Chapter Eighteen: Meeting Sulai Again

How did this kid’s IQ suddenly shoot up to 180? Cold sweat trickled down Wen Jiangxi’s forehead. He could only say, “Have you ever heard of telepathy? I just had this feeling that something was going to happen today. When you called, I actually refused at first, but the very next second, I sensed something was wrong. Turns out I was right.”

“Really?” Gong Xiang, unless he was in the mood to act, usually loved hearing about the world’s oddities—what you’d call men’s gossip. Now that something strange had happened to a friend, his curiosity surged through him like adrenaline.

Wen Jiangxi adopted an expression as if even he didn’t believe what he was saying, and began to spin his tale. Drawing on the vast knowledge he’d gained online in his previous life, he actually managed to convince Gong Xiang. Though Gong Xiang was his best buddy, Wen Jiangxi had no choice but to deceive him—a rebirth couldn’t be explained. If the secret got out, he might end up as some research subject for extraterrestrial anomalies.

He made sure Gong Xiang got home safely—of course, they couldn’t tell his parents he’d been in a fight. The two of them rehearsed their story to fool Gong Xiang’s family, played a few rounds of video games together, and then Wen Jiangxi hurried off to catch the bus, racing toward Tianxing Computer School.

No sooner had he gotten off than he heard the clear, gentle voice of a young girl: “Uncle Chen, when is my mom coming back?”

“Soon. I’ll take you to eat first. The river fish here in Yangjiang is delicious. Your mother will meet us at the restaurant. Come on, get in.”

The girl’s voice struck Wen Jiangxi as inexplicably familiar. He couldn’t help but turn to look, and his heart pounded as a wave of indescribable excitement surged within him.

Standing near a military jeep not far away, he saw the person he had missed day and night—Su Lai. She looked a little younger than when they’d first met in his previous life, but was still as adorable as a porcelain doll, with short, neat black hair that was fresh and charming.

Not until the jeep drove off did Wen Jiangxi recover his senses. He didn’t know why, but ever since his rebirth, he’d been impatient to see Su Lai again, determined never to let the same regrets haunt him for life. Yet now, faced with her, he had no idea how to greet her or introduce himself.

A man reborn, nearly thirty years old, utterly entranced by a girl barely in her teens. Ah, Su Lai. Wen Jiangxi smiled and shook his head. He wondered what had brought her to Yangjiang.

Wen Jiangxi stood there, lost in thought, when a sudden slap landed on his shoulder. He turned quickly to see a plump, round face looming in front of him—who else but Qi Huanchang?

“Wen, you’re something. This late? Fan Qiang may be my classmate, but he has things to do too. I didn’t even know if you had a phone at home…”

Not wanting to hear him ramble, Wen Jiangxi quickly interrupted, “Alright, I apologize. This morning was truly urgent. I wanted to let you know, but I didn’t have your number. Next time, let’s exchange contacts. Is your classmate still upstairs?”

Qi Huanchang slapped his own forehead and chuckled, “Don’t worry, he had something important too—a client to meet. He should be done by now. I got bored waiting upstairs and came down for a walk.”

“Perfect, let’s head up then.” With that, Wen Jiangxi led the way into the building, Qi Huanchang following close behind. They soon reached the fifth floor.

“Fatty, where did you run off to? I’ve been looking all over for you.” A young man, a few years older than Qi Huanchang, emerged from Gao Li’s computer game room.

He wasn’t tall, wore a casual jacket, and had a short, parted haircut. His eyes were sharp and lively, giving him an air of energy and competence.

“My legs went numb from waiting,” Qi Huanchang grumbled, then said, “This is the genius student I mentioned, Wen Jiangxi—the one who wrote the management system.”

Fan Qiang looked at Wen Jiangxi, his expression uncertain for a moment, but he quickly recovered and offered his right hand with a smile. “Didn’t expect someone so young to have this kind of ability. Impressive. Let’s talk in the office. Fatty, you and Wen can have lunch here—my treat.”

It would be hard for anyone to believe that a child could develop a machine room management system in so little time. Fan Qiang had doubted it when he’d heard from Qi Huanchang, but knowing his classmate’s straightforward, tech-obsessed nature, he trusted he wouldn’t lie about something like this.

If Wen Jiangxi had turned up in America, perhaps Fan Qiang wouldn’t have been so visibly skeptical. But this was China, and even with everything he knew about Qi Huanchang’s character, it was hard not to harbor doubts at first sight.

He hid his suspicion well. In his previous life, Wen Jiangxi had often led project teams and was no stranger to shrewd businessmen like this. He smiled and said, “Why not head straight to your computer room? If you’ve already set up your internal network, I can install the system right now. Use it for a while—if you’re satisfied, then we’ll talk price.”

“Hm?!” Fan Qiang’s surprise flickered a bit longer this time. To him, this boy was either supremely confident in his program’s anti-piracy measures, or simply too naive to be cautious.

Given Tianxing Computer School’s resources, cracking Qingsoft’s software wasn’t hard. That’s why Qingsoft always sent technicians to monitor installations during the trial period and uninstalled the software after a day. Even with built-in time limits, they remained wary, afraid Tianxing would install their system in schools nationwide after only paying for one license.

Wen Jiangxi understood Fan Qiang’s suspicions. The man probably thought he was just a careless kid. In 1993, Chinese software encryption was weak; hardware dongles had only just appeared. While many specialists couldn’t write software outside their field, cracking programs wasn’t particularly hard for them.

Noting Wen Jiangxi’s calm expression, Fan Qiang mocked himself inwardly. Years in business had made him overcomplicate things. This was just a kid. Even if he was a computer prodigy, he couldn’t possibly outdo a renowned company like Qingsoft. Most likely, the boy trusted him solely because Qi Huanchang was his teacher.

Qi Huanchang had no patience for business games and didn’t care to understand them, but he knew Fan Qiang was shrewd. Though they were classmates, Fan Qiang was several years his senior and they’d only met after coming to Yangjiang. He worried that Wen Jiangxi’s hard-earned software might be stolen. So he said, “We’re all acquaintances here, so let’s keep it simple. Once the system’s installed, Fan Qiang, have a look, but uninstall it regardless of how it works. If you decide to buy, we’ll install the official version all at once. How about that?”

Fan Qiang understood his meaning and didn’t mind. In business, clear accounts keep friendships intact; caution never hurt a deal. He was about to agree when Wen Jiangxi said nonchalantly, “No need to rush. I’ll extend the trial period. When you buy something, you should test it thoroughly first.”

“Wen, you…” Qi Huanchang’s eyes widened, feeling regret. Still a kid, after all. He should have discussed this with him beforehand. If Tianxing cracked the software and tweaked the interface, they could pirate it without any responsibility at all.