Zhao Kang's jaw hit the floor when he saw Chen Wan.
In 2001 Haizhou, fashion was a wasteland. Li-Ning ruled sports gear, Baleno dominated casualwear, and Metersbonwe hadn't yet breached the city. Most teens scavenged street stalls for clothes, making Chen's Shanghai-polished style a unicorn sighting.
The chatterbox Zhao turned to jelly. Beyond a stammered "H-hi sis," he clammed up, blushing like a schoolgirl.
Lunch became a tug-of-war. Li Mu offered to pay, but Zhao insisted—splurging three hamburger meals at KFC.
Afterward, ice cream cones in hand, they walked to Big Spider Internet Cafe. Their usual haunt, run by the affable "Er Bin," offered member discounts and tab privileges.
The ground floor buzzed with gamers—mostly male. Dozens of eyes tracked Chen like radar. Li Mu booked an upstairs booth.
"Counter-Strike?" Zhao begged as they booted PCs. "Let's wreck some noobs!"
"Busy." Li Mu launched Stone Age Online. "Research."
Chen, ever game, paired with Zhao for CS matches while Li Mu dissected Abei Plugins—the dominant cheat tool for Stone Age. Its forums brimmed with praise. Authentic, he noted; fake reviews hadn't infected 2001's web.
An hour later, Chen left for an appointment. Returning alone, Li Mu found Zhao mesmerized. "Where'd you find her? She's hotter than Su Yingxue!"
"Apples and oranges." Li Mu steered the conversation. "What's your college plan?"
Zhao shrugged, headshotting a virtual terrorist. "Provincial Tech's mech program. Backup: any diploma mill."
Li Mu pressed. "If you miss the cutoff?"
"Parents'll force a retake." Zhao's smile died. "Another year of hell? I'd rather vanish."
The words punched Li Mu's gut. In their past life, Zhao had done exactly that—fled mid-retake, severing all ties.
"What if," Li Mu ventured, "you could pay your own way? Skip their approval."
Zhao snorted. "With what? My allowance's 50 yuan a month."
Leaning in, Li Mu tapped his screen—Abei Plugins' donation page. "Help me build a better cheat tool. Might fund your tuition."
"Cheat tool?" Zhao squinted. "Like… Red Alert map hacks?"
"Bigger. For MMOs. Real money."
"But…" Zhao wavered. "Won't gamers beat us up?"
Li Mu grinned. "They'll pay us not to."