Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 131 Old Wang, I'm going to smear your son again.

October 2nd, Wanda Vista Hotel.

Having agreed on a solution, Chen Xiu successfully scheduled a lunch appointment with Cao Guowei yesterday.

Chen Xiu arrived at her booked hotel room half an hour early and then leisurely waited for Cao Guowei, while browsing Douyin (TikTok) on her phone in a rather primitive style.

About 25 minutes later, there was a knock on the door of the private room.

The waiter led in a middle-aged man in a suit and tie, with a buzz cut and small eyes.

Upon seeing the person who had arrived, Chen Xiu stood up from her seat, quickly walked to the door, and extended her right hand to him.

"Haha, Mr. Cao, it's a pleasure to meet you. I hope this has been arranged in such a rush and hasn't disrupted your vacation plans!"

"I'm on vacation and have nothing else to do, Mr. Chen, you're too kind."

Cao Guowei grasped Chen Xiu's hand, his smile warm and sincere.

After exchanging pleasantries, the two sat down at the dining table, ordered their dishes, and waited for the waiter to leave the private room.

Instead of immediately making a request to Cao Guowei, Chen Xiu first helped the senior recall his past achievements, thus bringing them closer together.

"President Cao, the case of how you led Sina to fight back against Shanda's hostile takeover attempt using the 'poison pill' strategy is still vivid in my mind!"

Upon hearing Chen Xiu mention his glorious achievements, Cao Guowei couldn't help but reveal a smug smile.

But he still retained the composure that successful people should have.

"Hehe, at that time, I didn't really think that much. I was just full of enthusiasm and didn't want the company to be taken over by someone else. I didn't care about any case studies."

"Facts have proven that Mr. Cao, your persistence was right. Last year, Weibo successfully went public and was hailed as the Chinese version of Twitter. How can this not be considered a great success?"

"Hahaha!"

Cao Guowei squinted and tapped his fingers twice on the table.

"Mr. Chen, you treated me to dinner today and went to so much trouble. It can't be just a simple thank you for my help last month, right?"

"I do have something to ask of you."

Chen Xiu frankly admitted that he and Cao Guowei were not very familiar with each other, and that forcing a connection would only cause resentment.

Upon hearing Chen Xiu's words, Cao Guowei nodded calmly: "What is it? Tell me."

"Why don't we wait until all the dishes are served?"

"Alright."

The waiter brought the food halfway through the conversation, which was definitely not a pleasant experience.

Without getting down to business, the two chatted casually, and Cao Guowei felt that time flew by.

A short while later, the door to the private room was knocked on again, and the waiter pushed in a food cart, bringing the dishes the two had just ordered to the table one by one.

After everyone left, Cao Guowei, with a hint of lingering interest on his face, brought up the main business again.

"Mr. Chen, I can't eat this meal in peace if you don't tell me."

“I also have a personal account on Weibo, which currently has about 300 million followers.”

"I didn't expect you to be such a popular influencer!"

"This is a celebrity certification; my followers have all increased in the last two months."

Cao Guowei nodded in realization. Like Zhang Yiming, he would always subconsciously forget Chen Xiu's celebrity status.

Having laid the groundwork, Chen Xiu finally spoke up and made her request.

"Tomorrow, my company will hold a press conference, which I will personally host. Sina reporters have also been invited. I hope that this press conference can be broadcast live on my personal Weibo page. Is Sina able to cooperate?"

"That's it?"

“It’s not a big deal, but I only know Mr. Cao at Sina. I haven’t treated him to a meal since I helped him last time, so I thought I’d do it together this time.”

"It's nothing. If you need it, I can help you with some internal traffic generation for tomorrow's live broadcast press conference."

Cao Guowei said magnanimously that celebrities may have to go to great lengths to get on the trending topics and headlines, but for him, who controls Weibo, it's a different story.

This kind of thing can be done in the blink of an eye.

"That would be perfect! Mr. Cao, this glass is for you."

Chen Xiu got up and poured wine for himself and Cao Guowei. Although his request was small, he still had to say thank you.

Moreover, given his background in the entertainment industry, he'll inevitably have to deal with Cao Guowei in the future. It's best to build a good relationship early on so things will be easier later.

Before raising his glass to Chen Xiu, Cao Guowei suddenly thought of something: "President Chen, what exactly are you going to announce at the press conference tomorrow?"

"Recently, the live streaming industry has been required to rectify its practices. Some functions of my company's products involve live streaming. At this press conference, I want to express our positive attitude towards rectification and, by the way, introduce the product functions."

"Are you going to hold an online press conference?!"

Cao Guowei hit the nail on the head, and like Zhang Yiming, he realized that the viewership of this press conference wouldn't be very high.

But upon seeing Chen Xiu's face, he realized that the person in front of him was not some mediocre internet entrepreneur, but a rising star with considerable popularity.

Cao Guowei smiled with admiration: "You've used the popularity you gained from crossing over into stardom here."

“Make the most of everything!” Chen Xiu shrugged, then toasted Cao Guowei again.

When Didi first started out, he often attended business banquets and social events, so he was naturally familiar with the things that happened at these banquets.

Having understood the whole story, Cao Guowei readily agreed to help Chen Xiu by livestreaming and attracting traffic through Weibo.

The founder of Douyin promoted Douyin by using Weibo for live streaming and traffic generation...

This rather humorous thing was thus produced perfectly under Chen Xiu's guidance.

To prevent Cao Guowei from getting too drunk and forgetting things, Chen Xiu did not offer any more toasts for the rest of the proceedings.

The two chatted and ate happily until the meal ended.

Adhering to the principle of completing the entire social engagement, Chen Xiu escorted Cao Guowei out of the private room and took the elevator down to the hotel lobby before Cao Guowei called her to stop.

"Mr. Chen, that's enough, you don't need to send any more! I'll tell you what you asked me to do when I get back, and I'll call you back later to confirm!"

Cao Guowei waved his hands repeatedly, making a promise to Chen Xiu.

He thought Chen Xiu had dropped him off at the elevator, but she was still seeing him off even when they were almost at the hotel entrance.

Cao Guowei felt that if he didn't give a definite answer soon, Chen Xiu might escort him all the way home...

Hearing the assurance she wanted, Chen Xiu stopped in her tracks: "President Cao, if there's a chance next time, let's arrange another drinking session! The kind where we don't talk business."

"Okay, okay, drinking is fine," Cao Guowei readily agreed.

He had a good impression of Chen Xiu during this meal.

Young people know how to leverage their strengths to achieve their goals and are adept at navigating interpersonal relationships, so it's no wonder they can succeed in starting their own businesses.

Just as the two were about to say goodbye, a figure with an arrogant and domineering air suddenly entered the hotel through the main entrance.

Upon seeing his arrival, the hotel manager practically ran over, his smile unusually solicitous.

Chen Xiu and Cao Guowei happened to be standing to the side of the gate at that moment, so they were able to clearly see who the newcomers were.

"Hehe, Wang's son has been trending on social media a lot lately!"

Cao Guowei was halfway through his reflection when he suddenly looked at Chen Xiu and asked, "President Chen, it seems you and he had a little disagreement a month ago, didn't you?"

"That was all just for fun, it's not a big deal."

Chen Xiu waved her hand, but in her heart she was thinking about tomorrow's press conference. She would probably have to single out the 17& live broadcast incident as a negative example, and then she would inevitably have to give Wang Sicong a beating.

During their first two meetings, Wang, the richest man in China, treated him with great courtesy.

Old Wang said that next time he's going to pick on his son, he doesn't need to be polite.

However, out of politeness, Chen Xiu felt it would be better to call Lao Wang later and briefly inform him.

After waving goodbye to Cao Guowei, Chen Xiu brushed past Wang Sicong as she left the hotel. Then, as she got into her car, she called the richest man in the country.

"Hey, Chen Xiu, what made you think of calling me?"

"Mr. Wang, there's something I'd like to tell you. Tomorrow, I might use Wang Sicong as a typical case study."

"Did he offend you again?"

"He didn't offend me. It's just that a live streaming platform he invested in was taken down, and the entire live streaming industry is facing rectification. My new startup project has some functions that overlap with live streaming. I plan to hold a press conference tomorrow to actively respond to the current situation."

Wang, the richest man, wasn't stupid. Hearing this, he immediately understood what Chen Xiu was trying to say.

"This is his investment mistake. If you are asked by reporters, just say what you need to say and don't worry about me."

"Okay, then I won't bother Mr. Wang any longer..."

"Wait a minute, you just said your new startup is in the live streaming industry. Do you think this is the next big thing in the internet industry?"

"Yes! The industries I'm willing to invest money in are the sectors I'm optimistic about."

Douyin cannot be considered a simple live streaming app at present. Even this rectification was a case of mistaken identity. However, Chen Xiu did not need to explain in too much detail to Wang, the richest man. He could just admit it directly.

"Since you're optimistic about the live streaming industry, it means Congcong has a good eye for investment. It's just that the people managing the company messed things up!"

"Hehe, who says otherwise!" Chen Xiu casually agreed.

Wang's attitude has been fully revealed in this conversation.

Although he was somewhat dissatisfied with Wang Sicong, he still harbored a father's doting affection, believing that whatever his son did was right, and even if the result was problematic, it was the fault of the person carrying it out.

If Chen Xiu doesn't give any prior notice and just bites Wang Sicong in public at tomorrow's press conference...

Even if he doesn't say it, Wang, the richest man, is probably unhappy inside.

If Chen Xiu mentions it like this, and then criticizes Wang Sicong, the richest man in the country will only feel that his face has been taken care of, and will even think that Chen Xiu is helping him discipline his son.

The order of events is absolutely crucial and cannot be mistaken.

Thinking of this, Chen Xiu just wanted to end the call as soon as possible: "Mr. Wang, if there's nothing else, why don't you go ahead and get back to work?"

"No rush. Do you have some time these next couple of days? I'd like to invite you to dinner so Congcong can get to know you and see if there's any possibility of collaboration."

"Next time! Next time for sure."

(End of this chapter)