America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

Gwen drew a picture of Li Qun practicing kung fu on the rooftop that she had seen over the weekend: Li Qun was wearing a white vest, holding a wooden stick, and posing in an attacking stance, while Peter stood at a distance throwing a ball at Li Qun.

She also drew the authentic Chinese food they had for lunch in her sketchbook. She especially liked the Mapo Tofu, which tasted like the aftertaste of the Big Bang.

Gwen suddenly remembered the time when Li Qun and her father were having an "encrypted call" in Chinese, which neither she nor Peter could understand. Perhaps she could find herself a Chinese tutor, secretly learn this most difficult language in the world, and give Lyon a big surprise.

With two million, she has so many things she wants to do.

……

……

On Wednesday, Gwen arrived at school early and waited for Peter and Li Qun in the hallway after tidying up her locker.

Peter and Li Qun arrived at school early today as well. The three of them exchanged knowing glances and then began to smile.

"Did it work?" Peter asked in a low voice.

“Of course!” Gwen nodded excitedly.

“Gwen, you know your dad went to my uncle’s shop on Monday and ordered a plate of fried noodles and a plate of fried rice,” Li Qun whispered to Gwen.

"What? He didn't tell me about this!"

"Are you alright?" Gwen asked anxiously.

“It seems alright. My uncle and aunt have a pretty good impression of Uncle George; they think he’s a very upright person,” Li Qun explained to Gwen.

That's good.

"I'm sorry, I'll talk to him when I get home."

“He’s being too presumptuous,” Gwen said, somewhat angrily.

“Don’t do that. From a father’s perspective, this is perfectly normal. I regret telling you this; I didn’t want to cause an argument between you two,” Li Qun said to Gwen.

“I’m not going to argue with him. I’m in a very good mood right now,” Gwen said.

“I am rich, not only in the bank account, but also in spirit.”

After Gwen finished speaking, she gave Li Qun a hug and touched his cheek, and Peter also gave her a hug.

“Your ears are red,” Gwen chuckled.

“Such intimate gestures are not found in the traditional etiquette of Aurora.”

Li Qun answered, holding his breath. His heart was pounding so fast that many students were stealing glances at the three of them.

"Class is about to start, let's talk again at noon." Gwen fiddled with the strap of her handbag and turned to walk towards the classroom for her first class of the day.

Peter stood to the side, grinning foolishly, looking rather dazed.

"Hurry up, or we'll be late."

Li Qun tugged at Peter, who was grinning foolishly.

“I just had an idea,” Peter said to Li Qun.

"What came to mind?"

“I’ve got an idea of ​​what kind of startup we could do,” Peter replied.

What project?

“We can develop a computer game,” Peter said.

"Computer games?"

It's only 2000 now, has Peter gone mad?

No, this isn't the 2000 I know!

This is the year 2000 in a parallel world where a bunch of tech geniuses like Howard Stark propelled the world's technological level forward.

Instantly, a light shone in Li Qun's eyes.

"That's right, Peter!! We can play games!!"

"You're a genius, Peter!"

Peter smiled, a smile that, in Li Qun's eyes, was the smile of a wise man embodying profound wisdom.

Chapter 28 A Pinky Oath

Peter Parker said they could make a computer game as a startup project, and Li Qun was 100% confident that they could complete the game and make a lot of money from it.

Peter definitely has the computer technology to realize his game ideas, and he also has game ideas that can make them a lot of money.

During class, Li Qun did not concentrate on the lesson for the first time. He opened his notebook and wrote, imagining what kind of game he and Peter would play together.

He wanted to make a farming game with Peter.

Li Qun wrote down the most classic opening of the farming game genre in his notebook: Tired of the busy life in the big city, he returned to the countryside to inherit the farm left by his grandfather...

When Li Qun showed her notebook to Peter after class, Peter looked at Li Qun with considerable surprise.

“What I’m thinking of is making a fighting game,” Peter said.

"Fighting games?" Li Qun looked at Peter.

“Aren’t we following street fighting tournaments? I feel this is a great design that we can directly copy.”

“But Liqun, your farming game is also quite good…” Peter said hesitantly.

“Then let’s do both,” Li Qun said.

"Do both?"

“Only children make choices, while adults want it all,” Li Qun said.

"Starting our business with a game project, our starting point is a game company. We don't just want to publish one game, but also develop many more."

"We want to build our own gaming website so that players can buy games directly from our website."

"Wait, speak slower." Peter felt his brain was starting to lag behind Li Qun's thoughts.

Before class, Li Qun said he was a genius, but after class, Peter thought Li Qun was the real genius.

The things Liqun is considering will likely only be realized after they graduate from university.

They still have two years until they graduate from high school, and six years until they graduate from university.

Wow! They had over six years to prepare.

"We seem to have too many ideas."

“Peter, you should be glad we still have so many ideas. Once we become adults, our minds won’t be as sharp as they are now.”

Peter laughed.

“A person’s intellectual peak is between the ages of 18 and 24. Most of the smartest people in history achieved their success within this age range,” Li Qun said.

“Then let’s give it a try,” Peter said.

"Give it a try."

During their adolescence, boys are filled with all sorts of wildly imaginative dreams about the future. Seventy percent of their energy is consumed by the "main task" of studying, yet they continue to create all sorts of random "side quests" for themselves. Sometimes, they are unaware that these side quests in life can transform into new main quests.

……

……

"After deducting 24% tax, wouldn't the bonus only be around 1.5 million?"

“One million five hundred and twenty thousand,” Gwen told Peter, giving him an exact figure.

“Peter, let’s not talk about tax rates anymore.”

"Ok."

Gwen glanced at Li Qun as he disassembled his stacked lunchbox, which, when unfolded, occupied a third of the space on the dining table.

“I’ll use the remaining twenty thousand dollars to improve the quality of lunch for Peter and me,” Gwen said.

Li Qun nodded, his eyes inadvertently glancing towards the center of the restaurant, where Flash was observing what he was eating that day.

He was the only one in the entire Midtown High School whose meal was so lavish, served in such a multi-layered lunchbox, and still warm.

“Hey Gwen, Li Qun and I have come up with a future startup project,” Peter said to Gwen.

“You? Aren’t you us?” Gwen said.

"You want to join too?"

“I can invest and be your angel investor,” Gwen said.

“What project are we working on?” Gwen asked.

“Computer games,” Li Qun said.

“I want to make a fighting game, but Liqun wants to make a farming game,” Peter said.

"Fighting and farming?" Gwen tilted her head.

Computer games were still in their infancy. Apart from Li Qun, Peter and Gwen had little experience with them; they mostly played arcade games.

Peter didn't have any particularly brilliant ideas; his fighting game was really just a modified version of an arcade fighting game ported to the computer.

Liqun's concept of a farming game was groundbreaking in 2000.

“Gwen, this is what I thought of.”

Li Qun took out a notebook from his backpack and handed it to Gwen, who read it while eating.

Li Qun drew pixel-style game images on his notebook with colored pens, which amazed Gwen.

"Wow!"

"The key to a game's success is..."

"Gameplay, game art, and game music."

Gwen muttered to herself about what was written in Li Qun's notebook.

Li Qun wasn't just writing a game design document; it was more like he was writing a beginner's guide to computer games for them.

Liqun directly copied the successful experience of mature games from more than 20 years later, and Peter and Gwen both felt enlightened after reading it.