Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 310 A Subtle Show
On September 23rd, which happened to be the autumnal equinox, around 6 p.m., the last rays of the setting sun on the horizon were magnificent and beautiful.

The Xiaomi Corporation's meticulously prepared launch event for its new generation of smartphones is about to kick off at the Electronic Exhibition Hall in the 798 Art District of Beiping.

The electronics pavilion was bustling with noise. There was still some time before the official start of the press conference, and the huge LED screen was playing Xiaomi's promotional video on a loop.

In the center of the first row of the venue, Lei Jun, the protagonist of today's event, was busy having an enthusiastic conversation with Song Ci.

"President Song's move is truly impressive, an $82.5 billion financing that has shocked the world." Even though almost a month has passed, Lei Jun still marvels at the event.

Song Ci, dressed in a light blue shirt with the collar slightly open, turned to the side, exuding the understated elegance of a noble young man: "Xiaomi will not be bad in the future either. After today's press conference, Xiaomi's valuation will definitely skyrocket."

Lei Jun chuckled, full of confidence in Xiaomi phones: "Thank you for your kind words."

"How much stock did Mr. Lei prepare this time?"

"50!" Lei Jun stretched out his palm, his five fingers spread wide, his face showing a resolute determination.

Noticing that Lei Jun seemed a little nervous, Song Ci, who already knew the retail price of the first-generation Xiaomi phone, confidently smiled and reassured him:

"Mr. Lei, relax. With Xiaomi's configuration and pricing, it will be more popular in the market than you think."

Lei Jun felt a little relieved after hearing this, and glanced down at his watch: "It's almost time, I should go on stage. After the press conference, let's have a meal together and have a good chat."

At 7 p.m. sharp, the lights in the venue suddenly dimmed, and the noisy scene gradually quieted down.

A spotlight shone on the center of the stage, revealing Lei Jun's figure. He was dressed in a black T-shirt and blue jeans, a classic IT guy outfit, yet he exuded a unique charm.

At the same time, Xiaomi's official Weibo account also started a live broadcast.

"Dear Xiaomi fans and MIUI fans in the live broadcast room, and viewers here, good evening! Thank you all for coming and supporting us. This press conference is now officially starting!"

Lei Jun's simple opening remarks were clearly heard by everyone in the venue through the microphone.

Offstage, Liu Shishi looked at Lei Jun on stage, leaned closer to her husband, covered her mouth and chuckled, "Yiyi, President Lei seems a little nervous, even his speech is faster than usual."

Song Ci, with his keen eyes, also noticed Lei Jun's clenched fist and smiled, "Mr. Lei has seen his share of ups and downs; he's just excited and overwhelmed for a moment."

On stage, Lei Jun abandoned flashy and sentimental embellishments, and instead used a concise and efficient style to get straight to the point, clearly explaining the overall environment of the domestic and global mobile phone markets.

"Smartphones from brands like Apple, Samsung, and HTC start at a minimum price of 4000 yuan, which really puts them out of reach for many consumers!"

The screen also switched to display the configuration parameters and prices of mobile phones from various brands. Although the configurations and prices of the phones varied, they all had one thing in common: they were all priced above 4000 yuan.

Lei Jun became more and more engrossed in his speech, speaking fluently and gradually reaching a high level of enthusiasm: "The Xiaomi phone, in terms of hardware configuration, uses a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 1GB of RAM..."

Although Liu Shishi is the spokesperson for Xiaomi phones, she only has a superficial understanding of these parameters. However, the gasps of surprise from the audience every time Lei Jun announced a configuration parameter made her feel that Xiaomi phones must have something special about them.

"Honey, how does Xiaomi compare to Apple?"

"Undeniably, there is still a certain gap." Song Ci spoke frankly. At that time, under the leadership of Jobs, Apple was bold in innovation and was indeed the absolute leader in global smartphones.

"I'm used to using iPhones, and I'm afraid I won't be able to get used to Xiaomi for a while."

In the dimly lit audience, Song Ci patted his wife's soft hand: "Using Xiaomi in public is a way to support CEO Lei."

The young couple were whispering to each other, leaving the Xiaomi executives watching completely bewildered. The richest man and the company's brand ambassador were having a lively conversation, and now they were even getting handsy with each other. What was going on?
"The most eye-catching feature of the Xiaomi phone is its 1000-megapixel rear camera, which supports autofocus and LED flash."

Lei Jun continued to introduce the advantages of Xiaomi phones. When most phones on the market still had 800-megapixel cameras, he listened to Song Ci's advice and focused on optimizing the phone's camera function.

"Now, let's see how well the photos taken with the Xiaomi phone turn out?"

As soon as Lei Jun finished speaking, photos of Liu Shishi appeared on the screen behind him.

"Wow, so beautiful!"

"Shishi's temperament is absolutely amazing."

On the large electronic screen, photos of Liu Shishi, with her outstanding temperament and picturesque beauty, flashed by, eliciting praise and amazement from the audience.

Lei Jun smiled broadly and asked loudly, "Doesn't everyone think our Xiaomi spokesperson, Ms. Liu Shishi, is very beautiful!"

"Yes." The audience answered in unison, and the atmosphere at the press conference grew even more intense.

"Today we are honored to have Ms. Liu Shishi here with us to share her thoughts on Xiaomi phones. Please welcome Ms. Shishi."

Liu Shishi slowly rose, glanced tenderly at Song Ci, and then gracefully walked onto the stage.

Today, Liu Shishi wore a white shirt with a unique black floral pattern at the neckline, adding a touch of retro style. She paired it with a black mini skirt, a simple and elegant design that highlighted her intellectual beauty.

Her shoulder-length, dark brown hair was slightly curled, and paired with a fresh and natural makeup look, she exuded a gentle yet confident aura.

"Shishi, welcome." President Lei shook hands with Mrs. Song and invited her to the center of the stage.

The two stood side by side, and Lei Jun asked with a smile, "Shishi, you've used Xiaomi phones before, what did you think of them?"

Holding the microphone, Liu Shishi stood calmly, her every gesture exuding elegance, a warm smile on her face.
"When I first used Xiaomi, I was absolutely amazed. Not only was the performance outstanding, but the design was also ingenious and perfectly suited my taste..."

Song Ci sat in the VIP section below the stage, her gaze never leaving the graceful figure on the stage. Her eyes were filled with tenderness. In this noisy, technologically advanced setting, everything around her seemed to become a blurry silhouette. She had no one else in her sight but Liu Shishi.

At this moment, in the Weibo live broadcast room, the director quietly turned the camera on Song Ci. When netizens saw the richest man appear, they were surprised and started discussing it.

"Is that Song Ci? My goodness, he's actually at the press conference!"

"Song Ci looks even more handsome now. This light blue shirt is absolutely stunning. He's truly a noble gentleman."

"Is Song Ci's gaze directed at Liu Shishi?"

"Something's not right. The richest man's gaze is too gentle; it's almost deadly."

"You can't hide the look in someone's eyes when they like them. The way Song Ci looked at Liu Shishi suggests there's a story behind it."

In the center of the stage, Liu Shishi spoke eloquently, her gaze intentionally or unintentionally falling on her husband in front of her. The two looked at each other, their love flowing silently between them.

The director was also aware of the trending topics, switching the camera back and forth between Song Ci and Liu Shishi, allowing the viewers in the live broadcast room to clearly see the subtle interactions between the two.

Are these two exchanging glances?

"If there's nothing between Song Ci and Liu Shishi, I'll wash my hair upside down! Their gazes are just too ambiguous." "A handsome man and a beautiful woman, I suddenly really ship them."

"No way, did they know each other before? The way they look at each other is definitely not ordinary."

"As expected, all men are fickle, and Song Ci is no exception. He's been married before, but he can't take his eyes off any beautiful woman. What a scumbag."

After Liu Shishi shared her love for Xiaomi phones, Lei Jun asked enthusiastically, "Would you all like to see live how a Xiaomi phone would look when photographing Liu Shishi?"

"Yes!" The audience below the stage joined in the cheering, their voices deafening.

"Alright, I'd like to invite a super handsome guy to come up on stage and take some photos of Shishi. Please welcome Song Ci!"

"Wow!" Lei Jun's words caused an uproar. No one expected that the richest man would personally come to support Xiaomi.

Unexpectedly, Lei Jun came up with a new trick. Song Ci was slightly taken aback, and then quickly walked towards the stage.

Liu Shishi watched her husband walk gracefully towards her, winked playfully, and a sly smile appeared on her face.

Seeing Song Ci about to take the phone to take a picture of his wife, Lei Jun smiled and stopped him: "Mr. Song, don't rush to take pictures. Let me ask you first, isn't our Xiaomi phone spokesperson, Ms. Liu Shishi, beautiful?"

Song Ci took the microphone, his gold watch gleaming. His handsome face and unrestrained temperament drew screams from the female viewers both at the scene and in the live broadcast room.

"Beautiful as a poem or a painting."

Lei Jun smiled mischievously and continued to ask, "So, who's prettier, Liu Shishi or your wife?"

Liu Shishi also turned slightly to the side, her face beaming with a smile, staring intently at Mr. Song, awaiting his answer.

"Shishi is the Kunlun moon after the first snow, and my wife is the willow in Jiangnan before the morning dew dries. The former is a jade wall hanging in the sky that everyone looks up to, and the latter is a white egret skimming the waves that belongs only to me."

But the most wondrous twist of fate in this world has imbued both the moonlight and the misty rain with an amber glow.

Lei Jun opened his mouth slightly, stood there stunned, and didn't know how to respond for a moment.

As a science and engineering student, he disliked the cryptic and literary style of Song Dynasty poetry. Although he didn't quite understand the meaning of the Song Dynasty poems at the time, he was certain that they were subtly showing affection for each other.

"Mr. Song truly lives up to his reputation as a renowned writer, eloquently uttering beautiful words. However, his explanation is a bit profound. Could you explain it more clearly? As everyone knows, I'm an IT guy and don't understand these literary intricacies."

In the live stream, many netizens were very curious about Song Ci's answer.

"Any liberal arts students here? Can you analyze what this passage means?"

"I'm a liberal arts student, but I don't understand it either. I just feel that the artistic conception is profound and impressive."

Among netizens, many talented individuals quickly analyzed the implications:
"Kunlun Moon" likely corresponds to Liu Shishi's aloof and otherworldly classical temperament, while "Jiangnan Willow" probably alludes to his wife's gentle and virtuous nature.

"Being admired by thousands" definitely refers to the fact that celebrities are seen as unattainable by ordinary people, while "I'm the only one who matters" is just showing off their affection. As for the final "amber light," I haven't quite grasped its meaning yet.

Song Ci smiled but remained silent in response to Lei Jun's question.

Lei Jun had no choice but to turn to the spokesperson: "Shishi, why don't you ask?"

Liu Shishi's bright eyes reflected her husband's image, and she asked sweetly, "Mr. Song, could you please explain this to me in detail?"

Song Ci gently touched the dazzling wedding ring on her ring finger, answering a question that seemed irrelevant: "Artists always say that the muse is beyond compare, but I am greedy, wanting both a stunning image and a warm, inviting presence."

Lei Jun was truly impressed by Song Ci's riddle-solving skills, and said with a wry smile, "President Song is really unfathomable! Let's get down to business and ask him to take a picture of Shishi."

Song Ci smiled smugly, took the phone, stepped back a few paces, opened the camera, and pointed the lens at his beautiful wife.

Liu Shishi smiled charmingly, tilted her head to the side, and struck a graceful pose, fully displaying her beauty.

Song Ci focused intently on the camera, habitually kneeling on one knee to capture his wife's most beautiful side. He also occasionally did this when taking photos of Liu Shishi at home.

Reciting Song Dynasty poems is usually a habitual, subconscious action, but it caused a huge uproar both on-site and in the live broadcast room.

"Song Ci knelt down on one knee to get a good photo! He was so good to Liu Shishi."

"It's disgraceful for the richest man to kneel on the ground in public. What kind of status does he have? What kind of status does a celebrity have?

Lei Jun, standing to the side, quickly tried to smooth things over: "President Song is such a gentleman. When the photos come out, Shishi will have to thank President Song properly."

The shutter clicked softly, and several photos were quickly taken. Lei Jun then projected the photos onto the electronic screen.

"Do you all think Mr. Song's filming was good?"

"it is good!"

"Mr. Song, are you satisfied with the camera function of Xiaomi phones?"

Song Ci nodded slightly, turning to admire the photo on the screen, or perhaps the beautiful woman in the photo:

"Satisfaction. When there is beauty in your heart, the world is a poem! We hope that every Xiaomi user can use Xiaomi phones to find the poetry in their hearts and capture the beautiful moments of life."

"This is a phone that even the richest man in China praised. Would you like to know how much it costs?"

"Yes!" Shouts rose and fell, and the entire press conference finally reached its most intense peak. More than 100 million people were online in the Weibo live broadcast room, and countless bullet comments scrolled by every second.

"I really want a smartphone, but unfortunately I can't afford one."

"It feels better than HTC, and I estimate the price will not be less than 4000 yuan."

"Judging from Lei Jun's previous disdain for competitors' high-priced mobile phones, I think the price should be around 3000 yuan."

At the center of the stage, Song Ci and Liu Shishi tacitly stepped aside, leaving the most important moment to Lei Jun alone.

Lei Jun took a deep breath and announced in a hoarse voice: "Xiaomi phone, retail price 1999 yuan!"

The whispers in the audience froze instantly, and an eerie silence fell over the room. Just a few seconds later, a tsunami of cheers erupted.

Some mobile phone industry professionals and media personnel in the audience were also stunned by the price. Anyone with a little knowledge of the industry would understand that this price would be a major blow to the smartphone industry.

Looking at the 1999 yuan on the screen, Song Ci was filled with emotion. The advent of the Xiaomi phone will be a watershed moment for China's smartphone industry, ending the era of counterfeit phones and propelling domestic mobile phones towards high-end products.

(End of this chapter)