Chapter 263: The Phantom Sixth Man… Lie Mengmeng!
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Wang Ling didn’t know whether Fang Xing’s appearance was a coincidence, but he had to admit that nobody had ever created such large waves in his life before. After school was over on Wednesday, the old man had only exchanged a few words with Fang Xing before they’d already become the best of pals… this made Wang Ling wonder deeply who the old man’s real grandchild was.
It had always been said that food could bring people closer together. Wang Ling had always felt that this was a matter of debate. After all, not all milk was deluxe milk 1 , and not all food was so good it would make you want to tear your clothes off 2 .
Wang Ling maintained a very high level of calm, especially in front of Fang Xing.
He was amazed when he realized that this was the first time ever that he was able to keep his cool in the face of the sugar-coated bullet that was “crispy noodle snacks.”
…
The old man went out early in the morning on the weekend on June 25th.
After their meeting on Wednesday, Fang Xing and the old man had exchanged contact information. Furthermore, Fang Xing had warmly invited the old man to visit his family’s noodles shop on the weekend to compare notes on cooking and at the same time debate the art of cuisine from a theoretical point of view.
According to the old man, while it was Fang Xing’s parents who ran the noodles shop, Fang Xing would usually help their noodles expert hand-pull the noodles on the weekends if he was free.
When he was about to leave, the old man even specially came to Wang Ling’s room with the intent of inviting him along, but because he didn’t want to come into contact with Fang Xing too much, Wang Ling chose to “play dead” inside his room. In the end, the old man knocked on the door for a long time without getting any response, and so left on his own.
Wang Ling watched the old man ride away on Sheep. When he left, Wang Ling got Loopy Toad to follow the old man in order to keep him safe.
Of course, there was another reason why Wang Ling had gotten Loopy Toad to go, and that was to have it feel out Fang Xing. People who harboured ill intentions usually had an evil aura, and Loopy Toad, who had once been a demon king, was pretty sensitive to this kind of aura.
After watching the old man disappear from view on Sheep, Wang Ling finally sighed softly.
When he opened his room door, he bumped directly into Lie Mengmeng.
It was obvious that Lie Mengmeng and Father Wang were pretty much done with going through the manuscript. Father Wang was now doing the final edit of the first three hundred thousand words of his new book, The Live Streaming Life of the Immortal King , which would be released directly online in a week. Following that, he was going to hold a guru press conference.
Lie Mengmeng had been constantly popping into the Wang family’s small villa in the last few days, and he had spent most of the time holed up in the study with Father Wang as he tirelessly proofread the manuscript. Apart from that, Wang Ling hadn’t seen him anywhere else in the house. Even at mealtimes, it was Mother Wang who prepared portions for two people and delivered them to the study.
To be honest, Lie Mengmeng’s presence was very weak, and in some sense, he was like the phantom sixth man 3 .
Lie Mengmeng had deep dark circles under his eyes, and his hair was a complete mess, sticking up all over the place like a hedgehog. That was because he had been up until very late last night proofreading the manuscript before directly falling asleep on the sofa in the study. He had just woken up, and saw Wang Ling as soon as he opened the door.
“Ah, Wang Ling… morning!” Lie Mengmeng yawned. He was around one hundred and eighty centimeters tall and had a skinny build. Furthermore, he had been staying up all night in the study with Father Wang several days in a row, which made Wang Ling wonder if this person was going to pass out any time now.
“Little Song, are you awake?”
Mother Wang heard Lie Mengmeng’s voice, and hurriedly called for him from downstairs. “You’ve worked hard. Come down and eat first, you’re probably hungry!”
“It’s fine, it’s fine, I’m just doing my job. Elder sister, I’ve really troubled you!”
Feeling very apologetic, Lie Mengmeng went downstairs to greet Mother Wang, and he even bowed repeatedly when he saw her, as bashful as when he’d first started coming here.
“How is it coming along?” Mother Wang came out with a plate of dumplings and put them in front of Lie Mengmeng.
Speaking on this, Lie Mengmeng perked up although he had just woken up. “Brother Situ’s book this time is really awesome! It’s definitely going to be big once it’s released! I think it won’t be difficult at all for it to surpass Release That Wet Nurse! ”
He ignored the dumplings in front of him in favor of blathering on. “Although live streaming is an overused trope, it’s still a main theme in light and easy series. Brother Situ has already accumulated a wealth of experience with Release That Wet Nurse , and is more skillful in handling the new book now! It plays around with a lot of gags, and also incorporates live streaming elements and parody. Besides that, the plot is really super amazing! It’s about the daily life of an invincible high school student!”
Wang Ling: “…”
“In order to keep a low profile, the protagonist chose a fairly ordinary high school, but due to a freak combination of factors, he wound up entering the ordinary high school’s elite stream. During the Dao talismans lesson in the first week of school, he carelessly summoned a demon king, which the protagonist then subdued and made his pet. Just thinking about it now, I still find it very interesting!”
Lie Mengmeng laughed with immense delight. “Moreover, after some discussion with Brother Situ, I feel that we can use this subject matter to produce an unparalleled book series. When he writes his books in the future, each one will have an invincible protagonist. He’ll write each of their stories in detail, then in the end write a final book which brings all these protagonists together as they compete for the Holy Grail!”
Wang Ling: “…”
The familiar-sounding plot made Mother Wang laugh hollowly. “…Ha ha, as long as the two of you are happy!”
Wang Ling already had no strength left to ridicule the situation. “…”
It was the first time that he had seen someone sell out their son so thoroughly.
…
Mother Wang had put forty dumplings in the pot, but Lie Mengmeng’s stomach was unusually small. After just ten dumplings, he rubbed his belly, already feeling that he couldn’t eat any more. He looked at Mother Wang. “Elder sister, should we call Brother Situ to come down to eat? He was still asleep when I came down earlier…”
Mother Wang sighed. “Let him sleep. He’s been exhausted these last two days. I started the chicken stew just now; by the time he wakes up, it’ll be pretty much done, and the both of you can have some then.”
“Oh, okay, thank you, elder sister.” Lie Mengmeng smiled, revealing a mouth full of big white teeth.
“You’ve been busy the last few nights, do you want to go wash up first?” asked Mother Wang as she looked at Lie Mengmeng’s messy hair.
“Oh, I couldn’t possibly impose on you further…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. You’ve been here so many times, why are you still acting like a young lady?” Mother Wang put her hands on her hips and smiled a little helplessly. “There are new toothbrushes and cups in the bottom cupboard in the bathroom on the second floor; why don’t you go look for them in a bit? You and your Brother Situ should be about the same size, I’ll find you some clothes later.”
Lie Mengmeng flushed. “Then… thank you so much, elder sister.”
“You’re welcome!”
Mother Wang waved her hand. “The weather is turning cold now. I’ll give you a pair of long johns too, remember to put them on!”
Lie Mengmeng: “…”
Wang Ling: “…”