Chapter 24

When Yu Jin returned, Bian Xuedao was consulting Jinghai on QQ about a problem. Jinghai told him that the core of solving his problem was Delphi + VC.

Two days later, Yu Jin told the second-level salespeople that the cheat could be used. Their cheat was the second to update after the game update.

The exam results from the previous semester were out. Bian Xuedao averaged 70 points, while Yu Jin failed two subjects. Each retake cost 150, but Yu Jin didn't care about such a small amount of money.

Everyone in 717 knew that Bian Xuedao and Yu Jin were a bit mysterious, but most people, except for Li Yu, thought they were just playing online games together.

After the first meal with 603 after the semester started, Yu Jin got drunk and, holding a glass, told Li Xun that he was making a fortune. Seeing Li Xun didn't believe him, he pulled Bian Xuedao to prove it. Bian Xuedao pressed Yu Jin into his chair and said, "He says the game he's playing now, where he kills monsters for a day, can earn a lot of gold, even gold bricks."

Yu Jin struggled to stand up and say something, but Bian Xuedao firmly pressed him down, holding his neck and whispering in his ear, "The money we make is gray. If you don't want to cause trouble, don't say anything."

After the semester started, Yu Jin bought a Motorola and returned the Samsung to Bian Xuedao.

Bian Xuedao resumed his regular routine: early morning runs, soccer, reading newspapers during the day, writing articles to exercise his mind when he found interesting news, learning English, and going to the rented house every evening to write some code.

In March, Bian Xuedao began focusing on developing auxiliary programs like one-click installation, one-click internet access, one-click cleanup, and one-click search, all named "Crab Claw Orchid." Once developed, he posted them on his forum for free download and use, but all these programs were bundled with my123.

In mid-March, Songjiang City experienced two sandstorms.

People who hadn't experienced the heavy smog of ten years later found it very uncomfortable. The media called for people to protect the environment and for the government to reflect on its development methods.

Bian Xuedao had no time to think about these issues and couldn't do anything about them. He focused all his attention on updating the cheat, promoting my123, and on Xu Shangxiu, who rarely went online on QQ.

Song Jia approached Bian Xuedao a few times, but he didn't go, so she stopped looking for him.

Li Youcheng also approached Bian Xuedao a few times, but he didn't go. However, Li Youcheng continued to look for him. Bian Xuedao, unable to resist, treated her to two good meals, but it was just for eating.

Although he hadn't received any more replies from Xu Shangxiu after that, Bian Xuedao's spirit was completely renewed. He greeted people with a smile before speaking, and his joy grew stronger, like a huge sweet cake that needed to be shared and tasted.

In late March, the 50th anniversary celebration preparations for Dongsen University were officially brought to the forefront.

The programs from the previous celebration were unremarkable, and Bian Xuedao had almost fallen asleep watching them. He had no expectations for this one.

There was a rumor among the students that the school would invite "The Same Song" to perform. Bian Xuedao knew that this rumor had also circulated before, but the school seemed to have rejected it due to the high price, and ended up spending a lot of money on their own production, which was not particularly impressive, except for the final fireworks.

In early April, Nan Jiao and Ai Feng officially became a couple and invited the dorm mates for a meal on the weekend. Chen Jian and Li Yu were very anxious but didn't dare to provoke the "grandma" of 603. Li Yu wrote another song and, knowing that Bian Xuedao could play the guitar, insisted on having him accompany him, playing a tune with no sense of rhythm, which made Bian Xuedao uncomfortable for several days.

To escape Li Yu's torment, Bian Xuedao racked his brain to find a guitar accompaniment song that hadn't been released yet, but he could only think of "Goodbye" and Li Zongsheng's "Hills." He sadly estimated that if he taught "Goodbye" to Li Yu and had him sing it to Li Xun, who he hadn't yet won over, it would be like asking for death.

Surprisingly, Bian Xuedao received several manuscript fee slips, totaling over 700. When Ai Feng heard that Bian Xuedao could earn money by reading newspapers and writing articles, he sat next to him in class every day to grab the newspapers Bian Xuedao had finished reading.

This manuscript fee became the funding for another meal for 717 and 603. With money in his card, Bian Xuedao found a high-end restaurant, ordered the best dishes, the best wine, and even two bottles of red wine for the girls.

At the table, there were two dishes with very small portions that the girls found delicious and joked about not having enough. Bian Xuedao directly ordered 24 more, giving each girl two and each boy one.

When ordering, Chen Jian noticed the prices of the dishes and was worried that Bian Xuedao hadn't looked at them. Yu Jin and Li Yu, however, weren't worried at all, knowing that such a meal wouldn't bankrupt Bian Xuedao.

By the end of the meal, everyone except for the highly tolerant Chen Jian and the non-drinking Bian Xuedao and Su Yi was quite drunk. Seeing Bian Xuedao go out to pay the bill, Chen Jian asked Su Yi how much money he had, fearing that Bian Xuedao might not have enough.

Holding 300 from Su Yi and 500 from himself, he rushed to the front desk and saw that the total consumption was 4800.

Bian Xuedao saw Chen Jian, waved to him, and took out a stack of money from his wallet, counting out half and handing it to the front desk. Chen Jian saw the thickness of the stack and knew it was 10,000.

The two didn't return to the private room and smoked a cigarette at the entrance. Chen Jian asked Bian Xuedao, "Is this the money you and Yu Jin made from the game?"

Bian Xuedao nodded.

"That's a bit extravagant," Chen Jian said.

Bian Xuedao replied, "Recently, I found someone very important to me. It's a happy event, and I've been wanting to share it with someone. Since everyone was happy today, I decided to treat you all. Don't say anything when we get back."

The girls from 603 seemed very drunk at the restaurant, and several of them were helped back by the boys. But once they entered the dorm, they immediately sobered up.

Zhang Meng changed into her pajamas and lay on the bed, saying, "Who do you think paid for this meal? How much did it cost?"

Su Yi said, "Bian Xuedao paid the bill."

Zhang Meng turned over, "I noticed the prices of the dishes when I was ordering. They were all very expensive. Just that small thing we ate, one costs 48. We ate 8 + 24, 32 in total. Wow, that's 1500!"

"Really? That expensive? I didn't notice. This meal must have cost several thousand, a year's tuition!" Nan Jiao said while changing clothes.

Li Xun said, "On the way back, Li Yu said it was about 5000."

Zhang Meng suddenly sat up and asked Li Youcheng, who was on the upper bunk, "Fourth, you have a good eye. You've found a little golden man! Have you made any progress with him? If you don't want him, I'll take him!"

Zhang Meng sat on a chair, propping her chin with her hand, and said, "Bian Xuedao from 717, he seemed very ordinary at first, just tall, not much else, and he doesn't drink, not very manly. But when you look closely, although he's not handsome, he has a lot of charm, yes, a lot of manliness. Hey, don't you feel safe when you look at him?"

"Kind of," Su Yi replied, "Bian Xuedao looks very cool when he's not smiling, and very cute when he smiles."

"Seventh, no way!" The girls without boyfriends protested together, "You already have the handsome Chen Jian, leave this one for us."

"Go away!" Nan Jiao said, "Bian Xuedao is Fourth's type, so don't get any ideas."

Li Youcheng lay on her bed, her heart drifting. She thought about the times she sang with Bian Xuedao and the times they had meals together. But Bian Xuedao was like a cloud in the sky, impossible to catch. What should she do?

Bian Xuedao spent his manuscript fees on a set of soccer equipment and two soccer balls.

The cheat updates and website promotions had entered a stable phase, and in the short term, Bian Xuedao couldn't find any other better opportunities. Besides, he knew that the entire year of 2002 was the golden period for "Legend," with the number of players growing explosively. He didn't need to worry about the cheat's revenue declining.

Of course, Bian Xuedao also knew that besides the revenue from the cheat, Yu Jin made some money by selling equipment offline, but he didn't want to point this out. Water that is too clear has no fish, and besides, Yu Jin, who spent all day promoting online, saved him a lot of time to do other things, which was more important than anything.

With the soccer balls, Bian Xuedao went to the field to practice more often. Over time, he noticed a group of boys around ten years old playing soccer on the edge of their field or on the red brick ground nearby, using a worn-out, deflated ball.

One day, while resting on the sidelines, Bian Xuedao watched the boys play a game with insufficient numbers. Despite this, they played with clear positions and good teamwork.

In the following days, on afternoons without classes, Bian Xuedao went to play soccer and then watched the boys play. One day, he bought a box of Sprite and gave it to the boys.

The boys knew that Bian Xuedao was watching them and that he was a student at the university, so they weren't wary. Through conversation, Bian Xuedao learned that these boys were students of a dying small soccer school, which was hidden in an abandoned repair shop at the edge of the shantytown behind the university.

Bian Xuedao remembered a few of the boys who played well: one was Duan Qifeng, one was Xu Zhiyou, one was Ni Heng, and one was Cheng Daqi.

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