Chapter 66

"Hey, Liu Meng, how did you come over?" Yuan Chaohui quickly spotted Liu Meng, threw the basketball aside, and ran over, affectionately putting his arm around Liu Meng's shoulder.

The other kids playing basketball, upon hearing Yuan Chaohui call out Liu Meng's name, hurried over as well. Previously, when Yuan Chaohui had asked to join their game, he had boasted that he and the student representative Liu Meng, who had recently spoken, were in the same class.

"Are you the Liu Meng?" a few boys asked, surrounding him, each one curiously eyeing this unremarkable student.

Liu Meng's lips curved slightly into a faint smile. "I am indeed Liu Meng, but I'm not sure if I'm the one you're talking about."

Yuan Chaohui playfully punched Liu Meng and said, "Who else in the whole school would dare call themselves Liu Meng?" He then turned to the other students and said, "I told you, Liu Meng and I are in the same class, and we're close friends."

"Hey, do you play basketball? Come and play with us!" one of the students said, the others quickly chiming in. They all had the same idea: hey, you're good at studies, but you can't be that amazing at basketball, right? If we can't beat you in exams, we'll beat you on the basketball court and brag about it.

"I'll pass. I was just passing by and saw a familiar face. I'm not very good at basketball, and I don't want to hold you guys back," Liu Meng waved his hands in refusal.

"Come on, just for a bit."

"We're one player short anyway, it was 3 against 4."

The others thought, "We're only playing with you because you're not good. Otherwise, how could we beat you!"

...

They kept persuading him, gesturing to Yuan Chaohui, meaning, "You said you're close, so make him play with us, or we won't play with you, you're just an extra anyway."

"Come on, Liu Meng, play for a bit. I'll be on your team, and we'll add two more to our side. We'll give them a good beating," Yuan Chaohui said, proud of his Beijing roots but also very generous.

Liu Meng stopped refusing, feeling a bit itchy after watching for a while. Playing for a bit would be good.

The teams were quickly divided. The two students on Liu Meng's team were a bit unhappy, thinking they couldn't beat the top student in the basic department and wouldn't have anything to brag about, so they were a bit lackadaisical.

But after Liu Meng made two beautiful long-range shots, they immediately changed their minds. "Wow, being able to play alongside the top student is something to brag about too."

Liu Meng's basketball skills were average. He had started playing weekly with his lab mates during his graduate studies. After his physical fitness improved, he hadn't really tested his skills. As soon as he touched the ball, the other side sent two players to block him, determined to shut him out.

The two lackadaisical players and Yuan Chaohui being blocked, Liu Meng couldn't pass the ball and had to shoot himself. From about three-point range, he focused, jumped high, and shot. There were two crisp "slaps" on his arms. If he had jumped any lower, he would have been blocked.

With this successful shot, Liu Meng found his rhythm, playing better and better. He and Yuan Chaohui worked well together, and the two defenders couldn't keep up with Liu Meng's speed and agility. He scored frequently with his quick and unpredictable moves.

The four opponents weren't about to give up easily. They ran and defended fiercely. Their overall strength was slightly better, so the score didn't pull away.

After two ten-point games, Liu Meng's team won both, and everyone was exhausted, lying on the ground, panting heavily.

Yuan Chaohui lay next to Liu Meng. Bai Jingjing had already bought drinks and handed them to Yuan Chaohui and Liu Meng. Yuan Chaohui took the opportunity to touch her hand.

"Truly impressive, Liu Meng. You're great at studies and basketball. You run faster than a rabbit and jump higher than a cat. Even a 185 cm tall guy couldn't block you. We must call you for basketball from now on," Yuan Chaohui praised, intentionally calling Liu Meng "Niu Meng" (Meng the Bull).

The other students, lying on the ground, gave Liu Meng a thumbs up. "Bro, your physical fitness is amazing. Two people couldn't stop you. Niu Meng, we're impressed!"

Liu Meng smiled, wiped his sweat, and said, "I'm not very good. You guys are all great."

He wasn't trying to be modest. Liu Meng still saw himself as he used to and didn't think he played that well.

But the others heard it differently, feeling he was being pretentious. They all thought, "Pretentious, may you be struck by lightning!"

Sweating from daily exercise was one thing, but this kind of intense, drenched-in-sweat feeling was truly refreshing.

After the game, Liu Meng took a shower at the bathhouse, feeling refreshed and invigorated.

The night lights had already illuminated the entire campus. This was the time when students were most active.

Some students were heading out of the west gate, chatting and laughing, discussing how to form teams for "StarCraft." Some were preparing to attend a lecture. Some were eating while thinking about the knowledge points they didn't understand in class. Some were even reading English after dinner.

Seeing the students each doing their own thing, each with their own dreams, Liu Meng saw a bit of his own college days in them. But now, he couldn't be like that anymore. He had a much greater ambition.

He began to understand the saying, "The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility."

When you can't change anything, you can only endure it helplessly. But when you have the ability, you always want to change the things that bother you.

At first, Liu Meng just wanted his family to live without worrying about money, to stop running around for survival, and to make up for past regrets.

Now, he wanted to do things he was interested in, things that would make the Chinese proud. Why should we only be able to do contract manufacturing for foreign companies, where workers sweat endlessly, and most of the money goes to them? Why can't we break the technological monopoly? Move the low-tech factories to America!

Why are the most popular movies in our entertainment industry all from Hollywood, and Chinese people can only play minor villains in international films?

Think of China, once so glorious, but because it missed the Age of Exploration, it fell behind by two centuries.

Though I am not talented, I am willing to contribute my share to make the Chinese proud. Walking through the campus, Liu Meng felt a surge of passion.

Then, he shook his head. It's still too far away!

But as long as he kept working hard, standing at this starting point, Liu Meng felt that everything might not be impossible.

Ideals are full, but reality is harsh.

As usual, Liu Meng went to Guo Yuting's house. After entering, they greeted each other. They were now more relaxed around each other, and both chose to forget a certain incident.

Liu Meng noticed Guo Yuting was packing things. He wondered if she was going on a long trip, maybe to Nanyang?

Since the last time Zhou Shiyuan tricked Liu Meng, making it hard for him to remove the cup from his hand, she had been much more well-behaved, not causing any more trouble. When Liu Meng arrived, she quietly read books and did her homework.

If it weren't for the previous incident, Liu Meng would have thought she was a very quiet and well-behaved girl.

When she had questions, she would ask Liu Meng, speaking politely. "Uncle, I don't quite understand this geometry proof. Can you explain it to me?"

Liu Meng smiled and nodded, encouraging this attitude but still cautious to avoid being tricked again.

Who knew what mischief this well-behaved girl was planning?

After answering Zhou Shiyuan's question, Liu Meng started his own work. The novel was being uploaded steadily, now at one million words, a public version of one million words, breaking two records on the Chinese websites. The three-fatso's reputation had won him countless loyal fans.

On the Huandao Book Alliance, he had the most loyal fans. The last time the "Supreme Fist King" was removed from the featured list, it led to a war of words between the fans of the two books. The most enthusiastic fans, Emperor Zhengde and Prince Wanku, spontaneously created a fan group to rally the fans and boost their fighting spirit.

Since then, they had also created a forum and a fan group, with the fan group now exceeding 1,000 members, chatting enthusiastically every day. Of course, Liu Meng had joined but rarely spoke, and few knew it was him.

Of course, Liu Meng had added Emperor Zhengde and Prince Wanku on QQ. They sometimes chatted, discussing the plot and making minor adjustments. It was clear they were both enthusiastic guys.

On the Dianmiao Chinese website, although they hadn't given a recommendation, the popularity on the Huandao Book Alliance and the increasing clicks and recommendations had pushed the book into the top lists. Many fans started supporting it, especially those impressed by the one million public words.

The clicks and recommendations entered the top ten, surpassing several big names, and the fans' enthusiasm soared.

The book review section on the Dianmiao Chinese website was now handled by the Sakura Stream. Both sides had enthusiastic fans, which made Liu Meng quite conflicted, one of the reasons he hadn't decided which side to sign with.

The goal of cultivating readers had been largely achieved. Readers started following the book, and due to the popularity of "Return to Ming," many new authors began writing historical alternate history novels, like "Return to Song," "Return to Qing," and "Return to Tang."

More readers started reading historical novels, gradually forming a large group.

After a month and a half, Liu Meng was quite satisfied, even a bit beyond his expectations. The internet indeed updates quickly, and most people who go online are open to new things.

Liu Meng was browsing the reviews on both sides, some praising, some criticizing. It's hard to please everyone; no book can satisfy everyone.

The beautiful editor Donggua's avatar flashed again. This beautiful editor was quite persistent. Since Liu Meng had refused her last time, she seemed even more determined. She always knew when he was online, and instead of trying to persuade him to sign, she just chatted about the plot.

This greatly reduced Liu Meng's guard, and he chatted with her more, his tone becoming softer.

"Three-fatso, we're friends now, right? Let's put aside my role as an editor and your role as an author and have a good chat, okay?" Donggua guided the conversation step by step.

"No!" Three-fatso replied bluntly.

The beautiful editor Donggua gritted her teeth in frustration, thinking, "Little rascal, one day you'll be in my hands."

"Or how about you send a picture of yourself? Unreliable sources say you're a beauty. I'm a softie for beauties and will spill the beans when I see one," Three-fatso sent another message.

Donggua was almost driven mad by this guy. "I am a genius beauty, okay? And according to reliable sources, you're a creepy old man!" she angrily replied.

Liu Meng laughed at Donggua's message. Zhou Shiyuan, swinging her feet, called out, "Uncle, I can't do this problem. Can you explain it to me?"

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