Chapter 106: First Meeting: Old Zhou Returns from Fleeing Hardship

"Buzz buzz buzz—"

His phone suddenly vibrated, breaking Chen Yansen's train of thought.

"Hello? Speak up!"

"Boss, you haven't gotten up yet? Our train's at ten." Song Yuncheng, pulling a suitcase, stood at the school gate and asked in a low voice.

"Usually it's you who's late—have I ever rushed you?" Chen Yansen said, none too pleased.

"Yes, yes, yes, Chen Zong." Having just received her paycheck, Song Yuncheng didn't dare talk back to Chen Yansen right now.

Chen Yansen hung up the phone and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash up.

Dressed neatly, he stuffed a few changes of clothes into his suitcase, then unhurriedly went downstairs, got in the car, and drove toward the east gate.

"Get in."

Two minutes later, Chen Yansen stopped the car and said to Song Yuncheng.

Song Yuncheng shoved her suitcase into the trunk and was about to sit in the back seat when Chen Yansen glared at her: "What are you doing? Treating your boss as your driver?"

"Oh." Song Yuncheng's face fell, and she obediently got into the passenger seat.

"Every time we go on a business trip, I still have to drive myself. If you haven't gotten your driver's license by the next trip, I'll transfer you back to the design team."

Chen Yansen threatened.

"Soon! I'm taking Subject Two right now—I'll definitely pass on the first try." Song Yuncheng hurriedly promised.

Last month she'd taken home 59,000 yuan—how could she be willing to go back to the design team for a fixed salary of five or six thousand?

"I'm taking you mainly for two things: first, Lei Zong has agreed to introduce me to Amazon's new channel director, and Chen Nian of Vancl—you'll be in charge of following up; second, negotiating a joint promotion for our game with Xiaomi."

After giving his instructions, Chen Yansen floored it toward Xucheng East Station.

A new channel director?

"Zhang Hanhua left?" Song Yuncheng asked in surprise.

"Didn't you see the news? Caught taking kickbacks—probably looking at five or six years behind bars." Chen Yansen said casually.

Song Yuncheng went silent, staring at Chen Yansen, her gaze remarkably steady.

"Nothing to do with me." Chen Yansen denied flat out.

Fox Tao, as a third-party channel, took rebates regardless of what kind of person Zhang Hanhua was—that was the unspoken rule for most business deals.

If the outside world found out he was the one who got Zhang Hanhua sent in, he'd most likely earn a reputation for not playing by the rules.

Reputation—that thing is worthless when you don't need it, and worth more than gold when you do.

Song Yuncheng clearly didn't believe him. She had a strong feeling that the Zhang Hanhua affair was absolutely Chen Yansen's doing.

She smiled, didn't take it to heart, and began studying the gameplay and profit core of the joint game venture. Once she'd figured it out, she started mulling over what methods a third-party channel like Fox Tao should use in distribution and promotion to obtain the maximum returns.

Soon, Chen Yansen parked at the high-speed rail station, pushed his suitcase inside, and Song Yuncheng followed close behind.

From Xucheng to Yanjing, the journey was three and a half hours in total.

The two sat down in the waiting hall. Song Yuncheng unzipped her backpack, took out a bag of still-warm buns, and ate them in small bites.

Chen Yansen had gotten up late and hadn't eaten. He'd planned to buy a boxed meal on the train, but smelling the buns, he couldn't help swallowing his saliva.

Then, without ceremony, he snatched the buns from Song Yuncheng's hand and took big bites—mm, still her favorite pickled long bean and pork buns.

The other one was a tofu and vermicelli bun, which he also finished in a few bites.

"Not bad—which cafeteria window did you get these from?"

Chen Yansen licked his lips and asked, satisfied.

"Cafeteria Two, first floor, third stall on the right as you walk in." Song Yuncheng opened her mouth, didn't dare say more, and answered sulkily.

"From now on when you buy breakfast, remember to get me one too." Chen Yansen instructed.

Song Yuncheng nodded. Unlike a few months ago, she no longer foolishly asked why.

"Ladies and gentlemen, train G106 is now boarding. Please have your ticket and valid ID ready, line up in order through the ticket gate, and proceed to the designated platform to wait."

The announcement came over the broadcast.

Following the information on their tickets, the two found their corresponding car and seats.

They ate a boxed meal midway. Chen Yansen closed his eyes for a nap, and when he opened them again, the high-speed train had arrived at the station.

The two first took a cab to the hotel, and as usual only booked a suite.

Song Yuncheng knowingly pulled her suitcase over to the sofa, plopped down, and stretched out comfortably at an angle.

"There's a dinner tonight—dress nice." Chen Yansen tossed out this line and turned to walk into the bedroom.

Dress nice?

Song Yuncheng was slightly taken aback. The only outfit she had that was presentable was the "work clothes" Chen Yansen had bought her in Shencheng last year—a white skirt suit.

Yanjing in March still had a bit of chill, so Song Yuncheng added a base layer, walked to the mirror, and tucked her loose long hair behind her ears.

An oval face full of collagen, paired with a strongly businesslike outfit—equal parts girlish charm and big-sister presence.

Chen Yansen changed into a casual suit, pushed the door open, and happened to catch sight of Song Yuncheng in front of the mirror.

"Why are you wearing that set again?" Chen Yansen said, disdainful.

It wasn't that the outfit didn't look good—it was just that Chen Zong had grown tired of seeing it.

"Is it not okay?" Song Yuncheng looked puzzled. She'd secretly brushed up on etiquette for business occasions and didn't see anything wrong with what she was wearing.

"You must have been Grandet in a past life." Chen Yansen teased.

He pulled out his phone, checked the time, and said to Song Yuncheng: "Let's go."

"Then you must be the reincarnation of Zhou Bapi." Song Yuncheng muttered under her breath, afraid Chen Yansen might hear.

"Fine, next month I'll transfer you to the customer service team." Chen Yansen said with narrowed eyes and a smile.

"You could even hear that?" Song Yuncheng stared, her face full of disbelief.

"Did you forget my ears are very sharp?" Chen Yansen pointed at his ear and said with a mischievous grin.

"Boss, you misheard me, I didn't make a sound." Song Yuncheng laughed apologetically, refusing to admit it no matter what.

Chen Yansen ignored her and walked straight outside.

Song Yuncheng hurried after him.

Walking out of the hotel lobby, Chen Yansen hailed a taxi, gave the destination, then on Miliao, greeted Lei Yi again.

About twenty minutes later, the car stopped in front of a quaint roast duck restaurant; the exterior decoration was grand, quite a few luxury cars were parked at the entrance, clearly not a cheap place.

The moment Chen Yansen got out of the car, a middle-aged man in his thirties came up to greet him.

The man was of medium build, with a crew cut, wearing glasses, jeans paired with a blazer, smiling brightly.

"President Chen, I'm Xiaomi's Li Wanqiang. President Lei specifically instructed me to wait at the door, saying that if I saw a young man around 1.8 meters tall and even more handsome than him, I should bring him right in."

Although Li Wanqiang came from a UI design background, after taking charge of Xiaomi's marketing department, his innate social-butterfly nature was awakened, and he had his own way of integrating channels, lifting the atmosphere the moment they met.

"President Li, you're too kind. Let's go in and talk."

Chen Yansen nodded modestly, his expression at ease.

After all, in his previous life, when Feiyu's market value was at its peak, his net worth was no lower than Li Wanqiang's.

In this life, needless to say, Xiaomi's phone hadn't even been released yet, and its valuation wasn't as high as Fox Taobao's.

The one with money right now was Lei Yi, not Xiaomi.

A big shot like Li Wanqiang, who got in through technical shares, would still have to wait seven or eight years before making a name on the rich list.

"Sure! President Lei and President Zhou are both here." Li Wanqiang said with a smile.

"President Zhou?" Chen Yansen asked, puzzled.

"The boss of 360, Zhou Hongyi." Li Wanqiang explained as they walked.

Didn't this guy run off to Hong Kong Island to lay low?

"Someone up above stepped in and smoothed over last year's incident." Li Wanqiang read his question and explained in a lowered voice.

Last year's 3Q War had caused an enormous uproar; everyone in the industry knew about it.

If Old Zhou hadn't had well-sourced information and run fast, he might have ended up on a sewing machine.

Chen Yansen gave an acknowledging sound and said no more—careless talk easily offended people, and he wouldn't make such a low-level mistake.

Li Wanqiang led the way in front, bypassing the front hall to the back courtyard, and stopped in front of a private room with classical elegance.

Inside were two middle-aged men; one had a three-seven parting hairstyle, wore a polo shirt with an indigo blazer over it, and was holding tea, chatting casually with the man opposite.

Hearing the sound outside the door, Lei Yi turned his head, stood up and greeted: "President Chen, sorry to trouble you with the trip."

His smile was sincere, his tone warm, but a flicker of guilt flashed in his eyes — he had handled this matter poorly, using investment as a pretext when he actually wanted to discuss cooperation with Chen Yansen.

Chen Yansen stepped into the private room, politely shook hands and exchanged pleasantries; he knew Lei Jun had no intention of investing at all, but he wasn't holding anything good either.

The two began chatting with smiles.

Lei Yi felt he had a mellow personality, not much cunning; Chen Yansen, on the other hand, felt Lei Yi was different from what he had expected — outwardly all smiles, yet his words hid a sharp edge, and in presence he completely overshadowed both Li Wanqiang and Zhou Hongyi, who was still seated in his original spot.

Anyone who could rise to this position couldn't possibly be as simple as they appeared on the surface.

Of this, Chen Yansen was absolutely certain.

(End of this chapter)