FoxTao's valuation was one thing, but the 560 million yuan raised had a designated purpose. To put it bluntly, it was the company's money, not his personal funds.
Unless he sold FoxTao!
"Are we going back to Xucheng this afternoon? I'll book the tickets." Song Yuncheng nudged him, asking softly as she noticed him lost in thought.
"Let's stay in Yanjing for a couple more days first." Chen Yansen snapped out of his reverie and shook his head.
"But I still have over a dozen B2C platforms waiting to join, and a pile of follow-up procedures to handle." Song Yuncheng quickly explained—she wanted to go back and make money.
"Leave it to the tech team. Send the contracts to Legal for review. They're all standard templates; there won't be any issues." Chen Yansen took her hand and gently massaged it.
The familiar touch made Song Yuncheng's face flush instantly, and the scene from last night involuntarily flashed through her mind.
"Driver, let's not head back to the hotel. Let's go to Wangfujing instead." Chen Yansen told the driver.
"Alright, no problem." The driver smiled and agreed. He glanced at the two in the rearview mirror, knowing they were well-off, and parked directly at the entrance of the shopping mall.
"What are we doing here?" Song Yuncheng asked curiously after getting out of the car and looking around.
"Buying you some work clothes." Chen Yansen put an arm around her shoulder and chuckled.
The white blazer set Song Yuncheng was wearing had been with her from Tencent's headquarters to the Series A celebration banquet, and now to Xiaomi's headquarters. It wasn't that the clothes were bad—Chen Yansen was just tired of seeing them.
"Oh." Song Yuncheng hummed in agreement and obediently followed.
In her heart, she knew Chen Yansen was domineering and rarely gave people a chance to refuse. She thought to herself, I'll just pay for it myself. It's not like I, Song Yuncheng, can't afford it.
After earning money, she felt more confident.
Chen Yansen pulled her into the elevator and went straight to the fourth-floor women's section. After a casual glance, they entered a mid-to-high-end boutique.
A blouse in the store cost 800–1,500 yuan, a skirt 1,500–3,000 yuan. Song Yuncheng was secretly astonished—a single item was equivalent to her part-time earnings from an entire month in the past.
Though she could afford it now, the prices still stung.
She wanted to pick something suitable for business occasions, in a dark color, and cheap—preferably under 3,000 yuan.
"One set of the black, one set of the beige, size M, and that skirt over there too…" Chen Yansen instructed the sales assistant.
He didn't have much patience to accompany a girl shopping. He pointed at a few nice-looking outfits and asked the assistant to bring out fresh stock.
"Too many! How could I wear them all?" Song Yuncheng grabbed his arm to stop him.
"Go back to the hotel and try them on slowly for me." Chen Yansen leaned close to her ear, his tone ambiguous.
Song Yuncheng's ears turned red. She took a step back, hesitant to speak.
Drawing on his past-life experience evaluating female streamers, coupled with his 4.11 physique and 3.49 mental attributes, Chen Yansen picked out several outfits that suited Song Yuncheng well and were generally appropriate.
These included both playful, stylish everyday wear and attire suitable for formal occasions.
"Sir, the total is 43,700 yuan. We've already applied a 5% discount. This is our store's VIP card—you can enjoy a 5% discount at all 126 of our stores nationwide," the sales assistant said enthusiastically as she folded the clothes into bags and handed over the card.
Chen Yansen took the card, casually stuffed it into his bag, and reached for his wallet.
"I'll pay myself," Song Yuncheng said hesitantly.
"Sure." Chen Yansen put his hands in his pockets, not pressuring her.
As the boss, he knew Song Yuncheng's income well—she had at least tens of thousands in her account.
Song Yuncheng froze, not expecting Chen Yansen to actually let her pay.
Damn it! Weren't these supposed to be work clothes?!
Song Yuncheng handed over her bank card pitifully, watching her balance shrink instantly. Her heart ached, almost out of breath—the pain worse than the night before.
Carrying the bags, Song Yuncheng walked out of the store looking utterly miserable.
"I've already spent 40,000, so I don't think you'll mind. How about treating me to a Cantonese fusion meal? Around 1,000 yuan per person?" Chen Yansen pointed to a restaurant upstairs; just the signboard and upscale decor indicated it was pricey.
"Not at all! Not at all!" Song Yuncheng was nearly in tears.
"Director Song, you're very generous." Chen Yansen smiled slightly and gave her a thumbs-up.
As for the clothes, they were all in Song Yuncheng's hands. Chen Yansen didn't have the habit of carrying bags for others.
"Boss, I… I want to go back and make money." Song Yuncheng tugged at Chen Yansen's sleeve, speaking earnestly. With her savings dwindling, her desire to earn money was stronger than ever.
"What's the point of earning money if you don't spend it? I asked around about your brother's condition. It's been dragging on too long. The only way to stop it from worsening is through behavioral intervention," Chen Yansen said slowly, stopping in his tracks.
"I know. That's why I want to save more money to hire someone to take care of him. I don't plan to get married either—with my situation, no one would dare marry me." Song Yuncheng forced a smile and spoke softly.
She never expected anyone to pull her out of her predicament. Chen Yansen gave her a job and even taught her negotiation and market expansion—she was already grateful.
As for being with Chen Yansen, she had thought about it but knew it was simply unrealistic.
"People must rely on themselves," Chen Yansen said with feeling.
Song Yuncheng thought he was reminding her to work hard and earn money, so she nodded heavily, composed herself, and continued upstairs.
Lunch cost another two thousand.
Song Yuncheng couldn't smile anymore, but strangely, she didn't feel the usual sense of oppression. It was as if the heavy weight on her heart had suddenly lightened after spending those tens of thousands.
For the next three days, Chen Yansen took her to several landmarks in Yanjing, including the CBD and the 798 Art District.
Back at the hotel that evening, the sofa in the suite was no longer used for curling up.
For three days straight, Chen Yansen felt no fatigue and couldn't help but think: Youth is truly amazing!
It wasn't until Wang Zihao called to urge him back, informing him that the special mobile phone promotion in cooperation with the telecom company was about to launch, that Chen Yansen asked Song Yuncheng to book train tickets home.
On the way, after Wang Zihao's explanation, Chen Yansen learned that after Zhao Maolin relayed FoxTao's rejection of the cooperation to the online mall contact, the other side grew anxious and raised the commission from 30% to 45%.
Based on Super Rebate's commission rules, the final price would be 120–180 yuan cheaper than market rates.
Even if the listed price was inflated, it wouldn't harm the user experience.
Several category teams discussed it and agreed to cooperate, even sending an email to Chen Yansen's inbox. He just hadn't replied for two days.
"Okay, I've checked the prices. Have the event team create a secondary page to build hype beforehand." Chen Yansen replied to Wang Zihao on the train.
For a shopping guide platform, a comprehensive product range was crucial. It enhanced the platform's image, increased average order value, and attracted more major brands.
If the site only sold generic items priced at tens of yuan, even if major brands proactively sought cooperation, users would still be suspicious, thinking they were counterfeit.
It was like selling cosmetics in a farmers' market—who would feel comfortable buying them?
Users interested in digital gadgets and major appliances were extremely valuable. He was willing to invest resources to cultivate such a user base within his platform, even if it was only 10%—or even 5%.
He returned to Xucheng College shortly after 4 p.m.
Chen Yansen placed his hands on the steering wheel and asked Song Yuncheng, "Should I take you back to your dorm first, or come to my place?"
"I'll go back to my dorm." Song Yuncheng hurriedly replied. These past few days, Chen Yansen had taken full advantage. If she went back to Room 0418 with him, who knew what trouble he'd cause.
"Alright. How about dinner together tonight?" Chen Yansen asked again.
"You should spend time with your other girlfriend first." Song Yuncheng got out of the car and waved goodbye with her suitcase.
"Hey! So, you admit you're one of my girlfriends too?" Chen Yansen leaned out, teasing.
"Go to hell, you scumbag!" Song Yuncheng grabbed a water bottle and threw it at him without hesitation.
With Chen Yansen's reflexes—while he couldn't catch a bullet—he could easily handle a badminton smash at 300 km/h.
He caught the water bottle steadily and drove toward the faculty apartments.
Song Yuncheng turned around, glanced at him from afar, a smile suddenly blooming on her face, and strolled leisurely toward her dorm.
Chen Yansen got out of the car downstairs and called Xu Dan, rattling off a list of recruitment requirements.
"Brother Sen, we're an e-commerce platform. Why do we need system architects and Android development engineers?" Xu Dan asked curiously.
"To develop an app. FoxTao is going mobile." Chen Yansen lied.
In reality, he was recruiting these people to improve Android system UI, functionality, and user experience—to develop a better operating system.
Whether it was a reskin or not didn't matter, as long as it worked!
Xu Dan didn't ask further. After hanging up, he instructed the recruitment specialist to start drafting job descriptions and posting them on major recruitment websites.
Chen Yansen lacked funds. Without selling equity or the company, he had to borrow money to get the system development started first.
However, finding a procurement director and a technical director was difficult. He had never been involved in the mobile phone industry in his past life—he only knew names like Yu Chengdong and Lei Jun.
Forget spending money; even offering equity might not sway them!
Oh well, take it one step at a time.
Chen Yansen shook his head, suppressing these thoughts. As for Lei Jun, he could only apologize.
The number of jobs an e-commerce platform could provide couldn't compare to the mobile phone manufacturing industry.
Moreover, he planned to forgo even contract manufacturers and handle everything himself!
He could easily build a 200-person R&D team, starting with system development engineers, and hire hardware and industrial design engineers once resources were more abundant.
Xiaomi was feeling its way across the river, while he would ride Xiaomi across!