Chapter 0839 SoftBank Asia

Days passed quickly. It had been over half a month since Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen visited the set, and New Year's was just around the corner. During this time, Zhao Fusheng specifically called Zhou Xun, asking Brother Zhou to look after Fan Baobao.

Brother Zhou readily agreed. She was always cold on the surface but warm at heart, not talkative, but very reliable when it came to helping friends.

However, after arriving at the set, Brother Zhou was a bit surprised. The reason was simple: director Wang Xiaoshuai had also asked her to take Fan Baobao under her wing.

She initially thought Wang Xiaoshuai knew about the relationship between Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao, but after several subtle inquiries, she discovered that Wang Xiaoshuai knew nothing at all. This left Brother Zhou puzzled, but being clever, she didn't say anything more, only put a bit more effort into teaching Fan Baobao.

Meanwhile, at home, Zhao Fusheng received a call from Fan Baobao. On the phone, the girl excitedly told him that Zhou Xun was a really good person.

"Well, I'm glad you're happy. Learn well from her." Zhao Fusheng smiled and nodded.

Nothing in the world matters more than happiness. It was better for Fan Baobao not to know the truth.

……

……

Days passed quickly. On New Year's Day, Fan Baobao was still holed up on set filming, only giving Zhao Fusheng a call.

Zhao Fusheng didn't mind much, but Fan Baobao herself was full of apologies.

After all, as his girlfriend, she felt genuinely sorry for not being able to spend Christmas and New Year's with him.

Although he wanted to tell Fan Baobao that he really didn't care about these things, after thinking it over, Zhao Fusheng kept quiet and let the guilt-ridden Fan Baobao make a bunch of promises.

After all, it's a fool who doesn't take advantage when it's offered.

In truth, Zhao Fusheng really didn't mind these things because he had more important matters to attend to.

They say seeing is believing, but hearing is not. Zhao Fusheng himself hadn't expected the immense power that the game *Legend* would unleash on the day it started charging.

Chen Tianqiao was astonished, and Zhao Fusheng was even more so.

Within just one week, *Legend* topped various software sales charts. And within that week, the peak concurrent online players exceeded 500,000.

At that moment, both the Chen brothers in Shanghai and Zhao Fusheng in Beijing clearly knew that the opportunity for Shanda Network to take off had arrived.

"Have you heard of SoftBank Asia?" Chen Tianqiao called Zhao Fusheng, getting straight to the point.

"The Japanese one?"

Zhao Fusheng raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Yes, they contacted me and plan to invest in us." Zhao Fusheng chuckled: "Fine, as long as they don't dilute my shares, they can invest whatever they want."

Chen Tianqiao was a bit embarrassed. He had called Zhao Fusheng hoping that Zhao would give up some shares, since besides himself, Zhao Fusheng was the only one holding 15% of Shanda's shares.

"Well, I think I can give up part of my shares. If you're willing, you could also..." After a moment's hesitation, Chen Tianqiao gritted his teeth and told Zhao Fusheng his suggestion.

"Sign a valuation adjustment mechanism (VAM) agreement." After a moment of silence, Zhao Fusheng said calmly.

"What!"

Chen Tianqiao was startled, his voice rising: "What did you say?"

Zhao Fusheng's expression was calm as he said seriously: "I said, contact them now. If SoftBank Asia is willing, we can sign a VAM agreement with them. If Shanda Network Technology cannot go public within three years, I'll lose my shares to them. If it does go public, they'll have to buy my 15% shares at market value. How about it? Do you dare to bet?"

Under the current equity distribution, Chen Tianqiao held 65% of Shanda Technology's shares, Zhao Fusheng had 15%, and the remaining 20% was held by some small shareholders and the previously invested China Net.

Now, if SoftBank planned to invest, it was clear that everyone would need to give up some of their shares.

The VAM agreement Zhao Fusheng proposed undoubtedly put everyone in a tight spot.

"This idea is too crazy. I can't agree." Chen Tianqiao was silent for a long time before finally speaking slowly.

He couldn't help it. The suggestion Zhao Fusheng made seemed insane to him. Going public within three years? Did he think Shanda could achieve that with just *Legend*?

"Then I'm sorry, but I won't agree to this financing plan." Zhao Fusheng said flatly, and after saying that, he simply hung up on Chen Tianqiao.

At this time, the future richest man Chen didn't have such grand ambitions. Just a few months ago, he was worried about going bankrupt. How could he believe Zhao Fusheng's talk of going public?

"Are you really that confident?" Less than an hour later, Chen Tianqiao called Zhao Fusheng again and asked directly.

Zhao Fusheng smiled slightly: "It's not that I'm confident; you and I are equally confident, aren't we?"

Chen Tianqiao was silent. Clearly, Zhao Fusheng's words had stirred something in him.

Zhao Fusheng said calmly: "At most 5%. I can give up that many shares if we go through with the financing."

After calculating, Chen Tianqiao was silent for a moment before saying to Zhao Fusheng: "You mean to give SoftBank only 15% of the shares?"

Zhao Fusheng nodded: "Barring any surprises, *Legend* will become a hit across the country. Do you think, with a network company that has monthly sales in the tens of millions and annual profits possibly in the hundreds of millions, how much would they invest in us?"

Chen Tianqiao was stunned. Zhao Fusheng's words hit him like a wake-up call, making him realize that he was no longer the entrepreneur begging for investment.

As Zhao Fusheng said, SoftBank Asia contacted him only because they saw the future potential of Shanda Technology. In other words, they only came knocking because he had investment value. If he didn't, even if he begged them, they might not bother.

"Alright, I'll negotiate with them right away." Chen Tianqiao gritted his teeth and said to Zhao Fusheng.

At this point, he and Zhao Fusheng had reached an agreement: they couldn't easily hand over control of the company to SoftBank Asia.

Hearing Chen Tianqiao's words, Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and said: "You can also stall them. After all, *Legend* has just started charging. As the game becomes more popular, I believe they'll know how to choose."

Chen Tianqiao's eyes lit up. He suddenly felt that this might also be a good approach.