Starting from a Bar to Sign Internet Celebrities

News of Boss Lei investing in Second-Life Star had already caused a sensation, so of course, Tiao Yin had heard about it.

Han Shangyou, in particular, took a personal interest once again and watched the relevant videos.

"According to rumors circulating from Second-Life Star, Chen Jincheng has successfully secured funding from Boss Lei. Boss Lei supposedly spent three billion to acquire a 20% stake in the company..."

Han Shangyou’s cheek twitched as he watched the report. "Where did this fake news come from?"

His assistant shook his head. "I don’t know. There’s no confirmed information, and Rice Group hasn’t made any announcements. Three billion is just too ridiculous."

Han Shangyou scoffed, "Ridiculous is an understatement. Second-Life Star is only rated as a 3-star Guild on our platform. If a 3-star Guild is worth that much, then how much should Tiao Yin be worth?"

It wasn’t just Han Shangyou; many people didn’t believe it.

At first, people were shocked by the news of Boss Lei’s investment, but after a moment’s thought, it just didn’t add up.

If the news had been about Chen Jincheng’s Soda brand securing three billion in funding, it would have been more believable than this story about Second-Life Star.

But there was no need for anyone to go out of their way to make a video just to comment on it.

However, one group was different: investment bloggers. They remembered how Lin Hongxiao had gained a massive following by riding Chen Jincheng’s coattails and flaming him.

The guy’s livestreams had even pulled in over 100,000 concurrent viewers.

As for why he got banned, it was because he had completely miscalculated. He was also selling courses, and crucially, his arrogance had angered Chen Jincheng, forcing Tiao Yin to take a stand.

These new bloggers didn’t need to be that arrogant; just riding the wave a little would be enough. The crucial part was that this news was obviously fake.

How could an MCN company like Second-Life Star possibly be worth a three-billion-dollar investment for a 20% stake?

The entire company wasn’t even worth three billion.

A blogger named Da Lan was one of them. He had studied investing for a time and worked at a high-end investment firm. While he hadn’t achieved anything spectacular, he had assisted on quite a few projects.

So, after getting some traffic from sharing videos about the investment industry, he started to wonder if he could make it as an investment blogger himself.

Now that Lin Hongxiao had fallen, it was the perfect opportunity to enter that niche.

He knew the news online was fake, but afraid of repeating Lin Hongxiao’s mistakes, he first inquired with other current 3-star MCN companies to understand their valuations.

Most of them would be laughing in their sleep if they were valued at 100 million. A 15-billion valuation was a complete joke. Even if Second-Life Star had more influencers with large followings, it couldn’t be that inflated.

So, without a moment’s hesitation, he posted a video. He wasn’t the only one; other investment bloggers did the same.

The news was so blatantly false, there was no way they could be proven wrong for calling it out.

"Let Me Be Clear: This Is Absolutely Fake News!"

"Fact Check: Second-Life Star Cannot Have Such a High Valuation."

"I Can’t Understand Why This Fake News Is Even Spreading!"

...

At Kuaishou.

President Chen Yixiao had gotten the news as well.

However, he absolutely didn’t believe it either.

’It’s just an MCN company. A valuation like that is a joke.’

Kuaishou’s own valuation during its Series E funding round this year was only just over 160 billion.

If this news were true, wouldn’t that mean ten companies like Second-Life Star would be equivalent to Kuaishou?

’What a load of crap.’

In any case, the buzz surrounding the matter grew hotter and hotter, especially since neither Second-Life Star nor Rice Group had made any official statements.

In truth, nobody really believed the news.

Even people within Rice Group felt the same way.

Wei Yuan was having a meal with several other high-level executives from Rice Group when he was besieged with questions.

"President Wei, how did this online rumor get so out of hand?"

"Exactly. Even if President Lei were to invest, it wouldn’t be for such an astronomical sum."

"That’s right, it’s just too much. Luckily, it’s President Lei’s private investment, otherwise the shareholders would probably have a fit."

...

What could Wei Yuan say to all this?

Could he tell them it was true?

’Even I can hardly believe it.’

’I’m just as confused as they are!’

’I also think Second-Life Star isn’t worth that high of a valuation.’

But what had President Lei said?

’He was investing in the future.’

’He was investing in the person.’

Apparently, President Lei had called a certain influential figure to confirm something. After that, he chose to trust Mr. Chen, believing that he could actually achieve everything laid out in the investment proposal.

’He also believed this three-billion-dollar investment was worth it.’

But President Lei’s faith in the deal was going to turn the entire internet upside down.

Take now, for instance. It was the absolute truth, yet look at how few people online believed it. Even people inside Rice Group itself were convinced it was fake.

One could only imagine the sensation it would cause when the truth was finally announced.

Time passed. Over the next week, even though Rice Group gave no response, the online buzz surrounding the matter remained incredibly high.

Chen Jincheng, meanwhile, had been staying in Beijing the whole time. The smile on Sister Feiye’s face was noticeably more frequent, and her cheeks had a more charming glow.

All thanks to being nourished by love.

A week went by, and Chen Jincheng finally received a call from Boss Lei. He said the team he’d sent to Coastal City had finished all the procedures and returned to Beijing. Sister Hong had come along with them.

As the general manager, she naturally had to be present for the official contract signing. She also needed to meet Boss Lei and get acquainted.

A normal financing deal could take anywhere from a few weeks to several years.

This speed was like the whole process was on fast-forward.

Then again, Second-Life Star’s current situation was simple enough to allow for it.

As Boss Lei had said, it was just a formality. If it had been anyone else, never mind three billion, their investment proposal would have been treated like a pile of crap.

"Alright, President Lei, I’ll head over this afternoon." Chen Jincheng hung up, left his hotel room, and went downstairs to find Sister Feiye.