Chapter 14 : The Website is Online
Chapter 14: The Website is Online
That night, Su Ruochu was sitting in the study room going over her workbook.
Outside in the kitchen, her mother was cooking.
Hearing the lightning and thunder outside, a heavy rain was coming.
Su Ruochu suddenly remembered that Chen Fan was probably still at the computer school.
He should not have brought an umbrella.
With almost no hesitation, Su Ruochu grabbed a raincoat and umbrella and rushed out.
"Mom, I'm going out for a bit, I'll be right back."
Without waiting for her mother's reply, Su Ruochu had already closed the door and dashed out.
Panting, she rode her bicycle to the computer school.
Seeing the lights were still on inside, she spotted that familiar figure through the window.
The sweat-drenched Su Ruochu glanced down at the umbrella in her hand.
Suddenly, she hesitated again.
When she had made the decision earlier, she had hardly given it any thought.
But now standing at the entrance, she felt somewhat at a loss.
These past few days, as soon as school was out, Chen Fan would head straight to Honghai's computer school to build the website.
He was busy until very late every night, not even having time for meals.
What he didn't know was that Su Ruochu had secretly come by twice to take a peek at him.
However, she didn't go inside, only standing outside the window to steal a glance.
Su Ruochu saw a completely different Chen Fan from the one at school.
He sat in front of the computer, his ten slender fingers dancing as he operated the computer interface that Su Ruochu couldn't understand at all.
Zhou Honghai would occasionally come over to observe, and the two would sometimes engage in heated discussions.
But each time, it was Zhou Honghai who admitted defeat.
At that moment, Su Ruochu felt like Chen Fan was glowing.
On the way home that day, Su Ruochu's mind kept drifting back to the image of Chen Fan sitting in front of the computer, totally focused.
And Su Ruochu had a secret that she hadn't told anyone.
That night, she actually dreamed about Chen Fan.
The two of them got into the same university and became lovers.
They went on dates like other university couples, eating out, shopping, holding hands, even kissing...
Waking up, Su Ruochu shyly pulled up the covers to hide her face.
But she couldn't help but think about Chen Fan's focused demeanor.
"Su Ruochu, you must be crazy!" she scolded herself, her face flushed.
Now, Su Ruochu stood at the entrance of the computer school, indecisive.
"I must be crazy!" she berated herself again.
Would he misunderstand something?
Should she just leave the umbrella by the entrance?
Just as Su Ruochu wavered, a shout interrupted her thoughts.
"Got it!"
Chen Fan exclaimed excitedly from inside.
"You did it?"
Zhou Honghai suddenly looked up, then quickly got up and hurried over.
"You finished it?"
"Quick! Let me see."
Zhou Honghai couldn't wait to open the website that Chen Fan had created.
"Yuming.com?"
"What kind of website is this?"
Zhou Honghai was a little surprised, not understanding why Chen Fan would give it such a name.
But soon, he was stunned by the splendor of the website Chen Fan had created.
In this era, all websites were still in their infancy, a far cry from being visually appealing.
However, the Yuming.com that Chen Fan created was clearly inspired by the successful website designs of the future.
Yuming.com was essentially a forum website.
People could register accounts, post threads, place bounties, and buy and sell items.
Not only was the interface clean and beautiful, but it was also divided into various themed sections.
"Trading Market", "Auction Hall", "Pre-order Consultation", "Collection Appraisal", and all sorts of interesting sections.
"It's simply..."
After browsing for a while, Zhou Honghai couldn't help but let out an exclamation of admiration.
"It's simply... simply incredible!"
"I've never seen such a beautiful website."
"With skills like these, you could easily get hired at any major internet company."
Chen Fan smiled.
This was just the beginning.
Due to the time constraint, this forum could only be considered a mud hut, rather crude.
He would need to keep adding new features to make it truly refined.
"Is this website for trading domain names?"
Zhou Honghai had clearly heard of this too, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "You think trading domain names has potential?"
Chen Fan smiled: "Whether it has potential or not isn't for me to decide. I'm just providing a trading platform for those who believe it does."
Zhou Honghai looked at Chen Fan with a meaningful expression. "You're not telling the truth."
But then he excitedly shouted, "When are you planning to launch this website? I can't wait anymore, I want to be your first customer."
"It's launching right now."
Zhou Honghai was dumbstruck. "Now?"
"For something so important, shouldn't you pick an auspicious date according to the Chinese almanac, take a bath, change clothes, and then launch it?"
Chen Fan rolled his eyes. "Who has all those superstitions?"
"Besides, there are only three days left until the college entrance exam. I don't have that much time to waste."
With that, Chen Fan uploaded and published the newly built "Yuming.com" website with a single click.
Zhou Honghai watched in wide-eyed amazement. "You really are...quite casual about things."
Chen Fan stretched lazily. "Brother Honghai, thanks for these past few days."
"Hey, we're all buddies here, no need for formalities."
Zhou Honghai couldn't help but ask, "School's out after the exam, and you promised me you'd come by when you have time during the summer break."
Chen Fan knew his intention. Summer break was usually the key recruitment period for computer schools like this, and Zhou Honghai wanted to use him as a promotional draw.
Chen Fan didn't mind this little self-interest of his. After all, Zhou Honghai had let him use the computers for free all this time.
"No problem."
Chen Fan said as he shouldered his bag. "I'm heading out first."
"It's windy outside, and it's going to rain soon. Why don't you take a car back?"
"No need, I can get home quickly by bike."
Chen Fan waved goodbye to Zhou Honghai and went out alone, pedaling his bicycle swiftly away.
Overhead, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled as sudden bursts of raindrops began pounding down.
Damn!
It really started pouring.
Chen Fan cursed as he was about to pedal faster, but his gaze drifted to the side and his expression froze.
Screech!
He slammed on the brakes and came to a stop.
"Su... Ruochu?"
Chen Fan could hardly believe his eyes as he quickly pushed his bike over to take shelter under the eaves of a roadside shop.
At this moment, Su Ruochu was hiding here, looking somewhat at a loss as she stared at Chen Fan.
She had wavered outside for a long time, originally planning to sneak away.
But unexpectedly, Chen Fan had come right out.
"What are you doing here?"
Chen Fan was surprised.
Su Ruochu wasn't wearing her school uniform, but rather a thin white dress.
On her feet were a pair of cute little sandals.
Her two snow-white legs were exposed.
As the howling wind blew, Su Ruochu could only clutch tightly at the fluttering hem of her dress with both hands.
Looking at Chen Fan before her, Su Ruochu felt nervous.
She hastily handed him the umbrella she was holding.
"I... I saw it was raining, and thought you might not have an umbrella, so I..."
She couldn't finish her words, her little face flushed red.
Blushing shyly, she lowered her head and handed Chen Fan the umbrella.
"Use this umbrella to go home."
Chen Fan gazed intensely at the girl before him.
The raging wind whipped her beautiful hair wildly about, her dress fluttering up.
The heavy rain had already started pouring down.
The raindrops pounded on the hot pavement, instantly splashing up specks of mud, a humid earthy scent wafting over.
The previously muggy, sultry weather had suddenly become remarkably refreshing.
Due to the wind, the downpour blew in under the eaves.
Su Ruochu's lovely hair was soaked, her dress drenched, the wet fabric clinging to her body.
She looked rather frail and delicate, evoking a tender feeling of protectiveness.
Noticing Chen Fan staring at her, Su Ruochu's heartbeat quickened.
"Don't... Don't misunderstand, I just happen to live nearby, so I was passing by and..."
Before she could finish, Chen Fan suddenly stepped forward.
Stretching out his arms, he forcefully pulled Su Ruochu's tender body toward him.
Embracing her tightly in his arms.
"Mmph..."