On the first day after the Gaokao ended, Chen Fan went looking for neither Guo Shuai nor Su Ruochu.
Instead, he went to Honghai Computer School alone.
As soon as he walked in, Zhou Honghai waved excitedly.
"You're just in time."
"Quick! Give them a demonstration."
Then he explained to the parents beside him, who had come to ask about computer lessons.
"This is Chen Fan. He just finished his Gaokao, and he learned his computer skills here."
"You can see for yourselves how good he is."
With that, he pulled Chen Fan over to a computer.
Chen Fan looked puzzled.
"What? What am I supposed to demonstrate?"
Zhou Honghai whispered, "Just show them some of your touch typing."
So Chen Fan turned on the computer and created a new text document.
He opened the document in front of the parents and their children, then began typing with both hands without looking at the keyboard.
Clack, clack, clack.
Strings of text appeared at lightning speed.
His movements were smooth and effortless.
In those days, especially in a small place like Luo City, that display was more than enough to impress everyone.
Sure enough, the parents were astonished after watching Chen Fan.
They immediately said they wanted their children to study there.
Zhou Honghai grinned from ear to ear and led the group to his office to discuss the details.
Meanwhile, Chen Fan sat alone at the computer and opened his own domain-name website first.
Traffic had increased again over the past few days, reaching more than two thousand views.
The number of registered users had finally passed a hundred, too.
Then he searched for Easy Domain Network and opened it. Without access to its backend, he had no way of knowing its traffic figures.
Judging by the number of posts, though, Easy Domain Network was probably still behind his site.
It seemed Boss Yao had yet to start making a serious push.
But Chen Fan wasn't about to wait for the other side to make a move.
He had to take advantage of his current lead and find a way to widen the gap.
Chen Fan closed Easy Domain Network and opened .
In the 2000s, the three major portals were unrivaled when it came to traffic.
He ultimately chose because he felt it had a stronger focus on news than the other two portals.
As for why he didn't advertise on all three, the answer was simple: he didn't have the money.
His entire savings amounted to just over 5,500 yuan.
His mother had given him five thousand that day, while the remaining five hundred was what the pretty woman had paid him earlier for fixing her computer here.
With so little money, he had to spend it where it counted.
Using the business contact details listed on the website, Chen Fan sent them an email.
In essence, he said he wanted to place advertisements on and asked about their rates.
The reply came quickly.
They sent Chen Fan a QQ number straight away.
Only then did Chen Fan suddenly realize that he didn't seem to have a QQ account yet.
He hurried to register one.
To his surprise, he got a five-digit QQ number.
He logged into his newly registered account and added the number they had sent him.
Once the friend request was accepted, Chen Fan got straight to the point and asked about advertising costs.
The person on the other end asked what product he wanted to promote.
Chen Fan briefly explained his idea.
After hearing that he wanted to promote a personal website, they quickly sent him a list of rates.
Damn! That's daylight robbery!
Chen Fan cursed inwardly at the prices they sent.
Although these rates were several times cheaper than those in his previous life, they were still beyond what he could afford now.
So Chen Fan started haggling.
The two sides went back and forth for more than half an hour.
At last, they settled on a final advertising plan.
Chen Fan chose a total of three ad placements on .
One would run on the homepage's first screen for a day, while the other two would run on secondary pages for ten days.
The total came to 5,400 yuan.
When they asked which secondary pages he wanted, Chen Fan thought it over and chose the internet and business sections.
"Just a moment!"
About ten minutes after that reply, they sent him an electronic contract.
Chen Fan quickly filled it out.
"The contract must be prepared in triplicate. Please print and sign the copies, then mail them to us. Once we stamp them, we'll mail one copy back to you."
"You'll need to pay a five-hundred-yuan deposit today."
"Also, please transfer the remaining balance to this account within three working days. After that deadline, the deposit will no longer be refundable."
Chen Fan had no objections. They agreed that the advertising campaign would officially begin the day after his payment arrived.
And so, in less than an hour, Chen Fan had spent every last bit of the five thousand-odd yuan he had.
He stared at the QQ chat on the screen.
Suddenly, an idea struck him.
That's right.
In 2000, QQ was still struggling to find a way to make money. It was nowhere near the corporate giant it would become more than a decade later.
It should still be easy to register a few good QQ numbers at this point.
If I stockpile a few five- or six-digit QQ numbers now, or collect some lucky numbers and hold on to them for a few years, I should be able to sell them for a little money.
At that thought, Chen Fan immediately got up and fetched paper and a pen from the front desk.
Then he began registering QQ accounts like mad.
By the end of the morning, his notepad was filled with strings of QQ numbers.
His luck was good: he had collected fifteen five-digit QQ numbers and ten six-digit QQ numbers.
A few had particularly auspicious combinations, which he figured should fetch a little money.
Chen Fan carefully tucked the sheet into his pocket, said goodbye to Zhou Honghai, and left the computer school alone.
After lunch, instead of taking a nap at home, Chen Fan headed straight to the post office.
He waited outside until it opened for the afternoon, then used the account details they had provided to transfer the full 5,400 yuan.
He mailed the completed contract at the same time.
Now all that remained was to wait for them to run the ads.
July 12.
The day to submit their university choices.
That day, Chen Fan saw Su Ruochu again.
She wasn't wearing her school uniform. Instead, she had made a point of wearing a pretty dress.
Her ponytail was gone, too.
Her glossy black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and a pale blue headband added to her beautiful, elegant appearance.
On her university application form, Su Ruochu selected the international trade program at Cloudsea University's School of Economics, Trade and Management.
After filling it out, she stole a glance at Chen Fan.
Seeing that he still hadn't written anything, she couldn't help looking a little nervous.
Chen Fan smiled and pushed his application form over to her.
Su Ruochu looked puzzled, and Chen Fan said softly,
"Fill it out for me."
"Huh?"
"Your handwriting is prettier."
Su Ruochu's lovely face instantly flushed. Of course she understood what he meant.
It was as though he had placed the most important decision of his life in her hands.
"You really want me to fill it out?"
"Mm."
The corners of Su Ruochu's lips lifted slightly. Without protesting, she picked up her pen and wrote down Cloudsea University and the international trade program.
Once she finished, she slid it back to Chen Fan, her cheeks red.
They exchanged a smile.
At noon, at Chen Fan's suggestion, the four friends sat down together one last time in a little restaurant outside the school.
At the table, Li Na was nothing like her usual lively, outgoing self. She seemed rather reserved.
Guo Shuai, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected, as carefree as ever.
Since this was their last meal together, all four of their glasses were filled with beer.
Guo Shuai took the initiative and raised his glass.
He looked up at Li Na across from him.
"Here's to a bright future for you, and to finding a boyfriend in college who'll cherish you."
Li Na looked a little awkward. After a moment's hesitation, she picked up her glass.
"Thank you."
"I hope you find the right girlfriend in college, too."
They clinked glasses. Guo Shuai drained his in one go, while Li Na's eyes reddened slightly.
Watching them, Su Ruochu seemed to imagine herself in their place. She couldn't help reaching beneath the table to take Chen Fan's hand.
Understanding what she meant, Chen Fan smiled at her.
"We'll never be apart."
Over the course of the meal, Li Na, who had seemed so reserved, recovered the quickest, while Guo Shuai, who had seemed perfectly fine and carefree, drank too much.
In the end, Chen Fan had to support him on the way back.
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