Chapter 389: The Investor Meeting

Meeting Room.

Jin Ruibin adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, revealing a flicker of impatience.

He was here visiting Ran Bing Sports, but clearly, he was steering today’s negotiations.

For Jin Ruibin from Anrui Investment, this was just business as usual.

Even dealing with Li Ning or Anta, Anrui held strong influence—what more for a small startup?

What irked him now was Fei Jie, who seemed utterly unyielding.

On the core purpose of today’s talks, Jin Ruibin had already laid it out, but Nie Fei had only said:

“We’ll have to wait for President Xu. He’s the major shareholder, and it’s his call in the end.”

Jin Ruibin hid his impatience and smiled warmly:

“This ‘President Xu’ isn’t from the sports industry, so he might not know the ins and outs…

Fei Jie, you’re a veteran in the field. Let’s build some consensus between us—it’ll make things move faster.”

He was subtly asking her to help sway the decision.

…

The meeting room door suddenly swung open.

A brash young man barged in without knocking.

“Sorry, sorry! I mixed up the time!”…

As soon as the young man entered, he laughed loudly and plopped down casually.

Jin Ruibin sized him up and saw he looked barely twenty—a real kid.

Dressed in a big-logo LV outfit, he exuded arrogant swagger.

Nie Fei spoke up:

I

“Let me introduce you. This is Xu Chen, the major shareholder and President Xu of Ran Bing Sports.”

“And this is Jin Ruibin, the business director from Anrui Investment…”

Jin Ruibin showed a hint of surprise and looked at President Xu again.

He hadn’t expected him to be so young…

From the background check, he knew Xu Chen was the son of a local businessman in Shandong Province, but he hadn’t pictured him as a teenager.

Xu Chen grinned boldly and extended his hand, shaking Jin Ruibin’s with ease:

“Hello, Director Jin!

Fei Jie said today’s meeting was important, so I came to listen in.”

Jin Ruibin masked his surprise and eyed the young upstart, hiding a trace of disdain.

He smiled politely. “Hello, President Xu.”

Xu Chen: “Alright, let’s keep going! What’s on the table?”

…

Jin Ruibin flipped through the folder in his hands.

He seemed to have lost most of his patience and quickly recapped Anrui Investment and himself.

He turned to Xu Chen, who was lounging with legs crossed, and emphasized:

“We have direct or indirect stakes in all the big sports brands you know—even full control in some cases.”

“Even without shares, we influence boards or management through various means…”

Xu Chen said “Oh” and nodded with a smile, as if he hadn’t grasped the weight of it.

But he clearly hadn’t.

…

Nie Fei picked up the thread and briefly outlined Ran Bing Sports’ situation.

It was all surface-level stuff, like their exclusive deal with Xie Bingran.

Jin Ruibin adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses:

“I’m really curious how Ran Bing Sports landed a deal with Xie Bingran…”

Xu Chen chuckled, looking quite pleased:

“Xie Bingran was my classmate from middle and high school—we’re super close!”

“In our senior year, she started in sports, and I signed her right away!”

Jin Ruibin nodded thoughtfully:

“I see…”

He paused deliberately:

“I heard Ran Bing Sports is under East Morning Star Co. in Shandong Province…”

Xu Chen, still lounging, grinned:

“East Morning Star Co. is my dad’s company!”

“When he heard I’d signed my classmate for a sports brand, he gave me ten million to play around with!”

He paused for emphasis:

“And it’s ten million every year!”

“I told him we’d build a massive brand, bigger than his company!”

As he spoke, President Xu came across as the ultimate spoiled heir—full of confidence and bravado.

Jin Ruibin smirked with disdain and said:

“Ten million…”

“Do you know how much brands in this industry spend just on ads each year for a new launch?”

Xu Chen: “Ads? I’m not into those details…

I’m the boss—that’s for the pros like Fei Jie to handle. You’d have to ask her.”

“My dad said all I need to do is set goals for my team!”

Jin Ruibin chuckled:

“So, what’s the goal you’ve set for your team?”

Xu Chen leaned back in his chair:

“Hit one hundred billion in annual revenue in two years.”

“And make it to the top three in the industry in five!”

Jin Ruibin couldn’t help but snort, though he quickly hid his scorn:

“With ten million a year, that’s twenty million in two years…”

“And you want to reach one hundred billion in revenue?”

“That’s got worse odds than winning the lottery!”

Xu Chen paused, seemingly missing the sarcasm, and suddenly said with a smile:

“You’re from Hong Kong, right, Director Jin?”

“Here in mainland China, we have sports lotteries and welfare lotteries, not that.”

Jin Ruibin flipped through his files, smirking:

“Well, the lottery at least has odds—others might not even have that…”

Xu Chen: “You’re quite the joker, Director Jin.”

…

Jin Ruibin kept rifling through his documents, his patience clearly waning.

This “heir apparent” shareholder had killed his interest in talking.

If not for his assigned tasks, he might have already left.

Jin Ruibin reined in his frustration and took control again, steering the conversation to the main point.

“The sports industry maintains a stable competitive landscape, and Anrui Investment has played a role in that.”

“Stability ensures steady profits for everyone…”

“In simple terms, we all make money.”

As he said this, Jin Ruibin couldn’t help but chuckle self-deprecatingly, wondering if this “heir” even understood.

“We keep a close eye on new brands and get involved.”

“For Ran Bing Sports, the real value is Xie Bingran’s endorsement and the Ran Bing brand itself.”

“Nike and Anta have probably approached you with offers already.”

“Nike offered twenty to thirty million to buy out Xie Bingran’s endorsement.”

“Anta wants the operating rights for the Ran Bing brand, offering you 40% of the profits.”

“From what I heard, you turned them both down…”

Xu Chen laughed:

“Yeah, we wouldn’t settle for pocket change! Twenty or thirty million? My dad could pull that out easy…”

Jin Ruibin paused:

“Xie Bingran’s endorsement and the Ran Bing brand do have unique value…”

“I’m here on behalf of Anrui to discuss two other partnership options.”

Xu Chen said nothing, just lounged with his legs crossed, waiting for more.

Jin Ruibin continued flipping through his files:

“Option one: Fifty million in cash to buy out Xie Bingran’s endorsement for five years.”

“Anrui would handle it, and we’d decide who gets the rights afterward.”

He paused for emphasis:

“Fifty million—practically pure profit with no overhead.”

“If you tried this on your own, it’d be tough to earn that kind of cash…”

Xu Chen showed a touch of disdain:

“We’re aiming for one hundred billion in revenue in two years—fifty million’s nothing.”

Jin Ruibin was momentarily speechless, shaking his head in disbelief.

He sighed lightly, his interest fading again, but pressed on for professionalism:

“Option two: Anrui invests and takes controlling stake in Ran Bing Sports.”

“We’ve valued it at four billion—under loose terms.”

“We’ll put up 2.4 billion in cash for 60% control.”

“Once we take over, Anrui will lead operations and management.”

Jin Ruibin glanced at Xu Chen, who looked dismissive, and added earnestly:

“Don’t rush to decide, President Xu. 2.4 billion is serious money.”

“We’ll pay it out over four years—that’s like sixty million in net profit for you annually.”

“You could discuss it with your father to see how generous this is.”

“A four-billion valuation for Ran Bing Sports is already inflated—we’re factoring in Xie Bingran’s future value post-Asian Games.”

“Anrui’s showing real intent with this offer…”

“Xie Bingran’s one of the few athletes with real commercial pull in China—it’s rare.”

“We don’t want her potential wasted. Let Anrui manage it to maximize her value.”

“Meanwhile, you and East Morning Star Co. walk away with 2.4 billion—that’s the best for everyone.”

…

Jin Ruibin was practically pleading now, thinking the terms were more than fair—with no reason to refuse.

But looking at this arrogant, oblivious heir, he felt a twinge of doubt.

Sure enough, Xu Chen shook his head:

“Four billion? I’d think about it if it were in USD…”

“…”

Jin Ruibin suppressed his annoyance and adjusted his glasses:

“Four billion USD? How are you figuring that, President Xu?”

Xu Chen: “One hundred billion in revenue? That’d be at least ten billion USD valuation!”

Jin Ruibin looked utterly exasperated:

“A company’s valuation isn’t calculated like that.”

Xu Chen leaned back, crossing his legs again:

“At four billion USD, I might consider it. Anything less? Forget it…”

Jin Ruibin smiled wryly:

“Then it seems we’ve got nothing left to discuss.”

…

An awkward chill settled over the room.

Nie Fei smiled and handed each of them a bottle of water to ease the tension.

Jin Ruibin tidied his folder and added:

“What we’re after is Xie Bingran’s endorsement and the Ran Bing name.”

“Your current team and operations at Ran Bing Sports aren’t part of that valuation.”

In other words, Anrui had no interest in the little company as it stood.

Jin Ruibin closed his folder and said bluntly:

“To be straight, we want Xie Bingran for her value—if not, we can promote other stars. It’s not do-or-die.”

“It’s just a shame to waste her.”

“And taking control of Ran Bing Sports? That’s to avoid a new powerhouse shaking up the market…”

He paused casually:

“But from what I see, that worry’s unfounded.”

His meaning was clear—he didn’t think Ran Bing Sports would amount to much.

Xu Chen just smiled and sipped his water, oblivious.

Nie Fei kept smiling, trying to defuse the awkwardness.

…

…

Jin Ruibin politely said goodbye and shook hands with President Xu again.

Nie Fei stood and escorted him to the elevator hall.

As they waited, Jin Ruibin turned to Nie Fei:

“I came because our analysis team thought Ran Bing was a potential threat.”

“But after today, it doesn’t seem worth the concern.”

“It’s just a pity about Xie Bingran’s wasted potential…”

Nie Fei just smiled and said nothing.

Jin Ruibin glanced at her:

“Fei Jie, you’re a pro in this industry. Why stick with a boss like that kid and his backwater company?”

He chuckled:

“Think about it—Nike, Anta, Li Ning… I can hook you up. Salary might not double, but a 30% to 50% raise is easy.”

“Even Asics needs a domestic lead—I could arrange that…”

Nie Fei still just smiled without responding.

Jin Ruibin: “I just don’t get it…”

“With a boss like him, Ran Bing Sports is doomed.”

“You should bail early and let it crash. Of course, pulling you out serves our interests too.”

“If we can’t control Ran Bing, we’d rather see it fail…”

His words were direct, almost rude, but Jin Ruibin knew Nie Fei was savvy.

In his world at Anrui Investment, they looked down on most execs anyway.

Nie Fei smiled and replied:

“I’ve got a non-compete clause, so it’s not simple to leave right now.”

“Xu Chen and Ran Bing might not be reliable, but the money’s flowing.”

“I’ll just earn steady for a year…”

“Plus, I’m thinking of switching to fast-moving consumer goods.”

“Like you said, launching a new sports brand is nearly impossible.”

Jin Ruibin: “If you partnered with Anrui, it’d be different.”

“But hearing that puts my mind at ease.”

…

…

Nie Fei saw Jin Ruibin into the elevator and headed back to the meeting room.

Xu Chen had relaxed back to normal and said quietly:

“Think we fooled him off?”

Nie Fei: “Should be fine. At least Jin Ruibin doesn’t see Ran Bing Sports as a threat anymore.”

Xu Chen nodded:

“For our Ran Bing 001 pre-order page, it’s showing 300,000 reservations—have Sun Lingfeng take that down and hide the numbers.”

“Let’s keep a low profile and grow quietly. No need to draw fire yet.”

Nie Fei: “But clashes are inevitable down the line.”

Xu Chen: “We’ll handle it as it comes—block the bullets, dam the floods.”

…

…

Downstairs in the cafe.

Jin Ruibin sat by the window, opened his laptop, and drafted a feedback email.

Recalling the meeting, he couldn’t suppress a laugh.

The email went to Anrui Investment’s partners, so he kept it professional:

“After on-site assessment, Ran Bing Sports has major operational flaws and no solid growth or competitive edge…”

“Investment rating: D. No recommendation for further engagement…”

“Xie Bingran’s commercial value remains A-rated.”

“However, due to her exclusive contract with Ran Bing Sports, short-term partnerships are unlikely.”

“Suggestion: Monitor and wait.”

“Note: If Ran Bing Sports struggles or incurs losses, they might sell off Xie Bingran’s endorsement rights…”