Chapter 41: A Global Sensation, Foreign Media Is Singing My Praises? (Part Two)

Thrilled! Excited! Proud! Chang Lu could not even begin to describe the extreme complexity of her emotions at this moment.

She still remembered how, just minutes ago, when her uncle had said those words over the phone, she had been completely stunned. Then, she had impatiently clicked on the links to witness one world-class media outlet after another singing the praises of Huo Qitai’s pizza-for-bitcoin trade.

It felt like a dream! Was this man finally about to radiate the charm and brilliance that belonged solely to him? Chang Lu felt genuinely happy for him, yet she was simultaneously gripped by the fear that he might slowly drift away from her.

Compared to Chang Lu, Xue Xiaoshan was much more direct. There was no surprise that could not be expressed with a "holy crap," and if there were, two "holy craps" would surely suffice.

"Holy crap! Holy crap! Tai-ge, you actually did it! You said you’d leave a mark on history, but I thought you were just joking. It’s only been ten days, and your investment has increased more than twenty-fold. That’s even more ruthless than loan sharking!"

Xue Xiaoshan leaned in closer. "Hurry, open it up and let’s see how those foreign media outlets are hyping up my Tai-ge."

While Principal Wang was on stage discussing the plans and outlook for First High School, the three of them huddled around Chang Lu's phone, staring at the jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, and pride-filled reports in the links.

"A Chinese High School Student's Bitcoin Transaction: A Pioneer in the Digital Currency Market." — *The New York Times*

"Chinese High School Student Buys Pizza for Americans: An Innovative Exploration of Bitcoin’s Value." — *The Wall Street Journal*

"The Transactional Revelation Brought by a Chinese High School Student: Bitcoin's Practical Value and Future Potential." — *Financial Times*

"An Extraordinary Chinese High School Student: Innovation in the Field of Digital Currency." — *The Economist*

"Bitcoin’s Practical Value Verified by a Chinese High School Student." — *Forbes*

"Bitcoin and Pizza: A Real-World Application Case of Digital Currency by a Chinese High School Student." — *Time Magazine*

"A Small Step for a Chinese High School Student, A Giant Leap for Digital Currency." — *The Times*

"Why Was It a Chinese High School Student Who Saw the Market Potential of Digital Currency?" — *The Washington Post*

...

These reports from the world’s top media outlets, without exception, used "Chinese High School Student" as the hook in their headlines. For a long time, the outside world had demonized the country, leading ordinary people abroad to believe that Chinese citizens still lived in the Qing Dynasty era, wearing queues and unable to afford food. But this time, because Huo Qitai had participated in the first physical transaction of Bitcoin, and with the help of those behind the scenes, he had vaulted into the spotlight of the entire Western media and capital market.

"Qitai, my uncle told me they invested in quite a bit of Bitcoin themselves, so they participated in the hype a little. He revealed your identity as a Chinese high school student to the media, but kept your real identity confidential. Foreign media only know that this user with the ID 'FIRE' is a high school student from China," Chang Lu explained, noticing Huo Qitai’s confusion.

"No wonder. I thought they had tracked me down by checking the forum's IP. But I didn't intentionally hide my IP at the time, and the address was the computer lab at First High School. I suppose someone determined enough could have figured it out."

Huo Qitai nodded as he scrolled through the English reports, feeling quite satisfied. He didn't blame Chang Lu’s uncle for using this to generate buzz, because even if he hadn't, the capital already eyeing Bitcoin would have spared no effort to whip up this storm. Moreover, Huo Qitai wasn't worried about the burden of such fame. Frankly, the media was hyping him up to draw attention to Bitcoin, gradually driving up its value to attract more institutional investors. Regardless, these reports gilded Huo Qitai, the "Chinese high school student," with a layer of prestige.

"It’s a shame these reports don’t have Tai-ge’s real name. Otherwise, you’d be truly famous!" After a bout of amazement and sighs, Xue Xiaoshan still felt a bit unsatisfied.

"Do you really think I could stay hidden?" Huo Qitai smiled and shook his head. "Look at these reports—they’re all foreign media. Is there a single one in Chinese?"

"Huh? You're right! I just checked on my phone, and I don’t see any Chinese media reports." Xue Xiaoshan curled his lip. "Domestic media is always a step behind. They’ll probably just end up translating and reprinting these later."

"Hehe... that’s not necessarily true! Shan-zi, my uncle also warned me. He said Qitai should be careful lately, because domestic media will surely follow the trail to find him and request interviews."

Chang Lu immediately corrected Xue Xiaoshan with a smile.

"Foreign media are only hyping me up because they are using me as a tool to promote Bitcoin. But by hyping it this much, they’re very likely to lead domestic media down the wrong path."

Having lived through the future, Huo Qitai understood the temperament of certain domestic media outlets all too well. If so many major foreign outlets were praising a Chinese high school student, they would scramble to dig him up and praise everything about him, right down to his ancestors. As for whether he might eventually have a scandal or fall from grace, that was none of their concern! They would have already secured the traffic and completed their mission of grabbing attention.

"Oh, right! And there’s this lucky break with Peking University. Holy crap! Tai-ge, doesn't that mean that in the next few days, a whole crowd of reporters might be lining up to interview you? You're going to be famous! Truly famous!"

Xue Xiaoshan was incredibly excited, then added with a sense of vindication, "Those short-sighted fools in the computer lab that day will regret it to death sooner or later. When I went back, I bought a few hundred yuan worth of Bitcoin too—I got over two thousand coins! The price wasn't high, but there aren't many people selling on the market right now, so it’s hard to accumulate..."

"Shan-zi, keep those coins safe. Buy only, don't sell, and don't participate in any other form of leverage or trading," Huo Qitai instructed. He knew Xue Xiaoshan well enough to know that he would have followed his lead once he went home that day.

"Tai-ge, I’ll listen to you. I’ll keep them as family heirlooms and absolutely won't sell."

After the events of the past few days, Huo Qitai’s image in Xue Xiaoshan’s mind had grown ever more towering. Even his father, a man as shrewd as they come, had been mulling over whether to discuss closing their real estate agency and partnering with Huo Qitai to start a company. It didn't matter what kind of company it was—Xue Ergou had set his sights on Huo Qitai, convinced that following him would lead to profit—guaranteed, massive profit!

It was the first time in his life that Xue Xiaoshan had seen his father admire someone so much that he was willing to bet his entire livelihood on them.