Last Love chapter 40
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, due to the limited time, Wen Ke could only hand the printed proposal to Fu Xiaoyu and then briefly introduce the general framework of the last stage of love.
As he spoke, Fu Xiaoyu’s expression remained consistently indifferent. Occasionally, he would glance down at the proposal, flipping through it quickly. There was even a moment when Wen Ke felt that Fu Xiaoyu had a sense of disinterest, as if he didn’t want to examine it in detail.
Perhaps due to this reaction, Wen Ke couldn’t help but become more nervous. As he continued speaking, he even felt that his language was becoming too clumsy.
“Well…” After listening to Wen Ke’s explanation, Fu Xiaoyu slowly closed the proposal folder and handed it back.
He pondered for a moment before speaking, “After listening for so long, I realized that what you’ve been talking about is very conceptual. For example, removing the pheromone matching database and replacing it with professional psychological tests, interests, and experiences for matching. So fundamentally, you’re saying that the values your app conveys are different from other competitors in the market. But to be honest, I’m not interested in these things at all—”
“Your ideas are too naive and idealistic. This is not a student’s classroom assignment, and I don’t care about your product’s values.”
Upon hearing this blunt and cold evaluation, Wen Ke, holding the folder, felt as if sweat had broken out on his back.
Since graduating from high school, he hadn’t experienced such a situation and lacked the experience of dealing with investors. For a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
Fu Xiaoyu took a sip of coffee, extended a finger, and said slowly, “What I care about is very simple. First, I invested money; can I get it back? That’s the most basic.
“Second, if I can, what is the return rate? Third, will there be an immediate return, or will it take a relatively long time to generate profits? How long is the cycle? Can you answer these three questions?”
“I…” Wen Ke’s throat felt dry.
“I know you can’t,” Fu Xiaoyu said.
He shrugged and then said straightforwardly, “Because your matching system is designed so meticulously, but in this proposal, you haven’t even told me your specific pricing strategy. Other dating apps sell memberships; members can unlock higher and more accurate matching, and there are other in-app purchase items. What about yours? How do you make a profit?”
“I have thought about…” Wen Ke attempted to explain, “Once the app reaches a certain number of users, it forms a pool of traffic, so it can rely on advertising…”
“Do you know how many users you need to create such a large traffic pool?” Fu Xiaoyu interrupted.
Fu Xiaoyu smiled briefly, calmly looking at Wen Ke. Only a hint of disdain flickered in his cat-like eyes as he remarked, “How much investment is needed in the early stages to buy user volume? How much media marketing is required in the mid-term to create discussions and exposure? Are you sure your idea can recoup these expenses? Everyone talks about the capital game of traffic, but you need to understand that, from what I hear, your idea seems more like you’ll become a lamb harvested for buying traffic before becoming a traffic pool yourself.”
At this moment, Han Jiangque, who was nearby, suddenly cleared his throat softly.
Fu Xiaoyu glanced at Han Jiangque and then leaned back in the leather chair, fingers intertwined. He calmly said, “I’ll say it again. If this were a classroom assignment, I might give you an A+, and I might even find your idea innovative, exploring people’s views on love with a sense of social responsibility. But if this is a business plan, it’s simply too naive, too immature. No investor would put money into such a proposal.”
Fu Xiaoyu’s words were like sharp swords, piercing directly into Wen Ke’s heart.
He once again realized the gap between himself and Fu Xiaoyu.
He was indeed naive, and Fu Xiaoyu hadn’t said a single wrong word.
“Yes,” Xu Jiale, sitting on the side, spoke, “If we’re being strict, I think Wen Ke currently resembles more of a product manager. What he’s presenting to you is a product proposal. However, the profit model and business plan after the app enters the market, I think we’ll need to involve professionals to analyze—most apps in the market do the same, finding strong distributors for market promotion and marketing. So, I think today we can focus more on the product itself. What do you think?”
Xu Jiale’s expression was composed, and his speech was slow, surprisingly devoid of any laziness. Behind his gold-rimmed glasses, a pair of narrow eyes stared at Fu Xiaoyu.
“Alright, let’s talk about the product.”
Fu Xiaoyu’s gaze didn’t waver, and he looked directly at Xu Jiale, then smiled slightly. “Dr. Xu, as Wen Ke mentioned earlier, you studied anthropology at M University and you are the academic consultant for the app’s development, right?”
“Yes.”
“I believe that the psychological tests and interest experience modules Wen Ke mentioned, some of those ideas came from your suggestions, right?”
“Yes.”
“I just saw in the proposal that the psychological test for the last stage of love has three or four modules, each with 108 questions. The initial version of this questionnaire itself was proposed by the anthropology professor at M University, correct?”
Wen Ke nodded, realizing that Fu Xiaoyu had indeed carefully read the proposal, just appearing nonchalant due to his fast reading and excellent memory.
It was strange, but even though Fu Xiaoyu’s attitude was arrogant and he was ruthlessly criticizing his product, at that moment, Wen Ke felt a hint of admiration in his heart.
But then, Fu Xiaoyu continued without hesitation, “Don’t you think this is too cumbersome? Many personality tests only need a few dozen questions to provide a reasonably accurate result, right?”
Xu Jiale coldly responded, “Mr. Fu, if you have academic experience, you would know that such statements are highly unprofessional. How accurate is reasonably accurate? What factors are you using to assess accuracy? Have you conducted research? Have you quantified the data?”
Wen Ke discreetly took a deep breath—Xu Jiale was angry.
As long-time friends, he knew that behind Xu Jiale’s seemingly lazy and indifferent demeanor, there was a temper. Perhaps it was the combination of an extremely privileged upbringing and superior intelligence that made Xu Jiale see through things very clearly. He dismissed most trivial matters, but once someone challenged his dignity and principles, he wouldn’t silently accept it.
Xu Jiale pushed up his glasses, staring at Fu Xiaoyu and continued, “Regarding accuracy, there are rigorous academic standards. For someone to understand what kind of partner they are seeking, it doesn’t just mean answering simple yes or no questions. We need to extract their past emotional experiences while filling out the questionnaire, analyze their feelings, and then judge their emotional personality. Mr. Fu, do you think this system needs four hundred questions?”
“…,” Fu Xiaoyu fell silent for a moment. For the first time today, he conceded, “I apologize; I wasn’t careful enough earlier. But I still insist, have you considered or investigated how many users in the market can tolerate such a complex test?”
Fu Xiaoyu straightened up, not waiting for Xu Jiale and Wen Ke to respond. He calmly said, “All the apps on the market simplify the user registration process, which is called lowering the barrier. The easier it is to get started, the more it can reach the widest user base. So I can confidently tell you, once you implement such a complex test, you’re cutting off half of the users. This is a thoroughly suicidal design.”
“Mr. Fu, professionalism itself implies intricacy and complexity.”
Xu Jiale also smiled; he had a handsome appearance, thin yet stylish lips. When he smiled without warmth, he seemed quite aloof. “I believe users understand this point.”
Feeling the tension between Fu Xiaoyu and Xu Jiale, Wen Ke quickly intervened, explaining gently, “Yes, actually, if users really want genuine results and are looking for true love, I believe they would be willing to invest the effort to fill it out.”
“Dr. Xu, Mr. Wen, both of you are romantic individuals, so you’ve created this naively romantic app.”
Fu Xiaoyu laughed, “Unfortunately, I’m very pragmatic.”
He seemed to be wrapping up, glancing at his watch. His expression had softened compared to the assertiveness earlier, but he still controlled the pace of the meeting. “You’re all old classmates of Han Jiangque, right? How about watching a boxing match together tonight? The timing seems about right.”
“Sure, let’s grab a meal first, and then catch the match.”
Han Jiangque finally spoke.
He looked at Fu Xiaoyu, his expression seemingly carrying a hint of displeasure.
“Okay.” Fu Xiaoyu nodded, stood up, meticulously smoothed out the wrinkles on his shirt, and then extended his hand to shake hands with each of them. “It was nice meeting you all today. Let’s reconsider the app matters when we go back. Stay in touch, and feel free to see if there are any adjustments to the proposal.”
…
Before leaving, Wen Ke hurriedly went to the restroom. Coming out, he happened to see Xu Jiale smoking in the outdoor terrace smoking area, so he pushed open the door and walked out.
“Xu Jiale, are you not happy?” he whispered, “Sorry for calling you here today… I didn’t expect to be so ill-prepared.”
“It’s not your fault; my mood isn’t great either.”
Xu Jiale looked at the dusk outside. He wasn’t as unhappy as before, just a trace of melancholy in his expression. After a while, he calmly said, “I just never liked overly dominant omegas.”
“I understand.” Wen Ke nodded.
Actually, he didn’t know too much about Xu Jiale’s family matters, but he had heard a bit about his overly dominant and overbearing omega father.
Perhaps Xu Jiale’s upbringing had influenced him, as over the years, it seemed like the omegas he liked also shared the same personality traits—beautiful, docile, sweet, and affectionate, with Jin Chu being the epitome of those characteristics.
For a Ph.D. studying AO bisexual relationships, Xu Jiale seemed to have a bit of a penchant for direct alphas.
The two stood side by side for a while. Wen Ke sighed lightly and whispered, “But… I do envy him a bit.”
“Who?” Xu Jiale asked, “Fu Xiaoyu?”
“Yeah.” Wen Ke nodded, “So intelligent and capable, and with a great family background. In the end… he chose me, so being picky is justified.”
“Family background?”
Xu Jiale raised an eyebrow, “Not necessarily. I know what people with good family backgrounds are like.”
“Those people don’t strive like this, and they don’t live so forcefully.”
Xu Jiale extinguished his cigarette, throwing it into the trash can from a distance. “Fu Xiaoyu, I guess he’s probably a professional manager—a lackey for wealthy people.”
Wen Ke turned to look at Xu Jiale.
Under the gradually darkening sky, the handsome alpha looked somewhat indifferent. There seemed to be a hint of disdain, perhaps subtly revealing a sense of aristocracy.
In fact, occasionally, Xu Jiale would show this expression—a noble demeanor.
Even though he restrained it in front of Wen Ke, occasionally, that cold and slightly distant class division feeling would still be present between them.
But being friends had its advantages; despite differences, they could agree to disagree.
But if they were lovers…
Wen Ke actually found it challenging to imagine how Jin Chu, who came from an ordinary background, could live a married life with Xu Jiale. Would that sense of distance truly disappear?
He sighed lightly again, this time not knowing why.
Not unhappy, just perhaps a little relieved.
He and Han Jiangque had always had no such distance.
To some extent, both of them were like abandoned creatures in this world, so they nurtured each other tenderly, like little animals licking each other.