You were supposed to have a fake marriage with the diva, so how did you become her father?

Chapter 311 Lu Ran's Request

When Chen Mo pushed open the door of TuTu Technology, the receptionist was already frantically picking up the phone.

"Mr. Lu, Mr. Chen from Tencent is here. He says he wants to see you."

Lu Ran on the other end of the phone was visibly taken aback, but still said, "Let him come up."

Chen Mo had already reached the elevator. Upon hearing this, he smiled and pressed the elevator button himself.

As the elevator went up, he straightened his tie against the bright walls inside, then loosened it again.

After thinking for a moment, he tightened his tie a little more.

This wasn't his first time visiting Tutu Technology, but this time the feeling was completely different from before.

Previously, he was the head of Tencent's East China branch, sitting at the head of the negotiating table, opposite an entrepreneur whom he had to look down upon.

This time, he was still the head of Tencent's East China branch, but the entrepreneur opposite him had grown to the point where he needed to look at him at eye level, or even look up to him.

The elevator doors opened, and the corridor was quiet.

Chen Mo walked out and saw Zhou Mingzhe coming out of the conference room, carrying a stack of documents.

The two men met face to face. Zhou Mingzhe paused for a moment, then nodded: "President Chen, President Lu is waiting for you in his office."

"Thank you." Chen Mo nodded and walked towards Lu Ran's office.

The office door was ajar. Chen Mo knocked on the doorframe and then pushed the door open to go inside.

Lu Ran sat behind his desk, his right leg in a cast, resting on a footstool beside him, holding a document in his hand, looking at something.

Seeing Chen Mo enter, he put down the documents and smiled, "Mr. Chen, what a rare guest! What brings you here?"

Chen Mo glanced at his right leg resting on the footstool and said with a smile, "I heard that President Lu was injured, so I came to see you. But judging from your spirits, you don't look like someone who's injured; you seem more like someone who's been living a life of luxury in the office."

"Living a life of luxury?" Lu Ran pointed to his leg in a cast. "President Chen, you call this living a life of luxury? Why don't you get one too, and I'll arrange the same one for you."

The two of them laughed at the same time.

Chen Mo sat down in the chair opposite Lu Ran and glanced around the office.

It's not big, but it's very clean.

A calligraphy scroll hangs on the wall, bearing the four characters "Be Down-to-Earth". The brushstrokes are not particularly beautiful, but you can tell that the writer put a lot of effort into it.

However, it seems that although President Lu is down-to-earth, it is difficult for him to be truly "down-to-earth".

"Mr. Lu," Chen Mo said, getting straight to the point, "I'm here today because I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

"I guessed it." Lu Ran leaned back in his chair, shifting his right leg to find a more comfortable position. "President Chen is usually extremely busy; he wouldn't come to see a cripple like me for no reason. So, what is it?"

Chen Mo didn't rush to speak. Instead, he took a folder out of his briefcase, placed it on the table, and pushed it in front of Lu Ran.

Lu Ran didn't open it; he just stared at the folder, waiting for Chen Mo to speak.

"Mr. Lu," Chen Mo carefully considered his words, "I've seen about the League of Legends thing."

"Oh?" Lu Ran raised an eyebrow. "What did you see?"

"I've seen the gameplay videos, the buzz on TUTU, and the high user expectations," Chen Mo said. "To be honest, the quality of this game has exceeded my expectations."

Lu Ran smiled and said, "President Chen, you didn't come all this way just to praise me, did you?"

"Of course not." Chen Mo smiled as well. "I'm here to discuss cooperation with you."

Lu Ran did not answer immediately.

He had indeed guessed Chen Mo's true intentions and that he might come.

After the gameplay video of "League of Legends" was leaked, the discussion on TUTU grew hotter and hotter every day. Anyone in the industry with a bit of a sense could see that this game was going to be a hit.

Tencent isn't stupid, and neither is Chen Mo.

He won't wait until League of Legends becomes truly popular before starting negotiations; the stakes will be different then.

Coming now, while not exactly early, is still better than not coming at all.

"A collaboration?" Lu Ran picked up the folder on the table and glanced at it. Inside was a letter of intent for cooperation. The terms were written in great detail, but the core content could be summarized in one sentence—Tencent wanted to cooperate with Tutu Technology to promote "League of Legends" on TUTU, while opening up Tencent's social resources, traffic entrances, and user data to Tutu Technology.

Lu Ran turned the pages one by one, reading them very carefully.

When he turned to the last page, he closed the folder, placed it on the table, and looked at Chen Mo.

"Mr. Chen," he said, "this letter of intent is well written. But I have a few questions."

"Please speak."

"First, who has control over the product?"

Chen Mo paused for a moment: "Product control naturally belongs to Tutu Technology. You developed the game, and we will not interfere with product-level decisions."

"Second," Lu Ran held up a second finger, "who owns the user data?"

Chen Mo thought for a moment: "User data can be shared. Tencent can open up its user profiles and behavioral data to Tutu Technology, and Tutu Technology can open up its user behavior data on TUTU to Tencent. It's a two-way sharing and an equal exchange."

Lu Ran nodded, then asked, "Third, how will the profits be divided?"

Chen Mo was prepared: "The revenue will be split in tiers. For the first 50 million in revenue, TuTu Technology will take 70% and Tencent will take 30%. From 50 million to 100 million, it will be split 60/40. For over 100 million, it will be split 50/50."

After listening, Lu Ran didn't speak, but leaned back in his chair and gently swung his right leg, as if he was thinking about something.

To be honest, Chen Mo's offer is quite good, at least many times better than his previous offer.

Moreover, Tencent has the largest market. Don't be fooled by the fact that Tencent's user base is only a few times that of Tutu Technology. You have to understand that there are only so many people in China. Once the user base grows to a certain level, it becomes increasingly difficult to grow further.

Their company, Rabbit Technology, still lags far behind Weibo.

A difference of 100% in the number of users is not as simple as one plus one equals two.

The atmosphere in the office quieted down, with only the ticking of the wall clock.

Chen Mo sat opposite him, outwardly calm, but inwardly not at ease.

He knew all too well what kind of person Lu Ran was.

This young man will not be swayed by a beautifully written letter of intent, nor will he easily agree to something just because of Tencent's size and resources.

What he wanted was never money, but the right to speak, the right to autonomy, and the right to "make the decisions about my things".

Therefore, he didn't include any vague terms in the letter of intent, but instead set the conditions as realistically as possible—product control would belong to Tutu Technology, user data would be shared equally, and revenue sharing would be tiered.

These terms are considered very generous compared to other collaborations Tencent has offered.

But he wasn't sure if Lu Ran would accept.

"Mr. Chen," Lu Ran finally spoke, "I see your sincerity in this letter of intent. But I have one more request."

"Please speak."

"Tencent should negotiate with Tutu Technology on an equal footing."

Chen Mo was taken aback: "Equal positions?"

"Yes." Lu Ran looked at him, his gaze calm but firm. "It's not 'Tencent and its partners,' it's 'Tencent and Tutu Technology.' It's not Tencent leading and Tutu Technology cooperating; it's the two companies cooperating on an equal footing and making joint decisions."

He paused, then continued, "Mr. Chen, I know Tencent's habits. Tencent makes the decisions about who we cooperate with, and our partners just need to cooperate. But I can't do that. I want to be in charge of my products. I want to be responsible for my users. I want to be the boss of my company."

"It's not that I don't trust Tencent, but that I don't want to put my fate in someone else's hands."

...