BXBX NOVEL Chapter 1 - A Good Person (Part I)
Chapter 1: A Good Person (Part I)
Boom. Boom.
At that moment, he felt his body had already gone cold. No amount of excess body fat can resist bullets.
The only upside of this circumstance seemed to be the small amount of time his reckless actions had bought for the airline staff and security, and the courage overwhelming the other passengers that lead them to subdue the remaining four thugs after witnessing Meng Fan’s selfless feat. The plane was safe, and so were the passengers.But as for Meng Fan himself…
Meng Fan leads a life of honest mediocrity, barely posessing enough courage to kill a mosquito. At most, he was only brave enough to face on screen the professional erotica actresses that held the fate of his semen in their hands. Not even in his wildest dreams did Meng Fan conceive that an obese, homebody like himself would experience a sudden burst of heroism during an airplane hijacking.
Was it a sense of justice that gave him the courage? Or was it just a whim of reckless insanity? Regardless, it felt pretty bad ass.
Was this facing death with unflinching certainty? To hell!
As the life disappeared from his body, Meng Fan felt the regret washed over him. Reflecting like a backlight, his short life passed in his head and he realized that he did, in fact, harbor many regrets regarding people and events.
“I don’t want to die!”
These were the the last words Meng Fan wanted to utter before losing awareness, but his body had already lost its strength.
…
“Wake up! Hurry! Wake up!”
Meng Fan drowsily opened his eyes and saw a familiar face. Realizing what was happening, Meng Fan arose in his seat. “Zhou Wei, what are you doing here? I’m not dead yet?”
“Damn it! I’m out here trying to wake your dumb ass up, or else I’d be long gone to class! Also, if you’re planning to skip class again, you really won’t be far from death!” Zhang Zhou Wei creased his brow and muttered something else under his breath as he left the dorm.
“I’m in the dormitory?”
Meng Fan slowly studied his surroundings, paused, then furiously slapped himself. He then proceeded to get out of the bed, looking and feeling around. After smacking himself a few more times, face throbbing with pain, he finally concluded it was not a dream.
“I’m not dead! And not only that”-Meng Fan grabbed his phone, checked the date, then stayed frozen for a while and burst out-“I time travelled! I got reincarnated to three months ago!”
After repeated confirmations, Meng Fan’s initial surprise faded into chaos; he actually time travelled.
The previous events felt like a dream. No. From Meng Fan’s perspective, the present seemed more like a dream.
He went to the bathroom and took a cold shower to calm himself.
“I actually lived to see the day I’d become a member of the time traveller’s club. Did God decide I was so good in my life to warrant a second chance? Or were my pre-death obsessions too heavy, to scare the cosmos to succumb my livelihood? Could it be both?”
“What the hell! Why only 3 months ago, and not three years ago? This recoil time is a little too short isn’t it?!”
“When other people time travel they can overcome tigers and kings and become legends of their time, or at least become a successful being! But I only got sent back 3 months? What the hell will that change? What important event could possibly happen during these three months that will become the fulcrum to impacting humanity?!”
“Meng Fan, you damn idiot! Why didn’t you have a habit of buying lottery tickets!”
“Where’s my gold finger? Typically, time travellers at least come equipped with a gold finger. Why don’t I have one?”
“Where’s the beep beep beep? Come on, at least give me a system!”
How typical it was of humans —- always seeking for more after being satisfied.
“Alright, living is good, too! Since the universe so badly wants me alive, this time around I will live with no regrets!”
“I want a relationship! I want to lose my virginity! I want to see Jay Chou in concert! I want to go to an anime convention in NIPPON! I want…”
“Huh?”
Meng Fan suddenly realized what had been going through in his head, although unaware of what the problem was. He thought it was a “gold finger” at first, but it seemed lost at a closer glance.
“Yes! I’m going to try to persist, and live my best life!”
These words are all that occupied Meng Fan’s thoughts; nothing else mattered.
“Mother F**! Is this bowl of chicken soup for the soul my gold finger? Can we be a little more considerate?!” Meng Fan was out of words.
“Christ! You’re still here! Hurry! Hurry! Today the witch is taking the attendance. If you don’t go now, you’re actually dead meat!”
Seeing room 402 with its door ajar, a student from the neighboring dorm peaked in his head. Upon seeing Meng Fan staring blankly into space, he suddenly let out an abrupt outcry and rushed down the stairs.
“I won’t die. How could I possibly die?”
Still amused with himself, Meng Fan hurriedly gathered his stuff and headed to the classroom. Despite their added layer of relationship which remained unknown to others, the “witch” taking attendance is no joke.
After unexpectedly returning to his campus to three months ago, Meng Fan still felt uneasy.
Painstakingly, Meng Fan had survived the burning summer and autumn once, and now he has to live through it again. However, there is one upside to the hot weather; it means that all the pretty girls passing through the campus would dress for the heat.
Meng Fan was a third year Film and Animation student at the Hua Xia Academy of Art. Majoring in Animation, his two short years here were more than enough to dissolve any of his remaining childhood interest in the subject.
Fortunately, the girls at the academy are considerably good looking, fashionable, and most of all, abundant. For instance, 1:4 is the male to female ratio, and that’s very generous. Despite this, Meng Fan is already in his third gruesome year, but still hasn’t been in an intimate relationship. It was Meng Fan’s biggest regret upon dying.
Reincarnated, Meng Fan promised himself that he will find love.
“Hey Fan, what are you thinking about over there? You almost bumped into a pole!”
A thin, lanky girl, wearing a white dress and carrying an artboard on her back, appeared in front of Meng Fan. She is smiling. As she came closer, she encapsulated him in a fresh scent reminiscent of fresh blooming lilies.
“Ah…Wei Wei it’s you! Uh, I’m just going to class.” Meng Fan grinned at Tang Wei Wei. “Are you going to the studio?”
This attractive girl is Meng Fan’s junior, not only in college but also in high school and elementary. Besides, they lived in the same neighborhood.
Since childhood, they have been acquaintences, never spoke much, maintaining this throughout high school, too. However, after she enrolled in the same academy, their interactions became frequent. Being away from the same province, they got a lot of common topics to discuss. Also, her senior, Meng Fan, is able to look after her.
Tang Wei Wei is one year behind Meng Fan. She is enrolled in the art program majoring in oil Painting.
“I heard you’ve been a bit down lately. You got to keep going!” Tang Wei Wei expressed, waving a small fist in the air, radiating encouragement in a cute manner. “I’m off to the studio. Let’s eat out some other day. It’s been a while.” waving as she spoke.
“Uhm, Wei Wei, hold on.” Meng Fan stopped Tang Wei Wei while scratching his head.
Gritting his teeth, he looked her in the eye and proclaimed: “Uhmm, Wei Wei, I… I like… I like you! Be my girlfriend!”
Tang Wei Wei paused for a moment and smiled. “Fan, stop joking!”
“I… I’m not joking!”
Meng Fan’s voice trembled as he spoke the words. This was the first time ever in his life to confess to a girl. He was feeling nervous, excited, and very perturbed all at the same time.
“Fan, you’re a good guy. But…”-Tang Wei Wei gathered herself and spoke more decisively-“But I don’t want a relationship right now. School is too busy. How about next time we hang out, I’ll introduce you to a nice girl? Yes, let’s do that. It’s set! I’m going to go to class now.” She ran off as soon as she finished.
I treated you like a friend, a brother, and now you want to sleep with me? Okay. Tang Wei Wei could tell Meng Fan was interested in her, but did not expect him to confess, and definitely not in such a sudden manner.
Meng Fan was dumbfounded, still standing in place like a wooden chicken. But it wasn’t because he was rejected by Tang Wei Wei. No. Actually, he knew that the chance of being rejected is about 99%, but the adrenalin of being revived urged him to leave no regrets, and to pursue what he really liked.
No, he was stunned because a damned voice had just emerged inside his head.
“Beep! You’ve triggered Task: [A Good Person].”
“This task requires you to be rejected 100 times.”
“Upon completion, you will receive Task: [A Good Person] and its Accomplishment title (Hand Speed +10).”
“Beep! Upon being rejected once, you’ve unlocked the first reward of Task: [A Good Person]. Reward: Accomplishment score +1, Hand Speed +1.”