Chapter 42: NetEase Approaches (Combined)

Song Yufeng returned home with a complicated mood.

The first thing he said to his girlfriend was—“We’re done, your company’s going bankrupt!”

“Your company’s the one going bankrupt!” Yin Baoyi laughed. “My company is thriving!”

As she spoke, she shifted her attention from the TV to her boyfriend’s face and only then realized something was off—his expression was grim.

Yin Baoyi frowned and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Song Yufeng recounted everything he’d encountered while working late—the matchmaking team at NetEase had actually taken interest in the dating contract project!

After listening, Yin Baoyi sat stunned for a moment, then regretted, “Oh no, I should’ve quoted Yu Xing 100,000 last time!”

Song Yufeng was startled—his girlfriend’s first reaction was this?

He sat down on the sofa.

“So what should I do now? Quit?” Yin Baoyi mused. “What about Yu Xing’s equity offer? Can I cash it out? The contract I signed has a time limit, doesn’t it?”

She had no emotional attachment to Guiai.com—she’d worked there less than a month, so the words “loyalty” or “commitment” didn’t apply.

Song Yufeng said nothing.

After thinking a while, Yin Baoyi added, “Don’t quit. I can keep working at Guiai.com while looking for another job. Even if NetEase launches something similar, Guiai.com won’t collapse overnight. What if they keep investing in online marketing? If Yu Xing invests again, he’ll still need us!”

Song Yufeng hesitated: “But…”

“What ‘but’? You’re such a pushover!” Yin Baoyi snapped, seeing her boyfriend was unhappy. “They gave you transportation money, and you went and placed another order! You didn’t copy their project—were you the head of the matchmaking team? Did you make the final call? Why are you feeling guilty? Always worrying about this and that!”

Song Yufeng smiled bitterly, spread his hands, and fell silent.

“What do you think I should do now?” Yin Baoyi threw the question back at him.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Song Yufeng offered advice: “Just quit. Get a new job. Clean break. Avoid more trouble. Equity or not—you already got the marketing fee last time.”

Guiai.com had paid 45,000 last time; after expenses, he’d pocketed 32,000—already more than a few months’ salary.

Listening to her boyfriend’s voice, Yin Baoyi weighed it again and again, then shook her head: “Guiai.com won’t collapse immediately. This month’s revenue will be at least a million. The more NetEase copies the project, the more Guiai.com will need marketing.”

“The last marketing campaign still needs boosting,” Song Yufeng considered. “Anyway, I work for NetEase—I interviewed Yu Xing. Now NetEase is launching the same project… I’m just afraid it’ll cause trouble.”

Yin Baoyi dismissed it: “What trouble? They’re just a bunch of college kids. If anything happens, it’ll be aimed at your company—not some junior reporter like you. I don’t think Yu Xing’s hard to deal with. I’m not quitting. That’s final.”

Song Yufeng rubbed his face, sighed silently. Sure, he could make money—but his mind felt unsettled.

He lowered his hand and watched his girlfriend resume watching TV. A thought surfaced: he hadn’t been in the industry long enough. Time would fix it.

…

The effects of online marketing take time to show, and they directly reflect in Guiai.com’s website traffic.

On the 13th, just over a thousand users inquired; on the 14th, the numbers surged—daily users neared two thousand. But due to low conversion rates, only fourteen orders were completed.

Two days, twenty-two orders, revenue of 6,578 yuan.

By the 15th, the morning’s online traffic remained steady compared to yesterday.

Yu Xing didn’t hide the online order figures and kept interacting with the alternate shareholder, Yin Baoyi.

“If this keeps up, half a month’s revenue will cover the marketing cost,” Yin Baoyi calculated during lunch. “In a month, revenue will be double the marketing cost! We definitely need to keep promoting online!”

Yu Xing smiled and said, “Online marketing follows a curve—it rises, then declines. Half a month won’t recoup the marketing expenses.”

Yin Baoyi instinctively avoided her boss’s gaze and offered a weak defense: “But we won’t lose anyway—we’ve built brand awareness.”

“That’s not awareness yet,” Yu Xing chuckled. “We need one big push.”

Yin Baoyi looked up again: “A big push? How much money would that take?”

Yu Xing shrugged, not answering.

He smiled at the alternate shareholder, then called over the two new programmers who’d just joined, and left the small office for his outdoor stall under the blazing sun.

Business in Shanghai was expanding rapidly—not limited to Songjiang University Town. The methods were similar, but Shanghai remained the market’s anchor, absorbing and splitting existing customer flows.

Just past noon, the weather was still scorching, and foot traffic was naturally low.

Yu Xing didn’t force employees to stand guard or cold-call clients. He carried chilled drinks, found staff cooling off in the shade of lecture halls, chatted with them, then moved to the next stall. By the time he’d covered all seven stalls in the university town, he was drenched in sweat.

“Smoke?”

Yu Xing sat on the steps of the School of Economics and Trade, pulled out a cigarette, and asked the intern, Xin Zongjian, who’d been with the company only a short while.

Xin Zongjian shyly shook his head, declining his boss’s offer.

Yu Xing smoked half a cigarette, watching the scorching sunlight spill across the ground, his mind drifting back to his lunch conversation with the alternate shareholder.

He felt something was off—Yin Baoyi’s tone and demeanor these past two days seemed… strange.

How to describe it…

Like back in school, thinking you were being sneaky with some little habit at your desk, only to realize later, standing at the front of the class, that everyone below could see it perfectly.

Was NetEase making moves? Or was the alternate shareholder anxious about the marketing results?

Yu Xing held the cigarette between his lips, slowly organizing his thoughts.

Whether from his own judgment or discussions with Yingjie, NetEase was willing to experiment—but their efforts were half-hearted, and their impatience and anxiety were inevitable.

Yu Xing crushed the cigarette, pulled out his phone, considered calling Liu Wanying again, hesitated two seconds, then switched to a text.

He thought of their last exchange and carefully composed: “Total plan: sell the company. Core strategy: recruit couples as counterweights. Nerve network: empower team leaders. Flesh and blood: unstable interns. Man, this startup is too hot—I swear I’ll never start a company in summer again!”

Moments later, Liu Wanying replied: “Total plan: praise love. Strategy: let couples mutually motivate. Use talent without constraints. Trust college students’ purity and passion. If you don’t succeed with this, who will?”

Then a second message followed: “If you successfully sell this company, what will you do next?”

Yu Xing stared at his screen, lit a second cigarette, and thought: I haven’t seriously considered it. Lately I’ve been burning every last neuron—I’ve given everything. If the company sells, fine. If not, I’ll go grow grapes.

Liu Wanying replied with a question mark: ?

Yu Xing replied seriously: My uncle grows grapes. Japan has a great variety—I could import it. I haven’t done deep research, but a little hype could raise the price and turn a profit.

Liu Wanying admitted: “That’s outside my knowledge. Tonight I’m going to eat mushrooms. I heard Yunnan mushrooms are delicious this season.”

In July, much of Yunnan enters the rainy season, perfect for wild mushroom growth—the ideal time to savor them.

Yu Xing gave serious advice: “Make sure they’re cooked through. Pick a restaurant close to a hospital!”

He waited, but no reply came—he didn’t know if Yingjie was busy with work.

On the other end, Liu Wanying was indeed busy. In her office, she took the documents handed to her by colleague Su Jiayi. She’d barely flipped through two pages when an unrelated question came.

“Yingjie, why are you smiling?”

Liu Wanying looked up, puzzled. “I smiled?”

Su Jiayi confirmed: “Yes—your lips were curled. What’s so funny?”

Liu Wanying brushed her lips, glanced outside at the bright sun: “I just thought—same heat, same sun. The sunlight here is also shining on the flowers at home. That made me happy.”

Su Jiayi frowned. “Did you plant some wildflowers at home?”

Liu Wanying rolled her eyes. “Get back to work. Tomorrow you need to finalize the due diligence checklist.”

Su Jiayi saluted: “Yes, madam!”

But after tasting the fresh mushrooms that night, the merger consultation might have to be postponed.

Liu Wanying tasted the seasonal mushrooms—delicious, no discomfort. But the moment she stepped out of the restaurant, she saw seven Yu Xings perched on the tree, all talking to her. She immediately realized something was wrong.

“Yingjie, help me out.”

“Yingjie, I don’t want to pay consultation fees, but I still want to ask questions.”

“Got any cash? Lend me some.”

“Yingjie, I’m shameless.”

“Yingjie, join Guiai.com? Add you, and the company’s worth more.”

Liu Wanying calmly turned to Su Jiayi beside her: “Let’s go to the hospital. I’m hallucinating.”

Su Jiayi gasped: “Hallucinations? Really? What did you see?”

Liu Wanying took a breath: “I saw seven monkeys on the tree.”

Eating mushrooms carries risk. Savoring novelty requires caution.

Fortunately, the restaurant she chose was indeed close to a hospital.

The next day, Yu Xing received a text from Yingjie describing the hallucination.

He laughed uncontrollably, then texted back: “Wait—what’s this ‘shameless’ and ‘lend me money’ stuff? Fine, you dreamed of me—but why did you see me like that?”

Liu Wanying corrected: “Not a dream—a hallucination. From eating mushrooms. Do you know what I was thinking? I thought: one Yu Xing already created this chaotic project. What if seven Yu Xings showed up?”

Yu Xing: “Yingjie, you really have faith in me. Thanks—I feel more confident now! Since your work’s delayed, should I deduct your bonus?”

Liu Wanying: “No deduction. The boss’s hospital bed is right next door.”

Under the blazing sun, Yu Xing idly texted Liu Wanying near his stall’s shade.

“Hey, Xiao Liu, go buy some ice creams. I’ll reimburse you.”

Yu Xing dispatched another bored employee, watching him scurry off.

Just as he was about to reply again, an unknown number called.

“Hello, hello—is this Yu Xing, founder of Guiai.com? I’m a reporter from NetEase.” The voice was warm. “I noticed your project was covered online. I’d like to ask a few more details—we’ll do a deeper feature soon.”

Hearing the caller’s identity, Yu Xing didn’t think twice and began chatting.

But halfway through, he suddenly felt something was off. Slowly, he began pitching Guiai.com’s customer base and growth strategy, even subtly hinting at marriage probability.

His own research was genuine—but how genuine? Was it so genuine that NetEase was now doing charity? That needed weighing.

The call lasted a long time.

When Yu Xing hung up, the ice cream his employee bought him had melted.

“Boss, was that an interview?” Xiao Liu had overheard some of his replies.

“Sort of,” Yu Xing sighed deeply, then breathed in deeply, and murmured, “He was too enthusiastic.”

Why the hell was that old man acting so overly enthusiastic?

He should’ve sounded deadpan—like I owed him 200,000 or didn’t pay his transportation fee!

He called himself under the guise of a NetEase journalist...

Although Yu Xing couldn’t be certain, combining Yin Baoyi’s behavior with this bizarre phone call, a strong intuition rose in him: NetEase was finally coming for him!

No, it was NetEase that was finally coveting him!

Forget it—mutual coveting, mutual pursuit!

Under the scorching heat, Yu Xing felt every nerve in his body twitching.

He had never imagined that the first opponent his startup would face would be a giant like NetEase, nor did he know if such a major brand would truly lend him a hand.

All he could say was: if you’re willing to risk everything, you dare to drag the emperor down from his throne!

“Boss, where are you going?” Xiao Liu noticed the boss preparing to leave.

Yu Xing spoke with a calm expression: “I’m going to prepare some things and meet the right people for dinner. Stay here—don’t get heatstroke.”

Xiao Liu nodded blankly, watching his boss vanish into the sunlight, walking faster and faster until, in an instant, he was running.

On July 19, NetEase restructured its services, merging its original “Local Dating Channel” and “Very Man, Very Woman” teams into a new “NetEase Dating” platform.

At the same time, as NetEase adjusted its matchmaking business strategy, it launched a dating contract service targeting university students, aiming to serve the matchmaking market with greater vertical precision.

NetEase’s move caused little stir on the internet but drew attention from traditional matchmaking brands—Century Love, Baihe, and Zhenai all learned of “NetEase Dating’s” launch and began contemplating NetEase’s entry into the university demographic they had long ignored.

Overall, however, Century Love, Baihe, and Zhenai did not believe NetEase could shake the matchmaking market or pose any real threat.

That evening, in a neglected corner, Guoai.com—facing the most direct competition—held a meeting; its founder, second-in-command, third-in-command, team leaders, and candidate shareholders all attended.

The office atmosphere was heavy; everyone looked hesitant—some wanted to quit, some wanted to siphon off money, others muttered about their salaries... All were united in their belief that Guoai.com had no future.