Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 501 Creating a Memorable Scene: Chen Xiu's Gaze!
The same place, but different feelings upon arriving.

Lei Jun thought to himself, as he sat in the storeroom of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with Chen Xiu sitting next to him.

Last year, Xiaomi's stock price fell below its IPO price, so he and Lin Bin came here to stay. Now, he has a different partner, and the steps he sat on last year are now occupied by Chen Xiu.

Lei Jun opened his mouth as he watched Chen Xiu pull out her phone and type rapidly.

"Mr. Chen..."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

After Chen Xiu finished typing, she looked at Lei Bus and asked him with her eyes what he meant.

Lei Jun smiled and said, "Well, how about we switch seats?"

"..."

Chen Xiu stared at him for two seconds, then continued typing: "I won't change."

"why?"

"It's more comfortable sitting here. Your seat is against the wall, and you can't stretch your legs out."

Since you knew you couldn't stretch out, why did you sit on the steps as soon as you came in? Didn't you even consider the needs of an old man like me?

Lei Jun was internally ranting, but outwardly he was looking at Chen Xiu expectantly, hoping that Chen Xiu would be understanding and switch places with him so that he could continue to express his feelings.

Unexpectedly, Chen Xiu seemed to be replying to some important message, his fingers flying across the keyboard, completely focused and with no time to spare.

"The IPO went very smoothly. I have to host a thank-you banquet tonight, so I probably won't be able to go back until tomorrow."

This message was sent to Su Xiao.

"You stay in Hengdian and focus on filming! I'm leaving tomorrow, there's no need for you to make a special trip."

Dilraba is filming "Eternal Love of Dream" in Hengdian. As the female lead, she would have to ask for leave if she wanted to fly over, which Chen Xiu felt was unnecessary.

"What are you doing here? Filming for 'Entrepreneurial Age' is about to start, and we'll be able to meet then."

Tian Xinwei, who was holding her phone and waiting for a reply, saw the message, her lips quickly twitched, and then she immediately smiled broadly.

"It's just going public, it's not that important. You go about your own business."

Upon seeing this message, Chen Duling pursed her lips, feeling that she still needed to work harder.

Chen Xiu's last message was to Meng Ziyi: "Send me your flight information, and I'll have someone pick you up."

"OKOK! (emoji)"
Following the emojis was a selfie GIF of Meng Ziyi, which, judging from her clothing and style, appeared to have been taken recently.

Chen Xiu's lips twitched slightly, then she quickly smoothed them out, holding her phone and looking up at Lei Jun.

"Excuse me, Mr. Lei, I have some text messages to reply to."

“I understand. When Xiaomi went public last year, I was sitting in this very spot replying to messages.”

Isn't that a clear enough hint?

Lei Jun smiled broadly, feeling that Chen Xiu was a respectable person and would likely find a suitable explanation to save face for him...

"It's really convenient to reply to messages from this spot. Sitting where you are is very uncomfortable; it's hard to even put my legs down."

Chen Xiu stretched her leg out, straddling Lei Bus, and then pulled it back.

Obviously, changing positions is impossible.

Lei Jun pursed his lips and admitted, "Um, Mr. Chen, you said you wanted to talk to me about something. What is it?"

When it came to business, Chen Xiu smiled and rested her elbows on her knees, holding her phone with her hands crossed. Even though she was in a dark room, her demeanor remained unchanged.

"If each share costs 8 yuan, I can invest in Xiaomi."

"8 yuan?"

Lei Jun frowned slightly, looking at Chen Xiu with hesitation.

Based on Xiaomi's stock price today, 8 yuan represents a 10% drop. If it's a private placement, this price is reasonable.

"Mr. Chen, let's discuss the specific investment shares."

"No rush to talk about this."

Chen Xiu shook her head: "I'd like to understand Xiaomi's strategic plan first."

Lei Jun moved his legs and felt that the squatting position for a long time had made his leg muscles a little numb.

"Just sit on the ground, why squat?"

"Ok?"

"Are the steps I'm sitting on cleaner than the ground?"

Lei Jun thought about it and realized that it made sense; he had just been agonizing over changing seats...

With a thud, Lei Jun sat down on the ground and smiled with a relaxed expression.

"Xiaomi's strategic plan for the next two years is to enter the high-end mobile phone market, increase its market share in China and overseas, and form a three-way competition with Apple and Samsung."

After speaking, Lei Jun stared at Chen Xiu with confidence, expecting her to ask a question.

Chen Xiu did ask, "Is that all?"

"That's the general direction, but the details still require coordination from the project leaders..."

"Both of those companies you mentioned have their own core hardware competitiveness. For flagship phones with the same performance, the hardware cost for you to source globally can reach over 3500, while for them it only costs 2000. How can that be considered a three-way competition?"

"Uh……"

Lei Jun's lips curled into a smile as he argued, "The cost of independent research and development is too high. Even if we achieve some success, the cost will remain high. The price and performance of our flagship phones are not as good as other companies' second-tier flagship phones, resulting in a poor user experience. This does not align with Xiaomi's strategy of focusing on cost-effectiveness."

"So, you've actually seen the upper limit that Xiaomi phones can achieve."

"We have only been established for 8 years, and it has not been an easy journey. The results we have achieved are the result of the hard work of everyone."

“Inherent deficiencies.” Chen Xiu nodded slightly, then abruptly changed the subject: “President Lei, do you know why I left Didi back then?”

"Ok??"

Lei Jun looked at Chen Xiu with shining eyes, showing his interest in this old gossip from the industry.

Once people start gossiping, their relationship will unconsciously become closer.

Chen Xiu didn't hide anything and directly revealed one of the reasons why she left Didi.

“After Didi and Kuaidi merged, we had already achieved an absolute leading position. Normally, our next step should be to further develop our competitive advantage, develop driver assistance technology, or perhaps try our hand in the new energy field.”

"However, with so much money burned in the early stages of development, and shareholders eager for returns, it's not so suitable to invest in research and development at this point."

"The capital that helped you rise quickly in the early stages has become a chain that binds your development in the later stages. Mr. Lei, you should be quite aware of this lately, right?"

Lei Jun nodded sadly, muttering "indeed."

Chen Xiu continued, "So I chose to cash out of Didi and leave, use my own money to start Douyin, and use my own people to manage Douyin. Even if I launch a project now that I can't see any returns and have to invest in it from the beginning, I can get it approved without any obstacles."

"What project?"

Lei Jun instantly spotted the key point.

Chen Xiu glanced at him and said, "It's none of your business."

"Would you like to know more about it?"

"Anyway, you won't be allowed to visit."

"..."

Lei Jun curled his lip, knowing that he was already quite famous.

He was still smart enough; after carefully considering Chen Xiu's account of his second entrepreneurial journey, he understood the unspoken meaning behind her words.

"Mr. Chen, do you mean to let Xiaomi develop new businesses and create a second production line?"

"Isn't your smart home just a second production line? But the home appliance oligopoly has already emerged, you probably can't compete with it, right?"

Chen Xiu's smile became more sarcastic.

Lei Jun instantly understood, and the way he looked away revealed his guilty conscience.

Chen Xiu added, "Instead of competing with brands that have been cultivating the market for decades in traditional industries, why not actively embrace new fields? Analysis, solutions, capital, and execution—isn't that what success is all about?"

"A new field..."

Lei Jun pursed his lips, his mind starting to consider new directions in the market: AI, biomedicine, new energy vehicles...

"If you really plan to start a second business, I suggest you focus less on marketing and more on technology."

Chen Xiu suddenly said meaningfully.

Lei Jun naturally retorted: "Mr. Chen, this isn't marketing; I've always been sincere..."

"Come on! You just want to create the most value with the least amount of money!"

"From a business perspective, there's no problem with that."

"Two years ago, Xiaomi lost market share to OPPO and Vivo because of insufficient offline stores. You even went to learn from their experience to open stores. Have you already forgotten about that?"

Chen Xiu countered with concrete examples, leaving Lei Jun speechless.

Seeing Lei Jun's smile vanish, Chen Xiu smiled and said, "Mr. Lei, your IQ should be higher than mine."

"Ok??"

Lei Bus stared at Chen Xiu with wide eyes, thinking: Is he praising me?

"So you're smarter than me. The smarter a person is, the more they'll try to find the optimal solution through shrewd calculations. But finding the optimal solution locally can actually put the whole situation in a passive position. Have a slightly bigger perspective and be less of a scheming person."

"..."

It turns out it was a case of first praising and then criticizing...

After mentally criticizing Chen Xiu, Lei Jun still took those words to heart. How could a successful businessman not tolerate a few unpleasant words of advice?

The two remained silent for a moment. Lei Jun, who felt some discomfort in his back from sitting on the ground, began to try to adjust his position.

Seeing him fidgeting, Chen Xiu couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"

"My back is a little sore from sitting for so long..."

"Hehe, if you sit cross-legged with your back against the wall and straighten your back, it won't hurt."

Lei Jun looked at him suspiciously, then did as he was told, and his lower back, now supported, did indeed stop hurting.

"Mr. Chen, you know about this?"

"You don't usually work out, do you?"

As soon as Chen Xiugang finished speaking, he felt his phone vibrate.

Before he could look down, the door to the storage room was suddenly pushed open, and Zhou Shouzi and a large group of others crowded in the doorway, exchanging glances with Chen Xiu and Lei Bus who looked up at him.

The Douyin employee holding the balancer captured this scene in the live stream.

Lei Jun sat cross-legged with his back against the wall, a smile that was both awkward and polite.

Wearing a black suit and a white shirt, Chen Xiu, with a serious yet clean demeanor, sat on the third step, her legs on the first step, her elbows resting on her knees, her hands clasped together, and her phone screen lit up.

He looked up at the crowd, facing the live broadcast camera, his gaze calm yet bright, his lips pursed. Though he didn't smile, he became the absolute protagonist among the many bigwigs present.

When this scene appeared in the live stream, netizens were once again in an uproar.

This photo, dubbed "the iconic scene of Chen Xiu's gaze," spread across internet social media platforms within a day, reaching far and wide.

(End of this chapter)