The official stance stunned everyone.
People originally thought they would equivocate and punish both sides equally, but they didn't expect such an accommodating response, which was almost one-sided support for Renrenwang.
Even Chen Pingjiang himself felt a little surprised.
When Chen Yizhou received the news, he was completely bewildered.
He didn't understand why the authorities were so biased towards Chen Pingjiang.
Was it just because he was powerful?
I refuse to accept this.
But at this moment, it was useless to be unconvinced; he could only suppress it.
Xiaonei.com, after the police announcement and the Cyberspace Administration's statement, immediately banned Zhu Mou's Xiaonei.com account and issued a statement, pledging full cooperation with police work.
For a time, all those problematic bloggers on Xiaonei.com fell silent.
Meanwhile, Renrenwang's side celebrated.
"Awesome! I thought the authorities would play both sides, but I didn't expect this!"
"That depends on the situation. This time, the authorities didn't dare to play both sides. If they had, our vast internet user base would definitely be dissatisfied."
"Xiaonei.com really hit a brick wall this time."
"What a pity! I originally wanted to see Chen Yizhou continue to stir things up, but I didn't expect such a major drama to come to such an abrupt end."
"This incident caused too much of a stir; even foreign websites were full of overwhelming reports."
"..."
Chen Pingjiang also knew when to stop while ahead.
Although the authorities didn't explicitly state it, he had already achieved his goal.
The very next day, Renrenwang's side lifted the ban on external links.
At the same time, Orange phones could also normally download Xiaonei.com, and the Orange app store also relisted the Xiaonei.com app.
Many internet moguls who witnessed the entire event were also somewhat bewildered.
"Misjudged, completely misjudged. I didn't expect Chen Pingjiang's backing to be so strong."
"Yes, I didn't expect it either. Logically speaking, this kind of public opinion control tactic already hinted at repeatedly testing the dangerous limits, but for the higher-ups to support it without hesitation is very telling in itself."
"Not necessarily, Old Li. Do you think it's possible that Chen Pingjiang, relying on his large following, forced the authorities to take a clear stance?"
"Absolutely impossible. You know how things are in China. If it were really as you said, the Cyberspace Administration would definitely have named him in their statement. Since they didn't say Chen Pingjiang engaged in unfair competition, that means he has no problem."
Chen Yizhou's final desperate struggle was declared a failure, and the reckoning against him followed swiftly.
Investors, represented by SoftBank, were already very dissatisfied with Chen Yizhou's actions.
The purpose of investment institutions is to make profits.
Internet companies are different from traditional entities; they are inherently aiming for an IPO.
If a company cannot go public and its own business cannot generate profit, then basically the investors' money will be wasted.
So, a scapegoat was about to emerge.
At Qianxiang Group and Xiaonei.com, Chen Yizhou could only be the scapegoat.
"Mr. Chen, I'm sorry, you probably already know the purpose of our visit."
At the board meeting, the director sent by SoftBank was the first to speak.
"I've communicated with the other shareholders separately, and everyone unanimously believes that you might not be suitable to continue in this position."
The other people belonging to Chen Yizhou didn't dare to breathe loudly; everyone knew that things were about to change.
Chen Yizhou's mental state was very poor.
His eyes were sunken, his hair was greasy, his skin was dull, and he exuded an indescribable despondency.
He nodded weakly:
"Do whatever you want."
In fact, Chen Yizhou could have completely rejected the SoftBank director's request at the board meeting.
Because even if a new chairman was to be elected, it would be appointed by the shareholders' meeting, not initiated at a board meeting.
But Chen Yizhou knew that doing so would only buy a little time.
Qianxiang Group did not have dual-class shares, and his voting rights were not large enough to challenge all the investment institutions.
Even if a shareholders' meeting were convened, Chen Yizhou, with only a little over ten percent of the shares, would still fail.
Rather than losing face at the shareholders' meeting, it was better to simply admit defeat.
It was a gamble.
Win and rule for ages, lose and pack up and leave.
Chen Yizhou had long anticipated the possible consequences, but he still chose to take a chance.
To some extent, Chen Yizhou was also fortunate.
At least he still retained a portion of Qianxiang Group's shares, instead of leaving completely empty-handed.
Although he did not set up dual-class shares like other internet companies, he also did not sign any gambling or repurchase clauses.
Otherwise, Chen Yizhou would have to bear full responsibility for the inability to go public.
He wouldn't be able to keep his shares, and might even owe money.
On this point, Chen Yizhou was more fortunate than Wang Cong.
After Panda Live went bankrupt, Pusi Capital, after dozens of rounds of negotiations over two months, ultimately bore all losses of nearly 2 billion for Panda Huyu alone.
Because when Wang Cong was fundraising for Panda Live, he generally signed a "love agreement," which was a "personal repurchase guarantee."
And he added a "tip" to this love: an annualized interest of 12% must be added upon repurchase!
Chen Yizhou started his business early.
At that time, the domestic internet was just emerging, and investment institutions' requirements for founders were not that high.
But by the time the internet landscape was relatively stable, more and more startups faced closure or bankruptcy, and many investment institutions suffered heavy losses.
From then on, during startup fundraising, venture capitalists generally gambled with entrepreneurs.
If the entrepreneur lost the gamble, they would repurchase the shares.
The annualized interest was generally 8% to 12%, so 12% was already the absolute highest limit.
In this situation, the source of money was essentially not financing, but borrowing, and the interest rate was 12%—much, much higher than bank loan rates.
Especially after the "Hundred Regiments War," a large number of startups didn't survive.
Layoffs occurred, businesses closed, and investors suffered heavy losses.
The practice of ostensibly financing but secretly borrowing was destined to become a common phenomenon in the startup field.
After all, investment institutions' money doesn't just fall from the sky.
By then, if you wanted startup funding, you would have to accept repurchase or gambling clauses.
Otherwise, you wouldn't get a single penny.
This investment method of "nominal equity, actual debt" would also become a consensus in the venture capital market.
Don't ever think investment institutions make a lot of money.
There are so many investment institutions domestically and globally, but not many actually make a profit.
This industry is also like a pyramid.
For example, SoftBank, if it weren't for Alibaba and AMD stocks, it might have closed down long ago.
In the investment market, investors not only need vision, connections, and policy support, but also money.
Why are there fewer and fewer new companies later on?
Largely because there's no money in the investment market.
Assuming 10,000 companies could be invested in 2010, perhaps only 1,000 would be invested by 2020.
The number of companies generated would decrease accordingly.
Coupled with taxing VCs, VCs feel that making money is already difficult, they also have to pay so much tax, and the success rate of investments is low.
Meanwhile, the upstream LPs of VCs feel that VCs are not making money easily anymore—for LPs, in fact, much of the money invested in VCs is only a small portion, unexpectedly it's so hard to earn, forget it, I'm not investing anymore...
If LPs don't invest, VCs have no money.
If VCs have no money, startups have no money to survive!
The water at the source is gone...
Won't the downstream dry up and die?
...
Just one day later, Xiaonei.com announced externally that Mr. Chen Yizhou, the group's CEO, for personal reasons, announced he would no longer serve as chairman.
The general public paid little attention to this news, but industry insiders were very clear: Chen Yizhou was out.
When Chen Pingjiang saw this news, a ripple stirred in his heart.
Whether in his previous life or this life, Chen Yizhou ultimately couldn't escape the fate of failure; it's just that this life was a bit more miserable.
The two had only met once.
Chen Pingjiang couldn't say whether he liked or disliked this person.
One can only say there's no right or wrong.
The cake is only so big, and everyone wants to eat it alone.
In the venture capital market, failure is the fate of the vast majority; only the successful can rewrite the future.
Those who fail leave, those who succeed stay.
Perhaps in a few years, everyone might forget the name Chen Yizhou.
However, Chen Yizhou was gone, but Xiaonei.com remained.
Now the shareholders could confirm that Xiaonei.com had lost its qualification for listing.
It was impossible to recover the investment costs.
The only solution now was to lose a little less.
Selling out became the only option.
Xiaonei.com first approached Tencent, expressing their desire to sell.
However, before they could even finish speaking, they were rejected by Tencent.
On the one hand, SNS social platforms had no future.
On the other hand, Xiaonei.com's reputation was also ruined.
Furthermore, Pony Ma was unwilling to offend Chen Pingjiang.
Tencent didn't want it, so Xiaonei.com then approached Ali and Baidu.
As expected, they hit a wall again and again.
There were indeed some obscure small companies that showed interest, but the price they offered almost made SoftBank resort to violence.
More and more employees chose to resign.
Even those who stayed were looking for new opportunities, secretly searching for their next employer.
No one was focused on work anymore.
The sinking of this decrepit ship was inevitable, but the sailors on board were unwilling to sink into the sea with it.
When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter!
Those problematic bloggers who came from Renrenwang Weibo earlier also stopped updating due to lack of traffic and subsidies.
Many of them chose to change professions.
Others re-registered accounts on Renrenwang and Weibo with new phone numbers, planning to reincarnate with new aliases.
After enduring Chen Pingjiang's iron fist, this group of people no longer dared to cause trouble.
SoftBank, desperate and clutching at straws, found Chen Pingjiang.
How could Chen Pingjiang be interested in such defeated opponents?
The reason Renrengou was willing to acquire Dazhong Dianping was because Dazhong Dianping had value.
The unique nature of the group-buying market determined that there were always markets Renrengou couldn't reach, and it could form effective complementarity with Dazhong Dianping.
But what did Xiaonei.com have?
In the traditional internet industry, it's rare to see one party defeat another and then go acquire it.
Xiaonei.com was left with only one outcome—bankruptcy.
Unsurprisingly, just one month later, Xiaonei.com issued an announcement, declaring its closure.
After seeing this announcement, many internet practitioners expressed their emotions.
Many of them had witnessed Xiaonei.com grow from nothing.
Then it was overtaken by Renrenwang, and finally, buried in the yellow earth.
The most deeply affected was Wang Xing of Meituan.
It was he who single-handedly created Xiaonei.com, and it was he who sold it to Qianxiang Group for $1 million.
Wang Xing also once felt that he had sold it too cheaply due to Xiaonei.com's booming development.
"Fate plays tricks on people!" Wang Xing murmured.
Renrengou's dominance and Xiaonei.com's collapse almost gave Wang Xing PTSD.
Wang Xing didn't know how to compete with Renrengou anymore.
He was quite afraid that Meituan would become the next Xiaonei.com.
...
Chen Pingjiang set a rule for himself: he would not publish any statements on any platform for the next year.
Having been high-profile for so long recently, it was time to pack up and leave.
"Hubby, do you know your little wife misses you so much I'm going crazy?"
Cong Nini, who had been constantly following Chen Pingjiang, only dared to send a message now.
Chen Pingjiang replied with a smile:
"You need to be clear about where you miss me."
"In my heart."
"If it's just in your heart, then it means you can still bear it for a while."
"No way, I hate you so much."
Chen Pingjiang calculated the time.
Indeed, he hadn't seen Cong Nini since the graduation ceremony.
It seemed like almost three months had passed.
He no longer went to work.
In fact, he couldn't continue going.
Earning that little money a month really wasn't worth it.
It must be said, Cong Nini's standards had also risen.
Furthermore, the other colleagues at the store had witnessed Cong Nini go from poverty to sudden wealth.
Although they didn't say anything, their gazes towards her held both envy and resentment.
"Such a sudden change! She's wearing a Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet now. My annual salary can't even buy that."
"Nini probably found a rich older man, haha."
"This little girl has good luck. I've worked here for so long and haven't met any rich second-generation heirs."
"..."
Finally, a conflict erupted among them.
Cong Nini went berserk again:
"If you have the guts, say it to my face! What's the point of gossiping behind my back every day? Pfft, do you think I'd be interested in an old man? My husband is the most handsome and ambitious man! What do you old hags know? I only come to work to pass the time and to show off a little to you. Look at how capable you all are!"
After finishing her rant, Cong Nini, carrying her Chanel handbag, left without her salary.
Chen Pingjiang gave her 200,000 RMB a month for living expenses.
For the first month or two, Cong Nini was exceptionally excited.
After getting the money, she went to buy luxury goods.
She bought bags, shoes, clothes, and diamonds.
After she had all of these, Cong Nini realized she couldn't spend it all, truly couldn't spend it all.
Chen Pingjiang once teased with a smile:
"This shows you haven't really experienced anything good."
Not having seen Cong Nini for two or three months, he was surprised to find that the girl had grown even more radiant.
Money nourishes people; it's really not a lie.
"How do you feel you're getting prettier and prettier?"
"Hehe, although I don't have any career ambitions anymore, but to avoid falling behind, I still have to work hard on myself."
Cong Nini counted on her fingers and said:
"I'm very busy every day. In the morning after waking up, I walk the dog. After lunch, I take a nap. In the afternoon, I go to the gym for body shaping. And in the evening, I also learn piano and other musical instruments."
Chen Pingjiang lay on the sofa, his legs propped up on the coffee table.
He squinted his eyes, enjoying himself.
Cong Nini, beaming, gave him both a head massage and a leg massage:
"How is it? My skills are pretty good, right? I specifically went to learn them."
After speaking, she leaned close to Chen Pingjiang's ear, her breath like orchids:
"And I bought a waterbed online... We can try it tonight."
After Chen Pingjiang heard this, his breathing became a bit heavier.
He glared at the girl:
"Why are you always messing with these kinds of things?"
"What do you mean? You clearly like it but insist on being fierce with me. I only bought it after watching some 'adult' movies."
"You watch adult movies?"
Chen Pingjiang was speechless.
Most women, even if they watch them, wouldn't dare tell anyone.
How could she be so unashamed and even proud of it?
Cong Nini involuntarily puffed out her chest, very proud:
"Not only do I watch them, I also learn from them. I learn the positions, I learn the oral techniques."
Chen Pingjiang: "..."
This girl was truly bold, truly fierce.
As long as the other person was Chen Pingjiang, Cong Nini could do anything.
"If I don't keep your body, how can I keep your heart, how can I compete with other women? Especially that little vixen Zhang Xinyue. I can't lose to anyone, especially not her."
Cong Nini argued confidently.
Chen Pingjiang looked at her.
The words he wanted to say wouldn't come out.
He finally nodded helplessly:
"As long as you like it."
Among the many women, Cong Nini was the most uninhibited.
She almost served Chen Pingjiang like a master, and she was also the best at providing emotional value.
Yan Yan couldn't compare in this regard.
Ge Mengshi couldn't either.
And Zhang Xinyue was out of the question.
In fact, the reason why Cong Nini was so uninhibited, besides her own personality factors, was largely due to her insecurity.
She knew very well, in terms of looks, she couldn't compare to Yan Yan or Zhang Xinyue.
In terms of figure, her chest wasn't big enough, and her buttocks weren't curvy enough.
She had no family background.
She had no career.
On these levels, she couldn't offer Chen Pingjiang any help.
She couldn't even compare to Zhang Xinyue in terms of how long they had known each other.
After all, they were childhood sweethearts.
She struggled to pursue Chen Pingjiang, and only succeeded near graduation.
You can imagine how much Cong Nini cherished him.
Gradually, her life revolved around Chen Pingjiang.
Her entire being seemed to be living for Chen Pingjiang, gradually losing her sense of self.
But she was extraordinarily content.
This insecurity and fear of loss, after Zhang Xinyue joined, reached its peak.
Chen Pingjiang looked at Cong Nini with complex eyes.
He himself admitted that he treated Cong Nini less favorably than Yan Yan and Ge Mengshi.
He even treated her less favorably than Zhang Xinyue.
Yan Yan was out of the question.
With Ge Mengshi, besides life, there was also work to maintain their connection.
With Zhang Xinyue, there were memories.
But with Cong Nini, there was truly nothing special.
"Tonight, I'll thoroughly examine your learning progress. If you don't do well on the test, don't blame me for spanking you."
After adjusting his mindset, Chen Pingjiang joked:
"Of course, if you can score a hundred points, I'll give you an apartment in Yanlan Gongguan."
Cong Nini's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this.
She asked excitedly:
"Really?"
"Why would I lie to you?"
As soon as Chen Pingjiang finished speaking, Cong Nini immediately got up and hurried to the bathroom to get busy.
About ten minutes later, a sweet, coquettish voice came from the bathroom:
"Master, hurry up and come! I'm ready to serve you."
Chen Pingjiang shook his head with a bitter smile:
"This vixen."
(End of chapter)