Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

Lu Hai walked to the back of the store, opened the glass door of the freezer where the milk was stored, bent down and reached into the freezer, pulled up his T-shirt, closed his eyes, and felt his skin being exposed to the cool air.

The weather forecast says Guangdong will be tropical hot tonight. The few customers in the shop are craving barbecue, beer, and bottled water.

Lu Hai looked up and immediately recognized her, because she was beautiful enough to be unforgettable, and also because of her excellent taste in music. She was standing in front of the meat counter, turned sideways to Lu Hai. She turned around, and Lu Hai saw that her broad back perfectly filled out her gray shirt, her short black hair falling over her collar. She changed her mind, put the cooked beef back on the counter, pushed the shopping cart to the freezer counter, and picked up two bags of cod fillets.

Lu Hai pulled down his T-shirt and closed the glass door. He didn't want to buy milk or cod. Basically, he wanted very little; he just wanted some food so his mouth wouldn't be idle while he stayed in the hotel watching TV that afternoon. That morning, he had submitted the official text of the "SP Business Cooperation Agreement" to Guangdong Mobile. The person in charge told him that although Qingniao had the background of a strategic pilot project at headquarters, the compliance process of the provincial branch could not be skipped. This process would take half a day, and Lu Hai should come to pick up the stamped document tomorrow morning.

In his shopping cart was a whole-wheat bread roll and a clear plastic bag containing several of his favorite childhood snacks. He also grabbed half a fried chicken and six bottles of Tsingtao beer, lingered bewilderedly by the fruit counter for a long time, and finally joined the checkout line, standing right behind the woman. This wasn't intentional, but it wasn't entirely coincidental either.

"What a coincidence." The woman turned around and carefully looked Lu Hai up and down. "We've met again. Is Guangzhou really that big?"

Lu Hai nodded and gave her a forced smile.

"You look like you're throwing a party." The woman put the things she bought into a plastic bag.

"I bought it for myself," Lu Hai muttered, offering a smile.

"Are you planning to skip meals all day?"

"Just snacks."

The female cashier gave Lu Hai his change, and Lu Hai nodded toward the Red Cross donation box.

"Congratulations, you won the Guangdong Mobile bid beautifully." The woman's smile curved upwards to the corners of her eyes this time.

"Thank you. What are you doing here?"

Lu Hai picked up the bag, and the six bottles of beer inside clinked together, making a cheerful sound.

"Just like you, I'm here at the mobile company to take care of some business."

Lu Hai's gaze lingered on the woman. She seemed remarkably familiar with Qingniao's movements, which puzzled Lu Hai even more. If she were a journalist conducting business intelligence or some kind of undercover investigation, she shouldn't be so blatant, actively revealing her interest in Qingniao. On the other hand, if she didn't have such motives, why did she ask those roundabout questions last time?

"Oh?" Lu Hai said.

"It's also an SP (Service Provider) business."

Lu Hai intended to open the door for the woman, but unexpectedly discovered it was an automatic door. The two stepped onto the sidewalk outside, stopped, and stood facing each other.

Lu Hai didn't know what to say, and perhaps that's why he said, "This fried chicken looks like it's missing a leg."

"What?" The woman shielded her eyes with her hand to block out the sunlight.

"It's nothing. Sorry. I was just saying what was on my mind. In other words, I didn't mean it that way... I was just talking as I thought, just rambling... I..." Lu Hai didn't understand why the woman was still standing in front of him.

"I was quite presumptuous last time at the hotel restaurant," the woman said.

"what?"

"I didn't introduce myself last time either, let's get to know each other formally today." The woman handed over a business card, then smiled, "Wang Yu, Strategic Development Department, NetEase."

Lu Hai put the business card in his pocket, paused for a moment, and thought for a few seconds before realizing that the woman was talking about Wangyi, as if this information had to bypass his burned nerves and damaged synapses to reach its destination.

"You don't need to be nervous," Wang Yu said. "Last time was because I was still doing preliminary industry research, and there was a lot of disagreement within our company about whether or not to enter the content-based SP (Service Provider) market. That time it was a private trip, and I couldn't reveal my identity, for fear of causing you and President Han unnecessary pressure or misunderstanding. If that conversation made you uncomfortable, I apologize."

Lu Hai took a breath: "It's nothing, just an industry exchange. My name is Lu Hai."

Wang Yu nodded: "After observing the bidding process and conducting internal evaluations, we realized that we are not currently suited for this track. Qingniao is moving very fast and has a solid model. We believe we cannot catch up in the short term, nor do we want to force it."

Lu Hai looked at Wang Yu, knowing he couldn't tell if Wang Yu was lying, so he decided to remain silent for the time being.

"Wangyi has been cooperating with Guangdong Mobile on SP services, such as game promotions and SMS quizzes that we've done before. I'm here today to handle a reconciliation and interface testing issue for a routine business on their end. I just happened to run into you and heard that Qingniao won the bid, so I thought I'd say hello and congratulate you in person."

"Thank you," Lu Hai said.

"Your team at Qingniao has really impressed us these past two months. I'd only heard about President Han from industry rumors before, but meeting you in person today, I can feel how reliable your team is. It's rare to see someone like you who are both disciplined and fast at creating content. You can also tell President Han when you get back that we're not enemies."

Lu Hai hesitated for a moment, but then nodded: "I will tell the president."

"You've prepared very well for this Guangdong bid. I know there's also a tender in Zhejiang Province. If you plan to expand to more provinces in the future, do you intend to expand your team yourself or seek external cooperation?"

"We are still evaluating this internally, and there are no specific plans to share with the public at the moment."

"Okay." Wang Yu smiled knowingly. "There's one more thing. We're planning to hold an internal industry observation salon and will invite some content creation teams to share their insights. If President Han is interested, I can send an invitation. It's purely for exchange, not business-related. Your presence would be a learning experience for us as well."

"Um... I'll have to go back and ask our club president for his opinion. Whether to participate and who will participate is up to him. Thank you for the invitation."

"Alright, Mr. Lu, I won't keep you from resting any longer. We'll probably meet quite often in the industry in the future, so I hope you won't be so nervous next time we meet. I wish your Guangdong project a successful run. If you have the chance in the future, you're welcome to visit our Guangzhou headquarters for a coffee."

Wang Yu smiled at Lu Hai, then walked away, the plastic bag in her hand and her back swaying from side to side.

"Wang Yi. So last time it really was just to get information out of him, but he didn't get anything. Not bad, Lu Hai, well done!" Lu Hai thought smugly, then suddenly felt a chill, wondering if he had blurted out his own thoughts.