Chapter Thirty-Five: Five Minutes to Recharge, Two Hours to Talk

As he entered the conference room, Chen Qi saw five men in suits seated across the rectangular table.

“I had a hard time getting them all to stay. Whether this works or not is up to you now,” whispered Qian Dafu, the general manager of KUKU, to Xu Bunian after ushering the three of them in. Then he turned and returned to his seat across the table.

Xu Bunian nodded slightly, greeted the executives present, and gestured for Manager Zhao and Chen Qi to sit down.

“Chen Qi, you sit in the middle.”

To everyone’s surprise, Xu Bunian actually had Chen Qi take the middle seat among the three of them.

Just having sat down, Qian Dafu glanced curiously at this unfamiliar young man, then looked questioningly at Xu Bunian.

What’s going on?

Xu Bunian smiled at him and spoke up, “General Manager Qian, Director Fan, esteemed colleagues, this is our company’s new team member, Chen Qi. Today’s advertising concept was his creation. Due to the tight schedule, we didn’t have time to prepare a formal proposal, so he’ll be presenting it to you himself.”

Chen Qi cooperatively stood and nodded to the five men across from him. But perhaps because of his youth, only Qian Dafu nodded back, while the other four examined him with skeptical eyes.

So young—can he really do it?

A few seconds later, they all glanced at Qian Dafu, their expressions odd. It was as if they were saying, “You went to all this trouble to keep us here just to watch him? Is this going to work?”

Feeling the gazes from both sides, the plump Qian Dafu gave them a sideways look, ready to say something, when Xu Bunian spoke again.

“Gentlemen, don’t underestimate our new colleague. He may be young, but he’s very capable. The recent public service announcement ‘Washing Mother’s Feet’ that just aired on CCTV was his work—done entirely by himself.”

“Oh?” Xu Bunian’s words surprised the group, even Qian Dafu, who now regarded Chen Qi with renewed interest.

They were aware of the public service ad that had caused a mild sensation in the industry and online, and they knew it came from Blueprint’s team. But they hadn’t realized it was the work of this young man—done independently, no less.

Now that was intriguing.

In that instant, they all found themselves a little more interested.

Chen Qi maintained his awkward yet polite smile and nodded again in greeting.

“All right, let’s hear your thoughts,” Qian Dafu said, gesturing to Chen Qi. “Our meetings are all recorded on video, so speak freely.”

“Thank you.” Chen Qi exhaled quietly, took out the data he’d calculated beforehand, and handed it over. “General Manager Qian, before I begin, may I ask, are the figures your company provided us with one hundred percent accurate?”

Qian Dafu hesitated, then replied, “I can’t promise a hundred percent, but the margin of error is less than one percent.”

Chen Qi nodded, handing over the first page. “Based on your data, I calculated that this upcoming phone model can charge to thirteen percent in five minutes.”

Qian Dafu accepted the somewhat messy sheet, glanced at it, then set it on the table. What kind of diagrams are these? He couldn’t make heads or tails of them. But he understood the key point: thirteen percent in five minutes? And?

The other four executives also looked confused. Still, they didn’t interrupt or show impatience—they had enough professionalism for that.

Chen Qi handed over another sheet. “The main selling points of this phone are fast charging and long battery life. I’ve checked the charging time, and also calculated battery endurance. On standby with the screen off, a thirty-minute call uses three percent of the battery.”

Qian Dafu accepted this page politely, gave it a glance, then focused all his attention on Chen Qi’s presentation.

“From this data, we can infer that five minutes of charging provides enough power for about two hours of calls.” Chen Qi held up five fingers on his left hand and two on his right.

Hearing this, Manager Zhao, who had been tense with anticipation, was suddenly struck by a realization and turned to Chen Qi in disbelief. He felt as if he’d caught hold of something important.

“Since our selling points are fast charging and long battery life, coming up with a slogan is actually simple. For example—” Chen Qi looked calmly across the table and said, “Five minutes of charging, two hours of calls.”

At that, everyone froze.

“Five minutes of charging, two hours of calls?” Qian Dafu, who had been searching for the perfect tagline, repeated the words, his eyes growing brighter.

Half a minute later, his mouth slightly agape, he stared at Chen Qi in astonishment, unable to hide his excitement and amazement.

Brilliant!

Absolutely brilliant!

Just ten words—catchy, easy to remember, and perfectly capturing the essence of fast charging and long battery life!

Could there be anything more direct and compelling?

Wasn’t this the precise slogan they’d been searching for all along?

He even had a premonition: once this ad was released, it would trigger a new wave of catchy, memorable advertising everywhere.

It would be impossible not to remember it!

A collective gasp was heard.

“This line…” Not just Qian Dafu, but the other four, after savoring the phrase, all drew in a sharp breath. Almost unconsciously, they sat up straighter, their expressions growing serious.

The balding, middle-aged man furthest to the left, after a few seconds of contemplation, excitedly pulled out pen and paper to verify the calculations.

Across from them, Chen Qi remained composed and confident.

When Manager Zhao first heard about this phone’s selling points a few days ago, the classic OPPO ad that had boosted both sales and reputation immediately came to Chen Qi’s mind.

Beside him, Manager Zhao sat in stunned silence, his mind blank.

He was truly shocked.

He could scarcely believe what he had just witnessed.

Good heavens, it’s only been a single day!

In just one day, you’ve solved the advertising riddle that’s tormented us for over a month? And you did it so effortlessly?

Have you gone mad, or have I?

How on earth did you manage it?

His face was full of disbelief, and for a moment he wondered if he was dreaming.

This was simply too astonishing!