Chapter 22: Love is a Scary Thing
Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
"I have 122 points right now so... I can consider buying the magic pen now."
At the moment, the objects that could be redeemed were [Travelling Deity]'s equipment and Powerade. He already had the shoes and the headband, so that was enough for now. As for [Famous Streamer], the only available equipment was the streaming assist device. He really wanted this, but the damn thing cost 1000 points, so the only way he could redeem it in his current condition was if he completed illustration task phase 3, or ran laps until he died.
Therefore, the pen was his only choice.
Buy!
The pen had many functions, but the most important was the +1 drawing skill.
Exchange successful.
Similar to when he traded his shoes and headband, the pen magically 'appeared' from his mind and landed in his hands. It was also very small, only expanding when it needed to be used. One could use it alongside other items, or by itself.
Seeing nobody was around him, Meng Fan's thoughts shuffled and the pen turned to regular size. It looked very average and had nothing out of the ordinary, but the fun began once he began to draw.
"Pencil, hardness 9B."
"5B."
"2B."
"HB."
"F."
"Harder, H."
"Even harder, 2H."
"Harder..."
Meng Fan toyed with the hardness level on his pen from 9B until 10H, shading a gradient from dark to light. Next, he played with the colored pencil function, then the markers, ballpoint, gel pen, watercolors, etc; anything he could imagine. He experimented with all the sizes and hardnesses he could recall. These also included calligraphy brush, ink pens, UV light pens, gouache, chalk, pastels, and even eyebrow pencils. These pens Meng Fan did not see himself using often, but the change from one to the other came almost instantly once the tool formed in his head.
In the end, Meng Fan shifted his thoughts again and changed it into an eraser. It didn't matter what the original had been drawn from, the eraser could wipe out all traces of it with just a wave of his hand, not leaving a single mark!
"666!"
Meng Fan couldn't resist giving this magic pen a "live comment".
As he was about to switch to his usual F pencil, Meng Fan decided to try his drawing skills with the 3 point increase.
"Hey fatty, why are you running! Even if you are going, at least tell us what time you're streaming tomorrow, and what you're going to draw!"
That message came from AiyoNotFat.
"Uhm, I'll announce it on my channel."
Meng Fan couldn't tell them he wasn't running, but testing his new rewards instead. He sent an array of smiley emojis and rushed to add the announcement on his channel.
"God, (Kemonomimi) animal ear special! I'm lost, you can't draw men can you?"
"My men don't look good."
Meng Fan responded, then picked up his magic pen and drew a male character from 'Floating Dream in a Millenium'. The concepts had been established already, plus he had drawn a few as well. He was familiar with them, but not too familiar with the magic pen. Several times when he was drawing, his mind was "aware" but his hand was not, which ended up wasting a lot of time.
Nine minutes.
Not including the background and color, that speed for a character he was familiar with seemed slow to Meng Fan.
"Not bad!"
Meng Fan supported his jaw as it dropped. He sort of regretted submitting the drafts for 'Floating Dream in a Millenium' to Qin Jiao.
If it had been based on his drawing skills now, his work would have a significantly higher chance of getting chosen.
Heh?
It seems as if this male character has some perfect areas, many too.
Is this from my boost in creativity?
Scratch scratch scratch. To confirm his speculations, Meng Fan drew three characters in a row with his new pen. The character retained their original essence, but they felt a lot more developed than before. Yes, even Meng Fan himself thought they were great.
"Lights out."
Just as Meng Fan was ecstatic to continue drawing, the studio administrator began cleaning the space.
"Should I give this to Qin Jiao?"
Meng Fan wondered to himself as he was packing up.
If he gave it to her, he could explain that he had been forgetful in missing three drawings, but it was not as easy to explain the gap in drawing skill, for a 3 point boost was easy to spot by a professional like Qin Jiao. It too was obvious he wasn't just having a 'good day'.
If he didn't give it to her, he felt that he would regret it.
But if he submitted it, his chance of being selected would increase by a lot. He didn't do it for the pay, but for the "exposure"; the exposure of doing illustrations for a famous author.
Buzz.
Just as he stepped out of the studio, he received a WeChat message that solved the issue at hand.
"Got it."
It was from Qin Jiao. Brief and to the point, then followed by a WeChat transfer—5000 HXB.
"Friends and family discount. If your drawing pass quality control then they will sign you directly."
Once Qin Jiao sent that, Meng Fan understood that that was a courtesy the author had extended to him on behalf of her. Of course, the premise is that the quality of his art would reach the standard.
"I'll buy you dinner."
"Screw that, what am I going to eat if I eat with you! I'll thank YOU if you stop skipping classes!"
"I really am trying to lose weight o(╥﹏╥)o"
"Then lose it!"
"I will!"
"Hehe."
Qin Jiao's one-word response immediately killed the conversation.
After handing over the thirty drafts to Qin Jiao, it would have been great if even fifteen made it into the actual book. 5000 HXB in compensation was not nearly enough to an actual artist, but to a student still in art school like Meng Fan, it was not bad. If it also accounted for his completion of it in less than three days, then 5000 was a considerable amount.
Meng Fan was in a good mood and wanted to treat himself with a midnight snack, but dispelled the thought. At last, he couldn't resist, and he bought himself a deathly caloric soda, frozen. The satisfying sound it made when he opened it almost knocked him out in bliss.
He inserted the straw and skipped towards the dormitory as he sipped his drink. His footsteps were frivolous on the ground, making even the heavy cement seem like it was floating.
"Stop!"
Not going far, Meng Fan was throwing his can away when a girl's voice rang from the distance.
"You stole something!"
The voice got fiercer.
Meng Fan saw a guy and a girl on the road ahead. The guy was in front, evidently being yelled at by the girl. The male's expression went sour after he heard her scream. He turned around while shouting something inaudible at her as he pointed his finger at her. He then ran off while being chased closely by the girl. The guy started jogging, then glared at the girl. "Scream again and see what happens."
The girl was not threatened and screamed even louder, "You stole something!"
"F**k!"
The man cursed and sped up his pace.
Bam.
Meng Fan whipped the can in his hand towards the man. His strength had increased by quite a bit, from the newly added +1 strength, as well as his recent training. He readied himself and aimed for the target with the utmost concentration. It landed on the man's foot.
A direct hit?
Not possible.
But it did scare him.
That was enough though.
Meng Fan took advantage of his shock and pounced on him.
The guy was about 178 cm tall and looked to weigh 156 pounds. Inside the campus, his measurements were considered not bad, but not nearly enough to meet Meng Fan's eyes. Meng Fan pressed him to the ground, rendering him unable to move. If Meng Fan wanted to make any moves, he was free to do so.
"What are you doing? Let me go!"
The man froze up for two seconds before screaming at Meng Fan.
"Are you a psycho, let go of my Feng Feng!"
The girl caught up and shoved Meng Fan aside. Her expression changed in an instant and suddenly became concerned for the man. She knelt down and helped the fallen man up. "Feng Feng are you okay?"
Meng Fan was flabbergasted. "You're the psycho? Didn't you say he stole something?"
"Feng Feng stole my heart, you got a problem?"
The girl said matter-of-factly. She looked at Meng Fan as if he were too ignorant in his singleness to understand.
"We were arguing."
The man was pretty reasonable at least. He was wincing as he rubbed his knees. He was tempted to chew out Meng Fan for being so rough, but held back and smiled instead. "Sorry to mislead you."
In the blink of an eye, the guy turned to the girl with a hint of helplessness and endearment in his eyes. "Can you not be so aimless all the time? You make everyday feel like a cheesy soap opera. This is an art school, not an acting school!"
"But you really did steal a maiden's heart, how can you ignore a maiden!" The girl looked like she had been wronged, but her expression had some excitement in it.
"Stop saying that cheesy stuff. What kind of "maiden" are you?"
"A maiden isn't Xiao Qiao, but a maiden will... Mmmmm mmm why are you covering my mouth stop it!"
The guy dragged the girl away.
"Are all relationships this scary?"
Meng Fan wordlessly walked over to pick up the can he threw. He crushed it to the extreme while walking past the first garbage can and throwing it in the second.
On the way back to the dorm, his footsteps did not flutter anymore.
He thought he would have triggered a 'courageous act' task or something.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone