Chapter 192 Goodbye Is No Longer Yesterday (Part 2)

n forgot to call out to Su Cen.Next to him, a brash basketball player who was close to Wang Haoran's Grade 2 clique snickered, "He’s quite bold, openly challenging Yue Zijiang. This could be interesti...Chapter 192: Not the Same as Before (Part 2)

To everyone's surprise, Song Zhen didn't treat Su Can with the same importance that others did. The tea table was filled with manuscripts, and since Sun Zhaowen, the executive president of Shenshan Corporation in Shanghai, was present, Su Can understood that Song Zhen must have been discussing business matters. It seemed to be her habit not to handle commercial affairs within bustling companies but rather prefer to do so externally.

Su Can sometimes understood that women like Song Zhen were at the opposite extreme from Tang Wu. One who could challenge Paris in high school, sleeping and drinking Chateau Lafite Rothschild in Francis I's bedchamber at Chambord Castle, and creating a record of being pursued by seven men on the Left Bank of the Seine, four of whom were Frenchmen and three Asians. This註定她和外冷內熱的唐嫵並立於天秤的兩端。

When she decided to shoulder responsibility for her family, all her flamboyance and sharpness, all her recklessness and defiance, were condensed within her seemingly delicate body. Therefore, she understood the value of being conciliatory, not conflicting with Shenshan's current leaders, and refusing to enter an environment that was out of place in a multinational company like Shenshan.

Perhaps all employees at Shenshan might think that having a beautiful young woman as their boss could somewhat dampen morale because many would find it hard to believe that beauty would be genuinely interested or successful in the industry, which should be men's territory. Women shouldn't compete with men for resources, unaware that Song Zhen was full of "140,000 soldiers lay down their arms, there is no man among them" sharpness inside.

Sun Zhaowen sat down and said, "Having Chen Dazhizhi accompany you must be very boring today."

Chen Chen had been with Song Zhen since she called him over. He watched her deal with all the modifications and opinions put forward by Shenshan's people on the manuscripts, barely having any role to play. At this moment, he smiled and said, "No problem, I'm used to it anyway. Old Song is busy every day, let alone with so many recent events."

Song Zhen combed her light-brown hair and turned around to pat Chen Chen on the shoulder, saying, "Alright, next time we'll make up for this by going to Hong Kong's Nathan Road or you can finally go skiing in Sweden. My friend gave me a card for Stockholm Ski Resort; as soon as I'm done here, we can set off... It will be your reward for accompanying me recently."

"It makes me feel like being maintained..." Chen Chen pouted but excitement could be seen through his eyes.

After Su Can and others sat down, Song Zhen finally reached out to shake hands with Tang Wu in mid-air, saying, "The last time I saw you, I thought Su Can had brought another university girl. So I was quite contemptuous of him... Don't take it personally."

Tang Wu glanced at Su Can and smiled warmly, replying, "It's fine."

The two women were present in such a way that everyone else felt dazzled yet maintained an intricate politeness.

Su Can had no presence before Song Zhen, but Chen Chen was glad to see this. Perhaps it was the first time he saw Song Zhen so reclusive and lacking her usual powerful aura. He knew where her unusual behavior came from without much thinking: when Lin's woman stood up to Song Zhen last time, Chen Chen had felt infuriated. In his memory, there was a company event where a top actress arrived and acted diva-like for ten minutes before leaving in a hurry, not following the arrangements made by the organizers. When Song Zhen knew about it, she immediately sent an official notice from Shenshan Corporation's headquarters and personally called several people. Shortly after, the actress drove over to apologize downstairs at Shenshan China's headquarters and then promoted Shenshan’s enterprises again as compensation. It seemed that a major entertainment company issued a directive, and in front of Song Zhen, the actress showed no airs of being a top star but rather displayed an office attire far more commanding than any actress could muster. That must be her strong backing behind the scenes.

So far, Chen Chen had never seen Song Zhen at a disadvantage before any woman, and he said, "Song Zhen, do your tasks never end If I remember correctly, if Su Can hadn't pulled you off the Nan University podium, you might have been condemned to death there. Last time we met, you didn’t treat others like this; why is it that after helping someone, you receive worse treatment than before"

Du Shun and Xue Yiyang didn't dare to even breathe.

Song Zhen pretended to be calm as she glanced at Chen Chen. In her heart, she had probably cursed her best friend a hundred times over by now before setting down the pen in her hand and taking off the black-framed glasses perched on her face that was causing havoc for the nation. She turned around and asked, "Oh So how should I treat him Should he be treated like an honored guest or is his life-saving favor something I can never repay except by giving myself to him"

Du Shun and Xue Yiyang were even more hesitant to breathe.

Chen Chen was taken aback; she had never expected Song Zhen to be so fierce. The sharpness that comes from being a host for long exploded as she hurriedly said, "How could I ask you to take such a risk Just with one word from you, I'm willing to throw myself into the fire and boiling water... How about this, Boss Do you think someone like me is necessary" She turned around and looked at Su Can in an endearing manner.

Su Can was embarrassed by these two women. The others were amused by Chen Chen's demeanor.

Chen Chen was actually captivated by Tang Wu's smile; previously, she had some wariness but now it seemed that both sides had started to take interest in each other. While accompanying Song Zhen as she talked about her experiences earlier, Chen Chen was bored out of her mind and now found an outlet for her pent-up energy while sitting with Tang Wu. She began pouring out her strong desire to talk by starting off with some interesting stories from the program's trip to South Africa recently before exposing a few anecdotes about friends around them. Tang Wu had good feelings toward her too, given that she was also a host at Shanghai Television and a public figure. Her personality matched hers well, making it feel like she was being treated as an honored guest by Tang Wu who was somewhat overwhelmed by the attention while chatting with her on all sorts of topics.

However, Song Zhen placed a document in front of Su Can and smiled but the man beside her, Sun Zhaowen, didn't smile at all. He had a serious expression as solemn as Gao Chuan's; he wouldn’t be more clear than anyone else about how Song Zhen’s smile represented some amount of anger within her. "What is Zhao Hao up to now Signing contracts with Sina and Sohu would be alright but why did you add t into it You know that in the SP field, t has always been at odds with us; there are a few lawsuits pending on my end right now. Do you need an explanation"

The others looked over at Su Can.

Su Can calmly said, "Have you ever heard of Apple’s iTunes and the iPad"

Song Zhen opened her Louis Vuitton purse to take out a white-wrapped third-generation iPod player that she placed on the table before looking at Su Can. "You haven’t seen this model No problem; it is currently unavailable in stores."

Looking at the black-and-white LCD screen of the white iPod and listening to what Song Zhen said, Su Can felt like he must be wearing an expression of awe towards this “high tech” product.

"It’s great that you have it. This year, Apple will open its iTunes Music Store and launch a digital music revolution on the global stage at 99 cents per song." Su Can reached out to play with Song Zhen's iPod on the table as he said, "Have you ever thought about how Apple might earn billions of dollars in international music downloads next year by relying on this"

"What are you getting at" Song Zhen squinted her eyes. Of course she could see that Su Can had something to say.

Xue Yiyang and Du Shun were both looking at the things on the table; even Du Shun couldn’t buy an iPod player unavailable in the domestic market yet.

Tang Wu and Chen Chen stopped talking. Tang Wu looked at Su Cen, feeling that he sometimes had a mysterious aura about him. She couldn't understand where his unique insights came from, which always contained a breakthrough force bursting forth from the current situation.

Su Cen saw Song Zhen's eyes become less aggressive and continued to talk confidently, "The success of Apple’s music store has led many international companies, including software giant Microsoft, hardware manufacturer Sony, portal Yahoo, search engine Google, among others, to enter this field. Soon, we will see global giants competing fiercely in this area. However, compared with the international market, China's domestic market is still too immature; it can even be described as chaotic. This is the worst of times, but also the best of times. If we want to create a digital music empire, we need to first cultivate this market. Without the right soil, no towering trees can grow. The domestic market needs to catch up with the international one and not let foreigners criticize our collusion.

"For years, many have criticized the cultural export from the West to China. During economic development, a lot of things in China that could be called virtues or conscience were lost. Precious cultural values we once cherished are now gone. To resist cultural invasion, just shouting slogans is useless. Without our own legitimate music market, it's impossible to produce companies capable of competing on the international stage. The establishment of the Digital Music Alliance by Shang Mai was initially aimed at uniting major portals and even SPs like TSP, with the primary goal of protecting this market from illegal websites impacting digital music. A nation needs a strong people to birth a great country; similarly, cultivating the right market conditions is necessary to create a true digital music empire."

Song Zhen said discontentedly, "So you think I'm still too small-minded" Although she spoke like this, some part of her seemed moved by Su Cen's words.

Su Cen then shared more ideas. Zhao Hao’s Shang Mai music could cooperate with payment companies to be integrated into Facebook China’s strategic platform, creating a massive sales channel. Just this concept alone would give Zhao Hao's digital music empire immense prospects; Su Cen might even be able to cash in several hundred million dollars by selling ten percent of his shares.

In less than two years, with billions at his disposal within the country, Su Cen couldn’t claim he was particularly impressive but certainly among no more than thirty people in the private sector.

Of course, an important part of digital music is mobile phones. With future mobile users increasing rapidly, it's said that if China Mobile and China Unicom formed a joint venture to sell legal music on phones, this company could become the most valuable Chinese firm listed on NASDAQ. As the largest provider of legal content, Shang Mai Music would have an unshakable position in building a music empire domestically.

Unfortunately, this might only be a dream, never to be realized in reality.

In the end, Song Zhen was convinced by Su Cen and said, "While others are thinking about how to follow trends and make money, you’re already foreseeing the domestic predicament that could arise and working towards avoiding it. If major portals and leading internet companies were to unite with you, Shang Mai’s strategy is far-reaching indeed. But what’s this Holding onto a vast trove of copyrights like a modern-day warlord using an emperor for his own purposes Do you plan to consolidate all possible channels through which one can download wireless music, then share the profits Don't talk about yourselves as so noble; it's just about making money. I've seen many people who often use lofty ideals as their starting point before; perhaps they’re hypocritical, or they need this kind of motivation from faith and nationalism for personal weakness, or even try to win my favor with such pretense. Even your ‘noble’ motives pale in comparison.

Su Cen nodded, "Indeed, I’m only doing it for money because I deeply understand how power works in today’s messed-up world. Likewise, I also know that wealth is always secondary to me; the most important thing forever isn’t power or wealth."

At this moment, Song Zhen glanced at Xue Yiyang and Tang Wu beside Su Cen, with a profound meaning.

Su Cen suddenly became curious and asked, "There's something I want to know. Chen Chen told me about you in the past; even people on the Left Bank of Paris were pursuing you. With so many people following one after another, wouldn't they have used every conceivable high-handed means Did none of them ever move your heart You're not getting younger, big sister."

Song Zhen pretended to be angry but didn’t give off the coldness that made even Liu Zhaowen, a professional manager, shiver; instead, she calmed herself down and recalled carefully, saying, "…Yes, I used to like someone. That year was my first year of high school when I met this boy in my class. But back then, all I wanted was to escape. In the next semester, I participated in a modeling contest in Shanghai, spent nearly half a year traveling outside, and went to Paris. After roaming around for two years, I returned to review my third year of high school and got an American passport to study abroad. When I graduated from college, you know where we met; it was in California."

Song Zhen seemed to remember something and asked, "When can you come over My mom said she wants to cook a meal for you personally."

Su Can was stunned for a moment, then he thought of Song Zhen's mother, Tao Qing. He nodded and said, "Let's talk about it later."

After leaving the teahouse, Xue Yiyang and Du Shun felt as if they had gone back in time. The entire process with Su Can today was like experiencing a bizarre world. Du Shun could sense Su Can’s kindness towards him; perhaps because of Xue Yiyang's relationship, unlike many people around them who showed off their muscles, Su Can seemed to try his best to tone it down. It appeared that he was worried about any sharpness in himself might hurt others.

For Xue Yiyang, perhaps from the moment he stepped out of the plane until now, everything had overturned his previous understanding. He didn't even know if he should stay here anymore.

Even when they were saying goodbye to Su Can afterward and getting into Du Shun's car, Su Can asked him, "Aren’t you going to stay at my place The hotel outside the school has already been booked for you."

Xue Yiyang was still in a daze when Liu Zhaodong happened to be on his way and dropped them off at the main gate. Su Can had reserved the Holiday Inn Hotel just outside Nan University for Xue Yiyang. Tang Wu accompanied the two of them as they ate some seafood late-night snacks outside the school, watching Su Can and Xue Yiyang drinking beer bottle after bottle.

They reminisced about their childhood fun times; such as grilling sausages with charcoal on the rooftop of Xia Hai when they were kids, riding bicycles together while enjoying the lake breeze, or how shocked they had been to see Su Can getting into a key high school. There were also many stories that Su Can had almost forgotten in his memories, and like the time before their final exams one year, they stayed up all night playing games outside after sneaking out of their compound.

They talked about things that happened at their workplace and former class after Su Can moved to Rongcheng. Back then when Su Can left, he had said he would often come back, but in fact, he never did return once. In a blink of an eye, those boys who used to ride bicycles chasing each other seemed to be scattered all over.

The two of them drank a lot of alcohol, and Xue Yiyang downed one glass after another.

At the end, it appeared that he had drunk too fast and choked on some tears. He said, "Su Can, I won't come during the National Day holiday."

In fact, there would always be partings between men. Friends who grew up together, roommates living upstairs or downstairs, best friends who used to walk arm in arm along streets — they all inevitably drifted apart because of differences such as which university each attended, different career paths after graduation, or diverging life philosophies in terms of starting a family and building careers.

Just like how several years ago Su Can could call Xue Yiyang out to play video games without any worries for an entire day, ten years later, when Su Can called him, he might say he was busy taking care of his son or wondering if the restaurant Su Can invited him to was fancy enough to warrant a trip.

For Xue Yiyang, the current Su Can wasn't the shortest and weakest kid who used to trail after him and Liu Rui in the compound. He wasn’t the boy who had once harbored feelings for their grade's flower either. Nor was he an ordinary college student like himself, always worrying about failing exams and competing fiercely with others when graduating while envying employees in foreign companies.

The parting between men often amounted to merely a pat on the shoulder and a few words.ation. Life here is sometimes tough, unlike how I report good news but never mention anything bad... Last time in town, two platoons of soldiers started fighting each other, and my butt was kicked har...