Chapter 125
When Qi Cheng got home this time, he didn't go back to being a salted fish. He'd already spent a whole month abroad doing nothing — and it was the boring kind of nothing. Now that he was home, he actually felt more energized. Looking back, he realized he'd had such a great opportunity overseas but barely went out and just stayed cooped up indoors every day.
Now he was full of energy and had to ask about everything.
How's the studio's footage coming along? We should print more postcards too.
Lao Ke: Boss, we're in the middle of editing.
Zhuzhu: Are we releasing all of it at once, or city by city?
If they released it bit by bit, the buzz would last longer — that way, even when Lu Yang was back in school and couldn't shoot, they'd still have content to post. But when Qi Cheng saw the unedited raw footage, he didn't hesitate and said directly: "Release it all at once!"
Releasing city by city would keep the buzz going, but it wouldn't be as stunning as dropping everything at once. The footage was genuinely gorgeous — all kinds of styles and scenery. They'd really shot a lot.
"Then we can cut together some behind-the-scenes material and release that regularly," Qi Cheng said.
Zhuzhu: Boss, you're getting sharper and sharper.
Lao Ke: I think that works too.
Assistant: The boss is right!
Ever since the overseas team-building trip, the studio's team spirit had been incredibly strong — specifically shown in how everyone flattered the boss. Qi Cheng felt a little embarrassed but knew they were just joking around.
A couple of days later.
Zhuzhu in the group chat: Boss, someone's digging into your background again. This time it's pretty harsh. You should take a look…
Qi Cheng sent a question mark. Knowing Zhuzhu was afraid he'd get mad and take it out on them, he replied: Send me the link. I'll take a look. It's fine.
He'd been through big storms before. If it came to it, he'd sue!
Zhuzhu dropped a link in the group chat.
818 the shady moves of a certain influencer studio boss.
Clicking in, the first post read:
You know if you know. Can't help it — this boss can't take a joke and loves suing people. But what we're digging up today is solid evidence. A proper analysis. Conclusion: Boss O is pretty slutty. Literally.
We know Boss O is married — same-sex marriage, has a husband. Flaunts it on all major platforms with his ID, but no one's ever seen who his husband is. Then a while back, at Zongcheng Tech's press conference, Boss O publicly declared his affection, called out 'husband,' and showered some guy with gifts like a total fangirl.
Some fans might say, 'What if the tech company CEO is actually Boss O's husband?' Let's look at the next clue. Forum detectives dug up Boss O's earliest posts and confirmed that the two accounts belong to the same person.
Orange is Orange From Da Bai's Family — Boss O.
In his earliest posts, he said his husband made maybe ten million a year. But that tech company CEO's net worth? I don't know the exact number, but it's definitely not in the "just ten million" range.
So Boss O is married, spending his husband's money to run a studio and boost little influencers, and then he goes online acting all flirtatious, calling some other guy 'husband' and licking boots — isn't that disgusting? Isn't this guy just a little slut?" [Image] [Image] [Image]
After reading it, Qi Cheng: …
Calm as still water. He didn't even feel like suing anyone.
He'd thought it was something serious. He said in the studio group chat: Let them dig. It's fine. Don't worry about it.
Zhuzhu: Boss, they're calling you a little slu—
Zhuzhu: Withdrawing that last message. Boss, you'll pretend you didn't see it, right?
Zhuzhu: Ducky knows wrong, Ducky kneels.jpg
Zhuzhu: Boss, I'm sorry. I'm just afraid your husband might get the wrong idea and it could affect your relationship. I firmly believe in you!
The studio team had come back right after finishing the shoot and didn't travel back with Qi Cheng's family, so no one had actually met his husband. Plus, everyone already had it in their heads — sure, the boss had money, but probably not that much money. After all, there was a huge gap between being super-rich and just regular rich.
Qi Cheng didn't plan to do anything about this 818 post. If it were slander, defamation, or fanfiction, that would be a different story.
His husband had been really busy lately, but Qi Cheng could still see him morning and night and chat with him, which made him incredibly happy. In September, online news started covering some stories. Qi Cheng didn't normally follow finance, but he'd stop and read them anyway.
Jiang Group's stock price dropped — nearly ten billion in market value evaporated in a month.
Around that time, Zhao Qing called Qi Cheng's phone. Though she sounded cheerful, he could tell something was off. She asked if Qi Cheng had time to come over for dinner with Bai Zongyin. Qi Cheng declined, making an excuse that he was busy lately.
But for someone who didn't go to school or work, saying he was "busy" was obviously just an excuse, and they both knew it.
Zhao Qing didn't push further and hung up. That phone call seemed to be the trigger — it kicked off the full-blown clash between Zongcheng Technology and the Jiang Group. Or maybe Qi Cheng just hadn't been following financial news before and only now realized what was going on.
The rivalry had actually been going on all along; the smoke was just getting thicker.
Online news and posts became more frequent. On some financial forums, anonymous users said a big-shot from the north had been "invited for tea." The conversation naturally turned to the newly emerged Zongcheng Technology, and some excited users came online to show off their Smart Brains. These were the first batch of viewers selected after Zongcheng Technology's press conference, the first to enjoy the company's product — the Smart Brain.
[In Chinese slang, "invited for tea" means being taken in by the police or state security for interrogation, often over politically sensitive online activity, corruption, or other indiscretions]
It was expensive and depended on luck. The first wave of people who could buy it were all well-off families. They'd been hooked by the press conference concept. These early buyers fell into two camps. The first group thought, "It's not that much money. I'll buy one and try it out. If it's not as incredible as they say, I'll tear this company apart."
The other group felt like it might be real artificial intelligence. They went all in — whether they got selected was another matter.
The selected winners showed up on various forums showing off that they'd gotten a spot, promising to post a review once they got the product. They'd see if this company was really that smart or just putting on a show.
The first review came from a big-name user on a military forum.
Only two words: holy shit. Four words: holy shit, for real.
They posted full video demos from every angle, showing how the Smart Brain was genuinely intelligent — not like the so-called "smart" products from big companies before.
[This is real wisdom and intelligence. You'll see that Amy is a living person. She can fulfill all kinds of requests…]
Amy was the name this user gave their Smart Brain.
At first, people still didn't believe it, because artificial intelligence had always felt so far away — like a pipe dream. They figured this guy must have been paid off by Zongcheng Technology. But one by one, more people got their Smart Brains and posted reviews on various social networks. Only then did the public suddenly realize — it was real. And the excitement went through the roof.
The age of artificial intelligence had arrived.
Now the hottest, most trending topics across all forums were Zongcheng and the Smart Brain. Jiang Group's stock drop and massive value evaporation were just a side dish. Some people also asked: Aren't the Jiang Group bigshot and Aren't the big boss of Jiang Group and the CEO of Zongcheng Technology supposed to be close friends? So why is Zongcheng Technology going straight for Jiang Group's jugular?
Insiders revealed that Jiang Group had bought a technology abroad in the first half of the year, also marketed under the "smart" gimmick. But that technology had already appeared at foreign companies and wasn't nearly as mind-blowing as Zongcheng's — just a bit better than current smartphones.
As everyone knew, the manufacturing and traditional industries weren't doing well. Jiang Group had been trying to pivot into tech for a while. They poured a ton of money into buying a "B," filed patents, hyped it up — and then out of nowhere came Zongcheng Technology with "AAAAAA+++++."
It completely blocked the path and direction Jiang Group had been paving for years.
What a devastating move. People wondered if these two companies actually had a grudge, rather than a good relationship.
Some people also asked: Jiang Group is huge and has deep roots. Even if Zongcheng is impressive, its foundation is shallow. So why does it look like Jiang Group is getting crushed with no way to fight back? It hasn't even been two months — this is too damaging.
An anonymous reply said: You think artificial intelligence technology is only for us common folks' daily lives? Do more research. Broaden your perspective to the national and global strategic level.
Holy shit!
Holy shit!
Respect to Zongcheng.
Anyway, whenever Jiang Group came up, the conversation would inevitably veer off track. People might nibble on a bit of gossip about Jiang Group's future and stock, but most of their attention was on Zongcheng and the changes coming in the future.
As for the initial claim that the Zongcheng CEO had forgotten Jiang Group's kindness and was being ungrateful — it barely made a ripple. Business was a battlefield; it was always kill or be killed. How clean were Jiang Qifeng's methods when he built his fortune? Back when he was devouring small companies, someone even jumped to their death. Jiang Qifeng rose to become a northern giant, and when his past was dug up, people just called it iron-fisted tactics and called him "Daddy Jiang."
That was it.
Now the tables had simply turned.
Some people just watched the fight between the two sides without picking a team.
This was especially obvious in Mingcheng social circles. During the National Day holiday, the Wang and Liu families held a banquet and sent invitation cards with warm but not overly eager wording. These two families were the first to show their stance, but their attitude made it clear they wanted Qi Cheng and his husband to come, yet they were also afraid to invite them.
Qi Cheng wasn't sure what to do, so he asked his husband.
"They're still waiting and watching. They're afraid that if Zongcheng loses in the end, they'll have offended the Jiang family," Bai Zongyin said.
Qi Cheng immediately huffed angrily: "Then I'm not going. I don't like banquets anyway."
"There's pretty good food there," Bai Zongyin teased him on purpose.
Qi Cheng snorted, pounced on his husband, and said: "We're going to win. When we win, we'll throw our own party."
"Alright." Bai Zongyin smiled fondly and kissed Qi Cheng on the lips.
Actually, Qi Cheng wasn't that into banquets, let alone hosting one. It was just a way of showing support — a firm belief that his husband would win.
Soon it was November, and the temperature started to drop sharply.
The conflict between Zongcheng and Jiang Group grew fiercer, and Jiang Group's stock mirrored the weather. More invitations came in, but Qi Cheng turned them all down. Then he got a call from Zhao Zhuo. He initially didn't want to answer, but after thinking it over, he picked up anyway.
They'd had a decent relationship with Jiang Zhi's uncle over the years, but if Zhao Zhuo was calling to mediate, there was nothing Qi Cheng could do about that.
Zhao Qing was someone who valued appearances. After that first call Qi Cheng politely declined, she called again in October, and Qi Cheng refused again. Zhao Qing's tone over the phone wasn't very pleasant: "…All these years, we've never treated him unfairly. How can he be so ruthless and heartless —"
"Every cause has its effect. Mrs. Jiang, why don't you ask Jiang Qifeng what he did," Qi Cheng said firmly over the phone, which was rare for him.
Outsiders didn't understand the inside story and had no right to pin that "ungrateful" label on his husband!
After that, Zhao Qing never called again.
Qi Cheng answered Zhao Zhuo's call in a fairly gentle tone: "Uncle Zhao."
"Xiao Cheng, I'm not going to sugarcoat things with you. I know you don't like hearing that stuff. The reason I'm calling today is to ask you for a favor — don't worry, I'm not here to mediate for the Jiang family. This has nothing to do with them." Zhao Zhuo sounded much older over the phone. "Do you remember that old house you photographed before? That house — Uncle Zhao wants to give it to you…"
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