Chapter 76

It was past half past eleven, and the duty teacher had left. Old Liu casually helped Tong Yan take out his computer bag.

At twelve o'clock, Tong Yan still hadn't arrived, so he took the computer out of the bag for him.

At half past twelve, Old Liu plugged in the power for Tong Yan.

At one o'clock in the morning, Old Liu turned on the computer for Tong Yan. He had learned this skill by watching Tong Yan operate it.

Tong Yan still hadn't come, and Old Liu kept pacing back and forth in the room. The computer screen was already on, and he wondered if he should touch it. After much hesitation, he finally reached for the mouse...

"Knock, knock, knock!"

There was a knock on the door, and Old Liu's hand trembled. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Grandpa Liu." The voice was very soft.

It was Tong Yan, and Old Liu suddenly became nervous. "Oh, you're here." He wanted to cover up the evidence, but it was too late. He had no choice but to open the door for Tong Yan.

"Sorry, I can't write today. I'll upload two chapters and then go back." Tong Yan felt it was inappropriate to wake the old man up at this hour, but he usually uploaded new chapters around one o'clock in the morning. Although this novel didn't have many readers yet, he still wanted to maintain this habit.

After entering, Tong Yan naturally saw that his laptop was already on. Old Liu explained somewhat awkwardly, "I thought I'd turn on the computer and wait for you, but you never came."

"It's my fault. I should have told you in advance."

Tong Yan had enough drafts saved and directly uploaded two chapters. At the end of the chapters, he noted that the book had already been sent for a contract, and with this assurance, he hoped readers would feel confident in collecting and supporting it. These two chapters were a special gift for the contract.

At this point, "Raging Thunder" had 12 collections, 13 recommendations, and 23 clicks, similar to the early performance of "The Little Soldier's Wild History." However, "The Little Soldier's Wild History" had benefited from the popularity of "The Little Soldier's Legend," while "Raging Thunder" had gained attention purely through its own charm. Although it was only about 10,000 words, it had clearly caught the eye of some readers.

In the book review section, Tong Yan saw a comment from "I Am Arrogant." This guy had found a new base, but his reviews were still a bit off-putting.

I Am Arrogant: This book is so good! Even though there are only two chapters, I can't stop reading. Author, please update soon! I can't take it anymore!!

The comment was too obvious, but the replies below didn't doubt its authenticity.

A Smile of Many Sorrows: Really? I'll check it out.

Old Cat Roast Chicken: It's really good. Author, update soon!

Seven Days and Eight Nights: Too young, can't tell yet, but the author's writing is pretty good.

Hold the Wind: I suggest you read another new book, "Beast Blood Boiling." The beginning is a bit similar, but it's more thrilling and exciting~~

Tong Yan saw a few readers of "The Little Soldier's Wild History" in this thread. What a small world! Besides this main thread, Tong Yan also saw two posts saying "Author, keep it up." Since he had time, he replied with a "Thank you." He didn't want to change his pen name again, so he decided to do his best this time, connect with readers, and make "Tong Yan Wu Ji" a household name.

After doing all this, Tong Yan glanced at Old Liu behind him. He still looked very energetic, probably because he had been sleeping all day.

"Grandpa Liu, why don't you play with it?" Tong Yan invited.

"No, no, I don't know how to play," Old Liu said shyly, knowing that Tong Yan must have guessed he had used the computer without permission.

Tong Yan went over and pulled him over. "I didn't know how to play at first either. If you don't know, you can learn. It's very simple, I'll teach you."

Tong Yan wasn't sure about Old Liu's education level, and the letters on the keyboard were worn off, so he only taught him how to use the mouse. "Click here to open a webpage, this is a directory of websites, and this is news. You don't have a TV in your room, so you can watch news to pass the time, and even TV shows, but you'll need to wear headphones..."

Old Liu kept saying no, but he listened very carefully, afraid of missing a word. His face was full of eagerness.

After teaching some basic operations, Tong Yan said, "I'll go back now. Don't play too late, and feel free to use it when no one is around during the day."

"I'll just take a look," Old Liu said, holding the mouse and staring at the computer with a serious expression, wondering how this thing could be so magical!

On Song RAO's 18th birthday, both men wanted to make it unforgettable. Song Xiancheng had booked a birthday cake early and planned to invite some relatives to celebrate. He had even taken care of the leave slip for Song RAO's evening study session.

Tong Yan couldn't pull off such a grand gesture. He found a book in his desk drawer, "The Little Prince" illustrated edition. It was a book he liked very much. Although it was considered children's literature, it contained profound philosophy and emotions that could be appreciated by adults.

Tong Yan's desk was full of books he liked. Buying books was one of his hobbies. He chose this one because it was short and had a simple plot. Song RAO didn't like reading heavy literary works, and "The Little Prince" could be read as a love story. The love between the Little Prince and the rose was both troubling and beautiful, much like a high school student's first love.

On the first page of the book, Tong Yan wrote, "To the beautiful, lovely, passionate, and eternally youthful Song RAO. Wishing you eternal youth!"

After writing it, Tong Yan felt it was explicit enough. This level of praise would surely make her blush and her heart race.

After two classes, however, Tong Yan felt it might not be explicit enough. Should he write something else?

"I like you?" "You are the most beautiful in my heart?" "You are the only one in my life?" These were too direct. If he said them, their relationship would either completely fall apart or advance further. Maintaining the status quo would be impossible, and Tong Yan wasn't ready for that yet.

In the end, Tong Yan wrote what he wanted to say in code in the upper right corner of the book. This subtle way of expressing his feelings matched his current state of wanting to say something but not daring to. Even if Song RAO discovered the meaning of the code, he could pretend not to know, giving him a way out if needed.

At noon, when Tong Yan entered Song RAO's class, she was napping on her desk after lunch, her pale, smooth face half-exposed. After baring his heart, Tong Yan found her even more adorable.

He couldn't wake her up from outside, so he went in and patted her shoulder. "Ah, why are you here?" Song RAO rubbed her eyes.

There were other seniors in the classroom, so it wasn't convenient to talk. Tong Yan gestured for her to come outside.

Finding a quiet place, Tong Yan took out the small book from his pocket. "This is a French classic, 'The Little Prince.' I know you don't like reading heavy classics, but this book is only about 20,000 words and has illustrations. It's a simple story, and I hope you'll like it."

"For me?"

"It's your birthday gift." Tong Yan's hand was raised, and although it wasn't hot, he was already sweating. After all, this was the first time he had given a gift to a girl.

"Thank you." Song RAO took "The Little Prince" with a smile. Although her father's bookshelf at home had this book, it was different because it was from Tong Yan.

She opened the first page and saw Tong Yan's message, her heart blooming with joy. She didn't say a word of thanks, only a casual, "Smooth talker!"

"Rao Rao, what's this book?" Zhao Ying saw Song RAO staring at a small booklet as soon as she sat down.

"It's written right here, 'The Little Prince.'" Song RAO smiled, resting her chin on her hand.

"Did you buy it?" Zhao Ying took it and started flipping through it.

"Don't look!" Song RAO was afraid Zhao Ying would see the message on the first page.

"Hey, what's this?" Zhao Ying saw something else.

She noticed a handwritten number in the upper right corner of the pages, from the first page to the next seven or eight pages.

"What is it?" The inattentive Song RAO hadn't noticed it before.

Zhao Ying took out a piece of paper and wrote down the numbers: "9, 12, 15, 22, 5, 25, 15, 21."

[PS: Thanks to the generous support of Xiao Xiao Shu Tong, Shu You 150405101905153, Ye Ying, Xiao Wei Shao, Huan Tian Chen, A Smile of Many Sorrows, Shang Hua Pin Yu, Ao You Jiu Tian 01, Qu Hongyi, and Zhaizai Long San Shao!]