At 10:30 AM, as Chen Yansen was heading towards the startup park, Zhang Jiancheng's second call came through.
"Mr. Zhang, to be frank, FoxTao isn't short on funds right now," Chen Yansen said, cutting him off before he could even start.
"Mr. Chen, I know that since Super Rebate launched, you have merchant and B2C mall deposits on hand, plus a daily gross profit exceeding one million. Your cash flow is abundant," Zhang Jiancheng responded calmly. "But Thinking Capital has been in e-commerce since 2004. We have extensive B2C and supply chain resources that can help FoxTao grow rapidly."
"FoxTao currently has 1.5 million daily active users, with daily GMV stable at twenty million. What valuation can Thinking Capital offer?" Chen Yansen asked, inflating the actual numbers by over fifty percent.
"Mr. Chen, based on this year's average e-commerce industry P/E ratio, Thinking Capital can offer a valuation of four hundred million. Considering FoxTao's leading position in the shopping guide sector, I can add another hundred million," Zhang Jiancheng said after a moment of thought.
"Sorry, I'm not satisfied with that figure." Chen Yansen refused decisively, bringing Tencent into the conversation. "Tencent is FoxTao's angel investor and holds a right of first refusal. I need to notify them before initiating Series A financing."
"Mr. Chen, we can meet to discuss the details. Valuation is negotiable. As long as the calculations are reasonable, Thinking Capital is willing to accept them." Zhang Jiancheng frowned, unwilling to give up.
But Chen Yansen had no intention of fundraising so early. After a few perfunctory words, he hung up.
Zhang Jiancheng was taken aback by the repeated rejection. He hadn't expected an 18-year-old freshman to be so tough to crack.
His plan had been to capitalize on other VCs' hesitation, "stun" Chen Yansen with a 500-million valuation, and coax him into signing a term sheet. Yet the other party simply wouldn't bite.
Chen Yansen walked into Room 206 and waved Wang Zihao over. "Find a few top e-commerce influencers. Spread the word that Thinking Capital wants to invest in FoxTao at a 500-million valuation."
"Really?" Wang Zihao was slightly stunned, asking reflexively.
"It's true, but I refused. Five hundred million is too low," Chen Yansen answered honestly.
While leaking investor interest is unethical and could easily provoke Thinking Capital's ire, Chen Yansen had no such moral compass to speak of.
Thinking Capital wanted equity at a bargain; Chen Yansen wanted to sell high. There was no right or wrong—only profit.
"Damn, you're something else!" Wang Zihao gave a thumbs-up, his face full of astonishment.
Back at his desk, he immediately contacted two top bloggers—Rabbit Whispers E-commerce and *21st Century E-commerce Circle*—through an intermediary. One had 4.6 million followers, the other 3.2 million. Their asking price wasn't high, totaling less than eight thousand yuan.
The ability of bloggers to monetize their traffic nowadays was nothing compared to what it would be a decade or two later.
At 3 PM that afternoon, Rabbit Whispers E-commerce broke the news about Thinking Capital's contact with FoxTao.
"500-million valuation" plus "18-year-old business genius" unsurprisingly shot to the top of trending searches.
Some felt a 500-million valuation was absurd for a company less than four months old.
But comments quickly surfaced explaining that using the PEG valuation method, combined with FoxTao's daily active users, order volume, and GMV data, its valuation could actually reach 800 million to 1 billion.
Other netizens believed it was just a hype tactic by FoxTao to inflate its worth.
Half an hour later, *21st Century E-commerce Circle* reposted the Weibo, further confirming the news's credibility.
Zhang Jiancheng, who was reporting progress to his boss when he heard the news, sneered. He hadn't expected Chen Yansen to be so shrewd.
When pressed by the media for confirmation, Zhang Jiancheng couldn't outright deny it. He only said vaguely, "As a sub-segment of e-commerce, shopping guide platforms have been given a completely new profit model by FoxTao."
As for the truth behind the 500-million valuation and whether Thinking Capital had actually approached FoxTao, he didn't say a word.
Before leaving work, Chen Yansen received another call, this time from Qiming Capital. They immediately offered a 600-million valuation, demanding a 20% equity stake.
Chen Yansen still gave a noncommittal answer, intending to let the hype simmer for a few more days.
The next day, Lin Chenfeng from Tencent Venture Capital called specifically to inquire.
After clarifying the situation, he smiled and reminded him, "This project was personally selected by CEO Ma. The venture capital department will definitely continue to invest."
Chen Yansen smiled faintly. "You're welcome to visit FoxTao for an on-site inspection. That will give you a clearer understanding of FoxTao's current value."
As the financing news spread, more and more venture capital firms began to notice FoxTao, this rapidly growing shopping guide e-commerce platform.
On December 17th, the first VC to enter the startup park was Today Capital—a group of seven, including the investment manager leading the project, industry analysts, legal counsel, finance personnel, and technical staff.
Chen Yansen spent a whole day with them on the second floor of the startup park. Song Yuncheng was responsible for hosting and presenting the polished data.
The next day, photos of Today Capital entering Xucheng Academy were posted online. This time, it wasn't Chen Yansen's doing, but a few college students looking to gain followers and traffic.
The previously hesitant venture capital firms could no longer sit still and began calling with invitations to visit.
Throughout mid-December, Chen Yansen spent all his time dealing with VCs, aside from closely monitoring Super Rebate's daily operations.
Fortunately, the results were good. Offers from various institutions kept climbing. Competition breeds pressure.
Thinking Capital, which initially offered only 500 million, eventually raised its bid to 750 million!
"Brother Sen, what do you think? DCM has the highest offer right now. Even if we only sell 10% equity, we can still get 140 million in funding. That would let us scale our investments tenfold," Wang Zihao said, pulling up a chair in front of Chen Yansen.
"Still too low!" Chen Yansen glanced at him disdainfully. "These damn VCs keep harping on about Super Rebate's short launch time, frequent policy changes, and unstable gross profit. If we calculate based on a daily net gross profit of one million, asking for a three-billion valuation wouldn't be an overestimate."
If the VCs thought FoxTao's daily gross profit was unstable, then fine—he'd wait. He wasn't in a hurry.
"Three… three billion?" Wang Zihao swallowed hard, glancing around. This project with fewer than eighty people was really worth three billion?
He'd been sitting in on Liu Muyan's finance classes lately. Though he hadn't studied corporate valuation in depth, he knew three billion was an astronomical figure. The VCs would probably find it hard to accept.
"At worst, development will be slower. If it doesn't meet my expectations, no deal," Chen Yansen said with a light laugh.
Wang Zihao fell silent. He didn't ask for Chen Yansen's bottom line, sensing that even if he did, Chen Yansen might not tell the truth.
Ever since his best friend filled out those college applications, he'd become like a different person—deep and unfathomable.
"I've sent this week's marketing plan and weekly report to your email. Oh, and our cumulative registered users just passed twenty million," Wang Zihao said with a smile, changing the subject.
"I'll be away for the next few days. Keep an eye on things here. Call me immediately if anything comes up," Chen Yansen said seriously, glancing at his watch.
"Got it, don't worry! If any VCs show up, I'll leave them to Song Yuncheng and Zhuang Rui. They've got experience." Wang Zihao shrugged, envy flashing in his eyes.
Chen Yansen was taking Meng Jie to a concert in Shanghai, while he was the one grinding away.
He'd finally fallen for someone, but she was a teacher—and already had a fiancé.
That guy looked proper, but with his hair slicked back like some gangster, he was obviously unreliable.
Brother Hao is the best match for Liu Muyan!
Of course, Wang Zihao only dared to mutter this to himself.
Chen Yansen smiled, picked up his coat, and walked out.
Just as he reached the faculty apartments, Chen Yansen saw Meng Jie standing on tiptoe, looking around while holding two suitcases.
"Let's take a taxi to the high-speed rail station first. We should get there around 10 PM."
Chen Yansen took one of the suitcases and ruffled Meng Jie's hair.
Meng Jie giggled, hooked her arm through his, and walked confidently toward the school gate.
From Xucheng Academy to Xucheng East Station: half an hour by car, three hours by high-speed rail. They arrived at the hotel at 10:30 PM.
The Shanghai night blazed with neon. Skyscrapers lined both banks of the Huangpu River, bathed in cool moonlight. The streets were bustling, unusually noisy.
"You only booked one room?"
Standing at the door, Meng Jie blinked, her expression peculiar.
Chen Yansen, that scoundrel—his little schemes were too obvious. Meng Jie saw right through him, her cheeks instantly burning.
She'd fantasized about similar scenarios countless times but never expected it to happen so suddenly.
"Don't worry, I won't do anything," Chen Yansen said earnestly, pushing the door open and inserting the keycard into the power slot.
"Tonight, you'll probably say the AC isn't warm enough and you want to squeeze into the bed. Then you'll say you just want to hold me, nothing else. Finally, it'll be 'I just want to rub against you,' right?"
Meng Jie's eyes were watery, her lips slightly upturned as she recounted the playbook of a scoundrel, point by point.
"You're so experienced. You must've been a scoundrel in your past life."
Chen Yansen paused, then chuckled dryly, striking preemptively.
"Don't forget! Who was the class monitor of Senior Three, Class Eight!" Meng Jie snorted and pushed her suitcase inside.
But she hadn't expected that the bedroom had only one bed. Chen Yansen had skipped straight past the first step of the scoundrel's playbook.
Meng Jie turned to look at him, her eyes full of questions.
Before leaving, Chen Yansen had confidently declared he'd booked a twin room—one bed each, separated as distantly as mountains and seas.
"Uh… maybe the front desk made a mistake?"
Chen Yansen lied shamelessly.
"Really? How careless! Luckily, there's a sofa in the living room. It'll be fine." A sly smile flashed across Meng Jie's face.
Sleep on the sofa?
Chen Yansen was stunned. What a joke! President Chen never slept on sofas!
It was getting late. After washing up, one lay on the bed, the other curled up on the sofa.
"Chen Yansen, you scoundrel!" Meng Jie grumbled.
"The bed is big and comfortable. Want to try it?"
Chen Yansen chuckled, patting the soft mattress with a plop.
"I'd rather sleep on the sofa!" Meng Jie rolled over on the sofa, steadfastly refusing to take the bait.
She knew Chen Yansen's tricks all too well. Next, he'd definitely say, I'll just hold you. I won't do anything else.
Yeah, right!
The two bickered back and forth, occasionally reminiscing about their high school days.
Before long, Meng Jie drifted off to sleep.
Chen Yansen called her name softly twice. Hearing no response, he quietly got out of bed.