Chapter 45: Dianbai’s Journey of Advancement!

Wang Yangxin flicked his sleeves and left, but not before casting a glance at Lin Wanxi.

Old Wang looked at Qin Luo with an embarrassed expression and said, "Qin Luo, I'm really sorry. I never expected things would turn out like this. I thought you two could have a good conversation."

"It's alright. It's not your fault," Qin Luo replied with a smile.

"I'll go check on him. You should eat, don't wait for me." Old Wang nodded, and after greeting Lin Qingyuan, hurried after Wang Yangxin.

Lin Qingyuan sighed and said, "Old Wang meant well. You and Wang Yangxin are both outstanding among the younger generation of Chinese medicine. He greatly admires your skills. Bringing the 'Little Divine Needle,' Wang Yangxin, to visit you today was his way of hoping you two could meet, exchange ideas, and together promote Chinese medicine. What a pity—"

"Grandpa Lin, I understand the intentions of you elders. Benefiting from the medical skills and ethics of Chinese medicine myself, I am bound to devote myself wholeheartedly. But I truly can't stand Wang Yangxin's attitude when speaking to others," Qin Luo said candidly. Even someone as good-natured as himself couldn't help but feel an urge to punch Wang Yangxin whenever they spoke.

One could imagine just how abrasive Wang Yangxin was.

"Yes. Wang Yangxin is arrogant, but he does have quite a reputation in the field. He's called 'Little Divine Doctor,' said to have inherited his grandfather's true skills," Lin Qingyuan nodded. He too disliked excessive arrogance in young people.

Qin Luo was also a talented young man, yet he was modest and respectful to his elders. That Wang Yangxin called Old Wang simply 'Old Wang'—to Lin Qingyuan's ears, it was very grating.

The Wang family was of high status, and given Wang Yangxin's reputation, it wasn't strange for him to treat Old Wang as a peer. Still, at least on the surface, he should address him as 'Old Wang' or 'Senior.'

Look at my grandson-in-law Qin Luo—he handles these things so well—

"I've inherited my grandfather's skills too," Qin Luo said with a smile.

"Haha, soon it will be your generation's world. I look forward to seeing you two exchange ideas someday," Lin Qingyuan said, his old heart full of comfort.

"Yes. There will be a chance. But he's not as good as me," Qin Luo said seriously.

"——" Lin Qingyuan thought, when it comes to arrogance, his own family’s young man isn't much less than Wang Yangxin.

Yet, the more he looked at Qin Luo, the more he liked him.

"Haha. Good. Young people should have that confidence—if a doctor doesn't trust his own prescriptions, how can he win the trust of his patients?" Lin Qingyuan laughed loudly. "Alright, the food will get cold. Let's eat."

After lunch, Qin Luo went to his room.

Lin Wanxi had bought him a laptop, which he liked very much. Back home, his grandfather never let him touch such things, saying the radiation was too strong and bad for his health. Now, with no one to stop him, he could play with it freely.

Though Qin Luo knew nothing about computers, he could read. The laptop bag even had a manual.

Following the manual's instructions, Qin Luo pressed the power button.

No response.

He pressed it again. Still nothing.

Qin Luo studied the manual for a long time before realizing he had forgotten to install the battery.

According to the illustrations, he smoothly installed the battery.

Yes. He pressed the power button again, and the indicator light finally came on. The screen showed the WINDOS XP startup screen.

Once the computer finished booting, Qin Luo began clicking randomly with the mouse.

Soon enough, he accidentally shut it down.

"This isn't working. I need a teacher," Qin Luo thought.

He ran out and knocked on Lin Wanxi's door.

"What's wrong?" Lin Wanxi opened the door and looked at Qin Luo standing at the threshold.

"Um, I'd like you to teach me about computers," Qin Luo said, embarrassed. These days, not knowing computers was hardly something to be proud of.

Sure enough, Lin Wanxi’s lips curved ever so slightly. Though it wasn't a radiant smile, Qin Luo could see she was amused.

"Alright," Lin Wanxi agreed.

"Thank you," Qin Luo quickly led her back to his room.

When Lin Wanxi entered, she saw the laptop she had bought for him was already on, displaying the classic WINDOS desktop with blue skies and white clouds.

"You know how to turn it on?" Lin Wanxi asked.

"Of course," Qin Luo nodded excitedly. "Just press this black button."

"And you can turn it off too?"

"Of course. It's the same as turning it on, just press and hold this black button," Qin Luo replied as if it were obvious.

"——"

Lin Wanxi felt a headache coming on. Clearly, he wasn't even at the entry level; he didn’t know what cold boot or warm boot meant, only relying on brute force.

Her teaching journey would be long and arduous, but in a way, she didn't mind spending time with Qin Luo.

"I'll start by teaching you how to turn it on and off. That's the most basic and simplest," Lin Wanxi said. "Your method for turning it on is correct. But your way of turning it off is wrong. I'll demonstrate when it's time to shut down. Is there anything you especially want to learn?"

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"I want to learn QQ."

"QQ? Online chatting?"

"Yes, yes," Qin Luo nodded repeatedly. He had long heard that QQ could help you flirt with girls all over the country. He was tempted, but never had the chance.

Lin Wanxi didn't refuse. "Alright, but you need the internet for that."

Every room in the Lin family villa had a network port, so there was no need to call the telecom company.

Lin Wanxi connected Qin Luo’s laptop with a cable, downloaded QQ, and said, "To use this program, you need to register an account."

"You have to register it yourself? I thought you could just use any number," Qin Luo said.

"——You have to register," Lin Wanxi replied, clicking the signup button. "Pick a name for yourself—a username."

Qin Luo tilted his head and thought. "I'll call myself 'Divine Practitioner Tang Bohu.'"

His favorite movie was "Flirting Scholar," and he adored Tang Bohu, the unrivaled poet and legendary lover. Deep down, Qin Luo dreamed of being the Tang Bohu of Chinese medicine.

"Divine Practitioner Tang Bohu?"

"Yes."

Lin Wanxi resisted the urge to smack him, entering the nickname.

The system prompted that the name was too long. Only then did Lin Wanxi realize she hadn’t used this chat tool for years.

"It's too long. You need to remove a character," Lin Wanxi said.

"Remove one?" Qin Luo thought hard. Removing any character from "Chinese Medicine" or "Divine Practitioner" seemed inappropriate. "Then call me 'Divine Practitioner Tang Yin.'"

Following the prompts, Qin Luo finally registered his first QQ account.

"You can log in now," Lin Wanxi said, demonstrating and explaining as she went.

Once logged in, Qin Luo saw that his QQ had no friends.

"Nobody's online?" he asked, surprisingly. "What's your number? Can I add you?"

It took Lin Wanxi a while to recall a number she had used years ago.

With her guidance, Qin Luo added his first online friend: Lin Wanxi.

"How do I chat with you?"

"Click the icon, then you can type. Do you know how to type?"

"Yes, I know pinyin," Qin Luo said.

He double-clicked Lin Wanxi’s icon, clumsily typed ‘hello’ in the message box, and hit send.

"Why isn't there a reply?"

"——I'm not online."

"Then go online. We can chat there."

"——" Lin Wanxi felt an urge to chop him.

What can’t you say face to face that must be said online?

"I'm going to sleep. You figure it out yourself," Lin Wanxi said. She had no interest in chatting with Qin Luo online.

"Oh, alright," Qin Luo replied, disappointed.

********************************************

Qin Luo stood at the podium, smiling at nearly a hundred students in the classroom. "Before today's lesson, I have some good news to share."

"Teacher, what's the good news?"

"Is it that Teacher Qin is marrying Teacher Lin?"

"Haha, maybe! The post about Teacher Qin and Teacher Lin dating has over a hundred thousand hits and a thousand comments on the school forum—"

The students speculated noisily, paying no mind to Qin Luo's authority.

Because Qin Luo was about their age and taught very casually, he had a great relationship with them. They liked to treat him as an older brother.

Qin Luo waved his hand. "It's not what you think. I've learned to use QQ. So you can chat with me online from now on."

The truth was, after a whole day and night, Qin Luo's QQ had not a single friend. The only icon was gray. He was desperate.

So he decided to announce his QQ number in class, so his students could add him and chat online.

Computer-illiterate Qin Luo didn't know QQ had a friend finder tool.

"QQ? Teacher Qin, did you just learn it?"

"Boss, you're so old-fashioned! Don't tell anyone you're our teacher!"

"Teacher Qin, can we video chat?"

Qin Luo waved his hand and said seriously, "Write down my number—add me as a friend."

He took out a slip of paper from his pocket and read out a set of numbers. The students hurried to write them down.

Wang Jiujie immediately pulled out her phone, logged in to mobile QQ, and added the number.

Qin Luo was satisfied with his advertising; now, he was sure to have many friends.

"Alright, let's start the lesson," Qin Luo said.

"Teacher Qin," a delicate girl in glasses knocked on the classroom door, calling his name.

"Yes?" Qin Luo turned and smiled. "Xiao Min, what is it?" She was a clerk from the office.

"The director wants you in his office."

"Now?"

"Yes, now."

"I'm teaching now. I'll go after class," Qin Luo replied. As a teacher, what could be more important than teaching his students?