Chapter Nine: I Want You to Admire Me

Gong Xiang had never used a computer before, so he was naturally excited and kept talking nonstop after they went downstairs. Jiang Xiwen had to promise to teach him more about computers tomorrow in exchange for pausing the conversation for the night.

After seeing Gong Xiang off on the bus, Jiang Xiwen turned back toward Tianxing Computer School.

When he returned to the computer room, only Qi the Fatty and Boss Gao remained. One was focused intently on tweaking the two virus-infected computers, while the other watched nervously from the side, occasionally uttering a few words of flattery.

Jiang Xiwen knocked on the open door. Qi the Fatty didn’t even look up from the computer, but Boss Gao immediately turned around. Seeing that it was the same teenager from earlier, he snapped irritably, “We’re closed! Can’t you see we’re fixing computers?”

Jiang Xiwen wasn’t bothered. He replied, “I’m not here to play. I just want to watch and learn how to fix them.”

“You’re a long way off. Even if you wanted to learn from Little Qi, you’d have to wait a few more years, kid. Just go home,” Boss Gao said sternly.

Without arguing, Jiang Xiwen pulled out his last six yuan and handed it over. “Here’s six yuan. I’ll spend an hour here watching, just like using the computer. Is that alright?”

Eighteen yuan was what Jiang Xiwen had saved for lunch over six days of extra classes these past two weeks. Though it was all he had left, he didn’t mind; from now on he wouldn’t need extra lessons—he could eat at home. Besides, if his plan succeeded, he’d soon have plenty of money.

“You should’ve said so earlier.” Boss Gao smiled, taking the money. “But listen up, Little Qi might be done soon. If it’s less than an hour, there’s no refund.”

“Boss Gao, you really are a businessman—tight even with a kid’s money,” Qi the Fatty said, tapping away at the keyboard without looking up, sarcasm dripping from his tone.

Boss Gao kept smiling. “Come on, Little Qi, don’t joke. Business is all about saving every penny.” Then, turning back to Jiang Xiwen, he repeated, “Remember, no refund if it’s less than an hour.”

Jiang Xiwen smirked. “An hour probably won’t be enough. He’s getting ready to do a full format—two computers at once, then reinstalling the games. Two hundred yuan for all this trouble—seems a bit much, especially when you don’t have to go to all that trouble for this kind of virus.”

“Quiet, kid. If you don’t understand, don’t interrupt Little Qi,” Boss Gao lectured, now all sternness after pocketing the money.

Qi the Fatty actually paused his work, turning to give Jiang Xiwen a good look. After a few seconds, he said with a hint of curiosity, “You talk big for a kid. Go on then, without any antivirus software, how would you manually get rid of this music virus?”

Jiang Xiwen smiled calmly. “Give me a few minutes to find the problem…”

Qi the Fatty laughed, shaking his head. “Alright, let’s see what you’ve got. I want to see what a fifteen-year-old student can do.”

Without another word, Jiang Xiwen moved to sit at the infected computer next to Qi the Fatty. But Boss Gao blocked his way, snapping, “If you break it, you can’t afford to pay for it!”

“Gao Li, you’re nothing like your name. If all you care about is petty profit, how will you ever make it big? If he breaks it, I’ll fix it myself. Happy?” Qi the Fatty said, his tone a little annoyed.

As soon as Boss Gao realized Qi the Fatty was upset, he hurried to apologize. “Little Qi, with you saying that, I’m at ease.”

Qi the Fatty must have been on good terms with the principal of Tianxing School—otherwise, this money-grabbing boss wouldn’t treat him so deferentially. That was perfect; with Qi the Fatty’s help, getting in touch with the principal would be easy. Jiang Xiwen was secretly pleased, but kept a straight face. He made a gesture for Boss Gao to step aside, nudged him gently, and sat down with a swagger.

A few simple DOS commands later, Jiang Xiwen found the two infected Tiger virus files. Boss Gao, remembering the steps he’d seen Qi the Fatty use, watched as Jiang Xiwen repeated them, his eyes widening and his mouth forming an exaggerated “O”—this amazed him far more than seeing Jiang Xiwen bring up the DOS interface earlier, because this was something even he couldn’t do.

Qi the Fatty, watching from the side, was first surprised, then, seeing Jiang Xiwen apparently about to delete the virus files directly, couldn’t help but shake his head.

But Jiang Xiwen didn’t enter the delete command. He hesitated for a few seconds, then noticed a similarly named file next to the virus, but with a different extension. So that’s how it was. Jiang Xiwen chuckled. The music virus had been infected by another virus called Golden Cicada, and the executable was controlled by the file with the .com extension. Once he identified the source, his fingers flew over the keyboard, and in a few minutes, the virus was completely cleaned from the machine.

“What’s this?” Qi the Fatty still looked puzzled.

Jiang Xiwen replied offhandedly, “Two viruses. Haven’t you heard of Golden Cicada?”

“Oh!” Qi the Fatty slapped his forehead. “Of course! I should’ve guessed it was two viruses chained together. No wonder deleting the Tiger virus files didn’t work. Damn, my brain’s really stuck today.”

Seeing Qi the Fatty’s frustrated look, Jiang Xiwen was inwardly delighted. This was exactly the effect he wanted—if Qi the Fatty admired him, everything else would be easy to arrange.

Now understanding the problem, Qi the Fatty quickly cleaned the virus from the other computer as well, then turned to Boss Gao, who was still gaping in confusion. “Boss Gao, pay up. And don’t try to weasel out.”

Then he patted Jiang Xiwen’s shoulder. “Little brother, you did all the work today. You take the two hundred yuan. My name’s Qi Huanchang, but you can just call me Fatty Qi. Let’s be friends.”

Of course, making friends was the goal—otherwise how could he do business? Besides, this Fatty was straightforward and worth befriending. Jiang Xiwen nodded, not standing on ceremony. “Fatty Qi, my name’s Jiang Xiwen, ninth grade. Since we’re friends, there’s no need to fuss over the two hundred yuan. I also have something I’d like to discuss with you later.” In 1993, the average monthly wage in Yangjiang was only around six hundred yuan; Jiang Xiwen didn’t want to take advantage of Fatty Qi, especially since he’d be counting on Qi Huanchang for his future plans.

Whether out of genuine confusion or just playing dumb, Boss Gao’s eyes lit up at these words, and he immediately stepped forward. “Exactly, two hundred yuan is nothing. Xiao Jiang, whatever it is, you can say it here.”

Qi Huanchang stretched his arm out to block Boss Gao, saying, “This is between Xiwen and me. You stay out of it. Give me the two hundred yuan first.”

Boss Gao pushed up his glasses, forced an awkward smile, and, visibly pained, took out the two hundred yuan the students had handed over and gave it to Qi Huanchang.

Qi Huanchang took the money and, ignoring Boss Gao, turned to Jiang Xiwen. “Xiwen, I won’t argue with you over the money. Let’s go have a few drinks to warm up—you can tell me whatever you want then.”

Boss Gao chimed in, “Xiao Jiang, you’re lucky today. Fatty Qi rarely makes friends, and he’s no ordinary person. In the future, you could—”

Qi Huanchang seemed impatient and cut him off. “Gao Li, shut your yap.”

The flattery backfired, and Jiang Xiwen couldn’t help but smile. Seeing that it was getting late, and not wanting to worry his parents, he quickly said, “Fatty Qi, I have to get home. I’ll owe you that drink—let’s talk after school tomorrow.”

“That’s fine,” Qi the Fatty replied, a hint of regret in his voice—clearly, he’d hoped to chat more. “I’m the only computer teacher at Second High, and I’m in charge of the whole computer room. You can find me there anytime, and we can compare notes on computer skills. By the way, which class are you in?”

Jiang Xiwen’s heart leapt with joy. “Well, Fatty Qi, I’m in Class Four, Grade Nine, at Second High. Looks like I don’t even have to wait until after school tomorrow—I can go straight to the computer room.”

With that, his plans for tomorrow were set, and he could barely contain his excitement.