Forcing Me to Be Reborn?!
Chapter 498 - 401 How Should You Handle It

Chapter 498: Chapter 401 How Should You Handle It

"Trash, pure trash."

That was Zhang Sixing’s assessment of the mobile game Cheng Zhu had created.

All the way there, he had been a bit puzzled.

Logically, college students into game development often started as wacky, spirited innovators with wild ideas.

Some games, despite being bizarre, turned out to be fun.

But looking again at what Cheng Zhu had concocted, was there any technical content?

He could have coded it with his toes.

As a result, Zhang Sixing had many speculations.

"Did Dad introduce me to him because he’s the Entrepreneurial Pioneer of the College of Information Science, hoping I’d give him a hand?"

"Maybe guide him a bit at first?"

"Or perhaps because Jieyu is his academic advisor, so I should give them some face?"

Zhang Sixing felt that this probably wasn’t a long-term or stable job.

This was simply...

— Exactly what I want!

"I’ll just treat it as helping out a student."

"Let’s just get by like this for the time being."

Dean Zhang had told Zhang Sixing that Cheng Zhu wanted to create a short video platform.

That left Zhang Sixing quite perplexed.

In the industry, he certainly knew of a few teams intending to create short video platforms.

But overall, it seemed like not many people were really focusing on this segment.

Including the internet giant he had worked for before.

"Right now, people might value live streaming platforms more,"

"Or proper video platforms."

"The development of major video platforms is also getting better and better."

"The variety shows in recent years seem especially popular too."

He had several classmates working at video platforms like iQiyi and the like.

Zhang Sixing always saw their WeChat Moments, boasting about how their platform’s membership had hit new records again this quarter.

From all indications, membership registrations for various major video apps were indeed soaring year after year!

He even wondered if short video platforms would ever manage to secure funding in the future.

Regarding this, he was skeptical.

In fact, TikTok had faced repeated rejections in its first round of financing after its launch.

Shen Nanpeng, the founding partner of Sequoia China, a top domestic venture capital firm, had publicly admitted a major mistake—he had rationally analyzed and carefully investigated TikTok when they sought investment, and he ultimately turned them down directly.

Now, Zhang Sixing drove to the agreed meeting at the Tea House.

It was his first visit to this place, and he found it quite quaint.

Each staff member was female, all dressed in light-colored qipaos, graceful and elegant, yet their makeup wasn’t overly bold.

One word—Elegant!

Just as Chen Jieyu had described Zhang Sixing, he was generally a dull and honest person, unable even to make eye contact while talking, sometimes even stuttering when nervous.

This made him somewhat uneasy under the lead of the qipao-clad woman.

"Should be a proper place, right?" he thought.

Having been arrested once, he was still a bit fearful.

He was led to a small private room and immediately saw the prominent figure from the Technology University, the Entrepreneurial Pioneer of the College of Information Science.

Cheng Zhu stood to meet him, and they briefly made eye contact.

The two formed a striking contrast if they stood side by side.

One was tall and handsome, with a natural air of authority.

The other was average in looks and stature, appearing both dull and weathered.

Cheng Zhu had met Dean Zhang and his wife, both interesting people, especially Dean Zhang, who sometimes acted like a mischievously old child.

But this Zhang Sixing, just from looking at him, seemed very different in personality from his parents.

Although he resembled Dean Zhang in facial features and height, in spirit and energy, he didn’t match up to his father.

Dean Zhang was always brimming with vitality, while Zhang Sixing had deep dark circles, large eye bags, sallow skin, probably with a weak liver.

The two exchanged pleasantries, with Zhang Sixing clearly not good at socializing.

One clear sign of those unsocialized is they don’t address others by name.

He completely followed Cheng Zhu’s lead, never initiating conversation himself, hardly using "you" and much more of "I."

Fortunately, Cheng Zhu liked to lead conversations himself, being accustomed to setting the pace.

After some initial small talk, he began to apply the computer knowledge he’d learned over the semester to probe a bit.

Indeed, once they touched upon the field of computers, Zhang Sixing became more talkative, spoke faster, and appeared more relaxed and confident.

Cheng Zhu found chatting with him really boring.

He wasn’t here to interview this great son of Dean Zhang.

He definitely trusted the other’s technical skills.

Dean Zhang wouldn’t let his own son disgrace him, and Chen Jieyu had explicitly mentioned that Zhang Sixing was a sought-after technical talent by various internet giants.

Given that, with my shallow computer knowledge from one semester, how could I possibly test him!

He couldn’t even come up with any questions.

Right now, he just planned to ask Zhang Sixing two questions.

"I want to ask first, are you optimistic about the future of mobile platforms?"

That was his first question.

Zhang Sixing: "Extremely optimistic."

These days, many still clung to the PC era, ceaselessly battling in the PC market.

But over the next few years, smartphone penetration will only increase!

Many reasons account for this, such as increasing mobile internet speeds, transitioning from 3G to 4G, and then to 5G.

Also, smartphones are no longer luxury items, and more economical models are making them accessible for the financially average.

Furthermore, smartphones are actually quite durable; younger generations’ retired phones could even be handed down within the family.

Eventually, even the elderly would use smartphones instead of the currently popular senior phones.

The mobile era is just unveiling its tip.

Even Honor of Kings only officially beta tested at the end of 2015.

Cheng Zhu silently nodded as he spoke, confirming his extreme optimism which seemed like a basic agreement.

But actually, in 2014 and 2015, many still believed the glory of the PC era could persist much longer.

Cheng Zhu, sitting at the head of the table, began to pour tea for Zhang Sixing.

He chose Bi Luo Chun, a type of green tea.

After pouring, he asked, "So, are you optimistic about short video platforms?"

"Uh..." Zhang Sixing had just picked up his tea cup, but now slowly set it back down and said, "To be honest, I’m not particularly optimistic."

Cheng Zhu’s eyes sparkled slightly at his response.

This puzzled old Zhang.

I said I’m not very optimistic, and even felt a bit rude, but why do you seem happy?

Little did he know, Cheng Zhu just wanted such a technical talent.

You have the skills, look dependable and reliable, so whatever I tell you to do, you’d just do it.

At times, those who are also enthusiastic about a field tend to have too many ideas.

Cheng Zhu didn’t need his subordinates to have too many ideas of their own.

As a Reborn, he knew exactly how to proceed.

Sometimes, having subordinates who are too clever and constantly wanting to share ideas can actually be exhausting.

Continuously contradicting them might make them feel uneasy, too.

Cheng Zhu briefly explained his concept for a music-themed short video social platform. After he finished, he saw a flicker of confusion in Zhang Sixing’s eyes.

"What you described sounds a bit like... [Musical.ly]?"

[Musical.ly] emerged in 2014 as a music-themed short video platform abroad.

Like TikTok in its early days, it faced some controversies, with accusations of copying [Musical.ly].

At this point, somewhat astonished, Cheng Zhu asked, "Have you used [Musical.ly]?"

It was only early 2015, and it hadn’t really taken off yet, only gaining some popularity.

Because it had only been launched for over half a year, and the first funding of over ten million US dollars hadn’t been secured yet, expected in August 2015.

Zhang Sixing nodded and commented, "The app is quite interesting, but from your description, it seems your version might be more comprehensive."

"Still, there’s a clear similarity between you two."

"You might face a lot of skepticism from the outside world in the future."

However, Cheng Zhu’s next words caused Zhang Sixing to catch his breath.

"No worries, we’ll just buy it later," Cheng Zhu said.

Zhang Sixing: "...."

How familiar is such a tactic!

How typical of domestic methods!

But in fact, this was exactly what TikTok had done in the past, purchasing it in 2017 for a whopping one billion US dollars, then merging it with its international version.

I’ll shut down your criticisms by simply buying it!

And this was beneficial for expanding the international market.

From one perspective, that one billion US dollars was well spent, laying a solid foundation for the insane expansion in international markets later, a masterful move.

But now, hearing Cheng Zhu speak this way, Zhang Sixing couldn’t help but be at a loss for words.

It’s already a flourishing app, and ours hasn’t even taken shape yet, not even in the "gestation period"!

To already talk about buying it in such circumstances?

"Internet giants sure do a lot of harm! Their ways subtly change many young people’s entrepreneurial thinking!" Zhang Sixing thought to himself with a bit of sarcasm.

So what if you have money?

Sorry, but having money is indeed incredible.

Seeing him silent, Cheng Zhu smiled and said, "Doesn’t this precisely prove that short video platforms have great potential and the prospects for the overseas market are very promising?"

"You’re also thinking about the overseas market? Planning to make an international version in the future?" Zhang Sixing was slightly taken aback.

Cheng Zhu’s expression was calm: "Why not?"

Zhang Sixing shook his head and chuckled, thinking this college student was a bit too fanciful.

Looking nationwide, how many apps popular overseas can you count?

Very few!

Securing a spot in the domestic market would already be quite an achievement.

"That’s overly ambitious, no, way too ambitious," Zhang Sixing thought to himself.

Seeing his expression, Cheng Zhu knew there was no need to say much more at the moment, and thought:

"Just talking about exploring the international market, and you already think it’s impossible?"

"What if I told you, in the future it might even expand to face crazy sanctions from the Americans?"

...

(Asking for monthly tickets.)

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