**Chapter 215: Zhengxin is Going to Make a Move**
When Ran Anuo's design was exposed on Weibo, it sparked a heated discussion among Xu Guangsheng's Weibo followers.
Weibo is a place where most people are just there to watch the excitement. Among Xu Guangsheng's followers, some are professionals in the automotive industry, while others are just there for the fun. With such a mixed crowd, the feedback on Shengshi C-Class's appearance was naturally mixed.
For a while, all sorts of comments came in, saying everything imaginable. This made Xu Guangsheng even more uncertain.
However, compared to netizens, the media was obviously more focused on this matter.
Reporters from Beifang Express, after seeing the initial design of Shengshi, immediately contacted Beiqi for an interview with the design team.
During this time, thanks to continuous high exposure online, Xu Guangsheng's fame skyrocketed. Naturally, he did not refuse these interviews and agreed on the spot.
This led to an interview video that made Li Fanyu cringe with second-hand embarrassment after watching it.
Because of this project, Ran Anuo felt he had successfully reached the pinnacle of the industry. Over 90 million RMB, nearly 15 million USD—this salary was considered top-tier even in Europe.
For this reason, and because Ran Anuo was not a modest person by nature, every word he said in the video was full of bragging.
He shamelessly praised this mediocre design plan to an outrageous degree.
What did he say?
When asked by the reporter about his view on the design, Ran Anuo replied, "I believe, if this model is successfully launched, its appearance will be included in the history of Chinese automobiles. The fact that Beiqi chose me for the design shows their extraordinary vision."
When asked about the inspiration for the design, he said, "The new design concept of Shengshi C-Class incorporates the surrealist style of French modern artist Duchamp. It is a pinnacle fusion of modernism with retro elements."
And when asked about his view on the level of local automotive design, Ran Anuo just curled his lips and said nothing.
That lip curl was the only and complete evaluation this French designer had for the Chinese automotive design industry.
It's no wonder he was so arrogant; Beiqi's tolerance had given him the illusion that there were no capable designers in China. In his view, if there were outstanding local designers, why would they spend so much to hire him?
Once the video spread, it immediately drew a lot of dissatisfaction.
Cheng Ke was among the displeased.
Although Ke Ke was on vacation, she was bored to death at home. With nothing to do except accompanying her grandparents, she had to find entertainment online.
Seeing this video almost made her explode with anger, so she immediately forwarded it to Li Fanyu.
This heavily-bearded, flamboyant Frenchman was just too annoying!
How dare he look down on Chinese automotive design? Close the door, unleash Brother Fan!
Watching the video of Ran Anuo speaking eloquently, comparing it to the so-called "historic" rendering of Shengshi C-Class, Li Fanyu could only feel goosebumps.
A historic piece! I spit on your face!
Xu Guangsheng, oh Xu Guangsheng, you old fool, you don't even know how to spend your money wisely. The design team you hired for over 90 million can't even compare to randomly picking someone from Zhengxin Lab.
With this level of design, there's no need for me to step in personally. The three prodigies can outshine you effortlessly.
And Duchamp? Seriously?!
Li Fanyu even suspected that this Frenchman named Ran Anuo used to be in direct sales, he's such a swindler!
What is Duchamp's style? Surrealism!
While this guy has an indispensable place in Western modern art, his personal style is utterly nonsensical! Yes, nonsensical!
His early works are most famously two pieces: "Fountain" and "L.H.O.O.Q."
What is "Fountain"? It's just a porcelain urinal bought from a store! "L.H.O.O.Q."? It's simply a cheap poster of the Mona Lisa with a few hairs added around her mouth. The title in French means "her butt is hot..."
Yes, it's that ridiculous and absurd.
Anyone who transcends their era deserves respect, and Duchamp's actions and style indeed inspired Western modern art. But looking at his personal style today, it's just performance art.
So, for Ran Anuo's boasting, Li Fanyu felt deeply disgusted.
But the lip curl at the end of the video made Li Fanyu particularly unhappy.
He picked up the A6 appearance patent application drawing on his desk, took a photo, and posted it on his Weibo, tagging Xu Guangsheng.
"Mr. Xu, next time you have a billion to waste on something big, don't let outsiders benefit. Please contact Zhengxin. Also, the design of Shengshi C-Class is extremely low. Attached is a picture of Zhengxin's latest product design, for Master Designer Ran Anuo to correct his aesthetic views."
Li Fanyu hadn't been idle these days. Since the A6 was determined to be Zhengxin's next product, it was time to start the project. Given the shortage of manpower in the lab, according to his plan, they would first apply for some patents.
The picture on Weibo was the patent office's receipt for the A6.
Originally, after Ran Anuo's interview video came out, a bunch of sycophants jumped out online.
For example, Beiqi's R&D engineer Sun Xin, who used all sorts of grand words on Weibo to praise the new appearance of Shengshi C-Class, highly affirming Ran Anuo's design team and not forgetting to flatter Xu Guangsheng's wise leadership.
Or the well-known designer Wang Daili, who commented that Shengshi C-Class's design was extremely beautiful and deserved to be called a milestone.
Even Chen Fan, a famous professor from a certain art college, wrote a long article praising the design of Shengshi C-Class, while subtly inserting a few ads for his newly established studio...
In short, despite a wave of skepticism from netizens, Shengshi C-Class still garnered significant attention.
As soon as Li Fanyu's Weibo post went up, his followers went crazy.
From the rendering alone, it was clear this was Zhengxin's new model!
This meant Zhengxin was making a move again. And coincidentally, it seemed this time they were going to compete directly with Shengshi C-Class!
During this period, facing frequent provocations from Beiqi and Xu Guangsheng, Li Fanyu had remained silent, which had frustrated Zhengxin's fans.
Now, with Ran Anuo dismissing the level of domestic automotive design, many people concerned with the automotive field were even more displeased.
So, fans fully embraced the spirit of enjoying the spectacle without fear of trouble and edited the two renderings together for a comparative survey.
In just over forty minutes, the satisfaction rate for A6's appearance far surpassed that of Shengshi C-Class.
Seeing the understated yet dignified rendering of the A6 on Weibo, Xu Guangsheng immediately sensed a different kind of threat.
Zhengxin was planning something big!
NEXT