Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

Zhang Ruiyi's heart radiated light like the sun, and an irresistible urge arose within her to spin around in the swivel chair a few times.

"This is the first time I've ever held a meeting with so many... professionals," she said, trying to hide her excitement, but she could hear the joy in her own voice.

"Are you ready?" Han Fei raised one hand, resting it on the doorframe, forming a diagonal line at the office doorway. "I've already had everyone assembled in the main conference room. Everyone is here except for the technical team members from headquarters."

"Uh...do they know I'm the one who's going to speak later?"

Han Fei smiled, revealing his teeth: "I don't know."

Zhang Ruiyi looked at Han Fei with an incredulous expression: "Why didn't you tell them beforehand?"

The person across the doorway relaxed: "If I had told them in advance, everyone would have come into the meeting room with preconceived notions. Some would think I was paving the way for you, some would wonder what you'd say, and some might even start comparing your words to their usual ones before they've even heard them. In that case, no matter how well you speak, they'd have to spend half their energy processing those preconceived notions. But if it's like this, you walk in, I announce it, you speak, there's no buffer. They can only listen to you, they can only see if what you say makes sense. Don't you want everyone to see for themselves that you got this position based on your own abilities? This is the most direct and fastest way."

......

At 5:46 PM, Han Fei and Zhang Ruiyi walked through the corridor toward the publishing house's main conference. Zhang Ruiyi had specially changed into a light blue shirt, her hair pulled back tightly, revealing her slender neck, with a few strands falling onto her skin. Han Fei noticed that she had placed the printed "Media Inquiry Registration Form" on top of the "Frequently Asked Questions and Answers Manual," two documents she had spent an entire morning and half an afternoon preparing.

They stopped at the door of the conference room, and Zhang Ruiyi took a breath.

"Don't be nervous," Han Fei said, "they're all on our side."

Zhang Ruiyi nodded and pushed the door open to enter.

Everyone turned to look at them and saw Zhang Ruiyi walk to the end of the conference table, all looking at Han Fei with questioning eyes.

"Is everyone here?" Zhang Ruiyi cleared her throat lightly, her tone much more normal than usual. "Then let's begin."

Lu Hai frowned, craned his neck to look at Zhang Ruiyi, and rubbed his eyes. "Ruiyi, are you trying to lecture us?"

"Yes," Zhang Ruiyi said, opening her notebook. "Today's lesson was about how to talk to reporters."

A moment of complete silence, followed by bursts of laughter.

"Don't laugh," Han Fei said from the doorway, closing the door and leaning against the wall. "I hereby announce that from today onwards, Rui Yi is our Director of Media Affairs. From now on, whatever you say to reporters and how you say it will be entirely up to her."

The laughter stopped. Everyone exchanged glances, immediately adopting serious expressions, and opened their notebooks.

Zhang Ruiyi smiled slightly, as if to express her gratitude; she desperately needed some encouragement. She held up the "Media Inquiry Registration Form."

"Let me show you something first. This is something I just made today. From now on, all media inquiries will be registered in a unified manner. First, find out the other party's organization, name, contact information, interview topic, and deadline. Fill out this form and submit it to me."

She paused, her gaze slowly sweeping over everyone in the conference room.

"I know everyone thinks this is too much trouble. But we're not the same company as Qingniao a month ago. After that report in the *Shanghai Morning Post* went viral, we'll definitely receive more calls from the media, and more reporters will come to our door. They'll not only schedule interviews, but they might also ask all sorts of questions on the spot. For example, some will ask about the data, some will inquire whether Tencent is going to acquire us, and some might even directly ask what our relationship is with China Mobile's headquarters. Think about it, how will you answer these questions?"

Han Fei glanced at the others and saw that they had all fallen silent after listening. Zhang Meimei put down her enamel mug and nodded thoughtfully. Chen Jianguo adjusted his glasses. Lu Hai rubbed his chin.

"So," Zhang Ruiyi opened the "Frequently Asked Questions Answer Handbook" and showed the first page to everyone, "I've made a guidelines. All future external responses will be based on this. I've compiled thirty-five questions that we might be asked by reporters, divided into four categories: First, about Qingniao's background and transformation; second, about data and business model; third, about authors and content; and fourth, about the so-called rumors of contact with industry giants."

Zhang Ruiyi handed the handbook to Zhang Meimei, who was closest to her. Zhang Meimei opened the handbook. Everyone stood up and gathered around to read the handbook.

"Let me give you an example," Zhang Ruiyi said. "If someone were to ask: 'We've heard that internet giants like Tencent are in contact with you. Is it for an acquisition?' then in our response, we would acknowledge the contact, deny the details, and shift the focus. For example: Qingniao has always maintained an open attitude in communicating with various partners in the industry to explore possible collaborations. Currently, there is no specific information to disclose; everything is subject to official announcements."

"And this one?" Lu Hai read aloud, "Q: What is your relationship with China Mobile? Do you have headquarters support? A: Qingniao has normal market-based business cooperation with China Mobile's branch offices. We reached this agreement through open channels and in accordance with compliant business procedures. China Mobile is an important partner of ours. Uh... doesn't this need further explanation?"

"No explanation," Zhang Ruiyi said. "Because the more you explain, the more suspicious the reporter will be. This statement itself is the answer. If you state it definitively, the reporter won't be able to dig any further. If they press you, just smile and repeat it. Then they'll know that's the end of the line."

"Uh... that's basically saying nothing at all," Cheng Xu said.

"That's right," Zhang Ruiyi said. "That's exactly how it should be. When reporters come, be polite and smile, but don't give them a single extra word of the key information."

"This is something I'm good at," Lu Hai raised his hand, "It's like practicing Tai Chi!"

Everyone burst into laughter. Lu Hai touched his short, brush-like hair: "Hey, wait a minute! What if he goes back and embellishes things when he writes the article?"

"Then there's even less to worry about." Zhang Ruiyi leaned over and flipped to a page in the middle of the manual. "Look here, Article 32. If a reporter makes a clear inaccuracy in their report, we don't argue with them. Instead, we issue a brief clarification statement through official channels. The statement should be no more than 300 words, stating only the facts without any emotion. This way, readers will feel that the reporter is unreliable, not that we have a problem."