Zhao Min and Xiao Yu stepped into the reception room. A man rose from the sofa to greet them—it was Yu Chengnan, CEO of China Micro Terminal Company, a prominent figure in the tech industry and someone often at the center of storms.
"Mr. Yu, welcome."
Zhao Min extended her hand. Yu Chengnan shook it firmly and took a seat opposite her.
"It's an honor to have you visit us personally," she added with a polite smile.
"No need for formalities," Yu waved it off. "I prefer to be direct."
"Good, so do I," Zhao Min replied, chuckling. "So, I'm guessing this visit is about potential cooperation?"
Yu's posture straightened.
"Zhao, has your company considered selling shares? We're very interested in investing. With our combined strengths, one plus one could easily be greater than two."
Zhao Min shook her head gently, her expression calm.
"That won't be necessary. Over the past few days, we've already had visits from IDG, Ali, Jiuding, Sequoia, and Penguin. Does Mr. Yu think we're short on funds and looking for financing?"
"Not quite," Yu said with a smirk. "There's chatter in the industry—rumors that all of Marching Ant's shares are in your chairman's hands. People are saying it's too much for one man. Some want him to... share the meal. I'm here to talk before others try to force their way in."
"Let him spit some out, huh?" Zhao Min gave a knowing smile.
She'd worked with Chen Mo long enough to understand him well. Calm, soft-spoken, even humorous most of the time—but when it came down to business, he was unyielding. There was no way anyone could just take the Marching Ant shares from his hands.
Especially when every core product the company offered came directly from his work. That kind of value wasn't something you just gave away.
"We've been through worse. When someone tried to make a move on us before, we came out stronger. If it happens again, we'll handle it."
"Would it be possible to speak directly with your chairman?" Yu asked casually.
Zhao Min turned to Xiao Yu.
"Please inform the chairman that Mr. Yu would like a word."
"Right away."
A few minutes later, Xiao Yu returned—this time with Chen Mo.
"This is our chairman, Chen Mo," Zhao Min introduced as they entered.
"Hello, Chairman Chen."
Yu Chengnan stood up, visibly surprised. He'd heard the Marching Ant chairman was young, but seeing him in person was something else entirely. Chen Mo looked far too young to be the powerhouse behind such an explosive company.
"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Yu. I've heard your name many times."
They shook hands.
Yu wasted no time.
"I'll be straightforward. I came for two reasons: investment and possible cooperation. The investment side probably isn't my department, but since I'm here, I thought I'd bring it up."
"I appreciate the candor," Chen Mo said, sitting opposite him. "But unfortunately, we're not selling any shares at this time. As for cooperation, I'm open to discussion."
"So, there's no room for negotiation on equity?"
"None. We don't need funding right now, nor do we want to adjust our shareholding structure."
"Alright then," Yu said, dropping the topic with a nod. "Let's talk cooperation."
"What sort of cooperation are you thinking of?" Chen Mo asked.
"Patent interoperability. Our companies could sign a mutual patent agreement and share access where beneficial."
"We've only been operating for a short time—our patent pool isn't that large yet."
"This would be more of a memorandum of cooperation," Yu explained. "Just a starting point. And of course, if you'd consider exchanging the smart assistant technology for access to some of our patents, we're willing to offer generous terms."
Yu looked directly at Chen Mo, trying to gauge him. But Chen Mo was unreadable. This was the most self-assured young entrepreneur he'd ever met.
"We don't plan to license the smart assistant tech," Chen Mo replied calmly. "But a general cooperation memorandum sounds fair. This is an open era—working together benefits everyone."
"Straightforward and clear—I like that," Yu smiled. "We have time today, let's go over a general outline."
Though China Micro Terminal (a stand-in for Huawei) was already a tech titan, Marching Ant was the rising star—and Chen Mo had no doubt they'd soon catch up and surpass the old guard.
During their talks, Chen Mo also raised the issue of server upgrades. With the skyrocketing user base of Xiaodie, their servers needed major boosts. This was a chance to bring in Huawei's expertise.
Both parties were willing, and the talks moved quickly. After the discussion, Zhao Min arranged a casual lunch for the group before seeing Yu Chengnan off.
On the way back to HQ, Zhao Min sat beside Chen Mo in the business car, frowning in thought.
"Chairman, Xiaodie is causing a massive stir. I'm afraid there'll be more under-the-table moves coming our way. This is even bigger than when we launched the Marching Ant OS."
Unlike phone systems, which had plenty of alternatives and were mostly closed-source, Xiaodie had no competition. They were the only ones in the market. And with monopoly comes big money—which always attracts heat.
Zhao Min had been worried about this even before the release, but she knew they couldn't delay the launch forever just because of threats.
So far, everything seemed okay. But the calm felt… too quiet.
"Relax," Chen Mo said lightly. "If soldiers come, we'll block them. If floods come, we'll dam them. We're not the same company we were a year ago."
"With that optimism, what more can I say?" Zhao Min sighed, half-smiling.
"How's the headquarters project coming along?"
"The designs are being finalized. We've got people on-site monitoring progress. Construction bidding will start soon."
"Good. Also, let's talk about where we're heading next—I want to prep early so we don't scramble last minute. You sprang Xiaodie on me out of nowhere and disrupted the whole roadmap," Zhao Min teased.
Chen Mo nodded.
"Next, we're moving into manufacturing. I'm researching new battery materials. Start acquiring factories—battery production, component processing, the works."
"Are we talking majority stakes or full ownership?" Zhao Min asked.
"Full."
"Alright. I guess since it's your money and there's nowhere else to spend it, I'll just follow orders," she said with a smirk. "Also, I'm thinking of buying an advertising company. For future promotions, we should control our own channels and marketing strategies. Plus, our platform could host a lot of ad services."
"Makes sense," Chen Mo nodded.
Back at the office, the group disbanded. Chen Mo went straight to his lab, ready to dive back into his experiments.
A storm might be brewing—but he was already three steps ahead.