Seeing how serious she looked, Chen Fan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Well... all right."
"I'll take the money."
"Thank you."
Only then did Su Ruochu smile.
She was thrilled that she could help Chen Fan.
"What are you planning to do next?"
Chen Fan shook his head with a wry smile.
"I haven't figured that out yet."
Su Ruochu suggested, "There's just over a month left before college starts."
"You can't keep coming to Honghai's place every day to keep an eye on things, can you?"
"Since you said you haven't thought of another solution, why don't you... buy a computer with this money first?"
"With a computer, you could maintain the website from home. And once college starts, you could take it to your dorm."
The suggestion tempted Chen Fan.
After all, not having a computer was terribly inconvenient for him.
He also wanted to start a business once he got to college, and that would inevitably require a computer.
But after thinking it over, he dismissed the idea.
It had nothing to do with male pride.
The real reason was that Su Ruochu had just told him she'd spent several years saving this money.
He absolutely couldn't squander it.
"Let me think about it some more."
Chen Fan gave Su Ruochu a small smile.
"Maybe I'll come up with another solution soon."
Chen Fan hadn't found a good way to win.
But before long, his opponent provided him with fresh inspiration.
That day, Chen Fan and Guo Shuai were online at the White Birch Grove.
The computer in front of Chen Fan had open.
His promotional contract with had expired three days earlier.
Chen Fan couldn't afford to renew it.
And today, the advertisement on had changed to the Easy Domain Network.
It seemed his opponent really intended to wipe him out.
Chen Fan shook his head with a helpless, bitter smile.
Against someone who could throw that much money around, he really was outmatched.
Was he supposed to admit defeat just like that?
Chen Fan couldn't stomach it.
He clicked open his own Domain Name Network.
Since the Domain Name Network's promotional contract had ended, the rival Easy Domain Network had overtaken it in traffic over the past two days.
Fortunately, the earlier promotion had brought the Domain Name Network a substantial amount of traffic.
Many users had already grown accustomed to posting on the Domain Name Network's forums, chatting and gossiping...
Some had naturally seen the Easy Domain Network's advertisements, and a portion of them had even gone over to try it out.
But the experience was so awful that they ultimately returned to the Domain Name Network, cursing all the way.
It was like getting used to living in a spacious, bright villa, then being told to squeeze into a shabby, drafty communal bunkroom. Of course you'd find it hard to adjust.
Chen Fan's Domain Name Network was that villa.
The design and approach Chen Fan had used were at least two versions ahead of the Easy Domain Network.
"What the hell is that Easy Domain Network?"
"They actually have the nerve to advertise that thing?"
"If I had that much money, I'd rather spend it on a decent meal."
On the Domain Name Network's forums, users who had tried the Easy Domain Network returned to complain at length.
"Everyone, stay away from the Easy Domain Network. It's a complete waste of your life."
"Compared to our Domain Name Network, the Easy Domain Network is just some knockoff that can't even decide what it's supposed to be."
At first, it was just forum users amusing themselves by venting, but soon other voices appeared.
"I thought the Domain Name Network was supposed to be amazing. Now that I've looked, it's nothing special."
"Everyone, go register on the Easy Domain Network. Their traffic is at least ten times what this place gets..."
"So what if the website looks nice? Without visitors, it's just a pile of shit..."
These smear comments appeared in a concentrated burst on practically the same day.
Naturally, they soon caught the attention of Chen Fan, the forum administrator.
Most of the accounts posting these comments were alternate accounts registered within the past day or two...
Chen Fan shook his head, speechless.
He hadn't expected people to already be registering alternate accounts to smear others online in this era.
And judging by what these accounts said and when they posted, nothing could convince Chen Fan that no one was directing them behind the scenes.
Boss Yao certainly lived up to his reputation as someone who would leave his mark on the internet in later years.
To think he already knew how to use paid trolls to smear his rivals...
Paid trolls?
That's it.
A sudden flash of inspiration struck Chen Fan, and his eyes lit up.
There were only ten or twenty of these accounts his opponent had sent to smear him, and it was clearly premeditated.
Unfortunately for Boss Yao, he hadn't yet conceived of an organized online troll army.
Nor did he know what a vast and terrifying force those armies would become in the future.
Chen Fan didn't feel any particular love or hatred for paid trolls.
To him, they were a double-edged sword.
Used well, they could produce remarkable results.
Since he couldn't compete with Boss Yao by pouring money into promotion, he might as well find another route.
He could take a different approach.
It was as though a door had suddenly opened in Chen Fan's mind, and his thoughts became crystal clear.
"Boss Yao, oh, Boss Yao. You sent people to smear me first, so don't blame me for what comes next."
After muttering that, Chen Fan reached out and gave Guo Shuai, who was playing a game, a pat.
"Let's go."
"Huh? Our time isn't up yet."
Guo Shuai looked baffled and called after Chen Fan.
But then he saw that Chen Fan wasn't leaving. Instead, he headed straight for the internet café's front desk.
Guo Shuai hesitated, then abandoned his game and hurried after him, worried something was wrong.
"I'd like to see your boss."
Chen Fan got straight to the point with the front desk attendant.
The attendant was using the computer. He glanced up at Chen Fan, his expression blank.
"The boss is busy. He doesn't have time."
Seeing this as he caught up, Guo Shuai was about to lose his temper, but Chen Fan stopped him.
Chen Fan looked at the young man in front of him with an easy smile.
"That's fine. I can talk to you instead."
"Hey, buddy, interested in making a little extra cash?"
At those words, the attendant finally took his eyes off the computer screen and gave Chen Fan his attention for the first time.
"What do you mean?"
Chen Fan smiled and pulled a slip of paper from his pocket.
"Look. I've just created a QQ Group."
"Starting today, get as many people who come here to use the computers as you can to join my group."
"For every person who joins, I'll pay you fifty cents. No upper limit."
"What do you think? Want to take the deal?"
The attendant stared at Chen Fan in bewilderment.
"That's all there is to it?"
"That's all."
"You're serious?"
"Of course I am."
Chen Fan smiled. "Even if I were trying to scam you, what could I get out of it? You don't have to put anything in. All you have to do is talk, and you'll make money, right?"
"Of course, if you're not interested, I can ask your network attendant. I think he'd be interested..."
"Who said I'm not interested? I'm in!"
The moment the attendant heard that Chen Fan might ask the network attendant instead, he panicked.
He snatched the slip of paper from Chen Fan's hand, studied it, then asked doubtfully,
"What if... you go back on your word and don't pay?"
Chen Fan smiled.
"The two of us come here to use the computers almost every day. You know our faces by now."
"Do you really think I'd mess with you over something like this? If you want to know whether it's real, just get a few people into the group today and see for yourself."
"Fifty cents a person means five yuan for ten people, fifty for a hundred... If you can bring in a thousand people at once, that's an easy five hundred yuan for you..."
The attendant was clearly swayed by Chen Fan's words.
He figured he didn't have to put anything into it anyway, so he might as well give it a shot.
"All right. I'll take your word for it!"
Before you continue