Could it be that you are...

Chen Zhi stared at the message Dai Damai had sent on his phone screen and raised an eyebrow.

Zhang Yiming personally calling the company's front desk?

For someone of his level, a secretary or an assistant would usually step in. The number of matters that would make him dial a number himself could be counted on one hand.

Pei Ningxue leaned against his shoulder, catching a glimpse of the screen from the corner of her eye.

"NoteDance?"

"Yeah."

Chen Zhi didn't say much else and directly dialed the number Dai Damai had forwarded to him.

The phone rang three times before connecting.

"Hello, Mr. Chen?"

The voice on the other end was quite young, carrying a slight Fujian accent. He didn't speak fast, but every word was clear.

"Mr. Zhang."

Chen Zhi leaned back in his chair in the airport waiting lounge, his tone casual.

"I've heard so much about you. I didn't expect you to call personally."

"You're too polite, Mr. Chen."

Zhang Yiming chuckled. "I've been keeping an eye on the Moss project for a long time. We missed out during your Series A funding round, so I wanted to chat this time and see if there's any possibility for cooperation."

Chen Zhi didn't reply immediately.

Zhang Yiming continued, "I looked at your API. Your multimodal understanding capabilities are indeed leading the pack, especially in natural language processing. It's significantly better than GPT-3.5."

"You flatter me, Mr. Zhang."

"It's not flattery."

Zhang Yiming's tone grew a bit more serious. "I wanted to ask, is there any possibility of licensing Moss's underlying algorithm framework?"

Hearing this, the corners of Chen Zhi's mouth curled up.

Here it comes.

All the big internet tech giants had the same playbook: first, they praise your technology to the skies, then pivot to asking if you would sell your core tech to them.

"Mr. Zhang, the underlying algorithm is not for licensing."

Chen Zhi's answer was crisp and decisive, leaving no room for negotiation.

The other end of the line was silent for two seconds.

"What if it's a strategic investment?"

Zhang Yiming tried a different angle. "NoteDance can lead Deep Space Technology's Series B round. You set the valuation. The condition is that we get the underlying license for Moss to optimize content recommendations for Toutiao and Douyin."

Chen Zhi laughed.

"Mr. Zhang, the underlying algorithm is the lifeblood of Deep Space Technology. No matter who invests, we won't license it out."

He paused, his tone softening a bit.

"But if you're interested, Mr. Zhang, we can talk about ecosystem integration and traffic exchange."

"Ecosystem integration?"

"Yes."

Chen Zhi leaned back, lightly tapping his fingers on the armrest twice.

"Moss can be integrated as an AI assistant for Toutiao and Douyin. Users can directly call on Moss's capabilities within your apps, and we'll take a cut based on usage volume."

"As for traffic exchange, Deep Space Technology needs more user data to train our models. NoteDance's daily active users and content ecosystem are exactly what we need."

Zhang Yiming pondered for a moment.

"That's an interesting idea."

"Then let's find a time another day to chat in person?"

Chen Zhi glanced at the time. "Sure, I'll be in Beijing for the next couple of days. You set the time and place, and I'll head over."

"Alright, it's a deal then."

Zhang Yiming hung up.

Chen Zhi stuffed his phone back into his pocket and let out a long breath.

Pei Ningxue watched him from the side, a glimmer of admiration flashing in her eyes.

Chen Zhi stood up and picked up his suitcase.

"Let's go, back to the city."

Pei Ningxue followed behind him. After a few steps, she suddenly spoke.

"Do you have any plans for this afternoon?"

Chen Zhi paused for a moment.

"Why?"

"There are still a few contracts we brought back from Shanghai that I need to oversee the legal team revising, and the documents from Jingtou need to be signed too."

Pei Ningxue looked at him. "Take half a day off this afternoon. I'll head back to the company and handle it myself."

Chen Zhi raised an eyebrow.

"Since when is Boss Pei so considerate?"

"Stop being glib."

Pei Ningxue rolled her eyes at him. "Didn't you promise to accompany that big celebrity to eat Haidilao?"

Chen Zhi's hand halted for a second.

Pei Ningxue smiled and didn't say anything more, pulling her suitcase toward the exit.

Chen Zhi stood in place, watching her back, feeling a bit conflicted.

...

2:30 PM.

Chen Zhi stood in the underground parking garage of a shopping mall, looking around.

His phone buzzed.

Lin Wanwan had sent a WeChat message.

[Lin Wanwan: I'm here! Where are you?]

[Chen Zhi: Level B2, the corner near the elevator.]

[Lin Wanwan: Wait for me! Make sure nobody sees you!]

Chen Zhi looked at the message, his mouth twitching slightly.

She was making it seem like a secret rendezvous for underground spies.

About two minutes later, a heavily bundled-up figure emerged from the elevator entrance.

Black sunglasses, a black mask, a bucket hat pulled down low, and an oversized trench coat worn over it all. It would be hard not to draw attention in an outfit like this.

Chen Zhi recognized her at a glance.

This was definitely Lin Wanwan.

She walked over, looking left and right. Once she spotted Chen Zhi, she grabbed his arm and dragged him into the shadow of a load-bearing wall.

"Why are you standing in such a conspicuous spot!"

Lin Wanwan lowered her voice, sounding tense.

"What if we get photographed by paparazzi?"

Chen Zhi pointed at an older woman pushing a shopping cart nearby.

"Look at that lady, she didn't even glance at you."

Lin Wanwan froze for a second and turned her head to look.

The woman was looking down at her phone, not even batting an eyelid.

Lin Wanwan's imposing manner instantly deflated.

"W-Well, we still can't be careless..."

Chen Zhi laughed and reached out to push her bucket hat up a bit.

"Alright, stop acting. Take off the mask."

Lin Wanwan hesitated for a moment before finally pulling off her mask.

It revealed a fair, delicate little face.

"Being a celebrity is so exhausting."

Lin Wanwan pouted and complained, "Even going out for hotpot requires being fully armed."

Chen Zhi pinched her cheek.

"Who told you to insist on being a big star."

"Hmph."

Lin Wanwan swatted his hand away and pulled him toward the elevator.

"Let's go. I booked a private room, it's absolutely safe."

The two went upstairs and headed straight for Haidilao.

A waiter led them into a secluded private room. Once the door was closed, Lin Wanwan finally let out a sigh of relief.

She threw her sunglasses and hat onto the sofa and slumped into her chair.

"I'm exhausted."

Chen Zhi sat across from her, picking up the menu and flipping through it.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Anything is fine."

Lin Wanwan rested her chin on her hands and looked at him. "You order. I love whatever you pick."

Chen Zhi checked off a few dishes and pressed the service bell.

A moment later, there was a knock on the door.

"Hello, how can I help you?"

A waitress in a Haidilao uniform walked in, carrying two glasses of plum juice.

She placed the plum juice on the table and glanced up at Lin Wanwan.

Then, she froze.

Her gaze was fixed dead on Lin Wanwan's face, her eyes growing wider and wider.

"Wait a minute!"

The waitress blurted out.

"Aren't you that..."

Lin Wanwan's body instantly stiffened.

The waitress's voice abruptly trailed off.