Spring days were bright and lovely. Outside the Central Academy of Drama.
A young man with a scholarly air enthusiastically peddled his wares.
His delicate features and refined, gentle demeanor attracted many middle-aged men and women.
He held up a copy of *Gaokao Sprint: Core English Vocabulary*, his voice clear and steady as he hawked:
“Dear uncles and aunts, please understand—this isn’t just study material, it’s efficiency.”
He spoke with utmost sincerity:
“The art exam sprint leaves no time to waste. We’ve sifted through five years of real exam questions to extract the two thousand most frequently tested words, cutting out the useless content so you only study what’s most likely to appear!”
He flipped to an inner page, showing the clean layout and highlighted key points.
“For every word, we only mark the core definition paired with a classic example sentence. We have only one goal—using the shortest time to gain the most points!”
“Young man, you make a good case, but isn’t twenty-five yuan a bit expensive?”
A middle-aged man wearing glasses hesitated as he spoke.
“Uncle, the essence of education is selection, and art students are no exception. If you spend tens of thousands painstakingly nurturing artistic talent, only to have it blocked by a few culture exam questions, that would be a terrible loss.”
Gu Xiao unleashed a torrent of words, fully leveraging his gift of gab. Internet quips rolled off his tongue as easily as classical allusions, leaving the middle-aged man and the surrounding parents utterly charmed.
It wasn’t that these people were foolish, but that Gu Xiao had voiced their deepest fears.
Seeing the middle-aged man buy a copy, several parents who had been watching immediately stepped forward.
“I’ll take one.”
“I want one too.”
As Gu Xiao collected money and handed over books, he didn’t forget to add:
“Every copy comes with follow-up Q&A services. If you have any study questions, you can reach me through the QQ number on the last page.”
Not far away, Qiu Yuanyuan stood against the wall with her arms crossed, watching Gu Xiao sell out in just ten minutes. She couldn’t help muttering:
“That mouth of his could really talk a dead person back to life.”
After that, the two repeated the same routine, shuttling between copy shops and various art academies.
To prevent being stuck with unsold inventory and to lighten their load, Gu Xiao made at most fifteen copies each time.
Supply failing to meet demand became the norm.
In the afternoon, outside the Beijing Dance Academy.
Gu Xiao extricated himself with effort from the several parents still surrounding him with questions. A thin sheen of sweat had appeared on his forehead, and his originally neat clothes had become quite disheveled.
He instinctively patted the inner pocket of his chest—there lay a thick stack of freshly collected banknotes, their texture solid and heartening.
*Parents’ money really is easy to earn. Maybe I should expand my target demographic; art students are ultimately a minority.* Gu Xiao touched the money in his jacket, muttering inwardly.
“Are we going to other colleges next?” Qiu Yuanyuan’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
She still stood with her arms crossed beneath the shade of a tree not far away, already immune to Gu Xiao’s sales efficiency that bordered on robbery.
“No, this phase’s mission is complete. Let’s go eat something good!”
Gu Xiao waved his hand grandly, declaring with some boldness: “When you earn money, you should enjoy it in time. How about hot pot?”
Qiu Yuanyuan stared at Gu Xiao for a long time, then turned her head away and said:
“Whatever.”
...
...
It was still early. Most shops on Gui Street hadn’t opened yet, so Gu Xiao and Qiu Yuanyuan could only bypass the nearer option and go the long way around to Wangfujing.
Donglaishun scalded mutton, Quanjude roast duck, exotic cuisine, snacks and fast food—everything one could want.
They wandered for a long time, buying stinky tofu, lamb skewers, pea cakes, and donkey rolls, finally stopping at a Sichuan-Chongqing hot pot restaurant.
Gu Xiao also ate two plates of crispy fried pork, several plates of scalded mutton, meatballs, shrimp paste, and tripe.
Qiu Yuanyuan watched, the corners of her mouth twitching.
“Don’t look at me like that. Normally I don’t eat that much.” Gu Xiao explained.
This wasn’t a lie.
Previously, his appetite had been normal, but ever since his bare-bones golden finger had awakened, his body would occasionally feel a sense of depletion.
Because he had no money, and since it didn’t affect his ability to move, Gu Xiao had simply endured it all along.
Now that he had some money on hand, he naturally wanted to properly compensate himself.
Qiu Yuanyuan glanced at Gu Xiao’s still-flat stomach and fell silent.
There were many things she didn’t ask, but that didn’t mean she didn’t think about them.
She had originally thought close contact would resolve some of her doubts; she hadn’t expected them to only multiply.
The steaming mist from the hot pot swirled densely, blurring Gu Xiao’s face, which looked slightly tired yet satisfied.
“What do you plan to do next?” Qiu Yuanyuan asked casually.
“Haven’t thought about it yet.”
Gu Xiao leaned back in his chair, feeling the solid warmth radiating from his stomach as his thoughts wandered.
Up to this point, he had sold forty copies of the materials in total. After deducting costs and transportation fees, he had netted 650 yuan.
In this era, the average monthly income for ordinary salaried workers was around one thousand to two thousand yuan. In one morning, he had essentially earned what amounted to more than half a month’s wages for others.
But this was still a considerable distance from achieving a true leap in social class.
Without a powerful sales channel, without the ability to monopolize, the life cycle of study materials was extremely limited.
Once someone copied and distributed them, or similar products appeared, this business would be finished.
He needed to find a more stable, more scalable source of income.
Gu Xiao suddenly thought of something, looked at Qiu Yuanyuan, and asked:
“Do you know how to assemble a computer?”
Qiu Yuanyuan didn’t understand why the topic jumped so much, but she still nodded.
Gu Xiao said: “Help me put together a computer. The specs don’t need to be too high, just enough to browse the internet normally.”
Qiu Yuanyuan said bluntly: “Computers iterate very quickly. If that’s all you need, I suggest you just go to an internet café.”
“Too noisy. Besides, I need to use it frequently.” Gu Xiao said.
Qiu Yuanyuan didn’t say anything more and instead asked: “When do you want it?”
“As soon as possible.”
“Four hundred.”
“Deal.”
...
...
Jisu Internet Café.
“So.”
Qiu Xu’s face was ugly as he glared at his sister, the cigarette in his hand nearly pinched in half. “You spent the entire day out with him today?”
His sharp gaze swept over Gu Xiao beside her, his eyes cold.
Qiu Yuanyuan crossed her arms, one eyebrow raising. “What? You’re unhappy?”
“I...” Qiu Xu was choked speechless, a surge of nameless fire rising up inside with nowhere to vent.
Gu Xiao sensed this almost tangible low pressure and wisely kept silent.
“Ignore him. Come with me.”
Qiu Yuanyuan called out to Gu Xiao, not slowing her steps.
Gu Xiao followed. Passing by the counter, he shot Qiu Xu a helpless look.
Qiu Xu’s chest tightened, his already gloomy face growing even more unsightly.
The two crossed the internet café hall and arrived at the private booth area, continuing forward along the corridor until they quickly reached a locked room.
Gu Xiao had originally thought Qiu Yuanyuan would take a key out of her pocket.
Instead, this heroine sidestepped, planted herself firmly, and directly raised her foot. With a heavy *bang*, she kicked the door panel solidly!
The old lock tongue let out a groan of unbearable strain, and the door sprang open in response.
Gu Xiao watched with cold sweat beading on his forehead.
“Wait here.” Qiu Yuanyuan said and walked into the room alone.
A few minutes later, she emerged with a black laptop bag in her hand.
“IBM ThinkPad 600. More than enough for typing.”
Gu Xiao’s eyes widened in shock. “I don’t have that much money.”
Laptops at this point were genuine luxury goods, costing over ten thousand yuan!
Qiu Yuanyuan said lightly: “Consider it a rental. Four hundred a year.”
After saying this, she added: “My dad originally picked this up second-hand. He doesn’t use it anymore; it was just gathering dust.”
Gu Xiao fell silent for a moment, then spoke: “I don’t understand.”
Qiu Yuanyuan was smart; she knew what Gu Xiao meant.
She thought for a moment and answered: “The hot pot today was delicious.”