MTLNOVEL Chapter 180: ofo Exploded
In the rest area for Mahua Staff, Zhang Tian'ai propped her cheek with one hand, aimlessly swiping on her phone out of sheer boredom.
Liang approached, his lips suddenly curving upwards as he discovered that Zhang Tian'ai was browsing the comment section of his Weibo.
Seeing complimentary comments, she'd give a like to show support; facing negative ones, she'd dive in to clash directly.
She was very cautious, having once been a secondary actress herself, so she created a small account named "I Am Lu Liang's Treasure~"
"Why bother with them?"
Sitting beside her with a smile, Liang wrapped an arm around Zhang Tian'ai's neck, his fingertips gliding across her delicate and fair cheek.
Whether it was because she was acting in plays and had a more regular schedule, or because she was living a wealthier life, her skin had become increasingly better.
"But when I see them cursing you, I just get angry."
Zhang Tian'ai was visibly indignant, turning into a pianist, using the T9 keyboard with both thumbs flying furiously.
"What the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve over."
Liang patted her head, then said, "Get ready for the recent developments. Zhang Chen will probably want to have a chat with you."
"About what?" Zhang Tian'ai asked quizzically, and Liang, with a smile, said, "Naturally, about the role of the female lead in the upcoming movie."
He had read the synopsis of 'First Rich'. Although it was a standard hero-centric film with the female lead's role not being particularly remarkable, the role had plenty of screen time.
Appearing from start to finish, as long as Zhang Tian'ai didn't act too awkwardly, being a somewhat talented vase would suffice.
As long as the movie was a box-office hit, it would significantly raise her fame and rank.
After all, this was a massive production with over a hundred million invested, perfectly embodying the saying, "better to be the tail of a phoenix than the head of a chicken," within the entertainment industry.
With the experience of being the female lead in a big production, her future paychecks and brand endorsement fees would also rise substantially.
Zhang Tian'ai was thrilled, never expecting happiness to come knocking so suddenly, her eyes brimming with affection: "Liang, thank you."
"This is what you deserve. Let's go eat somewhere; I have to return to Modu tomorrow."
Liang chuckled lightly; he was always generous with his own people, mainly because his social circle was still small as his career had only recently begun to develop.
As such, as long as it didn't diminish his own interests, he was willing to favor those he was close with.
"Mhm~" Zhang Tian'ai gave him a secret peck on the cheek, then put on her mask and left the Mahua Theater with Liang.
Through their time together, she had understood a principle: Liang could give, but she shouldn't actively ask.
As long as she behaved, didn't trouble Liang, and quietly remained his secret lover.
Liang would think of her when an appropriate opportunity arose.
Wen Shanshan just didn't understand this point; perhaps she regarded their relationship as a pure transaction.
RESULT: The web series tanked, and Liang no longer wished to deal with her. She could only vent on Weibo, declaring Beijing the place of her sorrows, saying she was leaving and wouldn't return.
Zhang Tian'ai felt fortunate that Wen Shanshan hadn't figured it out; had she done so, Zhang Tian'ai may not have had this opportunity.
...
The next afternoon, Liang concluded his trip to Beijing and returned to Modu to dive back into work.
A few days after his departure, a sudden piece of news from Beijing arose: ofo was sued by a supplier for unpaid goods.
Rumors quickly spread that ofo was about to collapse, and if the deposit wasn't withdrawn soon, it would become impossible to do so.
Although 99 yuan wasn't much, its sudden disappearance would cause anyone distress, after all, it could buy two meals at KFC.
Even more so for those users who registered after the deposit increased earlier in the year; their loss was even greater at 199 yuan.
All at once, millions of users flooded ofo to request deposit refunds, which caused the website to crash due to immense traffic.
While the website crash was due to the surge in visitors, in the customers' eyes, it seemed like a sign of impending doom.
More and more people got the message and wanted to take their deposits back, further complicating the website's recovery efforts.
Dai Wei urgently made a statement: "Dear users, please don't believe baseless rumors. Ofo's financial situation is very stable, and our delayed payments are not intentional but due to the factory parts not meeting our delivery standards.
The website crash is simply due to a sudden influx of users causing server overload. Our team is working overtime to fix it, and we expect it to be back up by eight o'clock tonight.
If you need to request a deposit refund, please try to do so after eight tonight. The deposit will be returned to your payment account within the specified time.
Finally, the internet is not outside of legal jurisdiction, and we will pursue legal responsibility for each person spreading rumors, according to the law."
The official statement was of a high caliber, and in the end, a screenshot was shared showing 255 million yuan in liquid funds in the public account.
Saying a thousand words is no match for abundant capital, which can move hearts more effectively—a balance starting with a two, and nine digits, provides a strong sense of security.
Ofo had 13.5 million deposit users, some paid a 99 yuan deposit, and others a 199 yuan deposit.
The public account lazes with 255 million yuan in liquid funds; rumors of a crash seem truly to be groundless.
"There must be a mastermind behind this."
Liang reflected that he wouldn't be surprised if Mobike handled things in such a way, but ofo's reaction clearly had a master's guidance.
Having met Dai Wei a few times, he sensed an air of youthful success and the arrogant pride of a wild horse in fresh attire.
Born of noble roots, a Beijing University student and student council president, he launched ofo during his first venture at university.
This couldn't really be blamed on Dai Wei; with such a background, anyone would be prone to arrogance and complacency.
"What would I do in this situation?"
Liang pondered, the sudden storm of public opinion entangling ofo surely indicated someone stoking the flames behind the scenes.
It could be Mobike or perhaps some other competitor, but there were certainly numerous individuals who wouldn't mind seeing ofo die.
Liang, with a cigarette in his mouth, attempted to see things from their perspective when a bizarre expression surfaced; it seemed he might get dragged into this mess.
The next second, as if to confirm his suspicions.
A financial big V on the internet revealed: "Someone actually isn't optimistic about ofo's future. He cashed out and left the scene at a high during the B-round of fundraising."
Once this statement was released, Dai Wei wrote a long article, and the public opinion that had just been pacified exploded once again.
Although the big V didn't name names, if this information was true, it meant that person joined either during the A round or the angel round.
That was basically naming names as if saying this person is 31 years old, male, with a company name related to the heavens.
Because only two institutions joined ofo during the A round, Golden Sand River and DiDi, both institutions invested more in the B and C rounds; therefore, they definitely weren't the ones who cashed out at a high point.
There was only one participant in the angel round,
That was Lu Liang's Tianxing Investment.
"Damn, if even Lu God isn't optimistic about the enterprise, is there any hope left?"
"Danger—run, if you don't cash out now, you'll really never get your deposit back."
The recently restored website was on the brink of collapse yet again.
This time, the users' rush to refund was unprecedentedly resolute.
After all, without ofo there's still Mobike, Kuqi, Yong'an, but if the deposit is gone, it is truly gone.
Dai Wei was shocked and at a loss. Suddenly he thought of Lu Liang and made a call: "Mr. Lu, did you really transfer the equity?"
Liang responded indifferently, "I was in need of money at the time, and Mr. Zhu was interested, so I just transferred it to him straightforwardly."
Dai Wei felt a lump of old blood stuck in his chest, and though he had curses on the tip of his tongue, he swallowed them back down: "Then I'll have a talk with Mr. Zhu."
"If there really is 255 million yuan in liquid funds, there shouldn't be such a panic."
Liang stroked his chin, contemplating a possibility.
The public account's screenshot that Dai Wei showed could have been tampered with; there might not actually be 255 million yuan.
If that was true, ofo only had seven days left.
If they could not return the deposits in seven days, then ofo would be finished.
A while later, Zhu Hu called: "Lu my brother, who do you think is targeting ofo?"
He hadn't ruled out Lu Liang, but upon deeper consideration, the likelihood seemed minimal, though he could not completely dismiss the possibility, so he opted for a less offensive inquiry.
Liang chuckled, perceiving the subtext: "Whoever benefits from it, is the pusher behind the scenes."
He did hold equity in Mobike, but after dilution from the B and C rounds, only 2.168% remained.
Even though Mobike's valuation had reached 400 million US dollars, that bit of equity was worth less than ten million US dollars.
Even doubled, it was just under twenty million; he definitely wouldn't engage in such actions.
Zhu Hu also heard the implication and dismissed his suspicion completely, sighing, "Ofo is probably done for."
"The public account is falsified?"
"Right."
Zhu Hu's headache worsened; after all, there isn't a single bicycle-sharing company that hasn't misappropriated deposits.
Dai Wei's little tricks may fool the users, but they certainly can't deceive industry insiders.
It is just that misusing deposits has become an unspoken rule; rival companies dare not criticize publicly for fear of burning themselves and attracting national regulatory attention.
If a company's finances come under national scrutiny, it would be a fatal blow to the entire industry.
Whether it's ofo or Mobike, the operational logic of all shared bicycle enterprises is to use deposits to expand the market, then finance to develop, and continue to misuse deposits.