Chapter 647: Chapter 666: Fan Leader CEOs Jointly Speak Out: Qian Xingxing, Do You Have a Heart?
It all boiled down to a few issues.
1. WAHHH! When will I get a prestigious VIP card so I don’t have to fight for her food anymore? Some shareholder privileges would be nice, even just getting to taste all the new dishes would be great.
2. To secure benefits for Juju. She’d switched platforms, and they absolutely could not let her be exploited again. They had to let these companies know that Juju had powerful backers!
3. It would also be nice if they could take some food back with them. (Strikethrough)
Alright, so just two points.
To get to the heart of the matter, if they wanted this Boss Qian to take Juju seriously, why not just say so directly?
’We’re Juju’s fans, we’re investing for Juju’s sake, and we’re going to secure benefits for Juju!’
The young Boss Wang said, "I know Mr. Qian must find it strange that we’re suddenly proposing an investment."
Before Qian Xingxing could say a word, Han Laoda added, "Actually, this isn’t as out of the blue as it seems."
They were completely open and aboveboard, their expressions strikingly similar. "We are all fans of your company’s streamer, Jiang Qiuqiu."
’Here it comes, just as I thought!’
’At a time like this, only Qiuqiu’s fans would show up to invest in the company.’
’Since they’re Qiuqiu’s fans, the nature of this meeting just changed completely.’
A smile appeared on Little President Qian’s face. "A pleasure."
In the eyes of the four bosses, this was a signal of goodwill. They all reached out again for another round of handshakes.
After that maneuver, the conversation became much more casual.
"We’re all fans of Juju, so we’re keenly aware of her potential."
"Therefore, even though New Star hasn’t made a name for itself yet, we believe that with Juju on board, it’s destined to become the new leader of the interstellar live-streaming industry."
The subtext was clear. They believed this would happen *with ’Juju’ joining*!
Who was the focal point? Juju!
Qian Xingxing, just like the bosses, agreed wholeheartedly and chimed in.
"I think so too."
"With Juju on our side, we have an ace up our sleeve."
’Oh, he’s playing along. He gets it.’
They quickly moved on to phase two. "We know your company is currently facing some technical difficulties. We’ve done some research—the stream lag is simply because your Main Brain’s level is too low."
"We can make a joint investment in the company." Boss Han paused. "The amount will be enough to purchase a Level 7 Main Brain and a Level 7 Mechanical Brain outright."
When Qian Xingxing heard the words "Seventh Level," he froze.
’Level 7?’
...
’Good. The bait worked. He’s stunned.’
"In exchange, we want 28 percent of your company’s shares, and—"
"We want to see the contract your company signed with Juju."
’They had to see if Juju was truly ’duped by sentiment,’ just coming to this backwater company because of some old ties, regardless of the consequences.’
’Even though this Little President Qian had made a good impression before, that was at the Federation Live Broadcast Company—’
’This was New Star. If not for Juju, who would’ve ever heard of this platform?’
’You could say Juju was his lifeline.’
The group of bosses couldn’t be sure. Now that she was here, would he sign a fair contract with Juju? Or would he hide a time bomb in a seemingly normal agreement, tying her to this tiny boat of a company?
Qian Xingxing, it had to be said, was tempted.
A Level 7 Main Brain and a Level 7 Mechanical Brain... that could solve nearly all the platform’s problems in an instant. But after hearing their conditions, his heart grew cold.
28% of the shares? That was absolutely impossible.
Originally, he, Qiuqiu, Meimei, and Wanxing were the joint shareholders, with Mei Lin joining later. He personally held 49 percent, Qiuqiu held 48 percent, and Wanxing, Meimei, and Mei Lin each held 1 percent.
Absolute control of the company still rested with him.
To give away 28% in one go... Absolutely not.
"I’m sorry." Qian Xingxing put on a regretful expression. "While the funding you’ve proposed is very tempting, I cannot meet these conditions."
"How could that be?" the young Boss Wang piped up. "This company should be a sole proprietorship under you, Mr. Qian. You should hold the vast majority of the shares. Even if you gave some to Miss Dais before, you ought to still have more than eighty percent."
"We’re only asking for 28 percent. The controlling stake should still remain in your hands."
’Their demands had been carefully calculated. They weren’t being excessive at all.’
’He was right, their demand wasn’t excessive, but—’
"Our company has two major shareholders, and I am only one of them. Giving away 28 percent of the equity would cause a huge shake-up. I really can’t agree to that."
’He didn’t seem to be lying.’
Since their terms on the shares couldn’t be met, the bosses exchanged a look. Han Laoda spoke up. "We can discuss the percentage of shares later. What about the second condition? We want to see the contract Juju signed with your company."
Due to current operations and potential public backlash, the fact that Qiuqiu had signed a shareholder agreement and become New Star’s number two boss was still confidential.
"The contract Juju signed isn’t a standard one, so I can’t show it to you right now."
"It’s confidential?"
Qian Xingxing nodded.
All four of them narrowed their eyes simultaneously.
"The details of the contract might be confidential, but you should be able to answer some basic questions, right, Mr. Qian?"
"Is the contract you signed with Juju this time another one of those short-term event contracts?"
"Well..." ’It’s a shareholder agreement; her fate is tied to the company’s.’ "It’s not." But it wasn’t a standard streamer contract either. He wanted to explain, but they were already firing off the next question.
"If it’s not a short-term contract, what’s her revenue share for each stream?"
"Are there requirements for her streaming frequency? Did you take her busy school schedule into account?"
Qian Xingxing couldn’t answer the question about the revenue split. Because he hadn’t asked Juju for any capital, she had insisted that all her streaming income for this period be reinvested into the company’s development.
There were year-end dividends, though. "Her share is about half."
However, he didn’t realize that his long hesitation had already set off alarm bells in the minds of the four bosses.
"There are no streaming frequency requirements."
"Then why has the number of Juju’s streams increased so noticeably lately?"
’Wait a minute,’ he thought. ’Weren’t we supposed to be talking about investment, shares, and Qiuqiu? How did the questions suddenly get so off-track?’
Qian Xingxing didn’t answer right away, and the "Boss F4" automatically filled in the blanks.
’The revenue share is definitely not half!’
’There are definitely streaming requirements!’
’The contract must have her locked down tight!’
’Juju has definitely been screwed over!’
’This was unacceptable!’
’They had traveled across planets to be her support, and this boss said nothing, answered nothing, and even when he did speak, he just hemmed and hawed!’
And so, Lily frowned, Han He’s face darkened, Boss Wang’s face filled with rage, and Old Xu looked on disapprovingly.
"Mr. Qian, let’s forget about cooperation for a moment. We’ll just ask you this: did you force Juju to sign an unfair contract?"
"Is there no fair revenue split?"
"Did you impose strict streaming requirements on her while she’s still a student?"
"Her streams have suddenly gotten much longer recently. Is that a special clause your company put in the contract?"
The questions came one after another. In that moment, they weren’t bosses there to discuss a partnership. They were the leaders of a fan army who had learned their idol was being treated unfairly, and they had risen up in revolt to interrogate the company.
Every single one of them radiated righteous indignation.
"Mr. Qian, she gave up a golden opportunity at the Federation Live Broadcast Company for you. She came to stream on some unknown, unheard-of app—a place that can’t even provide her with a stable broadcasting environment. And yet, she still came."
"She values her personal connections so much, and you have the nerve to make her sign a contract like that?"
The young Boss Wang shouted, "Qian Xingxing, do you even have a heart?!"
Lily added, "Boss Qian, do you have a heart?"
Han He followed, "Mr. Qian, do you have a heart?"
Old Xu just glared, his eyes screaming: *Do you have a heart!*
Still trying to process, Qian Xingxing was left reeling from the combination attack. What exploitative contract? What unfair revenue split? What deception? What ’no heart’?!
Qian Xingxing: ???
He was utterly bewildered.
And amid his bewilderment, all four of the seated figures rose to their feet.
...
’Are... are they going to hit me?’
Qian Xingxing subconsciously shot to his feet as well.
