"You're right! I really should learn more from KK! So as not to leave any room for you bunch of scammers!" Zhou Xueyin glared at her ex-husband.
However, the saying is correct, as long as one has solid professional knowledge, there is no fear of being cheated by scammers!
In the end, Sister Li, following the configuration list provided by Kang Siyin, not only equipped Zhou Xueyin with a new computer but also gave them a 64MB USB flash drive as an apology.
Zhou Xueyin promised Sister Li that her stall would advertise on the website for free for life, with absolutely no charge. Sister Li's stall would also become an honorary merchant on their forum, guaranteeing quality for computer assembly there.
Once back home, Zhou Xueyin felt that it was necessary to get the forum online as soon as possible, as it was currently summertime, which could also be a peak season for computer assembly. She really didn't want to see people with no knowledge being cheated.
"KK, can our forum go online now?" Zhou Xueyin asked tentatively.
"Once Shanshan finishes designing the forum's watermark, Tatil, and Banner, we're basically set," Kang Siyin checked.
"But, Shanshan seems to be busy with the cos competition..." Zhou Xueyin glanced at Yao Shanshan, who was daydreaming, "Recently, whenever she's at home, she's in this kind of vacant state."
"Shanshan?" Zhou Xueyin called out softly, but there was no response from the other side; Yao Shanshan continued sitting in her chair, staring into space.
"Yao Shanshan?" Zhou Xueyin then called out her full name, louder this time.
"Ah? Huh? Yinyin? Did you call me?" Shanshan's gaze was still hollow as she looked towards Zhou Xueyin.
"What's wrong with you? Why do you look so absent-minded?" Although Yao Shanshan had always been like this, today her gaze seemed a bit off.
"Nothing... just been lacking sleep lately..." Yao Shanshan yawned conveniently.
"True, you've been busy with the cos group recently, and you also have to draw exclusive avatars for the website; you must be tired. But did you finish all the watermarks, topic pictures, banners, and so on, that you were supposed to draw earlier?" Zhou Xueyin approached Yao Shanshan, wanting to check on the progress.
"I finished them a long time ago, and I even made several styles. We can rotate them later." Yao Shanshan was immediately different when it came to work.
"That's great, it's been hard on you! Send them to KK later. Once she links them, we can find a web host for uploading! Our forum can officially go live!" Zhou Xueyin said happily, "Finally, I can play the game! Feels like it's been so long since I last logged on!"
Zhou Xueyin was right; ever since she started preparing to start her business, the online game she had been playing had been pushed to the back of her mind.
She had always said that she would log on and catch up with old friends when she found some free time, but she had never managed to do so.
She wondered if they still remembered her after all this time without logging on.
"Jixiang, KK, remember you promised to take me boss fighting?" As it wasn't quite appropriate to play alone, Zhou Xueyin directly invited Li Jixiang and Kang Siyin to join her.
"10 minutes! I'll have all the materials Shan gave me linked up properly!" Kang Siyin spoke while incessantly clicking her mouse.
"Let's log on first!" Li Jixiang winked at Zhou Xueyin.
After Zhou Xueyin logged into the game and opened the inbox, collecting the materials Kang Siyin and Li Jixiang had sent her, she noticed an invitation from friends in the guild asking her to return.
At that moment, a private message from an online friend came through Flying Pigeon Messenger: "Yinyin! How's the entrepreneurship going? Did you secure any investment?"
Upon seeing it, Zhou Xueyin thought, oh, it's Xiaojing! She had only casually mentioned her entrepreneurial idea to him before, and he was quite supportive, even saying to let him know if she needed anything.
Yet in her busyness, she had completely forgotten about him, remembering only after logging on today.
"Investment isn't something you pull in, it's something you apply for. I've applied for the university student entrepreneurship support program's startup fund and got 5k," Zhou Xueyin replied to Xiaojing.
Soon after, the other side replied, "Then that's not bad! It seems like you've taken another step closer to your goal! Congratulations!"
"Congratulations for what! I haven't found a virtual host for the forum yet. I don't even know which one is both good and cheap, preferably with a high cost-performance ratio!" Zhou Xueyin was right, finding the right virtual host was indeed the most headache-inducing issue.
Without a public IP address for the virtual host, it was impossible to resolve the domain name that was applied for.
It's not like we can really use Kang Siyin's computer as a host, and the neighborhood broadband wouldn't agree to it either.
"Virtual hosting, huh... That really is a headache. Wait for me a moment, I'll finish off this boss and then talk to you," Xiaojing sent this message to Zhou Xueyin.
"What boss? Can you take me along? I haven't been on in so long, I should be able to add a good amount of buffs to the team!" Having someone to accompany her in defeating a boss was certainly an opportunity not to be missed.
Gaming indeed is a time black hole, it felt like she hadn't done much, and an hour and a half had passed!
"Darn it! I have to get off, let's continue chatting on QQ!" In order not to get too addicted to gaming, Zhou Xueyin had set a rule for herself that she couldn't play online games for more than an hour and a half at a time.
"No can do... I have to accompany Xiang Yue. I'll be back in the evening, and I'll recommend a few virtual hosting companies to you!" Right after saying this, Xiaojing also went offline.
"Opposite sex over friends!" Zhou Xueyin joked, casually throwing out a complaint.
"Who? Opposite sex over friends?" Li Jixiang heard and approached with her gossip antennas up.
"Wei Jingzhu, of course. He was just telling me about recommending virtual hosting companies to me, then the second he looked at the time, off he went to be with his Japanese wife," Zhou Xueyin said, curling her lip helplessly.
"Virtual hosting companies, huh? I know that Wanwang is the best! It's just that their pricing is also 'the best'... We probably can't afford them at our startup stage," Kang Siyin said with a helpless smile.
Yes, in the early stages of startup, the primary principle is to save money! The too expensive hosting companies will have to wait for now...
"Dinner's ready!" Yao Shanshan called out from the hallway.
"Wow! Our Shanbao's cooking skills are out of this world! This wonderful aroma filling up the place! I should just make you my wife! I won't treat you poorly, haha~" Li Jixiang exclaimed as she smelled the fragrance wafting from the kitchen.
"Let's go, let's go, it's time to eat! Eating is the most important thing in life!" Zhou Xueyin pulled Kang Siyin, who was still in front of the computer thinking about slaying a few more mobs, "Hurry up and return to the city! Otherwise, after we eat, your character will be dead."
The three of them went up to the attic, waiting for Yao Shanshan to set the table.
"Um... Uh..." Yao Shanshan, holding a dish, stood at the entrance of the attic staircase, hesitating to speak.
"What's the matter? We're so hungry we could eat a horse!" Li Jixiang and Zhou Xueyin took the tray from Yao Shanshan's hands.
"Um... If I tell you that I forgot to cook the rice again, would you guys hit me?" Yao Shanshan looked at the three people with a pitiful face.
"Again... Oh come on... How many times has it been since we moved... Hahaha!" Zhou Xueyin put the dishes aside and laughed so hard she collapsed to the ground, "Oh Shanshan, I really can't with you, hahaha!"
"Pfft... Hahaha, that's so Shanshan's style..." Kang Siyin and Li Jixiang also laughed until they were nearly in tears.
"Stop laughing, what do we do now…" Yao Shanshan looked at the three people in fits of laughter, at a loss for what to do.
"The little shop downstairs sells three boxes of rice, that'll be enough! Let's go, let's go buy it together!" The three of them came down from the attic, dragging Yao Shanshan out the door to buy rice.