"Three hours first," Fang Yi said as he pulled out a fifty-yuan note and handed it over.
The middle-aged woman managing the internet café took the bill, gave him fourteen yuan in change, then picked up a pen and scribbled his login time in a small notebook.
Yup, that's right—
At this point in time, internet cafés didn't have proper systems to log users in and out. Everything was recorded manually. When your time was up, the staff would walk over to let you know.
But if the attendant forgot?
Lucky you. You got to stay longer for free.
After logging in, Fang Yi didn't waste a single second. He immediately opened the Under the Banyan Tree website.
Right now, this was the hottest literature site on the internet. Other popular forums like Tianya and Xici Hutong were playing catch-up.
Especially last year and this one—the site had hosted back-to-back online writing competitions that drew in massive traffic. It was so popular that it even outshone big portals like Sohu and Sina.
In the future, many wouldn't know or even hear about Under the Banyan Tree, but right now, it was legendary.
It played a pivotal role in shaping the online fiction industry.
A ton of future literary stars were currently active on this very site.
The editorial director? Chen Cun.
The chief editor? Ning Caishen.
And the section editor? Annie Baby.
Take this year's second online writing contest, for instance. The champion was a guy named Zeng Yu, pen name Jin He Zai.
Just a year from now, he'd write a novel that would take the internet by storm—The Legend of Wukong!
At this stage, the Under the Banyan Tree site looked incredibly primitive—more like a basic forum.
Each book appeared as a thread on the homepage.
Fang Yi skimmed the listings. Surprisingly, there weren't many proper web novels. Instead, there was a flood of scar literature essays, modern poetry, and short stories that felt straight out of a magazine like Reader's Digest.
He registered a new account, filled in his info, and then began typing furiously—publishing the opening of Ghost Blows Out the Light.
For the synopsis, he kept it direct and punchy—just seven chilling words:
"The living light the lamp; the dead blow it out!"
That title. That tagline.
When placed next to a bunch of sentimental essays and amateur poems, it was like a firefly glowing in the dead of night—bold, bright, and completely unmissable.
Don't believe it?
Just look at the other titles: Goodbye, Village Chief Chen, Dust Settles, I Think Therefore I Am, That Yellow Dog…
In an age when most people still typed with just two fingers, Fang Yi's rapid-fire ten-finger typing drew everyone's attention in the café.
Luckily, ABC Input was already a thing. If he had to rely on the old-school Wubi input method, he'd have been screwed.
In three hours, Fang Yi updated nearly twenty thousand words.
Once he uploaded the chapters, he closed the browser. Before the café manager could even remind him, he packed up and left.
As for why he chose to publish Ghost Blows Out the Light on Under the Banyan Tree, the answer was simple—
Resources!
Under normal circumstances, if you were just a no-name high schooler trying to submit a novel to a publishing house, who would even bother with you?
Even if, by some miracle, a publisher took interest in your book, the manuscript fee would be laughably low.
They'd toss you a thousand bucks, and you'd be expected to thank your lucky stars.
But with Under the Banyan Tree, things were different.
As the most popular literature site in the country, it didn't have its own publishing channels—but it had deep collaborations with several major publishers in Shanghai.
Through the platform, Fang Yi could connect directly with chief editors and pitch Ghost Blows Out the Light for a solid deal.
How did Guo Xiaosi get his start?
He serialized his novel on Under the Banyan Tree, landed a book deal through a publisher, and made his first big paycheck!
—
When Fang Yi got home, Zhuang Shufen and Fang Yucheng still hadn't returned from work.
He poured himself a small pot of herbal tea, took a cold shower, and pulled out the half-eaten watermelon from the fridge.
Just two bites in, while lounging on the sofa, the phone suddenly rang.
"Hello, who's this?"
Fang Yi mumbled around a mouthful of watermelon as he picked up the receiver.
"Hi, is this Fang Yi's residence?"
A soft, clear female voice came through the line.
Why did that voice sound so familiar?
"This is Fang Yi speaking. Who's calling?"
"I'm Han Ning."
Fang Yi paused, slightly stunned.
To be honest, if she hadn't called, he might've completely forgotten about the girlfriend he'd "picked up" by accident.
That day under the school building, Han Ning had agreed to date him.
And then… radio silence.
After that, they continued on as usual—barely exchanged a word in class.
It made him wonder if that whole confession scene had just been a dream.
And with exams coming up, he'd been too busy preparing for the gaokao to dwell on it.
Snapping back to the present, Fang Yi chuckled, teasing her:
"Well, well, class monitor… looks like you finally remembered your boyfriend."
The line went quiet.
He could only hear the soft sound of breathing.
Fang Yi could imagine her on the other end, trying hard to sound calm and composed.
A few seconds later, she finally spoke up, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Are you… free tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow, huh? I think not."
He was planning to visit Qiu-ge in the hospital in the morning and head to the internet café in the afternoon to continue updating his novel.
No free time at all.
And besides, going out on a date in this heat? That was just asking for trouble.
"Oh…"
She sounded a little disappointed.
Fang Yi smiled faintly.
"It's way too hot during the day—not great for a date. How about this? I heard they just renovated Xijin Ferry Crossing. If you're free in the evening, we can take a walk there."
Maybe the word "date" was a bit too direct, because the line went quiet again.
A long pause followed.
Then, a soft, almost inaudible "okay."
"Great, it's a plan then. Tomorrow at six. Let's meet at Xijin Ferry Crossing."
After he hung up, Fang Yi's expression turned a little odd.
To be honest, he hadn't expected Han Ning to call him—let alone ask him out.
In his memory, Han Ning had always been the model student—the classic good girl.
In three years of high school, he'd never seen her talk to any guy for more than three sentences, let alone entertain the idea of a relationship.
But ever since that day under the school building… he started to think maybe he didn't really know her at all.
This girl…
She's got layers.