After the second evening study session, some students started skipping classes.
Zhou Hang was still immersed in his CS game from lunch, while Bian Xuedao was focused on applying for cool QQ numbers, especially trying to find Xu Shangxiu's QQ number. After discussing it, they decided to skip class.
The internet cafe was crowded.
It took nearly 20 minutes before they managed to grab two machines, but they were quite far apart.
Bian Xuedao logged in to his newly created 6-digit QQ number. Although the account was empty, he felt really good about it. In 10 years, this number would be amazing.
He was determined to collect a few 6-digit QQ numbers before the college entrance exam, either by asking classmates or buying them.
He searched for Xu Shangxiu's QQ number in the search bar, and Bian Xuedao's heart raced with excitement.
The result showed up!
"Huh? A man? 32 years old? Jinling?"
Bian Xuedao was stunned...
Xu Shangxiu's family was from Tianhe City in the same province. How could her QQ number be with an old man from Jinling?
Bian Xuedao double-checked the number; yes, it was the right one.
Oh…
He remembered Xu Shangxiu had mentioned that her family had relatives in Jinling. Maybe her QQ number was given to her by her cousin?
Never mind, he decided to add her as a friend anyway.
But then, to his dismay, the account had a friend request approval setting.
What should he say? Bian Xuedao was at a loss.
Saying "I'm your husband from 9 years in the future" was definitely out of the question. Even if it was Xu Shangxiu's number, how could a high school girl accept this?
Saying "Hello, let's be friends" probably wouldn't work either. Based on what he knew about his future wife, this approach would likely get rejected.
He was troubled!!!
In the end, Bian Xuedao typed four words: "Let's get to know each other," and sent the request.
The other person was offline, so waiting seemed pointless. Bian Xuedao glanced at the games on his computer, but none of them caught his interest.
Just as he was about to open a news website, Zhou Hang called from the front row: "Bian Xuedao, come join the anti-terrorism game in the gansini room. We're short one player here."
Bian Xuedao joined the game and saw that they were playing the "White Room" map.
He joined the police side, but he had no money. He bought a flashbang and used the starting handgun, following the main team.
In the first round, Bian Xuedao killed three enemies at the back door with the handgun and flashbang, and they won.
In the second round, he bought a Desert Eagle and killed four enemies, leading them to another victory.
The police side was fired up.
In the third round, Bian Xuedao, now named "biange," bought a B45, and the enemy's nightmare began.
Bian Xuedao had played CS for over a decade, from university to work. He was skilled with the B45, which was an uncommon weapon but felt incredibly smooth in his hands.
When using the B45, his accuracy was 90% at medium range and 50% at long range.
In 2001, most high school students had average anti-terrorism skills, lacking knowledge of gun mechanics, and had poor mouse sensitivity settings, with few being able to adjust the resolution. So when they encountered someone like Bian Xuedao, they were obliterated.
Soon, someone shouted, "Police in the gansini room, don't leave, we're changing the map."
Zhou Hang, being a top student, quickly got inspiration from Bian Xuedao's "biange" name. After the map change, Zhou Hang's name became "zhouge."
The new map was "Italy," and the enemy side was still the terrorists, but Bian Xuedao remained their worst nightmare.
The map was changed again, to "Desert."
Not long later, it changed again to "Blood Pool."
They played "Blood Pool" the longest.
Bian Xuedao stuck with his B45 and Desert Eagle, while Zhou Hang switched between the B21 and B22 before settling on the B21.
Whenever Bian Xuedao hit an enemy with the B45, Zhou Hang would immediately pop out and finish them off with a shot.
The combination of Bian Xuedao's "piu" and Zhou Hang's "bang" was unstoppable. When they encountered the enemy, there was no way out.
The enemy players screamed and cursed, unable to handle the duo.
Zhou Hang, enjoying the moment, was almost disappointed when the enemy quit the game.
Soon after, a few boys came over, looked around, glanced at Zhou Hang's screen, and after a few looks, paid and left.
By the time they left the internet cafe, it was almost 11 pm.
Bian Xuedao went back to school to grab his bike and quickly headed home.
The next day at noon, after lunch, Zhou Hang dragged Bian Xuedao to the internet cafe again.
Bian Xuedao was feeling miserable.
He thought to himself: "Big brother, you don't care about this little time, but I still have a pile of books to go through."
But there was no choice, since he had asked for a favor, he had to accompany him.
At the internet cafe, Bian Xuedao noticed Zhou Hang was quite intelligent when it came to gaming.
Zhou Hang had a high level of insight and was good at summarizing tactics.
By noon, Zhou Hang had mastered the key techniques of using the B21, such as shooting and relocating, timing his shots, and even jumping and shooting.
This time, they sat next to each other, and after Bian Xuedao reminded Zhou Hang to aim for the enemy's chest and neck, Zhou Hang's kills increased even more.
As a result, in the internet cafe, every anti-terrorism server soon had the two-player combo of B45 and B21, a combination that dominated both close and long-range fights.
Within a few days, whenever "biange" and "zhouge" showed up on one side, the enemy immediately switched to the minimum number of players.
A few days later, on Saturday afternoon, when they had a day off, Zhou Hang once again dragged Bian Xuedao to play anti-terrorism.
This time, they encountered a few players who were very good with guns, using B41 and B46 smoothly.
Bian Xuedao was able to hold his own in a one-on-many situation, but Zhou Hang kept dying as soon as he peeked out, shattering the confidence they had gained in the past few days.
After a victory, Zhou Hang learned how to "teabag" the enemy.
Soon, when the enemy killed Zhou Hang, they would teabag him, and Zhou Hang would retaliate in kind.
Eventually, after killing Zhou Hang, the enemy didn't go after Bian Xuedao but instead continued teabagging and jumping on Zhou Hang's body.
Seeing Zhou Hang's face fall, Bian Xuedao paid for the game and dragged Zhou Hang out to a nearby skewered meat shop.
Bian Xuedao had already decided to explain to Zhou Hang that they would stop going to the internet cafe before the exam since they had been too indulgent recently.
As they were eating a few skewers, three young men walked into the shop.
The one in the front was wearing a short denim jacket and had a big hairdo, which suggested he wasn't a local student.
The denim-clad guy scanned the room, walked over, and grabbed Zhou Hang's collar: "Were you the one teabagging earlier?"
Zhou Hang's face turned white as he tried to pry the guy's hand off and said, "Let go, let go, what do you want?"
Another thin guy behind him kicked over Zhou Hang's chair: "Aren't you tough? You were teabagging, huh? You think you're so great?"
Seeing the three troublemakers, Bian Xuedao realized this was a perfect opportunity to strengthen his bond with Zhou Hang.
Although they had been classmates for a short time, if they could share the experience of getting beaten together, things would be different.
"Bro, bro, no need for violence, we're just playing a game, no need to fight. Why don't you guys sit down, I'll treat you!" Bian Xuedao stood up, smiling obsequiously.
The denim-clad guy glanced at Bian Xuedao, who was a few centimeters taller than him, and his eyes darted as if trying to figure out what to say.
The other guy, a buzz-cut, rushed to Bian Xuedao and shoved him, pushing him to the wall, nearly making him fall.
Seeing this, the denim-clad guy relaxed.
He thought to himself: "Good thing I didn't say anything earlier, just two high schoolers, no need to worry. Two softies, I'll beat them up and get some money."
"Bro, bro, no need for this, we're sorry, no need to fight, just sit down. I'll get more skewers…" Bian Xuedao bent down, continuing to flatter while inching toward a nearby table.
The buzz-cut guy was about to come over to continue, but Bian Xuedao suddenly grabbed a beer bottle from the floor, smashed it against the wall, and with one swift kick, knocked the shorter guy down. He then stepped forward and placed the broken bottle on the denim-clad guy's shoulder.
Bian Xuedao kept smiling: "Bro, what's the big deal, let's forget it. If we both see blood, it's bad for both of us. I have 100, not much, but consider it a peace offering. Alright?"
Seeing that the denim-clad guy didn't let go, Bian Xuedao pressed the broken beer bottle against his neck.
The glass shards were sharp, and the denim-clad guy felt cold on his neck, unsure whether he was bleeding.
He shuddered and finally let go of Zhou Hang.
Bian Xuedao pulled out 100 yuan from his pocket, placed it on the table—unclear whether it was for the boss or the denim guy—and dragged Zhou Hang out of the shop.
By the time they turned the corner, they switched from walking to running, sprinting back to school.
They ran all the way to the school gate, and only then did Bian Xuedao throw away the broken bottle in his hand.