Chapter 427 - 164: Trend Followers in the New Era (3)
Even without illness, being plagued by ailments every day would make life eternally painful and worrisome, and you wouldn’t even feel like spending money.
Take loneliness, for example—humans are creatures that need company. Suppose someone is isolated on a spaceship, not lacking food or entertainment, yet completely alone with no chance to meet another. Many might choose to end their lives rather than endure endless solitude.
Without companions, what’s the point of living a remarkable life?
Who are you living for?
People who fear poverty more probably have health and companions, but they don’t appreciate it and think money is more valuable than health and loneliness.
Reflecting on these thoughts, I returned to the dormitory and found that Zeng Kaiping was back with another large box of Hua Long 108 under the bed.
Noticing the previous half box had suddenly disappeared with a pile of loose change on the desk, it was evident that the others had taken and eaten them.
"Third Brother, you’re back!"
Seeing Su Zelin, Zeng Kaiping handed over a Li Qun cigarette and casually asked, "Where are the others?"
"Some are at self-study, others are on dates!"
Su Zelin took the cigarette but, having smoked one on the way, didn’t feel like smoking now and just hung it on his ear.
"Sigh, why has everyone changed recently? Our dorm has become so quiet!"
Zeng Kaiping frowned; even if he’s slow, he’d noticed this.
If anyone in room 302 was still clueless, it was a spirited young man.
Zeng Kaiping is the typical laid-back optimist.
Others believe in motivational quotes and self-help like "hard work brings improvement," while this guy believes that things will sort themselves out naturally.
Others think that working hard for four years in university means working less for decades afterward.
However, Zeng Kaiping believes university is the most fun four years of life. Once missed, you have to work in society, soon find a partner, and you’ll probably lose your carefree days, so you must enjoy these four years well.
So, Zeng Kaiping remained carefree after sophomore year, either playing games or chatting with online friends all day. He and Su Zelin were the only two in room 302 who have never done self-study so far.
However, the funny thing is that both of them achieved financial freedom shortly after graduation in their previous lives.
The others work nine to five in units or companies, while Su Zelin and Zeng Kaiping always have flexible schedules and can whimsically take girls on impromptu trips, party and stay out until any hour, without any worry because there’s no work the next day and they can just sleep in.
But the way they achieved financial freedom was different: Su Zelin was smart, had a good family background, skipped the stage of working to accumulate funds, had family support, started a business quickly, and of course, also had to work hard himself.
Zeng Kaiping, on the other hand, pure lay-down winning—Hed was demolished, and he got over twenty apartments, and just spent two days a month collecting rent with a big bunch of keys.
That’s fate; you can’t envy it, and don’t ever emulate it. If a spirited young man doesn’t have that luck, he’ll only enjoy four carefree years of college; after graduating, he’ll likely live more miserably than anyone else.
"Haha, understandable, got to have your own plans sooner!"
Su Zelin chuckled.
"There’s still two and a half years left; why rush? I don’t care about much else, as long as I can get a diploma, I’m happy. Surely, things will sort themselves out!"
Indeed, the spirited young man brought out his motto, did a bit of Ah Q-style self-consolation, then switched on the computer.
Quickly logging into "Legend of Mir," Zeng Kaiping asked, "Third Brother, want to join for a bit?"
"No, I have to go over to the digital store later; you have fun!"
Tonight, there are two matters at the digital store: First, to announce his resignation as the store manager of the Financial Academy branch, and Liuu Wanyin taking over.
Additionally, Brother Xiao Yang and Kang Baohong will come by later, saying there’s something to discuss.
Basically, the three key figures meet about once every week or so, mostly at the Financial Academy branch for Zelin’s convenience.
"Oh, okay!"
Zeng Kaiping was just casually asking.
Recently, Su Zelin rarely played "Legend of Mir." Actually, as a playful person, he initially played it for nostalgia since it accompanied him through his youthful years, but strictly for nostalgia. This lifetime, asking him to spend too much energy on "Legend" would be impossible—his time is precious.
The young man wasn’t concerned; though missing a buddy from the days of hunting chickens and deer and digging meat, he still had his in-game partner, Sister Die; they made a great warrior couple.
Moreover, Sister Die was online too, a rich girl with nothing better to do than play games all day. As long as Zeng Kaiping texted in advance, she’d be online for sure.
The spirited young man happily accompanied Sister Die to fight opponents, while Su Zelin, having nothing to do, turned on his computer too.
He planned to go to the digital store after seven in the evening. Until then, he had plenty of time to do something else.
But Su Zelin wasn’t interested in playing on the computer; instead, he tinkered with something new—the XP system.
This system can be considered a classic by Microhard. Its biggest advantage is simplicity, high compatibility, smooth operation, overall completeness, low hardware requirements—running on a processor as low as 233MHz, 128MB of memory, and over 1.5GB of hard drive space.
Later, Microhard released Win7, intending to replace XP. Some loyal users refused to upgrade, so Microhard had to refuse to provide drivers for new hardware configured for XP, forcing a smooth transition from XP to Win7.