louisehourcade Chapter 42 Get lost!
Chapter 42 Get lost!
Bai Che's voice was very soft, floating in the conference room, but it was like an ice cube thrown into boiling oil, instantly causing an uproar.
Wang Tao's ecstatic calculations came to an abrupt halt. He stared blankly at Bai Che, as if looking at an alien.
and then?
A hundred billion US dollars is already on their lips, so what's next? Is there an option to "add another zero"?
Su Wanqing was also taken aback by these three words.
A crack appeared in her brain, which had been working at high speed and stretched to its limit due to the exorbitant acquisition price.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to ignore Bai Che's indifferent and deadpan expression, and used the calmest possible tone to lay out her analysis.
"This isn't about money; it's about attitude."
"Apple, or rather the entire US tech capital behind it, is pulling a fast one this time. Our refusal is inevitable. But how we refuse is a matter of life and death for Zero Boundary Technology."
Su Wanqing tapped her fingers on the table, making a rhythmic sound, trying to organize her thoughts and calm her turbulent emotions.
"If we handle this carelessly, tomorrow the world's media will portray us as an arrogant, closed-minded tech upstart. They will say we refuse to cooperate, refuse to be open, and are isolationists in the technology field."
"At that time, patent lawsuits, supply chain blockades, exclusion of technical standards... all the underhanded tactics you can think of will follow. They will use public opinion to completely nail us to the opposite side of international cooperation."
Wang Tao was stunned. The ecstasy on his face slowly faded, replaced by a sense of lingering fear. He then realized that behind that long string of zeros was not a windfall, but a trap.
The more Su Wanqing spoke, the clearer her thoughts became, and the aura of a CEO returned to her.
Therefore, our response must be watertight.
She had already begun to devise specific plans, and her speaking speed unconsciously increased.
"I suggest that we immediately draft a well-written official reply. First, we should express our gratitude to Tim Cook for his appreciation, and make a strong statement. Second, we should clearly articulate ZeroBoundary Technology's independent development vision of being based in China and serving the world, and elevate our perspective. Finally, and most importantly, we should express that we are not opposed to cooperation and that we can have technical exchanges with Apple in certain non-core areas in the future."
"This way, we've both clearly rejected them and passed the buck back to them. If they try anything else, it will be them unilaterally sabotaging the cooperation, and we'll be morally invincible..."
She spoke eloquently, and a perfect public relations plan was already taking shape in her mind.
However, she didn't notice that Bai Che across from her was already yawning repeatedly.
Too much trouble.
It's just too much trouble.
Bai Che had only one thought in his mind.
Why write an email of several thousand words and play word games with those shrewd people, going back and forth for several rounds? What's the point in the end?
Is the goal to achieve a false result of "We rejected you, but we're still good friends"?
He could have used that time to go back and sleep for ten more minutes, or to complete one more game of Candy Crush, which would have been more meaningful than this.
Just as Su Wanqing said, "Fourth, we also need to prepare a press release for the domestic media..." Bai Che finally stood up, unable to bear it any longer.
He strode forward and walked straight to Su Wanqing's side.
Su Wanqing's analysis was interrupted, and she looked up in confusion.
The next second, Bai Che reached out and placed his hand directly on the laptop in front of her.
"It doesn't need to be that complicated."
His palm covered the back of her hand, and the warm touch made Su Wanqing stiffen slightly, the rest of her sentence stuck in her throat.
Bai Che didn't pay attention to these details. He took the laptop, turned around, and placed it in the center of the conference table.
The entire movement was fluid and graceful, carrying an undeniable air of nonchalance.
Su Wanqing and Wang Tao's attention was involuntarily drawn to it, and they curiously moved closer to see what kind of ingenious solution this troublesome guy could come up with.
Bai Che opened the email from Apple and pressed the reply button.
A blank text box popped up.
His fingers hovered over the keyboard for half a second.
Then, a crisp tapping sound rang out.
Tap. Tap.
Two sounds.
Clean and neat.
Immediately afterwards, he moved the mouse and clicked the "send" button without hesitation.
A notification box flashed across the screen.
Your email has been sent successfully.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Wang Tao hadn't even seen what he typed yet.
Su Wanqing's mind was still on the ten-thousand-word letter she had conceived.
She instinctively leaned closer to the screen and stared intently at it.
In the sent items folder, the reply to the email that had just been sent was clearly displayed.
There were no polite greetings.
There was no precise wording.
They lacked a visionary perspective.
There were only two solitary English words, filled with raw, crude, and undisguised contempt.
"Get lost."
Get lost.
In the conference room, time seemed to freeze at that moment.
The air solidified into a heavy piece of glass.
Wang Tao's mouth slowly opened. He rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things.
Su Wanqing was completely petrified.
Her super brain, capable of handling eight projects simultaneously, crashed the moment she saw those two words.
All the analysis, all the contingency plans, all the long-term considerations were shattered by these two simple and brutal words.
She could imagine that, on the other side of the ocean, at Apple's headquarters, Tim Cook and his executive team were elegantly sipping coffee, awaiting a reply from the East.
Then, they received those two words.
Just imagining that scene is enough to give any sane business elite a stroke on the spot.
This is not a business negotiation.
This is like throwing a nuclear bomb directly at the other side's face.
Su Wanqing felt her blood rushing to her head, and her whole body was trembling, unsure whether it was from anger or horror.
She trembled as she pointed a finger at the two fatal words on the screen, her lips quivering for a long time, but she couldn't utter a sound.
In the end, all the emotions converged into a heart-wrenching question.
"You...you're insane!"