Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 361 Intense Discussion with Pony Horse

June 3rd, Beijing, Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

Through Sun Zhonghuai's message, Pony Ma arranged to meet Chen Xiu today, planning to eat and chat.

Since the other party had decided on the time, Chen Xiu chose a location and arrived there in advance to wait.

As a result, half an hour before the agreed time, Pony Ma had not yet appeared, so Wang Xin knocked on the door of the private room first.

Seeing Wang Xin standing blankly outside the door, Chen Xiu asked, "Why did you come here?"

“Pony felt awkward meeting you alone, so he called me in as a middleman.”

Wang Xin pursed his lips, indicating that he was also helpless.

Seeing this, Chen Xiu didn't ask any more questions and turned to go inside, with Wang Xin following behind.

Once inside, Chen Xiu returned to her seat and pulled out a chair next to her, gesturing for Wang Xin to sit down.

After he sat down, Chen Xiu said, "You, as a middleman, shouldn't you try to find out what I'm thinking beforehand?"

"It's not that serious. There's no such thing as 'keeping quiet' or 'keeping tabs'. We were just having a meal and chatting casually..."

"If things get too intense later, can you help hold them down?"

"what???"

Wang Xin stared wide-eyed at Chen Xiu, his mouth agape, wide enough to fit an egg.

It's not his fault, after all, Chen Xiu's words were a bit too outrageous and shocking.

After a two-second silent eye contact with Wang Xin, Chen Xiu chuckled and said, "Just kidding! Don't take it so seriously!"

"Oh, I mean..."

"If you really want to fight, you can stand on the other side."

"..."

Wang Xin's relaxed expression suddenly froze, and then he stared at Chen Xiu with a dull look, as if blaming him for joking again and again.

Chen Xiu nodded and smiled, "Don't be so serious. Maybe Pony will see that things aren't going well and just invite me to Chaoyang Park..."

"How can it be!"

Wang Xin waved his hand dismissively, trying to move as far away from Chen Xiu as possible.

Just as the two were exchanging pleasantries, the door to the private room rang again with a ding-dong sound.

Chen Xiu and Wang Xin exchanged a glance and said, "I'll go pull down the curtains. You lure the person in, then spread the curtains out so he can't see my face..."

"Stop talking! Come out with me."

Wang Xin pulled Chen Xiu up with a look of panic in his eyes, not daring to bet whether he was joking or serious.

The two arrived at the door, and after opening it, it was indeed Pony Ma outside.

"Mr. Ma, long time no see. Have you been working out lately?"

"Um... you've still been practicing, Wang Xin, why do you look so pale?"

"It's nothing, it's probably just that the air conditioning is too cold."

Wang Xin offered a casual explanation, but his hand gripped Chen Xiu's arm tightly.

In a slightly awkward and strange atmosphere, the three of them entered the private room together, while Pony Ma's bodyguards and assistants were arranged in the next room.

When it came time to order, Chen Xiu acted as if nothing was wrong and asked Pony Ma, "Mr. Ma, would you like grouper or rat grouper? I'll have the kitchen prepare them in advance."

"Eastern Star Spotted ...

Pony Ma was a man of few words, taking a sip of his tea while looking at Chen Xiu with a gloomy expression.

Wang Xin sat between the two, keeping an eye on Chen Xiu while also watching Pony Ma's reaction. This uneasy feeling made him somewhat regretful of becoming a middleman.

Chen Xiu ignored the two of them, and simply ordered her favorite dishes with practiced ease, occasionally asking about their preferences.

After ordering the food, he asked before placing the order, "Mr. Ma, would you like some drinks?"

"What kind of whisky do you have? Single malt, not blended."

"Hmm, Baifu, DaMo, Yamazaki, Hakushu..."

"Dammo, get two 18 sherry casks first, and remember to note that you need an ice bucket and wine glasses."

"OK, Mr. Wang, would you like a drink?"

"Need not."

Wang Xin quickly waved his hand, his expression not only not relaxing, but even more tense.

Pony Ma looked at him with a puzzled expression, but before he could ask, Chen Xiu had already placed the order and brought up the topic herself.

"Mr. Ma, what brings you to Beijing today?"

"I'm on a business trip, and I just happened to stop by to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

"No rush, let's eat first, then we can talk."

Chen Xiu nodded slightly, then looked at Wang Xin and steered the conversation toward him.

"Mr. Wang, is Meituan about to have its IPO?"

"Yes, the IPO application has been submitted, and the reply from Hong Kong is that it's scheduled for September. We'll all be going there then, and you have to come too!"

"I only have a tiny bit of shares, do I really have to go?" "1% isn't a small amount. You only invested $500 million in Mobike back then, and now it's almost 100 times more. You've made so much money, what's wrong with you making a trip to Hong Kong?"

Wang Xin subconsciously complained, making Pony think to herself: How come those two are so close? No wonder they were able to team up to backstab Weishi back then, they were already in cahoots all along.

Chen Xiu said helplessly, "Going to Hong Kong is fine, but next month I have to go to New York to attend Pinduoduo's listing event on Nasdaq, so I'll be quite busy."

"Pinduoduo..."

Wang Xin muttered something to himself, then glanced at Pony's horse out of the corner of his eye to check its reaction.

What came into view was Pony Ma putting down his teacup and saying expressionlessly, "From Mobike to Meituan, and then investing in Pinduoduo on your own, Chen Xiu, Martin and I both admire your investment acumen."

"I admire you guys for being able to spot Douyin at a glance and continuously seek investment opportunities."

Chen Xiu's answer attracted the attention of both people present.

Wang Xin's gaze shifted back and forth between Chen Xiu and Pony Ma, unsure of what to say to smooth things over.

Pony Ma, perhaps rarely encountering such a situation, paused for a moment before responding: "Tencent's core is social networking and content. As a track that combines content and social networking, we are certainly optimistic about short videos."

"I'm very optimistic about it, which is why I'm focusing my efforts on this area."

"Since we both think it's a good opportunity, why don't we work together?"

"They've partnered. Didn't Tencent have a stake in Douyin's Series B funding round?"

Chen Xiu pretended to be confused and ignored Pony Ma's hints.

Just as Pony Ma frowned slightly, gathering his strength and preparing to get straight to the point.

A doorbell rang abruptly, and then a waiter pushing a food cart brought in the ordered dishes and whiskey after a few greetings.

Chen Xiu and Pony Ma's conversation, which was only halfway through, had to be temporarily halted as they exchanged a disgruntled look.

After the waiter placed the dishes and whiskey on the table and pushed the food cart away, Chen Xiu said, "Mr. Ma, Mr. Wang, shall we eat first?"

"Sure! Let's eat first. Wang Xin, hand me the wine and the ice bucket."

Wang Xin did as instructed. After Pony took the items, she immediately added ice cubes to the glass and poured a large cup.

"Would you two like to have a drink together?"

"Mr. Ma, I have a meeting this afternoon..."

"I can drink it!"

Chen Xiu got up to get a wine glass and added ice to it. He was about to get another unopened bottle of wine when Pony Ma stood up and poured him the wine himself.

After pouring, Pony Ma swirled his glass of wine and said, "This seems to be the first time we've ever drunk together, right?"

"Didn't we have a meal together when we were in Wuzhen?"

"You only drank with Zhu Xiaohu, you didn't drink with me!"

"Oh, I really didn't notice."

Chen Xiu shook the ice in her glass, reached out and touched Pony Ma's glass: "Then I'll toast Mr. Ma first with this glass."

"Done!"

Pony stared at Chen Xiu and finished his drink in one gulp.

Chen Xiu, who had only intended to be polite, was stunned by what she saw and could only follow along and finish her drink!
Wang Xin, still sitting in his seat, looked the two of them up and down, thinking: If I don't drink, it feels a bit wrong, but if I stand up and drink, it also feels a bit wrong. So should I get up and drink?

Before Wang Xin could figure out what was right and wrong, Pony Ma's next attack had already begun.

"You toasted me, so I should toast you too!"

After saying that, Pony poured some more for herself and Chen Xiu: "Come on, bottoms up!"

"Again?"

"I've come all this way, you're not even going to drink?"

"...Drink, drink, drink."

Now that things have come to this point, what else can Chen Xiu do? He can only play along and find a reason to retaliate against Pony Ma!
A 700ml bottle of whiskey was quickly consumed amidst the clinking of glasses between the two.

Wang Xin sat in his seat, initially looking like a clueless rookie, but gradually felt relieved as he saw the two getting more and more enthusiastic over their drinks.

Just as Pony Ma finished one bottle of wine and was about to open another to continue his drinking contest with Chen Xiu,

Whether it was due to the alcohol or accident, the empty bottle suddenly slid off the table and crashed vertically onto the carpet with a loud bang!
Pony stopped pouring the wine, Chen Xiu glanced sideways while holding the glass, and Wang Xin's heart, which had been at ease, started to pound again.

As the three of them froze, time began to stretch out, and as their actions remained unchanged, the atmosphere shifted once again.

"boom!"

"Chen Xiu, why can't you accept Tencent's investment in Douyin?"

From putting down the bottle to asking the question, Pony Ma's entire process was seamless, as if he had been holding back for a long time and was finally ready to unleash his full power!
Chen Xiu's response was equally swift: "Didn't I already open TikTok to Tencent? Why are you still fixated on Douyin? Can't you broaden your horizons a bit? You have to try and have your cake and eat it too!"

"What do you mean by 'profiting from both ends'? We invested in Douyin and TikTok, didn't we provide corresponding resources?"

"Even without your resources, Douyin can still develop normally! You're trying to block Douyin's content from spreading on social media by having WeChat and QQ block Douyin's sharing links. Is that going to work?"

"This measure is to ensure the simplicity and smoothness of WeChat Moments, and it's not just targeting Douyin. You're overreacting..."

"Our decision to reject Tencent's investment is also to ensure a clean and smooth internal development for Douyin. Don't overreact..."

Fueled by the effects of the alcohol, the two began to talk back and forth, their voices gradually growing louder and their conversations becoming increasingly absurd.

Wang Xin stared at them blankly, thinking: So all those drinks you just had were just building up your strength for a big opening...

(End of this chapter)