Chapter 9

Translator: Atlas Studios

Editor: Atlas Studios

The passengers in the limousine got out in the parking lot. A tall, strong African American bodyguard opened the door, and a young man in a gray t-shirt stepped out.

“Wait, don’t tell me that’s Zuckerberg getting out of the car!”

“I swear on your pen*s, he definitely is Zuckerberg.”

“Oh my God. Why isn’t there any news about Zuckerberg coming to Tsinghua University?”

The students on campus were baffled. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook and one of the world’s top tycoons. Almost no Tsinghua student was unaware of who Zuckerberg was. He was once hailed by his countrymen as the American Jack Ma. Even in China, there were too many of his admirers.

“Hello guys!” Zuckerberg walked down the path, waving affectionately to the students and greeting them in Chinese.

“Zuckerberg is waving at me! He’s smiling at me!”

“I’m hyperventilating a little!”

“He’s so cool!”

Zuckerberg spoke in Chinese, albeit with a heavy accent. However, the students were able to understand him. Along the way, he showed a friendly and approachable face, without the slightest arrogance of a super-rich.

The students were bewildered by his surprise visit, but they didn’t rush up to ask for a group photo or autograph. They also didn’t form a crowd around him. Everyone just stood there and watched in amazement as Zuckerberg walked away.

After all, this was a nationally renowned institution of higher learning, and the students were conscientious enough to know not to cause chaos. But on the other hand, the campus forum blew up; the home page was basically filled with posts regarding Zuckerberg’s visit.

The news of Zuckerberg’s sudden arrival at Beijing’s Tsinghua University instantly went viral on campus, and the entire university became incredibly lively again with the recent departure of Jack Ma.

The news quickly spread outside the perimeters of the school. Reporters who heard it rushed to Tsinghua University as soon as they could. Well, they couldn’t be blamed. Zuckerberg wasn’t only young, but also incredibly wealthy, and he was the founder of a world corporate giant. There must be something huge going on for such an influential celebrity to come to China all of a sudden—this was the first thought of every reporter. One had to know that recently, there was a lot of news about Facebook returning to China.

“Mr. Zuckerberg, we didn’t expect your arrival. You could have let us know beforehand, so we could get ready to welcome you.” The school director eagerly shook hands with him and greeted him.

“I’m sorry for getting here without informing you beforehand and causing trouble for your school.” Zuckerberg shook hands and apologized.

“No worries! But wow, your fluency in Chinese surprises me, Mr. Zuckerberg.” The school director smiled.

“Really? Well, thank you so much for the compliment,” Zuckerberg replied with a startled expression.

“This way, Mr. Zuckerberg!” The school director gestured.

Shortly after Zuckerberg’s surprise visit, the media published the news.

World-renowned social networking giant: Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, shocks Tsinghua University——<>

Mark Zuckerberg shows up in Beijing: is Facebook coming back to China?——<>

Zuckerberg arrives in China. Is Facebook secretly starting to lay out in Greater China?——<>

In no time, various media outlets reported this news. The news of Mark Zuckerberg’s arrival in China spread wildly over the internet.

Zuckerberg’s sudden visit to China stunned many. An influential figure like him would have his every action interpreted by the outside world—sometimes even over-interpreted. It was apparent that it wouldn’t require something simple to make a big shot like him take things into his hands.

Zuckerberg and the school director entered one of the meeting rooms and began their discussion. Westerners certainly disliked beating around the bush as Zuckerberg immediately asked: “Sir, I’ve heard that a startup called XlouS is located in your school. Could you please tell me where it is?”

“Oh! XlouS?” the school director was astonished.

So he came all the way here just to visit a startup?

“Hmm…” The school director went silent for a moment. Soon after, a thought came to his mind. He looked at Zuckerberg and replied, “I remember now. This company was just founded by a student in our university. Recently, XlouS launched a product that’s quite popular in the school. What’s it called again… Yes! Real-time Online Translator.”

“Yes.” Zuckerberg responded. “Could you please give me the contact information for the founder of XlouS?”

“Contact information? No problem, I’ll tell him to come over immediately.” The school director pondered for a few seconds and said as though it should be.

“No no no! You said his company’s office address is at the school, so I’d like to go over and meet him in person,” Zuckerberg said quickly.

The school director was baffled upon hearing his words. It was apparent that the Real-time Online Translator the student created must be a remarkable product, so much so that it made Zuckerberg so urgent.

One had to know that Zuckerberg was a world celebrity, a social media big shot, and a super rich man.

It couldn’t be helped that Zuckerberg felt anxious after witnessing the amazing feature of Real-time Online Translator; it was an application that could both take Facebook a step further and also pose a deadly threat to Facebook. How could he not be in a hurry when he was certain that his competitors would have the same idea as he? The moment he knew about this application, he wouldn’t feel at ease without dealing with it.

The way the school director arranged the meeting for him felt inappropriate to Zuckerberg. In order to respect each other and express his sincerity, he decided to go to Ren Hong personally.

After a short while, Zuckerberg headed toward Building 003 by the northern courtyard while accompanied by the school director.

“What’s Zuckerberg up to?” Students around the campus saw this scene and took out their phones to record videos or take pictures.

At that moment, along the corridor of classroom 317, Sequoia Capital and IDG Capital were hostile to each other like enemies.

Ren Hong met with both parties again. As XlouS didn’t have a proper office address or meeting room, they could only meet along the corridor. Fortunately, this school building was no longer in use and only the three parties were present. Despite that, they weren’t bothered by the environment either. It was apparent that Ren Hong held the strongest position. At that moment, it was capital that was seeking him and not the other way around. This was very important in determining who was in charge when negotiating between them.

“What is Mr. Ren’s valuation of the company?” One of the representatives of Sequoia Capital asked.

“35 billion!” Ren Hong plainly said. Meanwhile, in room 317, Zhang Han and the rest perked up their ears, their hearts pounding as soon as they heard the number.

“US dollars!” Ren Hong stressed.

“Guys, 35 billion USD!” Chen Kai said excitedly.

“Shut up! Keep your voice down; it’s not the first time you’ve heard it. Keep listening.” Zhang Han grunted.

In the corridor, the representatives of Sequoia Capital, Li Taosheng, and his assistant were surprised when they heard 35 billion. They felt like it was a reasonable amount. It was impossible for them to not see the value of the software. However, it was the ‘dollar’ that left them speechless.