Chapter 92: Open Series A Funding, Launch Stock Option Plan (32k Subscription Request)

On the last night of 2010, at the Sky Garden Hotel.

In the rooftop banquet hall, eight tables of ten seats each were laid out, adorned with exquisitely prepared dishes: East Star grouper, Australian lobster, abalone, and fish maw, all cooked to perfection in color, aroma, and taste.

Each team from FoxTao had rehearsed short performances; after the main acts ended, the stage became a karaoke room, and since everyone was young, the atmosphere was lively.

Xu Xingxing slapped Wang Zihao on the shoulder and shouted, “Hao Ge, hasn’t Sen Ge arrived yet? The raffle’s about to start.”

Xiang Pengfei was singing “Love Even If Dead” at the top of his lungs on stage, his off-key voice making the audience frown in discomfort.

“Almost here—he left half an hour ago,” Wang Zihao shouted back.

Xu Xingxing nodded, thought for a moment, then stepped out of the banquet hall to go downstairs and pick up Chen Yansen.

“Muyan Jie, I toast you—thank you for your guidance these past months,” Wang Zihao raised his glass and smiled at Liu Muyan.

“I drove here, so I can only drink soda. Don’t mind, Zihao,” Liu Muyan smiled sweetly and clinked her glass with his.

She was only seven years older than Wang Zihao, and in essence, still young at heart; during her part-time stint at FoxTao, she grew increasingly close to everyone.

…

Chen Yansen had just parked when he saw Xu Xingxing hunched over, peering left and right outside the hotel lobby.

“What are you doing standing here?” Chen Yansen asked with a smile.

“Waiting for you! The raffle’s about to start—everyone’s waiting for you! Upstairs’s turned into a karaoke booth.” Xu Xingxing grabbed Chen Yansen’s sleeve and tugged him toward the stairs.

At that moment, Meng Jie also walked over.

“Sister-in-law!” Xu Xingxing blinked and immediately let go, stepping forward to link arms with Meng Jie, acting as if they were old friends.

Meng Jie nodded and greeted him.

“Didn’t I tell Zihao to hold the fort?” Chen Yansen shook his head, unable to resist complaining.

“Raffles need you to host—they only feel ceremonial when you do it. Everyone’s happy to wait,” Xu Xingxing grinned.

The three entered the elevator and rode straight to the hotel’s top floor. The banquet hall, aside from a dozen pillars, had glass walls five to six meters high on all sides, giving the illusion of being at the heart of the city.

No wonder the minimum spend was 68,000 yuan—the space was small, yet the decor was extravagantly luxurious.

As soon as Chen Yansen stepped in, he saw Xiang Pengfei sitting on a chair onstage singing. After hearing half a line, his face twisted in disgust.

This kid really doesn’t know how to behave.

Sitting up high, Xiang Pengfei spotted Chen Yansen at the door.

He cleared his throat and announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, give a round of applause for FoxTao’s most handsome man—shining onto the stage!”

The crowd followed Xiang Pengfei’s gesture and quickly spotted Chen Yansen.

Chen Yansen grinned, pointed at Xiang Pengfei, then strode confidently onto the stage and took the microphone.

“To bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, I believe FoxTao will be even more successful in 2011! Now, let Zihao draw the raffle tickets—I’ll go downstairs for a bite, eat up, and then surprise everyone.”

Chen Yansen spoke briefly, then handed the stage over to Wang Zihao.

He walked to his seat, clinked glasses with Cao Dahua, Wang Jing, and Liu Muyan, then slowly began picking at his food.

Wang Zihao sighed, reluctantly stepped to center stage, and started drawing prizes from third place onward, occasionally mispronouncing names for comedic effect, making everyone burst into laughter.

Over an hour later, all prizes were drawn—those lucky enough won phones; the unlucky still got 1,000-yuan shopping cards.

Chen Yansen returned to the stage and smiled: “Two announcements. First, to make everyone’s night more fun, we’re adding ten more 10,000-yuan prizes—drawing in three minutes. Second, I’m launching FoxTao’s Series A funding round. All staff will receive stock options with an exercise price of 0.01 yuan.”

Ten thousand yuan prizes?

Stock options?

Among those present, aside from a few, most had no idea what stock options were.

“Wang Laoshi, what exactly are stock options?” Xu Xingxing leaned over to Wang Jing, curious.

“Simply put, they’re IOUs redeemable in the future. When FoxTao goes public or launches a buyback plan, these options can be exchanged for cash—but the exact quantity and value? Only Chen Zong knows.”

Wang Jing explained slowly, thoughtfully.

Hearing this, those around them suddenly understood—it was money, that’s all that mattered.

Knowing Chen Yansen, if he announced it at the annual party, these options must be valuable.

Instantly, cheers erupted, and someone even whistled.

Chen Yansen wasted no time—he drew ten names on the spot, each receiving 10,000 yuan in cash.

On his panel, the “Human Torch” flame count instantly rose by twenty-nine.

After stepping down, Chen Yansen ate while watching the chaos on stage.

Several team leaders were dragged onstage one by one to sing.

Song Yuncheng, FoxTao’s first employee, was no exception—she had previously led the design, operations, and customer service teams. As soon as she stepped up, applause rang out continuously.

Song Yuncheng had met Ma Wenteng and Zhang Yong, but this crowd of college students made her blush furiously. Holding the mic, she softly sang Liang Jingru’s “Courage.”

Looking down at Chen Yansen and Meng Jie, Song Yuncheng finally came to her senses—her eyes slowly filled with tears.

In just a few minutes, her emotions shifted from ache and pain to numbness.

When she looked up again at Chen Yansen, the warmth in her eyes had vanished.

Midway through the song, Chen Yansen saw Zhang Wenbo running over in panic. Before he could ask, Zhang blurted: “Sen Ge, Zihao’s fighting someone outside!”

Fighting?

Had this kid had too much to drink?

Chen Yansen didn’t pause—he called out to Xiang Pengfei, Zhang Yifeng, and six or seven other guys and rushed outside.

Outside the banquet hall, near the restroom, he saw Wang Zihao gripping a man’s collar, both men tangled on the ground, Wang Zihao about to swing a punch.

Liu Muyan and a long-haired woman were trying to pull them apart.

“Haozi, stop!” Chen Yansen shouted.

Since college, Chen Yansen rarely called him that—Wang Zihao was FoxTao’s placement team lead; using his nickname publicly would embarrass him.

Hearing the familiar voice, Wang Zihao slowly calmed down.

“What happened?” Chen Yansen stepped forward, pulling Wang Zihao up.

“I—” Wang Zihao glanced at Liu Muyan, then swallowed his words.

“You all go back. I’ll handle this.” Chen Yansen glanced at the man pinned under Wang Zihao—he was thin, and no crowd was needed to deal with him.

Xiang Pengfei and Zhang Yifeng exchanged glances, unsure of the situation, but turned and walked back, saying, “Sen Ge, call us if you need us.”

Once they were gone, Wang Zihao whispered: “This asshole is Muyan Jie’s fiancé. He told her he was working late at the office, but brought another woman to a private room for dinner—she caught them red-handed.”

Chen Yansen nodded slightly, thinking: How clichéd.

He looked at Liu Muyan—she stood motionless, pale-faced, coldly staring at the man on the ground.

“Zhou Yuwen, who is she?” Liu Muyan steadied herself and demanded coldly.

“You saw it yourself—why ask? Are you stupid?” Zhou Yuwen laughed carelessly, got up, calmly straightened his shirt, and brushed off the dust.

“I want you to say it out loud,” Liu Muyan said, her face ashen, lips bitten.

“She’s my girlfriend. You’re my fiancée. Any other questions?” Zhou Yuwen glanced at Chen Yansen and Wang Zihao, speaking arrogantly.

Tears spilled from Liu Muyan’s eyes—she never imagined the man she’d grown up with, the one she’d even become engaged to, would betray her.

Chen Yansen stayed silent, watching with detached interest—he sensed a kindred spirit in Zhou Yuwen.

“Zhou Yuwen, we’re done!” Liu Muyan broke down, crouched on the floor, and wept loudly.

“Oh, then it’s done,” Zhou Yuwen laughed without a care, then linked arms with the long-haired woman and walked into the private room.

Seeing this, Wang Zihao lunged after him.

Chen Yansen grabbed him and pointed at the weeping Liu Muyan.

Wang Zihao deflated, stood there helplessly. After a long moment, he remembered to pull out a handkerchief and handed it to Liu Muyan.

Chen Yansen narrowed his eyes and strolled slowly back to the banquet hall.

…

…

Shenzhen, Tencent HQ.

“You’re saying a ten-million-yuan investment two months ago is now worth one billion?” Ma Huateng asked Liu Zhiping across from him.

“It might be even more. I heard SIG Asia Venture Capital and Rakuten are urgently evaluating FoxTao’s profit model—valuation could hit 300 million U.S. dollars,” Liu Zhiping adjusted his glasses and smiled faintly.

“Could it really be true, as this kid claims, that we lack e-commerce DNA? He turned such a lousy niche—product recommendation—into a top-tier business. What if we let him take over Paipai?”

Ma Huateng’s voice lowered, ending with a sigh.

He was smart—he knew full well that a young man as ambitious as Chen Yansen would never submit to anyone.

How many precedents had he broken to get Zhang Xiaolong to join Tencent?

Would he have to break more?

From their last interaction, Chen Yansen’s conviction seemed even stronger than Zhang Xiaolong’s.

“Hard,” Liu Zhiping chuckled, shaking his head. “If he wanted to join Tencent, he wouldn’t have turned down Zheng Chunbin’s offer.”

“That ten million wasn’t invested in FoxTao as a project—it was invested in him. The proof? My investment succeeded. But how do I get a return?”

Ma Huateng fixed his gaze on his old friend, waiting for an answer.

“Give him the same treatment as Zhang Xiaolong?” Liu Zhiping ventured.

“Go personally to FoxTao’s Series A funding round. Tell Chen Yansen—if he helps Tencent improve its e-commerce division, I’ll offer him a 30-million-yuan annual salary and 200 million yuan in stock options.”

Ma Huateng paused, then decisively nodded.

Chen Yansen’s earlier words had initially slipped past him, but once FoxTao’s valuation broke the one-billion-yuan mark, he began to take notice, mulling it over.

A man with no power or influence—even if he speaks truth—won’t be believed. But once he holds power, even his farts are called fragrant.

That was exactly Ma Huateng’s mindset.

“Alright,” Liu Zhiping didn’t refuse—he too was curious how this young man had taken a new project from zero to tens of millions of users.

Every step the opponent took was perfectly precise; this level of accuracy was chilling.

“Miliang is already online. How much more does Zhang Xiaolong need?” After speaking with Chen Yansen, Ma Wenteng asked again.

“Xiaolong says the details still need polishing,” Liu Zhiping frowned, understanding Ma Huateng’s urgency.

“Give him half a month—must be online!” Ma Huateng’s gaze was sharp, his tone serious.

WeChat was Tencent’s next Tier-0 communication app, but Miliang had beaten it to market, leaving him deeply displeased and out of patience.

What details? As long as it works!

(End of Chapter)