If everyone is reborn, who will work for capital?

Chapter 80 The Unspoken Ambiguity

The following afternoon, in a business conference room at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Academic Activity Center Hotel.

Li Shaobin, the production director of Jiangsu Satellite TV, and Lin Zixia, the publicity director, had been sitting on one side of the long conference table for almost twenty minutes.

Li Shaobin raised his hand to look at his watch for the third time, his brows furrowing into a knot.

"Xiao Lin, what's wrong with this straightforward guy? We agreed on 2:00, and it's already 2:15, and there's not a trace of him!" Li Shaobin's tone was clearly impatient. "Are college students these days so careless about time?"

"Director Li, please calm down," Lin Zixia quickly reassured him, glancing down at her phone. "I just received a message from Li Haipeng saying they're on their way. Traffic in Shanghai is terrible at this time of day, but they'll be there soon."

"Traffic jam?" Li Shaobin was even more surprised, his voice rising slightly. "Aren't they students from Jiaotong University? Why would they need a car to get here? They can't possibly be stuck in traffic on campus, can they?"

"Well...maybe they went out to discuss other business and just got back from off-campus?" Lin Zixia guessed cautiously, though she was actually a little worried herself.

"Hmph, that's for the best." Li Shaobin leaned back in his chair and gently stroked his shiny forehead. "He wasn't deliberately ignoring us; he was just giving us a taste of his power."

……

Meanwhile, on the tree-lined path leading from the startup park to the activity center hotel, Geng Zhi and Li Haipeng were leisurely riding their bicycles to get there.

"Boss, Dr. Sun just sent a message." Li Haipeng reported with a smile as he pedaled his bike, "She said she's basically got Wang Qinqin on board! She's softened her stance on 'appearing on TV'!"

"Oh? The reversal came so quickly?" Geng Zhi was slightly surprised and raised an eyebrow.

According to Sun Xiaowen's feedback, Wang Qinqin had many concerns and was very resistant to participating in the "If You Are the One" TV program.

"What clever tricks did the senior use to persuade Wang Qinqin?" he asked curiously.

"That's why people say a psychology PhD is amazing!" Li Haipeng said with admiration. "Dr. Sun later made further inquiries and uncovered a crucial detail."

"During the first episode of 'If You Are the One,' Wang Qinqin took a liking to a 185cm tall boy on the school basketball team, but that boy was the partner of a 158cm tall girl with a strong presence, so she was too shy to take the initiative to pursue him."

"Later, during the treasure hunt, the 185cm tall boy was 'snatched' by a rather proactive 165cm tall girl. Wang Qinqin regretted it immensely, feeling that she had been too reserved and missed a great opportunity."

"Dr. Sun seized on her 'regret' and 'anxiety about missing out' and did several rounds of ideological work with her, eventually persuading her."

"Senior is really amazing!" Geng Zhi exclaimed in agreement.

After persuading Wang Qinqin, the key figure, he felt a weight lifted off his shoulders, and he was much more confident in negotiating with the TV station.

"Boss," Li Haipeng said, pulling his car a little closer, "this 'Production Manager' who came today, judging from the title, isn't he the top boss of the production team?"

His tone carried a hint of the instinctive nervousness one feels when facing a higher-level opponent.

"Definitely not, he's just a mid-level manager," Geng said confidently.

"Boss, how can you be so sure? Have you studied the structure of the TV station?" Li Haipeng asked curiously.

"I don't know, I'm just deducing from logic," Geng Zhi said with a smile.

"I'd like to ask the boss for some advice."

"Look, Lin Zixia is at the executive level. Our negotiations broke down last time, so this time we need to bring someone of a higher rank to show we value her and give her more say. But if we bring in the big boss right away, it will expose the production team's bottom line and anxieties, leaving them with no room for maneuver and lowering their bargaining power. So…"

"That makes sense! Absolutely!" Li Haipeng exclaimed. "Boss, you're brilliant!"

……

At 2:20, Geng Zhi and Li Haipeng walked in, looking travel-worn, carrying laptop bags.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" Geng Zhi clasped his hands together as he entered, his face full of apology. "Sorry to keep you waiting, gentlemen! I just finished meeting a client in Pudong, and I was stuck in traffic on the elevated highway for an hour and a half! The traffic in Shanghai... sigh!"

Lin Zixia was the first to stand up, revealing a professional smile.

She looked at the straightforward guy and felt that he seemed a little familiar, like she had seen a blurry profile somewhere before, but she couldn't remember where.

Li Shaobin also stood up from his seat, his face quickly switching to an official and warm smile, and proactively extended his hand to Geng Zhi:

"You must be Geng Zhi, right? I'm Li Shaobin from the Jiangsu TV program team. You young people are really amazing, managing to make campus activities so successful."

Lin Zixia quickly added, "Straightforward classmate, this is Mr. Li Shaobin, the production manager of our 'If You Are the One' program."

"Director Li, I've heard so much about you! You flatter me, we're just small fry." Geng Zhi smiled broadly, then looked at Lin Zixia, who hadn't yet introduced herself, "And this is…"

"Hello, Mr. Gengzhi. I am Lin Zixia, the publicity director of the program. I was the one who communicated with President Li yesterday."

Lin Zixia quickly introduced herself, but was secretly surprised: This straightforward man looked four or five years younger than Li Haipeng, but his composure in dealing with people was more mature than Li Haipeng's, and he was not at all like a student who was ignorant of the world in the ivory tower.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the four sat down, and Lin Zixia, acting as the initiator, took the lead in getting the conversation on track:

"Honest student, Wang Zhi, the chief producer of our program, is very interested in your 'Jiaotong University Matchmaker' program. He specially entrusted Director Li to come over, hoping to have a more in-depth exchange with you and jointly explore the broad scope of future cooperation."

She spoke eloquently and gave him plenty of face.

"Director Li, Director Lin, thank you very much for your attention." Geng took the lead and said sincerely, "Our team has also given it serious consideration and feels that our complementary strengths and potential for cooperation are indeed very promising."

"Yes, Geng Zhi is right, there's a lot of room for cooperation." Lin Zixia nodded with a smile in agreement.

However, the "cooperation" that both sides are talking about at this moment has a completely different core.

Lin Zixia and Li Shaobin's idea for "cooperation" was to first offer bait to keep Geng Zhi in check and prevent him from causing trouble with the trademark. When the time was right, they would then "buy" the trademark ownership through negotiation or pressure.

Geng Zhixiang's idea of ​​collaboration is to provide the program with suitable female guests and use the program to promote himself.

Geng Zhi was well aware of the other party's ulterior motives, but he would never bring up the trademark issue.

There are two reasons:

First, Li Haipeng already flexed his muscles last time; repeatedly mentioning it would seem petty, like blackmail using the trademark. Not mentioning it is the greatest deterrent, keeping the opponent constantly on edge.

Secondly, he was certain that as long as he didn't point it out, the other party would never take the initiative to expose the "trademark infringement" issue before figuring out his hand.

He wanted to exploit this unspoken ambiguity to force the production team to listen carefully to his proposed collaboration.