Chapter 81

Wang Deliang asked Bian Xuedao, "What do you want me to do?"

Bian Xuedao said, "I want you to find out if Tao Qing has registered for this year's CET-4 exam."

Wang Deliang said, "There's no need to ask around. He has registered, and everyone in our dorm has registered."

Bian Xuedao said, "When your admission cards are issued in a few days, let me know his exam room number and seat number as soon as possible."

Wang Deliang said, "No problem with that."

Bian Xuedao, seeing that Wang Deliang seemed to have figured something out, asked, "Do you have an idea of what I'm planning to do?"

Wang Deliang said, "I can't be sure, but I have a rough idea. You probably want something to happen to him during the exam, right? But I'm very curious about how you plan to do it."

At this point, there was no need to hide anything from Wang Deliang, so Bian Xuedao laid out his plan in detail.

However, Wang Deliang turned out to be even more cunning.

Wang Deliang rejected Bian Xuedao's idea of finding someone at Tao Qing's exam room and instead offered a different suggestion, along with backup plans. Bian Xuedao thought it was indeed more feasible and safer. He couldn't help but marvel: "Three cobblers with their wits combined equal Zhuge Liang, the master mind."

In the end, Wang Deliang added a task for himself, clearly wanting Bian Xuedao to feel that his 10,000 yuan was well worth it.

At this point, the two conspirators had completed their initial collaboration and began the first step of their partnership.

Checking the time, Bian Xuedao left first, asking Wang Deliang to buy a mobile phone as soon as possible for easier communication.

After Bian Xuedao left, Wang Deliang sat alone, watching him stand by the roadside for two minutes before getting into a black car from the second-floor window.

About 10 minutes later, after finishing a pot of tea, Wang Deliang leisurely left the teahouse.

When leaving the teahouse, Bian Xuedao felt very satisfied. With Wang Deliang's help, Tao Qing was doomed, especially since Bian Xuedao had discovered that Wang Deliang seemed to have the potential of a strategist.

Wang Deliang was also very happy. After being anxious for a long time, he finally confirmed that Bian Xuedao was not a homosexual, nor did he want him to commit murder or arson or pretend to be insane. Instead, he wanted him to help deal with Tao Qing in the dorm. Feeling the stack of money in his bag, Wang Deliang thought: "If it were 5,000 yuan, I might have hesitated, but this is 10,000 yuan! Tao Qing, you're a classmate, but I have no choice but to let you down."

Back in the dorm, Wang Deliang put the fruit he bought on the communal table and distributed it to everyone, quietly putting his bag in his cabinet and locking it. He took off his dirty clothes and smelly socks, washed his face in the bathroom, then took an apple and lay on the bed, munching on it while chatting with everyone and thinking about Bian Xuedao's plan.

Tao Qing returned, his face still bruised, and entered the room with a gloomy expression, slamming the door loudly.

Old Seven, who had always been on good terms with Tao Qing, said, "Old Tao, the fruit on the table is from Deliang, try some."

Tao Qing immediately put on the air of a township official, nodding importantly, breaking off a banana, and taking two bites. "Deliang, you've grown up, knowing how to buy fruit now."

Wang Deliang was furious! "I've bought fruit several times, and you've never bought any. How dare you criticize me?"

Though he was angry, Wang Deliang smiled and said, "I saw that Old Tao wasn't in a good mood today. How about it? Did you make up with your girlfriend?"

Mentioning Xu Shangxiu, Tao Qing's face flashed with a look of caution, then he put on a successful air. "Little girls, they love to be coquettish. A few words and she's fine."

Old Seven, who was four years younger than Tao Qing, looked up to him with admiration. Wang Deliang, however, was full of disdain: "Still boasting! When you called her this afternoon, you were almost on your knees."

Wang Deliang no longer paid attention to Tao Qing, feeling that helping Bian Xuedao get rid of this guy would make his dorm life more comfortable.

Wang Deliang didn't have money, but he knew how to spend it.

In the evening, Wang Deliang bought a large bag of the most expensive fruit at the time and sent it to his girlfriend. At the girls' dorm, Wang Deliang asked his girlfriend to go out with him the next day.

The next day, Wang Deliang took his girlfriend by taxi straight to the largest mobile phone market in Songjiang City.

His girlfriend was a bit confused. Wang Deliang didn't go to the river or the park; why did he come here? To buy a phone? Could it be for her? She thought about it for a moment but immediately dismissed the idea.

Although the mobile phone penetration rate in universities in 2003 was about 50%, most were bought by parents or second-hand by students. The mobile phone market was in a rapid development stage, with various designs and features such as polyphonic ringtones, cameras, dual screens, color screens, swivel screens, and MMS. If a boy could buy a new model for his girlfriend, he would be considered a "campus tycoon."

Although there was a rumor that someone in 11A had given their girlfriend a laptop worth over 20,000 yuan last year, all the girls knew that even if they were as beautiful as the campus flower, they would need a capable boyfriend, which was rare.

The mobile phone market was crowded, but it was clear that more people were looking than buying.

Wang Deliang led his girlfriend to the Samsung phone counter, squeezed in, and asked her, "You said you saw someone using a beautiful Samsung phone. Do you know the model?"

His girlfriend shook her head.

Wang Deliang asked, "Can you recognize it?"

His girlfriend nodded.

Wang Deliang said, "Come and pick it out."

His girlfriend asked, "What for?"

Wang Deliang enjoyed the feeling, especially the tone of her voice, which was both hopeful and disbelieving.

"Pick one first, I'll see what it looks like, the one you can't stop thinking about," Wang Deliang said.

His girlfriend stood at the counter and carefully looked at the phones, then pointed to one priced at 4,260 yuan. "This one."

Wang Deliang looked at it and thought, "Wow, that's expensive!"

He regretted his earlier show of confidence but couldn't back down now. Fortunately, he had brought the 10,000 yuan from Bian Xuedao, which could cover it.

Wang Deliang asked the salesperson to take out the model phone his girlfriend had pointed to.

The salesperson glanced at Wang Deliang, recognizing him as a student, and was initially reluctant to engage. However, the Samsung S308 was a high-end model, and selling one was equivalent to selling two other phones. For the sake of the money, the salesperson enthusiastically introduced the phone's features and advantages, such as the dual color screen and low power consumption, and added that it was very suitable for women, almost tailor-made.

Wang Deliang remained noncommittal.

After looking at it for a while, he said, "Bring me a real one."

The salesperson looked at Wang Deliang and asked, "Sir, are you really interested in this model?"

Wang Deliang said calmly, "Yes, I am."

His girlfriend secretly tugged at his sleeve.

Wang Deliang ignored her and said to the salesperson, "Bring it! Don't you have a real one?"

The real phone was brought out, and the feel was much better than the model. Wang Deliang glanced at it and handed it to his girlfriend, "Take a look, do you like it?"

His girlfriend was very nervous, afraid that if she looked at it for too long, Wang Deliang would turn around and say, "I don't like this model, let's look at others," which would be embarrassing.

She took the phone, opened it briefly, and said to the salesperson, "It's a bit big for me, I'll look at some others."

She pretended to look at other models in the counter.

The salesperson looked down on her, about to put the phone back in the box, but Wang Deliang stopped him, "I'll take this one, please write up the invoice."

He took out a stack of money.

The salesperson, seeing about 5,000 yuan, immediately smiled, "I'll write it up right away. By the way, the store has a promotion, buy a phone and get a gift. If you spend over 4,000 yuan, you get an additional gift. With the invoice, you can participate in a live draw on the first floor."

The salesperson quickly wrote up the invoice, asking for Wang Deliang's name and phone number.

Wang Deliang and his girlfriend didn't have phones, but he didn't want to lose face, so he changed the last two digits of his uncle's phone number and gave it to the salesperson.

Wang Deliang knew the pain. The 5,000 yuan was meant for buying phones for both of them, but it was all gone on one.

His girlfriend was still a bit in disbelief that Wang Deliang had really bought her a phone, a fashionable dual color screen phone worth over 4,000 yuan.

With the invoice, Wang Deliang went to pay, asking his girlfriend to stay and check for any defects and to have the salesperson demonstrate the phone.

After waiting in line for a while, he paid and returned to find the phone already back in the box, and his girlfriend had even chosen the gifts, a thermos and a hot water bottle.

His girlfriend held the shopping bag in one hand and clung to Wang Deliang with the other, like a little bird, occasionally touching his arm with her half-white baby.

Seeing his girlfriend about to leave, Wang Deliang held her back, "Sister, I've bought yours, but I haven't bought mine yet. How will we contact each other if you have one and I don't?"

His girlfriend blushed and playfully stepped on his foot, looking fierce but stepping lightly.

Wang Deliang took his girlfriend around for a bit and bought himself a Sony Ericsson T618.

Going all the way, Wang Deliang bought two SIM cards and topped each with 300 yuan. One for himself and one for his girlfriend. After participating in the live draw, they went out for a McDonald's meal and returned home.

This time, his girlfriend was completely won over by Wang Deliang.