Chapter Fifteen: Addicted to the Internet

… In less than a day, every teacher and student in the school knew that a girl from the '97 Broadcasting Class had stunned everyone with her dolphin-like voice in the morning, and had foolishly laughed herself into breathlessness.

"Number Five, you really know how to make a spectacle of yourself," Li Hui mocked her mercilessly.

"I don’t think so. What harm is there in shouting a couple of times in my own classroom? As long as I’m happy, why bother about others!" Dong Yanyan paid no mind; after all, if they wanted to laugh at her, it was without malice. Psychologically, she was already a thirty-year-old woman and had long shed that sensitive, fragile heart.

*

Sunday was indeed a leisurely day. Dong Yanyan spent the morning memorizing vocabulary in the classroom, then did her language homework. For her, English grammar wasn’t difficult—just needed to memorize the words; language arts were even simpler, memorizing a few texts and performing well in exams posed no challenge. As for the specialized courses, she was starting on equal footing with everyone else, so catching up wasn’t a problem. The real issues were advanced mathematics and physics; her grades in advanced math had never been good, and now she couldn’t make heads or tails of it—only rote memorization of formulas might help her slowly recover her memory. Physics required a complete shift in thinking, so everyone in the class was struggling at first, which meant she felt no undue pressure.

The most urgent problems now: first, food was hard to swallow; second, her internet addiction was acting up.

In the afternoon, only a handful of students remained in the classroom. The publicity officer, Du Xinmeng, was at the back, working on the bulletin board. This round-faced girl carried a touch of Lin Daiyu’s temperament—fond of poetry and prose, sensitive and sentimental. Luckily, Zhang Lei treated her well, and from dating to marriage over several years, she had always enjoyed simple happiness.

At that moment, Zhang Lei was distractedly watching TV at the front, occasionally sneaking glances back; the sparks of romance had just begun to fly.

Dong Yanyan sat in the last row, holding her lunch container, speechless before the eighty-cent stewed tofu inside. The cafeteria food was poor; aside from chicken nuggets at Wednesday lunch, meat was rarely seen unless bought outside, and her meal allowance was already stretched—she simply couldn’t afford it. She used to love this tofu—cheap and tasty—but now she longed for Xu Cheng’s cola chicken wings, tofu and shrimp soup, braised fish, and beef stewed with tomatoes. Anything with meat would do. Years of carnivorous living made this return to a vegetarian diet tormenting.

She was about to cry from frustration as she choked down tasteless food, when the back door opened and Xu Cheng and Liu Siying came in laughing. Xu Cheng had once pursued this young girl, but failed, and so ended up with Dong Yanyan. … Now, Dong Yanyan had no interest in those old trivialities; Xu Cheng’s appearance instantly revived her appetite, and she watched his figure, her mind filled with visions of sumptuous dishes.

He never had the money to treat her to delicacies, but he never let her go hungry. Even in their toughest times, he’d bring extra meat dishes from his workplace cafeteria for her. When they went out for skewers, a single stick would be shared between them; even with an ice cream, he’d thoughtfully save the last bite for her. Later, when she was pregnant, he learned to cook, and whenever he had time, he’d prepare something delicious for her. Sometimes, working late, he’d call the small restaurant downstairs to send up her favorite spicy tofu and shredded pork.

Watching him animatedly chatting with Liu Siying at the front, Dong Yanyan suddenly lost her appetite. She washed her lunch container downstairs, changed clothes, and decided to find an internet cafe outside.

She searched high and low but found no internet cafe anywhere—only gaming arcades everywhere. But she knew good kids didn’t go into arcades; this she understood perfectly. Still, it left her deeply frustrated. After a while, a realization struck her: it was only 1997, the era of the internet had not yet arrived! If she could get familiar with those websites before they became popular, it would be a great advantage. Especially since websites were just being established and needed writers—she already knew which topics would become hot. If she could publish early, she might become a minor celebrity! Posting sooner meant fresher content for readers, more popularity, and much less competition—the opportunities to stand out would multiply! With this thought, her mind cleared. Before traveling back, she had two unpublished works ready, so she wasn’t short of material. Of course, conditions didn’t allow for much now—no computer, so she’d have to write by hand in a notebook, but there was no rush! She had plenty of time!

“Hurrying along the waterway to Fragrant River, how long is Fragrant River, ten miles, a hundred, a thousand, and ten thousand; Fragrant River lingers in my heart…” Dong Yanyan, in high spirits, hummed as she returned to the classroom, wanting to see if the boy she had her eye on was there—a trip not made in vain. Entering from the rear door, she saw Lin Feng and Du Xinmeng discussing something before the bulletin board. She went over to take a look.

“Dong Yanyan, your writing’s supposed to be good. There’s still a blank space here—how about writing a prose piece?” Lin Feng spotted her and asked with a smile.

Dong Yanyan knew he was just flattering her, but she readily nodded. “I don’t have to write prose, but filling this space within ten minutes is no problem.” Taking up a red chalk from the nearby table, she wrote in large letters on the blackboard: The Best of Times.

“Now is the best of times for us. We have the best youth, the most vigorous passion; our world is changing at a breathtaking pace, day by day. In the not-so-distant future, we may possess in a single night what our elders never attained in their lifetimes! The fusion of Eastern and Western cultures, the explosion of information, economic leaps—the world will transform at speeds beyond our imagination. One day, we will hold the world’s information at our fingertips every moment, enjoying the surprises brought by the most open economy and urban development. And those who create all this will be us! We will not live by routine like our elders; perhaps a single step will take us further than they could reach in a lifetime. The generation after us, the post-nineties, will strive to surpass and replace us at incredible speed! Society has its harsh rules, but the era truly ours may last only ten short years. In the torrent of the times, only by running constantly can we fearlessly embrace every new challenge. Students born in the eighties, are you ready?!”

Dong Yanyan drew a large, emphatic exclamation mark at the end of her passionate monologue, finishing her long speech. Reviewing it, aside from the less-than-elegant handwriting, it wasn’t bad!

“Not bad, not bad, quite ambitious,” came the indifferent voice of a middle-aged man behind her.

…