“Such a difference in treatment…”
“They should be taken away in advance so that the following third-year students can worship and look up to them!”
“…No way, not a set of exam papers left? I wanted to grab one set for my sister. The teachers are too ruthless, not leaving a single set for us students.”
Amidst the cheers and laughter, the monotonous and repetitive high school life came to an end. Time passed by casually, and when they looked back, it was already time to part.
“Hey, where is my graduation message book? Is there anyone who hasn’t left their writing behind? Remember to write it. There are only three days left. Don’t let me leave any regrets.”
“Yang Ce, what’s your contact number? Why didn’t you fill it in? How am I going to find you in the future?”
The most popular communication method in 1999 was a family phone, MSN, and OICQ[1] . Ye Jian was an exception. She didn’t have any contact information.
An Jiaxin was furious. “F*ck, do I have to put up a missing persons’ notice if I want to look for you in the future?” After she finished getting angry, she left through the back door with Ye Jian in the afternoon. She entered an internet cafe that had a tortoise-like internet connection and applied for an OICQ account for Ye Jian.
“What’s your name? Unrivaled in Provincial No.1 Middle School? What about an email? You should at least have that, right? You have to choose your own profile picture too. How about a blonde girl?”
Ye Jian opened the QICQ application and filled it in slowly. The penguin[2] was not as popular as MSN but it was very popular among the students. In 2000, the penguin became the main form of communication for students. Every student would have an account.
After Ye Jian wrote down her username in the name bar, An Jiaxin had a questioning look on her face. “Green Helmet? What name is this? Shouldn’t it be more domineering? Also, the helmet is referring to a hat, right? Can I interpret it as Green Hat?”
Wearing a green hat[3]!
Facing a friend who could distort a normal name into another meaning, Ye Jian, who was already used to it, said calmly, “Green represents hope. Helmet represents protection. You can use normal thinking to interpret it as’ protecting green hope ‘. Isn’t it much more domineering?”
“…” An Jiaxin bit her fingernails silently. She felt a little attacked. “It’s much more domineering.”
Turns out that wearing a green hat can be understood this way. The comprehension of good students was nobler than theirs.
As for the registration phone number and pager number, Ye Jian didn’t bother answering them. She didn’t have a phone or pager.
The signing up was quickly done. After a while, Ye Jian got a six-figure QQ number. An Jiaxin became her first QQ friend. When she saw her username, Ye Jian couldn’t help but facepalm. “Please call me Empress. How domineering. You’ve watched too many palace shows.”
A Qing Dynasty palace film was popular all over the country. Even she, who never watched television, would occasionally watch it when she got a headache while studying.
Ye Jian was familiar with the cast members. One maidservant and two princesses later became superstars, but by then, they were already past their prime.
“I like how domineering the empress is!” An Jiaxin said as she took out a graduation message book from her bag. “Come, let’s add a few students’ QICQ first. Later, we’ll go to the stationery shop to buy you a graduation message book. Everyone in class has one, but I didn’t see you preparing it.”
“Student Jian, sometimes you have to go with the flow.”
In her previous life, Ye Jian had developed a cold and calm personality. She never participated in any group activities.
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[3] [Annotation text missing]
