Chapter 363: Forging Ahead with Innovation

The meeting room for the conference call with London’s Pearl Cat.

They were deep into the Q&A phase, and Xu Chen leaned back in his chair, letting out another sigh of relief.

“Ran Bing 001” had made a huge leap forward in product design!

The chief designer on the call, Leon Chu, had expressed strong interest in getting involved.

He even shared that infectious excitement and passion typical of artists.

This was thanks to the branding strategy for “Ran Bing Sports,” drawing from the “national trend” concept…

And, of course, Xie Bingran’s own competitive charm.

…

Right now, they were discussing the technical details behind the designs.

On the “Ran Bing Sports” side, technical expert Zhou Junjun was leading the explanation.

“Vice President Zhou” struggled a bit with English, so Nie Fei and Leon Chu on the other end were both helping with translations.

Zhou Junjun might seem laid-back normally, but when it came to business, she was all professionalism and reliability.

“Considering the foot shapes of our people, we’ll go with a ‘wide last’ design ratio. We need to keep that in mind.

I’ll send over some foot shape data for your reference later…”

“Since the product is defined as ‘lightweight,’ the upper will use finely woven fiber yarn material.

We can incorporate dyeing and colored fiber weaving techniques, but try to minimize seams…

Every seam adds weight to the shoe…”

“The midsole is elastic foam. We’re aiming for softness, bounce, and knee protection, so it’ll be thicker than most mainstream products.

I’ll provide the design specs for that too…”

…

“President Xu” listened and nodded along repeatedly.

Fei Jie bringing Zhou Junjun on board for product development was spot-on.

Of course, it also helped that his dad, Xu Zhiquan, had invested in Zhou’s “Lifeng Footwear.”

…

Once the technical details were sorted, they moved on to timelines.

Nie Fei emphasized the urgency.

The factory and materials were all lined up; they were just waiting for the final designs.

Pearl Cat didn’t commit to a specific timeline.

But they promised to outline a schedule by tomorrow and coordinate with “Ran Bing Sports.”

With timelines aligned, they could push forward on contracts and signings.

And that was that.

The design work for “Ran Bing 001” had hit a key milestone.

…

…

The meeting wrapped up around 9 p.m., and everyone headed out.

Nie Fei, Zhou Junjun, Gu Xinxi, and Sun Aimi caught a cab home.

Xu Chen grabbed his car from downstairs and picked up Wu Feifei and Su Rong.

He planned to drive to the southwest district girls’ dormitory to drop off Su Rong, then take Wu Feifei home.

The two young women in the back seat had already become close girlfriends.

Su Rong suddenly said:

“It’s so cool how you all work together on things like this!”

Wu Feifei laughed and replied, “You’re part of it now!”

She turned to Xu Chen and added:

“Make sure to save a spot for Su Rong!”

Xu Chen smiled and said, “Of course, Su Rong’s already a core member of ‘Ran Bing Sports.'”

Su Rong felt a bit embarrassed:

“I don’t think I can really help much!”

Xu Chen: “You’ve been a huge help!”

Su Rong said shyly, yet with a touch of admiration:

“You all are so amazing…”

Tonight’s international call for “Ran Bing 001” had left Su Rong in awe.

She could hardly believe that someone from her class, the same age as her, had built a company this far.

People like “Fei Jie” and “Vice President Zhou” were incredibly capable, yet they treated Xu Chen as the boss.

Xu Chen didn’t say much in meetings, but everything he mentioned was spot-on and crucial.

His presence in the company felt so mature and commanding—it didn’t match a first-year student at all.

He was probably the youngest in the group, right?

Yet, he was the backbone and leader…

He was truly impressive.

How did he pull all this off?

At the same time, Su Rong felt genuinely happy.

Xie Bingran’s brand was in the hands of such talented people, even involving artists from London…

Whatever they created would surely be outstanding.

…

…

The next day at noon.

Xu Chen finished his class and headed to the office.

“Vice President Zhou” had flown back to Fujian Province that morning, so the office only had Nie Fei, Sun Aimi, and Gu Xinxi.

With several projects underway, things were busy.

Even though they didn’t need “President Xu” to handle much, he couldn’t sit still.

The materials for Kunlunshan Mineral Water were sorted, and Sun Aimi was expanding on them.

The ad campaigns for Jeep and Vanke’s ‘Rancho Santa Fe’ were in post-production, also under Sun Aimi’s watch…

The pressure on Sun Aimi was mounting, which was why Xu Chen wanted her to hire an assistant quickly.

Without a dedicated HR, Xu Chen asked Nie Fei to scout and recommend candidates…

The Yichun City promotion project was mainly Gu Xinxi’s responsibility.

She was handling all the miscellaneous tasks too.

Another project waiting to start was the creative brief for Vanke Group’s brand.

Xu Chen planned to delay that one, with some other ideas in mind…

What he cared about most right now was his own “Chenfeng Ice Power” and “Ran Bing Sports.”

He came in at noon mainly for a call with Guo Liang to align on the official launch of “Chenfeng Ice Power” on the 28th.

The trial sales in Tiancheng were a success, so they’d pair it with local media hype for the official rollout by month’s end.

…

Xu Chen had just entered the office when Gu Xinxi called him over.

It turned out “East Morning Star Advertising”‘s official website was live.

Xu Chen took the mouse and browsed through it, very pleased. He smiled and said:

“Once the Asian Games are over, we’ll roll out these projects one by one. East Morning Star Advertising’s influence in the industry will grow.

Then, projects will come knocking, and it’ll be up to Gu Xinxi and Sun Aimi to pick the best ones!”

His words carried a hint of pride and confidence.

Nie Fei walked over and said:

“Director Yang reached out this morning.

He and President Xu will make time next week to visit Jiangsu Province and meet with ‘Wanrong Materials.’

To handle the procurement of electric vehicle plastic parts and build ties with their boss…

Our foam procurement will go through ‘Lifeng Footwear’ contracts.

I’ve already coordinated with Fang Jun and Si Daqing; they’ll sync with Lifeng’s process.”

Xu Chen nodded:

“Perfect, thanks for all your hard work, Fei Jie!”

Nie Fei smiled: “Just doing my job.”

Xu Chen: “When do Jiang Yuze and Sun Lingfeng start?”

Nie Fei: “They’re free now, so next week.

Fang Jun’s handling their contracts.”

Xu Chen: “Great, let’s get them in and make do for now.

But we really need a bigger office soon—meetings would be more comfortable.”

…

…

At 1 p.m., in the meeting room.

Guo Liang’s team from Tiancheng joined the call.

It was mainly Xu Chen and Gu Xinxi, with Nie Fei joining in.

“Fei Jie” had plenty of experience in channels and sales; she’d chatted a lot with Guo Liang during her Tiancheng visit.

Since they were all on the same team, they dove straight into the topic.

Guo Liang updated them on the trial sales, barely hiding his excitement.

Then, they covered the plans for the official launch of “Chenfeng Ice Power” on the 28th.

Including sales strategies for Tiancheng and the provincial capital, plus local media promotions.

Director Feng Siliang from the city publicity department had already helped secure some media resources, thanks to Xu Chen.

Of course, Guo Liang set aside a small budget for media fees—that’s standard.

Xu Chen added that Gu Xinxi was setting up the official websites for “Chenfeng Technology” and “Chenfeng Ice Power”; the web company was rushing it.

For this launch, they’d focus on offline stores in Tiancheng and the provincial capital, so online promo wasn’t a big priority.

The websites didn’t need to go live early…

Gu Xinxi confirmed the timeline and scheduled the sites to launch on the 28th with “Chenfeng Technology” and “Chenfeng Ice Power.”

Once the prep was done, Guo Liang, knowing Nie Fei was on the call, asked for her advice.

Mainly about building a future distribution network.

Nie Fei shared freely, drawing from her experience expanding channels for Jiaduobao nationwide.

Even though it was a different industry, the core logic was the same.

Guo Liang soaked it all in and thanked her profusely.

Suddenly, hearty laughter echoed from the other end.

Xu Chen recognized it immediately—it was his dad, Xu Zhiquan.

“Dad!”

Xu Chen called out over the phone.

Then, he heard his dad’s warm, booming voice.

Xu Zhiquan didn’t jump right to Xu Chen; he greeted Nie Fei first.

Nie Fei responded politely, calling him “President Xu.”

Xu Zhiquan exchanged a few words with Gu Xinxi before turning to Xu Chen:

“You and Ran Ran are back from abroad around mid-December, right?”

Xu Chen: “Yeah!”

Xu Zhiquan: “Alright…

I should be free by then.

I’ll come to Shanghai to see you two!”

Xu Chen: “Sounds great—I’ll treat you to some classic Shanghai liquor!”

Xu Zhiquan chuckled heartily:

“Perfect!”

Xu Chen: “Is Teacher Fang Jun coming? She’s got some hidden gems in liquor here—if she doesn’t come soon, I might start sneaking sips!”

To his surprise, Fang Jun’s cool voice came through immediately:

“Don’t touch my wine.”

“…”

Xu Chen went silent, picturing Fang Jun’s expressionless face.

Fang Jun added:

“I’ll be there for the Asian Games too—just let Bing Ge know ahead of time.”

Xu Chen: “Awesome!

Wu Feifei’s going, so help me look after her…

And Su Rong from Wanrong Materials—hand her over to you!”

Fang Jun: “Sure, I’ll keep an eye on them at night—you go hang with Bing Ge.”

Xu Chen: “…”

Nie Fei: “?”

…

…

On Friday morning, the college’s art appreciation class.

Today’s topic was “art films,” with Ingmar Bergman’s ‘The Seventh Seal’ playing on the screen.

Art films were dry as dust, and Xu Chen couldn’t get into it, so he snuck peeks at his phone.

In the college group chat, discussions about the Asian Games had picked up lately.

Mainly because twenty students from the college had been selected to go to Doha and cheer for Bai Miao.

With the Asian Games opening in a week, news and hype were ramping up.

The group kept sharing related previews.

Xu Chen clicked through them; most were about the women’s 100-meter hurdles, saving him the trouble of searching.

Domestic reports weren’t too detailed—just outlining the schedule and key athletes.

The 100-meter hurdles heats were on the 8th.

The final would be on the 10th.

Xu Chen’s trip matched the college’s plan: arrive on the 9th and watch the final on the 10th.

The college had organized live viewing events too.

In the previews, domestic favorites for the hurdles included Xie Bingran.

As the National Games champion, she was in the top tier of China’s short-distance runners.

Reports highlighted two main contenders.

Besides National Games champ Xie Bingran, there was the runner-up, Chen Lan.

Chen Lan was a senior on the national team and the bronze medalist from the last Asian Games.

Before Xie Bingran’s rise, Chen Lan was at her peak and seen as the top favorite this time.

But Xie Bingran’s breakout made her a serious threat to Chen Lan’s gold.

The previous gold medalist, Feng Youping, had retired a month ago due to age and form, bowing out of the Asian Games.

…

…

At lunchtime, Huang Hao was buzzing with excitement, sharing Asian Games updates.

As Bai Miao’s biggest fan, he knew the competition inside out.

But he was realistic about her chances:

“The competition’s tough; Bai Miao’s aiming for bronze at best…

She’s young though—bright future ahead!”

“The top picks domestically are Xie Bingran and Chen Lan—they were the National Games gold and silver.

They’re Asia’s elite right now…”

“Then there’s Japan, Korea, and even India with a new dark horse who could snag gold!”

…

Listening to these comments, Xu Chen felt the tense atmosphere building for Bing Ge’s race.

As Su Rong said, winning under that pressure was incredible.

Xu Chen couldn’t imagine standing on that stage, with all of Asia watching, racing those seconds amid immense expectations…

Luckily, that was Bing Ge’s world.