyed man glared at him with threatening eyes. Soon after, all one could see was the clumsy fat man sitting on the pickpocket in one swift motion, crushing the small-eyed man under his butt.

Excitement then filled the bus. The passengers were filled with indignation but still somewhat restrained. Moreover, an old man was reminding everyone to remain civilized.

After that, the bus driver shouted and drove the bus straight to the police station.

The fat man suppressed the thief for the whole trip. His expression was firm, not showing the slightest sign of compromising with the evil forces. He was witty too. For the while he was on top of him, the fatty had searched the thief’s entire body, pulling out a knife from the thief’s pocket that had been used to cut open bags.

The passengers all praised the fat man’s unparalleled bravery.

Of course he had searched him. He had sat on the blade when he suppressed the thief. How could he sit comfortably without removing it?

That should have been a video of a brave confrontation with a thief. One’s heroic effort. One depicting the united prowess of civilians. A video criticizing the actions of pickpockets. It should have been… But after looking at it this way and that, it just made one happy.

The careless arrogance to sit on a thief could be counted as something that was seldom seen.

At the end of the video was a voice message from a recorder. “This little warrior is a student from Hua Xia Academy of Fine Arts. I’m proud to be a student there!”

His ‘thumbs up’ dance had already blown up due to his +2 validation, but now that it increased by another +6, the attention he received was even more different.

Who would’ve thought someone would see a pickpocket in action from the moment he began, and they were filming as well. The recorder was a faculty member at the Academy who recognized Meng Fan on the bus from his ‘thumbs up’ dance.

“After adding +8 validation, I’m flammable material now?”

Meng Fan mumbled to himself. True, he was a little excited. For with that video, he could explain himself in front of Mr. Ma.

He was beyond just a little excited. Let him be famous, for he didn’t think for real that he would become some sort of an internet star or idol. The former could be disregarded for most of them were short-lived. The latter, despite being glamorous, was also not easy to go long term.