Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 500: Live Bell Ringing, Market Value Reaches 500 Billion US Dollars!

Chen Xiu and Zhou Shouzi left the operations room side by side.

The moment I stepped onto the iron-gray carpet outside, a shout came from the side.

"Mr. Chen, take a look here!"

Chen Xiu looked over with a puzzled expression, and Zhou Shouzi also turned his head.

A young man wearing a Douyin employee badge and holding a camera stabilizer was standing by the aisle, explaining things to them.

"We've already started our live stream, Mr. Chen, Mr. Zhou, could you please say hello to the viewers in the live stream?"

Hello everyone!

"Hello everyone, I'm very happy that you can witness TikTok's IPO."

Chen Xiu and Zhou Shouzi adapted to the camera quickly, and their greetings were made without any hesitation.

Reporters nearby were also filming, preparing to record the entire TikTok bell-ringing moment.

However, compared to the timeliness of live streaming, these reporters probably won't get to enjoy the hottest headlines on TikTok.

After exchanging greetings, Chen Xiu and Zhou Shouzi, guided by staff, arrived at the bell-ringing ceremony, where a red carpet was laid out.

The large bronze gong that was specially made for Xiaomi's IPO last year remains in its original place, with the TikTok logo displayed on the LED screen against a completely black background, and the current time shown next to it: [9:20:36].

The CEO of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, who had been waiting there, had prepared champagne for the TikTok team in advance.

Chen Xiu glanced at the champagne without comment, thinking: There shouldn't be any problem, right?
Seeing that he was standing still, Zhou Shouzi took the initiative to come over and explain, "President Chen, before ringing the bell, we need to celebrate with the investors in advance, as a way to wish for good luck."

"OK, you're the CEO, you take the lead."

"You're the chairman!"

Zhou Shouzi then passed the responsibility of overseeing the overall situation back to Chen Xiu.

Chen Xiu's position as chairman is not the same as the concept of the top leader of a company in China. TikTok's management structure is closer to that of overseas companies, where the CEO is the company's top manager and decision-maker, and the chairman is the manager of the board of directors.

As the largest shareholder of TikTok, Douyin Investment makes it natural for Chen Xiu to serve as chairman.

Chen Xiu glanced at Zhou Shouzi, then took the initiative to extend her hand to Li Xiaojia, the president of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, who was waiting there in advance.

"Mr. Li, I'm sorry we're late."

"Hehe, no, the timing is perfect."

Li Xiaojia smiled very warmly, and when shaking hands, she even moved closer to Chen Xiu's side.

"Mr. Chen, we met at the appreciation event when Meituan went public last year, but unfortunately we didn't have a chance to chat. You must do me the honor this year."

"no problem."

Chen Xiu smiled and nodded, exchanged a few more pleasantries with Li Xiaojia, and then began to serve champagne to the TikTok executives and investor representatives behind her, following the established procedure.

A dozen or so people were smiling and holding champagne glasses; they were either Deng Zhong or Deng Lao.

Zhou Shouzi is the type who takes good care of himself, but he also has a refined and scholarly air about him.

Only Chen Xiu, in her early twenties, sported a youthful center-parted hairstyle, a black suit, white shirt, and black tie. Standing in the center of the crowd, she was undeniably eye-catching, undeniably young and successful, and undeniably admirable!

When this scene was broadcast live to Chinese netizens, only the widely circulated "Dongxin Dinner Party" group photo of the bigwigs could compare.

Among a group of experienced and veteran students, a handsome young man had slipped in.

The difference is that Chen Xiu sat in the second seat at Dongxin's dinner party, but stood in the center at TikTok's IPO!
Moreover, it's live streaming content filmed in real time.

Many of Chen Xiu's fans, who were waiting in the live stream to watch this scene, excitedly started sending bullet comments with gibberish.

When Chen Xiu toasted with everyone and drank champagne before 9:25, the live stream chat was flooded with congratulatory messages.

The layers upon layers of content all read, "Congratulations on TikTok's IPO!!"

Pony Ma, who was in his office at the Penguin Binhai Building in Pengcheng, was also watching the live stream on his computer.

When he saw that the number of people online in real time exceeded 50, and the barrage of comments was full of cheers, his usually expressionless face couldn't help but purse his lips.

At Douyin's headquarters in Beijing, a screen was set up early in the large office area to display all the content of TikTok's IPO live stream.

In the huge company, everyone except those who couldn't get away gathered together, staring intently at Chen Xiu on the screen.

Su Xiao stood in the crowd, tilting her head back and squinting. Her usually calm phoenix eyes were now like those of a fisherman on the shore locked in a stalemate with a lake fish, with ripples spreading endlessly, sparkling and beautiful.

Similar scenarios have also occurred in the offices of Wang Xin at Meituan, Cheng Wei at Didi, and Ma Yun at Ali...

Chen Xiu's popularity in the internet circle is evident.

Many people in the entertainment industry are also paying attention to him, among whom the most nervous, expectant, and excited are Meng Ziyi, Reba, Tian Xinwei, Nezha, and Chen Duling.

Just as the live stream had attracted all of Chen Xiu's network of contacts, the time reached [9:29:30].

Everyone put away their champagne glasses. Chen Xiu and Zhou Shouzi each took a small hammer tied with red cloth and stood on either side of the large gong, waiting for the countdown to begin.

There is no limit to the number of people allowed at this bell-ringing ceremony.

As the largest shareholder representative, Chen Xiu certainly has the right to make the decision. He believes that Zhou Shouzi, as the CEO of TikTok, should also work with him to complete this step.

So there were two bell ringers.

"Ready!!"

I don't know who shouted.

"5, 4..."

Shouldn't we be counting down from 10? "3, 2, 1!!"

"Clang!!" *2
The two bells rang out together, and the time on the screen behind them changed to [9:30:01].

Chen Xiu turned her head to look at the LED screen displaying the stock price. What caught her eye was red, with an opening price of 50!

TikTok's IPO was priced at HK$45 and HK$50, which means the opening price increased by 11.1%, and the market value jumped from US$450 billion to US$500 billion.

The stock did not break its issue price at the opening, so it passed the first hurdle.

Everyone remained silent, their eyes glued to the price quote screen.

The price hovered steadily at HK$50 for five seconds, then suddenly jumped to HK$49.8, then to HK$49.7, HK$49.6...

Just as everyone was secretly gasping in shock, the price surged back up to 50, fluctuating up and down several times.

Five minutes after the market opened, the price stabilized at around 51 yuan, and the trend gradually became a straight line. The second hurdle was cleared!

"Clap clap clap!"

The crowd, who had just caught their breath, were immediately drawn to the sudden burst of applause.

They turned to look and saw Chen Xiu facing the price display screen, her back to everyone, clapping her hands vigorously for a long time before stopping.

Chen Xiu turned around with a smile and said to the stunned crowd, "Sorry, I got a little excited. Did I disturb everyone?"

"No no."

Everyone quickly shook their heads, then followed Chen Xiu's example and clapped.

"Wow~"

The applause was sparse and uneven, and it didn't even sound as powerful as the applause from Chen Xiu alone.

Seeing the joy gradually spreading across the faces of Zhou Shouzi, Liu Chiping, Shen Nanpeng, and others, Chen Xiu smiled happily once again.

Turning her head, she caught sight of the Douyin employee holding a balancer, continuing to keep the live stream stable. Chen Xiu took the initiative to walk over, extending her palm, which had been red from being slapped earlier, and greeted the people in the live stream.

"Hello! Thank you everyone. I got a little excited just now and started clapping without thinking. I don't know why I clapped. My hands are a bit red now, so I'm going to find a place to rest."

Such a sincere and down-to-earth statement made the already excited fans and passersby in the live broadcast room even more excited.

Someone commented in the live chat, "How does it feel to have your company go public?"

Chen Xiu couldn't see it, but someone immediately replied: "TikTok is a subsidiary. Douyin is not listed. This isn't Chen Xiu's first time attending an IPO. He attended the IPO ceremonies of Pinduoduo and Meituan last year!"

Some people were simply happy: "With Brother Xiu being so outstanding, it's time for him to find a girlfriend!"

This was followed by a lot of rebuttals, saying that Chen Xiu already had a girlfriend, but just hadn't made it public.

These comments appeared on the screen in real time and were seen by the big shots watching the live stream and Meng Ziyi and the others.

For others, this little incident was simply a way to lighten the mood.

However, Meng Ziyi and the others were overthinking things. Even though they didn't have any work assignments, they started checking flight tickets to Hong Kong...

After greeting the viewers in the live stream, Chen Xiu was surrounded by a group of reporters who began bombarding him with all sorts of questions.

"I'm sorry, I have other commitments and can't answer your questions. Thank you!"

After politely declining, Chen Xiu returned to the ranks of TikTok investors and quietly watched the real-time stock price fluctuations.

If the stock price doesn't change much by 3 PM, or even rises a little more, then the third hurdle will be overcome, and TikTok's IPO will be successful.

Time often flies when you're in the stock exchange.

As people watched TikTok's stock price remain stable, they began to pay attention to the situation of other companies.

Chen Xiu also glanced at Xiaomi's stock price, which was a little over 8 yuan, less than 9 yuan.

I remember Xiaomi's IPO price last year was 17 yuan, and half of that has fallen. Those institutions that invested in the Series E and pre-IPO rounds suffered huge losses, and it's no wonder that Lei Jun was criticized by shareholders.

Thinking of this, Chen Xiu pondered for a moment, then turned and glanced at Lei Jun.

Although there was some joy on that slightly chubby face, it also gave the impression that he was absent-minded.

Chen Xiu looked up at the time: 11:20:05.

In the last few minutes, there were only a few sell orders in real-time trading, and the order prices were all above 50.

Feeling that there wouldn't be any problems, Chen Xiu greeted Zhou Shouzi and then walked towards Lei Busi.

"Mr. Lei, shall we find a place to talk?"

"Ok?"

Lei Jun glanced at Chen Xiu absentmindedly, but after his eyes regained some focus, he suggested a rather dramatic place to chat.

"Mr. Chen, let's talk in the storeroom."

Which storeroom?

"It was when Xiaomi went public last year that Lin Bin and I ran to that storage room where we were hiding, and suddenly we wanted to take another look..."

"This is indeed a good place, let's go!"

Lei Jun glanced at the others, then subtly beckoned to Chen Xiu before slipping away to the side.

Chen Xiu's eyes twitched slightly, and she slowly followed.

(End of this chapter)