BXBX NOVEL Chapter 226 - First Day 34,000
Since her first day of class, Wu Tong had already gained the title “Chinese painting beauty”. Over the next few years, this title wasn’t stripped away from her as she grew more and more beautiful and became a top of the class student. She was also a graceful athlete and was very well known even at the National Art Academy.
If the National Art Academy had a pageant, Wu Tong would place first, no doubt.
Meng Fan thought about the ‘famous figure’ that had overtaken the National Art Academy during these last few months. From tackling the lovesick couple to sitting on the bus thief, to streaming his mini-marathon, donating, running from Hangzhou to Shanghai, his poisonous concert experience… and then to the school sports meet, basketball tournament, breaking the world record, and his dreamlike performance at the 11/11 gala and shocking basketball scoring, the singing, and the flirting… There wasn’t another person there close to this level of fame.
Originally they were two people who had nothing to do with each other but met during their morning runs. They had a lot of supporters from the start, and now there were people who had gotten used to seeing the two together and forgot about the legendary figure, Hu Ting Song, who supposedly had the best chance of dating Wu Tong.
But the school had several issues regarding whether they were actually together or not… No one could be certain.
Hence, after hearing Qin Jiao’s question, everyone present in the studio collectively gazed at Meng Fan; their eyes filled with curiosity and the desire for gossip.
Meng Fan smiled awkwardly but admitted honestly, “Da Qiang just said it randomly. Wu Tong and I aren’t a couple. If we were together, don’t you think I’d broadcast it for the world to know?!”
“True.” Qin Jiao smiled. “That sentence just now was pretty manly of you.”
He didn’t give anyone a chance to form suspicions or doubts. He had voiced his interest in Wu Tong loud and clear, so Qin Jiao and the others believed he would make a very suitable boyfriend.
Meng Fan followed this news and did a search. It turned out that long before the article had been released, Wu Tong had blown up on Weibo. The #PalaceMuseumsBeautifulArtRestorer had gone viral, and some people had even found or photoshopped photos of Wu Tong at the national academy. She was beautiful in all of them.
Aside from this, there were others who had posted some of Wu Tong’s artwork, which started another wave of discussion.
Afterward, people had uploaded several articles related to Wu Tong. For example, photos of her exercising, which were all very elegant and positive. Her popularity was growing by the minute.
One could say that she had become instantly famous!
At around 9:00 pm, Wu Tong sent a WeChat message consisting of emojis covering their faces.
“The woes of fame?”
At this time, Meng Fan had already jogged home from Da Mei studio and had begun to draw.
“When I left the Palace Museum, I got surrounded by a hoard of journalists. One company even asked if I was looking to debut! They even called my mom.”
Wu Tong’s mother was part of the Shanghai theatre association and could count as an entertainment personnel.
“Everything else is okay, but it just feels like they’re disrupting my daily life.”
Wu Tong had grown up under the eyes of the public. Everywhere she went, she would attract attention, but this time, it was way more excessive.
“Don’t worry, it’ll blow over in a couple of days.”
After all, her family did have a knack for the entertainment industry. Wu Tong knew that if she didn’t harbor a small notion of becoming famous and rejected all the interviews, the media would probably publish a “no picture available” and the whole ruckus would blow over. Once they stopped reporting on it, the public would forget her too.
Some “internet famous” celebrities had blown up overnight and were even able to keep it up for a while. They had, of course, accepted these interviews on the street and became sculpted by the media. Otherwise, they wouldn’t receive so much consistent popularity.
The two chatted for a while before naturally ending off to go about their own business. At around 10:00 or so, Wu Tong sent a message, “(Bitter smile) It might be a while. The professor responsible for art restoration recommended to me to appear on a show on national TV about restoring ancient artifacts.”
Meng Fan responded, “Since it has to do with national treasures, and it’s related to your profession, you should definitely go. Didn’t you tell me, don’t cease to pursue something you want just because of external influences. Just be yourself. Even if life doesn’t give you answers, you will find them on your own.”
After talking for so long and always being open with each other, Meng Fan and Wu Tong realized they had the same outlook toward many things in life.
Wu Tong quickly responded with an OJ8K emoji pack, which stunned Meng Fan for a moment.
“You use these emojis too?”
“Of course, I’ve got tons! Hey kid, wanna compare emojis?”
Before midnight, Meng Fan checked his experience for the [Professional Manga Artist] task. Mr.Sleepy hadn’t been exaggerating; their first batch sales really did reach over 30,000, almost 4000 more.
As if he knew, Meng Fan received a call from Mr.Sleepy shortly after.
“The numbers from the platform are out. We’ve made 28,000 units. It’s harder to consolidate the numbers from the physical stores, but there has to be at least 2000. The sales from the first day reached 30,000. Yessssssss!” he drawled on. “These are alright figures.”
This wasn’t Mr.Sleepy trying to flex. The figures from the first release manga sales for “There’s A Spirit Underground” were still nowhere near the sales for the first release novel publication. After all, it had created a new record for most sales in a day for the supernatural genre.
“Hey, why aren’t you excited in the least? Oh, I have two more things to tell you.” Mr.Sleepy was drinking some sort of beverage as Meng Fan heard a large gulp. “I’ve already arranged the second individual release of the manga with the publishing house. I told them to distribute them as soon as they’re printed. The second thing was that Penguin animation Network had contacted me and is interested in an anime adaptation for “There’s A Spirit Underground.”
“Anime adaptation already?”
Meng Fan knew the impact of “There’s A Spirit Underground” on Penguin Animation Network and its influence. An anime was bound to happen, but he didn’t think it would happen so fast. The manga had only been out for a little while after all.
“Count it as an initial negotiation regarding authenticity and copyright. If everything goes smoothly, then they will start gathering an animation team.” Mr.Sleepy was straight to the point. “The adaptation copyrights for the animation belong to me, but since you’re the main artist, your opinions and suggestions will be considered. Oh, and if you’re willing, you can participate in the production and preparation tasks of the animation team. Once the copyright is sold, you will also receive a profit. Don’t argue with me for the amount, though.”
Mr.Sleepy knew Meng Fan was an animation student.
Meng Fan didn’t think about the commission since the two had already agreed at the beginning of their collaboration that Mr.Sleepy would give him a share. It had been based on sentiment, so he would still follow the contract even if Mr.Sleepy decided not to give him a portion.
But there were two other questions that peaked Meng Fan’s mind. “As for my opinions and guidance, let me know once you guys settle everything. I’m a student specializing in manga and illustrations, so I can only give you some immature tips regarding animation, but I would love to gain some experience and participate in the preparations and production work, but I’m afraid I’ll have no time.”