Chen Fan was stunned.
The Easy Domain Network had actually gone live.
That meant while he had been busy building his Domain Name Network, Boss Yao had been building the Easy Domain Network too.
The two websites had launched only three or four days apart.
In that instant.
Chen Fan felt an unprecedented sense of pressure and urgency.
First, he studied the Easy Domain Network carefully.
Honestly, viewed through the lens of his knowledge of the future, this forum website was incredibly basic.
Never mind comparing it to his own Domain Name Network—even next to other similar sites, it was utter garbage.
But Chen Fan knew.
A website like this had taken only a few months to catch investors' attention.
It had ultimately been acquired by HiChina that same year, earning Yao Jinbo his first pot of capital, while Yao himself had joined HiChina as an executive.
But in this lifetime, Chen Fan was the wild card.
The Domain Name Network and the Easy Domain Network had launched one right after the other.
They were bound to split the traffic between them.
What mattered now was whose website could grab the lion's share and ultimately rise to prominence.
Chen Fan took a deep breath.
What he had feared most had happened after all.
He was certain Boss Yao had noticed his Domain Name Network too.
With two websites of the same kind, a fierce battle for traffic was inevitable.
And the best way to get ahead of a rival was promotion.
There was no magic trick to promoting a website. It took money.
A lot of money.
In that regard, Chen Fan simply couldn't compete with Boss Yao.
Although Boss Yao was also just starting his business, Chen Fan knew the funds at his disposal were far beyond anything he could match.
After all, Chen Fan had only a little over five hundred and twenty yuan to his name.
Five hundred of that had come from repairing someone's computer last time.
If Boss Yao started pouring money into promotion, Chen Fan really would have no way to counter him.
"Phew!"
Chen Fan slowly exhaled, calming himself down.
For now, his Domain Name Network's only advantage was that it looked good and was practical.
Whether it was the interface or the layout of its various sections, it was several versions ahead of the Easy Domain Network.
I still have a chance.
Chen Fan quickly composed himself.
With both websites launching at almost the same time, his could take a temporary lead thanks to its attractive interface and rich, convenient features.
What he needed to do now was prepare a strategy before Boss Yao started throwing money into promotion.
On his way back to the exam venue that afternoon, Chen Fan was still thinking about how to respond.
Only after entering the classroom did Chen Fan shake his head and pull himself back to the present.
Focus on the exam.
Once the Gaokao is over and summer vacation starts, I'll still have a month to take Boss Yao on properly.
The bell rang.
The invigilators began handing out the math papers.
For math, Chen Fan had no special advantage left.
Apart from the last few major questions he had memorized from his previous life, he could only rely on his current knowledge to answer the rest.
After the math exam, Chen Fan wasn't exactly relaxed.
Out of a possible hundred and fifty points, he estimated he could score over a hundred.
After finishing math, Chen Fan didn't meet up with Su Ruochu. Instead, he slipped away early with Guo Shuai.
Before heading home, he and Guo Shuai changed their school uniforms so his parents wouldn't notice anything suspicious.
He also removed the gauze from his head and the bandages from his hand.
Even so, his mother, Li Jinqiu, noticed something was wrong as soon as he got home.
After all, a lump that big on his head wasn't easy to hide.
Chen Fan had no choice but to lie, saying he had accidentally fallen on his way home.
"How could you be so careless? Should we go to the hospital and have it checked?"
Li Jinqiu was a little anxious.
Chen Fan smiled and waved it off.
"Mom, it's fine. I just bumped my head. I already had a doctor look at it. He said it was nothing, and the swelling would go down in a few days."
"Honestly, how could you be so careless..."
His father, Chen Jianye, interrupted his wife.
"All right. Our son said he's fine. Stop fussing."
"Young people can take a few bumps and falls."
After saying that, he shot his wife a pointed look, signaling her not to upset their son while he still had exams to take.
During dinner, Li Jinqiu still looked troubled. She was clearly worried about her son.
Chen Jianye, on the other hand, chatted with him for a while.
With a cheerful smile, Chen Fan said he had done pretty well that day and might even have a shot at getting into a university.
Seeing how relaxed their son looked, the couple secretly exchanged a glance. After worrying all day, they finally felt a little relieved.
The next day, there was only one exam: English.
Chen Fan wasn't worried about English.
Besides having prepared thoroughly, English was the one subject in which he still had an advantage after all those years since graduation in his previous life.
As his business had grown, dealing with foreigners had become unavoidable.
That was how Chen Fan had gradually developed his English skills.
Sure enough, the English exam wasn't difficult. For the final essay question in particular, Chen Fan simply wrote out the essay he had prepared from memory.
On the morning of July 9, the final day, came the humanities exam.
Chen Fan breezed through it as though he had divine help, finishing his answers almost an hour early.
After checking everything carefully, Chen Fan let out a long breath.
He knew his Gaokao results should be fine now.
If nothing unexpected happened, he would be able to attend the same university as Su Ruochu.
When the bell rang, Chen Fan was the first to stand and hand in his paper.
He walked out of the classroom and picked up his bag, intending to meet Guo Shuai.
But just as he came down the stairs, he spotted a familiar, lovely figure.
Su Ruochu stood quietly there, looking as though she had been waiting for a long time.
She hadn't seen Chen Fan for two days and had been worried.
For that reason, she had handed in her final exam ten minutes early, just so she could wait for Chen Fan here.
When Chen Fan learned that, he was touched.
He raised his hand and gently ruffled Su Ruochu's hair.
"Silly girl. See? I'm perfectly fine."
Su Ruochu's sharp eyes immediately spotted the large lump on Chen Fan's head.
She reached out and grabbed Chen Fan's hand, only to notice the scar on it too.
"What happened?"
"You're hurt..."
Tears instantly spilled from the corners of her eyes.
Looking at the wound on Chen Fan's palm, Su Ruochu was heartbroken.
Flustered, Chen Fan hurriedly raised his hand to wipe away her tears.
"Don't cry, don't cry. I just cut myself by accident. Look, I'm fine, aren't I?"
He would have been better off saying nothing. His words only made her tears flow harder.
Holding Chen Fan's hand, Su Ruochu choked out,
"What happened..."
"How did you get hurt?"
Chen Fan gave a wry smile. "I broke a bottle and accidentally cut myself..."
Su Ruochu lowered her head and gazed at Chen Fan's palm in distress, gently brushing her fingers over the stitched wound.
"Does it still hurt?"
Chen Fan smiled. "It hurt quite a bit before, but now that you've touched it, it doesn't."
"Of course, if you gave me a kiss, it might stop hurting altogether."
With tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes, Su Ruochu lightly punched Chen Fan.
"You're hurt this badly, and you're still sweet-talking me."
"Is this why you've been deliberately avoiding me these past few days?"
Chen Fan smiled sheepishly and raised his hand to gently wipe away her tears.
"Yes."
"I didn't want you to worry."
But Su Ruochu pursed her lips, looking a little angry.
"From now on, if anything like this happens, you have to tell me first."
"Okay."
Before you continue