Chapter 359: Threads of Fortune

East Morning Star Advertising meeting room.

Xu Chen, Nie Fei, Zhou Junjun, Sun Aimi, Gu Xinxi.

They munched on fruit while discussing the midsole material options.

Zhou Junjun bit into an apple and added:

“Besides Nike and Li Ning negotiating with them, others have jumped in too.”

“A new material hit the market, and the top brands are all eyeing it…”

“Even if they didn’t know about it at first, once they hear Nike’s involved, they’re quick to follow the scent.”

“So, Wanrong Materials holds all the leverage in these talks.”

Nie Fei: “If we really want to secure it, it’s not impossible, but the cost could be huge…”

Xu Chen: “Like what?”

Nie Fei: “What they want is long-term, stable, high-volume orders—it’s all about the profit…”

“We could offer a bet-on agreement or swap equity…”

“Basically, hand over some shares of Ran Bing Sports.”

Xu Chen waved it off, rejecting the idea outright.

“Do they know this is Xie Bingran’s brand?”

Nie Fei: “They do; we pitched it to them.”

“They’ve handled orders for sports brands before, so they’re tuned into events and know about the rising star Xie Bingran in China.”

“But overall, they’re unsure about Xie Bingran’s future in competitions and commercial value.”

“So, they’re not willing to gamble with us.”

……

Xu Chen frowned, unable to hide his concern.

Their top choice for midsole material was stuck in a deadlock.

He picked up the brochure from the table and flipped through it carefully.

This company, Wanrong Materials, was the exclusive supplier for the ‘TPU Foam Cotton’ option…

As Xu Chen scanned the company profile in the brochure, he suddenly paused.

On the page, a blue cartoon character served as Wanrong Materials’ mascot.

He’d glimpsed it before and felt it was familiar; now it clicked where he’d seen it…

Nie Fei spoke up again: “The design team is already on board, so we need to lock in the midsole material soon.”

“I’ll plan to visit their boss this week or next…”

“If we can’t get it, we’ll have to go with a backup.”

Zhou Junjun nodded:

“Among the backups, second on the list is Meirui New Materials.”

“Their EVA secondary foaming material is one of the better ones out there.”

“It’s already in mass production for some mid-range products at Li Ning and Anta.”

“So, it won’t stand out as a unique selling point for us.”

……

Xu Chen thought for a moment and said:

“Maybe we can still pull off a deal with Wanrong Materials…”

Nie Fei blinked in surprise, her brow furrowed in confusion.

Zhou Junjun glanced at Nie Fei, wondering what ‘Young President Xu’ meant by that.

In Nie Fei and Zhou Junjun’s view, the chances of negotiating with Wanrong Materials were slim to none.

Both were experts in the sports industry, so they knew the market better than Xu Chen.

Based on all the info, Ran Bing Sports had little shot at partnering with Wanrong Materials.

It was even possible Wanrong had already signed an exclusive deal with another sports brand, just keeping it under wraps.

……

Xu Chen smiled and said:

“Whatever I say, my dad will listen, right?”

“Even if it sounds off at first…”

Nie Fei looked puzzled but replied seriously:

“President Xu will listen to you.”

Xu Chen nodded:

“Give me a minute; I need to check something.”

He stood up and turned to Gu Xinxi:

“Xinxi, let me use your computer.”

Gu Xinxi agreed and followed him out.

At the workstation, Gu Xinxi unlocked the screen and stepped aside for Xu Chen.

Back in the meeting room, Nie Fei and the others exchanged confused looks.

Xu Chen held the Wanrong Materials brochure and searched for related info online.

“Wanrong Materials is solid.”

“They produce high-tech materials across industries and hit over a billion in annual revenue…”

On Wanrong’s official site, Xu Chen browsed the news and found the owner, an entrepreneur named Su Qitai.

He stared at the photo, brow furrowed in thought.

Then he logged into QQ and scrolled through a QQ Space to a group photo.

……

……

A few minutes later, Nie Fei and Zhou Junjun stood behind Xu Chen.

Xu Chen pointed at the screen:

“This is Wanrong’s boss, Su Qitai, right?”

Nie Fei nodded: “Yes.”

“We met him during our visit and chatted briefly.”

“But the main talks were with his deputy.”

Xu Chen opened another photo in the QQ Space, a father-daughter shot, and pointed to the girl:

“That’s Su Qitai’s daughter, Su Rong. She’s in our class…”

Zhou Junjun: “Huh?”

Nie Fei: “What a coincidence!”

Zhou Junjun: “Is that for real?”

The girl in the photo was Su Rong, the class literary committee member and Xu Chen’s classmate.

“……”

People always said Su Rong was a wealthy girl from Jiangsu Province, and it turned out she was—her family’s business pulled in over a billion a year…

The blue cartoon mascot from Wanrong Materials had seemed familiar to Xu Chen.

He finally remembered seeing it on Su Rong’s backpack.

Su Rong had a light pink MK backpack with cute charms hanging off it.

Xu Chen had noticed them once during a class meeting.

Most were familiar—Cherry Maruko, Doraemon, Hello Kitty…

But the one he didn’t recognize was exactly this blue Wanrong mascot.

Of course, Xu Chen had only guessed at first in the meeting room.

Now, after checking the news and Su Rong’s QQ Space photos, his suspicion was confirmed.

Su Rong was indeed the daughter of Wanrong Materials’ founder, Su Qitai.

Who knew that this soft-spoken literary committee member in his class was also a key heiress.

……

Nie Fei and Zhou Junjun glanced at each other, both lighting up with excitement.

They instantly understood why Xu Chen had asked that odd question earlier:

“Whatever I say, my dad will listen, right…”

So, if they could win over this Su heiress, could they sway Su Qitai?

“Wanrong Materials is a private company not yet listed, so the boss calls the shots.”

Nie Fei smiled: “So, you’re on good terms with this Su daughter?”

Zhou Junjun grinned and clapped Xu Chen on the shoulder:

“This Su heiress isn’t already involved with you, is she?”

“Nice one, Young President Xu…”

“This is a match made in heaven!”

Xu Chen: “……”

Sun Aimi: “??”

Gu Xinxi: “?!”

Xu Chen thought it over and said:

“I’m not that close to Su Rong.”

“We’re just classmates who nod hello…”

He paused, then added with a smile:

“But she’s a big fan of Bing Ge and even talked about booking her own flight to Doha to watch his games!”

He stroked his chin, recalling a casual glimpse:

“She must really like Bing Ge…”

“Otherwise, she wouldn’t have set her phone wallpaper to his poster.”

Zhou Junjun turned to Nie Fei and burst out laughing:

“Talk about things falling into place! What a stroke of genius!”

He patted Xu Chen’s shoulder:

“Young President Xu, you’re riding a wave of luck—the universe is helping you seal deals!”

Xu Chen: “……”

Nie Fei looked at Xu Chen:

“So… could we use this girl to open talks?”

Xu Chen: “It’s worth a shot.”

“It depends on whether her dad, Su Qitai, listens to me like mine does…”

“And of course, on whether we can convince Su Rong.”

Nie Fei nodded:

“How do you want to handle it? Need any help from us?”

Xu Chen pondered, murmuring to himself:

“Maybe we can add some leverage to the negotiations.”

He flipped through Wanrong Materials’ site and pointed something out.

Zhou Junjun leaned in to see; it was about their products.

Xu Chen pointed to a high-polymer engineering plastic.

Zhou Junjun: “What’s that mean?”

Xu Chen: “If I’m not mistaken…”

“Back at the factory, Director Yang mentioned this material for electric vehicle parts.”

Nie Fei caught on and grinned:

“Perfect…”

“If we bundle the electric vehicle parts order, our chances just went up!”

Zhou Junjun still looked puzzled:

“What are you two talking about?”

Zhou Junjun knew little about Chenfeng Technology.

Nie Fei chuckled and quickly explained the Chenfeng Electric Vehicles situation to him.

Zhou Junjun laughed and slapped Xu Chen’s shoulder:

“Young President Xu, you’re the luckiest one around!”

Xu Chen thought: “We need to confirm with Director Yang.”

“First, if Wanrong’s engineering plastic meets the specs.”

“Second, if we can shift procurement to them…”

Nie Fei: “I’ll handle that chat!”

“I got to know Director Yang well during my last trip to Tiancheng.”

Xu Chen nodded: “And I’ll call my dad this afternoon to update him.”

Nie Fei: “Great!”

Xu Chen: “If we can win over Su Rong and get her to sway her dad,”

“Plus throw in the engineering plastic order…”

“This deal feels a lot more solid.”

Zhou Junjun was optimistic:

“More than solid—it’s practically done!”

“Bing Ge’s so charismatic; he’ll have that girl head over heels…”

Xu Chen: “……”

Just like that, the midsole material deadlock seemed to unravel out of nowhere.

It was an unexpected turn of events.

……

……

In the afternoon, during the dull ‘Communication Studies’ lecture.

Xu Chen sat at the back and glanced toward the front.

His eyes landed on Su Rong.

He’d double-checked during the break: the blue cartoon charm on Su Rong’s MK backpack was indeed Wanrong’s mascot.

Xu Chen stared at Su Rong’s back, feeling a bit odd, and quickly looked away.

How to approach and talk to Su Rong needed careful planning.

Best not to make it too obvious…

He regretted not joining more class activities to build a rapport with her earlier.

Who could’ve predicted that solving the midsole issue hinged on this quiet literary committee member?

……

During the afternoon break, Xu Chen sent his father, Xu Zhiquan, a few texts outlining the situation.

Xu Zhiquan knew it was important and replied right away:

[I’ll talk to Director Yang immediately. Just have Nie Fei coordinate with him.]

……

……

In the evening, at Xueyuan Cafeteria.

Xu Chen and his roommates ate and chatted over their meals.

“Jiangsu Prince” Qian Xin was joking around nearby as Xu Chen said:

“Qian, have you sorted your visa and travel for the Asian Games?”

Qian Xin paused, grinning at Xu Chen:

“Hey! Boss Xu’s coming too? That’d be awesome!”

Xu Chen: “I’m thinking about it!”

Qian Xin: “With you along, it’s even better!”

“My tourist visa’s done, but travel plans aren’t set yet!”

He glanced at Huang Hao:

“Huang Hao got a spot through the college…”

“I’m waiting on the college’s travel details to align mine!”

“Going with the group feels safer.”

Huang Hao teased:

“Qian, scared of the foreign scene?”

Qian Xin chuckled:

“Mainly, my English is terrible—I’d be lost talking to people!”

“Sticking with the college means a solid plan.”

It made perfect sense.

Xu Chen: “What about Su Rong? Same setup?”

Qian Xin hesitated, glancing at Chen Wenyi who was quietly eating across the table:

“I haven’t talked to Su Rong yet—got to keep it neutral…”

Chen Wenyi swallowed his food and said:

“Qian, no need to worry. I know you two are just friends.”

“Plus, Su Rong turned me down, so I’m over it.”

Qian Xin smiled and passed an unopened Sprite to Chen Wenyi.

Chen Wenyi looked a bit awkward: “Thanks!”

Qian Xin: “I’ll message Su Rong back then. She’s probably waiting on me!”

“If she needs help with tickets, I’ll handle it for her.”

“She’s a girl, so she needs the extra care.”

His words drew teasing from Huang Hao and Pei Qian.

Xu Chen listened quietly, already plotting how to use Su Rong’s Asian Games trip as a conversation starter.

……

Xu Chen thought more and messaged in the company group:

[Xinxi, print some materials for me tomorrow morning.]

[Might need them to chat with Su Rong.]

Gu Xinxi: [Got it, boss. Just list what you need, and I’ll handle it first thing.]

……

……