Once the three of them entered Tsinghua University, they finally let out a sigh of relief. They panted as if they had just completed a 6km cross-country run.
"I finally got a taste of being an idol today. Those reporters were relentless," the female senior said breathlessly.
"You didn't drop the contract, did you!" She suddenly recalled the important document and couldn't help but feel startled. The situation earlier was indeed too chaotic.
That said, Ren Hong also raised his attention. He didn't have time to think about the contract during that messy situation.
At that moment, the male senior pulled out a thick file from his bag and said, "I protected it with my life. 12 billion USD is no joke; there are also other related documents with it too. Even if I were to sell my entire family, I still wouldn't be able to afford that amount." The male senior handed the contract to Ren Hong. "Here you go, Mr. Ren!"
Ren Hong received the contract and read it over again, before showing a smile. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome, my junior. This is a huge experience for us, and it's likely the only time in our lives that we'd ever have a contract involving such a large amount of money," the female senior said with a smile.
"By the way, you guys have helped me out so much, but I still don't know your names yet," Ren Hong suddenly asked.
"I'm He Ya! And he is Li Bingwei! We're in the same cohort in law school and graduating this semester," the female senior quickly said.
"Alright, I have gotten your names down!" Ren Hong nodded and smiled at the two of them. "What a coincidence. In a while my company will move out of the school and start to recruit employees. Since both of you are about to graduate, I hereby invite you to join the company to become the exclusive lawyers of XlouS. Of course, your salary will be paid according to the highest indicator. What do you think?"
"Really?" He Ya's eyes lit up, and Li Bingwei was also pleasantly surprised. After signing that contract earlier, they both knew very well that XlouS was bound to become an emerging giant. And if they joined this company, wouldn't that mean they would be responsible for such huge contracts in the future?
"Of course it's true." Ren Hong chuckled. "I just wonder if the two outstanding master students of Tsinghua University are willing to join our company, knowing that we don't even have a place to land right now!"
"That's for sure! As long as my junior—uh, no—Mr. Ren is willing to recruit two inexperienced rookies like us," He Ya enthused.
"You're too humble!" Ren Hong smiled. "That settles it then! Come to the office as soon as you've graduated with your master's degree! Your spots are reserved!"
"No problem!"
After chatting with the two seniors for a moment, Ren Hong returned to classroom 317 and looked at the time—four hours had passed since he left and came back. Meanwhile, Zhang Han and the others had also been staying put in the classroom.
Upon seeing Ren Hong's arrival, the five of them couldn't hold back their curiosity any longer.
"How was it? What did you discuss with Zuckerberg?"
"Talk to us!"
"Hey, my dearest boss, stop leaving us hanging. Hurry up and tell us!"
Ren Hong watched his roommates chattering around him, showed a faint smile, and didn't speak a word, leaving Zhang Han and the rest incomparably anxious.
After a long time, Ren Hong finally spoke up. He took out the thick stack of contracts and said, "Take a look at this and you'll see. But be careful, mess it up and not even selling all of you and myself combined will be enough to pay for it!"
"What! You didn't sign a contract with Zuckerberg, did you? What type of contract is that!" Zhang Han took over the contract and the group crowded over.
The roommates shifted their attention to the contract and instantly threw Ren Hong to the back of their heads. Ren Hong shook his head and dwindled his smile. He returned to his seat, closed his eyes, and leaned back in his office chair, tilting his head up to the ceiling.
"What in the world?!"
"What the hell?!"
"Holy sh*t!"
Finally, Zhang Han and the others saw the details in the contract and were bewildered. One by one, they couldn't help but curse in a foul language, especially at the sight of the 12 billion USD.
"How could Zuckerberg even sign such an insane contract?"
"My worldview is falling apart!"
"Tell me this contract is a fake!"
"I can tell you unequivocally that this contract is not a sham!"
The closed-eyed Ren Hong swayed slightly with his back against the office chair, his lips inadvertently showing a hint of a smile. What could be more pleasing than this?
The group of five couldn't settle down at all. They continued to scan the contract repeatedly with extreme cautiousness.
Finally, Ren Hong opened his eyes, stood up, and walked over to where the podium originally belonged, "Guys!"
The bustling classroom instantly quietened down as if the voice had some sort of strange magical power that could infect those who heard it. The group focused their attention on him.
Ren Hong gazed at his five roommates; sky-high pride and strong emotions stirred deep inside his mind. The crowd quietly looked at the silent man and also sank into peace with him for a long time.
At that moment, Ren Hong finally broke the silence. "Guys, I have something to announce!"
Every one of them listened with perked-up ears.
"The 12 billion USD will be paid three times to us with 4 billion USD for each payment. It's about time for XlouS to have its own office address. Our next target is to hire more staff, but don't worry, I won't leave the task to a group of technical geeks like you. Tomorrow, I will go to the headhunter company and hire a professional CEO to manage the daily operations of the company." Ren Hong looked at everyone and continued. "Thank you for your tireless help during this period. I really appreciate it!"
As the crowd remained silent, Ren Hong added, "Brothers, I know that all of you have excellent talent in computers."
"Forget the praise, we may be able to show off in front of others, but with you here, you're like the Five-Finger Mountain and we're being squashed to death under it. We know that you're a monster who successfully completed 28 majors in a year and a half; how in the living hell is that possible? The majors even include the nonsensical subjects of astrophysics, bio-genetic engineering, etc. And most importantly, you accomplished such a feat in a year and a half just by soaking up in the library. Whenever I think about that, I can't help but feel so powerless!" Zhang Han and the rest looked defeated.
"How else can I be your boss then?" Ren Hong glanced at the crowd.
"Well, if you put it that way, we don't really have much of a rebuttal. Hah~" shrugged Chen Kai.
"We got off-topic. A caution; no interruptions during the leader's speech." Ren Hong warned and instantly heard a series of sighs from the audience. He glared at the crowd, coughed a few times, and said in a serious tone, "Say one thing at a time, brothers. The company is about to relocate, and after forming a strategic partnership with Facebook, the company's development will definitely usher in a peak. And that will be the last of our small talk.
"We are currently in this room where everything has happened. It will certainly become our incredibly precious memory and also be remembered by people. It is just like how Apple came about when Steve Jobs started a successful business in the garage, Facebook was created just for fun in the dormitory, and XlouS was born with six youths yelling about changing the world in the classroom. We will also surely go down in history…"
Ren Hong said, successfully infecting the people in the room with his inciting words. The group felt warm, passionate blood coursing through their bodies. XlouS was born in the hands of the six of them. How exciting!
After five minutes, the emotional crowd finally calmed down. Ren Hong added, "There's one last thing to announce." He looked at them and said, "This is very important to you!"
The five roommates looked at Ren Hong with eyes that became serious, quietly waiting for his next words.
Ren Hong spoke in a solemn tone. "Jokes aside, I don't have any doubts about your talent, especially your specialty in computers. Although you seem to only play a role in the company that even normal people can take, it doesn't mean that your abilities aren't great. You just don't have the chance to use your skills properly; I know this very well." Ren Hong paused and added, "XlouS will need your help in the future, and until then I have not said anything that requires you to come to work in the company after graduation. But today is different. XlouS will have a bright future, and I'm confident that I can hire all of you," he said after a pause. "I know that none of us are rich, so I have decided to give each of you 1% of XlouS's shares, currently valued at over $100 million, to ensure that you have nothing to worry about, and that you will be able to use your talents to the fullest at XlouS! Change the world!"
Ren Hong teased, "I don't want to see you guys working for XlouS's competitors in the future, so I'd better get things done with you guys first. Hah~"