Technology Bigshot

Chapter 13: Strategic Partnership

Translator: Atlas Studios

Editor: Atlas Studios

It took some time to draw up the contract. Meanwhile, Zuckerberg and Ren Hong spent the time chatting.

“Ren! I’m rather curious about your position on XlouS as a company. Can you tell me more?” Zuckerberg asked casually. As both sides were about to become strategic partners, he wanted to understand each other better.

“My positioning of XlouS is a high-tech company, dedicated to changing the world. The core of the company is innovative technology, and technology is the fundamental survival of XlouS. There is no breakthrough technology born under XlouS, and there will be no new product launches,” Ren Hong thought about it and said. His eyes were filled with boundless confidence.

“Whoa!” Zuckerberg was clearly surprised at how confident the other party was in his words. “XlouS is bound to be a great tech bigwig.”

Ren Hong smiled and said, “Yes! XlouS and Facebook are both great companies that change the world!”

Both sides laughed and chattered as if there were no barriers between them despite their 13 year difference in age. If this image were shown to the outside world, it would have shocked countless people. Perhaps the people of this country would stare blankly in fascination at this young Chinese man speaking cheerfully with a contemporary social networking giant.

One had to know that not many people in the world knew the name ‘Ren Hong’. But Zuckerberg was known by hundreds of millions of people; the difference was just too huge.

But that was also a thing in the past because from today onward, everyone in the room was incredibly certain that once Facebook held a press conference, Ren Hong and the tech company called XlouS would officially step into the global spotlight.

“Years ago, Gates dropped out of school to start a business with his best friend, and then there was the Microsoft empire. Jobs made his first business by chance in his garage, and finally there was today’s Apple. And just for fun, Facebook was accidentally born in a school dorm room and achieved what it is today.” At that moment, Zuckerberg became slightly bashful, but he smiled and continued. “And today, XlouS is born in a classroom…” Zuckerberg smiled at Ren Hong and commented, “Based on past irresponsible examples, I’m sure XlouS is also bound to become a great technology giant! The first product is already so amazing!”

“Thanks for the compliment!” In the face of Zuckerberg’s praise, Ren Hong’s smile appeared relatively calm. Despite that, his heart was full of pride. He was always convinced that XlouS would become a true high-tech giant, and for that he was full of passion and fighting spirit.

“Right! Zuckerberg, do you really think VR is the future?” Ren Hong suddenly asked.

“That is a globally recognized fact. Even though the technology isn’t yet mature, we all believe that this is the trend!” Zuckerberg said with a nod, and for a moment, he asked curiously: “What? Are you interested in the field of VR too?”

Ren Hong shook his head and said, “No! I don’t intend to be involved with VR. Because I don’t think it is a trend of the future. It’s just a transitional product, and VR is merely a pseudo-virtual reality product.”

“Although it’s pseudo-virtual reality, it’s still virtual reality, at the very least. Are you sure you’re not going to experiment with it? Currently, every tech company is joining this field and becoming one of the players. It’s a bit of a shame that XlouS, as the new tech giant of the future, doesn’t join the playing field.” Zuckerberg smiled. Although he said with a tease, it was a clear reflection of how fierce the competition was in that field.

“Compared to the VR field, I’m more in favor of the artificial intelligence field.” Ren Hong smiled.

“It’s too tough. Although everyone is trying their hands on artificial intelligence; it is apparent that VR is easier to handle,” Zuckerberg replied.

At that moment, the contract had been drawn up and delivered to the two men.

Ren Hong went through it quickly and looked to the senior, “So is everything in place?”

After getting the senior’s affirmation, Ren Hong signed the contract. Shortly after, Zuckerberg did the same, taking over the contract and signing. The seniors on the side watched with suppressed excitement, witnessing the birth of this great moment.

After the contract was signed, the two men stood up almost simultaneously and shook hands again. Zuckerberg smiled, “I’m looking forward to the impending rise of your new tech giant, XlouS.”

“Me too!” Ren Hong responded.

After Zuckerberg got the contract, he finally laid the weight off his mind. Although Facebook suffered a loss by paying 12 billion US dollars and XlouS had earned a huge advantage, that was the fact. Both sides signed a contract and entered a strategic partnership. Zuckerberg, in turn, willingly promoted Ren Hong’s product for free, while paying 12 billion USD for an exclusive license.

Regardless of the process, both parties got what they wanted, which was a win-win situation.

When both of them sauntered toward the exit of Starbucks with the satisfactory result, the clamors at the entrance reached their ears. Zuckerberg was already used to such a scene. He suddenly leaned toward Ren Hong and spoke with a smile: “A small suggestion; next time bring a bodyguard out. As for now, I will not lend you mine. Take that as a punishment for slaughtering my 12 billion USD!”

“The more the merrier if I can keep having such a punishment. Hah~” Ren Hong joked.

“What a greedy fellow, despite your young age too.” Zuckerberg laughed.

“Spoken like you’re old!” Ren Hong replied with dissatisfaction, but his face displayed a smile.

As they chattered, the door to Starbucks was pushed open. Flashes after flashes flickered on their faces. The reporters waiting on the outside managed to capture this scene with their cameras.

In an instant, the reporters waiting outside the door swarmed. At that moment, Ren Hong personally experienced the madness of those reporters that he witnessed on TV.

“Mr. Zuckerberg…”

“Sir…”

The entire entrance was as if they were downtown. The lights kept flickering, and the chattering of dozens of reporters couldn’t be stopped for a moment.

Zuckerberg was surrounded by his cluster of tall and powerful bodyguards. He smiled politely and walked away from the group of reporters with ease, while Ren Hong’s treatment was more than a notch worse. He was faced with dozens of microphones in front of him and surrounded by more than 20 reporters. It was just so hard to take a step forward.

“Sir! May I ask what Mr. Zuckerberg met with you to discuss?”

“May I ask your name, Sir?”

“Sir…”

It was apparent that the moment these reporters saw Ren Hong and Zuckerberg talking cheerfully and walking out of Starbucks together, they knew there was definitely big news on the young man.

“No comment!”

“No comment!”

The helpless Ren Hong watched as Zuckerberg entered his limousine under the escort of his bodyguards. He was certain that the moment Zuckerberg drove off, the reporters would instantly turn around and target him. He was already having a hard time taking a step forward. Could he even step out of Starbucks if another dozen reporters swarmed him?

At that moment, the seniors witnessed this scene and very spontaneously acted as his bodyguards. Although there were only two of them against a crowd, they were still able to relieve the pressure.

Ren Hong kept his mouth tightly shut and refused to accept any interview. He responded with a few “no comments” and shut his mouth. He knew that if he were to comment anything, he could forget about leaving. Although this was his first time facing such a situation, judging from what he saw on TV, he knew that there was nothing wrong with doing so.

As a matter of fact, after the reporters pestered him for a long time, they also realized that he wouldn’t comment anything and eventually gave up pursuing. But despite that, the camera shutters didn’t stop at all…