Sun Li felt a wave of relief wash over her at Zhou You's words. She now had an inexplicable trust in him, as if she had found someone to lean on again.
Ever since her parents divorced, she had grown increasingly independent. Her parents could no longer be her support, so she had to rely on herself.
Over the years, struggling alone in this cold society, her appearance was merely a facade. Otherwise, who knows how many unwanted suitors she would have attracted. That time she got together with Zhou You on a drunken impulse was also because the pressure was too much. She found him agreeable, and after years of pushing men away, she had nearly become a tomboy.
Seeing Sun Li fall into a deep sleep, Zhou You gently touched her face, looking at her with pity. It's hard to make it alone in society, especially when you don't have parents to fall back on.
Carrying the weight of the world on your own shoulders—this is something only understood in middle age, after enduring life's harsh lessons.
Zhou You pulled the blanket up to Sun Li's chest, then quietly slipped out of the room.
He took the elevator to the second floor for breakfast, eating while waiting for Ye Shengde.
Before long, he saw Ye Shengde coming down with another actress.
Zhou You took a closer look. Fortunately, she wasn't one of his kind, or it would have been awkward.
When Ye Shengde spotted Zhou You eating breakfast, he let go of the actress's hand and said, "I have something to do later. I'll get in touch when I'm free."
The actress looked resigned but had no choice. She let go and said, "Mr. Ye, don't forget what you promised me. I'm counting on you."
Everyone knew what was going on, but it wasn't something to be said in public. These were mutual agreements, and saying it so bluntly took away the charm, dampening the mood.
Ye Shengde went to grab a tray and load up on food. The hotel breakfast was quite lavish, featuring not only northern staples like rolls, porridge, millet congee, eight-treasure porridge, soy milk, and spicy soup, but also southern dishes like hot dry noodles and glutinous rice balls, plus international options like milk, bread, and bacon.
He filled his tray to the brim and walked over to Zhou You, noticing that Zhou You's plate was also quite full.
He chuckled. "Mr. Zhou, you've been working hard too."
"Can't help it. If I don't eat enough, I won't have the strength to work." The unspoken understanding between men was one of the fastest ways to bond.
"Haha, Mr. Zhou is still young. Not like me, getting older."
"You're too modest, Mr. Ye. You look vibrant, not a hint of fatigue."
Ye Shengde didn't dare continue. Was he supposed to say he slept early last night and that's why he felt refreshed?
"I contacted Zhang Yiming yesterday. He'll be coming directly to this hotel."
Zhou You was startled but quickly recovered. At this point, Zhang Yiming hadn't yet founded the tech giant of later years. After several failed startups, few dared to invest in him. And his current project, in the eyes of the major players, seemed doomed to fail.
Relying on individuals to create content was unthinkable at the time. Toutiao wasn't the later Douyin. Back then, anything produced sold easily. Later, with massive overproduction, nothing sold unless you had traffic. This directly gave rise to personal IPs and the path to monetization, which took off like a rocket.
"Mr. Ye, you're efficient. No wonder you're in charge of such a core department as investments." Zhou You genuinely admired him. Even after drinking heavily last night, Ye Shengde hadn't forgotten to get things done.
"You're too kind, Mr. Zhou. It was just a phone call. But I hope you'll be cautious with this investment. Zhang Yiming has started several businesses, and each one failed. In our assessment, this one is also a pipe dream." Ye Shengde shared what he knew.
"Thanks for the heads-up, Mr. Ye. Whatever happens, I owe you one. I'll invest in a few more projects, and one of them is bound to succeed." Zhou You thought to himself, I'd love to invest in WeChat, but can I? Do I dare?
Everyone knows WeChat and QQ are simple, but Tencent has become a behemoth with deep roots. Back when 360 tried to dip into instant messaging, it sparked a massive war, and the boss nearly got arrested.
Instant messaging is Tencent's lifeline, its foundation. Anyone who dares touch it faces a fight to the death, no negotiation.
Countless later software tried to get a piece of the pie and failed miserably.
Zhou You wasn't about to step on that landmine. He'd rather find projects the big players overlooked and pick up the scraps. At this stage, many things were already set in stone. Outsiders couldn't break in. Everyone knew there was money to be made, but you just couldn't get in.
Zhou You's hope was to be like Duan Yongping—invest in a few companies, let the money roll in, do what he liked, and avoid a lot of trouble.
There's a joke that goes: Every post-80s generation can't escape Duan Yongping.
In elementary and middle school, they were hooked on Subor consoles, playing Contra endlessly, forgetting all the built-in learning content.
In high school, BBK repeaters were the trendy must-have, supposedly for learning English, but they ended up playing music.
In college, Oppo and Vivo phones were everywhere.
After graduation, Pinduoduo started harvesting poor young people.
Finally, when they settled down and had kids, the Little Genius smartwatch took over.
Behind all of this was Duan Yongping, the harvester of the post-80s generation.
He wondered if he could get a stake in Pinduoduo when the time came. There were too many big backers, and they wouldn't lack funds. But by then, with his growing capital and influence, there was a good chance he could buy in.
At 9:30 a.m., Zhang Yiming walked in from outside. Beijing was still cold this time of year. He wore a black hat, a black down jacket, jeans, and black-rimmed glasses—a typical tech guy's outfit.
Zhang Yiming was surprised. Tencent had already rejected them, but last night, he got a call from the head of investments, saying he wanted to introduce another investor interested in his project.
He was confident about this startup, but as fundraising got harder, he began to doubt if he was on the wrong track.
Coming here today, he figured he'd give it a shot. He'd already visited so many places, what was one more? And this time, they had reached out to him.
Spotting Ye Shengde from a distance, he hurried over, shaking his hand with both of his. "Hello, Mr. Ye. I couldn't sleep all night after your call."
Ye Shengde replied politely, "I didn't do much. Just helped Mr. Zhou make a connection."
He then introduced Zhou You to Zhang Yiming. "This is Mr. Zhou. He heard about your project from me yesterday and was very interested. I arranged for you to meet in person today."
Zhang Yiming had been observing since he walked in. Tencent had already turned them down, so today wasn't about them. But the man beside Ye Shengde was too young. He was probably just curious, and Zhang Yiming doubted he had any real authority.
Before the conversation even started, his hopes had already dimmed.