Chapter 366: Pei Yi: The First Battle to Take Down Meituan

In a refined, luxurious private room at the Jingzhao Yin.

Zhou Hongyi drained his wine glass in one gulp, adopting an extremely humble posture.

Although he was twenty-two years older than Chen Yansen and had entered the industry twelve years earlier, he dared not claim the status of a senior businessman.

He knew full well that Chen Yansen was even more petty than himself, and moreover, 360 Mobile could not do without Orange Tech’s patent licenses, supply chain, and manufacturing services.

He invited Chen Yansen to dinner both to express gratitude and to deepen their cooperative relationship.

So when Chen Yansen mentioned AuroraFutureOS, Zhou Hongyi immediately patted his chest and promised: the 360 Security Guard, browser, and antivirus software would all develop versions for AFOS, and when the 360 N2 launched, they would be rolled out together.

“Thanks.” Chen Yansen smiled faintly.

Jia Yaoting, sitting beside him, also understood and quickly chimed in: “Mr. Chen, LeTV Web is also willing to support Orange Tech’s system promotion efforts.”

Unprovoked kindness always hides an agenda!

Chen Yansen smiled but did not refuse, raising his wine glass and asking: “I hear LeTV plans to enter the smart TV market?”

“Yes, Mr. Chen. I intend to integrate our cloud video platform with smart TVs, connecting platforms, content, hardware, software, and application ecosystems—all while making profits from software services, not hardware.”

Jia Yaoting spoke honestly.

His ambitions were large, but the capital market had little confidence in LeTV.

After announcing the plan, LeTV Web’s stock price plummeted from 27 yuan to 13.5 yuan—halved in one go.

In other words, the LeTV Super TV project must succeed; failure would cause further price drops, while success would trigger a massive surge.

Chen Yansen nodded slightly but offered no opinion.

The prospects for smart TVs were limited; the national annual consumption ceiling was only 40 million units, and over a decade later, it would dip below 30 million.

Phone screens kept growing larger, becoming more functional and entertaining, and with the rise of long-form and short-form video, who still watched TV?

“Mr. Chen, I’d like to join Pinbei Mall,” Jia Yaoting said bluntly, seeing Chen Yansen’s silence.

Perhaps fearing project failure, he had already begun building sales channels before LeTV Super TV’s R&D was even complete.

“No problem. Yuncheng, give Mr. Jia your business card.”

Chen Yansen waved to Song Yuncheng and added casually: “Mr. Jia, this is Pinbei’s Senior Client Acquisition Manager. Have your staff contact her directly.”

“Understood, thank you,” Jia Yaoting replied immediately.

He glanced at Zhou Hongyi, then at Chen Yansen, and swallowed the words he had been about to say.

Chen Yansen noticed Jia Yaoting’s subtle gesture, paused for a few seconds, and guessed his hidden motive.

It was mere greed—seeing 360 Mobile’s success, he now wanted to enter the smartphone market too.

But he didn’t care; whether LeTV Phone or 360 Mobile, both could become part of the AuroraFutureOS ecosystem—he had no reason to shut the door.

The banquet lasted over two hours.

Chen Yansen stepped out of the Jingzhao Yin, got into the back seat of the car, but didn’t tell Xiao Li to drive straight back to the hotel. Instead, he leaned back and waited calmly.

Sure enough, shortly after, Jia Yaoting confirmed Zhou Hongyi had left in his car, then tapped on Chen Yansen’s window.

“Mr. Chen, shall we move somewhere else?” Jia Yaoting smiled broadly.

“No need to go anywhere. Let’s stay here,” Chen Yansen said, not wanting to waste time, and returned with Jia Yaoting to the private room.

“Sorry, Mr. Chen. Earlier, with Mr. Zhou present, I couldn’t speak plainly—I’m also very interested in the mobile phone industry.”

Jia Yaoting said with a sly grin.

“Orange Tech already has a mature cooperation model for internet-specific phones—from the OS to the supply chain to manufacturing—all services are available for purchase.”

Chen Yansen spoke slowly.

He thought: you’re not just interested in phones and TVs—you’re interested in cars too.

“What about LeTV?” Jia Yaoting probed.

“Of course, that’s fine too,” Chen Yansen replied readily.

For partners like 360, NetEase, and LeTV, Orange Tech made profits not only from hardware margins but also from patent licensing fees—the more, the better.

Jia Yaoting’s lips curled slightly, his joy impossible to hide—he hadn’t expected Chen Yansen to be so accommodating.

Orange Tech was truly unlike any other phone manufacturer!

After clarifying the specific cooperation details, Jia Yaoting personally saw Chen Yansen off to his car and watched him drive away.

He had already decided: quickly assemble a LeTV Phone R&D team. All they needed to do was develop LeTV apps and handle industrial and hardware design—the rest could be outsourced to Orange Tech.

“Boss, what do they want?” the assistant asked, puzzled.

“He wants to be China’s Google,” Jia Yaoting summed up simply.

On the other side.

The Maybach sped through the night, crossing the elevated highway toward the hotel.

Chen Yansen tilted his head, resting in Song Yuncheng’s arms, feeling soft and incredibly comfortable.

Xiao Li stared straight ahead, focused entirely on driving.

Song Yuncheng’s cheeks flushed slightly; she feigned a little struggle, but seeing she couldn’t resist Chen Yansen, she simply held him close, massaging his temples like soothing a child.

Soon, the car entered the Bulgari Hotel parking lot.

By then, Beijing’s night was deep, and snowflakes like willow catkins drifted from the sky.

Song Yuncheng pulled her head in, instinctively leaning into Mr. Chen’s arms—she always felt that no matter how many layers Chen Yansen wore, his body was always like a furnace, warm all day long.

Through the lobby, they took the elevator straight to the top floor. Song Yuncheng walked, licking her lips.

The northern climate was too dry, especially in winter—after a gust of wind, your mouth would dry out, and within days, your lips would peel.

“We’re returning to Xucheng tomorrow,” Chen Yansen said softly, noticing this detail.

“Don’t we need to visit ByteDance and Gaode Map headquarters?” Song Yuncheng asked.

“No,” Chen Yansen pulled out his room card, swiped it open, and stepped inside.

Zhang Yiming and Xiao Jun’s management abilities far exceeded his expectations.

He only cared about performance and results.

As long as subordinates didn’t sabotage him behind his back, he could tolerate many of their minor flaws.

After all, no one is perfect, no gold is pure.

As long as they helped him make money and ran the company smoothly, that was enough.

Song Yuncheng murmured an “Mm,” following behind Chen Yansen.

As soon as they entered the room, warm air hit them—the northern heating system was powerful.

Song Yuncheng took off her coat, revealing a beige inner layer that outlined her figure perfectly.

Chen Yansen undressed far faster than her—in the blink of an eye, he was down to just a pair of briefs.

Broad shoulders, narrow waist, muscles clearly defined.

Though she’d seen it countless times, Song Yuncheng still couldn’t help stealing another glance.

“Want a beer?” Chen Yansen opened the fridge and turned to ask.

“One will do,” Song Yuncheng held up one finger.

Chen Yansen took out two cans, handed one to her, and they sat beside the sofa, sipping slowly.

“Aren’t you going home for Spring Festival?” Song Yuncheng asked cautiously.

“Mm,” Chen Yansen gazed out the window, his eyes distant.

“Did you have a fight with Uncle Chen?” Song Yuncheng asked again.

“No,” Chen Yansen replied.

“Then why not go home for the holiday?” Song Yuncheng asked curiously.

“Old Chen only cares about his wife. Whether I go home or not makes no difference,” Chen Yansen said coolly.

In his past life, since starting work, he’d returned home only a handful of times, and they’d never had more than a few words to say.

“Then I’ll stay with you,” Song Yuncheng whispered, her gaze toward Chen Yansen tinged with pity.

Others didn’t know, but she knew Chen Yansen had troubles he couldn’t solve.

“You? No way! Your cooking’s terrible—I can’t eat it,” Chen Yansen refused outright.

“...” Song Yuncheng froze, her pity vanishing instantly—she thought: damn Chen Yansen, deserves to eat takeout.

…

…

The next morning, Chen Yansen returned to Xucheng.

Meanwhile.

Today’s Headlines, Penguin, Sohu, NetEase, and other portals all displayed negative reports about Meituan Waimai on their homepages.

“Shocking! Food prep areas filthy and chaotic—dishes on the floor, next to the public toilet—delivery rider exposes it all!”

“Just how dirty is our takeout?”

“No physical store, filthy environment! Meituan Waimai flooded with ghost restaurants!”

Click any link, and you’d be greeted with dozens of high-definition photos of revolting food—making you lose your appetite for days.

To crush Meituan, Pei Yi had prepared for three months—this media assault was only the first wave.

In just half an hour, Meituan Waimai surged to trending top—its first time ever.

“That delivery rider is finished! His account will be banned tomorrow!”

“Looks clean to me—I’ve seen dirtier places.”

“You’re a foreigner, right? Did you come to China for tourism?”

“My brother started delivering last month—he told us to stop ordering takeout. He saw a vendor washing trays in the toilet, then placing the clean ones on the trash bin.”

“I’m sick! Takeout is this dirty?!”

“Could Kuai Pao Waimai be like this too?”

The comment section was filled with netizens’ discussions, and the market supervision association’s complaint hotline had been overwhelmed.

On the other side.

Wang Huiwen rushed into the office, her face grim, and said, “Xin Ge, this is trouble!”

(End of chapter)