The admin stopped moving the mouse, his expression odd. "Are you serious?"
Gu Xiao understood the other's skepticism.
In this era, society generally held stereotypical impressions of those who spent their days in internet cafes as "idle good-for-nothings" and "uneducated failures." No one would ever entrust them with any proper task.
Gu Xiao couldn't be bothered to explain. He took a folder from his schoolbag, placed it gently on the counter, and said:
"I'll pay for three hours of computer time. Each person needs to help me type up four pages of content. After finishing, I will check the work, and the error rate must be below ten percent. The pay is ten yuan per person."
Ten yuan, at this time, was equivalent to nearly a full day's wages for a laborer. For regulars at an internet cafe, it was definitely a windfall that couldn't be ignored.
He looked at the admin and added:
"If everything goes smoothly and the people you find complete the tasks on time and with quality, I'll give you ten yuan too, as a referral fee."
The admin took the folder. Seeing the densely packed English words on it, he sat up completely straight. His fingers tapped unconsciously against the keyboard twice as he scrutinized Gu Xiao for several seconds.
"Wait here."
After speaking, the admin got up and left the counter. Before long, he returned with three people.
The first was a tall, thin guy wearing thick glasses. The second was a young girl with her hair in a ponytail, her eyes full of suspicion. The third was a slightly chubby boy with a few freckles on his face.
The admin pointed at the three in turn and introduced them:
"Luo Rui, Qiu Yuanyuan, Zhu Chen. I met them all playing CS. Zhu Chen is pretty good at StarCraft."
What a bizarre way to introduce people. Gu Xiao greeted each of them in turn, finally landing his gaze on the admin. "So the fourth person is you?"
The admin nodded slightly and introduced himself:
"I'm Yuanyuan's older brother, Qiu Xu."
Was he bringing his little sister along to earn some extra cash? Gu Xiao felt somewhat resistant and tactfully reminded him, "Shouldn't the admin be quite busy?"
Qiu Xu waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry, I won't take advantage of you."
He pointed at his younger sister and said, "If I don't finish, the rest will go to Yuanyuan."
Qiu Yuanyuan raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Gu Xiao thought to himself: As if your sister is guaranteed to finish it.
He didn't say anything more. He took out three ten-yuan bills from his pocket and placed them on the counter.
"This is for the computer time."
Gu Xiao's expression turned solemn. "This material is very important to me. I'm counting on all of you."
These sudden words left everyone slightly stunned.
Qiu Xu was the first to recover. He put away the money, nodded at Gu Xiao, and looked at Qiu Yuanyuan. "Go to booth number four. It's quiet there."
……
……
Calling it a booth was generous; it was actually a storage room. In the corner, there was even a small spring bed.
The floor was covered in dust, looking like it hadn't been cleaned in a long time.
Qiu Yuanyuan explained, "At first, we wanted to design it as a luxurious team booth, but then we realized we couldn't fit five computers in here at all. My brother plans to convert it into a screening room."
Gu Xiao looked around and shook his head:
"A screening room requires a quiet environment. Internet cafes are noisy; you'd have to renovate completely. Without the ability to charge high fees, you'd never recover the costs."
Qiu Yuanyuan nodded. "You sound exactly like my dad."
She booted up the computer skillfully, checking the keyboard and mouse in turn.
Gu Xiao distributed the manuscript pages to the other two, carefully explaining the typing requirements.
Luo Rui and Zhu Chen seemed to have somewhat reserved personalities and didn't talk much. Fortunately, their computer skills were solid, and they weren't unfamiliar with Word.
Gu Xiao didn't expect them to handle the layout perfectly, but at the very least, the font, formatting, and line spacing had to be uniform.
"Let's begin."
Qiu Yuanyuan glanced at the time on the computer. "The sooner we finish, the sooner we're done."
No one objected.
For a moment, the only sound in the booth was the clattering of keyboards.
Gu Xiao sat in the middle, typing while observing the others' performance.
Luo Rui was the fastest, but he would stop from time to time to correct typos. Zhu Chen maintained a steady rhythm with few mistakes. Qiu Yuanyuan, meanwhile, read ten lines at a glance with astonishing efficiency.
If the three of them maintained this pace, three hours would be more than enough.
The only problem was—
"Are you a teacher at a cram school?"
Luo Rui spoke, breaking the silence in the room.
The keyboard sounds continued clattering. Gu Xiao seemed not to have heard the question, typing away with complete focus.
Just when Luo Rui thought he wouldn't get an answer, Gu Xiao slowly spoke:
"No, I'm just a senior high school student."
Luo Rui seemed to sense his displeasure and didn't speak further.
The room was left with only the denser sound of keyboards, as if trying to cover some silent awkwardness.
A quarter of an hour later, Zhu Chen's chair let out a grating screech as it was dragged back.
"Gonna use the bathroom." He explained awkwardly under the gazes of the others.
"Me too! Me too!" Luo Rui hurriedly got up.
The two left one after another in quick steps, the door closing gently.
Qiu Yuanyuan stared at the closed door, her expression helpless. "Don't worry, they'll finish."
"No, they won't."
Gu Xiao's voice was very soft, but his tone was exceptionally certain.
One's momentum is strongest at the first strike, weaker at the second, and exhausted by the third. Once the thought of slacking off arises, giving up only needs an opportunity.
Qiu Yuanyuan's willow eyebrows shot up. She was about to defend her friends when she saw Gu Xiao's hoodie pocket suddenly move.
A fist-sized red squirrel poked its head out from the pocket, its dark, glossy eyes curiously surveying this dust-filled booth.
"Is that a squirrel?" Qiu Yuanyuan was so surprised that she forgot what she had been about to say.
Gu Xiao nodded gently. "My pet, Xiao Jiu. It's a Eurasian red squirrel."
Xiao Jiu let out a perfunctory chirp and climbed up his clothes to his shoulder.
It crouched there, tilting its little head, its eyes like little black buttons staring straight at Qiu Yuanyuan.
"Who is she? Is she a new companion?" Xiao Jiu asked curiously.
"This is Qiu Yuanyuan. She counts as my..."
Gu Xiao paused, his gaze turning somewhat probing toward the girl. "...Employee?"
Qiu Yuanyuan rolled her eyes in exasperation. "You definitely don't have many friends, do you?"
She silently thought to herself: And what's with you talking so seriously to a squirrel, acting like it can understand you.
Xiao Jiu truly didn't understand.
It was sentient, but that didn't mean it was omniscient.
Its current vocabulary reserves weren't sufficient to understand the relatively complex word "employee."
However, being clever, it quickly made its own judgment by observing the two's expressions and tones—this was a "strange person."
It let out a soft "chi" and scratched Gu Xiao's ear with its little claw, as if affirming this conclusion.
Qiu Yuanyuan restrained the urge to pet it. Her gaze returned to the computer, and she said in a cold voice:
"Don't let it run around. If it bites anything, you'll have to pay for it."
Gu Xiao responded with a sound. Looking at the girl's focused expression, he couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
"What?" Qiu Yuanyuan's tone was somewhat impatient.
Gu Xiao said, "Stop writing. Let's do something else."