Mei Fang scheduled the meeting with Chen Rui for the afternoon of the ninth day of the new year. This time, Xia Yuan felt she wouldn’t be of much help and chose not to attend, so the interview panel consisted of Mei Yue, Mei Fang, and Lin Youxi.

While all three had accumulated considerable interview experience by now, facing a candidate of this caliber was a first for them.

Though Mei Fang often joked about “Uncle” with everyone, in his eyes, the “Uncle” from his past life was a remarkably talented individual with a deep love for anime culture.

While the founder of Bilibili was officially recognized as “The Chief,” it was Uncle who transformed the platform from a community-driven project into a commercialized, publicly listed company. From angel investments to leveraging connections for funding, Uncle’s efforts were instrumental in building Bilibili into a billion-dollar empire. The Chief, thanks to Uncle’s groundwork, achieved fame by 20 and financial freedom by 28.

As for Bilibili’s struggles post-listing, while Uncle bore some responsibility, the pressures of going public and capital demands often left little room for choice. Having once mocked Uncle, Mei Fang now understood the challenges of steering a company to IPO.

But nostalgia aside, this world had diverged significantly from his past life. Whether this Chen Rui was the “Uncle” he knew required confirmation through this interview.

For a candidate of this stature, standard hiring processes didn’t apply—the three interviewers would assess him together.

Mei Fang would evaluate cultural fit, Lin Youxi would probe technical insights, and Mei Yue would handle HR aspects like compensation and team integration.

Before Uncle arrived, Mei Fang and Lin Youxi prepared materials in their private office.

“Youxi, don’t grill him too hard on tech—we’re hiring a product manager, not a CTO.”

“I know. Don’t worry.”

Lin Youxi organized her documents, then glanced at Mei Fang, who sat lost in thought on the sofa. She set aside her files and joined him.

“Nervous?”

“Why would I be? Hah.”

Mei Fang’s prior knowledge of Uncle added an extra layer of tension. In his past life, these internet moguls were untouchable legends, while he was just a nobody at the foot of the mountain. Now, not only had he usurped their opportunities through rebirth, he aimed to recruit one of them.

Without any “system” cheats, was this overreach?

He wasn’t sure.

Though far more accomplished now, Mei Fang didn’t consider himself exceptionally gifted. Confidence didn’t come easily.

Lin Youxi patted his shoulder.

“Remember our history teacher’s saying: ‘Circumstances create heroes.’ Your success isn’t just luck—it’s your passion for programming and games, plus your own capabilities. You need more faith in yourself.”

“Humility is a virtue, but excessive modesty can invite exploitation. You should project more authority now.”

She settled onto his lap, whispering in his ear: “Be bolder, A-Fang.”

“…”

Mei Fang studied her. “You think I lack confidence?”

Instead of answering directly, she adjusted his collar. “You’ve always been gentle with us—running away with YuanYuan, tolerating my tantrums… For us, that’s your strength. For employees, it’s endearing.”

“But during external negotiations or when dealing with peers at the same level, this kind of attitude can become a weakness.”

Mei Fang nodded. “Actually, I think this is also a form of decisiveness. I really can’t do these things myself.”

“If you really can’t bring yourself to be ruthless or cold, I can play that role for you… Because I don’t care about offending anyone or making people unhappy. No matter what, I’ll make sure the goal is achieved and keep the pressure on the other party.”

Mei Fang listened carefully to Lin Youxi’s words, feeling an unspoken agreement in his heart.

In his past life, he had often been taken advantage of because he was too easygoing—a habit that was hard to break.

But now, things were different. The things Mei Fang couldn’t bring himself to do, like firing people, were now handled by Lin Youxi and Mei Yue. They helped him optimize the team, and leaving it to them wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, in the long run, he really wasn’t making any progress in developing his own decisiveness—

Mei Fang and Lin Youxi sat close together on the long sofa, exchanging thoughts on managing the company, until Mei Yue opened the door to remind them: “Chen Rui is here.”

Mei Fang and Lin Youxi followed Mei Yue out of the office and greeted Chen Rui at the entrance.

Chen Rui looked much like his business card—a clean, refined man with glasses. The moment he saw Mei Fang, he enthusiastically stepped forward to shake hands, though he instinctively wiped his palms on his clothes first.

“Hello, hello… You must be Mei Fang, right?”

“Hello, Brother Rui. I’m Mei Fang. This is our company’s CFO and head of programming.”

“Hello.”

Lin Youxi gave Chen Rui a slight nod but didn’t offer a handshake. Chen Rui didn’t press the matter, just smiled and said, “The young lady of C-Site—I’ve heard so much about you. Is Mr. Xun’s daughter not joining us today?”

“Yuanyuan is busy composing songs, so she won’t be coming.”

“I’ve heard from Mr. Xun… The three of you are truly remarkable.”

Mei Yue chimed in, “Let’s not just stand here at the door—come on in, haha…”

As Mei Fang led Chen Rui toward the large conference room, he gave him an overview of the company’s structure. Chen Rui listened attentively, nodding frequently. For now, the situation was still under Mei Fang’s control.

Once everyone was seated in the meeting room, after some casual conversation, Mei Fang casually asked Chen Rui a few questions about the development of video-sharing platforms.

Despite the short notice for the meeting, Chen Rui had worked overnight to prepare a strategic plan for C-Site. He believed that C-Site hadn’t yet fully commercialized and was still at a disadvantage compared to A-Site. He had already mapped out the company’s commercialization process, down to which milestones should be achieved by which month.

What was most impressive was that this wasn’t just flashy PowerPoint talk—he even knew about C-Site’s ongoing live-streaming development. Clearly, he had done his homework thoroughly, even leveraging personal connections for intel. It was obvious he was an outstanding manager.

During the conversation, Mei Fang also asked Chen Rui about his understanding of “otaku culture,” especially his favorite anime character—the most effective way to judge a true “uncle” of the community.

“Ah… Do I have to be honest?” Chen Rui seemed a little embarrassed. Given his age compared to the rest of the team, the cringe factor was still pretty high.

“Yeah, no need to hold back. Our company culture is pretty open.”

“Well, in that case…”

Chen Rui cleared his throat, then said seriously, “My favorite character is the little sister from Yosuga no Sora.”

So he really is an “uncle.”

Though the anime titles in this reincarnated parallel world were slightly different, it seemed some things never changed—

Still a disgusting siscon at heart.