Chapter 15

The day after the college entrance exam results came out, Bian Xuedao said he wanted to go to a computer school to learn some computer knowledge, and his mother immediately agreed.

Bian Xuedao rode his bike to all the computer schools in the city. After asking around, he found that most of them were still teaching very basic computer knowledge and software, and he quickly lost interest.

It wasn't until the last computer school that things got interesting.

This computer school was on the second floor of a street-facing building, with the school name written on a piece of paper and stuck to the balcony window. Upon entering, the environment was worse than the previous schools. The chairs were simple plastic stools, the computers looked like they were from an internet cafe, and the room was filled with the smell of stir-fried dishes.

As Bian Xuedao walked in, a young man with glasses came over, "Do you want to learn computers?"

Bian Xuedao nodded and looked around, then asked the man with glasses, "Do you teach web design?"

The man with glasses was taken aback, "You want to learn web design? Do you know computers?"

Bian Xuedao glanced at the monitor in front of a girl who looked like a student, "I know a bit."

"I can teach you," the man with glasses looked at Bian Xuedao carefully, "but web design has different aspects, front-end and back-end. It's not something you can learn in a short time. How long do you plan to study?"

"I just finished the college entrance exam, I have about a month," Bian Xuedao said.

The entire school had only three students, two boys and one girl. The two boys looked like middle school students, and the girl was older.

A short man with a flat-top was guiding one of the boys, but his eyes kept darting towards Bian Xuedao.

At this moment, a woman in her twenties with fair skin came out of a room and said to the man with the flat-top, "Go set up the table inside, I'll call your brother-in-law for dinner."

Bian Xuedao asked the man with glasses, "How much does it cost to learn here?"

The man with glasses was a bit hesitant and said frankly, "I've never taught this before. I know some, but I haven't taught it. If you really want to learn, I'll find some software and we can discuss it tomorrow."

"Do you have a phone here? Give me the number, I'll call you tomorrow," Bian Xuedao said.

With the phone number of the computer school, Bian Xuedao went home. His mother said a girl named Dong Xue had called him. Bian Xuedao called back, and Dong Xue's mother answered, "Hello, is Dong Xue there? I'm her classmate."

A voice from the other end called out, "Dong Xue, your phone!"

Dong Xue asked about Bian Xuedao's exam score and then said her parents wanted to treat him to a meal to thank him for helping her during the exam. Bian Xuedao declined a few times, but Dong Xue insisted.

The meal was at a restaurant not far from Dong Xue's house. Dong Xue's father booked a small private room, which was quite nice. Dong Xue's mother let Bian Xuedao order the dishes, and he smiled, saying he had never eaten there before and that simple home-style dishes would be fine.

While Dong Xue was ordering, her father talked about how Bian Xuedao had found him outside the exam room, especially describing the T-shirt with writing on it and how Bian Xuedao had deliberately said the wrong class to test him, praising Bian Xuedao for being clever.

Bian Xuedao didn't take any credit and chatted with Dong Xue's father calmly.

Dong Xue's mother observed Bian Xuedao and noticed that he didn't have the nervousness or restlessness that other teenagers had. When she asked about his exam score and heard he had scored 536, the atmosphere of the meal became even better.

After the meal, Dong Xue said she would see him off. Her parents exchanged a glance and smiled, telling her to come back early.

Dong Xue didn't ride a bike and wasn't afraid of her parents seeing her. She sat on the back of Bian Xuedao's bike naturally.

Bian Xuedao really liked Dong Xue's straightforwardness. He asked where she wanted to go, and she said anywhere.

Unconsciously, Bian Xuedao rode to the school.

The classroom doors were all locked, so the two of them went to the rooftop of the teaching building. They looked at the distant city without saying a word.

"Can you guess what Chunshan will be like in 10 years?" Bian Xuedao broke the silence.

"I don't know," Dong Xue shook her head.

"I can guess a bit," Bian Xuedao pointed to the distance and described some changes.

Dong Xue looked far away, as if she heard him, and as if she didn't.

After a while, "I like you, do you like me?" Dong Xue asked softly.

"Yes!" Bian Xuedao answered without hesitation.

"But we're about to be separated. My family is moving next week," Dong Xue said.

"Where to?" Bian Xuedao asked.

"Songjiang City."

"I applied to Dongsen University in Songjiang. We'll meet again if we're meant to," Bian Xuedao said with a smile.

Dong Xue said, "Why didn't I notice you were such a special person earlier?"

"Because I wasn't special enough before," Bian Xuedao said.

That day, Dong Xue leaned against Bian Xuedao, letting him wrap his arms around her waist. They watched the sunset together and talked for a long time.

"Can I have the T-shirt you wrote on that day?" Dong Xue said.

"The writing has been washed off."

"I want it anyway."

"Okay, I'll bring it to you tomorrow."

"No, let's go to your place now."

Bian Xuedao took Dong Xue back to his place and then dropped her off at her house. Not far from her house, Dong Xue asked him to stop. Under a tree on the street, Dong Xue kissed Bian Xuedao deeply and whispered "goodbye" in his ear before running away.

That night, Bian Xuedao didn't sleep well.

He woke up at 10 in the morning, found the phone number he had written down the day before, and called.

The man with glasses said the tuition was 2200 yuan, and Bian Xuedao said no. After some thought, he asked if he could get a discount if he brought in a few students. The man with glasses said a discount of 1000 yuan if he brought in 5 students.

Bian Xuedao started calling his classmates, both from junior high and high school, and finally found 6 who were interested in learning computers.

After hanging up, Bian Xuedao went to the computer school from the day before. Only then did he notice that it was called Qing Song Computer School, a rather elegant name.

After some negotiation, Bian Xuedao's tuition was set at 800 yuan, with the condition that he would also act as a part-time teacher.

The man with glasses was named Zhang Yaqing, his wife was named Wang Song, and the short man with the flat-top was Wang Song's brother, Wang Bai. Bian Xuedao later learned that Zhang Yaqing had graduated from a prestigious university with a degree in software engineering. He had found a good job at an IT company but left after being caught doing freelance work. With the money from freelance work, he and his wife returned to their hometown and opened this computer school.

When Bian Xuedao said he could work there to pay for his tuition, Zhang Yaqing laughed and asked what he could do.

Bian Xuedao demonstrated how to assemble and disassemble a computer, reinstall the system, and process images. What truly surprised Zhang Yaqing was that Bian Xuedao could type without looking at the keyboard and at a decent speed. At that time, many high school students still typed with one finger.

In the following days, Bian Xuedao's six classmates gradually came to the school to learn computers. They brought more classmates and relatives' children, and the once empty computer school became lively. Eventually, the computers had to be shared, with one person using it while two others watched.

Wang Song was very grateful to Bian Xuedao for bringing in so many students and often invited him to stay for lunch.

Later, the young teacher at Qing Song Computer School who could type quickly became a selling point. When new students asked, Zhang Yaqing would have Bian Xuedao demonstrate his fast typing. In the small city in 2001, this was almost a god-like skill, and students would immediately decide to learn computers there.

Bian Xuedao and Zhang Yaqing helped each other. Zhang Yaqing was very dedicated to teaching Bian Xuedao web design. When he encountered something he wasn't familiar with, he would call or use QQ to contact his old classmates and colleagues. He even introduced a classmate with a talent for programming to Bian Xuedao, and they added each other on QQ. Bian Xuedao's QQ name was "Restart," and the other's was "Jinghai." With such a strong teaching team, Bian Xuedao progressed quickly.

In his spare time, Bian Xuedao gave Zhang Yaqing many suggestions. For example, how to package the computer school and how to arrange the interior to make it look more professional and upscale. He also suggested that Zhang Yaqing try to rent a building to open an internet cafe, even though it was a bit late.

Among the six classmates learning computers, the one who got along best with Bian Xuedao was Wang Wenkai.

Wang Wenkai and Bian Xuedao were classmates in junior high, but they went to different high schools. They stayed in touch and often met up during holidays. Wang Wenkai studied science and scored 633 on the college entrance exam, applying to the Computer Science and Technology program at Songjiang Industrial University. He came to the computer school to learn some computer knowledge in advance.

On August 28, Bian Xuedao's college acceptance letter arrived. Looking at the words "International Trade" on the letter, he seemed to see Xu Shangxiu standing in front of him, smiling at him.

On the evening of September 11, 2001, at 7 PM, looking at the ticking clock on the wall, Bian Xuedao's heart was restless.

He knew that in a little over an hour, a terrorist attack would occur on the other side of the world, but he could do nothing and say nothing.

Bian Xuedao clearly knew that if he really said something online in advance, he and his family would be swept into an uncontrollable vortex, and even their lives would no longer be in their control.

The information in his head, if not shared, was an opportunity; if shared, it would be a disaster. This night was like that, as was the earthquake seven years later, and everything he knew was like that. That night, Bian Xuedao made a rule for himself—no alcohol.

On September 15, the day before he was to report to the university, Bian Xuedao talked to his parents for a long time. He told them that he would find part-time work to train himself after starting university and that they shouldn't rush to sell their house. He also said he would go to the university alone the next day and call home once he was settled.

At first, his mother insisted on going with him, but his father eventually persuaded her otherwise.

On the morning of September 16, at 5 AM, Bian Xuedao boarded the train from Chunshan to Songjiang alone.