Video Call

Chapter 283

Penguin Tower, WeChat Business Division.

Su Wan sat in her spacious leather office chair.

Listening to the trembling report from the ground promotion supervisor on the phone, her face gradually turned livid.

"You asked for manpower, I gave it to you. You asked for money, I gave it to you. And in the end, you can't even secure a single internet cafe in the university town?!"

Even with her usual calm and collected demeanor, her defenses were completely shattered by anger in this moment, her chest heaving violently.

Su Wan couldn't understand. Why was it so difficult for her to accomplish what WeTalk did with such ease?

She then turned to look at the giant electronic screen on the wall.

The screen displayed the real-time download numbers and user feedback panel for WeChat V2.0, the "Voice Call" version.

The data was a disaster.

The curve representing new users, after a brief and minor uptick, had completely flattened out and was even showing a faint downward trend.

Even more glaring were the scrolling user comments next to it.

Negative reviews from major app stores were flooding in like a tidal wave.

"Trash Penguin, ruining my youth! What kind of garbage voice call is this? It's all static!"

"Isn't WeTalk's free voice call much better? Who would use this piece of junk?"

"Penguin has run out of ideas. They can't even pass when copying someone else's homework."

Every comment felt like a resounding slap.

Striking fiercely across the face of Su Wan, a highly educated overseas returnee.

Her proud business logic and capital operations were smashed to pieces in the face of WeTalk's overwhelming, multidimensional product experience.

"No... we haven't lost yet."

Su Wan clenched her jaw.

She had no way out. If WeChat died in her hands, she would completely lose her voice in front of the Penguin board of directors.

"Notify the tech department!"

"Everyone continues to work overtime! Even if it means no sleep, rewrite the underlying voice codec for me! It must be as smooth as WeTalk!"

High pressure descended once again, and the WeChat team was completely reduced to exhausted machines running themselves into the ground.

Another week passed.

At the cost of several programmers nearly dropping dead and being sent to the hospital, the WeChat team finally refactored the underlying code.

They polished a fluid voice call version that was basically free of latency and static.

Su Wan stood in front of the testing device, listening to the clear voice coming from within.

Her nerves, which had been stretched taut for half a month, finally relaxed a little.

"We finally caught up."

She let out a long breath.

"Prepare for a staged rollout immediately. We'll do a full release of the new version tonight."

As soon as she finished speaking.

"Bang!"

The office door was violently pushed open, and her assistant stumbled in.

"Ms... Ms. Su..."

"Why panic! Has the sky fallen?"

Su Wan frowned slightly, somewhat displeased with the assistant's recklessness.

"We... WeTalk... WeTalk has updated again!"

The assistant swallowed hard, struggling to spit out the words.

Hearing this, Su Wan's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition rushed straight to her head.

She quickly rushed to her desk and opened the WeTalk monitoring backend on her computer.

She didn't even need to search for it. WeTalk's official accounts had already simultaneously released a demonstration video of the new features for their major V2.0 update across all major platforms on the internet.

She stared intently at the screen.

In the video, it was no longer just a simple voice waveform.

Following a crisp incoming call tone, a clear, real-time video feed popped up directly on the phone screen!

Not only was the person's voice clear, but even their subtle facial expressions were visible in minute detail. The interaction was so smooth there wasn't a hint of lag!

WeTalk's video call feature was officially online!

The entire WeChat executive conference room suddenly fell into a dead silence.

Everyone stared blankly at the demonstration video on the big screen.

No one spoke; only heavy breathing echoed in the air.

This was no longer competition; it was a unilateral flex of technical prowess!

They had risked their lives and stayed up late for half a month just to barely catch up with the progress.

And the other side casually threw down a royal flush?!

Staring at the demonstration on the screen, Su Wan slumped defeatedly into her chair.

For some reason, she suddenly calmed down.

Because the capital she relied on, the endless overtime...

In this moment, all of it turned into a meaningless illusion.

......

Evening, Qinglin University's Second Cafeteria.

It was dinner time, and the cafeteria was bustling with noise.

The aroma of food mixed with the chatter of college students, brimming with the vibrant breath of life.

Gu Ran carried a stainless steel tray, navigating through the crowded throng.

He slowly walked to a quiet spot by the window.

Ye Zhenzhen was already sitting there, having saved the seats.

She was eating while looking down at a copy of "Systematic Anatomy."

"Time to eat, Dr. Ye."

Gu Ran said with a smile as he set his tray down.

The dishes they got were completely different.

Gu Ran had braised pork and stir-fried potatoes, eggplant, and peppers.

The girl had sweet and sour spare ribs and stir-fried broccoli.

After he sat down, the young girl very naturally reached out with her chopsticks and started taking food from his plate.

Gu Ran, with quick reflexes, snatched a piece of sweet and sour spare rib from her bowl and popped it into his mouth.

"Are you a dog? I already took a bite of that!"

Ye Zhenzhen glared at him, puffing her cheeks in annoyance.

Then, not to be outdone, she snatched a piece of braised pork from his plate.

"Eat more meat. Look how thin you've gotten lately; you don't even feel soft when I hug you anymore."

Gu Ran teased shamelessly.

"Hooligan! Shut up!"

A blush crept up the young girl's cheeks, and she gave him a light kick under the table.

At the surrounding tables, many students were looking down and playing with their phones.

Amidst the noise, excited discussions like "WeTalk updated" and "Holy crap, we can do video calls" could be heard from time to time.

Listening to the commotion around him, a hint of a smile flashed in Gu Ran's eyes.

He put down his chopsticks, pulled his phone out of his pocket, and opened WeTalk.

He entered the "Loving Family" group chat.

Immediately after, he pressed the brand-new "Video Call" button in the bottom right corner of the chat interface.

"Ring, ring, ring—"

The crisp and pleasant video invitation tone sounded in the corner of the noisy cafeteria.

In less than three seconds, the call connected.

The phone screen flickered, and shortly after.

The faces of Gu Xiangcheng and Ye Shulian, who were far away at home in County A, appeared clearly in the center of the screen!

"Oh my! What's going on? Gu Ran? How can I see a live person?!"

Gu Xiangcheng thought it was just another voice call.

But upon answering, his son's face actually appeared on the screen.

The crystal-clear image and the loud voice on speakerphone.

Instantly attracted the attention of several neighboring tables of college students.

They stopped their chopsticks one after another, staring dumbfounded as they discreetly peeked at Gu Ran's phone screen.

Gu Ran wasn't afraid of being watched at all. Instead, he deliberately raised his volume.

Shouting at the screen in a tone of a "loud conspiracy."

"Dad! Can you see clearly? This is the new feature WeTalk just released today, video calling!"

"From now on, when we want to see each other, we don't need to make phone calls. Just start a video chat, it's completely free! Great, isn't it?"

On the screen, Gu Xiangcheng nodded repeatedly, grinning from ear to ear.

"It's great! Really great! Aunt Ye is right next to me. The picture is so clear, and there's no static at all!"

This conversation rang out exceptionally clear and piercing in the noisy cafeteria.

The surrounding students, who were originally just watching out of curiosity, completely erupted.

"Holy crap! WeTalk can do video calls now?!"

"Are you serious? Let me see! Holy crap, the picture is this clear?"

"Damn it, Penguin's crappy voice chat lags like hell for me, and WeTalk just dropped video calling?!"

Students who hadn't updated their app yet immediately connected to the cafeteria's WiFi and hit the update button.

Those who hadn't downloaded it at all frantically searched the app store to get it.

Some even called their parents right then and there.

"Hello? Mom! Hurry up and go to the app store to download an app called 'WeTalk'! Yes, exactly, you can video call on it!"

"I'll teach you how to set it up. From now on, we can just video chat, it won't cost any phone bill!"

For a moment, the entire Second Cafeteria felt like a massive promotional event for WeTalk.

It set off a crazy frenzy of updates and downloads.

Gu Ran looked at the reactions of the people around him and smiled in satisfaction.

He spoke into his screen, "Alright, Dad, we're eating right now. I'll catch up with you guys in detail tonight when I get back to the dorm."

Hanging up the video call, he placed his phone on the table.

He then looked at Ye Zhenzhen, who was also slightly dazed by the new video feature, and his gaze unconsciously softened.

He quietly reached out his hand under the table.

He accurately caught the girl's soft little hand resting on her lap.

The girl struggled half-heartedly in a display of feigned reluctance.

Finding that she couldn't break free, she simply let him hold it.

The news of WeTalk's video call feature launching spread like a hurricane sweeping across the plains, multiplying exponentially throughout university circles nationwide.

WeTalk's download numbers, daily active users, and user online duration...

On this very day, showed an explosive, almost terrifying surge of growth once again!

......