Later that day, Lin Feng and Zhang Wei walked through the streets, chatting casually as they went.
They walked until they finally reached their destination.
It was the mobile shop from before - the one where Su Yue worked.
Lin Feng wondered if she was here now. It had been about two hours since classes ended, so she should be.
The two of them walked in.
While it was labeled as a phone shop, the store mostly sold all things technology. Even laptops could be found here.
A young woman in a work uniform approached them with a professional smile.
"Welcome! How can I help you toda…"
She stopped mid-sentence as recognition dawned on her face.
"Oh, it's you," Su Yue said.
It seems she is indeed here, Lin Feng thought.
She quickly readjusted after the initial surprise, her professional demeanor returning.
"What brings you here today?" she asked. "Did something happen with the phone I sold you?"
Lin Feng shook his head.
Her gaze shifted to the person accompanying him.
"Oh, you brought your friend to get a phone too?"
He shook his head again. "Not quite, but close."
"Do you two know each other?" Zhang Wei asked, glancing between them.
"Yeah, she sold me my phone," Lin Feng said.
Su Yue frowned slightly.
He smiled. "Just kidding. It's true that she sold me my phone. But she's also my classmate."
Her expression brightened a little at that.
He then gestured between them. "Zhang Wei, meet Su Yue. Su Yue, this is Zhang Wei - my roommate and also my good friend."
Su Yue looked at Zhang Wei, analyzing him carefully.
Friend? she wondered internally. Did he really like men?
Zhang Wei extended his hand. "Nice to meet you. I hope we get along."
She reciprocated the handshake. "I hope so too."
Lin Feng then finally explained his purpose. "I'm here looking for a laptop. Does your establishment handle those as well?"
"Of course," she said with a bright smile. She gestured for them to follow. "This way."
The two followed her through the store, admiring the display devices around them as they walked.
They continued until they reached the laptop section, where multiple laptops sat on display.
"What do you think?" Su Yue asked, spreading her hands with a flourish.
"It's definitely something," Lin Feng said, moving closer to one of them and observing it.
He then turned to Zhang Wei. "What do you think?"
Zhang Wei held his chin in thought, then looked at Lin Feng. "What will you be doing with it?"
Lin Feng scratched his head. "Umm, I don't really have a specific thing in mind..." He paused. "How about this - pick one that you would choose."
He quickly added, "Within budget, of course."
"Alright," Zhang Wei said.
He moved along the display, studying each laptop carefully. Lin Feng and Su Yue watched on as he examined specifications, checked build quality, and compared models.
Finally, he settled on one.
He picked it up and turned to face them.
"Wawei MateBook 10 Pro," he said. "Tyzen 7 processor, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD. Released earlier this year." He nodded approvingly. "It retails at 4,999 yuan. It should be able to handle anything you throw at it - within reason, of course. Overall, the best yuan-to-performance ratio."
Su Yue blinked.
"Umm, yeah. What he said," she added with an awkward smile.
Lin Feng looked at the laptop, then back at Zhang Wei.
"Alright. Since you picked it, I'll take it."
"Good," Su Yue said, recovering quickly. "Just scan here."
Lin Feng scanned the payment code, and the transaction went through.
"Please wait a moment while I prepare it for you," she said.
She disappeared into the back room for a few seconds, then returned carrying a packaged laptop. She handed it to Lin Feng along with the receipt.
"Thank you for shopping with us," she said with a bow.
…
[Personal Balance: ¥3,456.00]
Lin Feng saw the balance and almost collapsed.
He was back to being a broke boy once again.
"Is something wrong?" Zhang Wei, who sat next to him, noticed his expression and asked.
"Oh, nothing," Lin Feng said, quickly composing himself.
He shifted his attention back to the laptop sitting before him.
"What do you think?" Zhang Wei asked. "Does it fit your needs?"
Lin Feng nodded. "It does indeed."
He turned to Zhang Wei. "What you do... coding. Is it hard?"
Zhang Wei tilted his head in thought. "Depends, but generally, not really. It's just like any subject you can study." He paused. "Are you interested in programming?"
Lin Feng nodded.
"Could you teach me?" he asked. "You're pretty good, right? Nothing serious - just an hour a day is fine." He paused. "I'll pay you too. How about sixty yuan an hour?"
Zhang Wei smiled. "There's no need. If you want to learn, I can teach you for free."
"No," Lin Feng shook his head firmly. "I can't take advantage of our friendship like that."
He looked to the side, scratching his head awkwardly.
"Actually, I looked it up online. Learning coding from a private tutor actually costs quite a bit. And I'm broke after buying this laptop." He gestured vaguely. "If you teach me for free, I'll feel bad. I know it's not much compared to the market price, but... please take it."
Zhang Wei looked at him.
Lin Feng looked back.
He was a little nervous. He wondered if he had been found out.
This was basically a roundabout way of paying Zhang Wei. He didn't want to give him money straight up - Zhang Wei might not take it. This was the best he could think of.
Besides, he could also learn some coding, which in the currently booming tech industry was quite valuable. He didn't need to become a god tier programmer - just enough to roughly understand what he was looking at and not be completely lost when meeting the tech startup talents he would begin encountering soon.
The two stared at each other for a short moment.
Then Zhang Wei sighed.
"Sure," he said. "I'll teach you for sixty yuan an hour."
"Great!" Lin Feng practically jumped in excitement.