Young man, you fucking have to learn

June arrived.

A new generation of "kidney phones" emerged—the divine device.

The iPhone 4!

It must be said that this was the "Kidney Phone 1.0" version. By the time the 4S came out, it became the undisputed peak of kidney phones.

Many young people would go as far as selling a kidney just to own one.

These future events were something Young Master Cao couldn’t even begin to understand the underlying logic of in his dreams.

If not for the fact that the things he saw in his dreams kept proving true,

Young Master Cao still wouldn’t believe it.

What kind of brain would trade a kidney for a phone?

Just to show off?

That reason seemed too simplistic.

Was it to impress girls?

But then the question arose—

If someone bought an iPhone 4 or the future 4S to pick up girls, but had to sell a kidney to do it… would they even be functional afterward?

At best, they’d just drool all over the girl—hardly a compelling motivator.

It’s not like they’d be completely useless, but there’d definitely be some… limitations.

So,

Where’s the logic?

Couldn’t figure it out.

So he stopped trying.

Cao Cheng was busy considering other matters. With smartphones ushering in a revolutionary era, countless opportunities would emerge around mobile technology—

Games, messaging apps, mobile shopping, and more!

Just like how future innovations would revolve around AI.

Fortunately, Young Master Cao had already laid the groundwork.

Including Tencent’s WeChat!

……

As for why

Young Master Cao didn’t take the lead in designing Apple’s products, creating A-series chips, or even developing Huawei’s future closed ecosystem to surpass Android—

Was it a lack of ability?

No!

Absolutely not.

The timeline Cao Cheng found himself in was like an ordinary person looking back a hundred years—if you sent someone back now to design an automatic rifle,

even if they’d never handled one before, they’d at least know the general concept, right?

Some ideas just require a spark of inspiration. If you have the vision, someone else can bring it to life.

Not to mention, Young Master Cao had the technical skills, including hacking expertise.

If he really wanted to create a mobile OS,

or start a smartphone company,

it wouldn’t be difficult at all.

But it’d be exhausting.

Well…

It wasn’t just about exhaustion—it was also about the broader environment.

To put it bluntly, military, political, and commercial interests were intertwined. Standing out too much in any one area could be dangerous.

Especially if technological advancements outpaced cultural and societal readiness—that would lead to trouble.

So,

Young Master Cao could make strategic moves, but he couldn’t be the one to stick his neck out. The safest path was to rise steadily in sync with policy and environment.

It definitely wasn’t just laziness.

In the end,

it was only a matter of a few years. Young Master Cao could afford to wait.

……

June.

Apple redefined the smartphone.

……

July. Young Master Cao redefined variety shows.

His new program became an instant hit.

As for those who claimed to boycott The Voice—they still watched it. Empty words.

……

Mid-July. Riding the wave of The Voice’s sponsorship success, L’Oréal held a product launch, unveiling a full lineup—toners, emulsions, creams, lipsticks, and more.

Other international brands followed suit, each releasing their own new products.

All of them contained X-Essence.

This raw material was on its way to taking the world by storm.

……

Late July.

Cao Cheng arrived in Shenzhen.

He visited the newly constructed Tencent Tower and met with President Ma.

This wasn’t their first meeting—they’d had several video conferences before, during which Cao Cheng had always lounged lazily on a sofa.

Now, face-to-face,

President Ma studied him for a long moment, marveling. Damn, this kid is ridiculously handsome.

And he looked so young.

You’d think he’d just graduated.

Of course,

if you ignored the commanding presence he carried, his appearance was that of a fresh-faced graduate.

But with that aura, he was unmistakably the leader of the new generation.

A man who’d already surpassed veteran tycoons on the rich list.

“That variety show of yours is blowing up. I’m thinking of sponsoring the next season,” President Ma opened with flattery.

Who said President Ma was low-key and inarticulate?

Cao Cheng smiled. “President Ma watches these little shows? Doesn’t it waste your time?”

President Ma replied, “My daughter loves it. Watched an episode with her yesterday—it’s genuinely entertaining.”

Cao Cheng nodded in understanding.

Little Sister Ma was probably starting college this year.

The future heir to Tencent.

She’d be groomed in the company after graduation.

Father and daughter shared the same temperament—both absurdly low-profile.

They even spent a fortune on PR every year to scrub their personal details from the internet.

“Glad Little Sister Ma enjoys it.”

After some small talk, they moved to the conference room.

Several executives were present.

Young Master Cao was, after all, a major shareholder—he had to maintain appearances.

What was supposed to be a private meeting turned into a half-day marathon, leaving Cao Cheng thoroughly annoyed.

It wasn’t until after lunch at the company that he finally got some one-on-one time with President Ma.

They discussed Apple, smartphones, mobile QQ… and some game licensing issues.

Finally,

Cao Cheng revealed the real purpose of his visit.

He pulled out a USB drive.

“Brother Ma, this contains a software I designed—a mobile social app.”

WeChat was about to be born.

The reason he handed it to Tencent was simple: platform advantage.

Some might argue that independent development and operation would be better.

But…

let’s be real.

Without an existing ecosystem, building WeChat from scratch—along with all its peripheral services—would be a massive, tedious undertaking.

Better to hitch a ride on Tencent’s express train. Not only would it be easier, but the profits would be greater.

And he’d still retain control over WeChat.

Using it to secure a position as a decision-making shareholder in Tencent.

President Ma was taken aback, and a little wary. “Cao, we already have QQ.”

“QQ is for PC,”

Cao Cheng shook his head. “This is for mobile. I’ve had the idea for a while, but Apple’s smartphone takeover made it crystal clear…”

President Ma frowned. “Is it really necessary to develop a whole new app just for a different platform?”

Cao Cheng nodded. “I believe so. If you’re skeptical, Brother Ma, we can make a bet. Draft some additional agreements. But you know me—I don’t like managing power, I hate dealing with accounts, and I can’t be bothered with oversight. I haven’t even sent a director to represent my shares, have I? So rest assured… I’m not here to stage a coup.”

“This bet is just for fun. You in, Brother Ma?”

Young Master Cao wore an expression of utmost sincerity.

Utterly righteous!

Tencent’s core business was, and always would be, social services.

Everything else—value-added services, online ads, gaming, video, entertainment—came later.

Not to mention future ventures like cloud computing, storage, cybersecurity, databases…

But there was no denying that Tencent’s entire empire revolved around its social platform.

Young Master Cao truly had no interest in power, finance, or hassle.

But he needed leverage to sleep soundly—and WeChat was the perfect tool.

As long as it's held in hand, the future... Young Master Cao could have as much say as he wanted.

But before that, some equity needed to be reclaimed.

A considerable amount had already been recovered from overseas, especially during the European debt crisis... but not everything had been taken back yet.

This time, Young Master Cao was also here for the shares.

No outsider knew what Cao and Ma had discussed in the office.

A full two hours passed,

and even the secretary couldn’t get in to deliver coffee.

As for the content of their private conversation,

it was nothing more than signing a valuation adjustment mechanism (VAM) agreement, along with a series of additional contracts—such as private placement of new shares, supplementary equity compensation, priority investment clauses, cross-shareholding framework agreements, and exit mechanism agreements...

Of course,

all of this was contingent on Green Bubble’s success—its explosive popularity and the completion of a closed-loop payment ecosystem within five years.

As long as WeChat blew up,

Cao Cheng would possess strategic-level "control."

However, as Young Master Cao himself had said, he wasn’t here to seize power—he was merely preventing others from taking what was his, hence these preparations.

In the future, this closed-door meeting would become the stuff of legend.

......

......

After a day of relaxation in Shenzhen,

the next morning, Cao Cheng headed straight to his "arms factory."

This was an unannounced visit by Young Master Cao.

DJI wasn’t even prepared to receive him.

Upon meeting President Wang and touring the design department, Cao Cheng was somewhat disappointed—there was nothing substantial there.

Inside the office,

Cao Cheng asked, "Brother Wang, I need a batch of drones ready by early next year at the latest. They must at least be capable of carrying banners and touring universities nationwide."

"This..."

"President Cao, this..."

Brother Wang was stunned. "President Cao, we’re still testing hover stability. Next year might be too soon."

"Don’t worry, I’ll provide technical support. That’s partly why I’m here... You know me—I might not look busy, but I’m actually a tech geek. I’ve been researching a lot at home. I’ll show you later."

During a previous lucky draw, Cao Cheng had obtained a blueprint and technical specs for an early-generation drone from a diamond treasure chest.

Though labeled as "early-gen," it was practically 2020-level tech—a full decade ahead, rock-solid!

......

Young Master Cao spent another half-day there.

Two days of back-to-back work left him exhausted.

It wasn’t until the third day that he flew back to Zhonghai.

Then he collapsed at home, doing nothing else.

These days,

gold was practically lying on the ground everywhere.

This year was all about laying the groundwork; next year would be about reaping the rewards.

They needed to wait for a major global event—something that would shake the world—otherwise, this beauty industry play wouldn’t be perfect.

Also,

wasn’t there a new energy battery plant set to launch next year?

What was it called again?

Oh right—CATL?

And the year after that, ByteDance?

Probably.

Either way, none of them could escape.

Wouldn’t it be a waste not to grab a piece of these shares?

......

"Young man, you’ve still got a lot to learn!"

August.

Little Cannon fired off again.

No helping it.

Last month, his new film, Aftershock, had premiered globally.

A few days ago, its box office broke 600 million, setting a new domestic record.

At the 600-million-celebration banquet, Cannon got drunk. Someone caught footage of him not causing trouble but instead having his assistant bring over a laptop—he was typing something.

Soon, everyone knew: Cannon, drunk off his mind, skipped doing anything productive and instead went online to trash Young Master Cao.

The sheer desperation in his tone—

what kind of obsession was this?

......

The next day, the internet exploded with gossip, drawing countless spectators.

Cao Cheng only saw the news the following morning.

After all, Cannon had posted close to midnight, and Young Master Cao had already been asleep.

Young Master Cao took his health too seriously to stay up late—unless a girl insisted.

Until the treasure chest coughed up an immortality pill, he wouldn’t pull all-nighters.

So,

the next day, when Cao Cheng saw the news, he laughed.

This was free publicity handed to him on a silver platter.

Did Cannon really think Young Master Cao didn’t have a movie of his own?

Sure, Aftershock had raked in massive box office numbers, stirring emotions and resonating deeply—but let’s be real, it still couldn’t beat Let the Bullets Fly.

Exactly.

Young Master Cao had invested—through a Hong Kong-based company—taking a small stake and even securing the title of promotional lead.

Who in the domestic industry didn’t know Cao Cheng was a master of hype?

His involvement alone guaranteed a hefty cut just from the marketing side.

Originally, the promotional cycle was still far off.

But since Cannon had fired the first shot, Young Master Cao had no problem kicking things off early—starting this very month!

Young Master Cao’s response:

"Cannon..."