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Seeing the situation, Wang Qi couldn't sit still any longer. With a furrowed brow, he stood up and walked over. "Wang Qi, why did you let her drink my banana milk?" As soon as Wang Qi approached, Wantine put on her bossy attitude, pointing at Qu Menghan and demanding an explanation. Qu Menghan, meanwhile, was huddled in her seat, trembling and too scared to move. "Are you okay? Don't move, let me clean this up for you." Ignoring Wantine, Wang Qi pulled some tissues from his pocket and helped Qu Menghan wipe the banana milk off the desk. "I'm talking to you!" Wantine was nearly fuming at being ignored. "What's your problem? Who told you that banana milk was yours?" Wang Qi snapped, brushing off Wantine's hand and glaring at her. "You... it has a mark on it, just like the ones you give me every day!" Wantine was caught off guard by his harsh tone. Feeling wronged, she pointed at the carton, tears welling in her eyes. "Get it straight. It belongs to me. Who I choose to give it to is my business, and it has nothing to do with you, got it?" Wang Qi let out a dismissive chuckle and kept cleaning the desk for Qu Menghan. Zhang Wantine was left speechless. Frustration and anger boiled over as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Wang Qi, I hate you. I hate you so much!" she cried, her voice breaking as she ran back to the seat beside Wang Qi, buried her face, and refused to look up. Yes, Zhang Wantine was Wang Qi's desk mate. Hate me? Perfect. Just like I hated you in the past. Now you can feel what I went through back then. "Did I scare you? Sorry about that, and you didn't even get to drink any milk. I'll bring you some tomorrow," Wang Qi said to Qu Menghan, his tone suddenly gentle. "No... it's fine... you don't have to..." Qu Menghan replied, feeling wronged by everything that had happened, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "Hmm?" Wang Qi's expression turned displeased when he saw Qu Menghan about to refuse. "Oh... okay," Qu Menghan conceded once more under Wang Qi's imposing demeanor.

"Good girl." Wang Qi smiled, gently cupping Qu Menghan's face and wiping away the tears that had escaped her eyes before turning back to his own seat. The classroom, which had been silent, suddenly buzzed with whispers. Though the noise wasn't loud, Wang Qi could faintly hear everyone discussing what had just transpired. Wang Qi didn't mind at all and continued to worry about his big money-making plan. His head was filled with countless ways to make money, but without any foundation, he couldn't make any of them happen. Even if he knew that the average vacation price in the Imperial Capital was only about $4,000, what could he do about it? Not to mention, coming from a working-class family, did his family even have hundreds of thousands in savings? And even if they did, would they let him use it to buy a house far away in the Imperial Capital? The more he thought about it, the more Wang Qi resented his past self, who only knew how to play games and sleep. Play games? That's right, how could he have overlooked the money-making potential of games? In 2003, the online gaming scene wasn't great, even though domestic games were starting to emerge. Still, their ability to make money was nothing compared to imported games. It was hard to imagine that in 2003, the most popular online game in internet cafes was still the one introduced from Korea, "Legend." If nothing unexpected happened, "Legend" would continue to dominate the charts for a long time. Even when its popularity waned, it wouldn't be because of competition, but because of the source code leak leading to private servers. Creating a private server for "Legend" was child's play for Wang Qi, considering he had worked at a gaming company in his previous life. Private servers for "Legend" had actually been around since 2002, initially cracked by an Italian team. Somehow, it spread to the local scene, and after being translated into the local language by some tech-savvy individuals, domestic players finally got a taste of it. At this stage, the Legend private server was just a free game client, far from the flashy versions that would come later. The money-making methods were limited to selling in-game currency, appealing to a niche group that didn't threaten the official servers, which was why the company didn't pay much attention to it. It wasn't until the latter half of 2004 that private servers exploded in popularity, posing a real threat to the official ones. In his previous life, Wang Qi was a dedicated fan of "Legend," having experienced every version of both official and private servers. He knew exactly what players craved at each stage.

Compared to the official servers where a few hits from monsters could take you down, the first micro-modified Legend Private Server raked in millions. To put it in perspective, back in 2004, you could buy a spacious apartment in the heart of the city for a few hundred thousand dollars. This was it. A venture with no initial investment and high returns, perfect for someone like Wang Qi who needed to make his first fortune quickly. With everything figured out, Wang Qi decided to rest his head on the desk and recharge. Coding was mentally exhausting, and considering he spent years coding in his past life without losing his hair, he considered himself lucky. "Hey, wake up, let's go. If we're late, there won't be any computers left," Wang Qi felt someone nudging him awake after who knew how long, and he groggily opened his eyes. As Wang Qi took a moment to clear his head, he realized the sun was setting, and the classroom was now empty. Turning around, he saw a familiar face, Liu Chao. Wang Qi knew him well. They were childhood friends who grew up together, always getting into mischief. Whenever trouble arose, it was usually Liu Chao who took the blame. Liu Chao was eager to get Wang Qi's attention for a reason. Since the start of their sophomore year, the two had a routine. Every afternoon after school, they would head to the internet cafe and play until evening study sessions ended. It was a ritual they rarely missed. "Let's go," Wang Qi said, remembering his plan to make some money. Without further ado, he wiped his face and stood up. As he steadied himself, he noticed they weren't alone in the classroom. Qu Menghan was still there too. At this time, everyone else should have been heading to the cafeteria for dinner. Curious, Wang Qi looked over and saw Qu Menghan pulling a lunchbox from her desk. Inside were some greens, a bit of pickled vegetables, and half of a cold bun leftover from lunch. Seeing this, Wang Qi remembered that her family was struggling financially. Even the inexpensive meals at the cafeteria were beyond their means, so she had to bring food from home every day. "You're in your growth spurt, and you're eating this stuff. No wonder you look malnourished," Wang Qi felt both worried and frustrated as he watched. "You go grab a spot at the computer, I'll catch up with you in a bit," Wang Qi said to Liu Chao, then he headed toward Qu Menghan, who was getting ready for lunch.

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