Upon returning to the library, Meng Fan did not search for a spot to sit. Instead, he proceeded to look at books, all the while scouting for appropriate targets, appropriate locations, and appropriate time for his next attack.
As he observed his surroundings, Meng Fan stopped in his tracks. He almost bumped into the person in front of him. Even more conveniently, his fake browsing hand motion landed on the same book as the person.
Meng Fan froze. The girl across from him also froze.
Could this be more timely!
This was one of the most common tricks used in TV shows and dramas, and Meng Fan was lucky enough to have encountered it himself!
'Can one pass up an opportunity like this?'
The girl was delicate looking, and flushing with embarrassment as she awkwardly smiled at Meng Fan. Freckles adorned her cheeks, which underneath the blush made her even more adorable.
Just one look in her eyes confirmed that she was another eligible confession victim.
"Everyone says each book is a different world."
Meng Fan handed the book to the small girl, his skin already thick enough to urge a smile at her. "After meeting you, I want to give this book and the whole world to you."
"What?"
The cute girl stared in disbelief at the overweight guy that so boldly approached her.
Still, he had to finish what he started.
"Be my girlfriend!"
Meng Fan for once was domineering in his tone.
"Sorry, I like someone else."
The cute girl dropped the book. She immediately turned and left.
'Yes, another one!'
Meng Fan was considerably happy, as he was only one more confession away from completing task phase 2.
'Just one more confession…'
Contracting jumps in his steps, Meng Fan continued to search for his next target. He turned around and almost hit another person.
The opportunity practically fell in his lap. 'How convenient... Wait no, it's a guy.'
"Come on bro, that's some BS!"
The guy he bumped into wore gold-rimmed glasses and had hair so slick not a strand was out of place. His serious expression hid any trace of excitement despite his obvious incomprehensibility. He said to Meng Fan, "Man, how many girls are you trying to woo, I alone already saw six! You're casting your net a little too wide? Rather kill all then let one escape? The most damned is that you're absolutely fine after being rejected; such spirit, I respect that! "
"Six?"
Meng Fan's face flushed red as he heard those words. "Classmate, the library is a place to read books, can't you do something right, if you're not gonna read at least stop looking at people!"
Huh.
The guy recognized Meng Fan's thick-skinned attitude and became more interested in him. He smiled and said, "Let me introduce myself. I am an observer of the socially marginalized. I go by Yu Xiao Yu."
As he spoke the words "socially marginalized" he formed quotation marks with his peace sign fingers.
Xiao Yu reached out his hand and continued, "Can we talk for a bit? Of course, you can treat this as an interview as well."
Meng Fan was curious. "Interview? You're a journalist?"
Yu Xiao Yu slicked back his shiny hair and said, "I am the moderator of the BBS Forum at Hangzhou University, with over 300,000 followers on my public profile."
"F*ck, you're that Xiao Yu Yu! If I accept your interview, will I become famous right away?"
Meng Fan's excitement took over his face. He suddenly pointed behind Yu Xiao Yu. "UFO!"
Yu Xiao Yu turned to look, only returning to see that Meng Fan had slipped away. He couldn't help but laugh for he was tricked in such a stupid way. 'Hahahaha, how interesting indeed.'
Meng Fan didn't care much for Yu Xiao Yu. Whether he was a board member or how many followers he had, there was no way he would accept some dumbass interview.
It was still an oven outside, but Meng Fan didn't care anymore; he had to leave the library.
Who the hell would have thought there would be someone more disgusting than himself inside the library, looking around for specimens to interview instead of reading books.
After repeatedly looking behind him, Meng Fan decided that he wasn't as disgusting as he thought; at least he didn't follow him out.
"Hello."
A girl holding an umbrella was speedily walking towards Meng Fan, even going out of her way to lift her umbrella above Meng Fan to block out the sun. "Hello fellow classmate, do you know where studio room 2 is?"
Meng Fan routinely pointed towards the direction of the studio and described its location to the girl.
"Thank you."
The girl seemed happy since asking for directions in this heat had already been a struggle.
"Christ."
As the girl walked towards studio 2, Meng Fan suddenly realized the opportunity he had just missed. Damn, that Yu Xiao Yu did a number on him.
Meng Fan chased after her. "Hey pretty girl, I want to ask for some directions too."
Immediately, the girl still holding the umbrella paused for a minute, then beamed. " Were you going to ask directions to get to my heart?"
Meng Fan was dumbfounded. He wanted to run; this girl was accustomed to society. But for the sake of finishing task phase 2, he had to give it one more shot: "How about you give me a lifeline... Let me be your boyfriend?"
"You mean if I don't give you a lifeline you'll... die?" The girl was laughing even harder now at Meng Fan's numb expression. "I'm just teasing you, I have a boyfriend, he's in studio 2."
Before she left, the girl gave Meng Fan some words of encouragement, "To be honest, you're quite a tease yourself, just not very lucky."
Look here… Look here. What a great girl!
Yes, what a great girl indeed. Although Meng Fan had the feeling that he had not only been unsuccessful in his confession, he also felt that he got played. But at least the young lady had refused him politely.
But alas, his progress chart grew; the counter was finally reaching 10. Upon completing task phase Two, Meng Fan was awarded +2 Hand speed and plus +10 points achievement. This was the most important thing. Time to go test out his newly earned hand speed.
In such heat, finding people on the streets was not an easy task, and there was still 90 more confessions to go before he completed task phase 3. Rome was not built in a day, despite the incredulous rewards that came with its completion.
Meng Fan turned and headed back for the library and made sure to scan the area for that abominable Yu Xiao Yu. However, Meng Fan had no intention of continuing to find someone to confess to. Of course, if the opportunity came knocking, he wouldn't let it go.
"Oh yeah, that's way faster!"
Meng Fan tested his hand speed. It was just as he speculated; after gaining +3 hand speed, his drawing speed was at least doubled compared to before.
After drawing for a while, Meng Fan's thoughts became jumbled again. He couldn't stop thinking about this "accomplishment" task.
Cheh.
"Bro, I'm done, where you at? Do you need me to bring you dinner?"
His phone vibrated with a message from Zhang Zhou Wei.
Hey!
Maybe I don't have to confess face to face?
Meng Fan's excitement grew. Of course, he could just simply confess through WeChat!
Although the chances of being brutally rejected were huge, the chances of succeeding were also incredible!
Having had a taste of fast hand speed, Meng Fan didn't bother overthinking it. After a moment of indulgence, he made up his mind. He then thought of a message that he was planning to send to as many girls as possible.
"I like you, be my girlfriend!"
While repeatedly reviewing the words he wrote, Meng Fan decided it was still best to stick to the basics.
Meng Fan opened his contacts list, and in one deep breath selected a hundred or so girls. He essentially covered all the girls who weren't married yet, including the ones from elementary school, middle school, high school, and most of the girls he knew in his university.
Sent...
Wait!
Meng Fan sudden realized an issue. What if sending confessions over text messages and being rejected through it would not count towards his task progress?
If they didn't count, then he would take a huge loss.
He thought of sending a few, for now to test the waters first.
But it was too late.