Chapter 527: Public Opinion

On a moonlit night, Jiang Qin was taken out for dinner by Mr. Xu while Dong Wenhao chatted with Chu Yanyan and her agent, seeking collaboration.

Chu Yanyan, being in the rising phase of her career, ideally wanted to associate with high-fashion brands, though her clout wasn’t sufficient yet. However, her agent was eyeing the popularity of the joint marketing with Alipay and group-buy.

Thus, after much discussion, the collaboration was finalized.

On his way back, Dong Wenhao encountered Yu Yue and his agent, standing in the hallway, apparently having waited for a while.

“Mr. Dong, have you decided on the cast for the advertisement?”

“Not yet.”

“Oh…”

Yu Yue nodded, glanced at the third room across the corridor, knowing it was Chu Yanyan’s agent’s room, but didn’t say more, just smiled and recommended getting some rest early.

Just a few steps after Dong Wenhao walked out, Yu Yue’s agent suddenly spoke up: “Mr. Dong, if there’s a chance in the future, could you consider our Yue Yue?”

“Of course, I hope we can collaborate in the future.”

“Thank you.”

The agent watched Dong Wenhao leave then turned to Yu Yue with a saddened expression: “It seems like we’ve failed again.”

Yu Yue shook his head; “It’s fine, I’ve been through this many times, I’m used to it. Besides, an ad won’t reignite my popularity. Times have changed, no one values acting anymore.”

“Don’t lose heart, Yue Yue.”

“It’s okay. If it was me, I’d choose Chu Yanyan too.”

Meanwhile, Dong Wenhao took a cab back to the hotel and paused briefly outside Jiang Qin’s room, tentatively knocking on the door.

Knowing the boss had been taken to dinner by Hua Ying Entertainment’s Ms. Xu, the room should have been empty, but he felt it wouldn’t be politically sage to go to bed first.

Unexpectedly, after only two knocks, Jiang Qin’s door was indeed opened.

“Boss, weren’t you out for dinner?”

“Can’t eat anymore, there’s trouble with the website.”

“?”

Jiang Qin pointed at the computer on the desk: “Take a look.”

Dong Wenhao stepped into Jiang Qin’s room and immediately frowned at the computer screen.

[Group-buy suspected of financial chain break, possibly the next Tuanbao Net.]

[Group-buy’s boss once confessed to not being favored by capital, making financial operations challenging.]

[Group-buy’s Shanghai division’s supervisors resigned collectively, suspecting the company’s financial strain not covering employee wages.]

[Experts claim Group-buy to be the biggest mirage in the market; the boss just a college dropout.]

A barrage of news occupied the top spots on major portal sites, even trending on microblogs.

Dong Wenhao’s mind buzzed, stunned before reacting: “What the hell is this? The financial chain broke at Tuanbao Net, not us. Why bring the fire to our doorstep?”

“Someone’s fanning the flames towards us.”

“This stuff has no grounding, all wild guesses, and they call this news?”

“As long as consumers believe it, that’s enough.”

Jiang Qin sat back down, sipping water from his glass.

Inside the circle, everybody knows Group-buy was a university startup by a student. Bringing business nationwide was indeed admirable, but this narrative changes with consumers.

To them, ‘college student’ means young, immature, and incapable.

If an app related to trading is spearheaded by a college student, its credibility drops.

Almost every family has a college student who stays up late and can’t get up early.

Moreover, Group-buy didn’t go through initial funding rounds, its only round notably complex, unlike Lashou, Nuomi, and Dianping backed by major firms.

People within the circle thought highly of Jiang Qin’s achievements without any backing, but to consumers, an unsupported Group-buy looked extremely fragile.

It’s like when kids fight; if you have an older brother behind you, bullies think twice.

Without one, no one believes you can win.

Such targeted news intensity clearly had money behind it.

Lashou, Nuomi, Dianping… any of them could be possible.

Because plain business warfare is like that; rather than pushing oneself, it’s easier to pull down the competition.

However, since Group-buy and Alipay started joint promotions, these sites weren’t even in the same league. By conventional means, they couldn’t win against Group-buy.

But the explosion at Tuanbao Net brought a shift in the group-buying market, turning chaos into opportunity.

Regardless of Group-buy’s scale, losing consumer and merchant trust would deal a major blow to business.

“We’ve been working with Alipay for so long, can we get another joint marketing to endorse our credibility?”

“What if Alibaba fans the flames too?”

“That can’t be, right?”

Jiang Qin sipped from his tea, pursing his lips without speaking.

During the summer break, showing weakness opportunistically, he mentioned Group-buy’s operational difficulties; now, someone was using that against them. If this involved the big players AT, he wouldn’t believe otherwise.

Group-buy stood independently in the internet marketing ecosystem, something many large manufacturers disliked.

Clearly, this outcry was a test.

Group-buy kept saying they were out of funds; once the trust issue arose, they wouldn’t withstand it, and overnight, their finances would crumble.

Why?

Because consumers fear scams; they’d go for refunds first. Merchants fearing unpaid would halt cooperation.

Without transactions, both sides withdrawing, even an Ultraman couldn’t hold up.

Eventually, Group-buy’s only option would be to accept big manufacturers’ investments to weather this storm.

Even if they had money to withstand it, they’d still get skinned.

But Group-buy likely had no funds left; they only acquired funding once. How could they have the capacity now?

Jiang Qin could foresee it; big manufacturers were already poised, waiting for the public wave to push Group-buy right into their jaws.

Like when MSG was popular nationwide, then foreign chicken essence entered the market, directly funding rumors that Chinese MSG caused cancer, quickly shifting the scenario.

Now, chicken essence sells hot, and MSG is barely bought.

“Boss, the news made it to the hot searches.”

“Which number?”

“Ninth, but with the rate of shares and comments, it’ll be first by morning.”

…”

As Dong Wenhao predicted, news about Group-buy becoming the next Tuanbao Net topped the hot searches by the next morning.

But the outcry didn’t cease; more altered claims kept being published.

Like the fact that Group-buy’s headquarters was actually rented; they didn’t even have the capital to construct their building.

Boss Jiang Qin travelled on electric bikes and in restaurants, dared only to nibble on steamed buns.

Normally, these might reflect Group-buy’s hardworking and simple ethos, but amid rumors of financial woes, they became proof of the company’s insolvency.

Consequently, Group-buy’s customer service received numerous calls, from major partnering brands to consumers alike.

Merchants wanted cash-on-delivery, unwilling to take risks, and consumers demanded refunds for stored coupons.

The Shanghai division faced many merchants blocking the doors early in the morning, new brands in Shanghai just nailed down declared the deal off.

As for Kyoto, several chain brands declared a temporary halt with Group-buy, reverting back to Dianping.

The effect of the public outcry was like a spark falling into a pile of cotton, igniting a massive blaze, full of peril.

Jiang Qin and Dong Wenhao decided to head back to Linchuan that afternoon, but before leaving, Chu Yanyan and her agent sought them out.

“Mr. Jiang, sorry, but let’s cancel our collaboration.”

“Understandable, then let’s cancel it.”

Jiang Qin glanced at Chu Yanyan, indeed pretty and her rise no surprise, just lacking commitment.

But he could understand, after all, Group-buy was now in the whirl of entertainment, appearing shaky, not many would want to endorse a collapsing website.

“Also, the originally booked male lead Wang He, he’s my boyfriend. Can his collaboration be canceled too?”

“Yes.”

Chu Yanyan breathed a sigh of relief: “Thank you for understanding, Mr. Jiang.”

Jiang Qin nodded, watching them leave: “Ask Yu Yue if he’s willing to collaborate.”

Dong Wenhao was stunned: “In this situation, we’re still going on with the ad shoot?”

“They say our funds are cut off, but we haven’t really been cut off.”

“But we don’t have a backup male lead.”

Jiang Qin sighed, looking deeply at the reflections in the floor-to-ceiling window: “The entertainment circle is ultimately welcoming its second Yanzi.”

“?”

Half an hour later, Yu Yue’s agent rushed downstairs, entering Yu Yue’s room.

“Grandma, did you sign a contract with Group-buy?”

Yu Yue nodded: “I signed.”

The agent took a deep breath: “Haven’t you seen the news? Their funds are cutting off, they might collapse soon, shooting ads for them now will make everyone vent their anger on you!”

“I… I actually want to leave the circle.”

“What?”

Yu Yue pursed her lips: “I don’t want to accompany drinking or sleeping, but that means no resources, no popularity, not even a website endorsement; sister, I’m tired of the cold treatment…”

Yu Yue’s agent was stunned: “You’ll be scolded to death!”

“I’ll accept even that…”

Meanwhile, at Group-buy’s headquarters in Linchuan, Dai Fei also saw last night’s news and had a plan.

Group-buy needed to suppress the public opinion, so she specifically prepared a PR-type strategic proposal, determined to secure the advertising payment.

“Sorry, Manager Dai, the deadline has passed, our partnership ends here.”

“Mr. Wei, you must be joking? Now Group-buy needs a mature public relations plan more than ever.”

“Our boss has his own PR strategy; as for creative ads, we don’t need them anymore.”

“……”