Cutting-Edge Technology R&D Center

Chapter 45: Wang Hao, Who Does Things His Way

Wang Hao had just finished his call with Chu Tian when his phone rang again. “Hi, Sister Sun,” Wang Hao said as he answered. The “Sister Sun” he referred to was Sun Yan, the CCTV reporter who had accompanied him into the mountains. “Wang Hao, where are you right now? I knocked on your door, but they told me you’d moved out?” “I’m in Yanjing now. Is there something you need?” “Uh…” Sun Yan was at a loss for words. She’d originally planned a surprise visit, but to her surprise, he’d already arrived in Yanjing, leaving her and her team coming up empty-handed. “The executives at CCTV want to produce a special program, and I’ve been assigned to interview you.” “Well… maybe we should just skip this.” A hint of hesitation flashed across Wang Hao’s face. Because of a documentary in which he had made only a brief appearance, he was already at the center of a media storm; he couldn’t handle any more attention. “Don’t back out. It’s just a short interview. You’re not the main subject this time. Anyway, I’m booking a ticket back to Yanjing right now,” Sun Yan said rapidly, before Wang Hao could get a word in. Wang Hao reluctantly agreed, deciding to discuss it further once she returned to Yanjing. “Let’s head back,” Wang Hao said, looking at the disconnected call and gesturing to the other two. They both nodded; the Great Wall and the others had already sensed what was going on. “Li Fan, go wait for Wang Hao at the front desk in a bit.” After hanging up on Wang Hao, Chu Tian immediately gave the order. The more he got to know Wang Hao, the more he was awed by him—both by Wang Hao as a person and by the software he’d developed. With all the buzz surrounding Wang Hao these days, how could he not realize that the eighteen-year-old he was working with was the very same Wang Hao featured in the news reports? “Got it, boss,” Li Fan nodded. Thanks to his discovery of this software, he had become a key figure at BlackBerry and was deeply valued by Chu Tian. “Li Fan really has good luck. Why wasn’t I the one testing that software back then?” At that moment, a look of regret flashed across the face of one employee at BlackBerry. He had seen the software review at the time but had skipped it without a second thought. Now, looking at his own phone, he realized just how foolish he’d been. Li Fan had now become the darling of BlackBerry’s leadership, which filled him with envy—what with the pay raises and promotions. “Don’t be so envious—Blackberry is probably about to change hands.” Someone nearby suddenly spoke up, and his words instantly plunged everyone into silence. “This must be the place.” After Wang Hao got out of the taxi alone, he scanned the surroundings—all towering skyscrapers. He hadn’t expected that Blackberry, despite being a relatively small company, would set up its headquarters in such a bustling area. Fang Bing was busy with his livestream again, and Lan Wei’s girlfriend had returned to school early, prompting Wang Hao to curse Lan Wei for being a sly fox. He’d originally thought Lan Wei had come to Yanjing early to save face for him, but it turned out he hadn’t come to Yanjing to accompany him at all. Instead, she’d wanted to reunite with her girlfriend as soon as possible, and Wang Hao had merely served as an excuse for Lan Wei to come to Yanjing early. Upon learning the truth, Wang Hao felt an uncontrollable urge to beat Lan Wei up. In the end, he had no choice but to arrive at BlackBerry alone. The moment he stepped out of the car, he heard a voice that sounded very familiar. “Mr. Wang Hao.” Li Fan looked at Wang Hao, who was younger than himself, and thought to himself, Youth is truly wonderful—it’s a pity I didn’t make the most of my own youth back then. “This way, please.” Wang Hao nodded, recognizing Li Fan as the man who had traveled to Gancheng with Chu Tian back then. Li Fan now seemed to be wearing a hint of sadness, which puzzled Wang Hao. “Thanks for your trouble, Brother Li.” “Don’t mention it.” Wang Hao followed Li Fan into the building. Upon arriving at BlackBerry’s headquarters, he sensed that something was off—a somber atmosphere pervaded the relatively small office space. “What’s going on…?” Wang Hao muttered to himself as he followed Li Fan into a conference room. He noticed that Li Fan’s expression had grown even more somber since they’d entered BlackBerry, and he realized the other man must know what had happened. Even though the BlackBerry employees paid no attention to Wang Hao’s arrival, they were all nervously watching the general manager’s office. Wang Hao could hear occasional bursts of arguing coming from inside, and with every exchange, the tension among the employees grew. “What’s going on here?” After sitting for a while and taking in the situation outside, Wang Hao began to form some suspicions. He hadn’t been sitting there long when Chu Tian walked in with a somewhat gloomy expression, accompanied by a woman. She wasn’t particularly beautiful, but she was still quite pleasant to look at—in her twenties, she stood in stark contrast to Chu Tian’s face. She stepped into the conference room with a smile on her face, followed by two men carrying briefcases. “Wang Hao, our partnership is being canceled…” Chu Tian began, his face full of shame, but before he could finish, he was interrupted by the woman “Hello, Mr. Wang. I’m Chu Jin, the new general manager of BlackBerry. It’s a pleasure to meet you. We have no intention of canceling our partnership with BlackBerry; on the contrary, we plan to deepen and strengthen our collaboration with you.” The woman named Chu Jin extended her hand and said with a smile. “Hello.” Wang Hao glanced at Chu Tian, whose expression had grown even more somber at the woman’s words. But Chu Tian clenched his teeth and said nothing more. Wang Hao then looked at Chu Jin, who was beaming with a smile—her features bore a slight resemblance to Chu Tian’s. “We’ll need your full cooperation in our future collaboration,” Chu Jin said to Wang Hao with great courtesy, then turned and shot Chu Tian a defiant glance. She was no fool; her people were already in place at this Company, so as soon as she heard about the software, she brought her father’s lawyer and rushed straight to BlackBerry. Although Wang Hao’s behavior toward Chu Jin hadn’t been excessive, the provocative gestures he’d directed at Chu Tian left Wang Hao somewhat displeased—especially since Chu Tian, whom he’d met only a few times, had actually made a favorable impression on him. Although the two weren’t exactly friends, they got along well, and Chu Tian often took Wang Hao’s interests into consideration—which was precisely why Wang Hao held him in high regard. “I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint Manager Chu—I’ve decided to withdraw from this partnership,” Wang Hao said after lowering his head to think for a moment. Chu Tian’s eyes suddenly lit up, but they dimmed again as he realized something. “If you’re not going to cooperate, are you prepared to pay the 30 million penalty?” Chu Jin furrowed his brow and said in a slightly colder tone. “Miss Chu, you may have misunderstood. I included a clause in the contract stating that should there be a change in leadership at BlackBerry, I would have the right to unilaterally terminate the partnership—provided the agency fees are refunded.” Wang Hao wasn’t familiar with Chu Jin, and it was clear that she had seized control of BlackBerry through underhanded means, effectively ousting Chu Tian—a situation that made him feel extremely uncomfortable. This was what set Wang Hao apart from others: he didn’t care how much revenue his software would generate; he acted purely on his own preferences. If he didn’t like something, he wouldn’t cooperate—that was his stance. Wang Hao was highly cautious. When finalizing the contract, he had already built in provisions for potential contingencies. Originally, he’d done so just in case—but he never expected such a situation to arise before the software had even been released. He isn’t a businessman; he has countless ways to make money—it’s simply a matter of whether he wants to or not. Although Chu Tian hasn’t yet said he’s leaving the Company, Wang Hao could already see that Chu Tian’s departure was inevitable. Since Chu Tian—whom he had a good impression of—was leaving, and he didn’t have a very favorable impression of Chu Jin, the new person taking over, his refusal came naturally.