Chapter 142

“1,999 yuan? Damn, you’re leaving no room for competitors!”

“With the same specs, HTC and Shanxing dare charge 3,999 yuan—or even 4,999 yuan!”

“From Chen Zong’s tone, it sounds like he’s still not satisfied with the 1,999-yuan price?”

Below the stage, journalists, AuroraOS fans, and suppliers began whispering among themselves.

After hearing Chen Yansen’s product introduction and considering the audience’s expected price, everyone assumed the Orange Phone would be priced around 2,999 yuan.

No one expected Chen Yansen’s answer to be so surprising.

Cutting straight down 1,000 yuan from the audience’s expected price!

The reporters felt this press conference finally had its first hot topic!

“1,999 yuan is still expensive, but after accounting for material, R&D, manufacturing, and sales costs—and ensuring Orange Tech and the factory workers receive fair compensation for their efforts—I’ve decided to set the Orange Phone’s price at 1,999 yuan!”

“However, buyers can purchase through Fox Tao ’s Super Cashback channel: F1 and F2 users get 10 yuan back; F3 and F4 users get 30 yuan back; F5 Diamond users get 80 yuan back.”

When Chen Yansen uttered the first half, rival companies exhaled slightly, but invited fans felt disappointed.

But after he finished the second half, everyone in the room was stunned.

As low as 1,919 yuan!

Though there are purchase restrictions, over 50% of Fox Tao ’s daily active users are F1 or higher—over two million users nationwide.

For Orange Tech’s initial production capacity, this is barely a drop in the bucket!

Lei Yijun listened, frowned, glanced at Li Wanqiang, and his mind churned with thoughts.

Chen Yansen still set the official price of the Orange Phone at 1,999 yuan.

Channel price as low as 1,919 yuan!

Facing such a competitor, Lei Yijun felt deeply troubled.

“At 12 p.m. today, Orange Mall will release 200 units of engineering prototypes—please support us!”

Finally, Chen Yansen announced the launch time for the first batch of prototypes and bowed in thanks.

“Did you capture that? That last shot’s great—perfect for the cover!”

A reporter from Huian Youth Daily asked his colleague.

“No problem! Check out the result!” The photographer switched to the album and handed the captured photo to his colleague.

In the image, Chen Yansen wore a suit, slightly bowed, his eyes sincere and bright.

At 1,999 yuan, this flagship smartphone—even with its bold adoption of full-gesture navigation, which left many users struggling to adapt—still drew a massive wave of eager buyers.

This price, this specification—it’s simply too good!

Chen Yansen stepped down, and the host announced the lunch break.

Before he could sit, Huang Zhang from Meizu approached, tone sharp: “Chen Zong, the materials alone for the Orange Phone cost over a thousand yuan—add R&D, production, and marketing, how much profit are you making selling it for 1,999?”

“Huang Zong, you’re truly a veteran—you guessed the material cost almost exactly just by looking at the core components. Impressive!”

Chen Yansen gave a thumbs-up and smiled in praise.

“Chen Zong, by pricing at 1,999 yuan, you’re driving your rivals to the brink—what’s the benefit for everyone?”

At that moment, Chen Yongming from OPPO also walked over, face flushed with anger and helplessness.

“Chen Zong, you’re exaggerating—I’m just aiming for thin margins and high volume. OPPO can keep the premium market; let Orange handle the mid- and low-end.”

Chen Yansen smiled, dismissive.

Fuck!

With specs this good at 1,999 yuan, who’s going to buy OPPO’s 2,999- or 3,999-yuan flagships?

With Chen Yansen throwing a wrench into things, Huang Zhang and Chen Yongming were already recalculating their autumn product pricing.

But adjusting it would cost them hundreds of millions in lost profit!

Chen Yansen glanced at the two grim-faced men, smiled faintly, excused himself, and walked straight toward Lei Yijun.

He wasn’t their father—what did he care if they lived or died?

“Chen Zong, congratulations! The Orange Phone is even better than I imagined!” Lei Yijun chuckled, then added: “To be honest, Xiaomi’s original price was also 1,999 yuan!”

“Then Lei Zong, you owe me—I’ve taken a lot of heat off you.”

After sitting down, Chen Yansen nodded toward the rival companies, where everyone was glaring at him with hostility.

“Haha, you’ve got guts—aren’t you afraid they’ll unite to boycott you?”

Lei Yijun chuckled, teasing softly.

He wished he were the one being targeted—but Chen Yansen beat him to it; Xiaomi now had to completely re-plan its pricing and launch content.

“I have my own sales channels, and I’m not on bad terms with Taobao or JD. What can they use to boycott me? Can they force suppliers to cut off supply? Do they even have that power?”

Chen Yansen sneered, utterly dismissive.

As he said, companies like OPPO, Meizu, and Coolpad could only hurl insults and buy smear articles to tarnish Orange Tech.

Beyond that, they were powerless.

“Xiaomi’s new product launch is on the 16th—will you come, Chen Zong?”

After a pause, Lei Yijun invited.

“If Lei Zong welcomes me, I’ll definitely show up,” Chen Yansen said, eyes half-lidded, his words layered.

“With 1.4 billion people in China, and a phone replacement cycle of three years, the annual market capacity is 500 million units—this market is huge. Xiaomi just needs a slice.”

Lei Yijun smiled faintly, projecting an air of non-competition.

Chen Yansen raised his glass: “Then let’s toast—to both Orange and Xiaomi phones selling like crazy!”

Whether sincere or not, Lei Yijun had handled this facade perfectly.

Unlike OPPO and Meizu—who, if not for the media present, probably would’ve stormed out mid-meal—Lei Yijun held his ground.

Lei Yijun raised his glass, clinked it, and stared at the radiant Chen Yansen—only now did he understand what “youthful audacity” truly meant.

Unafraid of being isolated and boycotted by rivals, utterly confident in himself.

In Chen Yansen’s eyes, Lei Yijun saw not a trace of doubt or worry—as if he were certain the Orange Phone would sell out.

Meanwhile.

After a week of preheating, the Orange Phone finally launched its 1,999-yuan price simultaneously on Orange Mall and Fox Tao —users who clicked through from Fox Tao received cashback ranging from 10 to 80 yuan.

This had users already camped on Fox Tao ’s event page, refreshing furiously the moment 12 p.m. struck.

But many didn’t realize: the moment the purchase button lit up and redirected to Orange Mall, the 200 units were already sold out.

The quick-witted had already noticed: redirecting from Super Cashback to Orange Mall took 1–2 seconds—too long to waste for a few dozen yuan in cashback.

When he returned to the startup park, he learned only 37 of the 200 units had gone through Fox Tao ’s cashback link—sales totaled just 74,000 yuan.

But with only 200 units total, it was too early to judge effectiveness.

What he cared about was the pre-order link: from noon to 5 p.m., 81,000 units sold in five hours.

This proved the Orange Phone’s market test had succeeded!

Next step: collect user feedback from these two days.

“Hey! Chen Yansen, congrats! I saw the pre-order page—sales already hit 173,000!”

That night, Meng Jie called.

She’d wanted to stay on campus with Chen Yansen, but Meng Zhenguo forbade it; upon hearing the Orange Phone’s success, she couldn’t resist calling to congratulate him.

“Thanks, thanks. Are you doing okay at home?”

Chen Yansen asked, holding the phone casually.

“My dad got me an internship—life’s busy. A senior mentor’s teaching me budgeting…”

Meng Jie lay on her bed, wearing a loose pajama, chin resting on her arm, whispering softly.

This was the first time they’d been apart so long since becoming a couple.

She’d wanted to visit him on campus, but Meng Zhenguo stopped her: “Chen Yansen is now a billionaire. If you don’t study, your gap with him will only widen. I’ll find you a mentor—you’ll join Orange Tech’s finance department next semester. Otherwise, you two will break up.”

Meng Zhenguo was a man, and a seasoned one.

He knew exactly how many temptations a twenty-year-old like Chen Yansen faced daily.

To date a man, you either enter his life or his work—companionship is the core.

Meng Jie froze, abandoning the idea of going to campus.

Chen Yansen was too outstanding. Though she studied hard—top student, first-class scholarship—compared to his achievements, she was nothing.

She agreed with her father.

Since Chen Yansen was busy with work and learning, she’d join his company and stay by his side.

“Study hard—I’ll have Gao Da mentor you. He’s a finance graduate from Hong Kong Polytechnic, expert in commercial and corporate law… uh…”

Chen Yansen paused mid-sentence, sucked in a sharp breath.

“What’s wrong?”

Meng Jie, sensing something off, asked curiously.

“Nothing. When school resumes, report directly to the finance department.”

Chen Yansen ended the call abruptly.

“Chen Laoban treats his girlfriend so well—second-year student, already getting a Hong Kong finance director as a teacher.”

Beneath him, Song Yuncheng gripped little Chen Yansen, speaking with a sour tone.

“Not satisfied with me as your Master?” Chen Yansen smirked.

“Not satisfied! I want you to be my son, hahaha…”

Song Yuncheng wrapped her arms around Chen Yansen’s waist, cheeks flushed, teasing playfully.

“You’re a pervert! I had no idea you were this kind of person!” Chen Yansen said, disgusted.

“You’re not willing?” Song Yuncheng asked again.

“Slap! Slap! Slap!”

Chen Yansen gave him a few hard whacks, then warned: “Don’t even think about it in this life—you’d be lucky if you called me Dad!”

“Dream on!” Song Yuncheng rolled his eyes.

“Then it’s not up to you,” Chen Yansen chuckled, pulling Song Yuncheng under the covers to examine the newly bought glow-in-the-dark watch.

“Online, they say if it lasts too long, it’s a medical condition!”

After an unknown length of time, Song Yuncheng let out a long breath and spoke slowly.

“Nonsense! They’re just jealous!”

Chen Yansen immediately retorted.

On the other side.

Back at the company, Leiyi Army urgently convened a senior meeting to re-discuss the pricing of Xiaomi phones.

Oppo, Meizu, and Coolpad were doing similar things.

The business sections of the three major portal sites carried headlines like: “Is 1999 Yuan Worth It? A Disassembly Analysis of the Orange Phone!”, “The First Phone for Young People—The King of Cost-Performance: Orange Phone”, and “This Man Has Revolutionized Brand Sales in the Mobile Industry.”

Click in, and every article was about the Orange Phone and Chen Yansen.

The Huian Daily, Huian Youth Daily, and the First Time News Team also gave comprehensive coverage of the Orange Phone launch.

They even made a special trip to Chunshen to interview Chen Yansen’s high school homeroom teacher and subject instructors.

“I have a strong impression of Chen Yansen—he’s straightforward, warm-hearted, and always gets along well with his classmates.”

The Chinese teacher, adjusting his glasses in the video, offered a brief compliment.

After all, chasing a few classmates around while dragging a desk leg—how could that not count as getting along well?

Homeroom teacher Zhang Li smiled and said: “Chen Yansen is the most unconventional student I’ve ever taught.”

After all, which student would ever suggest his teacher become his stepmother? That’s not just unconventional—it’s downright shocking!

Suddenly, Chen Yansen’s fame surged across Chunshen and even throughout Huian Province, and the Orange Phone drew even more attention.

Apple, Shanxing, Huawei, and HTC all received the news and quietly began assessing the Orange Phone’s impact on themselves.

Beneath the rising tides, the Orange Phone single-handedly forced these phone manufacturers to adjust their pricing strategies for the domestic market.

Early the next morning, the top trending news related to Orange Technology became: “On launch day, pre-orders exceeded 200,000 units!”

(End of Chapter)