Chapter 36: Take a Chance (Combined)

Song Yufeng also came up through student life.

He knew the innocence and naivety of college students, and during the past year and more since joining NetEase, he had grown a great deal himself, often sighing at how harsh society and the workplace could be on certain nights.

Yet, he had just conducted an interview—still unpublished—and his internal colleagues were already eager to jump into innovation.

This situation truly left Song Yufeng unable to accept it.

Even if you waited three or six months…

If they pulled this off, how could he face his interview subjects?

The more enthusiastic Yu Xing was, the heavier Song Yufeng’s heart grew; as they drank and chatted, his already poor tolerance for alcohol gradually robbed him of consciousness, and when he woke again, it was deep night in his own bed.

Song Yufeng sat up groggily, turned on the bedside lamp, and his girlfriend beside him stirred awake in drowsiness.

“How did I get home? How did I get back?” Song Yufeng drank half a glass of water and felt somewhat clearer.

“Your brother brought you back,” his girlfriend Yin Baoyi mumbled.

Song Yufeng froze: “Which brother?”

“The one who runs a company,” Yin Baoyi rubbed her eyes, rolled over, “Yu Xing—you came home arm in arm, and you even said you’d look out for him.”

Song Yufeng fell silent. Alcohol was best avoided.

Yin Baoyi yawned: “Is his company reliable? Can it make money?”

Song Yufeng sighed and offered his best wish: “Reliable. Can make money.”

Yin Baoyi mumbled something, pulled the thin air-conditioning blanket tighter, and fell back asleep.

Song Yufeng didn’t know what he’d talked about while drunk with Yu Xing, but it was probably just bragging and sharing industry gossip—nothing more, at most… at most revealing the early signs of collaborative innovation in NetEase’s dating service.

If that was the case…

Song Yufeng drank another sip of water, thought for a moment, and decided even if he’d told Yu Xing, it wouldn’t matter—he was just a lowly staffer; could he control what other teams inside the company did?

It was others who saw opportunity in the situation; he could only do his own job.

As Yu Xing himself said, once the project was built, others would notice—NetEase’s dating team might not learn about it from him, but they’d still spot competing products on the market!

Song Yufeng felt much lighter, got up, went to the bathroom, and quickly returned to bed to sleep.

He had to work tomorrow; no matter what, that enthusiastic, naive college student was just a fleeting visitor in his work life.

Perhaps the alcohol had liberated his mind—Song Yufeng wrote the next day with astonishing fluency, quickly finishing two news articles, then after hesitation, followed Yu Xing’s request and changed the marriage probability in the earlier draft to 14.8%, submitting it as the final version.

That’s it. Whatever happens after this has nothing to do with me.

Song Yufeng pushed aside distractions and refocused on work, confirming he’d need to travel again in two days.

He spent the whole day busy, narrowly avoiding overtime, and left on time with his backpack.

But when he got home, Song Yufeng noticed something odd—his girlfriend wasn’t home, whereas she usually had dinner ready by this hour.

“Went grocery shopping?”

Song Yufeng called her; after it connected, he heard her say she was almost home.

He watched TV for a while, then waited for Yin Baoyi to return—and the moment he saw her, he was stunned by the joy written plainly on her face.

“Got an offer?” Song Yufeng blurted out. His girlfriend studied computer science but was overly ambitious; after the New Year, she quit her job and still hadn’t landed a new one.

Yin Baoyi glanced at him, puzzled, then said eagerly: “Yes! Let’s go out to eat—I’m treating you today.”

Song Yufeng smiled too, standing up as he asked: “What company? The one you applied to last week?”

Yin Baoyi answered vaguely: “Guai Ai Wang.”

Song Yufeng’s expression froze, eyes wide: “What? Guai Ai Wang? Yu Xing’s Guai Ai Wang??”

“Yes, didn’t you introduce me yesterday?” Yin Baoyi said, confused. “What’s wrong?”

Song Yufeng felt a wave of absurdity, laughed bitterly: “I introduced you? I was drunk yesterday! You’re something else! Guai Ai Wang doesn’t even have an office!”

Yin Baoyi countered: “How do you mean it doesn’t?”

“Yu Xing just arrived in Shanghai yesterday—his company has no office!” Song Yufeng vaguely remembered discussing this before passing out—the college team was new to Shanghai and had to start from scratch.

Yin Baoyi insisted: “It has one now! I rented the office with them today!”

Song Yufeng: “…”

He laughed bitterly at his girlfriend’s determined expression.

“What’s the difference?” Song Yufeng asked twice, “What’s the difference??”

“Of course there’s a difference—they’re serious about running a company,” Yin Baoyi said earnestly. “Yesterday you begged him, crying and pleading for a job opportunity for me. I asked you again at midnight, and you said it was reliable—that’s why I went today! What’s wrong with you?!”

Song Yufeng felt the room spin—what the hell had he done after getting drunk last night?!

He stared, speechless, wanting to mention the company’s internal innovation but held back, saying nothing, pulling out his phone and dialing Yu Xing directly.

Yin Baoyi, halfway through changing clothes, heard the commotion outside and her anger began to rise.

Song Yufeng, furious, dialed and before he could speak, heard a cheerful voice on the other end.

“Hey, Brother Feng,” Yu Xing greeted.

“Yu Xing!” Song Yufeng’s voice was low and stern. “What’s going on with Yin Baoyi? Why did you hire her?!”

Yu Xing sounded confused: “What do you mean? Your sister-in-law is excellent—perfect for our company.”

“Do you think I don’t know whether she’s excellent?!” Song Yufeng snapped. “Your company… you, why did you hire her?!”

Yin Baoyi, still changing clothes in the room, heard the noise outside and her fury climbed higher.

Yu Xing’s tone turned chilly: “Brother Feng, I’m really confused—you were the one crying and begging in front of your sister-in-law yesterday, demanding a job opportunity for her! Now what’s this? What kind of person are you?!”

“I cried and begged?” Song Yufeng was stunned. “I… I…”

“Don’t believe me? Ask your sister-in-law yourself!” Yu Xing hung up abruptly. “I’m busy. Gotta go.”

Song Yufeng held the phone, momentarily lost.

Yin Baoyi stormed out, fully dressed: “Song, what’s your problem?!”

“I… I was drunk yesterday!” Song Yufeng took a breath. “No, his company really isn’t viable—it’s just a grassroots startup! They barely have any business! What salary can they even offer you?!”

Yin Baoyi replied coldly: “They’re offering equity. Can you get equity at NetEase?”

Equity?

Song Yufeng froze: “Equity… if the company fails, equity is just paper!”

At this point, he could no longer hold back—he laid out everything about the company’s internal innovation, hoping to convince his girlfriend.

“So before you changed the probability, your company already thought this business was viable?” Yin Baoyi heard a different angle and dismissed it: “That deputy director said he’d research it too, but big companies have so many procedures—there’s no guarantee they’ll ever launch it. Why are you so worried?”

Song Yufeng had no words left.

“Besides, the probability’s already been changed—the opportunity is right in front of you. If you don’t take a chance, how will you make money?” Yin Baoyi pointed at him. “If you don’t take a chance, how will we stay in Shanghai?”

Yin Baoyi stepped forward, raising her voice: “Who else? You? Your family? Or mine?”

Song Yufeng’s heart burned—he cursed under his breath and shouted: “Who? Who do you mean? It can’t be Yu Xing!”

“Forget all that—market size is huge. Even if NetEase does launch it, can they eat all the meat?” Yin Baoyi was already obsessed with equity. “If not now, when?!”

Song Yufeng sat back on the sofa, hands gripping his head: “I give up.”

“You just don’t trust me, right?” Yin Baoyi spoke slowly, each word deliberate. “Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west.”

She slammed the door and went out to eat alone.

Song Yufeng slumped on the sofa, in agony—alcohol ruined everything! Drunkenness ruined everything!

This one binge got his girlfriend sucked in!

Song Yufeng made a decision in his heart: from today on, he would quit drinking.

Yet as he sat on the sofa, his emotions slowly calmed—he had to admit, his girlfriend had a point; his own company wasn’t necessarily going to enter this space.

Deputy Director Ying Jiadong might have just been momentarily interested—there was no guarantee he’d push his department to launch this new business.

If that’s true, could Guai Ai Wang actually succeed?

At this moment, Song Yufeng refrained from making any judgment—he wasn’t a professional.

As for his girlfriend’s job…

If the company failed, it’d just be a waste of three or six months…

But if it actually succeeded…

Song Yufeng rubbed his face, still feeling it was too uncertain.

At eight p.m., as Song Yufeng ate instant noodles, he heard the door open—and turned to see his girlfriend carrying takeout food, stomping over, slamming the dishes on the table, saying nothing, then walking straight into the bedroom.

“Thank you—I knew my baby loves me the most!” Song Yufeng softened his tone.

“Just eat!” came Yin Baoyi’s irritated voice from inside.

The couple’s brief quarrel faded quickly.

After their post-dinner walk, the conflict vanished completely, and Song Yufeng calmly explained his views on the company and the backstory of the internal innovation.

Yin Baoyi leaned on his arm, critically thoughtful: “That deputy director of yours is really a piece of work! Starting a business is so hard!”

“You… are you actually a shareholder now?” Song Yufeng chuckled bitterly. “Let’s just find a steady job, save money slowly—if all else fails, we can move to another city.”

“No. I want to stay here,” Yin Baoyi insisted stubbornly.

Song Yufeng fell silent.

After a moment, he softly asked: “What do you think of Yu Xing?”

“He says what he means—no hiding or pretending,” Yin Baoyi replied. “We haven’t known each other long, but I think he’s sincere.”

Song Yufeng sighed: “I’m afraid he’s too sincere. The world is treacherous.”

He thought and reconsidered, sensing his girlfriend’s resolve, and finally conceded: “Fine, let’s try it. I’ll look into it more—maybe Ying Jiadong has already lost interest.”

The bedroom light went out.

Yin Baoyi fell asleep quickly.

In the darkness, Song Yufeng tossed and turned, long before slowly closing his eyes.

Alas, the martial world is treacherous, Xiao Yu; don’t be too sincere.

…

After arriving in Shencheng, Yu Xing’s business rollout moved quickly.

Within three days, he hired seven interns, one programmer, rented two small offices, and prepared all necessary materials—none could call it anything but efficient.

This success began with his choice of accommodation: the Sixth Phase Apartments already housed many students seeking jobs, and the replicated Jinling experience had proven especially effective.

Second… Yu Xing hadn’t expected Song Yufeng’s drinking capacity to be as poor as he claimed—this mutual trust netted him another programmer and planted half a nail in NetEase’s foundation, a welcome surprise.

Hmm, this journalist might still prove highly useful.

Lastly, neither the company nor its operations were complex; everyone grasped them swiftly.

On the afternoon of the third day, Guai Ai Net officially launched its first business in Shencheng’s Songjiang University Town, targeting East China University of Political Science and Law.

“Why start here?” Feng Zongze asked, puzzled.

Yu Xing gave his reason: “Because they understand law.”

As expected, as a law university, when the social survey was set up, Yu Xing first faced student doubts about the legality of the operation.

“Why isn’t it legal? Classmates, whether our contract is valid, whether it complies with civil legal acts, depends on three conditions…”

“The parties must have the corresponding civil capacity, their intentions must be genuine, and they must not violate mandatory provisions of laws or administrative regulations or contravene public order and good customs.”

“Whether you or we, don’t we all have the capacity? Is there any hidden clause in the contract? What mandatory rule have we broken?”

“We’re conducting a social survey to verify the probability of love and marriage, tracking data long-term; the high-value wedding gifts are meant to celebrate love—where does this violate public order and good customs?”

Second, Yu Xing faced skepticism over whether he could ultimately fulfill the contracts—whether he had the capacity to deliver.

He explained: “Classmates, we’re conducting large-scale social surveys. Once we gather sufficient data from different regions, we’ll stop accepting new orders, reduce team size, and lower operating costs. Also, because we’ve accumulated enough orders, we can negotiate lower prices with rose suppliers—further reducing costs.”

“How much do you pay for a single rose? Several yuan.”

“How much do we pay for thousands of roses? One yuan—or even a few jiao.”

“Funding and operations aren’t concerns—unless we run off with the money.”

As Yu Xing said this, he heard skepticism rising around him.

Someone shouted loudly: “Yeah, what if you run off with the money?”

Yu Xing turned toward the voice and replied wryly: “Then that’s perfect—wouldn’t your running off be your chance to shine?”

The crowd consisted of students majoring in criminology, public security, law, and similar fields; they burst into laughter at this reply.

Seizing the moment, Yu Xing shouted loudly: “No coercion, no concealment, full support for seven-day no-questions-asked refunds!”

That entire afternoon, Guai Ai Net’s debut in Shencheng achieved real results.

The next day, operations became simpler: they set up stalls at the Foreign Languages University, where similar doubts arose.

This time, Yu Xing didn’t bother with lengthy explanations—he simply pulled out yesterday’s orders and said lightly: “Students from East China University of Political Science and Law already placed orders and confirmed everything’s fine—what are you worried about?”

The doubts vanished.

The staff were convinced.