Chapter 1041: Acting, I'm a Professional

Zack was quite baffled, not knowing how this person from the mysterious East had gotten his phone number. But after the other party identified himself, he didn't dislike him as much.

After all, this man had started building a virtual community online even earlier than he had, and was now also involved in developing China's largest instant messaging tool.

It's often said that scholars despise each other, but in the world of programmers, only peers can truly understand one another.

Armed with his knowledge from the future about social networking sites, Zhao Fusheng successfully gained Zack's trust.

Then, he mentioned that he had recently heard from a friend about Zack's plan to start a website, and he wanted to offer some help.

As for his friend, Zack had indeed heard the name.

Brother Capital.

Recently, this private equity fund had made a name for itself at Harvard by investing in several companies founded by Harvard alumni. It was said that the founder came from China and was an investment genius.

After all, Zack was just a sophomore, not the super-rich billionaire worth hundreds of billions of yuan that he would later become.

People at different stages exhibit different personalities.

For example, if a twenty-year-old acts as mature as a forty-year-old, either they've experienced too much since childhood, or they're a time traveler.

In the end, Zhao Fusheng simply said he was willing to personally fund Zack with one million US dollars for the website's construction.

Of course, this money wasn't for buying the website; it was purely because Zhao Fusheng also liked this kind of social networking site and was himself building a site called Xiaonei.com.

At first, Zack was a bit skeptical, but after hanging up, he used a proxy to look at Xiaonei.com in China and was greatly inspired. He quickly contacted Zhao Fusheng, saying he was willing to accept the money.

In his view, some of Zhao Fusheng's ideas coincided with his own; social networking sites would be an important part of the future Internet era.

One million US dollars for thirty percent ownership.

That was Zhao Fusheng's stake in Facebook. Of course, as the site grew, this share would gradually decrease, but regardless, Zhao Fusheng had quietly left a hidden move in the United States.

Although the money was borrowed from Tan Kaixuan, Zhao Fusheng indicated that Brother Capital could enter at any time during Facebook's subsequent financing rounds.

He didn't hide this from Zack.

Zhao Fusheng told Zack frankly that he wasn't a very wealthy man. If Facebook's development required financing, he would need to find a partner to maintain his equity stake, and his best friend Tan Kaixuan, the controller of Brother Capital, was undoubtedly the most suitable person.

"His relationship with me is like family," Zhao Fusheng said, reassuring Zack.

Zack didn't suspect anything; he later met with Tan Kaixuan and signed the contract.

And Tan Kaixuan, though a bit puzzled, trusted Zhao Fusheng and did as he said.

In his own words, Zhao Fusheng wouldn't screw him over, so why hesitate?

It must be said that Tan Kaixuan's intuition in business was sometimes like that of a wild animal.

…

…

Many years later, when asked about his most successful investment, Tan Kaixuan laughed and said, "Probably when I trusted someone unconditionally."

Everyone knew who he was talking about.

Everyone also knew he was right. Not everyone has the vision and confidence to completely trust someone unrelated by blood.

Sometimes, a person's boldness and breadth of mind can truly determine their fate.

…

…

"What should we do? Should I contact Ono now?"

Dong Chenxi, seeing that Zhao Fusheng wasn't speaking, considered and said to him.

In her view, since SoftBank Asia had started contacting other social networking sites, the timing was perfect. If she contacted them, it would appear that Future Investment was getting anxious.

Zhao Fusheng smiled, thought for a moment, and said, "Alright, contact Ono now and tell him you've convinced me to agree to sell Xiaonei.com."

He paused and continued, "But you must tell him sternly that SoftBank Asia's contact with other social networking sites has made me very dissatisfied, and I plan to expand Xiaonei.com to completely crush those copycats."

In the Internet sector, copyright awareness is relatively weak. Apart from core technology, most websites emerge by following trends.

For example, after Xiaonei.com became a hit, various similar social networking sites sprang up endlessly.

Including the sites SoftBank Asia had contacted, most were built by imitating Xiaonei.com's model, but because they started late, many had low visibility.

For this reason, their development was slow and required substantial capital injection to expand their reach and increase traffic.

Zhao Fusheng's statement fit the impression Ono had of him.

Dong Chenxi nodded, took out her phone, and dialed the number Ono Masao had left her.

It had to be admitted that Zhao Fusheng and Dong Chenxi's guess was correct. When Dong Chenxi called, Ono Masao's attitude was quite calm.

"Miss Dong, I think you've misunderstood. We weren't planning to acquire other sites; they approached SoftBank hoping we would pay attention to them," Ono Masao said calmly, explaining briefly before continuing, "Since Miss Dong has convinced Mr. Zhao, I think we can restart negotiations."

Dong Chenxi nodded: "Mr. Ono, I hope you'll keep your word. It was hard enough for me to persuade my boss to set aside his emotions regarding this acquisition. If certain behaviors of yours continue, I think the acquisition negotiations for Xiaonei.com might not proceed. Mr. James of Sequoia Capital should be very interested in this site, shouldn't he?"

Hearing Dong Chenxi's words, Zhao Fusheng couldn't help but give her a thumbs up, and so did Ono Masao on the other end of the line.

Ono was quite surprised: "James? The one from Sequoia Capital?"

Dong Chenxi chuckled: "If the head of Sequoia in Asia hasn't changed, I think it should be him, right?"

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. After a while, Ono Masao slowly said, "Miss Dong, please wait for me at your company tomorrow morning."

"Okay." Dong Chenxi set a time with Ono Masao and then hung up.

Putting down the phone, Dong Chenxi looked at Zhao Fusheng: "It seems Ono is getting anxious."

Zhao Fusheng shook his head slightly: "Not necessarily anxious. While we're trying to scheme against him, he might be scheming against us too."

He paused and said calmly, "If you hadn't mentioned Sequoia's James at the end, this negotiation might have been delayed further."

Dong Chenxi was startled, surprised that Zhao Fusheng thought so.

In fact, Zhao Fusheng was speaking from the heart. He never underestimated any entrepreneur who succeeded in a field he wasn't familiar with.

For Ono Masao to become the head of SoftBank Asia, he must have real skills.

His expertise was in maximizing benefits with minimal cost. In other words, in corporate acquisitions and investments, both Zhao Fusheng and Dong Chenxi were novices in Ono Masao's eyes.

Perhaps the act he and Dong Chenxi put on might have been seen through by the other party as soon as they left the company.

But even so, Zhao Fusheng believed that Ono Masao would still be willing to play along and put on a good show.

The reason was simple: he was a businessman, a smart one.

No businessman would miss a chance to make money. Even if he knew the opponent was acting, as long as there was profit, he would go along with it.

…

…

While Dong Chenxi and Zhao Fusheng were talking, in the office of SoftBank Asia's Beijing branch, Ono Masao was staring sternly at his subordinates.

"Why didn't I know that Sequoia Capital had also been in contact with Future Investment?" Ono Masao said coldly, looking displeased.

Dong Chenxi's final remarks made him realize he wasn't the only one eyeing this investment firm, which gave him a sense of crisis.

A quality product has different commercial value with and without competitors. With competitors, you might get it at a very low price; without them, you face tough negotiations and might even end up empty-handed, doing the work for others.

As one of SoftBank's strongest global rivals, the rivalry between Sequoia Capital and SoftBank was undeniable, as evidenced by Ono Masao's reaction alone.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ono," the subordinate quickly bowed and apologized.

"I don't need apologies. The two people in charge of Future Investment are putting on a show with me, and I'm happy to play along. They like to perform a double act, but I prefer to borrow the east wind. But now, can any of you tell me how we should respond if Sequoia Capital enters?"

Ono Masao's eyes were icy as he looked at his subordinates. If they didn't come up with a solution today, they might as well not come to work tomorrow.

In the SoftBank Group, there were always only two kinds of people.

Those with ability, and those without.

The former stay, get promoted, and receive raises.

The latter, naturally, pack their bags and leave.