Reborn in 2000, starting from the university website

Back in dormitory 206, Bai Yuhang perked up and, instead of rushing to bed, spent a long time typing on his computer.

Half an hour later, he turned the monitor of the Lenovo computer in the dormitory towards his second brother, Yang Bo.

"Second brother, stop reciting those legal articles and help me figure this out."

On the screen were two contract documents that Bai Yuhang had just drafted based on his memories from his later life. One was a "free maintenance agreement" prepared for ordinary internet cafe owners, and the other was a "technical service contract" specifically for high-end customers.

Yang Bo pushed up his glasses, leaned over and glanced at the screen, his brows immediately furrowing. He pointed to a few lines of text on the screen: "Sixth Brother, your 'exclusivity clause' is too lenient. What does 'in principle, not using other navigation sites' even mean? In court, 'in principle' is just empty words. It needs to be changed, it must be written outright: 'Party B promises to exclusively designate,' otherwise it will be considered a breach of contract."

"Okay, I'll listen to you and make the changes." Bai Yuhang pushed the keyboard to Yang Bo.

Yang Bo didn't hold back, typing away furiously, highlighting the "liability for breach of contract" section and even listing the compensation calculation formula.

After making the changes, he saved the document to the 1.44MB floppy disk and handed it to Bai Yuhang: "Although the legal environment is still under construction, once it's written down and fingerprinted, it becomes the rule. Since we're going to formalize it, we have to be cautious first and then act like gentlemen."

Bai Yuhang took the floppy disk, patted Yang Bo on the shoulder, gave him a thumbs up, quickly put on his coat, and ran downstairs to the convenience store to print it.

The next morning, Bai Yuhang took out a folded white shirt from the closet. He remembered that he had saved up money to buy it when he first entered school to run for class committee.

He tried it on, and it fit him quite well. The dormitory room was warm enough that a shirt was just right, but he would have to wear a thick down jacket when going out.

He straightened his collar in front of the mirror, looked at his young and handsome face with a calm gaze, and smiled confidently.

At 1 p.m., Zhao Jianjun's Santana stopped right on time at the entrance of the university. Bai Yuhang, carrying a backpack on one shoulder, got straight into the passenger seat.

As the car drove into the bustling area of ​​Nangang District, the signboard of "Lansu Internet Cafe" was not like other establishments that used neon lights to dazzle passersby. Instead, it used a calm, dark blue acrylic lightbox, exuding a cool and sophisticated feel.

Pushing open the door, Zhao Jianjun instinctively reached into his pocket to take out a cigarette, but pulled his hand back as soon as it went in.

It's so quiet here.

Blue Speed ​​Internet Cafe is indeed free from the torrential noise and clamor of a typical internet cafe, and it doesn't have the pervasive smell of instant noodles and tobacco, or any other complicated, pungent odors.

Beneath their feet lay a thick, sound-absorbing carpet, soft and yielding to the touch. Above them, a warm yellow crystal chandelier shone brightly. The air was filled with the scent of cologne, mingled with the slightly burnt aroma of freshly ground coffee. Soothing piano music played from the reception desk, creating a tranquil and serene atmosphere.

There were quite a few people sitting in the lobby, including several blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners. Everyone was very quiet, browsing the web or sending and receiving emails.

"Damn, Xiao Yu, this is what you call class. Look at this, how come their machine can charge 20 yuan an hour?" Zhao Jianjun lowered his voice, somewhat uncomfortably tugging at the hem of his suit jacket. "I feel guilty even if I speak loudly here."

Bai Yuhang remained calm upon seeing all this.

This kind of environment would be considered standard in internet cafes in 2026, but in 2000, it was truly a game-changer.

After explaining their purpose to the receptionist, the two were led to the manager's office by a beautiful and tall waitress. They sat on a leather sofa with a gleaming glass coffee table in front of them.

"Coffee or tea?" the girl asked politely.

Zhao Jianjun hurriedly replied in a low voice, "Water is fine."

The girl nodded, smiled, and left.

Opposite Bai Yuhang and Zhao Jianjun sat a man in his early thirties, wearing a gray-red cashmere sweater, no gold chain, and a simple mechanical watch on his wrist. He was holding a coffee cup, looking at a computer screen next to him.

While we were waiting, the girl brought us two cups of hot tea.

"President Shi, I've brought him to you." Zhao Jianjun broke the silence first, greeting him with a smile, "This is Bai Yuhang, a top student from the University of Technology."

Shi Hongchao put down his cup, without getting up, but glanced at Bai Yuhang. His gaze lingered on Bai Yuhang's clean and crisp white shirt for a second, then he nodded: "Sit down."

Bai Yuhang was not intimidated and sat down gracefully: "Hello, President Shi."

"Did you make this webpage?" Shi Hongchao pointed to the computer screen next to him, which displayed the homepage of Qihang Navigation.

"Yes."

Who designed the interface?

"I made it myself," Bai Yuhang said honestly. "It was mainly for speed, so there are few pictures and a lot of text, and it's not very aesthetically pleasing."

"No, this is great." Shi Hongchao leaned forward slightly, tapping the screen with his finger. "This is called minimalism. Nowadays, Sina and Sohu try to fill the screen to the brim, making people dizzy. Yours is like Yahoo in the US, but cleaner. The white space is a good thing, and the classification logic is more in line with the habits of Chinese people. I like this refreshing style."

Zhao Jianjun, listening nearby, blinked repeatedly, thinking to himself, "Is this what you call good? This kid was just being lazy and trying to save money and data."

Bai Yuhang smiled and took out a "free maintenance agreement" prepared for ordinary internet cafe owners from his bag. He was about to bring up his previous "traffic exchange" rhetoric when Shi Hongchao waved his hand.

"Boss Zhao told me about your model: free system installation, free maintenance, and a different homepage." Shi Hongchao took a sip of his coffee, his tone calm. "But that won't work for me."

Zhao Jianjun's heart skipped a beat. He was about to smooth things over when Shi Hongchao continued, "Free things are often the most expensive."

Bai Yuhang raised an eyebrow, placed the contract in his hand on the table, and didn't rush to speak.

"The minimum top-up amount for my membership cards is 500 yuan. My customers include people in foreign trade, executives from foreign companies, and mostly foreigners. They don't care about the 20 yuan hourly internet fee; what they care about is whether the machine can reliably send emails." Shi Hongchao looked at Bai Yuhang. "If it were a free service, and there were problems, you could make excuses or delay because you're not taking my money. But I can't make excuses to my customers."

That logic is truly insightful.

Bai Yuhang secretly praised him, thinking, "This is a true businessman."

"So, what does Mr. Shi mean?"

"I'll pay." Shi Hongchao put down his crossed legs and sat up straighter. "I want to install the system because, from what I've observed, your system is indeed more stable than the one I'm using now. I also want to change the navigation page because the blue and white color scheme matches my decor perfectly and looks classy. But I have to pay for your services."

He held up two fingers: "First, you'll be fully responsible for the installation and debugging. The new system must block all those annoying pop-ups. Second, you'll conduct in-depth inspections twice a month and be available on call. In exchange, I'll give you ten yuan per machine for installation and ten thousand yuan per year for technical maintenance."

Zhao Jianjun stood to the side, his mouth slightly agape, almost dropping the teacup in his hand.

Other bosses would stretch every penny to save money, but Bai Yuhang had to tempt them with future dividends.

This guy, on the other hand, is practically begging to give me money?

Bai Yuhang gently squeezed the hand that was resting on his knee.

Ten thousand yuan. With the installation fee, this one order can cover the server costs for the past six months, and might even leave some cash in the company's accounts.

But he didn't show any urgency on his face. Instead, he hesitated for two seconds before taking back the "free agreement" and replacing it with another "technical service contract".

"Mr. Shi is a meticulous and sensible person." Bai Yuhang uncapped the pen and handed it over with both hands. "Since it's a paid service, we have to follow the paid standards. In addition to what you mentioned, I'll give you another benefit: I'll develop a 'call function' for this system. In the future, if your members need to order food, call a car, or have any special needs, they can directly call the bar from the table without having to shout for the internet cafe manager."

When Shi Hongchao saw Bai Yuhang take out the contract for the paid service, his eyes lit up. He took the pen, scanned the contract from front to back, and signed his name on it in a flamboyant manner.

"This feature is great, it suits my style here. Once you've finished installing it, pay me then, and remember to give me a copy of the contract, stamped." Shi Hongchao signed the contract, pushed it back, and smiled for the first time, extending his hand, "Pleasure doing business with you, Brother Bai. You're more mature and know the rules than I expected."

Bai Yuhang grasped the well-maintained hand with just the right amount of pressure: "Mr. Shi, you flatter me. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement."

As soon as he stepped out of Blue Speed's gate, a gust of cold wind blew, and Zhao Jianjun finally let out a long breath. He took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag.

"Damn, bro, I'm really impressed." Zhao Jianjun looked at the contract in Bai Yuhang's hand. "You went in and got the money in less than ten minutes? I really don't understand what rich people are thinking. Why would they rush to pay for your homepage? Anyway, I don't need the function to call the network administrator."

Bai Yuhang carefully put the contract into his backpack and patted it: "Brother Zhao, what he's buying isn't just a homepage, it's a sense of security and face. In the end, I have to thank you for this. With Blue Speed ​​as a benchmark, I'll have more confidence when I negotiate with other internet cafes in the future."

He glanced back at the dark blue sign.

The "Qihang" brand name, like a nail, has firmly planted itself in Harbin's high-end internet cafe market. And the money that's about to flow into his pocket will finally allow him to start building up the shell of his company a little.