The hotel had a few channels as well, all showing very old Hong Kong and Taiwan films. I had already watched these countless times in my previous life, so I wasn't interested at all. Zhao Yanyan, however, was watching them with great interest and occasionally letting out a soft giggle.
The next day, I woke up early because I found Zhao Yanyan's legs were draped over me, making it hard for me to breathe. I carefully moved her legs aside, trying not to wake her up, as she was still fast asleep.
I walked over to the window. It was still dim outside, not fully bright yet. For some reason, a feeling of guilt suddenly washed over me. In my previous life, I had lost Zhao Yanyan, and in this life, with the experience and wisdom of being 30 years old, I had somehow won her heart. I had even gotten too close to her too quickly. Thinking about all of this, I felt selfish. I was afraid I might lose Zhao Yanyan again, so when she suggested that I could "have her," I had accepted almost without hesitation. Even though Zhao Yanyan said she had no regrets, she was only 16 now, and I couldn't guarantee that, as she grew older, she wouldn't regret being so rash.
I habitually reached into my pocket for a cigarette, but found it empty. This had been a habit of mine in my previous life—whenever I had something on my mind, I would stand by the window and smoke. But since I had been reborn, I hadn't touched a cigarette in quite a while. It was probably for the better, as smoking had too many harmful effects. Perhaps this was an opportunity to quit for good.
"Hubby, don't leave me," a voice interrupted my thoughts. I thought Zhao Yanyan had woken up, but when I turned around, I saw that she was still fast asleep, mumbling in her sleep.
I walked over and gently stroked Zhao Yanyan's face, whispering, "Yanyan, I will love you for two lifetimes."
It seemed she could hear me, as the corners of her mouth curled into a sweet smile.
I held Zhao Yanyan in my arms, leaned back against the headboard, and fell back into a deep sleep. When I woke up again, Zhao Yanyan was already awake, lying in my arms, quietly looking at me.
"When did you wake up?" I yawned and asked.
"Just now," Zhao Yanyan said softly. "Liu Lei, I had a dream."
"It's okay," I comforted her. "Dreams aren't real."
"No," Zhao Yanyan shook her head, her voice trembling, "It felt so real. I dreamed that you didn't want me anymore. I was chasing you, but I couldn't catch up..."
"It's not true, it's not true," I reassured her. "It was just a dream." Little girls always take dreams so seriously.
"Hehe," Zhao Yanyan smiled mischievously and said, "But then you came back and hugged me, telling me that you'd love me for two lifetimes."
I broke into a cold sweat. That wasn't a dream—those were the words I had just said to her.
"What time is it?" I asked, relieved that she seemed fine.
"Uh, it's past seven," Zhao Yanyan said, unwillingly slipping out of my arms and jumping off the bed to find her clothes on her own bed.
I went to the bathroom, freshened up, and checked my watch—it was 7:45, just in time.
Downstairs, I saw Old Man Xu and his granddaughter standing in front of a bus, waving when they saw us.
We got on the bus and noticed that most of the other passengers were students in various school uniforms. They were mostly representing local schools or training centers in the competition. I scanned the group and saw only Zhao Yanyan and Xu Ruoyun were the two girls, but surprisingly, none of the boys seemed to notice them, as if they didn't exist. I immediately thought: "A group of bookworms."
The typing competition rules were simple: just type the English letters displayed on the screen, and whoever typed the most characters within the allotted time would score the highest.
For me, this was a piece of cake. In my past life, I could type more than 800 characters per minute. I didn't even push myself fully during the competition.
The results came out quickly after the contest, thanks to the computer's automatic tallying. I came in first place, averaging 402 characters per minute, while Zhao Yanyan ranked sixth with an average of 171 characters, which was an improvement over her previous speed. Xu Ruoyun did well too, finishing third with 201 characters. Actually, the results from second to sixth place were quite close, but my score was so impressive that it left everyone in shock.
Old Man Xu was so excited he was practically glowing, his face lit up with joy. It was only then that Xu Ruoyun looked at me with a slightly better expression.
Zhao Yanyan didn't seem too concerned about her sixth-place finish, but she was very curious about my first place. She kept asking Old Man Xu whether there would be any reward for the first place. Old Man Xu shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either.
The programming contest the next day seemed exceptionally chaotic. The rules were confusing, the questions were unclear, and even the grading standards were a mess. But this chaos ended up working in my favor, and by a stroke of luck, my submission somehow ended up winning first place.
The task was to write a demonstration program that could display something—either a piece of text or an image—basically anything that could be represented with pixel patterns.
When the judges announced that any programming language could be used, I knew that this would lead to confusion. If someone was proficient in LOGO, it would be easy to create a graphical representation, but for other languages, it would be much more complicated. I didn't know what the organizers were thinking, but given that computers weren't widely used in China at the time, the number of people who knew how to code was limited. If the rules were too strict, the competition wouldn't even be possible.
I chose Assembly language, which was incredibly difficult to work with, but in my past life, I had written this kind of code hundreds of times in college. The code I wrote compiled into an image of Zhao Yanyan as she looked in her mature years. I still remembered the code by heart.
I didn't have to think much and quickly typed out the code from memory. When the image of a mature and beautiful Zhao Yanyan appeared on my screen, I had finished in less than ten minutes. The competition was supposed to last the entire morning.
Back in college, I had once regarded Zhao Yanyan as my goddess, and this image was my perfect tribute to her. In the picture, she was wearing a white coat, standing at the entrance of China University in the setting sun. Every detail had been carefully crafted.
I copied the completed code and the compiled file onto a floppy disk, labeled it with my number and name, and handed it to the judges.
"Finished already?" the judges were surprised. "How is it possible to finish so quickly?"
"Yes," I nodded and walked out of the competition hall.
When I left the venue, I caught sight of Xu Ruoyun's surprised look. But honestly, at this age, I was only interested in Zhao Yanyan; I couldn't care less about anyone else. Although Zhao Yanyan was only sixteen, I felt a deep, indescribable emotion toward her. Later, I thought maybe it was because my feelings had been tainted by my adult emotions from my previous life.
At the awards ceremony in the afternoon, my program was unanimously awarded first place. Xu Ruoyun, who came in second, had also created an image for her submission, but hers was in black and white and far less detailed. The rest of the participants submitted simple designs, usually just a logo or a small object, and some only included a few words.
When Zhao Yanyan saw my work, she looked upset. She pinched my thigh hard and asked, "This picture looks so familiar! Tell me, who is this beautiful woman? What's your relationship with her?"
I was stunned. I didn't expect Zhao Yanyan to ask me this. How was I supposed to explain this? But Zhao Yanyan wouldn't let it go, insisting that I tell her who the woman in the picture was.
In the end, I had no choice but to make up a name. But I could tell Zhao Yanyan didn't believe me. She kept staring at the picture with a suspicious look in her eyes.
In this competition, I won two first-place awards, and Old Man Xu, who had accompanied me as my mentor, was beaming with pride. His face was full of wrinkles, but he smiled like a cat that had caught a mouse.
In the end, though, I didn't get anything other than two certificates. This kind of child's play no longer interested me. But Old Man Xu insisted that I hold the certificates up for photos with him. I knew that, unless something unexpected happened, these photos would be displayed in the Youth Center as part of their promotional materials for recruiting students.
After the competition, Zhao Yanyan took the copy of my program. When I asked why, she told me she wanted to keep it as a souvenir.
I broke into a cold sweat. From my exam papers to the hotel sheets and now to the program copy, was this girl developing a collecting habit?
That evening, we took a train back to Songjiang. On the way, Xu Ruoyun's attitude toward me had improved a lot compared to before. She was even nicer to Zhao Yanyan, which was surprising to me. The two girls were chatting away, giggling from time to time, and I couldn't understand what was going on in their minds.
Old Man Xu was delighted to see his granddaughter so much more cheerful, and he couldn't stop smiling. The only person who wasn't happy was me—Zhao Yanyan had completely abandoned me. I was left to chat idly with Old Man Xu, and the most annoying thing was that he kept asking me about where I had studied computer science. I kept giving him vague answers, but he wouldn't take the hint.
No matter how I tried to brush him off, he kept going. Finally, I changed the subject. "By the way, Teacher Xu, I've written a small program and I want to sell it to a software company. Do you know anyone who could help me?"
"You've written a program? What kind of program?" Old Man Xu didn't believe that I could create software that was worth selling.
"Well, it's a Chinese input method for WPS, an add-on that's better than the built-in one. I'm confident that, if promoted properly, it could surpass the Five-Stroke method in popularity," I said confidently.
"Ah!" Old Man Xu was shocked. He knew about this input method and recognized that it wasn't something just anyone could create. Even he himself didn't have the skills to do it.
"Can I see it?" Old Man Xu asked eagerly. If I had something of value, it would be something he could brag about.
"Sure, I'll show it to you when we get back. It's on the computer at the Youth Center," I said.
"If the input method is as good as you say, I know several software companies in our city and in Yanjing that I could recommend it to. I'll help you get in touch," Old Man Xu said.
"Thank you so much!" I said politely.
"You're my student—why are you being so polite?" Old Man Xu smiled.
I thought to myself that, even though Old Man Xu hadn't taught me much, he was an old-timer in the computer industry. Having someone like him as a resource could be invaluable as I ventured into the field.
So I said respectfully, "I really appreciate it, Teacher Xu!"
When I showed Old Man Xu the input method I had created, he was so surprised he couldn't believe his eyes. His mouth hung open like a frog's.
"Wait here, Xiao Liu. I'm going to call some friends in the software industry right now. Who would've thought that a student of mine would have a breakthrough like this!" Old Man Xu didn't even wait for me, rushing out to make a phone call.
"Hello, Zhao Zong, it's Old Xu!" Old Man Xu said into the phone.
"Teacher Xu, what's going on?" came the enthusiastic response from someone on the other end of the line, addressed as Zhao Zong.
"I have a student who's written a software program and is looking for a company to collaborate with. I thought of you right away!" Old Man Xu said.
"Ah, Teacher Xu! I'm your student—what's this Zhao Zong business? Without you, I wouldn't be in the computer industry, and I wouldn't have achieved what I have today!" Zhao Zong humbly said. "What software are you talking about? A student wrote it? How special could it be?"
"Hmph, you're underestimating me! Do you not remember who taught you? You were my student too!" Old Man Xu bragged.
"Well, that's true. So, what kind of program did he write?" Zhao Zong asked, slightly embarrassed.
"It's an input method, and I think it has great potential!" Old Man Xu said.
"Alright, I'm free in a bit. Have him come over and show it to me. I'll treat you both to dinner," Zhao Zong said.
"Great, it's a deal. I'll see you at the company!" Old Man Xu happily hung up the phone.
"Xiao Liu, I'm going to take your program to the Tianheng Computer Company in our city. The boss there used to be one of my students. I think this could be a good opportunity," Old Man Xu told me after the call.
"Thanks, Teacher Xu! I'll wait for your news," I said.
After leaving the Youth Center, I spotted Zhao Yanyan waiting for me not far away. I waved at her, and she came running over, jumping into my arms. "Why are you so slow? You said you'd only be a little while!"
"I was just trying to sell the program for a high price. How else can I afford to support you in the future?" I said, gently setting Zhao Yanyan back on the ground.
"Like I spend so much money!" Zhao Yanyan pouted, clearly displeased.
"Alright, alright, I just don't want to be a kept man, okay?" I coaxed her.
"Now that's better," Zhao Yanyan said, taking my hand and walking with me to the bus stop.
"The competition's over, so now there's no excuse not to go home," Zhao Yanyan sighed.
Actually, I also wished I could stay a little longer with Zhao Yanyan, but as an adult, I knew that things shouldn't be rushed. If I let Zhao Yanyan's parents find out about our relationship too soon, I imagined any normal parent would try to stop it. That would create a huge obstacle to our relationship, and I didn't want to risk that.
Although I was now sure that Zhao Yanyan wouldn't leave me, I still didn't want to take that risk. What if her family got emotional and transferred her to another school? That would be the end of it. Given that Zhao Yanyan's grandfather was a provincial leader, it would be a piece of cake for him to do something like that.
As soon as I got home, I received a phone call from Old Man Xu. "Xiao Liu, why didn't you pick up the phone?"
"What's up, Teacher Xu? I just got home!" I asked, puzzled.
"Do you have time this afternoon?" Old Man Xu asked anxiously.
"Yeah, what's going on?" I replied.
"Come to Tianheng Computer Company on Development Road, No. 4. Zhao Zong is interested in your program and wants to talk to you about it," Old Man Xu said.
"Okay, I'll be there right away!" I replied excitedly. My work had been recognized!
"Good. When you get here, go directly to find Zhao Zong, Zhao Junsheng. I have to hurry home, or Ruoyun will think I sneaked out for a drink again!" Old Man Xu chuckled.
"Got it. I'll head over now." I hung up the phone and immediately went downstairs.
The address Old Man Xu gave me was easy to find. From far away, I could already see the large sign of Tianheng Electronics and Computer Technology Co., Ltd.
When I entered the company, the receptionist called out to me. "Young man, who are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for General Manager Zhao," I said.
"Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked.
"No, but Zhao Zong asked me to come," I replied.
"Okay, let me check for you." The receptionist picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Hello, Zhao Zong, this is Xiao Li. A student says you wanted to see him?"
After hanging up, the receptionist asked, "Are you Teacher Xu's student?"
I nodded.
"Then it must be you. I'll take you to Zhao Zong's office." The receptionist led me to a door and said, "You can go in now. Zhao Zong is waiting for you inside."
I knocked on the door, and a middle-aged man's voice came from inside: "Come in!"
I opened the door and asked, "Is this Zhao Zong's office?"
The man was clearly taken aback when he saw me, but quickly composed himself. He looked me up and down and said, "Hello, I'm Zhao Junsheng, General Manager of Tianheng Computer Company. What's your name, young man?"
"Zhao Zong, my name is Liu Lei," I said.
Zhao Junsheng nodded nonchalantly and said, "Okay, Xiao Liu. Don't call me Zhao Zong. Just call me Zhao Uncle. At my age, I'm not taking advantage of you, right?"
"Not at all!" I said, "Then I'll call you Zhao Uncle."
Zhao Junsheng moved a chair and gestured for me to sit beside him by the computer. "Xiao Liu, is this input method really yours?"
I nodded and asked, "Is there a problem?"
"No," Zhao Junsheng shook his head. "I just wanted to confirm. It's hard to believe that a high school student could write something like this unless I saw it with my own eyes!"
"Zhao Uncle, you flatter me. I was just messing around," I said, feeling a little shy.
"Don't be so modest, Xiao Liu. I have high hopes for your input method. Name your price. How much do you want to sell it for?" Zhao Junsheng asked.
"Well, what do you think it's worth?" I asked in return. This was my instinctive reaction—after all, in my previous life, I had been a seasoned businessperson, so I knew how to handle these situations.
"Here's the deal, Xiao Liu. One price—50,000 yuan. I'll buy the rights to this input method and have the rights to develop future versions," Zhao Junsheng said confidently. In the software industry of 1994, 50,000 yuan was a considerable amount of money. Although it wasn't his bottom line, he thought this was already a huge sum for a high school student.
"Let me do the math for you, Zhao Uncle," I said calmly.
"Let me do the math for you," I continued, "This input method is currently the most user-friendly and easiest-to-learn Chinese input method. I'm sure you, Zhao Uncle, are more aware of this than I am. If this input method is promoted properly, I believe it can quickly dominate the market. I think you know well that most WPS users are government officials. Do you think they'd be willing to spend time learning the Five-Stroke input method? My input method, however, only requires knowledge of pinyin, and it has intelligent prediction and memory functions, which are very user-friendly. Especially for people with unclear pronunciation, this input method is the best for them. For example, let's take the word 'eat meat.' Many people with unclear pronunciation might say 'chi you' instead of 'chi rou.' My input method can detect which character is intended by analyzing the context of the sentence. I believe this input method, once launched, will completely replace any other pinyin input method on the market."
"I know all of that. It's exactly why I'm optimistic about this input method," Zhao Junsheng said. "But what are you trying to tell me?"
"Actually, I just wanted to say that the value of this input method and the revenue it will generate is far greater than just 50,000 yuan. Even if we talk about the future versions, it's worth more than 500,000 or even one million," I said slowly.
"How much do you want, then?" Zhao Junsheng started testing my bottom line.
"Fifty percent of the net profit," I said calmly.
"Fifty percent? What a greedy demand! Do you think you can bargain with me, Zhao Junsheng? The most I'll offer is 100,000 yuan. Anything more is out of the question," Zhao Junsheng said angrily.
"I'm not forcing you to cooperate with me. I believe if I just sell the software directly to Kingsoft, they might be more interested," I said, maintaining my composure and not being affected by his attitude.
"Alright! Alright! Alright!" Zhao Junsheng said three 'alrights' in succession. "I knew it—true heroes emerge from youth!"
"Zhao Uncle, you flatter me. I'm just an author trying to make the most value from my work," I said, smiling.
"Fine, fifty percent it is!" Zhao Junsheng made the final decision.
"However, this fifty percent is only for the current version's profit share. If my input method has subsequent versions, I can only guarantee that, under the same conditions, your company will have the priority to cooperate with me," I reminded him.
Zhao Junsheng clearly hadn't expected this move from me! But my previous life's experience told me that the rights to future adaptations must be kept in my hands. This was the golden egg—only by controlling the rights to future versions could I have absolute leverage over Zhao Junsheng.
Zhao Junsheng looked at me in surprise. He probably never imagined such words would come from the mouth of a sixteen-year-old boy, leaving him both stunned and puzzled.
However, Zhao Junsheng didn't say much in response. After a long pause, he finally spoke again, and what he said took me by surprise.
"Alright, it's settled. I'll have my secretary draft the contract, and we'll sign it shortly," Zhao Junsheng said.
I hadn't expected him to agree to my terms so quickly. His attitude had changed dramatically from earlier. What made him flip like this? Was he testing me all along?
Although I knew the value of my input method, the fifty percent profit share was still a bit outrageous. I had expected Zhao Junsheng to negotiate, but to my surprise, he made his decision so quickly.
Soon, Zhao Junsheng's secretary brought over two copies of the contract. I skimmed through it and found no major issues. My additional condition was clearly stated in the contract. I signed my name, and Zhao Junsheng signed it as well before affixing the company's official seal. He gave me one copy and kept the other for himself.
"Xiao Liu, you haven't eaten yet, have you?" Zhao Junsheng asked.
"No, I just got home when Teacher Xu called and asked me to come over," I replied honestly.
"Then Zhao Yanyan didn't come with you?" Zhao Junsheng asked casually.
"No, she went home first," I said offhandedly. But as soon as the words left my mouth, I sensed something was off. "How do you know Zhao Yanyan?" I asked, suddenly realizing.
Zhao Junsheng slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "You little rascal! How dare you get my precious daughter involved and then ask who I am?!"
Zhao Yanyan, Zhao Junsheng! I couldn't believe it—could it really be such a coincidence? This man was Zhao Yanyan's father? Which meant he was my future father-in-law? Based on Zhao Junsheng's attitude, he must have known about my relationship with Zhao Yanyan from the start. But why didn't he mention it when I first came in? Or perhaps, if he had brought it up during the contract signing, he might have used it to pressure me into giving him the input method for free. Now that everything was settled, why bring it up?
"Oh, so it's Uncle Zhao!" I said with a forced smile.
"Hmph! Don't try to get friendly with me. If you want our cooperation to continue, stay away from Yanyan from now on," Zhao Junsheng said coldly.
"Give me an extra percentage of the profit, and stay away from Yanyan," Zhao Junsheng said flatly.
"Heh, Uncle Zhao, do you really think your daughter is worth that little?" I sneered.
"Two percent."
I didn't respond, just stared at him.
"Three percent—this is my bottom line."
I still didn't say anything.
"Hmph, don't push your luck! Fine, our cooperation ends here!" Zhao Junsheng said, then refused to look at me again.
"Heh, Uncle Zhao, do you think I'm some naive kid who doesn't understand business? Cooperation ends? Once a contract is signed, it holds legal weight. You think you can just back out whenever you feel like it? But—" I said, reaching into my pocket and pulling out the contract. "But since you don't want to cooperate anymore, I won't force you. I can even give you this input method for free! However, you should remember this—asking me to stay away from Zhao Yanyan? That's absolutely impossible! I truly feel ashamed for Zhao Yanyan to have a father like you. Do you really think I would give up on Yanyan just for a bit of money? Dream on. I can tell you clearly—Yanyan is priceless to me!" I tossed the contract onto the floor and walked out of the office.
"Sigh! Young people are so impulsive. How can I trust you with my daughter now?" I heard Zhao Junsheng's mocking voice behind me.
What? Trust me with his daughter? My heart skipped a beat. What kind of game was Zhao Junsheng playing? Suddenly, everything clicked in my mind. This whole thing had been a setup from the start. He was testing me. At first, he was testing whether I could support his daughter, and then he was testing my feelings for her. That old fox, I cursed inwardly.
"Alright, Uncle Zhao, your little play is over. I'm curious—how does my status as a prospective son-in-law look?" I turned around and smiled. Heh, it was finally my turn to make him sweat. I couldn't wait to see the look on Zhao Junsheng's face once he realized I had seen through his entire scheme.
Sure enough, Zhao Junsheng's mouth dropped open, and he stared at me for a long time before finally saying, "So you figured it out?"
"Uncle Zhao, if your real goal was to get me to stay away from Yanyan, I don't think you needed to go through all this trouble and have me sign a contract," I said calmly. Once I understood Zhao Junsheng's psychology, I knew I had the upper hand, so there was no need to be meek anymore.
"Not bad! You're a sharp one," Zhao Junsheng said, smiling. "As for you and Yanyan, I won't interfere too much. But remember, everything has its limits. You're both still young, and I don't want you to cause any problems before college. I think you're smart enough to understand what I mean, Xiao Liu."
"Ah—" A cold sweat instantly broke out on my forehead. I knew exactly what he meant, but if I told him that Yanyan and I were already intimate, would he kill me on the spot?
"Take good care of Yanyan. If I find out you've hurt her, I won't forgive you!" Thankfully, Zhao Junsheng didn't notice my reaction and continued, "Alright, I have a meeting to attend. Let's leave it at that."
I walked out of Tianheng Computer Company's building, reflecting on what had just happened. Zhao Yanyan's father was actually the general manager of Tianheng Computer Company. Was this a blessing or a curse? But based on Zhao Junsheng's attitude, this might not be such a bad thing. First of all, Zhao Junsheng's company was in the same industry as the one I worked in during my previous life, so this gave my startup a much higher starting point. Secondly, and most importantly, if I had Zhao Junsheng's support, I wouldn't have to hide my relationship with Zhao Yanyan anymore.