Chapter 290

Chapter 290: Uncle Came for an Interview

Mei Fang arranged to meet Chen Rui on the afternoon of the ninth day. This time, Xia Yuan felt she couldn’t help and didn’t come along. Thus, the interview panel consisted of Mei Yue, Mei Fang, and Lin You Xi.

Over this period, the three had accumulated considerable interview experience, but interviewing such a high-profile figure was still a first for them.

Although Mei Fang often joked about “uncle” with everyone, he believed that in his previous life, uncle was a highly talented individual who loved the anime world.

While Bilibili’s official founder is considered to be the Chief Executive, uncle was the one who transformed Bilibili from a club-style organization into a company and then commercialized it, ultimately leading it to a successful IPO.

Throughout Bilibili’s journey towards its IPO, uncle started with angel investments, brought capital into the project, and leveraged his connections to attract more people and investments. Eventually, he helped shape Bilibili into a trillion-dollar empire. The Chief Executive also achieved success and financial freedom at the age of 20 thanks to uncle’s efforts, and retired at 28.

As for Bilibili’s subsequent development after going public, although uncle bore some responsibility, many of the choices were out of his control due to the influence of capital. Mei Fang used to joke about uncle, but now that he himself has become an uncle, he understands the difficulties involved in taking Bilibili public.

Despite these reflections, the current world is different from the past, and whether this uncle is the same as the one Mei Fang knew still needs to be confirmed through this interview.

The interview with a high-profile figure doesn’t require multiple rounds of screening; all three interviewers can participate together.

Mei Fang mainly focused on confirming if uncle aligned with Lin Xi Technology’s corporate culture, Lin You Xi discussed his views on technology, while Mei Yue handled HR-related questions, mainly focusing on compensation and human resources.

Before uncle arrived, Mei Fang and Lin You Xi prepared relevant materials in their private offices.

“Don’t ask him too difficult questions; we’re interviewing a product manager, not a technical director.”

“I know what I’m doing, don’t worry.”

Lin You Xi organized her documents and looked at Mei Fang, who sat on the sofa with a pensive expression. She put down her documents and sat next to him.

“What’s wrong, are you nervous?”

“There’s nothing to be nervous about, hahaha.”

Mei Fang had an additional layer of understanding of uncle compared to Lin You Xi, so he couldn’t help feeling somewhat uneasy.

In his previous life, he saw these internet industry legends as unattainable figures, like a small fry at the foot of a mountain. Now, not only did he seize their luck and experience through rebirth, but he even wanted to control these legends.

Honestly, without any system support, could he be… overestimating himself?

Mei Fang wasn’t sure.

He was certainly much better than before, but his talent and vision were just average. He lacked strong self-confidence.

Lin You Xi gently patted Mei Fang’s shoulder.

“Remember, our history teacher liked to say, ‘Times make heroes.’ You didn’t get here by mere luck or coincidence. Besides your passion for programming and games, you should have more confidence in your abilities and status.”

“Humility is a virtue, but excessive humility can make others think you’re easy to bully. I think you need to build up this aspect.”

Lin You Xi turned and sat on Mei Fang’s lap, whispering in his ear, “You need more confidence.”

“…”

Mei Fang looked at his lover, “Do you think I lack confidence now?”

Lin You Xi didn’t directly answer but adjusted his collar, “You’ve always been kind to us. You accompanied Yuan Yuan when she ran away from home and tolerated my tantrums… These are your strengths, which would be attractive to ordinary employees.”

“But in external negotiations and interactions with peers, these traits become weaknesses.”

Mei Fang nodded, “Actually, I think this is also a kind of decisiveness. I really can’t do these things.”

“If you can’t make the tough decisions or be cold, I can play this role for you… Because I don’t care about offending anyone or making them unhappy. No matter what, I’ll ensure the goal is achieved and put pressure on the other party.”

Mei Fang listened to Lin You Xi’s words, feeling a sense of agreement.

In his previous life, he was often taken advantage of because he was too accommodating, and changing this trait was quite difficult.

But times had changed. Things Mei Fang found hard to do, including firing people, were now handled by Lin You Xi and Mei Yue. If he let them take care of it, it wasn’t impossible, but if this continued, he wouldn’t improve in terms of decisiveness.

Mei Fang and Lin You Xi exchanged management insights while embracing on the long sofa. Soon, Mei Yue came to remind them, “Chen Rui has arrived.”

Mei Fang and Lin You Xi followed Mei Yue out of the office and met Chen Rui at the door.

Chen Rui matched his business card image, a clean and scholarly man with glasses. He greeted Mei Fang warmly, preparing to shake hands, but habitually wiped his clothes first.

“Hello, hello… You must be Mei Fang, right?”

“Hello, hello. Brother Rui, I’m Mei Fang. This is our CFO and CTO.”

“Hello.”

Lin You Xi nodded at Chen Rui but didn’t extend her hand. Chen Rui didn’t insist, smiling and saying, “Miss C Station, I’ve heard a lot about you. Is Sister Yuan not here today?”

“Yuan Yuan is busy writing songs, so she won’t come.”

“I heard from Brother Xun… You three students are truly remarkable.”

At this point, Mei Yue chimed in, “Let’s not stand at the door, come in and chat…”

Mei Fang led Chen Rui to the large conference room, introducing the company structure. Chen Rui listened attentively, nodding continuously. For now, the situation was still under Mei Fang’s control.

After entering the conference room and chatting for a bit, Mei Fang asked Chen Rui some relaxed and harmonious questions about the development of video websites.

Although the meeting was arranged rather hastily, Chen Rui had spent the night preparing his strategic plan for C Station. He believed that C Station hadn’t fully commercialized yet, and currently, competing with A Station was still weak. Therefore, he had been arranging the company’s commercialization process, specifying the degree of commercialization required each month.

What was most frightening was that he didn’t just present a beautiful PowerPoint; he had a thorough understanding of C Station’s ongoing live streaming development. Clearly, he had done his homework meticulously, even having many connections and intelligence, indicating he was an excellent manager.

During casual conversation, Mei Fang also asked Chen Rui about his understanding of the anime world, especially his favorite anime character, as this was the most effective way to verify his “uncle” status.

“Oh… Should I tell the truth?” Chen Rui seemed a bit embarrassed, given his age relative to the company members and his higher shame threshold.

“Mm-hmm… There’s nothing wrong with it; our company culture is quite open.”

“Then I’ll be direct.”

Chen Rui coughed a few times before seriously saying, “My favorite character is the sister from ‘Sky of Fate.'”

It seems he really is uncle.

Although his favorite anime differs in this parallel world, he is indeed a detestable sister complex holder.

(End of Chapter 290)