Who Would Fall in Love After Being Reborn?

TL: Etude Translations

“Junior, long time no see. Do you still remember me?”

Upon hearing the voice, Jiang Qin turned towards the door, his expression somewhat surprised: “Senior Ye? Long time no see. Are you here to see Professor Yan? He’s out walking his pet, Riches. Do you want to wait here for a while?”

Ye Ziqing quietly watched him: “I’m not here to see Professor Yan. I came specifically to see you.”

“To see me?”

“I saw the news and learned that you are working on a group buying website, so… I wanted to come and have a look.”

Jiang Qin nodded thoughtfully: “Then, Senior Ye, feel free to look around.”

“Okay.”

Ye Ziqing glanced at Feng Nanshu, slightly startled, and it took her a long time to avert her gaze, involuntarily looking towards the display board on the opposite wall.

To be honest, the only familiar thing in this office to Ye Ziqing was this display board, because it was what she left behind when she left Room 208. Jiang Qin didn’t take it down; instead, he continued to use it.

However, the report of Jiuhui Group Buying Network had been obliterated in the long river of time. What was now stuck on it was the new user growth curve and merchant entry curve for the second quarter of Pintuan.

Seeing this made Ye Ziqing even more lost in thought.

She still remembered the first time she met Jiang Qin. It was a rainy day when she came to Room 208 to reminisce about her entrepreneurship days, never expecting that it had a new occupant.

At that time, Jiang Qin came out from next door, Room 207, and told her that her approach to group buying was wrong and that it wouldn’t fail if she changed her strategy.

What did she say back then?

Knowledge from books is superficial…

The second encounter was at Juxianlou in the city center. She had just taken over some of her family’s business and needed to build relationships with partners through social gatherings. At that time, Jiang Qin came out from the next room, and they talked a bit.

What did she say then?

She praised his website and advised him not to rush into monetization but to focus on expanding his user base.

But Jiang Qin’s response was the lack of funds.

She was quite disappointed in him then, thinking he was only interested in immediate small profits and didn’t understand that real business strategy required seizing the opportunity. So, she turned and left, forgetting this junior she had met by chance.

Then in the blink of an eye, half a year passed. Ye Ziqing came back from a gathering and accidentally saw the news on TV, shocked to find that the junior had spread the group buying site, which was once a complete mess, all over the city.

That casual remark had turned into today’s deafening thunder. Ye Ziqing realized she had never really emerged from the shadow of her failure.

From that day, she started to decline all social engagements and began investigating the emergence and promotion of Pintuan.

Campus beauty contests, Xi Tian milk tea, forum traffic, mall bundling, half-price events, regional promotions, and aggressive marketing.

Ye Ziqing found that the seemingly unimpressive junior had swiftly and effectively implemented seven key strategies in Linchuan, accomplishing what she couldn’t even with her utmost effort.

At that moment, her heart was in turmoil.

On one hand, the success of Pintuan proved her initial idea was right, but she had used the wrong methods. On the other hand, it also proved her inferiority in skills.

Then she realized that in front of talent, effort really meant little.

But what made Ye Ziqing more unable to accept was that Jiang Qin, who had spent a year planning a set of both rapid and efficient promotional methods, announced he would stop promoting and switch to running a forum instead.

This man, having easily achieved what she couldn’t even with her all, just let go, casually like a wanderer, ready to retreat.

Doesn’t he know that if social interaction can’t be monetized, it will inevitably collapse?

“Junior, can we talk?” Ye Ziqing turned to look at him.

“Senior, just speak your mind. We’re alone here.”

Feng Nanshu listened with a bit of amusement but remained aloof, like a heartless little rich lady.

Ye Ziqing took a deep breath: “Pintuan is doing well now. You should continue to expand it, not confine it to Linchuan. Limited to one city, it will eventually become worthless!”

“Senior, if instant payment isn’t possible, Pintuan will just be a regional tool for monetization. Zhihu is the real opportunity on the internet.”

“Instant payment is achievable. The big four banks recently upgraded their online banking systems, preparing for this direction.”

Jiang Qin poured her a cup of tea and passed it over: “Is that so? Then let’s wait for the payment license to come through.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Ye Ziqing didn’t accept the tea, instead staring intently at him: “If the financial license for instant payments becomes effective, this field will be completely opened up. All the capital on the sidelines will enter, and we’ll miss the earliest opportunity!”

“We?”

“Sorry, a slip of the tongue. I meant you.”

Ye Ziqing pursed her lips: “You need to understand, replicating this project isn’t hard, and you’re not the only one entering. The reason they haven’t made a splash is that they’re also waiting for the right moment. But waiting for the wind is never as good as chasing it.”

Jiang Qin picked up the cup and sipped water to Feng Nanshu: “I understand what you mean, Senior. But why do you think I can surely win? Just because of my face? But Senior, looks don’t represent justice. You shouldn’t be so superstitious.”

“…”

“Alright, I admit it.”

Jiang Qin’s eyes widened as he thought to himself that Senior Ye might have limited capabilities, but her insight was indeed impressive.

“I admit this is the funniest joke I’ve heard this year.”

Ye Ziqing spoke emotionlessly, “I’ll be frank. I believe in you because I’ve researched the founding and development of Pintuan. Your marketing tactics are very impressive, and you understand the psychology of consumers and merchants, which is crucial for O2O businesses.”

Jiang Qin shrugged: “Still, I feel Zhihu is a better option, and my team has already started shifting our focus back to it.”

“Then sell it to me. I’ll take over.”

“?”

“Junior, just name your price. As long as it’s not outrageous, I can accept it. I will make Pintuan the largest O2O platform in the country.”

Hearing this, Jiang Qin felt a tingling in his scalp, thinking aside from Feng Nanshu, the little devil, this must be the most lavish woman he had encountered, daring to purchase anything valuable.

However, he found it odd. After several interactions, he felt that Ye Ziqing’s personality should be quite indifferent, but every time she heard the words ‘group purchase,’ she seemed unable to control herself, becoming incredibly passionate.

Was this the power of obsession? Because she had failed once, did she feel discontented? This was somewhat similar to his own mindset.

“Senior, let’s not talk about selling it for now. I’m curious, if you were me, what would you do?”

“Expand to other regions, targeting Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.”

Jiang Qin sighed: “That would cost a lot of money. We don’t have to wait for the right moment; Pintuan would die right in front of the wind.”

Ye Ziqing didn’t care: “We could choose to raise funds.”

“No, it’s not the right time for Pintuan yet.”

“But you should at least let it expand and see how far it can go. If you don’t, you’ll miss out on beautiful scenery.”

Jiang Qin shook his head: “I may not push it for now, but I definitely won’t sell it either. Thanks for your offer.”

Ye Ziqing was somewhat disappointed, but still hopeful: “I can join you and help with the promotion. My uncle is the vice president of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce. Together, we could at least cover the first-tier cities.”

“Who is the vice president of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce?”

“…”

Ye Ziqing handed him a business card: “No one would sell their hard work. I understand that, but I hope you won’t restrict Pintuan. If you intend to expand, I can lend you my connections and channels.”

Jiang Qin took the card, glanced at it, and showed it to Feng Nanshu: “Look, this logo is the same as the one on the Xi Tian wall.”

“Junior, we’re discussing serious matters!” Ye Ziqing was a bit annoyed.

She realized Jiang Qin was completely infatuated with love, especially during their ten-minute conversation, as he was either holding the girl’s hand or feeding her water.

Yes, she admitted, the girl was the most beautiful she had ever seen, and even she couldn’t help but look at her, let alone Jiang Qin, a young man in his prime.

But the business card she had just given him was invaluable to Pintuan, and he was only concerned about its logo.

Ye Ziqing found it hard to understand how someone like Jiang Qin could run a business this successfully. Was it because the team he recruited was better than hers?

Jiang Qin returned the card, puffing out his chest: “Senior, I’ll seriously consider your suggestion, but I don’t want to rely on external forces too early. I, Jiang Qin, have my pride.”

“Then think about it. I’ll visit again after the summer vacation. Junior, business is a serious matter, and I hope you don’t take it too lightly.”

Ye Ziqing picked up her bag and left the office indignantly in her high heels.

“Senior, take care on your way. Room 208 will always welcome you.”

Jiang Qin chased after her, only to see Ye Ziqing suddenly turn around: “My uncle’s private contact information can’t be bought with money. You really missed out on a lot.”

Jiang Qin waved goodbye nonchalantly, then casually walked up to Feng Nanshu: “I guess you’ve already memorized the phone number on that card.”

Feng Nanshu was momentarily stunned: “I… I think I really did.”

“Truly worthy of being the genius girl, Feng Nanshu. With this treasure, I can freeload all the information we need!”

The little rich lady puffed her cheeks, trying not to laugh, and took the pen he handed her. She briskly wrote down a series of numbers on paper, pondered for a moment, and then wrote an address underneath, which was the small print on the card.

Jiang Qin took the phone number, looked at it, then folded it and locked it in his drawer.

Though the promotion of Pintuan was currently on hold, this connection might not be needed now but could be crucial in the future.

Borrow connections? That might require a payback, and businessmen know that free things are the most expensive.

Jiang Qin believed his dictionary never contained the word ‘borrow,’ only ‘steal’ or ‘snatch.’