From then on, Tiantian also learned to add friends online and chat like others.
But unfortunately, his limited education made him hit a wall everywhere; he either couldn't understand what others were saying or couldn't type out what he wanted to say.
While others' Chat Boxes were filled with the scent of hormones, his Chat Box was practically swarming with flies...
Sigh, it was really tough for someone like him, who barely understood Pinyin. Just learning to use Smart ABC, an input method that allowed typing with initials, was already quite a challenge for him; it nearly took half his life.
San Tong, with a cigarette in his mouth and a worried expression, asked me, "Buddy, I've changed my username. What else can I do?"
"Add a friend and chat! Didn't you learn to type with Pinyin recently?" I replied.
"It's too hard; I can't learn it. Plus, there are many words it hasn't taught me, so I can't type them out," he said.
His expression amidst the swirling smoke resembled that of the melancholic Chao Wei from a Hong Kong film, with that oversized face in thirty square centimeters really standing out.
"Have you never learned or played before?" I coughed from the smoke and tried to disperse it.
"I've never been to school," he retorted defiantly while blowing out another smoke ring.
To be honest, San Tong was quite exasperating...
He truly couldn't read at all—oh no, not even Pinyin...
If it weren't for the Mahjong Tile and Poker having so few words on them, he really couldn't imagine any entertainment activities in his life.
However, this guy is quite resourceful and has his own methods.
One day, before it got dark, he left, saying he was going to buy a Xinhua Dictionary.
What a strange move!
The next day, as soon as I arrived, I saw him sitting in the corner of the last row of the internet café, checking the dictionary while tapping on the keyboard.
He was slowly and carefully using Smart ABC, diligently typing out each initial letter.
What was he doing?
I leaned in closer, my eyes fixed on his screen to see what he was messing with.
I saw him type "NH" on the keyboard, then he searched through the dictionary for something, and then he hit the space bar and enter key with force.
The word "Hello" was sent to the other party just like that.
"Wow, San'er, your operation is impressive!" I exclaimed as I gave him a thumbs up.
San Tong pushed my hand away: "Come on, it's not easy for me. Luckily, I spent 15 yuan learning how to use a dictionary from a kid before."
"Third Master truly lives up to his name." I gave a thumbs up again.
However, even though it seemed like we could chat, his speed was still slower than a snail.
Noticing the other party had not responded for a while, he started tapping on the keyboard again with a single finger.
I guessed he wanted to type a few more words, and he typed out a string of letters: NHLLHM.
"Hello... can we chat... good...?"
As he typed those letters, I quietly mouthed my guesses along with him.
San Tong looked at me with pride in his eyes; I had no idea what he had figured out.
Then I guessed that my actions had made him feel a bit too high-spirited this time...
He didn’t even check the dictionary and directly sent it to the other party.
His smooth and flowing series of actions left me confused, and I quickly reached out to stop him: "Don't..."
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