Ten o'clock in the morning.
Ethan Miller and Diana appeared in the lobby on the first floor of Michael Wilson's five-story office building right on time.
Michael was already waiting with his lawyer and assistant.
His face was full of enthusiastic smiles, but there was still a hint of disbelief in the depths of his eyes.
The young man in front of him really wants to buy his building for the full amount of $32.5 million?
After exchanging pleasantries, everyone moved to a decorated conference room.
In the conference room, Diana lightly scratched the edge of the paper with her fingernails when she took the contract, making a crisp sound. She read surprisingly fast, sometimes circling terms with a pen, leaning over and whispering in Ethan's ear.
Michael noticed the young man nodded slightly after hearing this, and the motion was remarkably similar to a certain Wall Street titan he had seen when he was working at an investment bank.
Diana suddenly raised her head, her eyes behind the lenses sharp as knives:
"Mr. Wilson, the priority repurchase right in the additional clause of Article 7 needs to be adjusted."
She pushed forward a revision suggestion, the tip of her pen drawing a sharp straight line under a certain provision.
When Michael's lawyer came over to review it, sweat beads appeared on his forehead. These modifications seemed subtle, but they cut off all possible legal risks with scalpel precision. (ps: Diana's elective major in law)
When he looked up again, Michael found that Ethan was gazing at the oak tree outside the window, as if this $32.5 million transaction wasn't as worthy of attention as that tree.
Michael looked at Diana's shrewd and capable demeanor, then at Ethan's calm composure—as if he was just signing an ordinary document—and the last trace of doubt in his heart completely vanished.
This was by no means an ordinary trust fund kid, and the Ms. Diana next to him was certainly no idle person.
Michael asked with a smile:
"Mr. Miller, Ms. Diana, the terms are confirmed correct?"
Ethan nodded:
"No problem."
He picked up the pen and solemnly signed his name at the position Diana's fingers indicated. The signature was calm and powerful, with a confidence that commanded the situation.
"Pleasure doing business, Mr. Miller!"
Michael stood up and extended his hand enthusiastically. "You're really young and promising, and your courage is amazing! This building is in your hands now—I'm sure you'll bring it back to life!"
"Pleasure doing business, Mr. Wilson."
Ethan shook his hand, his tone still calm. "I'll need your cooperation to expedite the property rights transfer procedures."
"Don't worry! I'll have my legal team follow up on everything and get it done as soon as possible!"
Michael patted his chest in assurance.
After the contract was signed, Ethan transferred the full $32.5 million to Michael's designated account in two installments (due to transfer limits) through bank wire transfer on the spot.
When Michael's phone received the bank notification, looking at that long string of zeros, the smile on his face became even brighter, and the way he looked at Ethan completely turned to awe.
Red Bean Capital, just days after its establishment, now had its own headquarters building located in the core area of Hudson Yards in Manhattan!
Walking out of the building, the sun was just right.
Diana looked at the young man next to her, the shock in her heart indescribable. She looked at Ethan with admiration, curiosity, dependence, love, and an indescribable wonder.
She spoke softly:
"Honey, what's next?"
Ethan looked up at the blue New York sky, the corners of his mouth curling into a sharp arc:
"Back to the hotel to pack. This afternoon, we fly to San Francisco!"
His gaze seemed to penetrate the clouds and land on the city that was about to witness him knock on the door of another vast business empire.
Musical.ly, Mr. Alex, here we come! The burning momentum of Red Bean Capital would officially ignite from this newly acquired building and the negotiations in San Francisco!
.....
The United Airlines passenger plane landed steadily at San Francisco International Airport.
The cabin door opened. Ethan took the lead down the steps, then turned and extended his hand naturally. Diana was wearing sunglasses, her red lips slightly raised, her slender hand resting on his palm as she stepped down with his support, her high heels landing steadily on the tarmac.
"Honey, San Francisco's weather is so much drier than New York."
Her voice was lazy, close to Ethan's ear, her warm breath carrying a vague fragrance:
"If you let your naughty auntie get sunburned, you'll be responsible tonight."
Ethan smoothly pulled her soft waist into his arms, his fingertips rubbing ambiguously on her side:
"Don't worry, even if my naughty auntie gets burned to a crisp, your husband will take care of you."
She leaned close to his ear, lowering her voice, her breath brushing his earlobe:
"...Help me with repairs tonight?"
Ethan's Adam's apple rolled as he laughed quietly:
"Full service, guaranteed."
The electric current between the two crackled in the dry air, and it wasn't until the driver who came to pick them up respectfully opened the car door that they instantly switched back to business mode. Diana nodded elegantly while Ethan remained composed.
"Let's go, Ms. Diana. Time to meet Mr. Alex."
.....
Musical.ly Headquarters, Conference Room.
The air conditioning was on full blast, and outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows were the tech campuses of the Bay Area.
At one end of the long table sat the young Alex and his core team, with the unique sharpness, caution, and a hint of desperation for massive funding on their faces.
At the other end, Ethan was calm as a mountain, Diana elegant and capable, and under the table, the tips of her high heels were rubbing against Ethan's pant leg.
"Mr. Miller, Ms. Diana, welcome."
Alex stood and shook hands, smiling sincerely, his English carrying a slight accent that sounded quite earnest. His eyes lingered on Ethan's overly young face for a moment, but he didn't show contempt, only curiosity.
"Mr. Alex, the pleasure is ours. I've been looking forward to this."
Ethan responded with a smile, his handshake firm and brief.
Diana displayed impeccable professional demeanor:
"Mr. Alex, it's a pleasure to meet you."
After pleasantries, they got straight to business.
Alex personally introduced Musical.ly's current core product, user growth data, algorithm advantages, and vision for the future of mobile internet short-form video distribution.
His presentation was passionate and the data eye-catching, but the thirst for funds was like a parched riverbed. Ethan listened patiently, his fingertips lightly tapping on the table.
"The market direction is right, and the data growth is rapid."
He spoke, his voice not loud, but it instantly captured everyone's attention:
"But Mr. Alex, is Musical.ly's moat sufficient relying on algorithms alone? The next user battle, content ecosystem construction, especially..."
His eyes were like torches, accurately pointing out the giant beast that hadn't fully surfaced:
"The short-form video expansion—how many rounds can you fight with the little money in your account? What will you use to build massive server infrastructure?"
Alex's eyes froze, and everyone on the team felt their hearts shake.
Short-form video expansion! This was the "Next Big Thing" they were secretly planning internally! How could Ethan know?
"Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock... Have you talked to them all?"
Ethan rattled off the names of several top venture capital firms, his tone very flat:
"What terms can they offer? $80 million? $100 million? 10-15% equity? Small potatoes."
The Musical.ly team's faces changed slightly.
The numbers and scope Ethan cited were surprisingly close to the initial proposals from several firms they were in contact with!
How did he know? Diana sat beside him, her beautiful eyes downcast, her fingertips unconsciously scratching the edge of her elegant notebook, her heart also fluctuating. This young man—his market insight and ability to predict competitors was simply terrifying.
"Mr. Miller is very well-informed."
Alex didn't deny it, essentially confirming Ethan's guess, and his evaluation of this young man instantly rose.
There are 60 advance chapters ahead in my Patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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