“What?” Qiu Yuanyuan froze.
Gu Xiao repeated himself and explained, “Without them, we can’t finish no matter how much we type. Since we can’t finish, we might as well rest for a while and play some CS with me.”
“I don’t need to rest.”
Qiu Yuanyuan’s fingers didn’t stop. “If you promised something, you have to do it.”
In the dim private room, the screen’s light reflected off her serious profile.
Gu Xiao said earnestly, “Let me teach you something for free—before the money is in your pocket, never contradict your employer on project content and execution standards.”
Qiu Yuanyuan said with a disdainful expression, “You’re trying to renege?”
“This is called cutting your losses in time.”
Gu Xiao said with a calm gaze, “I wanted it done in three hours. If it can’t be completed, that’s failure. I won’t be satisfied with ‘we finished part of it’ or ‘I already tried my best.’”
Qiu Yuanyuan fell into thought.
Gu Xiao had already started studying the games on the computer.
Accustomed to the streamlined operating systems of later generations, facing this early Windows interface with its blue screen, white text, and pixelated feel, he found everything awkward.
The mouse pointer dragged across the screen with unusual difficulty. He searched through several folders but couldn’t find any trace of the game.
Qiu Yuan Yuan clicked her tongue, utterly disgusted by his clumsiness.
She snatched the mouse from Gu Xiao’s hand, her fingers clicking rapidly.
Before long, an extremely crude game interface appeared on Gu Xiao’s computer screen.
Rough textures, angular models—it was the original appearance of Counter-Strike.
“I’ve never played before. Carry me,” Gu Xiao said matter-of-factly.
Qiu Yuanyuan didn’t refuse this time. The way he had clumsily searched for the game earlier hadn’t seemed fake.
She entered the game skillfully, created a room, and asked casually:
“Are you really a high school student?”
“Absolutely genuine.”
“What are you doing with all these English words?”
She pointed to the manuscript paper that Gu Xiao had carefully placed to the side. “And you’re being so serious about it.”
Gu Xiao said, “Supporting my family.”
The corners of Qiu Yuanyuan’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
Fine, raising a squirrel could indeed count as “supporting one’s family.”
The room filled up quickly, and the game began.
The map was the classic dust2.
Gu Xiao controlled his character to take a few stiff steps and fired a few random shots at the wall.
Xiao Jiu was incredibly excited, bouncing around on the table, but Qiu Yuanyuan frowned deeply at the sight.
“Don’t waste bullets. Follow me, look at the mini-map, go to B site.”
The girl gave concise orders.
Gu Xiao obediently followed.
The two quickly rushed through double doors.
Before he could familiarize himself with the controls, a kill notification instantly flashed in the upper right corner of the screen.
The shooter was none other than Qiu Yuanyuan, wielding an AWP.
“Amazing,” Gu Xiao praised sincerely.
“Basic operation.” Qiu Yuanyuan’s tone was flat, but the slight upward lilt at the end of her voice still betrayed a hint of pride.
The two just played the game like this. The originally tense atmosphere gradually relaxed, and conversation naturally flowed more freely.
During this process, Gu Xiao learned that Qiu Yuanyuan herself was also a high school student.
Her father was one of the mainland’s earliest IT programmers, but he had little interest in assembly language and preferred starting physical businesses.
This internet cafe had been built with early demolition compensation funds.
After the business succeeded, Father Qiu had no interest in staying at the internet cafe either. He directly handed the cafe over to his son and started playing around with platform design himself, frequently traveling on business.
Gu Xiao suddenly thought of his cheap father and couldn’t help but feel emotional.
It was clearly the same era, yet the values of the older generation could differ so greatly.
While he was pondering, Qiu Yuanyuan was also subtly sizing him up.
Although they hadn’t known each other long, this boy who claimed to be a high school student brought her an extremely strong sense of pressure.
It was a calm, water-like sense of control, as if everything was within his expectations.
From the composure when laying out conditions at the bar counter, to the clear organization when distributing manuscript paper, to hitting the nail on the head just now when pointing out that Luo Rui and the others would slack off.
The door creaked open, and Luo Rui and Zhu Chen walked in one after another.
Seeing the scene in the private room, both of their steps halted simultaneously.
“You guys… aren’t typing anymore?” Luo Rui subconsciously asked.
Gu Xiao didn’t turn his head. His gaze remained on the jumping pixel characters on the screen as he simply gave a light “Mm.”
Qiu Yuanyuan sneered, “Twenty minutes in the bathroom? I didn’t know you guys had constipation.”
Luo Rui shrank his neck and didn’t dare speak, while Zhu Chen also wore an embarrassed expression.
“Alright, sit down and rest for a bit. Play some games with me.” Gu Xiao gave her a disapproving look.
Qiu Yuanyuan hmphed, but her hands quickly created a room.
The two felt as if they had been granted amnesty and slipped back to their seats.
Only then did they discover Xiao Jiu’s existence. Zhu Chen’s eyes widened as he stammered:
“S-Squir…”
“Squirrel Xiao Jiu, Gu Xiao’s pet.” Qiu Yuanyuan said with utter disgust.
Luo Rui approached curiously. “You can raise squirrels? Won’t it run away?”
“Generally, it’s not allowed,” Gu Xiao explained. “Xiao Jiu isn’t a local species and can’t be released into the wild. That’s why I keep it with me.”
Luo Rui suddenly realized. So that was why he had never seen a red squirrel before. He had thought it was due to his own ignorance, but it turned out it wasn’t a local species.
He asked tentatively, “Can I pet it?”
Seeing that Xiao Jiu was only looking around curiously without showing any resistance, Gu Xiao nodded. “Gently.”
Luo Rui carefully extended his index finger, as slowly as a slow-motion replay.
Xiao Jiu seemed frustrated by his slowness and proactively leaned forward, rubbing his fluffy head against Luo Rui’s knuckle.
“It’s so well-behaved!”
Luo Rui laughed in pleasant surprise, “This makes me want to raise one too.”
Gu Xiao shook his head. “Squirrels are naturally lively and active. They need lots of space to move around, and their stomachs are rather delicate. They have very high dietary requirements. Without certain breeding experience and patience, don’t try it lightly.”
Xiao Jiu’s food was all provided by his cheap father, Gu Hui. What he should and shouldn’t eat was planned out in detail. An ordinary family couldn’t achieve such meticulous feeding.
Watching the interaction between the human and the squirrel, Qiu Yuanyuan beside them was so jealous her eyes were about to turn red. She couldn’t help but scold in a low voice, “Are we going to play or not!”
Xiao Jiu was startled and quickly scurried back to Gu Xiao’s shoulder, burrowing into his hat. Only a pair of dark, round eyes peeked out, warily surveying his surroundings.
“Yuanyuan, you scared it,” Zhu Chen couldn’t help but complain.
Qiu Yuanyuan choked on her words, wanting to retort, but swallowed it back when she saw Xiao Jiu’s frightened appearance. She gripped her mouse angrily and forcibly pulled her attention back to the screen.
Luo Rui also felt it was a pity. He looked at Gu Xiao with an apologetic gaze:
“Sorry, let’s continue typing. I’ll definitely finish.”
Gu Xiao glanced at him. “No rest?”
Luo Rui was extremely embarrassed. “No need, I’ve rested enough.”
Gu Xiao nodded lightly. “Thanks. If we finish, I’ll treat everyone to cola.”
Luo Rui’s eyes brightened, while Zhu Chen beside him also showed a tempted expression.
And so, the sound of typing resumed in the room, occasionally interspersed with discussions about entertainment gossip. Yet even as the atmosphere grew lively, the progress didn’t slow one bit.
At 5:32 PM.
Gu Xiao received the forty-six-page manuscript. He had taken another step toward escaping poverty!