NABC Chapter 113 Momo's Independence
Chapter 113 Momo's Independence
Chapter 113 Momo's Independence (5k)
After finishing that long phone call with Gu Wanning, Geng Zhi leaned against the headboard and rubbed his sore eyes.
He reopened his laptop, opened his email, and refreshed his inbox.
My inbox was empty except for a few Google emails.
I refreshed the page, but there were still no new emails.
He glanced at the time in the lower right corner of the screen, and a shadow of gloom involuntarily crossed his mind.
It's already this late, the TS negotiations with "Ele.me" should have ended long ago, why hasn't Li Dongping's report email arrived yet?
Did the two sides have already finished their talks, but Li Dongping was still meticulously organizing and reporting the details?
Or perhaps Li Dongping's negotiations tonight didn't go smoothly?
Is Ele.me, like Jiaotong University's matchmaker, playing the field and flirting with other capital?
If he fails to secure a deal with Ele.me in this round, it will have an immeasurable impact on his future plans. By the time the valuation is fully inflated in the next round, the cost of getting on board will be far too high.
Thinking of this, Geng Zhi unconsciously bit his lower lip, his heartbeat inexplicably quickened, and a long-lost sense of anxiety quietly spread.
At that moment, he felt deep regret.
Yesterday at noon, Zhang Xuhao did invite him to have chicken hot pot together, probably to discuss financing and get his opinion.
However, he declined the offer, citing being too busy with company affairs.
What a blunder! What a blunder!
If I could have sat down with Haozi yesterday, even if I didn't say anything directly, but just offered a few words of analysis from a friend's perspective, perhaps I could have subtly increased Arctic Capital's leverage?
well----
He resisted the urge to call or email Li Dongping directly, and just sighed inwardly.
As the behind-the-scenes boss, being too impatient would only expose his anxiety and naivety. After thinking for a moment, he opened his long-unused QQ Space, ready to see if Zhang Xuhao had posted anything, to indirectly confirm it.
Based on his understanding of Zhang Xuhao, this passionate young man, if the financing goes smoothly, this guy will definitely be unable to contain his excitement and post something on his social media, even if it's just a vague remark.
He scrolled down to refresh the page, and a post he'd shared 22 minutes earlier immediately caught his eye: "The North Star is shining, the road ahead is clear! Thanks for your trust, Hungry Wolf Team, let's eat!!"
The accompanying image was a clenched fist and a corner of a blurry agreement.
The text is filled with barely suppressed excitement and anticipation for the future, and the reference to "Arctic" is self-evident.
His tense nerves relaxed instantly, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up in a smile.
It seems to have been successful. Li Dongping is probably carefully crafting his report email now.
The thought had barely formed when my email notification rang out.
A new email from LeeDongping has the title: "Project Report: TS Signing Completed with Ele.me Team and Follow-up Suggestions".
Geng Zhi immediately clicked on it and read it word by word.
The email body was well-organized and the conclusion was clear: the TS had been signed and the other party had no objections to the core terms.
But what really caught Geng Zhi's eye was the follow-up content of the email, because Li Dongping not only reported the results.
He also included detailed observations of the negotiation process, a preliminary assessment of the capabilities and personalities of Ele.me's core team members, reflections on the project's technical approach and market risks, and even several constructive preliminary suggestions for post-investment management.
Some of the perspectives and details were things that Geng Zhi himself had never thought about in depth before.
At the end of the email, Li Dongping humbly attributed the successful signing to the good groundwork laid in the early stages, showing that he did not take credit and knew how to maintain appropriate boundaries.
This email sufficiently proves that:
Li Dongping is not merely a tool for taking money and following orders. He has the ability to think proactively, the perspective of an operator, and the awareness to consider the long-term interests of the company.
Geng Zhi leaned against the headboard and let out a long sigh of relief. This was the person he was looking for, someone with the qualities of a potential partner.
He was quite satisfied with Li Dongping's performance and secretly praised Gu Wanning's accurate judgment of people once again.
He hesitated for a moment, then typed only six words in the reply box: "Received, thank you for your hard work."
Then, click send.
The next morning, the sky over Shanghai was tinged with the pale light of dawn.
As always, Geng Zhi first went to the West Campus playground and ran more than ten laps until he was slightly sweaty before heading to the Second Dining Building to have breakfast.
He had just bought two meat pies, a bag of soy milk, and a tea egg, and was about to sit down in a corner to eat when he heard someone call his name from behind.
"upright!"
He turned his head and saw a tall girl wearing a khaki trench coat and with her hair tied in a neat ponytail.
She had delicate features and bright, sparkling eyes. She was smiling at him with a mixture of curiosity and barely concealed excitement.
"Hello, may I ask who you are?" Geng Zhi quickly searched his memory to confirm that he did not recognize the other person.
"Lv Siyu, second-year graduate student, School of Media and Communication. We've met once before." The girl extended her hand gracefully to shake hands with Geng Zhi.
-
After a slight hesitation, Geng Zhi extended his hand and gave the girl a light handshake: "Sorry, I don't remember. Where have we met before?"
"In Vice Dean Liu Kangping's large office," Lü Siyu explained with a slight smile. "I was taking notes the first time you and Li Haipeng went to discuss the marriage and dating industry white paper project. But I didn't have a chance to speak then."
"Oh, so you're from the marriage and relationship white paper research group. It's a pleasure to meet you." Geng Zhi suddenly realized that he did have a vague impression of you.
"Are you alone? Do you mind if I share a table with you?" Lu Siyu pointed to the empty seat opposite him.
"Of course not! You're welcome, you're welcome."
The two sat together, eating and chatting for a while, when Lü Siyu suddenly changed the subject: "Boss Geng, is there some discord within your team?"
Geng Zhi felt a slight chill run down his spine, but remained outwardly calm. He took a bite of the meat pie and smiled, saying, "No, why would you suddenly ask that?"
"Professionalism and sensitivity." Lü Siyu blinked and said seriously, "I'm going to be a journalist in the future, so I should have this kind of intuition."
"Oh?" Geng Zhi's interest was piqued, and he looked at her leisurely. "Then I'd like to hear what your 'professional sensitivity' has detected, Reporter Lü?"
"Out of basic professional ethics, I did some preliminary research on your company." Lu Siyu lowered her voice, but couldn't hide the probing in her words. "The new CEO, Mr. Ma, is now in charge. You, the founder, seem to be—being sidelined?"
Geng Zhi's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly for a moment, then relaxed.
He continued peeling the tea egg without showing any emotion, quickly assessing the situation in his mind: Could I have run into a formidable opponent?
"President Geng, please don't misunderstand," Lü Siyu quickly waved her hand to explain, "What I meant by 'understanding' was truly the most basic verification of publicly available information. Since I joined Professor Liu's research group, I need to fully verify the information provided by Li Haipeng; this is a necessary procedure."
Seeing that Lü Siyu was eager to explain, Geng Zhi immediately denied his earlier guess that she was a "formidable character".
He calmly added, "Oh, out of professional ethics."
"Yes, professional ethics." Lü Siyu nodded.
Geng Zhi wiped his mouth, unscrewed the lid, and started drinking the soy milk. He casually asked, "Based on your analysis, what conclusion can you draw?"
"I'm still single, and I'm your fan."
"Pfft—cough cough!"
Geng Zhi almost spat out his entire mouthful of soy milk, quickly turning to the side and bending over, coughing violently until his face turned red.
He waved his hand to apologize, while inwardly laughing and crying at the same time: This girl's thinking is too unpredictable!
Where is this going?
"Sorry, sorry! I went off-topic, I went off-topic!" Lu Siyu realized that her words were too abrupt and quickly apologized, her ears turning a little red.
Once Geng Zhi had calmed down, she straightened her expression and continued, "I've been following your Jiaotong University Matchmaking Team since it was first established. Your mission and vision are quite inspiring, and your offline activities also embody that."
"Hmm." Geng Zhi gestured for her to continue, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"Later, during our research group discussion, someone suggested conducting on-site interviews and case studies at your company, but Li Haipeng politely declined on the spot. He said that all the communication would be fine as long as it was approved by him."
"I found it a bit strange, and after inquiring privately, I discovered that the company had a new CEO. That's why I started speculating that you were being sidelined."
"Hmm, and then?" His straightforward tone revealed no emotion.
"I also suspect—" Lü Siyu lowered her voice slightly and continued her analysis, "Li Haipeng was acting on your orders. That Mr. Ma probably had no idea about releasing the white paper, right?"
Upon hearing the word "instructions," Geng Zhi looked up and carefully examined the future uncrowned king before him.
That word choice is quite interesting.
"Xiao Lü, keep guessing, is there anything else?" Geng Zhi continued to ask.
Lu Siyu was engrossed in her reasoning and didn't notice the change in address. With a hint of confidence, she continued, "So I guess you might also want to use the release of the white paper as an opportunity to bring down Ma Chunmei."
"Pfft—" Geng Zhi laughed out loud again, but this time he was faking it.
It must be said that although Lü Siyu did not guess the result correctly, she did guess the general direction to some extent.
"Little Lü, have you been watching too many palace dramas lately? Your imagination is running wild." Geng Zhi looked at her with a smile.
"Huh? Am I wrong?" Lu Siyu's eyes widened, her face full of disbelief.
"It's not that there's absolutely no difference, but it's more like going in the opposite direction," Geng Zhi said slowly and deliberately.
"This—" Lu Siyu was stunned. Looking at Geng Zhi's ambiguous smile, she suddenly fell into self-doubt, and her previous little bit of pride vanished.
"Alright, Xiao Lü, thank you for the career analysis and breakfast." Geng Zhi stood up, picked up his tray, and said, "I have to get back to work. Have a good day too."
Before Lü Siyu could react, he had already calmly walked towards the dish return area, leaving Lü Siyu sitting there alone, staring blankly at her breakfast, her mind filled with the question, "What did I do wrong?"
Stepping out of the restaurant, a gust of cold wind caused the smile on Geng Zhi's face to fade.
He would love for the whole world to know about his discord with Ma Chunmei in the future, but only at the right time.
But at this moment, especially the people in the white paper research team, they knew that this was something he absolutely did not want to see. If any unexpected complications arose, it would delay his important matter.
He glanced back to make sure Lü Siyu hadn't followed him out, then immediately took out his phone and called Li Haipeng.
[Straightforward]: "President Li, do you know Lü Siyu?"
[Li Haipeng]: "Yes, we know each other! We were just discussing the pre-release communication strategy for the white paper yesterday morning!"
[Straightforward] "How is she?"
Geng Zhi was still immersed in his own thoughts and didn't care whether the question was clear or not; he just asked it subconsciously.
Li Haipeng was a little confused, but he still told the truth.
[Li Haipeng]: "She's quite pretty, with curves in all the right places, and she's really comparable to lawyer Gu Wanning. She also seems to be single."
[Straightforward]: "Brother, I was asking about her work ability and her character."
Li Haipeng felt a little embarrassed, thinking to himself, "Boss, you didn't explain it clearly just now!"
[Li Haipeng]: "She seems to be a good person, and she appears quite upright and just when you talk to her. She just likes to pry too much, which is probably a common trait among journalists."
Li Haipeng commented, then looked puzzled.
[Li Haipeng]: "Wait, boss, why are you suddenly asking about Lü Siyu? What happened?"
On the phone, Geng Zhi briefly relayed his conversation with Lü Siyu at the restaurant to Li Haipeng.
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone; Li Haipeng was also unsure of Lü Siyu's intentions.
[Li Haipeng]: "Boss, what if we're worried that something might go wrong on her end and affect our plans?"
'
[Straightforward]: "Then let's speed things up. What's the current progress of the white paper research team?"
[Li Haipeng]: "In addition to the original students from communication studies and sociology, we recently added a master's student in statistics to be in charge of the data analysis part."
[Li Haipeng]: "We have completed the domestic and international industry overview and policy and regulatory review. We are now conducting a large-scale online questionnaire survey and in-depth offline interviews, covering young people in dozens of cities in the eastern, central and western parts of the country. This part is taking a relatively long time."
[Straightforward]: "Hmm. What about those real user case interviews? Have we completed the ones we provided?"
[Li Haipeng]: "The interviews for the several cases we provided were completed a long time ago. However—"
Li Haipeng paused slightly before continuing.
[Li Haipeng]: "What Vice Dean Liu meant was that their research group would also find and interview some cases through other channels, and would not rely entirely on the list we provided."
Geng Zhi was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.
This means they don't fully trust the information we provide?
I was personally introduced by Aunt Qin, and I even drank with Vice President Liu!
[Straightforward]: "Vice Dean Liu, are you really that meticulous in your work?"
[Li Haipeng]: "Yes, Vice Dean Liu said this is necessary for the report's scientific rigor and authority, at least in form—"
Upon hearing the words "in form," Geng Zhi instantly understood.
This isn't about distrust, but rather the caution and professional ethics of a seasoned veteran—to plug all possible loopholes in advance.
He felt more at ease.
[Geng Zhi]: "I understand. Don't forget the time for the negotiations with Arctic Capital this afternoon. Also, regarding Lü Siyu, just maintain normal contact and observe her; don't show anything unusual."
After hanging up with Li Haipeng, Geng Zhi had just pushed out his bicycle to ride to the science and technology park when his phone vibrated again.
It was a text message sent by CCTV reporter Zhou Haoran.
[Zhou Haoran]: "Hey, Mr. Geng Zhi, tonight at 8:30, CCTV-2's 'Financial Weekly' program will broadcast an interview with you. Remember to watch."
Geng Zhi's eyes lit up, and a surge of joy welled up in his heart. He replied immediately.
[Straightforward]: "Received! Thank you very much, Reporter Zhou, and thank you CCTV!"
After replying to the text message, Geng Zhi was immediately invigorated and called Shu Beibei, Yang Mingxia, and Sun Xiaowen one by one to inform them to go to the private office for a meeting immediately.
In Building 2 of the startup park, in their newly rented private office, Geng Zhi, Shu Beibei, and the other two had all arrived.
"Boss, you look so happy, what amazing news do you have?" Yang Mingxia asked impatiently.
"Have you prepared all the pre-interview publicity and follow-up plans for the CCTV interview?" Geng Zhi asked instead of answering, his gaze sweeping over Yang Mingxia.
Yang Mingxia nodded quickly: "It's all ready! We've already posted two teaser posts on Weibo, and the engagement is pretty good."
"I've already contacted reporters from the technology and finance channels of several online media outlets, including Sina, NetEase, and Sohu, and sent them press releases. They're just waiting for the program to air so they can follow up immediately!"
After reporting, she belatedly widened her eyes in surprise: "Boss, CCTV has given it a release date? It's about to air?"
"That's right! Tonight at 8:30, CCTV Finance Channel," Geng Zhi affirmed. "It's hard to say exactly how much will be cut, let's watch it together tonight!"
"Great!" The three girls couldn't help but cheer softly and high-five each other in celebration.
After their excitement subsided, Geng Zhi continued assigning tasks, his tone becoming more composed: "Mingxia, don't just focus on mainstream media for publicity. Also consider publications like *Entrepreneur's Daily* and *Technology New Media*."
"TechWeb, along with social media platforms like Tianya, Douban, Tieba, and Mop, will promote it across all channels."
"Putting me, Ma Chunmei, and the matchmaker from Jiaotong University together for discussion, regardless of whether the discussion is positive or negative, praise or criticism, what I want is buzz, the more lively the better."
"Huh?" Shu Beibei was clearly taken aback.
Yang Mingxia also looked puzzled: "Boss, why are you still promoting Ma Chunmei? Isn't this just helping her gain more fame?"
Looking at them directly, Geng Zhi slowly began, "It seems Li Haipeng did a good job keeping this a secret. There's something I can tell you: Li Haipeng and I are registering a new company. The 'MM' project will be fully operated by this new company."
Shu Beibei and Yang Mingxia both opened their eyes wide at the same time.
"Boss, you mean—we're going to completely separate from Jiaotong University's matchmaking agency?" Shu Beibei's voice trembled slightly, whether from excitement or something else, it was hard to tell.
"That's right." Geng Zhi nodded. "It's time."
Shu Beibei and Yang Mingxia's faces first showed great surprise—they had long been fed up with Ma Chunmei—but then, a complex reluctance appeared on their faces.
After all, the "Jiaotong University Matchmakers" were built from scratch with Geng Zhi's help, like raising a child themselves.
"Don't worry," Geng Zhi said gently, seeing through their thoughts, "I will find a good home for the 'Jiaotong University matchmaker' and won't let her be wasted."
Upon hearing this, the two smiled again, their eyes igniting with renewed fighting spirit.
After the initial excitement, Shu Beibei thought about practical matters: "Boss, since the app is still in the development stage, what exactly will Mingxia and I be responsible for at the new company?"
"Focus all your energy on preparing a press conference for me. A press conference that will shake up the industry."
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