Chapter 565: Chapter 206 GF’s Little Trick, the Conflict Between BFFs_2

Li Yuan asked, "Is there anything else?"

Lin Yuwei inquired carefully, "Director Li, the financial news program from Modu TV Station contacted the company. They want to conduct an exclusive interview with you to discuss Zhihu’s promotional and operational model. Should we accept?"

Li Yuan was slightly startled. "Modu Financial News wants to do an exclusive interview with me?"

Hearing the familiar name, his mind immediately flashed to Fang Jueqing, the beautiful reporter from Modu Financial TV Station he had met just a few days ago at the *Battle Starry Sky* book signing in front of Tianyu Building.

It had only been a little over a week, yet it felt like a lifetime ago. He had experienced so much during that time, a trial by fire for both his mind and body...

Li Yuan nodded. "Alright. Coordinate with Modu Financial TV Station, then. Is there anything else?"

Lin Yuwei thought for a moment before bringing up another matter. "Director Li, the equipment you requested has all arrived. Should we deploy it to the Daxia University operations base now?"

Li Yuan pondered for a moment before giving an affirmative answer. "Yes. Follow the plan we established in the meeting. Get the equipment installed and calibrated this weekend. As soon as the personnel arrive next week, begin operations immediately."

"I’ll personally handle the arrangements on the Daxia University campus, making sure the classrooms, along with power, water, and internet, are ready beforehand."

"Understood, Director Li. I’ll go arrange for it to be implemented right away."

"Mm, go on."

...

After hanging up the phone, a look of joy spread across Li Yuan’s face.

This was his first real startup, and it was already off to a promising start. If he could continue to proceed methodically, it was highly probable that Zhihu would surpass the achievements of his past life.

Zhong Tingyue saw the smile on Li Yuan’s face and asked with great interest, "Senior, what’s making you so happy?"

Li Yuan smiled and explained, "Zhihu went live today. The results were pretty good, meeting my expectations."

Zhong Tingyue blinked, bit her lip, and asked with a smile, "Just met your expectations? The numbers must be quite good, right?"

"Hmm, barely passable, I suppose. It should set a new record in the domestic internet industry, though," Li Yuan bragged modestly.

Zhong Tingyue gave Li Yuan an incredulous look and huffed playfully, "Senior, with that tone of yours, you’re just asking for a beating!"

Bai Weixi chimed in with a light laugh, "Exactly, you’re such a show-off!"

"Haha! I’m really not showing off," Li Yuan chuckled and clarified. "Registered users and active users are two different concepts. We’ve had a great start with registered users, but whether we can maintain the site’s quality and convert them into active users is another matter entirely...

"Take Zhihu’s promotional campaign, for instance. We’ve invested over five million in cash, and today alone, we’ve gained over four million new registered users. However, it’s still uncertain how many will actually stick around. If they don’t, they’re just zombie accounts—completely useless..."

Bai Weixi suddenly asked with curiosity, "Brother, I don’t really get it. How do websites usually make money? We invested so much; can we actually turn a profit?"

Li Yuan gave Bai Weixi a surprised look, not having expected her to be interested in the website’s business model. He smiled and explained, "Traditionally, websites profit by selling ad space, which is one of the ways Zhihu will make money.

"However, relying solely on advertising is difficult to sustain and very limiting. It can negatively affect the user experience, which is detrimental to a website’s long-term development. To generate sustainable profit, we’ll need other methods."

The three girls—Bai Weixi, Zhong Tingyue, and Xia Zhijin—listened attentively to Li Yuan. For them, this was a whole new world, a fresh start.

Seeing them staring at him with such earnest, expectant expressions, Li Yuan cleared his throat and continued, "I have some other ideas as well. I established the Zhihu forum mainly to generate and attract traffic, not to make money from it directly. The real moneymaker is something else entirely. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"It’s just that some of my ideas aren’t fully mature yet, so allow me to keep you in suspense for now. You’ll find out in due time."

As she listened to Li Yuan speak with such confidence, Zhong Tingyue’s eyes began to sparkle. A confident, handsome man was the most attractive kind. At that moment, Li Yuan exuded a special charisma that naturally commanded respect and awe...

Her thoughts drifted to the promise Li Yuan had made her. They had agreed to establish a food and beverage brand by opening a chain of milk tea shops. Just a few days ago, she had even come up with a name for the shop, researched various existing market types, and drafted some development plans, but she hadn’t had a chance to tell Li Yuan yet...

Listening to Li Yuan’s confident business plan, Bai Weixi’s heart fluttered. She gazed at him, who seemed to be glowing, and said with admiration, "Brother, you’re amazing! We’re just freshmen who don’t know anything yet, but you’ve already started a business and achieved so much."

"Haha, I just have a bit of know-how and the benefit of foresight, that’s all. You know what I mean," Li Yuan laughed.

Suddenly, his brows knitted together, and a flicker of displeasure crossed his face.

He saw someone in a corner peering at them through binoculars, a sleazy smile on their face as they seemed to be discussing something...

"Damn, a bunch of perverts!" Li Yuan muttered under his breath.

Hearing him mutter, Bai Weixi asked in confusion, "Brother, what did you say? What perverts?"