Old Ma nodded easily.
"I understand you. The handling fee for joining Tmall is fully waived."
The outsiders present were confused, unable to grasp the coded conversation between the two heavyweights. But no one dared to ask. In this circle, some things were better left unsaid.
Lu Haifeng smiled.
"Then I'll thank you in advance. I'll arrange to stock up as much inventory as possible."
They chatted for nearly two hours. After wrapping up their talks, Haifeng personally saw Old Ma off. It is evident that today's meeting was about pulling China Star Technologies into Tmall, and Old Ma had gone out of his way to visit personally, crossing cities to make it happen.
Watching Old Ma's figure recede into the distance, Haifeng brushed aside any other thoughts. Now, his whole focus had to be on the looming new product launch.
This year's product was Haifeng's labor of love, meticulously refining every flaw from last year's rushed Hongmeng S1R release. Hongmeng S1R had survived purely on its groundbreaking processor and operating system, but its dated hardware design disappointed image-conscious users.
Without those two tech breakthroughs, the model would've fallen flat. Now, things were different.
Haifeng turned to Liu Jianyu.
"How's production coming along?"
Liu Jianyu straightened, his gaze serious.
Production's on track. Around two million units of each model are ready."
The weight on Liu Jianyu's shoulders was heavy. Previously, he only had to manage the Xingchen series. But now, with Zhang Yu reassigned to CS Semiconductor, the entire Hongmeng lineup rested on him.
Still, this time he felt confident. The Hongmeng S2 wasn't just a spec bump but a complete evolution. Every weak point had been upgraded. Even the tuning of the Zhulong A2 chip had reached a new level.
Across design, performance, and system optimization, this phone could stand toe-to-toe with anything on the market. In fact, in the hands of any other manufacturer, it would've been hailed as a true flagship.
Hearing the production numbers, Haifeng made his decision.
"Schedule the launch for the 16th. Also, start quietly informing friendly manufacturers to prepare."
The Hongmeng S2 would be the focus for the next month—no question.
Liu Jianyu understood immediately. He'd likely be the public face of the launch again.
That afternoon, China Star Technologies' official website was updated with a simple teaser:
"See you on the 16th."
Minimalist words. But behind them, two shadowy phone silhouettes hinted at the storm about to hit the market.
After several years of steady growth, CS's three main smartphone series are solid players with massive loyal followings. Fans and analysts alike were abuzz.
Combined with the special edition racing car in QQ Speed Mobile, the writing was on the wall: the Hongmeng S-series was coming, and it would be performance-focused.
Their close partnership with Penguin Company (Tencent) only amplified the hype.
As soon as CS dropped the teaser, it was promoted across Qzone, Tencent News, and major tech outlets.
Online chatter exploded:
"CS is rereleasing a new phone? Wonder which series it'll be!"
"If the price isn't crazy, I'm buying it. I can't even grab a Mi 4 these days."
Expectations were sky-high.
Meanwhile, Lei Jun saw the announcement at Xiaomi and felt a complex wave of emotions. He made his move immediately.
On the 11th, CS announced.
On the 12th, Xiaomi opened the third full pre-sale round for the Mi 4.
Initially, the plan was to drip-feed stock to create buzz. But with CS heating up the market, Lei Jun couldn't afford to gamble anymore. It was all or nothing.
Pre-sales helped Xiaomi twofold:
Locked in consumer money early.
Gave time to ramp up production behind the scenes.
Lei Jun was betting hard on this tactic, but wasn't without risk.
At CS headquarters, Haifeng sat calmly at his desk, casually scrolling through Xiaomi's official sales site.
He smiled lightly.
"Xiaomi phones rely entirely on friendly manufacturers for production capacity."
Liu Jianyu frowned slightly, looking at their internal price sheets.
"President Lu, isn't our pricing... a bit low? Given the upgraded specs, we could've asked for more."
He had expected a price hike, especially for the third-generation Hongmeng series. Despite all the improvements, Haifeng insisted on keeping the price unchanged.
Same price. Stronger phone. No compromise.
A storm was coming—and Lu Haifeng intended to be the one controlling it.