Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

In Otto Technologies…

Chang You could not seem to sit still. Instead, he paced around the office.

"I still can't reach Boss Pei. Huang Sibo hasn't heard from him either.

"Forget it, let's make the decision."

After a lot of consideration, Chang You decided that they could not hold things off any longer. He immediately gathered everyone for a meeting.

"The situation has changed. Tomorrow is Beautiful premiered at midnight last night, and it was very well-received. It completely surpassed our initial expectations!

"We can activate the second stage of our plan.

"Little Jiang, explain to everyone."

The young man beside him handed out printed proposals to everyone else at the table. Then, he walked in front of the projector screen and began to explain the chosen plan.

"We came up with different designs for the exterior of our cell phone.

"Everyone knows that most designs look the same because Boss Pei has given us clear instructions. The logo has to be big and eye-catching.

"Thus, we designed different logos and matched the logos to the color scheme of the cell phone's outer cover.

"We had picked a simpler logo at first, but now that Tomorrow is Beautiful has premiered, our plans will change accordingly.

"At the time, Tomorrow is Beautiful's production crew asked us for logo's advertisement plans. Now, they have shot the advertisements. What's more, those advertisements had appeared in the movie. Take this one for example."

Little Jiang clicked a button, and an advertisement started playing on the projector screen.

A drone arrived to collect take-out, but the destination was too far away. Thus, the boss of the take-out business whipped out his phone to charge the drone. After that, the drone took off and traveled through the desert and sea. Along the way, it went through a sandstorm, a tempest, and various other extreme weathers. After it returned from making the delivery, it still had thirty percent of its battery life.

The logo on the cell phone was one of the logos that Otto Technologies had decided not to use.

That was the most futuristic-looking logo—the one made out of the letters OTTO, that resembled the infinity symbol in mathematics and looked the most postmodern.

Little Jiang said, "We didn't choose this logo at first, mainly because we thought it would be too showy. We were afraid that our new cell phone brand would not match up to a logo like that.

"However, from the looks of the current situation, the advertisement and the exterior of this cell phone are quite well-received by the audience!

"At the same time, the movie will become more popular in the near future. If we release a cell phone with a similar-looking exterior, we would be able to capture the attention of the movie's fans.

"Further, we won't be manufacturing many of these cell phones. It might be a good idea to make it a collectible for the fans."

Once Little Jiang finished talking, everyone began discussing the idea.

"I thought this logo was the nicest from the start!"

"The cell phone's advertisement looked quite good in the movie. Even after theaters stop screening the movie, we can upload the advertisements on video websites or screen them in television programs. That would save us a lot of money. That means we have to make our cell phones look like that!"

"That's what I think, too. It'll be a waste not to make use of a good commercial like that."

"Er… Boss Chang, what does Boss Pei think?"

Everyone turned to look at Chang You.

Chang You hesitated. "I can't reach Boss Pei for now. I think he's been very busy during this period."

Everyone exchanged confused looks.

"I don't think Boss Pei will reject this idea."

"I heard that Boss Pei was the one who wrote the movie's script. Boss Pei was also the one who decided not to sell the advertising space in the movie. Did Boss Pei think about doing this from the very beginning?"

"Hmm… that seems to make sense."

Everyone agreed that it made sense to use the advertisement since it had already been filmed and was well-received by the audience.

Chang You immediately made the decision. "Alright, since that's the case, we can use this logo and this exterior. Come up with a new plan based on this logo as soon as possible and then hand it to the manufacturers!"

…

At Dream Realization Ventures…

He Desheng looked at his cell phone screen with a conflicted expression. "Boss Pei still hasn't replied to my message.

"Should I… give him a call?

"Boss Pei isn't busy now, is he? I feel like it would be a bit rude of me."

During this period, 'Top Student, Come Quick' had been getting increasingly popular. Not only had He Desheng arranged for publicity using their initial investment funds, but the other investors had also been paying out of their pocket to market 'Top Student, Come Quick'.

The reason for this was simple. The more popular the application became, the more Xude Education would pay for it!

He Desheng had been following Boss Pei's instructions recently and selling their shares in 'Top Student, Come Quick' bit by bit.

Since last week, He Desheng had already sat in several shareholder meetings for 'Top Student, Come Quick'.

He Desheng was a core member of 'Top Student, Come Quick's entrepreneurial team and the in-charge of Dream Realization Ventures. He was only managing the shares on Boss Pei's behalf.

After all, Boss Pei was too busy. He could not possibly attend meetings and get caught up in the minor details every time he sold a bit of shares.

He Desheng's task during those shareholder meetings had been very simple: he had to discuss the shares transaction with Xude Education's representative.

The other shareholders were beginning to sell their shares as well. The company that Xude Education had set up for 'Top Student, Come Quick' was holding more and more shares as time passed.

An investor who had poured three million yuan into the project at first had sold all of his shares for eight million yuan at one shot. That was more than a hundred percent profit!

At the moment, the estimated value of 'Top Student, Come Quick' was close to forty million yuan. As the other investors sold their shares, Xude Education naturally tried to haggle for a lower price. Yet, even so, each of those investors ended up making a significant profit.

He Desheng could tell that Xude Education seemed to have been cheated by that group of sly, old foxes.

Of course, he could not go so far as to say they had been 'cheated'. After all, Xude Education did want the application.

As a wealthy educational organization, Xude Education had always hoped to come up with an application that could expand its influence. Thus, acquiring the application was akin to gold-plating their reputation.

Boss Li and the other investors wanted to make money, and Xude Education wanted to gold-plate its reputation. Each was a willing party, and there was nothing that He Desheng could complain about.

Of course, He Desheng would not expose the investors either. That was because he knew that everyone intended to cash out of the project from the very beginning.

Now, Boss Li and the others had already planned their exit route. Naturally, He Desheng would follow suit. There was no reason for him to interfere with anything else.

To obtain absolute control over this project, Xude Education had a strong desire to acquire all the shares. In particular, it wanted to acquire the shares that He Desheng held.

It was then that He Desheng realized why Boss Pei emphasized on selling the shares bit by bit.

Obviously, he wanted to maximize profit!

As 'Top Student, Come Quick' became more popular and Xude Education's shareholding increased, the price of the last bulk of shares would keep increasing.

After making a few transactions, He Desheng now had the minimum amount of shares that Boss Pei had asked him to keep… about twenty percent.

To obtain more control over the company and reach a 67% shareholding, Xude Education had willingly forked out a huge sum of money for the last bit of shares that He Desheng had sold to them.

Given that the project's estimated value was now at forty million yuan, He Desheng had sold his shares for an estimated sum of fifteen million yuan. Deducting the initial investment of two million yuan, he had reaped a pure profit of over ten million yuan from this project alone. What's more, he still had twenty percent of shares in the company.

Now, He Desheng was conflicted about whether he should sell the last twenty percent.

He could sell those shares for another huge sum of money!

Of course, He Desheng did not dare to call the shots. After all, Pei Qian had already told him to hold onto the last twenty percent.

Yet, holding onto the shares made He Desheng feel like he had failed to completely cash out on this project. It almost seemed to go against Boss Pei's initial intentions.

In other words… He Desheng's work felt incomplete.

After pondering over it for a long time, He Desheng decided to call Boss Pei.

…

Pei Qian was lying on the bed like a corpse when his cell phone rang.

"Eh? He Desheng?"

Pei Qian quickly picked up. "Hello, what's the matter?"

On the other end of the line, He Desheng was stunned. He had not expected Boss Pei to pick up so quickly or to sound like he was not busy at all.

"Oh, Boss Pei, I've already done what you asked me to and sold all the shares, save for twenty percent. Should I continue to sell the shares? If I do that, we might be able to make another four or five million yuan."

Pei Qian, "…?"

At that moment, he found it hard to understand what He Desheng was saying.

He sold all the shares so quickly? He can even earn another four or five million yuan if he sells the last twenty percent?

I remember I had about sixty percent earlier…

How much did I earn by selling the shares just to affect the other investors' confidence?!

Pei Qian quickly asked, "What's the project's current estimated value?"

He Desheng answered honestly, "About forty million yuan, Boss Pei."

Pei Qian, "?"

That's not right. That's not how the story was supposed to go.

Pei Qian felt confused. I kept selling to sell my shares. Logically, people should have thought I was running away. Other investors were supposed to follow suit, and everyone's confidence was supposed to crumble.

The project's estimated value was supposed to fall drastically, and no one was supposed to want to buy over my shares…

Yet, the project's estimated value is continuing to rise even after I've sold so many shares?!

Based on Pei Qian's memory, the project had been estimated at 25 million yuan before.

He fell into silence, not knowing what to say next.

He Desheng did not dare to chase him for a response either. He thought that Boss Pei was thinking about an even deeper investment problem or a strategy for the future.

Half a minute later, Pei Qian asked, "How about Boss Li's shares?"

He Desheng answered, "He did the same as us; he sold them all to Xude Education. Xude Education paid a lot of money for the shares. At the moment, they're already holding the controlling share of 67%.

"Of course, because of that, Xude Education no longer wants to buy the last twenty percent that we're holding so desperately. They won't buy it at the earlier price, but I think we can still make four or five million yuan if we sell them."

Pei Qian's mind was filled with question marks.

What the h*ll is Xude Education? I didn't hear this name when talking about the other investors before.

Pei Qian was stunned for a moment before a realization dawned on him.

Sh*t, I've been generating so much hype that a massive problem has occurred. An outsider has entered the picture!

This Xude Education must have seen the application and come to take over the business. It was just as well that the investors were selling their shares; the company bought them all!

A bad feeling overwhelmed Pei Qian. He tried asking, "So how much did we make from selling our shares?"

He Desheng replied, "About 15.6 million yuan. I need to check the exact figure; please hold on…"

Feeling light-headed, Pei Qian said, "There's no need to check…"

Finished!

This situation has spiraled out of control!

I said that I only wanted to lose two million yuan at first. Now, after a whole mess of manipulations, I've made 13 million yuan instead!

What the h*ll did everyone do?!

Pei Qian tried hard to keep calm. After clearing his throat, he said, "What if—I mean what if—I want to buy all of those shares back. How much… would it cost?"

He Desheng laughed. "Boss Pei, you're very humorous. That's not a matter of price. Xude Education wanted absolute control over this project, and they have just gotten that. Why would they sell their shares again?"

Pei Qian: "…it's nothing, then."

Sensing that Boss Pei was going to hang up, He Desheng quickly asked, "So should we sell the last twenty percent, Boss Pei?"

Pei Qian answered, "No!"

With a 'plop', Pei Qian hung up.

He Desheng looked at his cell phone screen, confused. "It looks like Boss Pei has another plan for those shares, but… why do I sense that Boss Pei is unhappy?"