We agreed not to date, so why are you crying now that I've become the richest man?

2:50 PM, Zhangjiang Integrated Circuit Port, Pudong, 16th floor of Building A.

After finishing his classes for the day, Ye Chen arrived at Xingchen Software ahead of time. Just as he finished looking at the latest data from the app store, the glass doors at the front desk slid open to the sides, and two visitors wearing Alibaba employee badges walked in.

Walking in front was a man in his mid-thirties, dressed in a sharp suit, with neatly combed hair, and carrying a brown briefcase. He was Lin Zhenhua, the senior investment manager of Alibaba's strategic investment department. Beside him was a young female assistant holding a laptop, with a due diligence checklist tucked into a folder.

Lin Zhenhua didn't rush into the meeting room. He stood next to the reception desk and scanned the open office area. More than 30 engineers were scattered among several rows of workstations. Test machines, data cables and whiteboards took up a lot of space. The office area was not impressive, but the technical team was working at a very fast pace.

He had read the data report of Xingchen App Market on his way here. He was originally worried that the company was backed by established capital. Now that he saw that the office space was less than 500 square meters and the management team was not complicated, he felt less pressure.

When startup teams are in the early stages of expansion, they need to spend money on servers, channels, and personnel. If the offer is high enough, and the group's ecosystem and competitive pressure are put on the table, young founders will most likely choose to raise funds.

"Manager Lin, this is Ye Chen, the founder of Xingchen Software, Mr. Ye."

Technical Director Chen Wei welcomed the two into the chairman's office and introduced them to each other.

Ye Chen closed the report behind his desk, stood up, and gestured for the two to sit on the sofa.

"Manager Lin, you've come all the way from Hangzhou. Thank you for your hard work. Please have a seat."

Lin Zhenhua paused for a moment when he saw Ye Chen's appearance. He had learned beforehand that the founder was young, but he hadn't expected that the other party would have the face of a college student.

He shook hands with Ye Chen and sat in the middle of the sofa, while his female assistant opened her computer on the side and placed the prepared investment documents on the coffee table.

"Mr. Ye, everyone's time is limited, so I'll get straight to the proposal."

Lin Zhenhua opened the document and first pushed the first page toward Ye Chen.

"Star App Market has chosen a good technical entry point, and its data growth has been rapid in recent days. Mobile Internet requires long-term investment. Servers, bandwidth, adaptation teams, and channel promotion all require continuous spending. Relying on a single installation technology is unlikely to stop large companies from following up in the long run."

Ye Chen leaned back in his chair and gestured for him to continue.

"The Group's Strategic Investment Department conducted a preliminary assessment overnight. We are willing to give Xingchen Software a pre-investment valuation of eight million US dollars, invest four million US dollars in the first round, take a 33.33% stake, and obtain a board seat, veto power over major matters, and priority subscription rights for subsequent financing.

After Lin Zhenhua stated his terms, he paid attention to Ye Chen's reaction.

"Four million US dollars is equivalent to nearly 27 million RMB. Once the investment intention is confirmed, due diligence and group approval can be initiated, and the funds can be received in as little as one month. The plan also allows the founder to cash out one million RMB to improve his personal life."

The female assistant then pulled up the appendix to the plan, showing the use of funds, board seats, and subsequent financing terms item by item.

"Backed by the group's traffic and payment system, Xingchen Software can avoid several years of detours. There aren't many institutions in the market willing to offer such conditions to early-stage teams."

Upon hearing this, Ye Chen picked up his mug and took a sip of tea.

"An eight million dollar pre-investment valuation, four million dollars for one-third equity, and veto power over major decisions?"

"This is the best offer the strategic investment department can make at this stage."

Lin Zhenhua pushed the document forward a few centimeters.

Ye Chen didn't touch the documents. He took a data report from the folder next to him and placed it on the coffee table.

"Manager Lin probably didn't receive the real-time data for this afternoon before he came to the company."

The female assistant picked up the report, her gaze moving down along several sets of numbers, her hand, which was about to record, stopped above the keyboard.

"As of 2 p.m., the number of uniquely activated devices across the Star App Market reached 380,000, the next-day retention rate of new users from the previous day was 89%, and the number of app distributions today has exceeded 1.6 million."

Then, Ye Chen turned to the next page, which listed the growth curves of various forums, PC-based cooperation channels, and the two games after they were used to drive traffic.

"These users all come from organic spread and our own channels. We did not purchase paid Google Play slots. Based on the current growth rate, the number of installations has a chance to exceed one million next week, entering the top tier of domestic Android independent distribution channels."

Lin Zhenhua took the report, first checking the statistical criteria, and then had his female assistant check the background export time in the lower right corner.

"Rapid user growth does not equate to a viable business model."

He abandoned his previous casual sitting posture and moved his body forward a little.

"Application distribution needs to be constantly expanded. Server and bandwidth costs increase every month. The more users you have, the greater the expenditure. You currently lack stable monetization channels. Once your competitors start subsidizing developers and users, your growth curve will be cut off at any time."

"Manager Lin's assessment of costs is correct, but the premise is that Xingchen Software needs to rely on external capital to survive."

Ye Chen placed another funding plan next to the report. The page only listed the budget for the next twelve months, and the specific source was not disclosed.

"Since its inception, the company has prepared funds for an expansion cycle of more than one year. The existing cash is sufficient to support the investment in servers, team and channels. Equity financing has never been on my agenda."

Hearing this, Lin Zhenhua frowned.

"Market competition isn't just about cash; Alibaba has the ability to support your competitors."

"Who is Manager Lin planning to talk to?"

Ye Chen smiled and pointed to the channel source column in the report.

"Evidence of the attack on the Xingchen server by the Yangcheng Dynamic Download Station has been submitted to the cyber security department. The website is currently shut down and the case is under investigation. Yanjing Green Bean Pod signed an exclusive cooperation agreement and a confidentiality agreement with us yesterday, and the client was updated and fully connected to the traffic redirection last night."

The female assistant turned the computer towards Lin Zhenhua. On the screen was a forum announcement she had just found: the Green Bean Pod client had been updated last night, and the application download portal had been integrated into the Star Market.

"With over 400,000 PC installations of Green Bean Pod, it continues to bring new users to the Star Market. Now that this path has been successfully established, if Manager Lin wants to support another similar product, he needs to first help them complete their driver library, application resources, installation protocol, and security system."