At the board meeting, Lu Jian sat at the end of the long table, listening to the reports of the directors, frowning into the word "Chuan"
It never occurred to them that those little bastards could persist for so long, and... their persistence made the Lu Corporation face an unprecedented financial crisis.
"Mr. Lu, I really don't understand why we have to go against Xingchen."
"Our company's performance has declined sharply this quarter, and it is really inappropriate to continue the stalemate with them."
Everyone knows that going against Xingchen is harmful to others, but no one dares to say it out loud.
Several directors also expressed dissatisfaction with Lu Jian's decision, and said insinuatingly: "Even though they are a small company, they have a huge market, and they are all young people. They were supposed to go bankrupt. What happened to the second anniversary a while ago?" Souvenir crowdfunding project, unexpectedly many people support... ”
"What is crowdfunding?"
"do not know... "
"Have not heard."
"It's something new for young people."
Lu Jian's face became more and more gloomy. Originally, he thought that it would be a matter of minutes to bring down a small company like Xingchen, but he didn't expect that it had been dragged on for several months, and they could still hold on...
He really underestimated Shen Kuo.
What Meng Zhining said was right, young people should not be bullied, Lu Jian could see some shadow of her youth in him.
In addition, Lu Zhen also made him feel surprised and pleasantly surprised.
Now Lu Jian's mood is really complicated. On the one hand, seeing his son's growth, he has an inexplicable joy, on the other hand, he is very unwilling.
The Lu Group has a big business, how could it not be able to deal with such a small company!
"If they go all out, how long can they last?"
After the financial manager calculated, he said to him: "No more than half a month at most, but Mr. Lu, our loss is also..."
"The last half month." Lu Jian stood up and slapped the pen on the table heavily: "If they can persist, I will stop."
One night two weeks later, when the moon was buried in thick clouds, Lu Yan came out of the recording studio and received a text message from Shen Kuo—
"I'm sorry I let you down."
Lu Yan's heart was vacant, and the early summer breeze was warm and soft, but she felt a biting chill.
Several colleagues from the company came down the stairs behind them and patted Lu Yan on the shoulder: "Go to sing at night, do you want our little queen to come together?"
"No, no, I have something else to do." After speaking, Lu Yan walked to the street and quickly hired a taxi.
Half an hour later, the taxi stopped at the gate of Xingchen Company.
It can already be seen that it is going bankrupt. All the surrounding office buildings are brightly lit with neon lights, but the building in front of them is as dark as a trapped animal.
It was already ten o'clock in the evening, and the company was empty, only Liang Ting and his office were still dimly lit.
The door of Shen Kuo's office was ajar, and a faint blue light shone through the crack of the door.
Lu Yan gently pushed open the door and looked around. There were piles of documents on the desk, and the only light source in the room came from the computer screen.
Shen Kuo was lying on the sofa and fell asleep, propping the back of his head with one hand, one leg was hanging down, the other leg was exposed outside the sofa eaves, and the black suit was half hanging on him.
He closed his eyes, his long eyelashes gently covering his eyelids, and his breathing was slow and steady.
He is so tired.
Lu Yan suddenly felt that this was good, at least, he could finally have a good night's sleep.
She didn't wake him up, she tiptoed to the computer, and there was a dialog box on the computer screen——
notice:
"Dear users, when you see this news, it means that the Star software is about to go offline, and for the inconvenience caused, I would like to express my apologies on behalf of all the remaining staff of Star.
Each of us is like the stars covering the night sky, bright and gorgeous, but far away and lonely. The stars connect every star and accompany you through 692 days, and we are about to stop here.
There are still 12 hours before the software goes offline. During this period, you can say goodbye to each other or leave other contact methods.
But trust me, this is not the end. The end of the world is far away, see you in the future. "
———Shen Kuo
Lu Yan felt sore in her throat. She clicked on the message board below the announcement. In just half an hour, there were already tens of thousands of comments from netizens——
"What! Xingchen is going offline? Can't use it anymore? My God! Why is this happening!!!!"
"When the stars go offline, I will lose a lot of friends. They are all strangers I don't know in reality."
"I'm so reluctant, I'm really reluctant, I finally upgraded from an asteroid to a star-level, 55555."
"It has become a habit to log in to Xingchen every day. All my friends are also using Xingchen. Boss, are you really going to be so cruel? Cry."
"I am not good-looking. In reality, I have very few friends, and I dare not talk to people. I am afraid that others will not like me. Through Xingchen, I know many friends. They don't care about my appearance and are willing to chat with me. If Xingchen really down the line, I will lose them."
…
Lu Yan scrolled down all the way, and there was a lot of wailing in the comment area. It can be seen that the user group is almost all young people, and they express their anger, reluctance and sadness...
In this era, Internet socialization is in its infancy. Although there are more than one social software, these social tools are generally not good enough and have many flaws.
Under such circumstances, the stars appeared. Shen Kuo has been targeting the youth market from the very beginning, developing a variety of social methods and games, and at the same time taking into account feelings. Almost as soon as he appeared, he dominated the entire market as a king. .
There is almost no social tool on the whole network that can match the huge audience of Xingchen.
If there is no accident, what a gorgeous sea of stars will be in front of him.
Lu Yan looked at these reluctant comments and felt guilty. To a certain extent, Xing Chen's offline had something to do with her.
Between her and her career, Shen Kuo chose her.
Lu Yan wiped the corners of her eyes vigorously, walked to Shen Kuo's side, covered him with the slipped suit jacket, lowered her head and kissed his forehead lightly.
Walking out of the company gate, Lu Yan took out her mobile phone and called Ms. Susan from Baduo.
"Ms. Susan, last time you mentioned to me about the renewal of the two-year contract. I have considered it and I am willing to renew the contract."
Before Susan had time to be happy, she heard Lu Yan say, "This time, it will continue for the rest of my life."
On the other end of the phone, Susan was silent for a long time: "Tell me, what are your conditions."
...
In the early morning, the warm sunlight slanted into the room through the white gauze curtain, Shen Kuo blinked and woke up.
When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Lu Zhen's big iron face, he almost kicked him.
Fortunately, Lu Zhen was quick.
Shen Kuo sat up and saw that Liang Ting and Ye Jiaqi had all come, and several classmates who had worked with them since graduation from university gathered in his office.
Shen Kuo looked at his watch, it was seven o'clock in the morning, and there were still two hours before the software went offline.
They gathered here so early, everyone's expressions were very heavy, and it was a bit of a windy farewell.
Shen Kuo took off his watch and put it on the table.
"just wait."
Boy Mei did not speak, each standing in one part of the office.
At eight o'clock, Cao Zhida, who looked like a dog in a suit and leather shoes, came again.
As soon as Lu Zhen saw him, he was so angry that he grabbed the mop and wanted to drive him away.
"What are you doing here again!"
This time, Cao Zhida brought two bodyguards with him, and sat on the sofa in Shen Kuo's office to protect him, and said with a smile: "I'm here to witness the historic moment when your stars officially fell, why, you are not welcome, I also brought champagne Well, let me help you celebrate!"
After he finished speaking, he really took out two bottles of champagne wrapped in gold foil and put them on the coffee table.
Ye Jiaqi murmured unhappily: "The little man succeeds."
Isn't it a villain's success? Seeing that Cao Zhida's tail is almost up to the sky.
Shen Kuo ignored him and sat silently at the table, waiting for the time to pass by.
No one spoke, and the atmosphere was extremely dull.
Cao Zhida played with the watch on his wrist, and said leisurely, "It's 8:40, why don't you get off now, sitting here and waiting is a waste of time."
No one paid him any attention.
He continued on his own: "Wait, wait, anyway, sooner or later, the last twenty minutes, oh no, fifteen minutes, I'll see what you can come up with."
Still no one paid attention to him, he pulled his tie a little awkwardly, and turned his head to look out of the window.
In the last five minutes, Cao Zhida spoke again: "Actually, there is no need to be too sad, haha, after you go bankrupt, all your things, including your designs, will be auctioned off, and Xingchen will still be operating online, but it will just be under a different owner. "
Shen Kuo's slender fingertips landed on the carriage return on the computer keyboard, and said calmly: "Cao Zhida, do you really think that after we go bankrupt, you can get the stars?"
Cao Zhida looked at him suspiciously: "What do you mean?"
The corners of Shen Kuo's eyes slightly raised, and he smiled faintly: "I, Shen Kuo, never make wedding dresses for others."
Cao Zhida's eyes were fixed on the tip of his finger that was on the Enter key, and something was wrong in his heart. He vaguely remembered that Shen Kuo's first award-winning design in the TXPC competition was a self-destruct program.
He instantly understood the meaning in Shen Kuo's eyes.
"You, you want to destroy the stars? Are you crazy?" Cao Zhida stood up excitedly: "You have been working for so many years to make something, and you have the heart to destroy it?"
He looked at Lu Zhen and Ye Jiaqi. Their expressions were calm, as if they had expected it and accepted it peacefully.
"A group of lunatics! You are really crazy!"
Now Cao Zhida was really scared. Before, he was waiting for Shen Kuo to press Enter, but now, he was afraid that he would press Enter.
Once pressed, there will be no more stars in this world
"Shen Kuo, don't, don't be impulsive, think about it again, this is your painstaking effort! It's a pity to destroy it, our President Li said, we can pay this amount, and buy your stars with this amount!"
He reached out and compared eight to eight million.
"That's enough money to pay off all your debts."
A few teenagers didn't pay attention to the eight million. What they destroyed now was just a piece of software, not the stars. The stars were engraved in their brains. The same or even more optimized "star".
Therefore, the self-destruct program is not a moment of teenage enthusiasm, but the result of deliberation.
They will not get the stars at the expense of others, and get the huge market they have saved so hard, even if they bid farewell temporarily, but they are confident that they can make a comeback.
Lu Zhen picked up the broom and was eager to try and chase people away. In the last few minutes, he didn't want this annoying person to spoil the atmosphere here.
Shen Kuo closed his eyes, and began to count down in his heart, and the fingertips that landed on the Enter key on the keyboard couldn't help but increase his strength...
However, at this moment, the office phone rang suddenly.
Everyone felt a burst of irritability at the same time, Ye Jiaqi answered the phone and said with a bad attitude: "No matter who it is, they are fucking free right now!"
After saying this, Ye Jiaqi suddenly fell silent, listening to the phone, his expression changed again and again.
After a long time, he hung up the phone and said to Shen Kuo, "We...have funds!"
Lu Zhen put down the broom and couldn't believe her ears: "What's going on?"
"Someone wants to invest in Stars!" Ye Jiaqi couldn't restrain his excitement: "Our capital chain can be replenished!"
Shen Kuo suddenly withdrew his finger that had landed on the Enter key, and a fine layer of sweat was already breaking out from his palm.
Undoubtedly, this large sum of investment money from Baduo has solved Xingchen's immediate urgent need.
Not only Shen Kuo and Lu Zhen heaved a sigh of relief, but also all Xingchen users on the whole network.
They are reluctant to destroy their social accounts that have been operating for almost a year. For them, Xingchen is not only a social software, but also the only connection for them to become friends with strangers.
As Shen Kuo said, everyone is like a star in the sky, shining brightly but extremely lonely.
The stars are like dense spider webs, which shorten the connection between each other. From then on, the stars in the sky are no longer lonely.
However, Shen Kuo couldn't let go of his heart. He knew that it was impossible for Badoo to invest in Xingchen for no reason.
After dinner, Lu Yan sat cross-legged on the bed, playing a PSP game console, while Shen Kuo leaned against the door, staring at her back in a daze.
The little girl was wearing his large white T-shirt, which made her petite figure even more exquisite and childish.
The white T-shirt is very old, it was worn by him when he was in high school, and he no longer wears it now, but Lu Yan likes this dress very much. When she moved, she purposely kept this T-shirt, and Shen Kuo stopped wearing it. She wears it as pajamas.
Although the offset printed pattern on the chest has completely faded, Lu Yan always said that this dress has the taste of Shen Kuo when he was young.
"Ah, I lost!" Lu Yan thumped the head of the bed excitedly, turned her face and saw Shen Kuo standing by the door, she blinked and sat up: "What are you looking at?"
Shen Kuo looked at her deeply and didn't speak.
He was wearing a milky white home dress, soft light enveloped him, and his temperament was warm.
Most of the time when Lu Yan saw him, he was dressed in a professional suit, and it was rare to see him relax in his daily life.
His pair of dark and deep eyes made Lu Yan inexplicably guilty. She pulled her hair behind her ears, looked down at her psp screen, and then looked at Shen Kuo: "You... why are you looking at me like that."
Shen Kuo walked to the bed, looked at her game console, and asked softly, "What are you playing?"
"Games, always lose, never win."
Shen Kuo took the game console, helped her pass the level in a few moments, and handed it back to her again: "I won."
"Hey... ?"
She looked at the words "Smooth clearance" on the screen, and then looked at Shen Kuo.
Why men don't always understand, what she wants is not to win the game, she wants to win by herself!
Lu Yan asked hesitantly, "Do you have something to say?"
Shen Kuo took her hand, his fingertips delicately traced the lines on her palm.
"You helped me again."
"Uh."
I knew it, but I couldn't hide it from him.
Back then, when he was a poor college student with nothing, Lu Yan helped him pay 3,000 yuan for his tuition.
Later, Shen Kuo bought several properties without discussing with her, and wrote her name on them all.
"Then what should I use to thank you this time?" His moist and hot breath patted her neck with a touch of charm.
Lu Yan's spine shuddered, she moved to the corner, and looked at him in horror: "No, no, you're welcome, I... I'm not all for you, and my dad..."
Shen Kuo looked at her, the corners of his mouth suddenly raised, he leaned over and kissed her lips lightly, sealing the rest of her words in his throat.
He unbuttoned the collar and said softly, "Lu Yan, do it."