Knowing how utterly loyal these two are to me makes the feeling even fuller.
Try the joy of the "raising" genre sometime.
"Chairman Jiang, here to see Sister Xueer again~~~"
Zhao Linger walked in, covering her mouth as she giggled.
"What's the matter? Feeling jealous?" Jiang Cheng teased.
Zhao Linger lifted her eyes, gave him a coquettish glare, and said with a grin, "I'd never be jealous of Sister Xueer. I'm happy for her—she's been busy all day, and now that you're here, Chairman Jiang, you can finally share some of her load."
Jiang Cheng noticed the fine sheen of sweat on Chen Xueer's forehead and handed her the tissues from the table. "It's sweltering—tough day. Next time I'll treat you to a lollipop to sweeten things up."
"A lollipop? I'm all grown up, yet Chairman Jiang still coaxes me like a child. If you really think I'm working hard, how about a more practical reward?" Chen Xueer dabbed at her sweat and playfully winked at him.
"This lollipop of mine is a very practical treat—once you've tasted it, you'll understand," Jiang Cheng said meaningfully.
Chen Xueer's rosy lips curled in disbelief. "Don't try to fool me. I remember you promised to show me your treasured collection last time, and I still haven't seen it. I won't get my hopes up about this reward lollipop."
Seeing Chen Xueer's obvious complaint, Jiang Cheng glanced at Zhao Linger.
This woman's still hankering after my treasure.
If Zhao Linger weren't here, his short fuse might have made him drag Chen Xueer off to see it right then and there.
"I'd love to show you, but it needs the right venue. I bought a villa in Tomson Golf; come to my place when you're free and we'll take our time."
Hearing them talk about something she didn't understand, Zhao Linger quickly cut in. "What treasure? I want to see it too, Chairman Jiang. Don't play favorites—invite only Sister Xueer. I'm coming as well."
"Relax, I'm always fair. I won't forget you. If Xueer gets a lick of the lollipop, you'll get one too—no one's left out."
Zhao Linger nodded contentedly and added in a sweet voice, "That's more like it. You two chat; I'll go handle the project we just agreed on."
Before leaving, she sneakily shot Chen Xueer an encouraging wink.
It left Chen Xueer blushing crimson.
Once Zhao Linger was gone, Chen Xueer walked behind Jiang Cheng, placed her hands on his shoulders, and began to massage them slowly.
Leaning close, she asked lazily, "What brings Chairman Jiang to the office today?"
After the pleasantries, Jiang Cheng dropped the banter and turned serious. "I'm here to discuss a major investment."
Seeing the shift to business, Chen Xueer stopped massaging, walked around, and sat opposite him.
With equal gravity she asked, "What are your instructions, Chairman Jiang? Please go ahead."
"You know ByteDance Company, right? They should be preparing their Series E round."
Chen Xueer nodded. "ByteDance—I know them; I've looked into it."
Investment-circle news was naturally on her radar.
Instead of stating his own intent, Jiang Cheng asked her, "What's your take?"
Chen Xueer frowned, unable to gauge his aim.
She relayed what she'd heard: "ByteDance sent invitations for their Series D to many top investors and funds, but most institutions declined, according to my sources."
Jiang Cheng realized Xingchen Investment hadn't been invited.
After all, ByteDance was seeking two billion US dollars in this Series E.
Most firms simply couldn't raise that sum.
As a new fund, Xingchen hadn't received an invitation—entirely normal.
"So they haven't secured the Series E yet?"
Jiang Cheng knew ByteDance would launch a new round in 2017, but the exact timing eluded him.
Chen Xueer nodded. "You mean to invest in ByteDance?"
When he affirmed it, she voiced no objection.
She knew he could pull together two billion; his last short-sell alone had netted him ten billion.
And his personal fortune had to be at least several tens of billions.
Chen Xueer hesitated. "Short-form video is exploding, but overall monetization is still murky. The big players haven't produced a satisfying profit model. Kuaishou and TikTok have huge audiences yet no clear way to cash in."
Jiang Cheng nodded for her to continue.
"Internet ventures burn cash upfront with no guaranteed returns. Beyond ad clips on TikTok, ByteDance has no other revenue stream, so major capital is still waiting. That's why their recent fundraising keeps getting rejected."
Her analysis was spot-on; without foreknowledge, even Jiang Cheng would have shunned TikTok.
Before live-commerce arrived, short clips were TikTok's only moneymaker.
But Jiang Cheng recalled that in December 2017 TikTok would debut live-streaming.
He remembered the New Year when many streamed fireworks from Taikoo Li, which fixed the timeline in his mind.
From then on, influencers and celebs began selling goods via live streams, and by 2018 TikTok exploded nationwide.
So he had to secure this 2017 funding round.
"Contact ByteDance—Xingchen Investment will take the Series E."
Unfazed, Chen Xueer nodded. "From what I hear, ByteDance is offering nine percent equity for the Series E. Is that ratio acceptable to you?"
Jiang Cheng nodded; nine percent was already generous.
He'd find ways to grab more shares in the 2018 round.
"Get it done quickly."
Aside from the system's steady three yuan per second, Jiang Cheng owned Xingchen Entertainment, Xingchen Investment, and twenty percent of Hengcheng Company.
At these companies' current earnings, the system remained his biggest cash cow.
Although an investment firm spreads money everywhere, returns take time.
For now, the fastest way forward was to seize ByteDance's financing and snag ten percent of their equity.
"Understood. Zhao Linger and I will draft the plan and open talks with ByteDance at once."
…