Chapter 243 - Row of Egrets Ascend Towards The Heavens (2/2)

Wu Tong saw Meng Fan’s expression and suppressed a smile. Since Bai Zhi continued to mistake them, she had nothing left to explain to her. She took the groceries and headed into the kitchen. Wu Tong turned around and asked: “Sister Bai, will you stay for lunch today?”

“I’m afraid I don’t have the pleasure.”

Bai Zhi looked sullen as she told Wu Tong about inviting Meng Fan to her voice acting show and the time of their flight.

Meng Fan was also solemn. He was even regretful! If he’d known Wu Tong was going to come cook lunch, he would have turned down the offer, or at least requested a later flight.

Wu Tong heard this and smiled. “Then you have to come try my food next time.”

Since they were returning in a few days, Wu Tong took out the groceries from the bags and placed them in the refrigerator. She then headed downstairs with Meng Fan and Bai Zhi.

Sister Sun had already pulled up outside, waiting.

“Then I’m off.”

Wu Tong just returned, and he had to leave. This significantly dampened Meng Fan’s mood.

“Okay.”

Meng Fan’s subtle change in mood could not escape Wu Tong’s eyes. She thought about it and added: “If you run into a celebrity I like, please get an autograph for me.”

“I heard prince Zhang Xiao* made it into the annual show, so if you run into him, please get me an autograph! If you don’t run into him…Heh. I’ll come find him myself.”

*This actor’s name is Zhang Xiao, but because of his domineering and often bold character, people addressed him as the ‘young master’, or prince

Meng Fan nodded. Waving, he entered the car and chatted casually. Aside from talking about poetry, lyrics, and life ideals, they also discussed movies, songs, and what celebrities Wu Tong liked. Meng Fan knew this, of course.

For example, prince Zhang Xiao. One day, they had discussed dark comedies, from foreign films like “Lock Stock and Two Smoking” and “Get Out” to the domestic “NightClub” and “Crazy Stone”. From these films, Wu Tong had mentioned she really liked Jason Statham from “Lock Stock and Two Smoking” and prince Zhang Xiao from “Cock and Bull”. Both actors were exemplary at portraying the common tough guy, but with added comedic value. They were all around great actors.

Meng Fan already thought at that moment that he himself was also this trope. To be even more bold, he didn’t know if Wu Tong had told him this on purpose, but it made him smile for a long time.

After leaving for the airport, Wu Tong also left the neighborhood and headed back to school.

She had learned a lot from her trip to Beijing, and felt that the experience had been extremely beneficial to her creative process for Chinese painting. If she didn’t have to make lunch for Meng Fan to give him more nutrition, she would have been in the studio long ago.

“That idiot, leaving after I just got back. Is he purposefully trying to avoid me?”

Thinking of this, Wu Tong suddenly felt irritated. In one breath, she painted a dozen or so donkeys.

Afterwards, she took a photo of them and sent the photo to Meng Fan. She then changed Meng Fan’s nickname to Dumb Donkey, pressed screenshot, and sent it as well.

“I drew a bunch of donkeys, and for some reason they remind me of you, so I changed your name to Dumb Donkey.”

I’m a generous girl, but sometimes I have to be sassy too, hmmph!

In 2019, most domestic flights were already equipped with Wi-Fi for mobile devices such as phones. Meng Fan naturally began to message Wu Tong from the plane.

After seeing the message, Meng Fan couldn’t decide if he should laugh or cry.

Maybe he was in heaven. Meng Fan’s guts swelled as he typed the response: “You should know, the animal I like to draw the most is birds, because they can land on sycamore trees.”*

*Wu Tong’s name is synonymous with the name for Sycamore trees (wutong)

“So you’re gonna change my nickname to Dumb Bird? (Angry emoji)”

“Of course not. Do you know what my favorite bird of all time is? The egret.”

“Egret?”

“Yes, because I like the line from the poem “a row of egrets ascend towards the heavens”. How nice, they can reach the heavens just by flying, and when they descend, they rest on sycamore trees.”

“Please, the one that sits on the sycamore is a phoenix okay! You talk big, are you going to change my nickname to Egret?”

“Of course not, I’m going to change your name to ‘Beloved Profession’.”*

*Here Meng Fan refers to a Chinese saying “do a job, love a job”, so the nickname is a provocative slang hinting Wu Tong is a ‘job’ he enjoys doing

“…I’ll give you one chance to recall that message! (knife emoji)