I'm reborn and I'm an international student again?

Although the two were already familiar with each other and had even been intimate a few days ago, and had boldly staged a scene of a wedding robbery and elopement, Chen Xi and Jin Nana felt inexplicably uneasy now that they were alone in the hotel room.

After calming down, no one dared to say "love" or "like" anymore, and for a moment they didn't know how to start the conversation.

"Um... do you want to say something? What is our relationship now? What should we do in the future... about Saori... my parents... your parents... how should we explain this?" Jin Nana asked a lot of questions in one breath.

Chen Xi understood these problems, but the solutions he had in mind were probably not what the other party wanted to hear. Not just Jin Nana, but probably every woman would be unwilling to accept this.

However, Jin Nana, like Saori, likely chose to stay with him after understanding his situation, indicating a broader acceptance. It's just unknown whether she can accept Zhao Lingshan's presence, and of course… Xia Lian…

"Ahem, my parents' side is easy to talk to, the key is what the situation is on your side. I remember that wealthy families generally don't marry their daughters to foreigners. Although your father is in jail, your mother is still alive, right? I also doubt whether your older brother's words carry any weight..." Chen Xi stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray full of cigarette butts.

"Hmm? You're going to marry me? What about Saori? My parents are fine with me. I went abroad because I didn't want to be controlled by my family. Anyway, they've never been able to do anything with me since I was little. I can go wherever I want, hehe." Jin Nana said nonchalantly.

Come to think of it, even if her father hadn't gone to jail, given Jin Nana's temper, her family wouldn't have been able to control her.

But at least a verbal explanation is needed...

“You’re quite like me; my family can’t control me either,” Chen Xi laughed. Both of them were rebellious since childhood.

"You still haven't answered my question! I don't even dare to call Saori to tell her about this... How about you marry Saori, and I'll rent a place near your house... No, that would still be unfair to Saori..."

“Let’s talk to Saori about this in person. It’s not that she doesn’t agree with us being together,” Chen Xi said somewhat awkwardly, then added, “My original idea was to have a wedding in front of both sets of parents, but not to register the marriage. That would solve the problem. But now that I’m a celebrity, if the wedding is too big, it will definitely be exposed and criticized, so we have to have it privately…”

"Wow, you actually came up with this idea! I bet you didn't just start planning this a few days ago, you must have been sketching it out years ago, huh!" Although Jin Nana thought the idea was good, she still stared at him with a suspicious look.

"Ahem, how could that be? I'm naturally intelligent." The man, whose secret had been exposed, coughed lightly, trying to ease the awkwardness.

"Do you think Saori will hit me if I bring this up?"

"If your and Saori's identities were switched, would you agree?" Chen Xi asked rhetorically.

"Probably..." Jin Nana said somewhat guiltily, after all, she had spoken rudely to Saori due to a misunderstanding when she had amnesia.

"That solves it; you both consider each other your best friends."

"But... I betrayed her first."

"You have amnesia."

“But…” Jin Nana’s face flushed slightly.

She had feelings for Chen Xi before she lost her memory, and even secretly kissed him. She was able to control herself then, but things are different now.

"Let me talk to Saori first, but right now we need to resolve the negotiations with the four major grain merchants first," Chen Xi said in a deep voice.

"Let's ask Saori first! If she doesn't agree, then it's goodbye!" Jin Nana tilted her head and thought for a moment.

"If she doesn't agree, you'll go to Cui Zhongsheng again, right?"

"Hehe, yeah, how about it! Okay, I'm going to binge-watch the show now, I was just getting to the exciting part yesterday!"

Jin Nana made a playful face and then turned on the TV. She had recently become obsessed with Chinese martial arts dramas; for someone who loves fistfights, the light-footed movements and pressure point techniques held a strange attraction for her.

She is currently watching "Little Li Flying Dagger," which is a TV series adapted from the once-popular novel "The Sentimental Swordsman and the Ruthless Sword."

Half an hour later, Jin Nana sat cross-legged on the sofa, her eyes glued to the screen. In the scene, Li Xunhuan was tenderly embracing Yang Yan, the Fairy of the Startling Clouds, as they stood in the courtyard, the atmosphere romantic and enchanting.

Just then, Sun Xiaohong, with her hair in two braids, walked along the path. Seeing this scene, she paused, a complex expression flashing across her face, and said with a hint of bitterness, "It seems... I've come at the wrong time."

Li Xunhuan turned his head at the sound, his weathered yet still handsome face showing no sign of panic, but instead revealing his signature melancholy and kind smile. He slowly extended his hand to Sun Xiaohong: "No, Xiaohong, you've come at just the right time."

As soon as she finished speaking, Fairy Jinghong turned slightly to the side, her face showing no displeasure, but rather understanding and tolerance. The next moment, Li Xunhuan gently put his arm around Sun Xiaohong, who nestled close beside him. The scene froze at this slightly magical moment, with the legendary detective on one side and two stunning beauties of vastly different identities and personalities nestled beside him.

"Wow..." Jin Nana was so engrossed in watching that she forgot to eat her potato chips. She murmured, "Are all Chinese men like this? It's pretty much the same in 'The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber,' and the Duan family in 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils' had so many women they couldn't even count them all..."

"Um... I used to think you were straightforward, but now you've learned to be sarcastic?" Chen Xi awkwardly touched his nose.

Jin Nana ignored him, just snorted and continued watching TV.

America.

After leaving Tesla's office, Musk went straight to an office building. He had received a call earlier about building a factory in Shanghai, but the numerous government restrictions there were frustrating him. Just then, a business partner and Tesla shareholder called, introducing an Eastern businessman who wanted to discuss a car manufacturing collaboration.

While Tesla's quality is good, its high price and basic interior have been a constant source of criticism. It's understandable; the cars are similar to, or even inferior to, regular low-end models, yet the price is significantly higher. The advantage of electric vehicles is cost-effectiveness, but Tesla's high price directly negates this advantage, causing Musk considerable headaches. The costs are simply too high, which is why he's building factories in Asia to reduce costs.

Musk had heard of the boss he was meeting today; known as the "Eastern Financing Master and Top Accountant," he had a diverse early business background, having worked in computer training schools, steel trading, coal washing, and other industries. His real success came from his online video platform. While many Eastern business owners have a history of various ventures, this person's business dealings were completely unrelated to electric vehicles.

Does he know anything about trams?
Musk went upstairs with a skeptical attitude.

On the 20th floor of the office building, Jia Riting was deep in thought, his brow furrowed. He had been in America for some time, having previously raised a considerable amount of money through deception, claiming he would build the "Faragoza" electric car.

Because Chen Xi introduced him to the Xu family early on in this life, Boss Jia's trip to America to manufacture cars was delayed compared to his previous life.

Mr. Jia has raised funds, but money alone is not enough. Car manufacturing requires a complete industrial chain, and that little bit of money is simply not enough.

No, it's not that he didn't have enough money to throw in, because he still has debts to pay off, so he certainly can't invest all his money.

What should I do?
They could only find existing car companies to cooperate with, so Tesla caught Jia Yueting's eye.

It must be said that Jia Yueting has a keen eye; he only targets the strongest, completely disregarding other car companies. When he started Ferrari, he publicly stated that the company's core business was the research and development and production of high-end intelligent pure electric vehicles, aiming to rival or even surpass Tesla and create a so-called intelligent mobility ecosystem. To gain investors' trust, he invested the money he cashed out from LeEco, along with some funds from other bigwigs, to secure subsequent funding.

But now we live in the internet age, and information travels incredibly fast. His past in China is now known to many. Gradually, Jia Riting is finding it increasingly difficult to secure funding, partly because the car still hasn't been built.

People aren't stupid these days. If you talk a good game but don't even see the wheels of a car, who would be willing to invest money?
However, this didn't stump the clever Mr. Jia; he had already prepared several plans. If building cars didn't work, he would add other elements to achieve what he called a "perfect closed loop."

"Knock knock." There was a knock on the office door. Jia Riting quickly put on a smiling face, straightened his suit, and stood up to greet Musk in broken English: "Welcome to Farago!"

"Hello there!"

At this point, Musk wasn't as arrogant as he used to be, and he didn't talk much when meeting strangers for the first time.

After a few polite exchanges, the two got down to business.

"What do you think of Tesla?" Jia Riting asked first.

"Great! Sales have been good lately. Carsales in Australia have ordered a lot of cars from me. Not to mention Europe. It's just that the Asian market hasn't opened up yet. I plan to build a factory there, but the negotiations with the local government aren't progressing fast enough. They keep changing their minds," Musk said frankly.

“No, no, no, I don’t think Tesla is good enough yet.” Jia Riting held up a finger and shook it.

"Hmm?" Musk's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

Hearing others say that your product is bad would make anyone unhappy.

Seeing the other person's expression, Jia Riting grinned: "Don't you think Tesla's interior is too simple? Most electric cars on the market nowadays don't pay much attention to the interior atmosphere."

"I think as long as the car drives well, that's fine, because making the interior luxurious will only increase costs," Musk shook his head.

"Did you know? We recently launched a new electric car called 'The Future,' which is all about going against the grain. The interior is more luxurious than regular electric cars, and it's selling quite well. It's cheaper than a Tesla and more comfortable to ride in. Shouldn't you take a look at it?"

Upon hearing this, Musk paused, racking his brain for information. He did indeed recognize the brand. Then he shook his head: "I know that brand because it's made in China, so the cost is lower. But in terms of technology and user experience, Tesla is still better. If I build my factory there, those other car companies won't be competitive with me at all."

Jia Riting leaned forward slightly, a profound smile on his face, as if he had already seen through the essence of the industry: "You're right, technology is fundamental. But have you ever thought about it? Tesla's business model is still stuck in the 1.0 era of manufacturing and selling cars?"

Musk frowned slightly, but did not interrupt, gesturing for him to continue.

"Tesla's moat is its technology, but that has also become your ceiling," Jia Riting said eloquently. "You pursue cutting-edge technology, which keeps costs high, so you can only be the BMW or Mercedes-Benz of electric vehicles, not Toyota or Volkswagen. You want to reduce costs by relying on Asian factories, but that's only physical cost, and it's limited. Have you ever thought about how to reduce your financial costs, or even make car manufacturing itself free and profitable?"

This statement pinpointed Musk's biggest pain point at the time—funding. Tesla was still investing heavily and its cash flow was extremely tight. A flicker of interest crossed Musk's eyes: "Continue."

Jia Riting knew the fish had taken the bait, and he launched his meticulously prepared perfect closed-loop theory:
“My Ferragamo is not just a car company, it’s an ecosystem. You see, if we raise 10 billion yuan now and pour it all into factories and R&D, it’s like pouring water into the desert. It dries up instantly, and investors won’t see any splash. They’ll panic.”

"But if we take only 10 million of this 3 billion and use it for core R&D and prototype vehicles to demonstrate our determination and technology to the outside world, and use the other 7 million... to make money from money."

Musk asked doubtfully, "How do you make money? Invest in stocks? That's too volatile."

"No, it's something even more promising than stocks—blockchain and cryptocurrency. This year is the first year of blockchain, with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and various ICOs offering exponential returns. If we invest a sum of money in this field, the profits we can gain in the short term could far exceed those from selling cars! Using financial profits to support real-world manufacturing—that's the true meaning of building cars with an internet mindset!" Jia Riting lowered his voice, as if sharing a huge secret.

Musk had long been interested in cryptocurrencies, and the idea struck him as novel and even daring.

Riding the wave of momentum, Jia Riting painted an even grander picture: "This is only the first layer of the closed loop. The second layer involves issuing Farago Eco Coins. Future car owners who purchase our vehicles or use our services will earn these Eco Coins, which will circulate and appreciate in value throughout the entire ecosystem. In this way, users will no longer be consumers, but co-builders and shareholders of our ecosystem! Their loyalty will be extremely high; we will have the most loyal user base in the world, and they will even actively defend and promote us! At that time, we won't be selling cars, but an entry point to a future of finance and lifestyle. A simple interior? That's called minimalism, prepared for true tech enthusiasts. A high price? That's called a status symbol, because holding our Eco Coins has already made early users financially independent!"

Jia Riting spoke eloquently, waving his arms and his eyes gleaming with fanaticism.

Although Musk knew in his heart that this was fraught with huge risks and bubbles, and even somewhat unorthodox, he had to admit that the picture painted by Jaritin was accurate.

The vision of using financial means to solve manufacturing problems and replacing brand loyalty with community faith precisely hits the weak point of traditional manufacturing and provides a very tempting shortcut to solve Tesla's financial difficulties in the short term.

Musk didn't respond immediately, but said thoughtfully, "Your idea... is very bold and interesting. The Chinese way of thinking is truly amazing, which reminds me of something interesting. There's a battery manufacturer over there... I found out who's actually in control of it. Do you know this person?"

After saying that, he handed the phone directly to Jia Riting.

When Jia Riting saw the profile on the screen, his eyes widened instantly, and he blurted out, "Wow!"

(The typhoon came quickly and went quickly. I've been quite busy these past few days, and I only got back to the hotel around 1 AM to finish what I was writing yesterday.) (End of Chapter)