52 No Miracles in the Age of Miracles

"Come in!" Ren Hong sat in his office and said without lifting his head.

"Would you like to hear the market data report?" Gao Yue came to a halt and leaned against the doorway. Her beautiful voice sounded as she lifted the document in her hand.

"You already look so hot and attractive; this posture of yours is seducing me even more, baby!" Ren Hong looked up and saw Gao Yue's languid posture. He said with a grin: "To put it specifically, as soon as you enter my sensory zone, the hormones in my body start raging. Perhaps a good old-fashioned office love making would be good. What do you think, honey?"

"Can you be more serious!" Gao Yue was left speechless, but on the inside she was proud of his compliment. She elegantly stepped into the room, tossed the documents in her hands on the desk, and wrapped her fair, slender arms below her chest, accentuating her proud bosom. "It's been exactly one week since the launch of the S-1. Our shipments have officially surpassed 7.8 million and we received 30 million reservation orders. It's unbelievable. I think our company has set a world record!" Gao Yue was still astonished even as she read the data albeit knowing about it hours ago.

Ren Hong smiled at the results unsurprisingly and said, "The information era is the era of miracles! Nowadays, it has even become the era of highly-developed information sharing, and any miracle that happens in this era isn't exactly miraculous. A while ago, wasn't there a local internet celeb named 'Q-Chan' valued at 2 billion RMB, setting a new record? You can call that a miracle, but it's not surprising to see more people like her."

"That said, I still feel like I'm in a dreamland. 7.8 million units shipped plus 30 million reserved orders for a total of 37.8 million S-1 devices successfully sold in one week." Gao Yue, who still couldn't help but marvel at this figure as if it were surreal, added. "Over 45 billion USD in revenue gained in one week! With over 17.6 billion USD in net profits; when did money become so easy to earn? I can kind of see now what it's like to see Apple take 20% of the market share and yet, have 80% of the industry's profits."

"Compared to that, I'm more interested in the data of Android's Little You. I think Little You's money-making potential is higher," Ren Hong said, picking up the file on his desk to browse through it.

Upon hearing his words, Gao Yue couldn't help but get excited. "That's right, Little You's money-making potential is incomparably greater. Do you know how many paying users the Android version of Little You has had worldwide since its launch?"

"There should be quite a lot… I suppose!"

"580 million!" Gao Yue excitedly said, "580 million—fantastic numbers! We've set another world record! Whether it's the sales figures of Little You or the S-1, not even explosive growth is enough to describe their popularity."

Ren Hong wasn't too surprised. He closed the file and replied: "This is how it is in the era of internet and sharing. The high degree of dissemination of information can instantly push products to users who need it. This is an expected and reasonable result because our product has two characteristics: it's outstanding and unique. Of course, I will not admit to its uniqueness. After all, I don't want to face a monopoly lawsuit," Ren Hong added with a wry smile. "S-1 is a smart device, and Cortana and other voice assistants came out earlier than Little You. As for Real-time Online Translator, it is a translation software. Heh~"

"Oh my God! At 5 USD a month, Little You will generate nearly 3 billion USD in revenue every month, which is 36 billion USD in revenue a year. The net profit will be incredibly huge, and that's just the beginning." The more Gao Yue thought about it, the more excited she became, "Real-time Online Translator, Little You, and S-1 wearable smart device, these three profitable products still have unimaginable room for growth. Let me do a rough estimate… Our company's total profit this year will most likely exceed 60 billion USD, equal to the previous years' total profit. That is…"

Gao Yue almost fainted at the thought of that number. Apple's net profit last year was just over 60 billion USD. What would happen if word got out that XlouS was able to compete with Apple in terms of profit?

However, Ren Hong wasn't surprised by the numbers. He even looked at the document in his hands with some gravity.

"What's wrong?" After Gao Yue got out of her excited state, she dubiously looked at Ren Hong.

He suddenly leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. Then, he leisurely said, "From a certain point of view, this world is always fair. I always believe that there are two sides to everything, just like the two ends of a balancing scale. Balance is eternal; everything has two sides, and that is the rule of God. The left and right hand, men and women; everything in the world is so symmetrical. Today, we are breaking the balance and leaning to one side, but we will eventually return to balance. On this end of the balance, we are carrying unimaginably huge amounts of wealth which causes the other end to be elevated high… However, the scale will eventually come into balance."

Ren Hong looked to Gao Yue who had already collected her emotions and said, "As we gained such a huge amount of money, we will also usher in difficulties or costs that match it. Never forget that this world is fair, and what you get and what you pay always match."

"So, the company will meet a crisis?" Gao Yue solemnly said.

Ren Hong showed a deep gaze and slowly responded, "I don't know, but there will be. When a tree grows taller than the forest, the wind will blow onto it. It's just like how eye-grabbing we are. This is both good and bad; the good has been seen, but the bad has yet to surface. I don't know when the crisis will happen, but I know it's lurking in some unknown corner… Waiting for the right moment to emerge."

After a moment, Ren Hong witnessed Gao Yue's heavy expression and revealed a brilliant smile. He got up from his chair, walked to her side, gently wrapped his hand around her slim waist and smelling her intoxicating charm. Soon after, he smiled, "Don't worry too much. You just need to do your job as the CEO and manage the basic operations of the company. I don't need you to hurt your brain over these things. You're my little fish, remember?"

"Mmm…" Gao Yue softly nodded and responded almost inaudibly.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Gao Yue suddenly thought of an important matter and added, "There's another thing."

Ren Hong stood behind her, sliding his hands from her slender waist to her flat abdomen, embracing the delicate body in his arms. He gently rested his chin on her right shoulder, half of his face buried in her silky hair that exuded a fragrant aroma. He shut his eyes and greedily breathed, before saying indifferently: "What is it?"

Gao Yue felt the warm breath coming from her right shoulder. She quietly let him hold onto her and didn't show any resistance, "A week from now, the 10th China-US Entrepreneur Summit will be held in Beijing. Among the 15 domestic companies listed, XlouS is included and invited.

Although XlouS had only been established for a little over two years, it had become a presence that couldn't be ignored by Chinese companies, especially after the official launch of the S-1 and the voice assistant Little You. It had a pivotal position among the domestic technology circle. Although there was almost no one who doubted XlouS now, no one could be sure in the near future.

XlouS hadn't gone public, but the outside world was well aware of the appealing value of this technology company. And if it did, almost everyone would agree that XlouS would be the number one listed company in China, way ahead of the number two. It would also unarguably be among the top 10 companies in the world by market capitalization.

XlouS hadn't announced any financial status, but with big data analysis, it couldn't be hidden from anyone who was interested in finding out.

"Will you be there?" Gao Yue asked.

Ren Hong gently nodded and said, "Of course, this is a kind of recognition and even a symbol of status. XlouS is still too young, which is a good and bad thing. It needs to accumulate more reserves. Even without an invitation to this meeting, I must go to Beijing."

"Why?" Gao Yue doubtfully asked.

"Do you remember the initial team members of our company?" Ren Hong said.

"You mean your best friends?" Gao Yue couldn't help but recall her first visit to that classroom back then. Looking back after all these years felt like a dream.

Ren Hong nodded and said, "Zhang Han called yesterday. The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) wants to recruit all of my brothers. How can I allow my initial team to be headhunted? I will absolutely not tolerate this. I have to bring them back to my company. What a joke; headhunting my core internal research and development members. The CAS must be crazy; are they really that lacking in people!?"

Gao Yue laughed at his exaggerated tone. However, she was still surprised, "Those classmates of yours are so brilliant that all of them were scouted by CAS? Unbelievable!"

"No one knows my initial team better than me. In the field of computer science, Zhang Han, Chen Kai, and the rest of those guys are people with genius-like potential." Ren Hong laughed and shamelessly said, "Although they're neither as versatile nor quite as good as me, they're not inferior to the top group of elites in the world of computer science."

"Your skin is thick enough to stop armor-piercing bullets." Gao Yue covered her mouth and let out a chuckle.

"Of course. How could I make you mine if I'm not thick-skinned?" Ren Hong shamelessly said, while his hands started roaming.

"Rascal! Don't do that! We're in the office!" Gao Yue softly exclaimed, trying to break free from his arms. She couldn't believe it. They just had an intimate session this morning and now, he was already energized?

"I'll only be a rascal to you for the rest of my life." Ren Hong hugged her tightly. Of course, he wouldn't let her go from his arms. "Stop struggling! You alluring woman!"

"… Don't~!" This groan from Gao Yue sounded so irresistible that Ren Hong couldn't hold back any longer.

"Then all the more I will do it!"