Steve Chen stood at the front of the stage, smiling confidently at the swarm of financial journalists from around the world. Behind him, Roman Abramovich cracked a quiet joke. "Not bad! No surprise from the YouTube founder—cool as a cucumber in front of all these cameras."
Avram Glazer, less thick-skinned than his father, stood silently, looking a bit shy. Abramovich muttered under his breath, "Boring."
Steve, unfazed, kept his warm smile, ready for the reporters' questions.
"Hello, Mr. Chen, I'm from The Wall Street Journal. As Wall Street's darling, what do you have to say about taking a company public in just three months—again?"
Steve chuckled. "Honestly, you're asking the wrong guy. If it wasn't for Kai-Fu Lee's nudge, I might've thought this company's success was all about its unique marketing. Truth is, I've got a partner who couldn't make it today due to scheduling. He's the one who poured his heart into this company. Without him, there'd be no UK Big Sale Network. I just threw in some cash when he needed it most. I'm sure the company would've grown fast even without me. I'm just lucky to have met so many amazing friends on this entrepreneurial journey—without them, I wouldn't be here."
Steve paused, waiting for the next question.
"Hello, Mr. Chen, I'm Du Chan from China's NetEase News. What's your take on the future of UK Big Sale Network? It's a tough company to pin down on Nasdaq."
Spotting a familiar face, Steve lit up. "Du Chan? Haha, it's been a while since you dropped by Claire's place. Good to see you!"
Du Chan blushed as her peers turned to her, surprised. Steve laughed. "Du Chan's an old friend. We don't talk much, but she's got sharp insights on U.S. finance. To your question—let me guess, you're wondering if UK Big Sale Network is a travel ticketing site or a sports ticketing one, right?"
As Du Chan and several investors nodded, Steve answered calmly, "We've always been transparent with our shareholders. UK Big Sale Network is a traditional internet sports ticketing platform. That's our core strategy for the next five years, focusing on niche markets as advised by our CEO, Nikas Baird."
Steve gestured to Nikas, who stood up in a crisp suit and bowed to the crowd. "Just before the IPO, Nikas signed a new labor contract with us. He'll not only share in the company's profits but will work to make UK Big Sale Network the top sports ticketing platform in the UK over the next five years. As for your doubts about our cross-border tourism business—well, we initially aimed to be a travel site. But things evolved, and as we pivoted to sports ticketing, our tourism arm started turning a profit. So, we kept it as a lifeline until the ticketing side takes off."
Steve's clear, logical response earned applause, but Blackstone's Orf was the most excited. He could sense a storm brewing with UK Big Sale Network's listing. Not only was Booking.com's CEO there, but Expedia's financial rep had shown up too—their intentions were crystal clear.
When Ctrip went public, these players were involved, but Ctrip released fewer shares to the secondary market. UK Big Sale Network, however, had released 34% of its shares, meaning any deep-pocketed player could snag a stake. Orf figured the more shares he grabbed at the IPO, the more leverage he'd have in future negotiations. He sent a quick text to Ellie: "Buy big into Big Sale Network at the start!"
Ellie replied instantly: "Got it."
On stage, Steve, Roman Abramovich, and Malcolm Glazer struck the Nasdaq gong together. The market opened quietly, but those tied to UK Big Sale Network watched the stock ticker nervously. Priced at $7.60 per share, the stock wasn't expensive due to the large share release. But as trading began, it shot from $7.60 to $11.40 in a flash.
Booking.com's CEO, Glenn Fogel, smirked and approached Expedia's rep, Sylvie. "Long time no see, Sylvie."
"Glenn, looks like our goals align again. Wonder who's got deeper pockets this time," Sylvie replied. An older woman with an aristocratic air, she adjusted her clothes calmly and walked away.
Glenn, unhurried, flipped a coin from his pocket and strolled out. Meanwhile, Orf, from Blackstone, watched from a corner, not rushing to leave. He approached Kai-Fu Lee. "Hey, Kai, still looking young after all these years. Heard your Yahoo bet flopped? Told you, their waters run deep."
Kai-Fu Lee, stone-faced, responded, "So, old classmate, got time for a drink?"
Orf, eyeing the LED screen and mimicking a money-counting gesture, pressed on. Kai-Fu blocked his mouth with a finger, avoiding his gaze. "Still the upright guy, huh? Guess I'll trust my gut," Orf said, walking away.
Kai-Fu muttered under his breath, "If I told you I bought this stock too, would you be shocked?"
The room buzzed as the stock hit $16.70 per share, pushing UK Big Sale Network's market cap to $3 billion. Steve, calm as ever, stepped offstage for a break. Before he could sit in the lounge, his phone rang.
"If you care so much about the stock price, why not come ring the bell yourself? Your star power might've hyped the investors even more," Claire teased from the other end.
"Nah, dear Chen," Claire replied. "If I showed up, no one would be talking about buying your shares."
Steve smirked. "Oh? Booking.com? Expedia?"
"You guessed it."
"Haha, since you're onto it, I'll be straight," Claire said. "Merrill Lynch's shares will hit the secondary market tomorrow. Since we went public via SPAC, there's no lockup period. Expect a big price swing tomorrow. Sell to whoever you want, just wait till then."
Steve frowned, hearing women's chatter in the background, followed by a familiar Korean voice. "Hope you don't burn out after this windfall," he quipped.
In that moment, UK Big Sale Network's market cap took a small dip before soaring to $18.90 per share, hitting a $3.2 billion valuation. A single-product ticketing site reaching such heights explained why Nasdaq was flooded stocks.
Kai-Fu Lee, seeing the price, sent a quick text and left. He'd seen the stock's peak and decided it was time to sell. Future prices didn't concern him—hyped-up stocks always crashed eventually.
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As the big players left, the real war between Booking.com and Expedia began. Fueled by hedge funds and retail investors, UK Big Sale Network's stock was a rollercoaster—skyrocketing one moment, plunging the next. Seasoned traders watched the chaos, knowing what it meant: multiple funds were battling for control of the secondary market shares.
Any retail investor caught in the crossfire would lose everything.
Amid the frenzy, Blackstone's junior wealth manager, Orf, sat in his office like an excited squirrel, eyes glued to his screen. He shouted "Sell!" then "Buy!" to his traders, raking in over $1 million in an hour. Ellie, flushed, stood by his side, watching the client account swell.
Suddenly, Orf lit a cigar and yelled, "Sell everything!" Ellie, relieved he'd stopped, glanced at the focused traders and hurried to the restroom, face red. But Orf's heart sank—his $1 million profit had just dropped to $400,000. "Tch, they won't even let me sip the soup," he muttered. "Not cool."
As he stood to leave, he slipped on something sticky, grumbling, "Ellie, I told her no milk tea in the office!"
Meanwhile, Glenn Fogel, sipping coffee, watched his screen smugly. "Looks like we've flushed out the scavengers. Now it's our fight. Let's see if Expedia's traitor Sylvie is ready for war." He turned to his traders. "Dump all our Big Sale Network shares. I want to see how much cash Expedia's got."
As Nasdaq neared closing, a massive sell order hit Big Sale Network's stock at $11.70 per share—a third of its current price. The stock, which had been green all day, tanked. Scattered buy orders trickled in, but the sudden short crushed it to rock bottom.