owlsbooks Chapter 318 Something Feels Wrong
Chapter 318 Something Feels Wrong
January 20, 1998, 9:00 AM.
An Shiyu's suitcase lay open on the bedroom floor. She folded clothes, put them in, took them out, folded them again, and put them in again. She squatted there, holding a white dress in her hand—the one she'd bought at Stanford Shopping Center last week. She looked at it for a few seconds, then placed it on top of the suitcase.
Ling Yun leaned against the door frame, watching her.
"Aren't you bringing this?" he asked.
"Bring them." An Shiyu said without turning her head. "Bring them all."
She picked up the dark green one, folded it neatly, and put it back in. Then came the black one. Then the light blue one. The box grew fuller and fuller, and her movements became slower and slower.
"The box is full," she said.
"Take one more."
"No need." She pressed her clothes down a bit and stuffed another piece inside. "Just squeeze it in."
Ling Yun walked over and squatted down next to her.
"I'll have Xiaonan go back with you," he said.
An Shiyu paused for a moment.
"And you?"
"I'll be going back around the 20th of next month."
"The 20th of next month?" She calculated, "There are still thirty days left."
"Um."
An Shiyu nodded. She stuffed the last piece of clothing inside and zipped it up. The zipper was a bit tight, and she had to pull it a few times before it was up.
"Okay." She stood up.
Ling Yun also stood up.
The two people stood facing each other, separated by a suitcase.
An Shiyu looked at him, reached out, and straightened his shirt collar. The collar was a little crooked, so she fixed it and patted it.
"Come back soon, I'll be waiting for you at home," she said.
"Um."
She didn't say anything more. She pulled her suitcase and walked out. When she reached the door, she turned back and looked at him one last time.
Ling Yun stood there, looking at her.
She smiled, then pushed open the door and went out.
Lin Xiaonan was already waiting outside. She took the suitcase and put it in the trunk. An Shiyu got into the back seat, rolled down the window, and looked at Ling Yun standing at the door.
"Lingyun," she called out.
Ling Yun walked over.
"I'll call you when I get there," she said.
"it is good."
The car window rolled up. The car started and slowly drove out of the yard.
Ling Yun stood there, watching the car get further and further away until it disappeared around the street corner.
10:00 AM.
Goldman Sachs' San Francisco office.
The conference room was on the 43rd floor, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of San Francisco Bay. The water was an almost artificial blue, and several sailboats were slowly moving in the distance. Anderson sat at one end of a long table, a thick document spread out in front of him. Seeing Ling Yun enter, he stood up and extended his hand.
"Mr. Ling," he said with a smile, "it's been a long time."
Ling Yun shook hands with him and sat down opposite him.
Anderson pushed the document over. "This is the first draft, take a look."
Ling Yun opened the document. It was filled with dense text, mostly in English and legal jargon. He read it slowly, turning the pages one by one.
Anderson didn't say anything, just sat across from him and waited. He picked up his coffee cup, took a sip, and then put it down.
After flipping through the documents for more than twenty minutes, Lingyun closed them.
"What about the valuation?" he asked.
"1.2 billion," Anderson said, "before the vote."
Ling Yun looked at him.
"The last round was 850 million," he said. "It's only been six months."
"Our user base has tripled in six months," Anderson said. "Revenue has doubled. At this rate of growth, 1.2 billion is a reasonable figure."
Ling Yun didn't speak.
Anderson paused for a few seconds, then spoke again: "Morgan has also made an offer. 1.15 billion. We're 50 million higher than them."
"Anything else?"
"And another thing," Anderson flipped to another document, "we only need one board seat. No observer seats. Anti-dilution provisions are weighted average, and liquidation preference is one non-participating. We've changed everything you were worried about before."
Ling Yun looked at him.
"When did you become so easy to talk to?" he asked.
Anderson laughed. "We've always been easy to talk to."
Ling Yun didn't laugh.
Anderson's smile faded. "Mr. Ling, to be honest, it's not just us who want to invest this time. Morgan Stanley wants to invest, Sequoia Capital wants to invest, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is also inquiring. This sector is hot right now, and everyone wants to get on board. If we don't loosen our requirements, someone else will snatch the car."
Ling Yun nodded. He reopened the document and read a few more pages.
"This buyback clause," he said, pointing to one of the lines.
"What?"
"You have the right to demand that the company repurchase the shares under certain conditions," Ling Yun said. "But those conditions are too broad."
Anderson leaned over and took a look.
"This can be changed," he said. "You mark it out and have the legal department rewrite it."
Ling Yun looked at him.
"Anything else?" Anderson asked.
Ling Yun turned a few more pages.
"Here, the pre-emptive right is too broad. You can co-invest in subsequent financings proportionally, but there needs to be an upper limit on the co-investment ratio."
"What's the upper limit?"
"Not exceeding the proportion of this round."
Anderson thought for a moment. "Okay."
"Also," Ling Yun continued flipping through the pages, "you need to issue this information right through monthly operating reports. Other investors only issue it quarterly, so that needs to be changed too."
"OK."
Lingyun pointed out a few more issues. Anderson nodded in agreement, saying they could be changed.
Lingyun closed the file.
"Your first draft," he said, "is more lenient than I expected."
Anderson chuckled. "Mr. Ling, let me be frank with you. This project is internally rated S-level. Do you know what S-level means?"
Ling Yun didn't speak.
"It means," Anderson said, "that anything is negotiable as long as I can get on the bus."
Ling Yun looked at him.
"So," Anderson continued, "none of the things you mentioned are problems. The legal department will cooperate with your people to go through them one by one. The final signed document will definitely be one you're satisfied with."
Ling Yun nodded.
"That's settled then." He stood up. "I'll have my legal department contact you."
"Okay." Anderson stood up as well, extending his hand. "It's a pleasure doing business with you."
Ling Yun shook hands, then turned and walked out.
Two o'clock in the afternoon.
Ling Yun sat in the car and called Fiona.
"Have you read Goldman Sachs' first draft?" he asked.
"I saw it," Fiona's voice came through the receiver. "Much more reassuring than I expected."
What do you think?
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.
"There are two possibilities," Fiona said. "One is that they genuinely believe in us and are willing to compromise. The other..."
"What about the other one?"
"Another type is one that leaves room for maneuver," Fiona said. "The surface terms are lenient, but there are hidden traps in the hidden clauses."
"Did you find the mine?"
"We're still looking," Fiona said. "So far, the main terms are fine. But there are a few places where the wording can be interpreted in two ways. I've asked them to change them."
"Can it be cleaned up completely?"
"Yes," Fiona said. "As long as they cooperate, it can be cleaned up completely."
Ling Yun didn't speak.
"Mr. Ling," Fiona asked, "don't you think there's a problem?"
"It's going too smoothly," Lingyun said.
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
"I'll check their activities again," Fiona said. "Let's see if there's been any recent activity."
After hanging up the phone, Ling Yun sat in his car, frowning in deep thought. Everything seemed normal, but he still felt that something was amiss.