Chapter 3: Is It Wrong to Be Good at Studying?

Li Hao led Song Han to a small internet café tucked away in an alley, with no signboard or markings.

If not for someone leading the way, Song Han would never have guessed that this place, often with its rolling shutter door slightly ajar and appearing somewhat mysterious, was actually an unlicensed internet café.

The stifling air, tainted with the smell of tobacco, continuously wafted around his nose. The clattering of keyboards and the occasional outburst of curses made everything before Song Han, who had never set foot in an internet café before, seem extraordinarily novel.

However, as he looked at the classmates inside the café who kept greeting them, he suddenly felt that his decision today was somewhat rash.

After booting up the computer, Li Hao, with a mysterious smile, opened a local video file on Song Han's computer.

"Old Song, let me show you something characteristic of internet cafés!"

Song Han's eyes immediately widened!

It was two hours of being completely captivated.

The green film images on the computer screen made Song Han's brain completely forget his original intentions.

Stumbling out of the internet café, Li Hao patted Song Han on the shoulder and teased:

"Coming back tomorrow?"

Song Han, bending over, firmly said:

"Yes!"

....

The next day, in the same office, the same two people.

Song Han looked at his homeroom teacher with a face full of shame.

"Did you have fun at the internet café yesterday?"

Recalling the sights from the internet café the day before, Song Han's face turned crimson.

"So, you promised me you wouldn't read novels anymore because you planned to start going online instead?"

"I'm sorry, teacher..."

"You're not sorry to me. Teaching you is my job. Whether you learn well or not doesn't significantly affect me or my salary!"

Song Han looked up, dumbfounded at his homeroom teacher, suddenly at a loss for words.

"You're studying alone in the county town. Do you know how much the rent is? How much is the cost of living? How much is the tuition fee?

Do you know how much your parents earn from working outside for a month?

Do you know what you're spending?

Do you feel at ease spending that money on playing games at the internet café?"

At some point, the flush on Song Han's face began to fade.

"I don't know how you plan for your future, nor do I know if you've ever thought about your own future.

I just think, in the time you spend playing games at the internet café, you should think more about this issue!"

Walking back to the classroom in a daze, although Song Han wanted to retort to his homeroom teacher that he didn't play games online, he dared not explain the green films he watched every day at the internet café, leaving him with the illusion that he would be beaten to death if he spoke out.

Seeing the despondent Song Han, Li Hao leaned in and cautiously asked:

"What did the teacher call you over for? Did he find out you went to the internet café?"

Song Han silently nodded.

Li Hao's eyes flickered with unease, and upon realizing, he immediately sucked in a cold breath.

"You didn't rat me out, did you?"

"No."

Song Han shook his head, then asked curiously:

"Why is it that when you guys go online, the teachers don't care, but I go for just one day and get called in for a scolding by the homeroom teacher?"

Li Hao shrugged and said:

"Who told you to suddenly improve your grades so much in the last exam!

We agreed to lag behind together, but who knew you'd secretly speed up!"

Song Han thought about the exam from a couple of days ago. With his studies steadily improving, he had managed to rank within the top twenty of the class this time. The bizarre memory palace in his mind not only brought him a lot of incomprehensible information but also significantly enhanced his memory, giving people the impression that he had grown a brain.

Song Han's eyes widened in disbelief as he exclaimed:

"Does being good at studies mean I'm in the wrong?"

"Being good at studies isn't wrong, it's just that some people's lives still hold hope, while others' lives are nothing but quagmires.

You can't pull good people out of a quagmire; it's better to keep the good from getting stained by it."

A statement that reeked of illiteracy left Song Han in contemplative silence.

Song Han looked his deskmate up and down as if seeing him in a new light.

"Shakespeare-Hao?"

Upon hearing this, Li Hao burst into laughter, clearly proud of himself for being able to utter such words:

"Back when your grades were really poor, didn't you read novels in class every day without the teacher saying anything?"

Song Han nodded silently.

Li Hao continued:

"But now that your grades are starting to improve, the teacher begins to pay attention to you. Isn't that because there's hope for your life now?"

Song Han listened quietly, a ripple of thought stirring within his heart.

"Old Song, what are you thinking about?"

Li Hao's voice broke through Song Han's reverie.

"I'm thinking about whether we should still go to the internet café."

Li Hao laughed heartily and said:

"Of course we should! This is our youth!"

Hearing this, Song Han also smiled.

If his youth was about going to the internet café to watch green films, he couldn't help but feel like he was tarnishing his own youth!

By the way, what was it that he wanted to do at the internet café yesterday?

Those damned green films always seemed to interfere with his steadfast goals.

After school, not daring to follow Li Hao to the internet café to watch green films, Song Han returned to the rented room where he stayed during the school term. He reluctantly pulled out his textbooks and began to review.

It wasn't long before the sound of snoring filled the rented room like thunder.

Once again, it was that strange room, that peculiar castle.

Although he knew it was a memory palace, every time he came here, Song Han felt an extraordinary sense of wonder.

Taking three steps across the grid beneath his feet, he pushed open the boundless door and entered the interior of the castle. He casually picked up a set of cutlery placed on the bookshelf.

In the next moment, a memory about the common vulnerabilities of the Microshadow XP system began to churn in his mind.

 The Windows XP computer operating system?

 Why is their image a pair of a knife and fork?

 And it turns out that one could rely on these systems to earn the first pot of gold, to make a living.

 Since it's about making a living, isn't it natural to have cutlery!

 But what does the first pot of gold mean? Making money?

 When Song Han opened his eyes again, the world outside was already lit up with evening lights.

 Not wanting to delay for a moment, Song Han grabbed his coat and rushed to the internet cafe.

 By the time he had clarified all his doubts, Song Han's eyes grew brighter and brighter as he looked at the search page on the computer screen.

"The first pot of gold" refers to the initial earnings or profits that an individual gains from starting a business or making an investment. It typically signifies a financial success or breakthrough and can also denote the first achievement in one's career or academic pursuits.

Microshadow System Vulnerability Bounty Program:

Initiated by Microshadow Corporation, this program aims to reward individuals who discover and report vulnerabilities in their websites, software, systems, or applications. These vulnerabilities could potentially be exploited by hackers or other malicious entities to attack websites or steal user data. Therefore, Microshadow hopes to enhance the security of its systems by incentivizing those who uncover these vulnerabilities.

Looking at the information he had diligently gathered throughout the night, Song Han could hardly contain his excitement!

This is the proper way to engage with the internet. Things like green movies or other distractions only hinder one's determination to achieve greatness.

Early the next morning, Song Han, with bloodshot eyes and his excitement still undiminished, was once again summoned to the homeroom teacher's office.

 Unsurprisingly, his visit to the internet cafe the previous day had been discovered by the homeroom teacher.

 How is the homeroom teacher so well-informed!

 It feels as if there's a spy planted right beside me!

 After school, Li Hao and a few of his usual gaming buddies were joking and laughing as they headed towards the internet cafe.

 A companion nearby, upon seeing Song Han, was about to call out to him when Li Hao stopped him.

 "Don't call him; he's not one of us!"

 From a distance, the red scarf around Li Hao's neck seemed even more vibrant.

 Song Han, filled with indignation, kicked the curb fiercely and angrily exclaimed;

 "Don't let me find out who the snitch is, or I'll make sure you see a green sun tomorrow!"