Chapter 519: Private Chat

Version 3.0 of WeChat features a gray arrow on the right. A light tap unveils features like walkie-talkie, photos, and emoticons.

Right after Feng Nanshu mentioned she hadn’t eaten much ice cream, classmate Gao sadly used his limited data to send a picture of the “little rich girl” enjoying her ice cream to the group.

The emoticon was cool and saucy as it scooped ice cream into its mouth with a plastic spoon.

Feng Nanshu: “……”

Gao Wenhui: “Look, this is proof your wife is eating ice cream.”

Jiang Qin: “This friend called ‘your wife,’ why won’t you listen? I told you not to eat too much sweet stuff.”

Feng Nanshu: “But your wife is always obedient. She only ate this one today.”

Jiang Qin: “？”

Gao Wenhui: “But I have another picture here, Jiang Qin look, your wife was having chocolate flavor, different from the earlier one.”

Jiang Qin sent an angry emoticon; “This ‘your wife’ friend is going too far.”

Feng Nanshu: “This was your wife eating yesterday.”

“School hadn’t started yesterday.”

Jiang Qin looked at them undermining each other and sent a sad emoticon with downturned lips: “So whom should I believe? Student Gao Wenhui or your wife?”

Gao Wenhui snapped back: “Believe me, believe me. Don’t trust your wife.”

As Jiang Qin continued typing, to manage the “little rich girl,” he noticed a new red unread message icon on the upper left of his WeChat.

Exiting the group, he found a private message from the “little rich girl.”

“Brother, I didn’t eat a lot of ice cream, trust your wife.”

Shortly after, Feng Nanshu sent a picture.

At ten o’clock at night, it’s often the time for chit-chat, especially in the densely populated university areas where 3G often lags with unreliable signals.

Jiang Qin didn’t see the photo but guessed it must be proof from the “little rich girl” that she hadn’t eaten much ice cream.

But he quickly discovered he was wrong; there was no such proof. Feng Nanshu sent a photo of her feet instead.

The cute, plump toes were round and the tops of her feet were pale and smooth. Each toe seemed to emit a scent, slightly spread.

Jiang Qin was so familiar with these feet, even more than their owner.

Seeing this, Jiang Qin got terribly angry thinking the “little rich girl” really had picked up bad tricks quickly.

While Gao Wenhui was still naively discussing facts in the group, here she was realizing the importance of bribing unofficially, sending precisely the right gift no one could resist.

Jiang Qin closed the chat with the “little rich girl” and returned to the group to type furiously.

“Case closed. Feng Nanshu has been bribing unofficially. While the gesture was sincere, it still needs serious criticism. Also, students should not give each other nicknames like ‘your wife’ or ‘little fatty,’ which are extremely impolite!”

Gao Wenhui: “My, who would nickname someone ‘little fatty’? That’s just too funny.”

Jiang Qin: “Student ‘little fatty,’ please stay serious in the courtroom.”

Gao Wenhui: “……”

Feng Nanshu quickly sent a crying emoticon: “I really just ate one.”

Jiang Qin: “Alright, come out for dinner. I’m waiting at the second canteen.”

Feng Nanshu: “Your wife knows.”

Jiang Qin: “Calling yourself by your nickname isn’t allowed either. I never call myself Daniel Wu.”

Although Gao Wenhui clearly meant that Feng Nanshu was Jiang Qin’s wife, this was misconstrued as Feng Nanshu’s nickname, a classic bait-and-switch.

Soon after, the three of them met at the entrance of the second canteen along with Wang Haini.

She felt the WeChat shake feature was tailor-made for her, shaking it while eating and finding several handsome guys, all from Linchuan University.

Jiang Qin was eating when he looked away from Wang Haini and noticed almost everyone around was using the shake feature, creating a clicking noise.

“Jiang Qin.”

“Hmm?”

Feng Nanshu looked at him: “Let’s go out after eating.”

Jiang Qin came to his senses and looked at her: “I was going to take you out but I’m disappointed because you ate so much ice cream, so no.”

“I didn’t eat a lot. Wen Hui is bad. She just wants to see you controlling me. She says it’s sweet too.”

“Is that so? Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I’ll allow you to appeal.”

Feng Nanshu puffed up her face: “Then I appeal.”

Jiang Qin put down his chopsticks and looked at her seriously: “Considering your past misconduct of bribing, let’s find a place later where you can hand over the bribe tools to prevent reoffending.”

“Brother, I think you just want to eat something nice.”

Feng Nanshu blinked playfully, not falling for it.

Over the next period, WeChat started to become hugely popular at Linchuan University, mainly due to Zhihu promoting it among many departments and professors starting to use it.

This led to them often assigning tasks and publishing articles through WeChat.

Eventually, it became a habit.

In such an environment, WeChat usage soared, a trend not unique to this university but common across other national institutions.

With a precise target demographic and high daily active user rate, Zhihu’s promotion quickly became known in the advertising circles.

In the mobile internet era, each domain is a fresh track. Moving your PC content to mobile and capturing the market first is easier than drinking water.

What intrigued internet companies most was if an app could cultivate loyalty among college students during their university years, even becoming a hallmark of their youth, then the potential for future returns was enormous.

Because students cycle through university continuously—enrolling, graduating—the potential reach is nearly unlimited across all fields.

Making them fond of your brand during their youth boosts market share, doesn’t it?

Thus, all major internet tech companies extended promotional invitations to Zhihu.

ToothFairy, DailyTunes, 360 Mobile Guardian, Novel Reading Network, Root Wizard, Fruit Ninja, Pea Pod App Market…

“Boss, Zhihu is really hot lately. Today, two more apps want to advertise there.”

“Which ones?”

“Meitu Xiuxiu and Moji Weather.”

After hearing this, Jiang Qin tapped the table: “These are good apps, but if we continue receiving so many ad orders, Zhihu will turn into a junk ad dump.”

Dong Wenhao nodded seriously: “That’s what I think too. If the ads are too frequent, college students might stop using our forum.”

“So, what do you suggest?”

“Maybe we should refuse some. If we add more ad slots, Zhihu’s homepage would just be digital eczema.”

Jiang Qin thought for a moment: “How about we create a temporary section called ‘Most Popular Apps Among College Students’? Tell them they can pay to get on the list.”

Dong Wenhao considered this: “Then we shouldn’t charge too much for ads.”

“Yeah, we’ll charge less initially. Just one percent.”

“Isn’t that too little?”

“Whoever pays gets to the top. If you stop paying, you get bumped off. It’s a cycle. If there’s a competing app on the list, imagine how fierce the spending war will be—a little more spending could put you ahead of your competitor. Wouldn’t that be tempting?”

Dong Wenhao: “……”

“Your competitor overtakes you but you believe your product is better. You hear that paying gets you ahead. Wouldn’t that be tempting?”

Jiang Qin clicked his tongue: “Just thinking about counting all that money soon makes me feel tired!”

Dong Wenhao took a deep breath: “Don’t worry, boss. I’m your right-hand man. When you get tired of counting, I’m here!”

“Go on then, consult with the tech department about this.”

Dong Wenhao nodded and hesitated as he was about to leave then suddenly asked: “Boss, why is your mouth swollen?”

Jiang Qin raised the unswollen side of his mouth: “Because I dodged fast and only got kicked a little.”

“？？？？？”

The tech department moved fast and the ‘Most Popular Apps Among College Students’ list was quickly established.

Due to the low threshold to get on it, many internet tech companies rushed in, including some that previously hadn’t considered advertising on Zhihu.

Suddenly, the app market competition became lively.

It felt like the voucher war days. The mobile app market in its savage growth stage isn’t afraid to spend, especially when it involves competition between rival products…