Chapter Three: Time Will Reveal Their Fate

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June 22, 2010 – Clear Weather
Auspicious: Sacrifices, planting; avoid other activities
Inauspicious: Not suitable for any affairs

The best time to plant a tree was ten years ago; the second best is now.
But what if you could go back ten years?
Would you plant as many trees as possible?

“Yes! I want two extra-large pizzas. Add onions, chili peppers, and sausage! One of them must be the spicy Italian style... Deliver it to this address...”

In the computer room, Huo Qitai placed an order with fluent and authentic English.
Instantly, other classmates turned their heads in surprise.
“Is that really Huo Qitai speaking? If I weren’t paying attention, I’d think it’s a listening test for the college entrance exam!”
“Huh? I never realized before that his spoken English is so good. Did he study abroad or something?”
“Is he talking on the phone to a foreigner? Sounds like he’s ordering pizza?”
...

No wonder the other students were so surprised.
After all, the college entrance exam only tests listening and written English, not speaking.
Especially in a small city like Jian’an, most students only know “dumb English.”
The top scorers who get over 130 on the test often can’t say a word when they open their mouths.

Before his rebirth, after graduating from university, Huo Qitai worked as an instructor for two years at New Oriental, so his spoken English was naturally well practiced.

“Brother Tai, when did you practice your spoken English? It sounds so authentic; I even hear a bit of that aristocratic London accent.”
Xue Xiaoshan stared wide-eyed, feeling that today’s Tai was somewhat unfamiliar.

Chang Lu focused on the computer screen showing posts on a Bitcoin forum.
Frowning slightly, she asked,
“Qitai, did you just order pizza for that foreigner? In exchange for ten thousand bitcoins? What use is Bitcoin? Don’t let yourself get scammed.”
“Yeah! Brother Tai, you went to so much trouble. You even used Miss Chang’s American credit card just to buy a pizza for a foreigner in exchange for ten thousand useless bitcoins?”
Xue Xiaoshan shook his head too, “That’s forty-one dollars, almost three hundred yuan.”

“How could Bitcoin be useless?”
Facing their doubts, Huo Qitai smiled faintly.
While replying to the forum posts, he explained,
“Bitcoin is a decentralized currency. Its quantity is limited, so it won’t be inflated. It has advantages like anonymity, security, portability... It’s an excellent investment channel for the future.”

After his detailed explanation, the two still half-understood.

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However, Xue Xiaoshan was better at grasping the key point and asked directly, “So you mean Bitcoin will be very valuable in the future?”
“Yes! Extremely valuable!”
Huo Qitai nodded as if he were a well-educated child.

“How valuable?”
This was Chang Lu’s follow-up question.

Huo Qitai didn’t answer directly but said playfully, “These ten thousand bitcoins are enough to get past Liu Rumeng’s family threshold.”

Just then, Huo Qitai saw a pop-up message on the forum.
The other party had received the pizza delivery and had indeed transferred ten thousand bitcoins to Huo Qitai’s Bitcoin wallet.

“Done! Watch closely, this ten-thousand Bitcoin pizza transaction will go down in history.”

Looking at the ten-thousand Bitcoin balance, Huo Qitai breathed a sigh of relief. This was his first true successful step into shaping history.
From this moment on, the future of this world had been powerfully influenced by Huo Qitai.
He felt both excited and full of confidence about the future.

Meanwhile, sitting across was Liu Ruyu, who was irritably clicking her mouse.
Beside her, Zhang Ting’s incessant chattering irritated her further...

“Mengmeng, we all applied to schools in Beijing.”
“That’s great! Mengmeng, you’re at Peking University, so I can openly visit you there.”
“I’m telling you, Mengmeng, don’t pay any attention to Huo Qitai anymore, not even a bit.”
“You were really foolish just now! You broke up, yet still kissed him.”
“But on the bright side, exchanging your first kiss to end things completely was cheap for Huo Qitai.”
“That so-called lover’s agreement is a joke. It’s rare that you ended things so cleanly today; never get involved with him again.”
“Being entangled with a guy like that will only give you headaches...”
...

Liu Ruyu felt like her head was about to explode. How could Zhang Ting be so annoying!
If it weren’t for her younger sister’s aloof and cold personality, she wouldn’t have held back her temper.
With her own fiery temper, Liu Ruyu would have slapped Zhang Ting silent by now.

“Mengmeng! It’s all Dad’s fault for forcing you to stay by his side and turning you into such a cold, solitary person.”
“Ah... I really can’t keep pretending anymore! Luckily, I succeeded in breaking up today. When I get home, I must protest to Mom not to give me such difficult missions again...”

With her face calm and composed, in the eyes of classmates, Liu Ruyu appeared cold and aloof.
But she couldn’t help but glance over at the somewhat noisy Huo Qitai’s side.

“I broke up with him as Mengmeng, yet he doesn’t seem sad at all?”

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“And he even made a lover’s agreement—that’s just childish.”
“Totally childish! At this age, is there not a single mature and steady guy? What on earth does Mengmeng like about him?”
“But honestly, Huo Qitai’s profile is quite handsome; his nose is sharp and prominent. No wonder Mengmeng agreed to be his girlfriend.”
“That kiss just now felt so strange! Why does a girl’s body go limp after being kissed?”
“So annoying! Why was it me who got kissed for Mengmeng’s graduation gift? That was my first kiss! My first kiss!”
“Infuriating! Huo Qitai just kissed me a moment ago. Why hasn’t he looked my way even once? Does he really not care about me... or about Mengmeng anymore?”
...

Liu Ruyu didn’t know why, but the more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
Then she shook her head and forced herself not to look at Huo Qitai.

...

“Hey... Shanzi, what are you guys talking about? Still thinking about that billionaire status?”
“Did you hear that just now? Huo Qitai was helping a foreigner order pizza online. Has he started working abroad to match the class monitor?”
“Pfft! I read in a computer magazine that in the future people won’t need to leave their homes to work. They’ll use computers to shop and handle tasks. Didn’t expect Huo Qitai to be ahead of the curve. How much can you really make by ordering pizza for others?”
“Exactly! Huo Qitai, as a classmate, I advise you to stop daydreaming. If you want to earn billions by ordering pizza, how many billions of pizzas do you have to order? Get your mind right and focus on retaking the exam. We’re counting on you to get into Peking University next year...”

Since they only heard the part where Huo Qitai ordered pizza in English, they all thought he was doing some bizarre online side job to make money.
Other classmates who overheard this gossip and laughter after finishing their college applications also gathered around.
Especially some boys who had secretly liked Liu Rumeng—they had always been jealous of Huo Qitai, and now they finally had a chance to “teach him a lesson.”

“You don’t understand. Brother Tai is buying bi...”

Although Xue Xiaoshan himself wasn’t entirely convinced Bitcoin would be so valuable in the future, he still defended Huo Qitai unconditionally.
He wanted to explain the Bitcoin concept Huo Qitai had just told him.

But Huo Qitai stopped him and didn’t care about their mockery, saying,
“Shanzi! Let them say whatever they want. I won’t lose a single hair. Time will prove them wrong. Maybe I really can become a billionaire just by ordering pizza for others!”

Just then, Chang Lu’s phone rang.
She picked it up to find her uncle calling from overseas.

“Hello! Lulu, has your credit card been fraudulently charged?
I received a purchase notification showing two pizzas were just bought at a pizza place in Florida?”
...