Chapter Eighteen: The Computer

“At least what?” I finally understood that, in Su Xin’s eyes, I was not as wonderful as I had imagined. A sharp pain shot through my heart, and I hurriedly pressed on, “Su Xin, do you really have no feelings for me?”

Su Xin turned her face away, trying to dodge my burning gaze, her voice flustered. “I—I’m sorry, Xiao Qiang. I think you might have misunderstood. We’re just… just ordinary friends. I didn’t want you to lose to Tong Tong, and I didn’t want Tong Tong to lose, either… But weighing things, I still thought I should help you. After all, by any measure, you were the one who lost, and it wasn’t worth it…”

Hearing Su Xin’s words, I finally gave up all hope and closed my eyes. Forcing a bitter smile through the pain in my chest, I said, “Since I now understand how you truly feel, I’ll set myself straight from now on. From now on, we’ll just be friends.”

“Xiao Qiang, are you… are you angry?” Su Xin looked at my face, which was clearly twisted in pain, and asked anxiously, “I—I’m just not ready, you…”

“Say no more, I understand.” I cut her off, a silent, miserable laugh echoing in my heart. Xiao Qiang, oh Xiao Qiang, so from the start of school till now you’ve just been living in your own arrogant fantasy! Did you really think, just because you had alien octopus technology and all the knowledge of Earth, that everything in this world would be yours? You were wrong, utterly wrong! All this time, you’ve been blinded by the thrill and arrogance of rebirth! Your confidence became overblown, so you thought Su Xin had fallen for you—but in her eyes, you’re nothing more than a friend…

Su Xin, seeing the color drain and shift from my face, didn’t dare say anything more. She simply sat down beside me at her desk, turned my textbook to the right page, and forced a faint, gentle smile. “Alright, let’s forget everything for now and focus on studying. Didn’t you say you wanted to beat Tong Tong? You can’t slack off anymore, you have to work hard.”

I nodded softly at her words. Looking into her caring eyes, a sudden clarity washed over me. Yes, this defeat doesn’t mean I will always lose! I won’t give up on this lovely girl before me. I believe, with my own efforts, I will touch her heart one day, and she will fall in love with me! In my previous life, didn’t I persist in loving Su Xin in silence? In this life, I will work even harder, be even more resolute! If I don’t win Su Xin’s heart, then my return to high school is meaningless! At this thought, my mood lightened. Glancing at the notebook on her desk, I smiled and said, “Su Xin, are these your notes? The handwriting is beautiful.”

Hearing this, Su Xin visibly relaxed, rolling her eyes at me. “Hey, I told you to read, what’s the point of looking at my handwriting?”

I shook my head, deliberately putting on a serious face. “That’s not right. If your handwriting wasn’t so neat, how could I read the notes? If it was all a mess, how could I study from them?”

Su Xin laughed, raising her fair hand to tap me on the head. “Hmph, you have an answer for everything. Hurry up and read.” As she said this, a hint of worry crossed her face. “Actually, as far as studying goes, I can help you. But your first competition is in computers, and I don’t really know much about that.”

I looked at her, amused. “What are you worried about if you don’t know? I never said I don’t know computers.”

She snorted. “There you go bragging again. You know computers? I don’t believe it! Xiao Qiang, this isn’t a joke. Using computers is simple, but real research fills entire books. I bet your so-called knowledge is just basic operation, right?” Clearly, Su Xin didn’t believe me.

“Su Xin, why don’t you ever believe what I say? Don’t believe me? Fine, let’s go to the school’s computer room right now, and I’ll show you what I can do!” I was nearly speechless—why was it that Su Xin never believed a word I said? Perhaps in her eyes, I really was just a poor student who scraped into this high school through self-finance.

“You really know computers?” This time Su Xin seemed a bit uncertain, asking again.

Seeing me nod once more, she smiled, looking slightly proud. “Alright, you said it—don’t regret it! Xiao Qiang, there’s a computer in my room; let me see what you really know!”

“What? You have a computer at home?” I was astonished. In 1997, computers were still called “calculators” in China, and they were considered cutting-edge technology, incredibly expensive. Even a basic Pentium II or MMX166 CPU model cost over ten thousand yuan, which in 1997 was equivalent to a hundred thousand in my previous life’s 2010! I’d never have guessed Su Xin’s family had one.

“Heh, see? Got caught in your own lie, didn’t you? I’ll say this—you’re good at everything except for bragging and being lazy. Those are habits you really need to change.” Su Xin, seeing my astonished face, thought I’d been caught in a lie, but that wasn’t it at all! In my mind, I’d always wanted to earn my first pot of gold by writing software, but I’d been troubled by not having a computer to program on. More importantly, even if I could sneak into an illegal “computer house” (as net cafes were called in 1997, usually run secretly in private homes) to write software, I’d have no way to sell it! In a small city like C, there was no broadband in 1997, and even dial-up internet was rare! But Su Xin’s family had a computer; if they could dial-up to the internet…

With that thought, I quickly asked, “Su Xin, you really have a computer in your room? Why haven’t I seen it? And can your computer dial up to the internet?”

“Dial-up? I’m surprised you even know about the internet—looks like you’re not completely clueless about computers.” Su Xin looked at my serious expression, amused. “My neighborhood is a government complex. Lots of officials work from home, so at the beginning of the year they got dial-up access.”

“Really? That’s fantastic!” I was so excited I nearly jumped up. Of course, Su Xin didn’t know what this meant to me. Dial-up meant access to the internet, which meant I could send my software via email and finally sell it! As long as I could earn my first pot of gold, I’d never have to worry about money again!

“What’s so great? I have no idea what you’re so excited about.” Su Xin rolled her eyes, gesturing to the right. “There, that’s my computer. You can try it. I may not know much about it, but you should study hard, and even if you can’t beat Tong Tong, at least don’t embarrass yourself in the competition.”

I turned my head in the direction Su Xin pointed, and sure enough, there was a monitor wrapped in a pink cloth. With excitement, I immediately rushed over. In my eyes, that was no mere computer—it was a veritable money-making machine!