Chapter 3: The Golden Finger

Yuncheng is located between the north and the south; there is no heating in the dormitory building, so it is very cold at night. After Di Ye chatted idly with Di Ye in the light screen for a while, he sat down at his desk, turned on the heater, and recounted in detail what had happened in the woods just now.

After listening, Di Ye asked, "Was that bag made of genuine leather? Was there an accessory pouch on the outside, a red line under the accessory pouch, and a rectangular mark under the red line?"

"I don't know if it was genuine leather, but the design is about the same as what you described. There were indeed a red line and a mark."

"Then I know who the culprit is: Shi Yucheng from Computer Science Class 3. He has a Toshiba notebook computer, and the bag he usually carries is just like that."

The light screen hovered above the electronic watch, only the size of a palm, but the display effect was very realistic, capable of showing even subtle expressions. Seeing that Di Ye's expression was indifferent, looking as calm as an ancient well, neither angry nor excited, Di Ye couldn't help but ask curiously, "Don't you hate him?"

"I've been inside the electronic watch for over 20 years, thinking about this matter tens of thousands of times, and I've become numb. Besides, I had long guessed it might be him."

Di Ye was surprised and asked, "Then why didn't you tell the police?"

"It was useless to say anything because there were neither witnesses nor physical evidence. I am in Computer Science Class 1, and Shi Yucheng is in Class 3. We basically had no interaction outside of large lectures, and he has a childhood sweetheart girlfriend; she and Xia Fangfei also had no interaction."

"Then why did he steal your BB pager to frame you?"

"IBM in the United States has an event next semester, planning to invite some outstanding university students to visit and intern at their headquarters. The Yuncheng University Computer Science Department only has one spot. For the sake of fairness, the department held a programming competition for selection. I took first place, and Shi Yucheng was second. He really wanted to go to IBM and once told me he was willing to pay 20,000 yuan to buy this spot, but I didn't agree."

Di Ye understood then. He stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and said, "Since that's the case, I'll go find Shi Yucheng tomorrow and sell this spot to him."

This time it was Di Ye's turn in the light screen to be anxious. He tried to dissuade him, saying, "IBM is the best computer company in the world. The opportunity to intern at their headquarters is extremely rare. How can you just give it up like that?"

Di Ye waved his hand dismissively and mocked, "Old antique, don't just play games. Go online and search for the development history of the computer industry over the last 20 years. IBM has already declined by 2023. Besides, I'm not familiar with the software and hardware of 1995; going for an internship would just make it easy to slip up."

In 1995, the domestic computer industry was very weak and held giants like IBM in high esteem. Di Ye was clearly deeply influenced by this, murmuring, "IBM would actually decline?"

"Kingship does not last forever."

Di Ye said this classic line from *World of Warcraft*, pushed IBM aside, and reasoned, "Shi Yucheng deliberately wore black clothes tonight; it clearly wasn't a crime of passion, but premeditated. This kind of person is like a poisonous snake, very dangerous, and must be dealt with as soon as possible. If I take the initiative to sell the spot to him, not only will he lose the motive to frame me, ensuring Xia Fangfei's safety, but I can also turn from passive to active, making him lower his guard and making it easier to stab him in the back, right?"

Di Ye agreed with this deduction but was still unwilling, saying, "Be careful of nursing a viper in your bosom. After Shi Yucheng goes to IBM for an internship and gets gilded, any domestic enterprise will fight to hire him. With a high starting point and fast promotions, it will be even more troublesome for you to deal with him later."

Di Ye laughed upon hearing this, roaring with laughter, "Your imagination is too poor. Go online and find some time-travel novels to read. Once you finish them, you'll understand just how powerful I am in 1995. No matter how high Shi Yucheng's starting point is or how fast he gets promoted, I can easily crush him."

"Are there such novels?"

"They are all over the internet, everywhere. Even elementary school students know that transmigrators are very strong."

Seeing his determined and confident look, Di Ye stopped objecting and said, "I sternly refused Shi Yucheng just a few days ago. If you suddenly take the initiative to sell him the spot tomorrow, will he be suspicious?"

"Just find a reasonable excuse. For example… your parents are both still around, right?"

"Yes, my dad runs an appliance shop at the Chenghuang Temple, and my mom is a nurse at the City People's Hospital."

Di Ye felt a headache coming on upon hearing this. He rubbed his temples and asked again, "Who else is in your family?"

"I have an older sister who is a salesperson at the Post and Telecommunications Bureau. That BB pager of mine was bought by her at an internal price."

"What are their names? How old are they? What are their personalities like?"

Di Ye rummaged through his desk, found paper and a pen, and while asking, he took notes. It took him over ten minutes to get a clear picture of the family situation. Then, he tapped the tip of his pen on the name Di Yongchang and fabricated a story: "Tomorrow I'll go tell Shi Yucheng that my father is seriously ill and I need money for treatment, so I have no choice but to sell him the IBM internship spot."

Di Ye had a very good relationship with his family and couldn't accept this story. He shook his head repeatedly and said, "No, how can you curse your parents like that?"

"I'm not an immortal; I don't have the power to make my words reality. It's just a lie I made up on the spot, so don't worry about it."

After saying this, Di Ye used the method of "returning the favor in kind," took out his wallet, pulled out an old-style ID card, pointed at the name on it, and said, "Now I am Di Ye, and Di Yongchang is my dad, not yours. I will take good care of him."

Di Ye was helpless. He sighed deeply and asked, "Who is in your family?"

"There's no one in my family. My parents have both passed away. I have no ties, so you can do whatever you want."

"I see… then your parents should still be alive in 1995. You could go find them."

"Big brother, look closely at the ID card. I was born in 1996. If I go find them in 1995 and accidentally cause a butterfly effect that makes me disappear, what then? Besides, even if I found them, they wouldn't recognize me. Why look for trouble?"

Di Ye didn't want to talk about this topic for the time being. He stood up to pour himself a glass of water and then asked the next key question: "What exactly is your relationship with Xia Fangfei?"

"Nothing special, just ordinary friends."

Di Ye chuckled coldly, raised his hand to point at the electronic watch, and said, "This watch is the 1994 US World Cup commemorative edition. It wasn't sold domestically and required someone to purchase it from overseas. The price definitely wasn't cheap. Xia Fangfei gave you such an expensive New Year's gift, and you're still talking about being ordinary friends? Isn't that being hypocritical?"

Di Ye was still a pure virgin. He felt a bit embarrassed upon hearing this and fidgeted, saying, "I thought it was just a regular electronic watch. Xia Fangfei did say she liked me, but I felt she was willful and spoiled, and loved to make a fuss, so I didn't agree."

Di Ye asked about the details of how he and Xia Fangfei usually interacted, then stopped dwelling on such trivial emotional matters and turned to ask, "This electronic watch has four buttons. Besides the one on the top right, what functions do the other three have?"

"I don't know either. Let's try them one by one."

The two picked up their respective electronic watches and studied them repeatedly for over an hour, finally summarizing the specific functions of the four buttons:

The top-right button is the Video Communicator; after pressing it, one can have a cross-temporal video chat with the other person.

The bottom-right button is the Lens Switcher; after pressing it, one can switch the perspective of the video chat, no longer limited to just looking at the other person's face.

The top-left button is the Message Transceiver; after pressing it, both parties can send and receive messages to each other.

The bottom-left button is the Light Screen Controller; after pressing it, one can detach the light screen from the watch face and freely adjust its size and position in the air.

After these discoveries, both felt that communication had become much more convenient. Since Di Ye had read many time-travel novels and had a rich imagination, under his direction, Di Ye performed several tests with his smartphone. The results showed that the light screen could not be captured by the phone, and the recording could only capture Di Ye's voice, not Di Ye's.

"In that case, I estimate that no one else can see this light screen."

"That should be the case. Although this watch is very strange, it is a good treasure. Make sure not to lose it."

"I won't lose it. I tried it just now when I went out to get takeout. As long as I am more than 10 meters away from this watch, I will hear a 'beep-beep' alarm sound in my ears."

"Really?"

"Go try it and see."

Di Ye stood up, placed the electronic watch on the desk, then left Room 303 and walked to the end of the hallway. He discovered that not only could he hear the "beep-beep" alarm in his mind, but he could also sense the specific location of the electronic watch. Only then did he feel relieved. Returning to the room, he said, "It seems this thing is a soul-bound epic-grade piece of equipment. No need to worry about losing it or having it snatched away."

"What does soul-bound mean?"

"Search for it online and you'll understand."

It was already past 2:00 AM. Di Ye was still feeling the effects of the alcohol and was exhausted. Yawning, he said, "Let's sleep. Maybe this is just a dream. When we open our eyes tomorrow morning, we will both have returned to our respective worlds."

"You go to sleep first. I'll go online and research the industry news and time-travel novels you just mentioned."

"That's it then, you'll definitely stay up all night. My body was injured in the last two years and isn't very healthy; it will be very uncomfortable after an all-nighter."

"I've slept in the electronic watch for over 20 years, so I'm not sleepy now. You go to sleep."

"Alright then, goodnight."

Di Ye placed the electronic watch by his pillow, took off his clothes, crawled into the quilt, turned off the light, and looked up at the ceiling. Before falling into a deep sleep, he quickly reviewed everything that had happened today.

This afternoon, to be precise, on the afternoon of May 1, 2023, while he was strolling through a second-hand market, he inadvertently saw a 1994 USA World Cup commemorative edition Casio 5600; because the shop owner did not know its value and only marked it with a price of 50 yuan, he bought it.

Returning home in the evening, while he was fiddling with the Electronic Watch, he pressed the button on the top right corner, then his vision went black and he lost consciousness; when he woke up again, he found himself lying on a single bed reeking of alcohol, with the Electronic Watch placed on the desk beside him, and above the Electronic Watch was a Light Screen with a highly sci-fi aesthetic, inside which was another version of himself, incessantly telling him to hurry up and get out of bed to save someone.

"What a truly magical and exciting day!"