19: Chapter 19: A Secret Talk with Wang Xiao

It was five minutes before seven on Monday evening when Qiao Yichen pushed open the glass door of the cafe downstairs from the office.

The warm yellow light, the aroma of grinding coffee beans, and the low jazz music instantly enveloped him. He spotted Liu Yanran immediately, sitting in the window booth—she had already taken off the dark coat she wore during the day, wearing only her silk blouse, her profile forming a soft silhouette on the glass.

He walked over and sat down opposite her.

"Didn't wait long, did you?" he asked.

"I just got here too." Liu Yanran withdrew her gaze from the window and fixed it on his face. In front of her was already a glass of lemon water, fine beads of moisture condensing on its surface. "What would you like to drink?"

"An Americano will be fine."

After Qiao Yichen placed his order, a brief silence spread between the two of them.

Liu Yanran looked at him, a faint smile in her eyes, gently stirring her cup with a coffee spoon. "Congratulations on what happened today."

"Mhm." Qiao Yichen responded, not lingering on the topic. He naturally changed the subject. "How about you? How was your weekend?"

"Stayed home and read books for two days." She picked up her cup, her tone relaxing. "And you?"

"Helped a friend move." He paused, "And while I was at it... contacted the people from the Channel Provider side again."

Liu Yanran looked up. "Why contact him?"

"First, I need to thank him in person for what happened last time. Second..." Qiao Yichen's tone was casual, "...to see if he has any usable resources left."

Liu Yanran lowered her head and smiled upon hearing this.

"That's very much like you," she said.

The steam rose faintly from the cup, and through the light mist, her voice was a little softer than before. "Always looking at the next step."

Qiao Yichen didn't reply, just watched her.

The two quietly finished the coffee in their cups.

"I might need to take a few days off soon," Qiao Yichen put down his cup. "I need to schedule a face-to-face meeting with him."

"Okay, I understand." Liu Yanran responded without asking further questions.

"It's getting late," Qiao Yichen glanced at the time. "There probably isn't much left at the company. You should head back early to rest."

"Mhm." Liu Yanran stood up and instinctively reached for the bag placed on the inner seat.

Qiao Yichen was a step faster, reaching out to pick up the bag and handing it to her very naturally.

His fingertips unintentionally brushed lightly against the back of her hand.

Both of them paused for a moment.

"I'm leaving now." Liu Yanran took the bag, her voice lower than before.

"Be careful on your way."

She nodded, turned, and pushed the door open, her figure quickly merging into the night.

...

Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025, Sunny, 13 ~ 21°

Time flew by, and Wednesday had arrived.

Twelve-thirty noon, Kikukawa Japanese Restaurant.

Qiao Yichen arrived twenty minutes early. The restaurant hadn't started serving customers yet. A waitress in a light-colored kimono led him into a private room, and after the sliding door closed, only the light filtered through the bamboo blinds remained in the space.

He ordered a pot of Genmaicha and waited.

The person he was waiting for was Director Wang Xiao, the Channel Provider with whom he had cooperated two weeks prior to sell test window access.

This was a place Wang Xiao frequented—when they contacted each other via WeChat last weekend, he had casually mentioned, "Free to sit at Kikukawa on Wednesday?" The other party replied, "Sure, the sea urchin there is fresh."

It seemed like a casual lunch invitation, but both people knew what they intended to discuss.

The few sentences exchanged on WeChat over the weekend were just probing:

"Brother Wang, some friends from the studio have been asking me if I have any cost-effective test slot resources. Would it be convenient for you to give some pointers?"

"Test slots, huh... depends on the timing. Sometimes there are some gaps, but only for a few days. Big clients won't be interested."

"A few days is fine, as long as it's precise."

"Then let's chat over lunch on Wednesday."

The door was pulled open.

Wang Xiao entered, took off his suit jacket, and placed it on the hanger with natural movements.

"Here so early?"

"Just arrived a little while ago." Qiao Yichen poured tea for him. "No traffic getting here?"

"Not bad, not many cars at this hour." Wang Xiao sat down, took a sip of the tea, "They have sea urchin today. I'll have them bring it out."

"I'll defer to Director Wang."

The appetizers and sashimi platter were served first. After eating a few bites, the two chatted about recent industry trends—which platform's algorithm had changed again, which company had cut its budget—all superficial pleasantries.

When they were eating the grilled eel, Wang Xiao wiped his hands and finally got to the main topic.

"That matter you mentioned over the weekend, I've thought about it these past two days." His tone was very casual, as if chatting. "We do have quite a few scattered test windows every month, lasting anywhere from three to seven days. The traffic isn't huge, but the targeting tags are detailed."

Qiao Yichen put down his chopsticks. "How are these windows usually handled?"

"Most are used for internal testing, and a small portion expire unused." Wang Xiao picked up a piece of eel. "You know, big clients want stable, long-term resources. This kind of fragmented stuff doesn't fit into their scheduling charts."

"But for small studios, that might be exactly the volume they can handle."

"That's true." Wang Xiao glanced at him. "But you need to be clear, these windows aren't stable. They might exist today and be gone tomorrow. Also, they can't carry our company's name. Contracts, communication—everything must be under your own name."

"Understood." Qiao Yichen nodded. "I'm just the middleman connecting things, earning a small service fee."

The words were honest, and Wang Xiao smiled.

"Alright, as long as you know the score." He put down his chopsticks, straightened up, "But there are a few rules we need to clarify first."

"Brother Wang, please tell me."

"First, payment terms must be precise. 50% upfront, the remaining balance settled within three days of execution completion. Delay once, and there won't be a next time."

"That's expected."

"Second, these windows cannot be refunded. You confirm and provide payment proof 24 hours in advance, and I'll activate it on my end. Once activated, even if it sits unused, don't come looking to me for a refund."

Qiao Yichen was silent for a few seconds.

This was the key risk—if the downstream client backed out last minute, or if the execution results were poor leading to non-payment of the balance, the 50% prepayment he covered would be wasted.

"For the window data, can you give a rough range?" he asked.

"10% to 30% higher than the same tier in the public market," Wang Xiao said. "It depends on the category and the tags."

"For these windows, how many are there roughly each month?" he asked.

"Depends on the situation." Wang Xiao took a bite of the chawanmushi. "When there are many, four or five; when there are few, one or two. If you can establish this successfully, I can prioritize giving you all these fragmented time slots first."

"How is the pricing calculated?"

"Based on internal cost price, I'll give it to you with a 20% markup," Wang Xiao was very direct. "I don't care how much you mark up externally, but you must ensure it doesn't cause trouble. Client backgrounds must be compliant so that if anything goes wrong, it doesn't implicate us here."

"Director Wang, rest assured. I only approach familiar clients, small teams, the kind whose background I know well."

After saying that, Qiao Yichen quickly calculated in his mind:

Assuming a window costs 50,000, a 20% markup means he buys it for 60,000. He can sell it externally for 70,000 to 80,000, a gross profit of 10,000 to 20,000. But if it fails, he bears a loss of 30,000.

"That works then." Wang Xiao took out his phone. "I can give you three windows to test the waters with first. If you succeed, you'll get them every month going forward. If you mess up or cause trouble, you understand."

"Understood." Qiao Yichen took the phone.

Wang Xiao nodded and turned the phone around. "For example, these few—next Tuesday through Thursday, e-commerce category, targeting females aged 25-35. Internal testing previously showed a conversion rate about 20% higher than the market equivalent."

Qiao Yichen quickly scanned the data. The time window, audience tags, and historical data were all clearly listed.

"When can I get the first window?"

"There's an e-commerce one next Tuesday, April 8th, for a total cycle of three days." Wang Xiao put away his phone. "I'll send you the materials now. You must confirm and pay by Monday noon at the latest."

"Okay."

The two clinked glasses again; this time, it was a toast confirming the deal.

They finished eating at half-past one. Wang Xiao had a meeting in the afternoon and left first. Qiao Yichen sat alone for a while, finishing the remaining tea in his cup.

His phone vibrated once; it was the files sent by Wang Xiao.

He clicked them open and read them carefully three times.

The three windows:

April 8th to April 10th, 3 days, E-commerce category, Females 25-35.

April 10th to April 13th, 4 days, Education category, K12 parents.

And one from April 11th to April 15th, 6 days, General entertainment category, Young people aged 18-30.

Each window had detailed audience tags, historical data, and cost price.

He screenshotted them, removed all information that could expose the source, and saved them.

The sunlight outside was blazing, and cars were coming and going on the street.

Qiao Yichen leaned back against the chair and let out a soft breath.

From now until Monday noon for confirmation.

He had four days until the first window to find several clients willing to trust him and who could produce real money.

The time was not generous, but it was enough.