Chapter 5: The Great Bluffer

Main Teaching Building 208 is a tiered classroom with over a dozen rows of seats; it is very spacious. In order to catch Shi Yucheng, Di Ye sat down in the first row by the door. Seeing that there was still time, he opened *Compilation Principles and Technology* and began to read.

Di Ye also majored in computer science in college. Because his personality was restless and his interests were broad, he lacked the patience to be a programmer, so he switched to self-media shortly after graduation. His hands-on programming ability was poor, but he had mastered a lot of miscellaneous industry gossip. After reading for a while, he discovered that this textbook was basically a copy of the classic work *Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools* published in 1986 by Turing Award winner Alfred Aho and others, commonly known as the "Dragon Book."

This discovery caused Di Ye to lose interest in continuing to read. He tossed the book onto the desk, his eyes glazed over, and he began to space out, pondering what he should do in the future.

Being a top student is one path. With the Electronic Watch as a cheat device, he could have Di Ye help him find the 1995 postgraduate entrance exam papers, easily get into a prestigious university, and then plagiarize various top-tier papers of the future to become a professor, be named an Academician, and live a leisurely life in an ivory tower.

Being a wealthy tycoon is also a path. The internet wave of 1995 had only just begun, and there were countless opportunities to make a fortune. Even without Di Ye's help, he could earn big money based on his memory and live a life of squandering money in a bustling metropolis.

Being a star or a director wouldn't be bad either; there are thousands upon thousands of works that could be plagiarized...

It was only a little past 8 o'clock at this time. There were only a few scattered students in the large classroom, and it was particularly cold. Di Ye's hands and feet were frozen, but his brain was like boiling water, bubbling over with all sorts of ideas that left him intoxicated and mesmerized, almost forgetting the existence of time. It wasn't until the shrill sound of the bell signaling the end of the period rang that he realized it was already 9:40, and in another 10 minutes, *Compilation Principles* would begin.

Di Ye composed his emotions, stood up, and while stretching his limbs, pretended to be familiar with the classmates walking into the classroom in twos and threes, greeting them.

After waiting for a few minutes like this, a guy wearing a long gray down jacket with a black mole on his left cheek walked in. He wasn't carrying a computer bag, but was instead holding a handbag. Upon seeing Di Ye, he acted like a mouse seeing a cat; he lowered his head to avoid his gaze and walked to the back of the classroom, sitting down in a corner.

Di Ye noticed that almost no classmates greeted him along the way, feeling that this fellow was very unpopular and had poor mental fortitude. He immediately had a new idea, so he picked up the textbook he had brought, walked over to sit next to Shi Yucheng, and asked bluntly: "Where is your Notebook Computer?"

"It's broken. I took it to someone to get it fixed a few days ago."

"Which day was 'a few days ago'?"

"Last Friday... no, it was last Thursday."

Di Ye gave a long "Oh," and said: "That's too bad. I was originally going to borrow your Notebook Computer to write a program, but I guess I'll have to forget it now."

Just then, the class bell rang, and the teacher walked into the classroom right on time. Di Ye stopped talking, took out a pencil, and following the teacher's prompts, drew circles in the textbook to mark the knowledge points that would be on the exam. During this process, he turned his head from time to time to size up Shi Yucheng.

Di Ye had a gentle personality and spoke in a soft, slow voice, like a sweet, warm man, but the body he left for Di Ye was that of a masculine, rugged hunk—thick eyebrows, large eyes, and sharp contours. Plus, with a height of about 1.8 meters, he could exert a strong sense of oppression when in close contact.

Shi Yucheng was not tall and had a thin build. Being sized up made him feel completely uncomfortable, like sitting on pins and needles. After the bell rang for the end of class, he immediately stood up, wanting to leave. Di Ye blocked the aisle, stopped him, and said with a half-smile: "There's still one more period left; you're leaving so soon?"

"My stomach doesn't feel well, I'm not going to class."

"Coincidentally, my stomach doesn't feel well either. How about we go to the Hospital together to get it checked out?"

Shi Yucheng was pushed to the limit and revealed his true nature. He clenched his fists, a look of sinister ruthlessness in his eyes, and asked in a low, sharp voice: "What exactly do you want to do?"

Before transmigrating, Di Ye had practiced mixed martial arts for several years in his spare time, so he was psychologically quite confident. Moreover, he was already 27 years old and had been struggling in society for five or six years; he would never be intimidated by a fledgling who hadn't even graduated. He took a step forward, pressed close to Shi Yucheng, and asked back from a position of superiority: "And what exactly do *you* want to do?"

Shi Yucheng couldn't help but take a step back, and said with a fierce look but a cowardly heart: "Fighting and brawling will get you expelled. I don't believe you dare to hit me in front of so many people."

Upon hearing this, Di Ye feigned hesitation, looked around the classroom, and then turned sideways to clear the aisle.

Seeing this, Shi Yucheng sneered, stepped past him, and walked quickly toward the outside of the classroom.

Di Ye waited until the fellow had walked a few steps and exposed his back, then suddenly rushed up and used a Neck Choke, hooking his right arm around the throat and bracing his left arm against the back of the head, threatening: "Do you believe I'll strangle you right here?"

A Neck Choke is a highly practical combat technique that can cause someone to suffocate and pass out within seconds. Di Ye didn't use his full strength, the movement was small, and he had a smile on his face, making it look like two people messing around with their arms around each other's shoulders, so it didn't attract the attention of the surrounding students.

Shi Yucheng struggled a few times, discovered he couldn't break free from the restraint, and found his breathing becoming increasingly difficult. He broke down instantly and blurted out a desperate defense: "Don't, don't, don't, I was wrong. I won't ever dare to do it again."

Di Ye pressed his face against his ear and asked in a deep voice: "Where were you wrong?"

"I shouldn't have impersonated you to go find Xia Fangfei."

"Why did you do that?"

"I didn't mean anything else by it; I just wanted her to persuade you to give the internship spot to me."

Di Ye obtained the confession he wanted, felt a weight lift from his heart, released Shi Yucheng's neck, and switched to draping an arm over his shoulder, saying: "Come out with me, let's have a good talk!"

After the chokehold just now, Shi Yucheng clearly perceived the huge gap in combat power between the two. He didn't dare to struggle and was dragged and escorted by Di Ye out of the Main Teaching Building to a secluded flower bed. He looked like a little white rabbit caught by a tiger, panicked and at a loss.

Di Ye had originally wanted to play the role of a gang boss, but discovered he lacked props like a cigarette or a cigar, so he gave up and asked: "Xia Fangfei is from Jinling, did you know that?"

Shi Yucheng shook his head.

"Then do you know what her parents do?"

Shi Yucheng continued to shake his head.

"Her father is a Colonel in the military region, and her mother is a deputy department-level official in Su Province."

Xia Fangfei was indeed from Jinling, but her family background was something Di Ye had made up, so he stated the positions very vaguely. Seeing Shi Yucheng reveal an expression of astonishment, he felt the effect was good and continued to ask: "Do you know what my family does?"

Shi Yucheng shook his head again, indicating he didn't know.

All scams in the world are based on information asymmetry. Seeing that he didn't know anything, Di Ye began to bluff: "My father runs a small shop at the Chenghuang Temple, and my mother is a Nurse at the City Hospital. We aren't on the same level as the Xia family, which is why I want to take the postgraduate entrance exam and use my academic credentials to make up for the gap in our families. However, the postgraduate exam isn't a sure thing. If I fail, I'll have to find a job, and I must find a job in Jinling, otherwise Xia Fangfei will break up with me."

Shi Yucheng didn't understand the situation and asked suspiciously: "What does what you're saying have to do with me?"

Di Ye spread his hands and said: "It has everything to do with it. Xia Fangfei wants me to go to Jinling during the winter break to meet her parents and, while I'm at it, pull some strings to prepare for finding a job. But my family has no money, so you didn't need to go find Xia Fangfei last night at all; I had already planned to sell the IBM internship spot to you."

"But you just refused a few days ago."

"That's because your offer was too low!"

Di Ye brought up Di Ye's words and used them on the spot: "IBM is the best computer company in the world. After interning at their headquarters and getting that gold-plating, any company in the country will fight to have you. The starting point is high, and promotions are fast. You only offered 20,000 yuan to take the spot; don't you think that's stingy?"

Once money was mentioned, Shi Yucheng regained his confidence and said proudly: "Make an offer. As long as it's not too outrageous, I'll agree to it."

Seeing him like this, and acting with the mindset of slaughtering a fat sheep, Di Ye probed: "I need 50,000 yuan."

Shi Yucheng really was a big fat sheep; he didn't even blink as he said: "No problem. I'll call someone to bring the money over right now, and then you come with me to find Dean Fei to change the application for the spot."

Having someone bring the money over instead of transferring it—it seems the money in this fellow's family really isn't clean...

Shi Yucheng was extremely keen on the IBM internship and was very urgent when he made the call. So, only 20 minutes later, a beautiful woman wearing a fur coat drove to the Beimen of Yun University, handed him a briefcase, and then left in a hurry.

"Who is this beauty to you?"

"She's nobody. She was my dad's secretary before."

Di Ye stared at the departing Santana, noted down the license plate number, and then went to a Bank branch near the school to open a new Bank Card and deposit the money. Then, using the excuse that his father was seriously ill and needed care, he went to the college to write an application form and gave the internship spot to Shi Yucheng.

After walking out of the Computer College's office building, Shi Yucheng was very excited and took the initiative to say: "Di Ye, you were drunk last night. When you were making a call at the public phone booth, you left your BB Pager inside. I picked it up; I'll give it back to you later."

"So you were the one who found it? I thought someone had stolen it. Well, thank you. I'll treat you to a meal later as a token of my gratitude."

"Haha, okay."