Huayu: You were supposed to be a top star, but you've become capital?

Chapter 87 GGV These are wolves, Lin Shen is one of us.

Mao Wenchao followed his gaze and smiled: "Oh, this is the filming team we arranged in advance to accommodate your schedule."

Qu Fang added from the side, "We'll just shoot inside our company. We know you're busy, so it saves us the trouble of finding a studio."

The set and lighting are all set up; we can start filming this afternoon.

Lin Shen glanced inside; the backdrop was a simple, everyday scene, which looked like it had been carefully designed.

"Mr. Mao and Mr. Qu are too kind," Lin Shen said with a smile.

Mao Wenchao waved his hand: "Of course, of course. You've come all this way, we have to make sure you receive me properly."

Just then, a man in his thirties wearing glasses jogged over with a smile: "Hello, Mr. Lin! I'm the person in charge of this shoot, my surname is Zhou."

Lin Shen nodded: "Hello, Teacher Zhou, thank you for your hard work."

"Not at all, not at all!" Manager Zhou waved his hands repeatedly. "President Lin, the model you're working with has been arranged and is getting her makeup done next door. However—"

He paused, a little embarrassed, "I'm just an ordinary model, not a celebrity. I hope you'll understand."

Lin Shen waved his hand, completely unconcerned: "It's nothing, please take care of it."

He knew in his heart that although he was a shareholder, Xiaohongshu would not reduce the amount of expenses due for this filming.

He knew all too well how much he needed to spend.

For these kinds of indoor shoots, with a limited budget, it's already a good opportunity to hire an average model.

Besides, he himself is the main character in the promotional video; the model is just a background figure, so it doesn't matter who plays the role.

Manager Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, Mr. Lin, you go ahead with your work. I'll make preparations here, and you can come anytime."

Lin Shen responded and continued walking forward with Mao and Qu.

Passing through the office area, at the very back was a separate office with no sign on the door. Mao Wenchao pushed open the door and stepped aside to let Lin Shen go in first.

The room wasn't big, but it was well-lit, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of Madang Road, and several potted plants on the windowsill.

A simple desk, a sofa for receiving guests, and a hand-drawn map of Shanghai hanging on the wall.

Lin Shen sat down on the sofa, and Yang Chaoyue followed him in and stood to the side.

Lin Shen looked at her: "Xiao Yang, why don't you go out for a bit?"

Yang Chaoyue nodded and was about to turn around when Lin Shen added, "Keep an eye on the fans, don't let them get too excited, especially don't let them rush directly to Huayi's side. Also, go to the filming area beforehand to prepare and coordinate with Teacher Zhou."

Yang Chaoyue gave an "OK" sign: "Understood, don't worry, Brother Shen." Then he pushed open the door and went out.

The door closed, and the room became quiet.

The office door closed.

Mao Wenchao invited Lin Shen to sit down on the sofa, and Qu Fang personally poured a cup of tea and handed it to him.

The three of them took their seats.

"Mr. Lin, how have you been lately?" Mao Wenchao got straight to the point. "We've seen all the commotion online. If you need any help, Xiaohongshu is ready to assist you anytime."

Lin Shen took the teacup and smiled, "It's alright, it's all in the past."

Mao Wenchao nodded, didn't ask any more questions, and changed the subject to start talking about serious business.

"Mr. Lin, let me tell you about the company's recent situation." He paused, "Since you joined, the pace here has noticeably sped up."

Lin Shen picked up his teacup and listened.

"The data is better than expected." Mao Wenchao was clearly excited. "The traffic you brought after you joined, plus the growth of our own platform, has now exceeded three million daily active users, which is almost two months ahead of our original target."

Three million.

Lin Shen mentally reviewed the number.

At this point, Xiaohongshu has been transforming from a PDF guide platform into an app for less than a year, and this number is already quite impressive among startups today.

"What about e-commerce?"

"After the welfare club went online, the conversion rate was higher than we expected," Qu Fang continued. "Especially in the beauty and cross-border e-commerce sectors, user stickiness is very strong, and the daily exposure of notes is—well, probably in the tens of millions."

Lin Shen nodded.

Xiaohongshu is still in the early stages of its transformation from a community to a "community + e-commerce" model. Its real breakthrough will have to wait two years, until machine recommendations replace human operations and the number of users exceeds 50 million or 100 million.

But this upward momentum is already clearly perceptible.

Mao Wenchao continued, "The key focuses for the next few months are to continue promoting community content and optimizing the e-commerce experience. Also, we'd like to hear your feedback on the release schedule of your notes."

Lin Shen put down his teacup: "How did you arrange this?"

Qu Fang took out a printed form from the side and handed it over: "This is the preliminary plan. You provide the content, and we'll handle the promotion. As for the frequency—four to five posts a month, coordinated with brand events and trending topics."

Lin Shen glanced at it and nodded: "Okay. You can decide the specific time, just let my assistant know in advance."

"it is good."

The aroma of tea in the office hadn't yet dissipated.

Mao Wenchao picked up his teacup, took a sip, and looked at Lin Shen, hesitating to speak.

Lin Shen noticed this and looked up at him: "President Mao, just say what you have to say."

Mao Wenchao put down his teacup and exchanged a glance with Qu Fang.

Qu Fang picked up the conversation, speaking in a more formal tone than before: "President Lin, since you asked, we won't beat around the bush. Besides the filming, there's another matter we'd like to hear your opinion on."

Lin Shen nodded, waiting for what was to come.

"Series B," Qu Fang said. "The company is preparing to launch its Series B financing round."

Lin Shen paused, his hand holding the teacup still.

Series B funding.

He certainly knew that Xiaohongshu would have a Series B funding round, and not just a Series B round, but also a Series C round, a Series D round, and eventually go public with a valuation of tens of billions of US dollars.

But he didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

But on second thought, it makes sense.

The current data is better than he remembers for the same period. Daily active users have exceeded three million ahead of schedule, and the conversion rate of e-commerce has exceeded expectations. Capital has always been keen to smell the opportunity and will naturally rush in.

"Any progress?" Lin Shen asked.

Mao Wenchao added, "Several companies are in contact. ZhenFund and GSR Ventures, the existing shareholders, have expressed their desire to follow up, and GGV Capital has also expressed its strong intention to lead the investment."

He paused, looking at Lin Shen: "But to be honest, we'd like to hear your opinion first."

Lin Shen looked at him without saying a word.

Mao Wenchao continued, "You're also one of our shareholders. To be honest, we both have similar views on this financing matter—"

That's a bit contradictory.

"What's the contradiction?"

Qu Fang picked up the thread: "We want money, but we're afraid that once we have it, we won't be able to control the direction. Capital comes in, and it always takes something with it."

"We understand the pressure of having a seat, having a voice, and potentially being forced to withdraw—but when it really comes down to it, we're still unsure."

Lin Shen nodded; he understood.

Entrepreneurs always have a complex relationship with capital. When they are short of money, they long for it to come, but when they do, they fear being led by the nose by capital.

But he also keenly grasped another layer of meaning in Qu Fang's words.

"Have you already spoken with GGV and ZhenFund?"

Mao Wenchao nodded: "We've talked about it, and they're both interested, but—"

He paused, seemingly considering his words.

Lin Shen spoke for him: "But you don't want them to take too much?"

Mao Wenchao and Qu Fang exchanged a glance, then smiled wryly.

Qu Fang spoke, much more directly than before: "President Lin, since we've come this far, we won't hide anything from you."

ZhenFund and GSR Ventures were among the early adopters and helped us a lot, which we acknowledge. But, how should I put it, they're just too professional.

"Is being too professional a bad thing?" Lin Shen raised an eyebrow.

Mao Wenchao chimed in, "Yes, they're incredibly professional. The terms are laid out clearly, and the exit strategies are laid out precisely. They've calculated every step for you, but they've also thought of every step for themselves."

He paused for a moment: "We're not naive people. Investors should expect returns, that's only right. But we don't want Xiaohongshu to become a puppet of capital."

Lin Shen remained silent, waiting for what would follow.

Mao Wenchao looked at Lin Shen and said frankly, "To be honest, Mr. Lin, we're talking to you about this because you're different from them."

"What's different?"

"You're one of us," Qu Fang continued, "You have a significant number of shares; you're on our side. And—"

She looked at Lin Shen and smiled: "Your Shenzhen Capital Group doesn't have their kind of grand presence. We already have companies like ZhenFund and GSR Ventures involved."

Given GGV's size, if they lead the investment, the board of directors will definitely need to be formed, and the terms will include a bunch of preferential rights. We two might not be able to handle it.

Then our words will carry less weight, but if you come in—we can still discuss things."

Lin Shen smiled after hearing this.

This is a straightforward statement, but it's a straightforwardness that makes people feel comfortable.

To put it bluntly, in Mao and Qu's eyes, GGV and Zhen Ge were "wolves" who came in to eat meat; Lin Shen was "one of their own" who came in to help guard the home.

It's not that Lin Shen is so powerful, but compared to others, he's not that scary.

"I understand." Lin Shen nodded. "You want me to raise more in the Series B round to help you hedge against external capital."

Mao Wenchao's eyes lit up, and he didn't beat around the bush: "Yes, that's exactly what I mean."

Qu Fang then asked, "President Lin, are you going to join or not?"

Lin Shen looked at him without saying a word, clearly deep in thought.

Mao Wenchao looked at Lin Shen and suddenly asked, "President Lin, I'll be frank, please don't mind."

"Speak."

"Shenzhen Capital—" Mao Wenchao carefully chose his words, "To be honest, we can't compare to ZhenFund or GGV in terms of size, but we've all seen what your team has been up to recently."

He looked at Lin Shen and said, "To put it bluntly, the three of us are on the same page. You may know more about capital than we do, but we trust you more than you do."

Lin Shen paused for a moment, his hand holding the teacup still.

Shenzhen Capital Group was established not long ago and only manages a few hundred million yuan. In the VC circle, it is a complete newcomer and is not even in the same league as institutions like ZhenFund or GGV.

Mao Wenchao's meaning was quite clear: it's precisely because you're not powerful enough that we dare to chat with you a bit more. If it were someone from Ji Yuan sitting here, the two of us would have to think twice before we speak.

Lin Shen put down his teacup and smiled, "I'll remember what you said, Mr. Mao."

"I'll go with it. You decide how much you want; my funds are always available."

Mao Wenchao's eyes lit up.

"However," Lin Shen changed the subject, "how many do you plan to release?"