Chapter 68 - 66: The Man Who Refused 400 Million
"Go ahead and be bold with it!" Chen Yansen shot her a look, his tone sharp.
"Yes, yes! I’ll change it right away!" Song Yuncheng flinched slightly and reluctantly agreed.
Chen Yansen sat on the edge of the bed, taking in her scent as he looked Song Yuncheng up and down.
Compared to the exceptional talent of Prince Ziyuan, Song Yuncheng’s growth was clearly much slower. But when measured against the other members of FoxTao, her intelligence, EQ, and ability to command a room were all above average.
He had no idea how she fared in his past life, but from his perspective, it wouldn’t be hard for Song Yuncheng to get into a mid-sized or larger design firm after graduation. If she got lucky and joined a startup, there was a seventy to eighty percent chance she could work her way up to a UED manager position.
"I’m done with the changes." A short while later, Song Yuncheng turned and spoke. When she saw Chen Yansen staring at her intently, she suddenly felt a pang of anxiety, and her guard immediately went up.
"Okay. Come take a walk with me. We can grab lunch while we’re out." Chen Yansen stood up, his tone leaving no room for refusal.
Song Yuncheng had no choice but to trail obediently behind him. Chen Yansen found a Cantonese restaurant and ordered a few dishes. The two sat eating and talking, their table overlooking West Lake.
"President Chen, why didn’t we go to a restaurant that serves local food?" Song Yuncheng asked curiously.
"The local Hang City cuisine isn’t very good." Chen Yansen popped a piece of beef into his mouth and shook his head.
After their meal, the two strolled along the shore of West Lake for a while before ducking into a dessert shop. They sat by the window, eating sweets and drinking milk tea as they watched the bustling city traffic outside.
Ignoring their professional relationship, they looked just like a couple.
Chen Yansen was doing it intentionally. Song Yuncheng sensed that something was off, but having never been in a relationship, she just assumed this was how a boss and an employee normally interacted.
The two of them didn’t take a taxi back to the hotel until 5 p.m.
After a brief rest, Chen Yansen gathered Chen Xu and Zhang Yifeng and headed into the banquet hall where the e-commerce conference was taking place.
The hall, over a thousand square meters in size, was magnificent and bustling with a well-dressed crowd. Most of the women wore business-casual suits, while the men were almost exclusively in black, white, or gray. Their hair was so slick and shiny it looked like they had used half a jar of pomade.
The moment Chen Yansen’s party entered the banquet hall, they drew a great deal of attention.
Despite being properly dressed, the four of them were simply too young. They looked a full generation younger than the other attendees.
"Daniel, the boss of FoxTao is here," the assistant sitting beside Zhang Yong whispered.
Zhang Yong looked where his assistant was indicating and immediately recognized Chen Yansen.
Chen Xu and Zhang Yifeng were trying their best to stay composed, but to an old fox like Zhang Yong, their awkwardness was plain to see.
Song Yuncheng’s demeanor was calm and confident, but her deferential, follower-like attitude was also unmistakable.
Only Chen Yansen strode forward confidently, a faint smile playing on his lips. He showed no trace of nervousness; his powerful aura seemed to perfectly blend with his surroundings.
’A young man like that is a rare sight,’ Zhang Yong remarked to himself.
After a moment’s thought, he slowly rose to his feet. He brought his assistant and Hu Zhilong, the head of the Ali Alliance, with him to greet the newcomers.
Chen Yansen was no stranger to Zhang Yong. He was Ma Liyun’s designated successor, though the two had never crossed paths in Chen Yansen’s past life.
When Zhang Yong was at the zenith of his career, Chen Yansen was just a newcomer to the industry. By the time Chen Yansen had made a name for himself, Zhang Yong had already been thoroughly routed by Pinduoduo.
"Boss Zhang, you’re a senior in this industry. I should have been the one to come and greet you first."
Chen Yansen looked up to see Zhang Yong’s party approaching. Without a second thought, he hurried forward to greet them.
He had no choice. He could afford to ignore Ma Wenteng, but he absolutely could not offend Zhang Yong.
Don’t be fooled by the 2010 version of Ah Li. While it wasn’t a household name before its IPO, within e-commerce circles, it was the undisputed king. It crushed Paipai Network, Jingdong, and Amazon with the ease of an adult swatting a child.
"You must be Chen Yansen," Zhang Yong said. "You can call me Daniel. You’re even more impressive than I imagined."
Zhang Yong shook Chen Yansen’s hand, nodding in satisfaction.
For a titan of the industry like him, reading people was a fundamental skill. He could gauge a person’s general capabilities from their bearing and manner of speech alone, and Chen Yansen was no exception.
"You’re too kind. FoxTao has only gotten this far because we’ve been able to lean on a great tree like Ah Li for support," Chen Yansen replied with a smile.
"Have you any interest in joining Ah Li?" Zhang Yong asked bluntly. "I have the authority to acquire your project. We would merge it with Yitao, and you would be in charge of that entire business line."
Zhang Yifeng and Chen Xu froze, a surge of pride swelling within them. Their boss was truly incredible; even a magnate of Zhang Yong’s stature was treating him as an equal.
Song Yuncheng’s reaction was far calmer. The last time they were at Penguin, Zheng Chunbin from Paipai Network had made a similar offer in a similar tone.
"Thank you for the generous offer, President Zhang, but I’m too much of a free spirit. I can’t handle the nine-to-five grind," Chen Yansen said, casually inventing an excuse.
"I heard you accepted tens of millions in venture capital from Penguin, putting your current valuation around 200 million. I’ll give you 400 million. Ah Li will absorb your project into the group. As for you, I can offer you an M4-level position. Once you deliver results, I guarantee you’ll be promoted to M5 within three years," Zhang Yong continued, his brow furrowed.
An M5 was on the management track, equivalent to a P10 Researcher, with an annual salary of over ten million.
’If Chen Yansen agrees, won’t we become Ah Li employees?’
’A backdoor entry into Ah Li, without even an interview!’
Chen Xu and Zhang Yifeng exchanged a glance. It would be a lie to say they weren’t tempted.
But Chen Yansen shook his head, his gaze firm. He had said it before: he would never work for anyone else in this life.
"It seems Mr. Chen has lofty ambitions. In that case, I won’t insist." Zhang Yong was incredibly gracious. Despite the rejection, he didn’t show the slightest displeasure, maintaining his warm and pleasant demeanor.
"You’re being too serious, President Zhang. The interests of FoxTao and Ah Li have always been aligned." Such empty pleasantries rolled off Chen Yansen’s tongue effortlessly.
’Just wait until I make my first fortune. Then I’ll switch up my business model and come for you. I’ll beat you so bad you’ll be screaming for mercy. Let’s see you keep up this act then,’ Chen Yansen thought, his smile never wavering as he silently roasted the man.
"Zhilong, you should interact more with young people like Chen Yansen. You two talk for a bit. I need to step away." Zhang Yong patted Hu Zhilong on the shoulder, offered a polite farewell, and left.
Hu Zhilong’s expression was a bit odd. ’He’s just too young,’ he thought. After they exchanged contact information, he also got up and departed.
"Brother Sen, that was 400 million! You just turned it down like that?" Chen Xu whispered, his expression pained as if it were his own money being lost.
"It’s just 400 million. Is that really such a big deal?" Chen Yansen said dismissively. "Come on, let’s go mingle with the vendors." With that, he led the way forward.
He didn’t know a single one of the representatives from the top brands, but he sauntered up to greet them one by one, as nonchalantly as if they were old friends reuniting after years apart.
Chen Xu and Zhang Yifeng watched in silence, trying to absorb Chen Yansen’s communication techniques.
The brand representatives, who had previously been unfamiliar with Chen Yansen and FoxTao, were suddenly very interested when they heard that Zhang Yong had offered 400 million to acquire the company. One after another, they came forward to leave their business cards.
By the time he had made a full circuit of the room, he had collected a huge stack of business cards.
This was only the first step. Chen Yansen didn’t expect to make them come crying and begging for a partnership after just a brief chat.
The goal was to establish a channel of communication. Opportunities for collaboration would surely follow.