In his previous life, Chen Fan had studied computer technology and been a typical IT guy.
That was why he had specifically looked into this back in college.
When it came down to it, trading domain names was a business with astronomical returns.
As long as you managed to register a good domain before anyone else, you could resell it for millions or even tens of millions. Getting rich overnight was no fantasy.
Chen Fan remembered that JD had later spent thirty million yuan buying its domain.
Reibus's Grain brand had spent over three million US dollars on its own.
Of course, the most expensive had been 360's domain, bought from an overseas website for over a hundred million yuan.
That showed just how crazy the domain trade could get.
The two best-known names in the domain business back then had been Cai Wensheng and Yao Jinbo.
The former was the chairman of Meitu Xiuxiu, a famous investor who held a vast collection of rare domains.
The latter was more widely known, of course, because Yao Jinbo was the founder and boss of 59.com.
He had an exceptionally sharp eye and had started registering huge numbers of domains very early on. Rumor had it that he owned the largest collection of two-digit numeric domains in China, worth over a hundred million yuan in total.
Chen Fan rubbed his hands together excitedly.
This was the advantage of knowing the future.
He could make his move before anyone else caught on.
Chen Fan got up, hurried over to ask the internet café attendant for a pen and paper, then quickly wrote down every famous website domain he could think of.
In just under half an hour, he had listed nearly fifty domains.
Next came trying to register them one by one.
Since Alibaba Cloud had yet to exist, he could only register them through overseas websites.
But that was no obstacle for an IT guy like Chen Fan.
With a few simple steps, he easily bypassed the firewall.
He found a registration website, opened it, logged in, and tried registering a domain.
"Huh? This website already existed this early?"
"Oh? Someone registered this one too?"
"No problem. I've still got plenty more."
Chen Fan muttered to himself as he tried them one after another.
Half an hour later.
Chen Fan's face was pale, and the corner of his mouth kept twitching.
"Fuck! Do they have to be this ruthless?"
He slumped weakly back in his chair.
His face was full of frustration.
Every single domain he could think of had already been registered by someone else.
At that moment, Chen Fan felt he had underestimated everyone else out there.
When their computer time ran out, Guo Shuai slapped the desk in frustration.
"Fuck! I was this close to winning."
He turned and found Chen Fan sitting beside him with a vacant expression, seemingly lost in thought.
Guo Shuai gave Chen Fan a shove.
"What're you thinking about? Want to pay for another hour?"
"Another hour, my ass! We're going back!"
In a foul mood, Chen Fan stood up to leave.
Guo Shuai looked reluctant. "Just one last hour. One last hour, okay?"
"You've got to let me have one good game..."
Seeing Chen Fan staring intently in a particular direction, Guo Shuai followed his gaze.
There, in a corner across the internet café, a familiar figure was sitting at a computer playing games.
"Huang Hu?"
A little surprised, Guo Shuai exchanged a look with Chen Fan.
"That bastard was the one behind it. What do you say?"
Had this been Chen Fan in his previous life, he probably would have decided it was better to avoid trouble and let it go.
But the soul inside Chen Fan now was over forty years old.
Besides, Huang Hu threatening him was nothing. What mattered was that he had designs on Su Ruochu.
That was something Chen Fan absolutely could not tolerate.
"You head back first. This has nothing to do with you."
Guo Shuai laughed at that.
"You looking down on me?"
"Brotherhood comes from the heart. Get it?"
Chen Fan looked at Guo Shuai with appreciation.
"You're a real friend!"
Guo Shuai rolled up his sleeves.
"I'll handle him in a minute. You stay out of it."
"The teachers already think I'm a bad student anyway. At worst, I'll get publicly reprimanded. One more black mark won't make a difference."
Chen Fan was about to speak when he noticed Huang Hu getting up and heading out.
"Fuck, his time's up too."
"Follow him."
The two quietly trailed him.
As it turned out, Huang Hu did not leave but went into the internet café's restroom instead.
Chen Fan gave Guo Shuai a meaningful look and picked up the trash can by the door.
Guo Shuai counted down from three, then gently pushed open the restroom door.
Sure enough, it was unlocked.
Inside the small, foul-smelling cubicle, Huang Hu stood with his back to them, humming as he relieved himself.
Chen Fan stepped forward and slammed the trash can over his head.
"Fuck... who the hell has a death wish?"
Huang Hu shouted and was just raising his hands to grab the trash can when Guo Shuai stepped forward and kicked him squarely in the backside.
It was a hard kick.
Huang Hu fell flat on his face.
The toilet was right in front of him.
The state of an internet café restroom was easy to imagine. The filthy toilet was full of unflushed yellow and white waste...
As Huang Hu fell, both his hands plunged straight into it.
Guo Shuai wanted to rush up and give him another couple of kicks, but Chen Fan grabbed him and dragged him out of the restroom.
"Ah..."
"Who was that? Who the fuck has a death wish?"
"I fucking saw you! If you've got the guts, don't... urgh... blech!"
Huang Hu's wails came from behind them as Chen Fan and Guo Shuai dashed out of the internet café, laughing their heads off.
"I've been sick of that asshole for ages. Throwing his weight around just because he's class monitor, like he's the damn principal."
Chen Fan did not feel particularly thrilled about getting revenge. Instead, he urged him on.
"Come on. Our next class should be with Mr. Wang, our homeroom teacher. We're dead if we're late."
"Shit, I almost forgot. Let's go..."
They sprinted all the way back and finally burst into the classroom before the bell rang for the second period.
Watching their homeroom teacher walk in right after them, Chen Fan and Guo Shuai exchanged a look and grinned.
"Class, let's begin."
Wang Qiming looked around and frowned.
"Where's Huang Hu, the class monitor?"
No one answered.
Guo Shuai raised his hand. "Sir, maybe the class monitor had diarrhea and fell into the toilet? Should I go look for him?"
The whole class burst out laughing.
"Guo Shuai, you just have to stick your nose into everything, don't you?"
"Sit down properly!"
Mr. Wang gave a cold snort.
"Class begins!"
Smiling, Chen Fan took out his textbook. When he turned his head, he noticed Su Ruochu stealing a glance at him and immediately flashed her a grin.
This time, however, the class beauty did not look away.
"You skipped class."
Chen Fan froze, then hurriedly explained in a low voice, "Actually, I was..."
Su Ruochu frowned.
"The college entrance exams are almost here. Chen Fan, don't you care at all?"
"Don't you want to get into a good university?"
"Even if you won't think of your parents, shouldn't you at least think about your own future?"
Chen Fan was a little surprised that Su Ruochu had said so much in one go.
He gave a sheepish laugh and scratched his head.
"Got it."
"I'll listen to you. I won't skip class again."
Su Ruochu turned away.
"Why would you listen to me? Your studies are your own business."
But Chen Fan was all smiles, his heart brimming with excitement.
My goddess took the initiative to care about me. She has feelings for me.
After school that afternoon, Su Ruochu went to the bicycle shed with her schoolbag on her back.
She immediately spotted Chen Fan waiting there.
"Hehe, what a coincidence. Want to head home together?"
Su Ruochu frowned.
"Chen Fan, what exactly are you trying to do?"
"I don't mean anything else. I just want to walk home with you."
Su Ruochu hesitated for a moment, then suddenly asked a question.
"What you said to Li Na at lunch today... was it true?"
"What did I say?"
Chen Fan was a little confused and did not catch on right away.
Su Ruochu's pretty face reddened, and she turned her head away.
"When... when you said you liked me..."
"Was that true?"
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