Chapter 29

The next day, after the morning exercises, Tong Yan ran up to the third floor to help Old Song move.

There wasn't much to move; the desks and chairs he used before were left behind, and the new office was already equipped with new ones. The only thing Tong Yan needed to handle was Old Song's pile of books.

Mr. Song loved reading and had a full bookshelf at home. His office was also filled with stacks of books and magazines, all of which were open to Tong Yan.

It was the first time Tong Yan had come to the Chinese teacher's office, and he didn't pay attention to the decoration or the size of the space. The first thing he saw was the computer on the desk!

"How can there be a computer here? Can it connect to the internet?" Tong Yan asked casually, hearing the sound of his own swallowing.

Song Xiancheng patted the computer screen and placed a photo frame of him and his daughter on the desk. "Of course it can connect to the internet. Now, we're promoting information-based teaching. In the future, I might use slides for my classes and show you some films and TV shows related to the textbooks."

"Oh, that's great." Tong Yan helped Mr. Song move two more trips and finally finished.

Before leaving, Song Xiancheng called him over. "Take this key. When I'm not here, you can come in to get your homework or read books."

Tong Yan couldn't believe his ears. He had just been thinking about using that computer, and now Old Song was giving him the office key. How considerate he was!

Taking the key, Tong Yan happily ran back to the classroom. However, once he calmed down, he realized he had been too optimistic. That computer wasn't so easy to use.

On the left side of Mr. Song's office was the math teacher's office, which was also the head of Class 1 and taught Class 2. On the right was the office of the principal, Niu Tieshan. Across from it was the Chinese teaching group's office, which Tong Yan often visited.

To put it bluntly, the third floor, except for the unfortunate Class 15 and 16 of the second year, was basically a teacher's office area. From the morning exercises to the end of the evening self-study, there were always teachers walking around. Moreover, Mr. Song had only one place to go besides his classes, so using that computer for writing was out of the question.

Comparing the Spider Internet Cafe and Mr. Song's office, Tong Yan felt that it was more reliable to spend money at the internet cafe. He didn't know how Mr. Song would view him if he found out he was writing a web novel.

On the first day of school, Tong Yan had already returned to a good learning state. He listened carefully in every class, believing that working hard in class was more important than studying after class. However, as soon as the class was over, his mind was filled with thoughts about his novel. Without a computer, he could only think about how to write the next part in his head.

He had only been away from Qidian for a little over a day, but his heart was already in turmoil, wondering how the readers would react to the daily updates. Although Tong Yan didn't communicate much with his readers, it was to focus on writing more. He still valued their opinions very much.

Fortunately, there were two consecutive computer classes on Thursday. If the internet was allowed this time, Tong Yan could check the status of his novel in advance.

In the computer room, Ye Qingzhu completed the teacher's assignment and logged into QQ. Coincidentally, Tian Zini's avatar was also online.

Water Bamboo (Ye Qingzhu): Nini, why are you online?

Muxin Yuer (Tian Zini): Haha, what a coincidence, we're also having a computer class.

Water Bamboo: Not really. If you had your class later, you could chat with Tong Yan.

Muxin Yuer: Even if we had the class at the same time, what difference would it make? I don't even know if he has a QQ number.

Water Bamboo: Do you want me to ask him for you?

Muxin Yuer: You're the best, Yezi! ^O^ By the way, has Duan Hou bothered you again?

Water Bamboo (looking around carefully): He seems to have given up. I heard he's going to switch to the liberal arts class.

Muxin Yuer (proudly): I told you this plan would work. He knows you like Tong Yan, so he must feel inferior and back off. I'm so generous, even lending you Tong Yan.

Water Bamboo: Yes, yes, you're the most generous.

Muxin Yuer: Stop flattering me. Lending is fine, but you must return him.

Water Bamboo: Pfft, who wants him. Okay, class is over, I have to go.

Muxin Yuer: Don't forget to find out Tong Yan's QQ number for me.

Water Bamboo: Got it, you pervert!

After the English class on Thursday morning, as soon as Teacher Hu Susu put away her textbook, the students of Class 2 rushed out, leaving Mrs. Hu to exclaim, "Oh, my God!" The only classes that could cause such a rush were physical education and computer classes, which were rare, with only one of each per week.

When the students of Class 2 rushed to the fifth floor, the students of Class 1 were leaving. Ye Qingzhu and Tong Yan passed each other, but Tong Yan was in a hurry to secure a computer, and Ye Qingzhu didn't have a chance to speak, so she gave up.

Finally, he was back at a computer. Before the summer, Tong Yan was basically a computer illiterate, taking a long time to find keys on the keyboard and only knowing basic operations like copy, cut, and paste. Now, he had transformed.

The computer class lasted two periods. In the first half, there was no internet, and the students listened to the teacher and completed some typing or other operations. In the second half, the internet was connected, and after listening to the teacher, they could use the remaining time freely.

The task the teacher assigned in the first half was too easy for the current Tong Yan. In 2005, not many families could afford computers, and even if some students liked to hang out in internet cafes, they only practiced using the mouse and the "WASD" keys, with no improvement in typing speed. In terms of typing speed, Tong Yan was head and shoulders above the others in the computer room. When Luo Xiaoxu had just typed one line, Tong Yan had already finished a whole paragraph.

Seeing Luo Xiaoxu's clumsy fingers and noticing that the teacher had left, Tong Yan waved him over. "Sit here, I'm getting anxious just watching you!"

Since there was no internet yet, and he had nothing else to do, Tong Yan decided to practice his typing to keep his fingers nimble.

"You're not much faster than me, right?" Luo Xiaoxu gave up his seat but still couldn't resist teasing. Then he saw the paragraph Tong Yan had already typed, at least two hundred words.

"Did you copy and paste that?" Luo Xiaoxu didn't believe it. It had only been a minute or so; how could Tong Yan have finished so quickly? It didn't make sense!

"Ha, that paragraph is from the computer textbook. Where would I copy it from?"

"You're right, but that's still too fast." Luo Xiaoxu remembered that before the break, Tong Yan was just as slow as him, typing with two fingers. Had he improved so much over the summer?

Tong Yan decided to show off. "Watch closely, help me time it," he cracked his fingers, "3, 2, 1, start!"

Luo Xiaoxu saw Tong Yan's fingers flying over the keyboard at a speed he couldn't see clearly, like a skilled dancer. Tong Yan never looked at the keyboard, only occasionally glancing at the textbook.

When Tong Yan shouted, "Done!" the petrified Luo Xiaoxu didn't even have time to check the time. It felt like it had only been about a minute.

Tong Yan had both practiced his typing speed and helped a classmate, feeling very pleased. However, his smile soon faded. Luo Xiaoxu, who usually didn't say much, was now boasting about Tong Yan's typing skills to everyone in the room, with exaggerated gestures.

One by one, people came to ask Tong Yan for help. For many, typing two or three hundred words on a computer took about half an hour, but for Tong Yan, it took only a minute. He spent the entire class typing, which would have annoyed most people, but for a web writer, it was no big deal. By the end of the class, he had typed almost two chapters. He regretted not using the time to write the novel, thinking he could have sent it to his cousin as soon as the internet was connected. What a mistake!

After connecting to the internet, Tong Yan logged in immediately. Recently, Qidian had been very active, first forming strategic partnerships with Xin Chang Publishing and Paradise of Adventurers Publishing in Taiwan, and then collaborating with People's Publishing House, Boji Tianjuan Book Distribution Company, and Gonghe Lian Dong Book Co., Ltd. to promote the "Qidian Library Simplified Publication Plan," aiming to publish popular novels from the site in both simplified and traditional Chinese to increase profitability and retain popular writers.

However, these plans had little to do with Tong Yan. "A Soldier's Wild History" was only a small, somewhat famous novel of about ten thousand words. The plans didn't concern him at the moment. What he was most concerned about was why he couldn't find "A Soldier's Wild History" on the homepage's click chart.