Chapter 55: 054 Sparring (10,000 Words Requesting Monthly Votes)

Zhenai.com is studying Guiai.com’s business, and similarly, Yu Xing is studying Zhenai.com’s current situation.

None of the three companies are listed yet, but Yu Xing can’t recall which one eventually went public—he can only say that companies aiming to list within the next two years will likely be more interested in the new business.

Because the dating contract has a direct impact on financial statements.

This business can effectively keep most revenue funds on the books, pushing future costs out two, three, or even more years.

A cleaner balance sheet before listing makes it easier to go public and allows for a higher stock price.

As for future cash outflows due to maturity…

List first, worry later.

This is somewhat like debt rollover—it can effectively improve cash flow, make financial reports look healthier, and increase investor appeal; and if the “dating contract” succeeds, its effect is even stronger, since the extremely low marriage rate means the cash truly stays in the company.

While gathering buyer information, Yu Xing wrote the word “statement” on his small notebook, preparing a potential angle for future negotiations.

Of course, his thinking spread further—debt rollover, debt forgiveness, debt conversion, and other restructuring methods all suit financial statement packaging, making key financial indicators like the current ratio and quick ratio appear stronger.

However, overuse of such practices might violate regulatory rules; in principle, everyone should be wary of these actions.

—Statement.

—Zhenai.com, Jiayuan.com.

Yu Xing wrote down the names of two potential buyers on his notebook; both had rumors of planned listings, especially Zhenai.com, which launched in 2005 and clearly established a VIE structure in 2006 to pursue an overseas listing.

This VIE structure was pioneered by Sina as the “contractual control” model, primarily used by domestic companies to circumvent foreign ownership restrictions in certain industries when listing overseas.

Yu Xing circled “Zhenai.com” with his pen and stared thoughtfully at the notebook.

Perhaps this is why Zhenai.com was the first to send a bid.

As for Jiayuan.com, rumors exist, but they’re not as concrete, and now there’s no word of any moves regarding the new business.

Yu Xing organized these thoughts, trimmed them down, and sent a concise text message to a free consulting firm employee for review.

But perhaps the person was busy—the message went out, and Liu Wan didn’t reply for a long while.

While waiting, Yu Xing worked as an online store customer service rep and also handled part of the campus network’s marketing tasks.

In mid-August, the days were extremely hot, so employee work hours had been adjusted to run from afternoon to evening.

Campus traffic had dried up, online traffic had hit a turning point, but fortunately, the transition to targeting the broader public had achieved preliminary success—at least, the data, even after some padding, showed initial results.

At nine a.m., Guiai.com’s office welcomed its third-in-command, Zhong Zhiling.

“Xing-ge, cold drink.” Zhong Zhiling sat beside his senior brother, handed over the beverage, and eagerly twisted open the cap.

Yu Xing took a sip and asked casually, “Where’s Xiao Ying?”

“She’s printing some things,” Zhong Zhiling replied with a smile.

Yu Xing glanced at the third-in-command, noticing his smile, and felt a quiet unease.

“Xing-ge, I noticed every customer asks the same thing: whether we can guarantee redemption,” Zhong Zhiling pointed at the screen. “What else can we say? Who’d admit their own company breaks promises? We all guarantee redemption.”

Yu Xing nodded and replied to the customer: I’m the boss, today I’m temporarily doing customer service—if the company can’t redeem later, come straight to me. Chinese don’t cheat Chinese.

Zhong Zhiling stared at the message, and before he could speak, the customer replied: OK, I’ll place the order.

He was suddenly speechless.

After a long pause, Zhong Zhiling muttered bitterly: “Xing-ge, weren’t you supposed to make me pretend to be a female customer service rep? Why don’t you pretend too?”

Yu Xing answered honestly: “I don’t like doing that.”

Zhong Zhiling stared in disbelief: “Do you think I like it?”

Yu Xing said seriously: “You didn’t object when I said it.”

Seeing the third-in-command suddenly look downcast, he comforted him: “Everyone has their own way. Don’t overthink it—we just need to sell the product. That’s success.”

Zhong Zhiling fell silent for a moment, then said: “Xing-ge, I’ve reflected on my mindset these past two days. I believe sincerity in dealing with people is crucial—and it should come first. I want to be sincere too.”

Yu Xing blinked, then smiled faintly: “Fine. Then tell Xiao Ying about your debts—430,000.”

Zhong Zhiling: “...”

Yu Xing corrected himself: “Oh no—430,000 plus 15,000 plus 20,000. Total 465,000.”

Zhong Zhiling was about to groan, then suddenly realized: “Wait—that 15,000 I borrowed from relatives? I won’t mention it! Xing-ge, that 20,000 personal loan? I took it out for the company!”

When he first inquired about university startup support policies, he learned there was a 20,000-yuan loan option; before leaving Jin Ling, he applied for it as the legal representative.

Yu Xing nodded: “Mm. But tell me—isn’t that still a liability?”

Zhong Zhiling thought and thought, then slumped helplessly into his chair.

Should he tell now?

Or maybe not—wait until the company is sold, then tell—or never tell? Wouldn’t that be better?

This… sincerity really is hard!!

Watching Zhong Zhiling’s reaction, Yu Xing nodded slightly inside—he knew Lu Haiying was trustworthy; she’d promised to keep it secret from Zhong Zhiling, and hadn’t betrayed it even privately.

Zhong Zhiling sank into gloom over his thoughts and position, but finally pulled himself together—right now, his task was to do his job well; everything else was secondary.

“Xing-ge, if we sell the company, are we really going to mess around with that gossip site with Song Yufeng?” Zhong Zhiling asked about future plans.

“Honestly, even if we sell Guiai.com, the money won’t fully cover our losses, so we still need to figure out how to keep earning,” Yu Xing said thoughtfully. “What I told Song Yufeng was true—those big companies are already established. Competing directly in their fields is extremely difficult, so we must focus on vertical niches.”

“A workplace gossip site is one such vertical niche.”

“There’s another consideration of mine, but it’s hard to explain to you.”

“But ‘those things’ have potential—it’s true that the internet’s workplace sector still lacks an ecological slot. You can call it a ‘gossip site’ or an ‘industry insider hub.’”

“Still, it’s only a possibility. As long as we have money and some experience, we can do many things.”

“Before you came, I was also thinking about current and near-future trends—besides vertical niches, we could also develop tool-like products.”

Zhong Zhiling picked up on the new point: “Tool-like?”

“Mm,” Yu Xing nodded. “Yes. Has e-commerce grown fast these past years?”

Zhong Zhiling answered immediately: “Fast—very fast!”

Taobao, Dangdang, JD.com—names he’d heard since high school; after entering university, he discovered the joy of online shopping.

Now Zhong Zhiling buys all his books from Dangdang; a few years ago he bought from Amazon too, and uses Taobao frequently.

Yu Xing continued: “So, do you think we could enter e-commerce—compete directly with Taobao, Dangdang, JD.com?”

Zhong Zhiling: “Uh...”

In that instant, he understood vertical niches even more deeply—how could they compete with giants already holding vast capital, resources, and customers?

“It’s not impossible,” Yu Xing went on, “but as I said—focus on vertical niches, and stay alert—they might extend their own businesses downward too. Like how we’re doing college dating contracts: earlier, NetEase didn’t do this, and now Zhenai.com has jumped in.”

Vertical niches aren’t a magic solution, but opportunities still exist.

Capital chases profit—wherever there’s tempting gain, giants will inevitably storm in.

Yu Xing said calmly: “But times change. Even giants aren’t safe—they’ll face new opportunities too. But we’re too weak now. Even if we sell Guiai.com, how much money will we get? What resources will we have?”

He shook his head and returned to the topic: “Let’s talk about e-commerce again. Since it’s grown so well and isn’t anywhere near its limit, what do users need?”

Zhong Zhiling listened intently.

“They need to compare prices across different sites,” Yu Xing smiled. “That’s what I mean by a tool—we could build a website that compares prices of similar products across different e-commerce platforms.”

He continued: “Not for all users—just a small group of price-sensitive ones. If enough use it, the site can survive. And if it scales enough, we could even sell some products directly on it.”

Zhong Zhiling murmured: “Compare prices?”

This…

Such a tool really seems feasible.

He thought a moment, then frowned: “Xing-ge, will e-commerce companies tolerate such a price-comparison site? If we build it, won’t it intensify competition among them?”

“Whether they tolerate it or not—so long as it’s legal,” Yu Xing smiled. “Whether it intensifies competition or not—what’s that to us? It serves users, not e-commerce companies.”

Zhong Zhiling nodded slowly, silently pondering his senior brother’s words.

In just this short time, his senior brother had offered so much: gossip site, insider hub, vertical niche, toolization, price-comparison site—and even mentioned societal transformation.

Zhong Zhiling thought a while longer and felt like he was daydreaming.

What kind of societal transformation?

What other opportunities might come?

The opportunities his senior brother hinted at seemed aimed squarely at the giants who already occupied ecological slots…

Yu Xing replied to a few online store customers, then turned to find Zhong Zhiling still staring blankly. He smiled: “Don’t overthink it. My point is—even if Guiai.com sells for less than our losses, we can sell a second ‘Guiai.com.’ One isn’t enough? Sell two. Two aren’t enough? Sell three. We’ll eventually cover our losses.”

Just as Zhong Zhiling was about to speak, footsteps sounded outside.

“It’s so hot today—really too hot,” Lu Haiying entered the office, complaining about the weather. “Small companies are better—flexible operations, flexible hours. Otherwise, how could you even work in weather like this?”

Zhong Zhiling glanced nervously at his girlfriend—had she overheard what he just said?

Her reaction suggested she hadn’t.

Lu Haiying picked up the cold drink bought earlier, drank half a bottle, then smiled: “Senior brother, didn’t Song Yufeng come today?”

“No. He sent me a text this morning—he’s looking for offline advertising resources,” Yu Xing replied. “He’s still very invested in the company. Be careful what you say around him.”

Lu Haiying smiled sweetly: “Is he invested in the company—or in what you said? I never imagined the reporter from NetEase who interviewed us would end up working with us…”

And he doesn’t even take a salary!

This is just too bizarre!

Oh no—the truly bizarre thing is how he stood up and publicly scolded his boss. I wonder what else was on that recording…

She suddenly asked: “Senior brother, did you destroy the recording of Song Yufeng after he got drunk?”

Hearing the question, Zhong Zhiling also turned to look at his senior brother.

Yu Xing didn’t look up: “Destroyed.”

Zhong Zhiling’s face showed no reaction, but inside he thought: How could it possibly be destroyed? That recording is still a weapon to control a person.

Lu Haiying showed no surprise either—if her senior brother said it was destroyed, then it was destroyed.

She took out the materials she had copied and printed that morning, some of which were her insights from expanding offline business in Jin Ling, planning to try the same in Shen Cheng—though the business was difficult, she couldn’t just stop.

Gui’ai Network’s current work hours were from 2:30 PM to 9 PM, and for now, only the three leaders were in the office.

The morning passed quickly; they didn’t go out for lunch, and the three leaders ate their boxed meals with relish.

At 2 PM, just as Yu Xing was about to call the Beijing team, he received another call from Wei Jialan, vice president of Zhen’ai Network.

“Hello, Wei Zong, good day,” Yu Xing answered with a smile. “You’re calling again to quote a price? Why are you so interested in our company?”

The day before, Wei Jialan had personally experienced the campus environment; yesterday, she tried integrating the product into existing offline stores, and the response had improved slightly, making her more aware of the vast differences between the two customer ecosystems.

So today’s call was both to probe further into Gui’ai Network’s founder’s thinking and to seek answers.

“Yes,” Wei Jialan chatted. “If I weren’t interested in your company, why would I quote a price? Yu Zong, I read your interview with Tencent—I’m embarrassed to say, at your age, I never even considered entrepreneurship. I’m especially curious: why did you suddenly give up medicine? You were already in your first year of graduate school.”

Yu Xing replied casually: “Because I saw how profitable the matchmaking industry is—who doesn’t want to make money? We got lucky; our current entry point is strong. Campus acceptance is good, and our outreach to the broader public has been effective.”

Wei Jialan’s heart skipped. Then she grew suspicious. Effective outreach to the broader public? Are you kidding?

How had they even managed to bridge the huge gap between the two customer groups?

She didn’t immediately ask that question, but smiled: “That’s impressive. I heard you plan to generate ten million in revenue from the campus market next year?”

“Not just campus—it’s campus plus the broader public. We don’t say we’ve ‘achieved’ it, but we’re striving toward that goal,” Yu Xing said seriously. “The matchmaking industry still has strong growth potential. I believe Gui’ai Network will become a rapidly growing new force.”

He added: “Since Zhen’ai Network has noticed us, and you’ve called me twice these past few days, you must be planning to compete. I welcome healthy competition and welcome your guidance, but let’s not talk about acquisition.”

Wei Jialan frowned slightly at his firm tone.

After a few seconds of silence, she suddenly laughed. “Yu Zong, don’t be so absolute. As far as I know, universities are all on break—how can Gui’ai Network get new orders on campus? And your so-called outreach to the broader public? Pure fiction.”

Yu Xing chuckled. “Wei Zong, that’s strange—why is it fiction? I’ve got a stack of yesterday’s orders right here. Today’s too hot; several markets haven’t even opened yet.”

Lu Haiying and Zhong Zhiling both stared at Senior Brother’s right hand, as if he’d actually grasped a stack of orders.

“Yu Zong, I’m a veteran. The gap between campus and public customers is insurmountable,” Wei Jialan insisted, bluffing. “Transitioning Gui’ai Network from campus to the broader public won’t be easy.”

Yu Xing laughed loudly. “Hey, Wei Zong, you’re underestimating our team—we’re all university students!”

Wei Jialan’s breath caught. University students are that impressive?

Hmm… but Zhen’ai Network’s educational requirements for employees really aren’t high…

Even this project was conceived by university students. Could they have some special training, secret scripts, or magic treasures?

Wei Jialan didn’t look down on university students—the difference between the two groups was objective. But years of experience had taught her another, more objective truth: respect reality, respect the market.

If Gui’ai Network had already succeeded—or even partially succeeded—in outreach, no matter how they did it, could she deny the fact?

The phone fell silent for nearly five seconds.

When Wei Jialan spoke again, her tone was no longer certain—now clearly probing. “You do have many university students, but I heard many of them quit.”

Yu Xing realized Zhen’ai Network hadn’t been idle—they’d done some preliminary research on Gui’ai Network.

He laughed again: “High turnover is normal. They’re university students—they need to explore.”

—We’re university students!

—They’re just university students…

University students are so fickle!

How much of this was bluff?

Wei Jialan fell silent.

But not for long: “Since Yu Zong is so confident, Zhen’ai Network welcomes direct competition with Gui’ai Network. Let’s all grow healthily in this industry.”

Yu Xing readily agreed: “Of course, of course. Let’s meet and chat sometime.”

The call ended.

Lu Haiying asked: “Did Zhen’ai Network give a new quote?”

Yu Xing shook his head. “No. Just probing.”

Zhong Zhiling wiped sweat from his brow. “Senior Brother, your whole speech was full of bluff.”

He stretched his right hand into the air, mimicking his senior’s phone call gesture.

Yu Xing stood up from his chair and paced around the office, thinking carefully: “Selling the company isn’t easy. Selling it at a good price? Even harder. I don’t know if these companies will go to Jin Ling for meetings in September—if we can talk directly to their top executives, it might help.”

Zhong Zhiling grunted: “So far, only Zhen’ai Network has called. Century Love and Baihe haven’t moved. I wonder if they’re not…”

Before he finished, Yu Xing’s phone lit up with another unknown number—speak of the devil.

The caller was Xue Xiaoyuan, director of Century Love.

After introducing himself and exchanging pleasantries, he got straight to the point: “Yu Zong, Century Love is very interested in your company.”

Yu Xing gave a blunt reply: “Zhen’ai Network offered fifty thousand. What’s your offer?”

Xue Xiaoyuan paused, as if the quote was unnecessary.

Yu Xing, hearing no answer, knew the price was lower than that. “I haven’t discussed anything with Wei Jialan of Zhen’ai Network because we’re not selling. Director Xue, let’s not talk about this.”

He named Zhen’ai Network’s executive, adding credibility.

Xue Xiaoyuan, familiar with industry executives, thought briefly and said: “Alright, Yu Zong, you’re direct. Let’s hope we have a chance to collaborate later.”

Another call from a competitor ended.

“Bad news: Century Love’s valuation of us is also low—under fifty thousand,” Yu Xing said, putting down his phone. “Good news: we’ve got another potential buyer. We still have value.”

Lu Haiying and Zhong Zhiling nodded in unison. The million-revenue target, the ten-million goal—all inflated. Zhen’ai Network and Century Love clearly weren’t eager to be fooled; they showed interest, but cautiously.

“Alright, let’s get to work,” Yu Xing said, putting away his phone. “We’ve got Jin Ling experience. Now let’s see if we can build Shen Cheng experience.” He aimed to truly open the broader public market.

Perhaps it wasn’t enough. Indeed, he hadn’t opened it.

At 9 PM, Yu Xing received reports from the two others in different locations.

Zhong Zhiling: Senior Brother, I got zero orders today. How many did you get?

Lu Haiying: Senior Brother, I… didn’t convert any orders today. How many did you get?

0 + 0 + 0 = 0.

The three leaders of Gui’ai Network led a brutal 0-point day.

Fortunately, other teams salvaged some dignity—there were five orders total.

In one day, Gui’ai Network’s Shen Cheng headquarters had 43 employees on duty, securing five orders total.

On the way home, Yu Xing laughed.

Damn it—did getting that call from Century Love use up all my luck?

Or was this karma for all my bluff?

But then he thought: if I didn’t get any orders, five is still better than nothing.

The second and third leaders sounded down on the phone; other employees were… fine.

But those two had ways to comfort each other. Yu Xing lay alone on his hard bed, tossing and turning, worrying about orders—when his phone suddenly lit up with a delayed reply from Liu Wan.

Liu Wan praised: Yu Xing, impressive. Your perspective on this from a public company angle really feels like a senior executive’s view.

She seemed to have finished work and quickly sent a second message: This kind of negotiation leverage will definitely move your buyers. Gui’ai Network already has performance proof—even campus orders are solid cash inflows on paper.

Yu Xing felt comforted from afar. Even if today’s outreach failed, the campus performance meant value still existed.

He rolled over and replied: Look at the cat.

Liu Wan was about to send a third message praising his executive thinking when she received his reply—and burst out laughing.

You bastard…

She calmed herself, about to send a photo of her black cat, but then, inexplicably, tapped a photo of her legs—then replaced it at the last second, adding: His name is Jerry. Cute?

A reply came three seconds later.

Yu Xing: Cute. Good night.

Liu Wan didn’t reply. Bastard—after I praised his thinking, that “good night” was so cold!

…

How much of what Yu Xing said was true? How much was bluff?

Early the next morning, Wei Jialan arrived at the office, still pondering yesterday’s conversation with Gui’ai Network. Adding a promising new business would benefit the company greatly—but she had to avoid being tricked.

Could university students even pull off tricks?

Hmm… she couldn’t treat them as ordinary students anymore. He was a founder aiming for ten million in revenue.

Wei Jialan adjusted her mindset, poured herself tea, and habitually stood by the window, gazing at the city outside.

The next second, she froze—the billboard across from the office clearly displayed an advertisement for “Gui’ai Network.”

Holy shit—who’s trying to acquire whom?

Annoyed, Wei Jialan called her marketing director and demanded immediate action to remove the competitor’s ad. But even as she spoke, she noticed the ad wasn’t just on the billboard.

“I don’t know how long they’ve been running it,” Marketing Director Mo Lingwei hesitated. “We should… check.”

“If you can’t remove it, hire someone to spray paint over it at night, or stick up posters to cover the text!” Wei Jialan snapped. “Do I have to teach you? It’s almost like they’re pasting ads on my office door!”

Mo Lingwei nodded rapidly: “Yes, yes, Wei Zong, I’ll get it done right away.”

Wei Jialan exhaled, then stood again by the window, staring at the three characters: “Gui’ai Network.”

Hmph—youth really is bold. Yu Xing’s entrepreneurial fire has reached right to my doorstep!