Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 130 Emergency Return to Beijing

Having redefined her goals, Nezha originally intended to stay a few more days on the set of "Love O2O".

However, on September 30th, just before the National Day holiday, Chen Xiu received a phone call and directly asked Lin Yufen to grant her leave from the crew.

Although Lin Yufen was hesitant to grant him leave, she still approved it.

After receiving her vacation leave, Chen Xiu only had time to tell Meng Ziyi before heading straight to the airport with Wei Feng and Xiong Ben.

This wasn't because she was trying to hide from anyone; Chen Xiu had never hidden from anyone in her life...

The main issue is that news has come from the capital that Douyin has run into trouble.

Strictly speaking, the entire nascent live streaming industry has run into trouble.

Taking the earliest flight back to Beijing, Chen Xiu immediately took a car back to the Yingdu Building.

When he entered Douyin Company, the receptionist's worried face told him that things were escalating rapidly and needed to be dealt with quickly!
After walking through the large office area, Chen Xiu arrived at the door of the president's office. Through the light shining through the floor-to-ceiling windows, he knew that Su Xiao and Zhang Yiming were already waiting inside.

"Boom! Boom!"

After knocking, the door opened inwards, and Su Xiao's face, wearing rimless square glasses, appeared behind the crack in the door.

When she saw Chen Xiu, she visibly breathed a sigh of relief, and opened the door even wider.

Chen Xiuchao nodded to her, and as he listened to the sounds coming from inside, he closed the door behind him as he entered the office.

"Hey, Lao Chen, what's the situation now? Any news?"

"No definite news..."

"I know it has a bad impact, but this has nothing to do with us..."

"..."

Zhang Yiming sat on the sofa, talking on the phone in a state of panic.

However, he kept repeating "there's no way," "I'm not sure," and "what should I do?"

Seeing that Zhang Yiming wasn't going to stop anytime soon, Chen Xiu turned to look at Su Xiao: "Sister Xiao Xiao, your dark circles have gotten quite bad lately..."

"Don't worry about these trivial matters. I'll go to the beauty salon myself. You should think of a solution to the problem!"

Su Xiaoqian rolled her eyes at Chen Xiu, reminding him to quickly switch back to work mode and that she wasn't the kind of person who needed attention from young girls.

Feeling awkward, Chen Xiu and Su Xiao pursed their lips and watched Zhang Yiming hang up the phone. They then walked over and sat down next to him.

"Old Zhang, how's it going?"

"Can not be done!"

Zhang Yiming shook his head, his expression filled with undisguised worry: "17&Live has had a terrible impact. The higher-ups have directly ordered it to be taken down, and the entire live streaming industry has to enter a rectification phase."

"Our Douyin live streaming doesn't account for a large proportion, so is it also within the scope of rectification?" Chen Xiu asked.

The call he received this afternoon was from Zhang Yiming, and the content was that 17&Live had been forcibly taken down, and the short video live streaming industry may face rectification.

After receiving the message, Chen Xiu checked the situation of 17& Live.

When he learned about the shady tactics those bloggers used to attract attention on the live streaming platform that Wang Sicong had invested in, he almost couldn't resist going to Weibo to criticize Wang Sicong again.

Compared to these people's actions, the bloggers on Douyin who try to grab attention and traffic in the future will be at kindergarten level...

It's not unjust that 17&Live was taken down, but Douyin, which was affected by it, is very wronged.

"There's nothing we can do. Douyin still involves live streaming. Although we've been working on regulation, there's always a tendency to overcorrect. Everyone else is making changes, so why should we be exempt?"

Zhang Yiming said with a helpless and regretful expression.

Since its beta version was launched in June, Douyin has undergone one iteration and update, and its user base has now reached hundreds of thousands, making it a second-tier player in the short video market.

With the help of Toutiao's big data-driven precise push algorithm, Douyin will eventually become the leader in this field.

Now that there's a sudden need for rectification, the golden period of development has been postponed, and the users accumulated over the past few months may be lost. Everything may very well go back to square one. How can this not be heartbreaking?

Knowing that the outcome couldn't be changed, Chen Xiu didn't ask any more questions in that direction.

Because he knew what to ask; Zhang Yiming had already asked others about those questions during his series of phone calls.

The question now is how to obtain the optimal solution under the current circumstances.

The entire office fell silent at that moment, with the incessant whirring of the air conditioner being the only sound.

Chen Xiu was also thinking about how to deal with the current situation. After laying out all the conditions, a picture suddenly popped into his mind.

The video on screen was Zheng Shuang's apology video, which garnered millions of views over those three days...

"Have it!"

Chen Xiu's loud noise shattered the silence in the office.

Zhang Yiming and Su Xiao both turned their gazes toward him, and then simultaneously urged him with their eyes to speak quickly!

Meeting their gazes, Chen Xiuxian set the tone for his words: "We will actively cooperate with the rectification!"

"And then?" Zhang Yiming asked eagerly.

He wasn't stupid; he naturally understood that Chen Xiu's words were merely a confirmation of the unchangeable status quo, with the focus on the subsequent actions.

Chen Xiu looked at him, then at Su Xiao, and said, "Then, we'll hold a press conference to explain our intention to actively rectify the situation, and introduce Douyin's details, functions, and uses to reporters and the media."

"Are you planning to turn this crisis into a product promotion?" Su Xiao hit the nail on the head. From her bright eyes, Chen Xiu knew that Su Xiao had probably guessed what she was thinking.

After exchanging a glance with her, Chen Xiu nodded and said, "Isn't a crisis just an opportunity within danger? If we can seize this opportunity, Douyin's momentum will rise even faster."

"But press conferences are held every day. LeTV has already held more than 130 this year. So what makes our press conferences stand out and attract netizens' attention?"

Zhang Yiming raised a question: if holding a press conference could solve the problem, he wouldn't have been so troubled just now.

Chen Xiu took out her phone, opened Weibo, and found Sister Shuangzi's apology video.

"This video, released in early September, accumulated over 3 million views in the first three days. If we broadcast the press conference live on Weibo and Douyin, wouldn't the effect be much better?"

Chen Xiu looked at Zhang Yiming and said.

Douyin is their own software, so it's not difficult for them to upload a live broadcast of the press conference and play it on a loop.

On Weibo, they'll need to reach out to Cao Guowei.

Upon hearing the proposal, Zhang Yiming's eyes lit up, but then he raised a new question.

"The person who issued the apology statement is an actress, so why are we getting so much attention from netizens?"

"uh-huh?"

Chen Xiu frowned and glanced at Zhang Yiming with a somewhat speechless look: "So, is it possible that I'm also a celebrity?"

"Um...aren't you a newcomer?"

In Zhang Yiming's eyes, Chen Xiu's entry into the entertainment industry was just a hobby, a way to casually date a few female celebrities.

He never imagined that his younger brother and partner would become famous, after all, starting a business and being in the entertainment industry are two different tracks.

Seeing that she was being looked down upon, Chen Xiu smacked her lips and began to explain her status to Zhang Yiming.

"I played the second male lead in the TV series 'Diamond Lover,' which premiered at the end of July this year. The first episode just ended on August 24th, and the average rating on Blueberry Channel exceeded 1. Now I am a second-tier star."

"Then, the difference between me, a billionaire, and someone in the entertainment industry brings my own traffic and attention. Plus, with this press conference, we're going to promote Douyin. I left Didi and made a new choice. Do you think the reporters will be very interested?"

Hearing this series of words about the buffs being fully stacked, Zhang Yiming finally realized what was going on.

It turns out that this path of celebrities and business tycoons allows for switching back and forth between the two sides, achieving resource sharing and enjoying all the benefits.

Wow, that feels so good!

"What's wrong with your brain?"

Zhang Yiming's complaint indicates that he has no doubts about the plan.

Su Xiao glanced at Chen Xiu and said, "Now that the plan is finalized, let's also set the time for the press conference! I suggest we do it sooner rather than later, the sooner the better."

“Agreed. I’ll contact Cao Guowei later and try to get things sorted out with him by tomorrow or the day after.”

Chen Xiu followed up by saying that he hadn't specified a time when he came back from his leave, but he still needed to get things sorted out as soon as possible so as not to delay too long.

Seeing Chen Xiu and Su Xiao's back-and-forth banter, Zhang Yiming understood their meaning.

"Okay, if Mr. Cao agrees, we can hold a press conference on the 3rd!"

"OK." *2
Chen Xiu and Su Xiao responded one after the other.

Zhang Yiming pursed his lips, then suddenly thought of something else: "Xiu, if you hold a press conference to promote Douyin, doesn't that mean you're completely parting ways with Didi?"

"What are you talking about? Didn't I part ways with them a long time ago?"

"Don't you still have a little over 1% of Didi's shares?"

"I was thinking of waiting until they acquired Uber and the valuation was higher before selling. Does being a Didi shareholder mean I can't engage in other internet industries?"

Chen Xiu's question left Zhang Yiming speechless.

With the matter settled, there was no need for the three-person meeting to continue.

Looking at the dark night sky outside the window, Chen Xiu said to Su Xiao, "Sister Xiao Xiao, Xiao Feng and Da Xiong are waiting for you downstairs in their car. I'll take you home first."

"Okay, I'll grab my things."

As she spoke, Su Xiao got up from the sofa, walked behind her desk, turned off her computer, and started packing her things.

While waiting, Chen Xiu felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around in confusion and saw Zhang Yiming's Mickey Mouse-like smiling face.

"Xiu, why don't you give me a ride home too?"

"Wait, a boss as big as you, don't you have a driver?"

"We've only recently become financially secure, so we don't have the means to do that. I always drive myself."

"Tsk, which direction do you live in?"

"Oh, that's not on the way. Xiaoxiao and I both live in the northwest."

Chen Xiu shook her head, refusing decisively.

Hearing this, Zhang Yiming could only helplessly purse his lips.

After packing her things, Su Xiao waved to Chen Xiu and left the office.

(End of this chapter)