Chapter 310: Secret Show

September 23rd was the autumnal equinox. At around 6:00 p.m., the last ray of sunset in the sky was gorgeous and beautiful.

At the Electronic Exhibition Hall in Beijing's 798 Art District, Xiaomi's carefully prepared first-generation smartphone launch conference is about to kick off.

At this time, the Electronics Hall was crowded with people. There was still some time before the press conference officially started. The huge LED screen was playing the Xiaomi brand promotional video in a loop.

In the center of the first row of the venue, today's protagonist Lei Jun was busy having an enthusiastic conversation with Song Ci.

"Mr. Song's investment was very generous. The $8.25 billion financing shocked the whole world." Although it has been almost a month since the incident, Lei Jun still sighs when talking about it.

Song Ci was wearing a misty blue shirt with a slightly open collar. He leaned sideways, showing the low profile and elegance of a nobleman. "Xiaomi will have a good future. After today's press conference, Xiaomi's valuation will definitely skyrocket."

Lei Jun chuckled, full of confidence in Xiaomi mobile phone: "Thank you for your good words."

"How much stock did Mr. Lei prepare this time?"

"Five hundred thousand!" Lei Jun stretched out his hand with five fingers spread out, a look of determination on his face.

Noticing that Lei Jun seemed a little nervous, Song Ci, who already knew the retail price of the first generation of Xiaomi, was confident and smiled to comfort him:

"Mr. Lei, relax. With Xiaomi's configuration and pricing, it will be more popular in the market than you think."

After hearing this, Lei Jun felt relieved. He lowered his eyes and looked at the watch on his wrist: "It's almost time. I should go on stage. After the press conference is over, let's have a meal together and have a good chat."

At exactly seven o'clock in the evening, the lights in the venue suddenly dimmed and the noisy scene gradually became quiet.

A spotlight shone on the center of the stage, revealing Lei Jun's figure. He was wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans, a classic it-man outfit, but he exuded a different kind of charm.

At the same time, Xiaomi’s official account on Weibo also started a simultaneous live broadcast.

"Dear Xiaomi fans, MiUI fans in the live broadcast room, and audience friends at the scene, good evening! Thank you all for coming and supporting us. This press conference is officially starting!"

Lei Jun's simple opening remarks were clearly heard by everyone in the venue through the microphone.

Offstage, Liu Shishi looked at Mr. Lei on the stage, leaned slightly closer to her husband, and smiled secretly, "Yi Yi, Mr. Lei seems a little nervous, even his speech speed is faster than usual."

Song Ci's eyes were sharp, and he also noticed Lei Jun's clenched fists, and the corners of his mouth rose: "Mr. Lei has seen many storms, but he is just excited and overwhelmed for a while."

On the stage, Lei Jun abandoned flashy and sensational exaggerations and went straight to the point in a concise and capable style, and began to clearly describe the overall environment of the domestic and global mobile phone markets.

"Apple, Samsung, HTC, these brands of smart phones, the lowest configuration starts at 4,000 yuan, really makes many people and consumers stay away from it!"

The images on the electronic screen also jumped in time, showing the configuration parameters and prices of major brands of mobile phones. Although the configurations of each mobile phone vary and the prices vary, they all have one common feature, that is, the selling price is higher than 4,000 yuan.

Lei Jun became more and more engaged as he spoke, and he kept talking, getting into the right place: "Xiaomi mobile phone, the hardware configuration uses a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 1GB of memory..."

Although Liu Shishi is the spokesperson for Xiaomi mobile phone, she does have only a vague understanding of these parameters. However, every time Lei Jun reported a configuration parameter, the audience burst into exclamations, making her feel that Xiaomi mobile phone must have something outstanding.

"Honey, how does Xiaomi compare to Apple?"

"It is undeniable that there is still a certain gap." Song Ci spoke the truth. At this time, under the leadership of Steve Jobs, Apple was bold in innovation and was indeed the absolute leader in the global smartphone industry.

"I'm used to using an Apple phone, so I'm afraid I'll find it hard to adapt to using a Xiaomi phone for a while."

In the dim stage, Song Ci patted his wife's hands and said, "Use Xiaomi in public to support Mr. Lei."

The young couple was whispering to each other, leaving the Xiaomi executives at a loss. The richest man and the company's brand spokesperson were chatting enthusiastically, and now they are getting involved. What is going on?

"The most eye-catching feature of Xiaomi mobile phones is the 10-megapixel rear camera, which supports autofocus and LED fill light."

Lei Jun continued to introduce the advantages of Xiaomi mobile phones. When most mobile phones on the market still had 8 million pixels, he listened to Song Ci's opinions and focused on optimizing the mobile phone's camera function.

"Next, let's take a look at the photos taken with Xiaomi phones."

As soon as Lei Jun finished speaking, a photo of Liu Shishi appeared on the screen behind him.

“Wow, so beautiful!”

"Master, this temperament is absolutely amazing."

On the large electronic screen, photos of Liu Shishi, who was elegant and beautiful like a poem, flashed by, drawing praise and admiration from the audience.

Lei Jun smiled and asked loudly, "Do you think our Xiaomi spokesperson Miss Liu Shishi is beautiful?"

"Yes." The audience said in unison, and the atmosphere of the press conference became more and more intense.

"Today we are honored to have Miss Liu Shishi here to share her views on Xiaomi phones with everyone. Please welcome Shishi."

Liu Shishi slowly stood up, looked at Song Ci tenderly, and then walked onto the stage with great grace.

Today, Liu Shishi wore a white shirt with a unique black pattern decoration on the neckline, which added a touch of retro feel. She paired it with a black short skirt. The simple and elegant design highlighted her intellectual beauty.

The slightly curly dark brown shoulder-length hair, paired with a fresh and natural makeup, gives people a gentle and confident feeling.

"Shishi, welcome." President Lei shook hands with Mrs. Song and invited her to the center of the stage.

The two stood side by side, and Lei Jun asked with a smile: "Shishi, you have used a Xiaomi phone, how do you feel about it?"

Liu Shishi held the microphone, her posture was calm, her gestures were elegant, and her face was filled with an extremely friendly smile:

"When I used Xiaomi, I was amazed. Not only was the performance excellent, but the appearance was also unique, which completely hit my preferences..."

Song Ci sat in the VIP seat below the stage, his eyes never leaving the graceful figure on the stage, his eyes full of tenderness and affection. In this noisy, technologically-filled occasion, it seemed as if everything around him had become a blurred silhouette, and he could see no one else but Liu Shishi.

At this moment in the Weibo live broadcast room, the director quietly turned the camera to Song Ci. When netizens saw the richest man appear, they were surprised and started talking about it.

"Is that Song Ci? Oh my god, he's actually at the press conference too!"

"I feel like Song Ci has become more handsome again. This light blue shirt is absolutely stunning. He is truly a noble gentleman."

"Is Song Ci's eyes looking at Liu Shishi?"

"Something is wrong. The look in the eyes of the richest man is too gentle. It's almost fatal."

"You can't hide your love for someone. The way Song Ci looks at Liu Shishi seems to have a story behind it."

In the center of the stage, Liu Shishi was talking freely, her eyes falling intentionally or unintentionally on her husband in front of her. The two looked into each other's eyes, and love flowed silently.

The director also understood the hot topics. The camera switched back and forth between Song Ci and Liu Shishi, allowing the audience in the live broadcast room to see their silent interaction clearly.

"Are these two exchanging glances?"

"If there's nothing going on between Song Ci and Liu Shishi, I'll wash my hair standing upside down! That look is too ambiguous."

"Handsome guy and beautiful girl, I suddenly like them both."

"No, did they know each other before? The way they look at each other is definitely not ordinary."

"As expected, all men are fickle, and Song Ci is no exception. He's already married, but he can't take his eyes off beautiful women. What a scumbag."

After Liu Shishi shared her love for Xiaomi phones, Lei Jun was very excited: "Do you want to see the effect of taking photos of Liu Shishi with a Xiaomi phone?"

"I want to!" The audience also started to cheer, and the sound was deafening.

"Well, I'll invite a super handsome guy to come on stage and take some photos of Shishi. Please welcome Song Ci!"

"Wow!" After Lei Jun finished speaking, there was an uproar at the scene. No one expected that the richest man would come to the scene to cheer for Xiaomi.

Unexpectedly, Lei Jun would do something so fancy. Song Ci was slightly stunned, then quickly walked towards the stage.

Liu Shishi looked at her husband who was walking towards her, winked playfully, and a sly smile appeared on her face.

Seeing Song Ci coming up and about to take the phone to take a photo of his wife, Lei Jun smiled and stopped him: "Mr. Song, don't take photos yet. Let me ask you first, is our Xiaomi mobile phone spokesperson, Miss Liu Shishi, beautiful?"

Song Ci took over the microphone, the gold watch on his hand sparkled, his handsome face, and his free and unrestrained temperament caused the female audiences at the scene and in the live broadcast room to scream in surprise.

“It’s picturesque.”

Lei Jun smiled mischievously and continued to ask, "Who is prettier, Liu Shishi or your wife?"

Liu Shishi also slightly turned sideways, smiling like a flower, staring at Mr. Song intently, waiting for his answer.

"Shishi is the moon in Kunlun after the snow has just cleared, and my wife is the willow in the south of the Yangtze River covered with morning dew. The former is a jade disk hanging in the sky that everyone looks up to, and the latter is an egret flying over the waves that belongs to me alone.

It’s just that the most wonderful creation in this world has dyed both the clear light and the misty rain with amber light.”

Lei Jun opened his mouth slightly and stood there in a daze, not knowing how to respond for a moment.

As a science and engineering man, he hates enigmatic writers like Song Ci very much. Although he didn't quite understand what Song Ci meant at the moment, he was sure that they were showing off their affection in secret.

"Mr. Song is indeed a famous writer, and he speaks in beautiful words. But what he said is a bit profound. Can you explain it more clearly? As everyone knows, I am an IT guy and I don't understand these literary twists and turns."

In the live broadcast room, many netizens were also very curious about Song Ci's answer.

"Are there any liberal arts students out there? Come out and analyze what this passage means?"

"I'm a liberal arts student, but I don't understand it either. I just feel that the artistic conception is profound and impressive."

There are many talented people among netizens, and soon someone analyzed the meaning:

"Kunlun Moon should correspond to Liu Shishi's cool and elegant classical temperament, and Jiangnan Willow is probably a metaphor for his wife's gentle and virtuous character.

"Ten thousand people look up to me" definitely means that celebrities are high and mighty in the eyes of ordinary people, and "I am the only one" means they are showing off their love. As for the last amber light, I haven't figured it out yet."

In response to Lei Jun's question, Song Ci smiled but said nothing.

Lei Jun had no choice but to look at the spokesperson: "Shishi, why don't you ask?"

Liu Shishi's bright eyes reflected her husband's figure, and she asked sweetly, "Mr. Song, can you explain this to me in detail?"

Song Ci gently stroked the dazzling wedding ring on her ring finger and answered the question irrelevantly: "Artists always say that the muse is incomparable, but I am greedy and want both the stunning reflection and the intimate light."

Lei Jun was really impressed by Song Ci, the riddler, and smiled bitterly: "Mr. Song is really unfathomable! Let's get to the point and ask him to take a photo of Shishi."

Song Ci smiled complacently, took the phone, took a few steps back, turned on the camera, and pointed the lens at his wife.

Liu Shishi smiled sweetly, tilted her head to the side, and posed in a smart way, showing off her beauty to the fullest.

Song Ci focused intently and knelt on one knee on the ground out of habit in order to capture the most beautiful side of his wife. He sometimes did the same when taking photos of Liu Shishi at home.

Song Ci was originally a habitual and subconscious action, but it caused an uproar at the scene and in the live broadcast room.

"Song Ci knelt on one knee to take a good photo! He is so nice to Liu Shishi."

"It's disgraceful for the richest man. Who is he, a celebrity? Why is he kneeling on the ground in public?"

Lei Jun stood at one side and quickly tried to smooth things over: "Mr. Song is really such a gentleman. When the photos come out, Shishi must thank Mr. Song very much."

The shutter sounded softly, and several photos were quickly taken. Lei Jun projected the photos onto a large electronic screen.

"What do you think of Mr. Song's filming?"

"good!"

"Mr. Song, are you satisfied with the camera function of Xiaomi mobile phone?"

Song Ci nodded slightly, and turned sideways to admire the photo on the screen, or perhaps the beauty in the photo:

“Satisfied. With beauty in your heart, the world is a poem! I hope every Xiaomi user can use a Xiaomi phone to find the poetry in their heart and freeze the beautiful moments in life.”

"For a phone that even the richest man praises, do you want to know how much it costs?"

"I want to!" Shouts came one after another, and the entire press conference finally reached its most intense climax. There were more than 1 million people online in the Weibo live broadcast room, and countless barrages flashed every second.

“I really want a smartphone, but I can’t afford it.”

"It feels better than HTC, and I estimate the price will not be less than 4,000 yuan."

"Based on Lei Jun's previous disdain for high-priced mobile phones from rival companies, I think the price should be around 3,000 yuan."

In the center of the stage, Song Ci and Liu Shishi stepped aside tacitly, leaving the most important moment to Lei Jun alone.

Lei Jun took a deep breath and announced at the top of his voice: "Xiaomi mobile phone, retail price 1999 yuan!"

The whispers in the audience froze instantly, and the scene fell into an eerie silence. Only a few seconds later, a tsunami of cheers broke out again.

Some mobile phone practitioners and media people in the audience were also stunned by the price. But anyone who knows a little bit about the subject understands that this price is definitely a major blow to the smartphone industry.

Song Ci looked at the 1999 yuan on the screen with mixed feelings. The launch of Xiaomi mobile phone will be a watershed in the development of China's smart phone industry, ending the era of copycat phones and pushing domestic mobile phones towards high-end.

(End of this chapter)