Sitting in the front row, Ma Yang yawned and then smacked his lips, wondering why the press conference hadn’t ended after more than two hours.

These people just kept asking questions without end!

Despite the boring presentation, the people behind him seemed energized and continued asking questions.

Ma Yang had wanted to leave long ago, but since he was sitting in the front row, he was too conspicuous. Plus, he was here representing Brother Qian, so he worried about creating a bad impression if he left. He could only sit there listlessly.

He Desheng turned his head and asked quietly, “Mr. Ma, would you like to ask a question?”

Ma Yang shook his head: “Ask a question about what? I have zero interest in grilled cold noodles. I’m falling asleep listening to this.”

He Desheng nodded. Indeed, Meng Chang had talked so much about internet thinking and used so many made-up terms—other investors might find it fascinating, but for Mr. Ma, it was like chewing on wax.

Not asking questions was fine, too.

It would be awkward if Mr. Ma asked a question and revealed his ignorance with so many investors watching.

Better to say nothing, check in, and leave—that would be completing the task Mr. Pei had assigned.

As for He Desheng himself, he also didn’t plan to ask questions.

He Desheng’s attitude was similar to Li Shi’s—asking now wouldn’t reveal much.

Meng Chang had his own very complete theoretical system and business model, with first-class ability to adapt to circumstances. No matter what questions these investors asked, he could answer smoothly.

Whether asking one more question or one less, it wouldn’t make much difference.

Soon, the investors at the venue had asked most of their questions.

Since most investors wanted to ask similar things, once one person received an answer, others wouldn’t ask the same question again.

Meng Chang glanced at the time—two and a half hours total.

The timing had met expectations.

These investors had asked questions for a full half hour, enough to show that this press conference was very successful and had attracted widespread attention from investors.

It didn’t matter if no investment was secured this time. After these investors left, the Cold-faced Girl brand would inevitably spread widely in investment circles, generating certain attention.

This way, when they later hyped things up through various marketing methods, they would have a good foundation.

As long as enough time and enough investors were paying continuous attention, someone would eventually invest.

Just as Meng Chang was about to announce the end of the press conference, he held back.

He suddenly felt something was missing, that the press conference wasn’t quite complete!

His gaze swept across the entire venue, then stopped on the long face in the front row.

Meng Chang instantly understood.

They were missing questions from Tenda Group’s representative!

As an entrepreneur, Meng Chang possessed a crucial excellent quality—shamelessness.

Since attention was offered right to his doorstep, how could he not take advantage of it?

Since receiving this investment, Meng Chang had been trying every possible way to ride on Tenda’s popularity.

From initially promoting that he had received Tenda’s investment, to emphasizing in his speech that “Cold-faced Girl” and “Slackin’ Delivery” were in differentiated competition—it was all about riding on Tenda’s popularity.

The reason for singling out Slackin’ Delivery was to create a false impression for investors, making them feel that Tenda was intentionally supporting “Cold-faced Girl” and Slackin’ Delivery in differentiated competition.

These investors would naturally speculate further: when “Cold-faced Girl” developed and expanded, could it use Slackin’ Delivery’s existing delivery personnel, or even some form of business integration or cooperation?

Once investors developed this notion through such hints, their likelihood of investing in “Cold-faced Girl” would greatly increase.

And now, although Mr. Pei wasn’t here, Mr. Ma was fully representing him.

But Mr. Ma hadn’t said a word, which was no fun at all.

Having Mr. Ma ask a few questions that he could answer would be beneficial, no matter how he looked at it.

As long as Mr. Ma didn’t explicitly question or oppose his business model, after the press conference, he could tell the outside world that Tenda’s investment executives were very optimistic about “Cold-faced Girl’s” business model, directly riding on their popularity.

What if Mr. Ma did explicitly question it?

Meng Chang felt this possibility was extremely low.

Although his business model had many problems, they were unfalsifiable.

In simple terms, you could only say it didn’t work when the model failed commercially. But it was impossible to find logical flaws in this model through debate alone.

Of course, there was a third possibility: Mr. Ma refusing to ask questions.

But even then, Meng Chang had a response ready—he could simply say his business model was so perfect that even Tenda’s investment executives couldn’t find fault with it.

In short, as long as he shifted the attention of the venue to Mr. Ma, it would be advantageous for him.

Thinking of this, Meng Chang immediately turned his gaze to Mr. Ma: “Mr. Ma, do you have any questions?”

Ma Yang was casually playing with the ten-yuan mineral water bottle in front of him when a staff member handed him the microphone.

He was about to say “no,” but beside him, He Desheng had already gently nudged him with his elbow.

He Desheng lowered his voice: “Mr. Ma, just ask a couple of questions.”

Ma Yang didn’t sense the subtlety here, but He Desheng could feel it.

Although He Desheng had invested 2 million in Meng Chang according to Mr. Pei’s rules, he wasn’t happy about Meng Chang’s behavior of riding on Tenda’s popularity.

If Mr. Ma said “I have no questions,” that would only make Meng Chang ride even harder on their popularity, so He Desheng hurried to remind him.

Ma Yang wasn’t clear about what was going on, but since He Desheng wanted him to ask questions, he would.

He took the microphone from the staff member and cleared his throat.

But for a moment, he didn’t know what to ask.

Ma Yang stared at Meng Chang, and they locked eyes.

Unable to think of any good questions despite racking his brain, Ma Yang casually asked: “These grilled cold noodles of yours… are they tasty?”

Meng Chang was stunned, feeling a bit dizzy.

What did that mean?

Why wasn’t Mr. Ma following the usual script?

Who would ask about that?

I’ve spent two hours talking to you about business models and internet thinking, and you’re asking me about the taste of the grilled cold noodles?

But he was quick to react, only pausing for two seconds before immediately responding with a slight smile: “The matter of taste varies from person to person; everyone would give a different answer.”

“In the first stage, ‘Cold-faced Girl’ will hire dedicated nutritionists to comprehensively control the raw materials, production techniques, and processes of grilled cold noodles.”

Ma Yang nodded: “Oh… so this will guarantee that the grilled cold noodles will be tasty?”

Meng Chang paused again: “Theoretically speaking, this would be an inevitable result.”

Ma Yang nodded and didn’t pursue the question further, but thought of another one.

“What does ‘multi-dimensional fusion’ mean? I didn’t understand it.”

“Could you explain it again?”

Ma Yang looked very genuinely at Meng Chang on the stage.

Because the two-hour speech was too long, Ma Yang had only listened intermittently, so he didn’t remember many of the terms, but “multi-dimensional fusion” had left a deeper impression.

Meng Chang was stunned again.

Didn’t understand it? Really?

Although it was a made-up term, it shouldn’t be that hard to understand, right?

And not understanding was already quite outrageous, but to openly say he didn’t understand in front of so many investors and ask for an explanation again?

It seemed like a very stupid question, but Meng Chang instead put aside his contempt and became wary.

How could Tenda’s former vice president in charge of investments be a fool?

A simple answer suddenly seemed fraught with danger.

But time was pressing, and Meng Chang couldn’t think for long.

“Simply put, multi-dimensional fusion is when multiple-dimensional ecosystems combine, interact with each other, undergo chemical reactions similar to fusion, and generate enormous energy.”

“In business, there are similar models which, once successful, can yield huge… business returns.”

Because he couldn’t figure out Mr. Ma’s intention behind the question, Meng Chang could only choose the safest, absolutely correct answer.

Ma Yang was silent for two seconds: “Fusion is a physical reaction.”

Meng Chang: “?”

Ma Yang continued: “So, your ‘multi-dimensional fusion,’ in plain terms, is just cooperation and coordination between departments.”

Meng Chang hemmed and hawed: “Uh… if put in the most common terms, it could be understood that way, but this understanding isn’t comprehensive. Because compared to multi-department cooperation and coordination, ‘multi-dimensional fusion’ focuses on more macro aspects, at a higher level. And differences in levels make things with the same form substantially different…”

Ma Yang thought that since he had already asked two questions, it seemed about enough.

He nodded: “Alright, I have no other questions.”

Meng Chang was relieved and quickly smiled: “Good, thank you very much for Mr. Ma’s questions! Today’s press conference now concludes. If anyone is interested in ‘Cold-faced Girl,’ you can come find me to discuss at any time…”

As the press conference ended, some investors got up to leave, while others approached Meng Chang to talk, obviously wanting to ask a few more questions in private.

Ma Yang had been impatient for a long time, like an elementary school student eagerly waiting for school to end. He pulled He Desheng and left.

However, this scene was completely witnessed by Li Shi.

Xue Zhebin noticed that Li Shi’s expression was somewhat unusual and asked softly: “What’s wrong, Mr. Li?”

Li Shi watched Ma Yang’s departing figure with slightly furrowed brows, lost in thought.

“Could Mr. Ma have asked those questions?”

“Hmm, doesn’t seem like it.”

Xue Zhebin was baffled: “What? Were these questions very sophisticated?”

First asking if the cold noodles were tasty, then asking what “multi-dimensional fusion” meant—a term repeatedly explained during the press conference—what kind of sophisticated questions were these?

If it were Xue Zhebin, he wouldn’t even have the courage to speak up in front of so many investors and bosses, because these questions were too simple and childish, somewhat embarrassing.

Li Shi shook his head: “If that’s what you think, you’re completely wrong!”

“The two questions Mr. Ma asked, including every word he said, were both defensive and offensive, all hitting Meng Chang’s weak spots, making him very uncomfortable!”

“Of course, Meng Chang is extremely intelligent and quick to react, responding impeccably.”

“This improvisational reaction ability is indeed very strong.”

“But no matter how impeccable his responses were, he was ultimately overshadowed by Mr. Ma in terms of ‘momentum.’ Dumber investors might not see it, but smarter ones would feel it.”

“However, this isn’t enough to shake investors’ optimism about Meng Chang; it just makes it less smooth for him to raise investments.”

Li Shi was silent for a moment, then sighed with emotion: “Based on my understanding of Mr. Ma, this level of strategic play is not something he could come up with.”

“He Desheng might be better, but he’s still not at this level—he doesn’t have this ability.”

“I fear that before Mr. Pei sent Mr. Ma here, he had already given him instructions. Mr. Ma was acting as Mr. Pei’s mouthpiece!”

“That makes sense. Even if Mr. Pei initially didn’t know about ‘Cold-faced Girl,’ after Meng Chang waved Tenda’s flag to ride on their popularity, Mr. Pei must have received the news.”

“This level of small character isn’t worth his appearance. If he came, it would give Meng Chang more opportunities to ride on even bigger popularity.”

“So, Mr. Pei sending Mr. Ma over was representing Tenda, making a hint and statement, as well as warning Meng Chang.”

“With Meng Chang’s intelligence, he can’t fail to sense this.”