Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 159 Speechless Pony Horse

"Sister Qian!!!"

Meng Ziyi, who had been staying at home for nearly a month, suddenly grabbed his phone and excitedly went to his elderly mother Wang Qian's side tonight.

Seeing her beaming from the corners of her mouth to the corners of her eyes, Wang Qian knew exactly what was going on and asked, "What did Xiao Chen post this time that made you so happy?"

"hey-hey."

The silly beauty chuckled twice and showed off the nine-grid photo that Chen Xiugang had just posted to Wang Qian.

"Look, look, Xiu went to Shenzhen today, and he even went to the seaside park where I confessed my feelings to him..."

"Was the last time you came here in 14?"

Wang Qian read the text aloud and nodded, saying, "He's quite thoughtful. This is much better than the wedding anniversary gift your dad prepared for me. You must be very happy and surprised now, right?"

"Hehe, it's alright!"

Meng Ziyi held her phone in both hands, her eyes sparkling as she blinked: "Xiu Ge'er keeps flirting with me on WeChat Moments. Do you think I should go back?"

"You want to surprise him too?"

"Uh-huh."

Meng Ziyi nodded repeatedly, a thoughtful look on his face, probably already imagining the scene when he and Chen Xiu met.

Seeing her daughter still there but whose heart had already flown away, Wang Qian silently rolled her eyes and began to help her make plans.

"The reason we separated this month was to give you both some time to cool off. Now that you've both calmed down enough, I won't object if you want to go back. However, you'd better not go directly to Pengcheng to find Xiao Chen."

"why?"

"Are you crazy? Chen is wearing a suit, he's obviously going to Shenzhen for work. If you go and bother him, won't that ruin the atmosphere of this reunion?"

"I went there once before, and it didn't cause any problems!"

Meng Ziyi pouted and argued that when she went to Pengcheng to find Chen Xiu in 14, the two got along very well and there was nothing wrong with it.

Wang Qian complained, "You used to be impulsive and didn't consider the consequences of your actions, which is why... Haven't you learned your lesson this time?"

"Hmm... if I can't go to Shenzhen, where should I go?"

"Wait until Xiao Chen finishes his work and returns to Beijing, then you can go directly to his home to see him and you'll be pleasantly surprised, won't you?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Ziyi's eyes widened suddenly. After his bright eyes slowly rolled around in their sockets, he suddenly pounced and hugged Wang Qian tightly.

"Sister Qian, it feels like you're my love strategist, and I immediately know what's going to happen."

Looking at her daughter in her arms, Wang Qian smiled indulgently.

"Then you should work hard and not let Xiao Chen be snatched away by other girls..."

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

The character "孟" (Meng) shakes its head like a rattle drum, signifying that no one can take away its cornerstone.

Wang Qian lowered her eyes to glance at her simple-minded daughter, her pouting expression indicating her disapproval of her bold statement.

"Alright, if you have nothing else to do, go and reread the previous versions of 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' to prepare for the new drama."

"Oh, I know."

Meng Ziyi silently got up, holding her phone, interacting with Chen Xiu on WeChat Moments as she walked towards the room.

……

On her fourth day in Shenzhen, Chen Xiu received a call from Liu Chiping.

The other party's representative, Pony Ma, invited him to dinner today at Marriott Zhongzhou, the same place where they discussed financing last time.

Chen Xiu arrived at the hotel 15 minutes early and was led to a private room by the hotel manager. At the door, she met several burly bodyguards in black suits.

When they saw Chen Xiu coming over, they didn't bother with the usual body search procedure, probably because they had been notified beforehand.

Entering the private room alone, Chen Xiu met Pony Ma, the head of Tencent.

Looking at this internet "hidden master" known for his low profile, Chen Xiu did not hide his doubts, and also saw undisguised curiosity on Pony Ma's face.

What surprised Chen Xiu even more was that when Pony invited him to dinner, it was really just one-on-one, without inviting anyone else to accompany him... the proper kind of company.

The two just looked at each other without saying a word.

Finally, Chen Xiu couldn't help but speak first: "Mr. Ma, good evening?"

"Hello, I was just a little curious because you are younger than I expected."

Pony Ma got up from his seat but did not come over to greet Chen Xiu.

Seeing this, Chen Xiu understood and came to the dining table, extending her hand to Pony Ma.

"My clothes and hairstyle are a bit too mature. I would look younger if it were my usual style."

Pony Ma shook Chen Xiu's hand: "Do you think it would be better to dress more maturely?"

"It's my friends who think this is better; otherwise, when they see me, they will inevitably feel that they are too old."

"Ah, that's true."

Retracting his hand, Chen Xiu found Pony Ma to be unexpectedly kind. Although he wasn't usually an assertive person, this first meeting seemed to have gone a little too smoothly.

This smooth feeling continued until the two sides ordered food and exchanged pleasantries. Considering that Chen Xiu had come alone, Pony Ma did not order any drinks.

Once the dishes were brought in, the waiter left the private room, and no one was bothering them anymore, Pony Ma explained why she had invited Chen Xiu to dinner that day.

“That day, when you made an appointment with Martin (Liu Chiping’s English name), I had just returned to the company to conduct the year-end summary. I originally wanted to have lunch with him, but he said he had made an appointment with you first, so I asked him to help me make an appointment with you.”

"It doesn't seem to explain why they wanted to ask me out?"

Chen Xiu looked up and met Pony Ma's gaze, her attitude polite and respectful, without showing any obsequiousness despite the other party's status.

Pony took a sip of lemonade before continuing, "I asked you out mainly because I was curious about you."

"for example?"

"You've been working with Tencent since Didi, and there haven't been any problems in that process. What really caught my attention was when the shareholding swap ended, you left Didi, claiming you were going to do acting, but in reality, you partnered with ByteDance to create Douyin, betting on the live streaming sector, and now you've chosen bike sharing..."

"Since you promoted Douyin on Weibo, there are now more than 200 companies in China. Tencent itself has opened and invested in nine live streaming platforms, and Ali has also launched two live shopping platforms. The live streaming industry has clearly become a hot trend in 16."

At this point, Pony Ma suddenly stopped and looked at Chen Xiu with even more curiosity.

"Every step you've taken since leaving Didi has precisely aligned with the development direction of the internet, including the latest bike-sharing service and Didi itself. Tencent gave them both an S rating, indicating they are absolutely top-notch projects. Chen Xiu, your vision is just too good!"

"I'm lucky."

Chen Xiu shrugged and attributed all the reasons to metaphysics.

Pony Ma naturally didn't believe it: "Didi, you could say you were lucky and caught the wave, but can you really say you were lucky to create Douyin?"

"This means I'm very lucky."

"What about Mobike?"

"I'm so lucky!"

Chen Xiu shrugged, adopting an attitude that he had simply gotten lucky and there was no other reason.

Pony Ma's pouting expression was somewhat speechless.

Looking at Chen Xiu, who attributed everything to luck, Pony Ma remained silent for a long time before saying, "So-called luck means that the cost is far less than the benefit. I used to think that I was also blessed with luck, that everything Penguin did was successful and that it surpassed the leaders. But later I found that this approach didn't work."

"The bigger the undertaking, the more solid the foundation and the more courageous the corporate culture must be. When you flew over overnight to contact Martin and asked him to arrange for a technical team and servers to be brought back to Beijing to support Didi, you didn't rely on luck."

Under Pony Ma's watchful gaze, Chen Xiu also took a sip of lemonade to ease the tension.

"Mr. Ma, it's said that when the time is right, everything works together. I'm not wrong to attribute my success to luck, am I?"

"Luck doesn't favor the weak."

Chen Xiu looked up in surprise, feeling that the slightly chuunibyou-esque words sounded a bit out of place coming from Pony Ma's mouth.

Under his gaze, Pony Ma showed a hint of shame, then drank some water.

After this back and forth, the topic had unknowingly veered off course.

Having realized this, Pony Ma, after finishing his water, directly revealed the purpose of the invitation: "You've collaborated with Tencent so many times, and you're also a shareholder, so I'll be frank with you."

"Please go ahead, Mr. Ma."

Chen Xiu put down her water glass and looked at Pony Ma solemnly.

Pushing up his glasses, Pony Ma said meaningfully, "Do you know Martin's position at Tencent?"

"President and Chief Strategic Investment Officer."

"Yes! That's your position at Didi. Martin speaks very highly of you, and I've already mentioned my personal assessment of you. As far as I know, you don't participate in day-to-day management at Douyin..."

A glint of light flashed in Pony's eyes as he looked at Chen Xiu and asked, "Interested in working for Tencent?"

"Mr. Ma, I still hold the position of Chief Strategy Officer at Douyin."

Chen Xiu smiled and politely declined, saying that he really hadn't expected that Pony Ma's purpose in inviting him to dinner today was to recruit him.

However, aside from this reason, the two really have no interaction anymore.

Because for investment matters, Chen Xiu could talk to Liu Chiping; for film business, he could talk to Cheng Wu or Ren Yuxin, the two heads of Tencent Pictures; and for web series, he could talk to Sun Zhonghuai of Tencent Video…

Pony Ma has already divided up the company's business into segments and handed them over, becoming the behind-the-scenes helmsman. This is what a true tycoon looks like.

Chen Xiu's refusal did not surprise Pony Ma, as he had clearly taken this into account.

“Your role on Douyin is more like that of a board member, rather than an executive who performs specific tasks.”

"There's not enough time! I have other things to do."

"what's up?"

"Acting? I'm preparing for a historical drama, and I'm currently writing the script..."

At this point, Chen Xiu suddenly couldn't continue.

Because Pony, sitting opposite him, was just squinting, his lips slightly pursed, quietly watching him, and when he couldn't continue, he even chuckled softly.

When people are speechless to the extreme, they can actually laugh.

(End of this chapter)