Chapter 73: Chapter 73: One Line of Code a Day

After setting up the compiler, Xue Rui began his review, following the table of contents.

Arrays, variables, operators...

"Hm, this is pretty simple," Xue Rui nodded.

As a starter language, C has almost no downsides.

He planned to skim through it quickly and then start learning Java, since that was where the money was.

But when he got to C pointers, Xue Rui started to feel drowsy.

He tried to dredge up his knowledge from college.

But... he found his mind completely blank, as if it had been scrubbed clean.

’The folds of my brain feel like they’ve been polished smooth. Knowledge can’t even get a foothold in here.’

’I was a university student, for crying out loud! The kind who could complete his final project all on his own...’

The truth was, Xue Rui had only managed that by cramming right before graduation. It was all short-term memory, and by now, he’d forgotten nearly all of it.

Staring at the familiar yet foreign textbook, Xue Rui’s eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

Finally, he just gave up and slumped over, fast asleep...

While Lin Ruoxi was cooking, she passed by the door to his room.

She found Xue Rui asleep at his desk. She turned up the air conditioner a few degrees, picked up a small blanket, and gently draped it over his back.

Lin Ruoxi crouched down and rested her own cheek on the desk, tilting her head to gaze at him.

This was the first time she had ever stared at Xue Rui so openly and at such close range.

She would never dare to do this if he weren’t asleep.

His peaceful expression as he slept was a world away from his usual carefree, boisterous self.

’What a strange, wonderful feeling,’ she thought.

Her gentle gaze swept softly across his face.

Her almond-shaped eyes curved into crescents and her red lips tilted up at the corners, like an apricot blossom blooming quietly in the dead of night.

A pure white blossom, flecked with crimson.

Lin Ruoxi was terrified he might suddenly wake up, so she kept darting glances at his closed eyes.

After confirming that he was still fast asleep, she would breathe another sigh of relief.

On and on this cycle repeated, as Lin Ruoxi gazed at him over and over...

She was so engrossed that she didn’t even notice when the pot in the kitchen began to boil over, the steam pushing the lid up with a CLATTERING sound. Lin Ruoxi remained completely oblivious.

Her grandmother heard the water boiling and went to the door of Lin Ruoxi’s room.

Seeing her granddaughter like that, she couldn’t help but shake her head.

"Xixi, the water’s boiling," her grandmother reminded her.

Lin Ruoxi jumped, nearly crying out. Afraid of waking Xue Rui, she quickly covered her mouth.

She tiptoed out of the room and muttered with a blush, "Grandma, you walk so quietly!"

Her grandmother gave her a helpless look. "You didn’t even hear the pot boiling over."

"Uh... oh... I-I’ll go cook." Lin Ruoxi averted her gaze.

She felt like her grandmother’s eyes were especially sharp today, as if they could see right through her.

...

Xue Rui woke up in a daze, unsure how long he had been asleep.

He found a small red blanket draped over his back. ’This girl is so thoughtful,’ he thought. ’She even knows to cover someone with a blanket.’

’Of course, it’d be even better if we were sharing one.’

Staring at the line "Hello World" on the screen, Xue Rui fell into a contemplative silence.

His parents had never been good students, and he had clearly inherited their genes.

Xue Rui had to admit it: when it came to IQ, there were real differences between people.

Take him and Gu Muxue, for example.

In his past life, he had given it his all and only managed to get into a decent, but not top-tier, university.

If he’d been born ten years later, with the rat race for college admissions even more intense, he probably wouldn’t have even made it into a damn private university.

Meanwhile, Gu Muxue practiced her traditional arts every day—the qin, Go, calligraphy, and painting—and her grades still remained firmly in first place.

That was the gap in natural talent.

A few hours ago, he had held the brand-new textbook, looked at the familiar compiler interface, and been filled with ambition.

But now, Xue Rui tossed the book aside. It hit the ground with a THUD.

In a daze, he realized the book wasn’t *C Programming: From Novice to Master*, but *C Programming: From Novice to Giving Up*.

’A cup of tea, a pack of smokes, a single line of code a day.’

His college classmates used to make that joke all the time, but now Xue Rui was feeling it in his bones. He’d gone from novice to giving up in just a few short hours.

"Nope, I can’t learn this," Xue Rui said, shaking his head.

A man’s got to know his limitations.

He’d thought that by returning to his high school days, his intellect would also be at its peak.

But having been thrown back a dozen years from a fast-paced future, his mindset was no longer that of a young man.

He couldn’t bring himself to settle down and focus on something that required so much attention to detail.

’Am I just going to be a crypto-trading, stock-playing schmuck? Just some classless, nouveau riche guy for the rest of my life?’

Xue Rui looked displeased. He still had some dreams, after all.

He didn’t expect to change the world.

But he wanted to at least leave his own mark on it.

In reality, looking back from the future, he could see opportunities everywhere.

But for him to act on them himself? ’That’s not realistic.’

He’d need to gather a team of talented people and act as their leader, pointing them in the right direction.

But for now, given his current status in society, there was very little he could do.

"I’ll worry about it in college..."

Suddenly, a thought struck Xue Rui. At his current academic level, what kind of college could he even get into?

’A second-rate public university? That might be a stretch...’

"Don’t I have any other strengths?" Xue Rui griped to himself.

’Rebirth is great and all, but aside from knowing the future, everything else feels like a debuff...’

Lin Ruoxi stood frozen in the doorway, a bowl of noodles in her hands.

She had watched as Xue Rui, with a frustrated look, threw his book on the floor and then began to wallow in self-pity, looking completely distressed.

Shaking his head, Xue Rui decided to browse some forums for various industries, hoping to find something that caught his interest.

"Xue Rui, are... are you hungry?" Lin Ruoxi asked quietly, afraid of bothering him.

The truth was, the noodles were about to get soggy, so she had gathered her courage to ask.

"Oh, yeah, I’m starving." Xue Rui rubbed his stomach. It was completely empty.

Lin Ruoxi had made noodles with soybean paste. She’d already mixed them for him and placed the bowl directly in front of him.

Xue Rui took a loud slurp of noodles and sat off to the side.

He gestured with his eyes for Lin Ruoxi to sit at the computer. Now that both of his hands were occupied, he couldn’t use it.

Lin Ruoxi obediently sat down in front of the computer, but she had no idea what to do, so she just sat there blankly.

"Know how to use this? First, go ahead and register a QQ account."

Xue Rui said through a mouthful of noodles, his words muffled. He then took a huge bite of raw garlic, completely unconcerned with his image.

"I know... a little?"

Lin Ruoxi sounded unsure. She had only ever used a computer in the school’s computer lab, and even then, she just did whatever the teacher told her to. She didn’t have a QQ account.

Xue Rui found this amusing. He pointed at the screen, guiding Lin Ruoxi through the process step-by-step.

Lin Ruoxi’s typing was also very slow; she kept having to look down at the letters on the keyboard.

"Remember," Xue Rui instructed, "if any guys ask for your QQ, they’re probably up to no good. You should just reject them outright."

With looks like hers, it was inevitable that guys would be asking for her WeChat or other contact info when she was out and about.

’Those guys have sinister intentions,’ Xue Rui thought. ’Lin Ruoxi needs to learn to be on her guard.’

"Mm..." Lin Ruoxi nodded seriously, committing his words to memory.

"Okay, first add me. My QQ is 289..."

Xue Rui reeled off his QQ number.

"Mm... okay..."

Following Xue Rui’s instructions, Lin Ruoxi sent him a friend request.

On the screen: "Request to add [Turkey-Flavored Crispy Rice] as a friend."

Xue Rui’s eye twitched. He had no idea what he’d been thinking when he chose that username, and he hadn’t gotten around to changing it yet.

Just as the order of jumbled letters in a word doesn’t stop one from reading it, Xue Rui’s mind had instantly misread the name into something far more vulgar.

Xue Rui’s own QQ was running in the background. He took the mouse and clicked ’Accept’.

Lin Ruoxi’s QQ screen name was simply "Lin Ruoxi."

"Using her real name online?" Xue Rui was a little surprised.

’Using her real name as a username... This girl is so naive.’

Xue Rui leaned forward, wanting to see Lin Ruoxi’s reaction to his username.

Lin Ruoxi tilted her head curiously. "What’s a turkey?"