Chapter 1684: Helping

Ye Jiping gave a lecture, telling everyone that photo editing and video cutting required high-performance computers, that one should buy a full-frame camera which didn't need to be too expensive, and that later on they would need to use camcorders.

He chatted for a while longer about the afternoon club and student union recruitment, mentioning some benefits and points of attention.

When the dismissal bell rang, he nodded very solemnly at Lu Qiaochuan and Lin Luoxue, giving them an affirming look, then packed up his things and left.

"I have already opened up channels with nearby computer and camera merchants; if any classmates have needs, you can come to me. I guarantee prices cheaper than the market, ensuring all classmates get a discount."

A group of people rushed over in a flurry to ask Gu Yixin about the computers and cameras.

At this moment, Lin Luoxue moved over to Bi Shisan's side, first glancing at Wang Yan who was packing up his things, before speaking.

"Bi Shisan, have you been living well these past years?"

Bi Shisan withdrew his gaze from the commotion over by Gu Yixin and looked faintly at Lin Luoxue: "What exactly do you want to say?"

To Lin Luoxue, this kind of look was like a knife, but she still let out a long breath and spoke softly: "I heard your tuition fees are still not settled; if you need it, I can lend you the money."

"Who said they aren't settled? I am already earning my tuition."

After saying this, he spoke loudly, "Gu Yixin doesn't understand computers; she cannot comprehend those configurations. If you have needs, you can come to me."

In the time it took to speak those few sentences, the classmates had all gathered over here again.

"I'll also buy one from you tonight; playing games on my current laptop isn't comfortable." Wang Yan patted Bi Shisan's shoulder, stood up, slung his backpack over his back, left his seat, and made room for the other classmates.

Gu Yixin walked over, glaring at Wang Yan: "The two of you are equally annoying! No, now he is slightly more detestable than you."

"Is that so? Then when will I be the more detestable one?"

"When he isn't affecting my ability to make money, it's always you who are detestable."

Wang Yan laughed heartily, reached out, and put his arm around Gu Yixin's shoulders: "Let me tell you a secret, a huge secret."

"Just speak if you're going to speak; don't get handsy." Gu Yixin struggled, speaking in a bad temper.

"Oh come on, we're so familiar, just like good brothers; putting an arm around each other's shoulders is normal, don't be so distant."

Once they reached outside the classroom, Wang Yan had already let go of his hand before Gu Yixin even needed to struggle.

Gu Yixin snorted: "What big secret?"

"Do you think Bi Shisan has money?"

"No! So what? What does that have to do with you? And what does it have to do with me?"

Wang Yan said with a smile: "The connection is right here; because he has no money, he couldn't pay his tuition, so now he needs to earn money. He truly understands computers better, so he will assemble computers in bulk, giving classmates a discount while he makes money."

"I've been busy for a whole week just for today; every day since returning from military training, I've been contacting channels. I don't believe he can offer prices more favorable than mine."

"So I estimate he plans to seek cooperation with you."

"On what grounds? Originally I could have earned it all; why should I cooperate with him? Is being poor a valid reason? Who told him to impulsively choose to study photography?" Gu Yixin's lips puckered up.

"Who knows?" Wang Yan smiled gently as he lifted her chin, "Perhaps you are simply beautiful and kind-hearted, tough-mouthed but soft-hearted, and later on you'll give Bi Shisan some convenience after all."

Gu Yixin's face instantly turned red; she slapped Wang Yan's hand away in a bad temper: "Getting handsy again; can't you just speak properly? You're so annoying, I'm leaving!"

Having said that, she gritted her teeth and stepped on Wang Yan's foot, then stormed off in a huff...

"Wow, what a wonderful display of flirtatious banter," said Lin Luoxue, who had been standing nearby watching the entire scene.

Wang Yan took a deep breath: "I seem to smell a bitter scent of disappointment mixed with jealousy; oh, this confused and beautiful Miss, you must need a warm embrace to soothe the trauma in your heart, so I will reluctantly allow you to take a little advantage of me."

"Get lost; clearly it's you who wants to take advantage of me," Lin Luoxue said coquettishly, then changed the subject, "You want to help Bi Shisan?"

"I indeed need a desktop computer; recently my laptop has been hindering my performance."

"I mean what you said to Gu Yixin."

Wang Yan shook his head: "Didn't you see? Wasn't that just using Bi Shisan as a pretext to flirt?"

"Your words and heart don't match," Lin Luoxue laughed, "For the afternoon recruitment, where do you plan to go?"

"I've already contacted the teacher at the darkroom; I'm going there this afternoon to develop photos, which will take up the whole afternoon. As for clubs and the student union, I find them uninteresting; a few days ago I saw a student union clerk who was far too pretentious. To avoid unnecessary trouble, I'd rather just take my photos."

"It seems you know yourself very well."

"It's all because others are unreasonable; I have no choice." Wang Yan waved his hand, "Off to eat."

Lin Luoxue turned back to look at Lu Qiaochuan, who was with Zhong Bai, then followed Wang Yan's steps: "I'll go with you; Shuci, let's go, time to eat."

"Mm." Li Shuci, who had been standing nearby with almost no presence, responded and followed Wang Yan to go eat.

"Don't forget to give me that photo you took of me last time," Lin Luoxue reminded.

"I'll enlarge one print for you, then scan it into a digital version and send it to you."

In the afternoon, Wang Yan arrived at the Comprehensive Building.

This building housed various school equipment and other functional classrooms; the darkroom was located on the east side of the first floor of the Comprehensive Building, a very large space divided into two sections: one side for developing film and enlarging photos, and the other for scanning film rolls into digital versions, using relatively better machines.

He knocked and entered; a teacher with hair styled with wax, wearing black-rimmed glasses, and looking very spirited, was playing on his mobile phone in the dim environment.

"Hello, Teacher Feng, I am Wang Yan."

Feng Cuicui looked at Wang Yan, then pointed to a shelf: "The materials are over here; they all have labels with names written on them. Tools like measuring cups are nearby. Since you said you know how to mix chemicals and develop, I won't say much; just develop them yourself. However, there is one point to note: return everything to its original place, and keep the countertops and floor clean."

"Okay."

Wang Yan responded and began mixing the chemicals, while simultaneously chatting with Feng Cuicui.

This Feng Cuicui was the counselor for the Electronic Photography class during their sophomore year, a laid-back person who disappeared as soon as work ended. Later on, some troubles arose, leading to collective resistance by the protagonist group, but after all the fuss, nothing came of it, and everyone still barely managed to coexist in an uneasy harmony despite mutually finding each other annoying.

However, right now Wang Yan and Feng Cuicui were chatting quite nicely; they had no other conflicts or special relationship; it was simply a student who loved film photography coming to the darkroom to develop film rolls.

Therefore, the two of them chatted very well; Feng Cuicui respected technique quite a bit, he and Wang Yan even followed each other on Weibo, having viewed the photos posted by both sides, thus enabling equal exchange...

After busying himself like this all afternoon, developing the film rolls and then scanning the photos to save onto a hard drive, the Da Gong was finally accomplished. Only after going to the cafeteria to eat dinner did he return to the dormitory.

"Old Wang, did you get all the photos done? Let us little trash worship them?"

Wang Yan put down his backpack, took out the hard drive, connected it to his laptop, and let Jiang Yunming and others browse through them. Meanwhile, he himself used scissors to cut the film rolls and placed them into acid-free bags for storage.

At this moment, Jiang Yunming said: "Old Wang, when did you take photos of Yang Xue'er?"

"Last time when we were eating Western food."

"Just this one photo? Just the two of you?" Jiang Yunming's lips trembled, his voice revealing a heartbroken despair.

"I told you as soon as I got back. Enough, stop dwelling on it; she ignores your private messages anyway, so don't force it." Wang Yan glanced at him with disdain.

Lin Luoxue's rejections weren't even that absolute, leaving room for fantasy, and their chatting was no different. She would still reply to Jiang Yunming, just often with long delays. Every time Lin Luoxue replied, Jiang Yunming would shout and scream in the dormitory, jumping for joy.

Wang Yan said, "You should really shift your target soon. If you keep your heart tied solely to Lin Luoxue, you'll likely stay single throughout university."

"We're good brothers; can you stop stabbing me in the heart? My heart is freezing cold." Jiang Yunming let out an exaggerated wail, then added, "But you haven't won her over either, Old Wang. I've noticed Yang Xue'er has been getting quite close to Lu Qiaochuan lately."

"Then I don't know about that."

"No, really, Old Wang, do you truly have no hopes at all?" Di Dao Majun asked.

"What hopes or no hopes? We're just good classmates."

After chatting idly for a while, they finally dropped the subject of Lin Luoxue, and Jiang Yunming asked, "I heard Bi Shisan say you're looking to buy a desktop computer, Old Wang?"

"Laptops aren't comfortable for gaming. You actually reminded me; I'll go next door and discuss it with him."

Wang Yan stuffed the last roll of film into the bag, grabbed his phone, and headed out to the room next door.

He knocked and entered, finding all four looking at him: "Why are you all so quiet?"

Yu Hao let out an "Ouch": "Look at what you're saying; we weren't noisy people to begin with, okay?"

"Once upon a time, there was a child who loved to lie. While tending sheep, he shouted, 'Wolf is coming!'..."

"Shut up!" Yu Hao pointed an orchid-like finger in anger. "Old Wang, you're too vicious! Bi Shisan doesn't tell stories, yet you start one? Besides, do I really look like a noisy person in your eyes? You have no conscience!"

"Get lost!"

Yu Hao didn't mind; he grinned and asked, "Why didn't we see you this afternoon? What club did you go to?"

"I went to the darkroom to develop photos. I don't plan to join any club, nor do I want to join the Student Union; it feels meaningless." Wang Yan repeated the 'big pile of shit' reasoning again.

Xiao Haiyang nodded: "I've stayed longer and seen more; indeed, some people are like that. Not joining is the right call; otherwise, given your temper, you'd probably beat someone up within a few days, and then dealing with their fraudulent injury claims would be troublesome. If there are truly that many disgusting people, they aren't even as bad as Pan Zhen."

Ever since his attempt to show off backfired spectacularly, Pan Zhen had become the new unit of measurement for judging people...

Feigning ignorance, Wang Yan countered, "Where did you all go?"

"Oh, then I must give you a proper introduction." Yu Hao stood up, making a loud fuss. "Xiao Haiyang, two-term Minister of the Propaganda Department of the College Student Union; Lu Qiaochuan, the new President of the Tea Art Society; Bi Shisan, founder and President of the Walking Society; and I am Minister Xiao's right-hand man."

"Then your dormitory is truly filled with talents. Congratulations, Minister Xiao, President Lu, President Bi, and Assistant Yu."

"Ah, take it easy." Lu Qiaochuan responded with a smile. "It's all about serving our fellow students. Old Wang, come drink tea at the Tea Art Society when you have time; we're located at the southeast corner of the sports field."

"Alright." Wang Yan nodded with a smile, then walked over to sit beside Bi Shisan and got straight to the point: "Get me a setup with luxurious specs and maxed-out performance. The budget is under fifty thousand, including the mouse, keyboard, monitor, and everything else; it shouldn't be lacking."

Before Bi Shisan could speak, Yu Hao exclaimed in surprise: "Old Wang, are you this rich?"

"This is nothing. Isn't that pile on Xiao Haiyang's desk worth quite a bit too? There's nothing to make a fuss about."

"Add in those camera lenses, and you're approaching two hundred thousand. You're practically dripping with oil."

"Gritting my teeth for art." Wang Yan waved his hand and said to Bi Shisan, "Give me your bank account number; I'll transfer the money first so you can use it. Actually, let's just do this properly in one step. I noticed you don't have a phone or a computer, and you probably won't buy a camera either. I'll just lend you fifty thousand. For the camera, just buy a full-frame one from the same brand as ours; we can lend you the lenses later."

Bi Shisan's lack of wealth was obvious to everyone, and since he didn't pretend otherwise, borrowing money directly was the simplest solution.

Bi Shisan looked deeply at Wang Yan, fell silent for a moment, and said, "Interest..."

"Consider it my savings. Four percent, two thousand yuan a year. I'm not in a hurry to use it; pay me back whenever you're comfortable. I believe in your ability to earn money."

"Thank you. I've already settled things with Gu Yixin today; we're collaborating, and I'll be able to repay you soon..."

Wang Yan patted his shoulder: "I already said I'm not in a hurry; there are several years after this one anyway. My money is just sitting in the bank earning interest; keeping it with you earns the same interest, so it doesn't matter."

Thus, Bi Shisan said no more, simply picking up a pen to write down his bank account number on a piece of paper.

Wang Yan was even more straightforward, immediately operating his phone to transfer the money: "Done. Check it later; just speak up if you need anything."

"Thank you!"

"Once upon a time, there was a shepherd boy who, when being polite, would say 'Thank you' to people..."

Bi Shisan rolled his eyes, shook his head helplessly, and turned back to continue writing the configuration list at his desk.

"Old Wang, and you say you're not rich? One hundred thousand yuan, produced just like that?" Yu Hao's eyes were shining.

Having tens of thousands to spend is different from having hundreds of thousands. Having a net worth of several million is also different from having several million in cash.

"Mainly, I'm my own master; I can spend however I want." Wang Yan waved his hand. "You guys get busy; I need to go back and edit some photos."

"Posting on Weibo?"

"Of course. When you take good photos, you should let everyone enjoy them."

Yu Hao said, "I'll give you a like."

Wang Yan smiled, took a step, and left Dormitory 616...

Yu Hao and the others busied themselves with their own tasks, making no comments on what had just happened, but their phone chats never stopped.

By the time everyone had washed up and lay in bed ready to sleep.

Yu Hao scrolled through his phone: "Old Wang updated his Weibo; let's see how his photos turned out. You guys don't say, he really shoots well, tsk tsk tsk... Shisan, here, look at this too."

Bi Shisan didn't have a phone, so he handed his own over...

"Thank you."

"Once upon a time, there was a shepherd boy who, when being polite, would say 'Wolf is coming!' to people..."

As Yu Hao spoke, he burst into loud laughter...

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