Chapter 421: Suffering Builds Strength
Ye Rudai smiled and shook her head.
Having spent a good amount of time in Silicon Valley, she had noticed a curious shift: among everyday employees, Su Yuanshan was now mostly spoken of as a "genius business leader," and oddly enough, people didn't seem to talk about him too much. In contrast, Xi Xiaoding's name came up far more often—especially as Xinghai continued to grow, and "President Xi" became more and more mythologized.
After all, Xinghai was something Xi Xiaoding had personally built from scratch.
As for Su Yuanshan? In Silicon Valley, he was largely mythologized only among the industry's elite.
"Who is it then?" Page asked, slightly disappointed. President Xi was one of his idols.
"Uh…" Ye Rudai was still trying to decide whether to be honest, when her eyes suddenly lit up—because at that exact moment, Su Yuanshan walked in through the door.
…
"You're working out of a place this small?"
It wasn't until they had left the cramped office and stepped onto the clean, breezy streets of Silicon Valley that Su asked the question.
He had held back earlier—didn't want to say anything in front of all her "teammates."
"We're broke," Ye Rudai said with a laugh, hands behind her back. "Sister Xiaohui told me, when you don't know how to control costs, just follow two words—cut everything."
Su couldn't help but laugh. "That's not cutting—that's suffering."
"It's not so bad. There are way worse teams than us. Some groups upstairs come down just to mooch our snacks. I used to think everyone in America was rich. But now I know better—it's just that their society is more advanced… more developed overall."
"More advanced? Try decades ahead. In terms of average societal and technological development, they're probably 50 to 60 years ahead of us."
"That much?"
"Definitely. Watch a World War II movie—you'll see." Su mused that back home, it wasn't until the 2000s that life even started to resemble what Americans had in the 1940s. And from then until now, China had performed nothing short of a miracle—covering 70 years' worth of development in just two decades, even overtaking in some areas.
"Okay, okay—you win," Ye Rudai agreed easily. "But you've never lived here properly… I'm still skeptical."
"Uh…"
Su cleared his throat.
He wanted to say, Not only did I live here—I lived here with you…
But the little apartment they once shared had since been torn down and replaced with a new commercial complex. It bothered him. If he'd known, he would've bought it back then—just to preserve the nostalgia.
Changing the subject, he asked, "So, what's your plan for the company when you head back to school?"
"I'm handing things over to Steven. He's not great technically, but he's a solid manager—and he respects people. Our team runs more like a partnership. We don't need someone like Karina with a strong grip." Then she stuck her tongue out playfully. "Not that I'm bad-mouthing Karina or anything… I just think our company is small and cozy. A softer touch works better."
Su blinked in surprise, then laughed out loud. "Well, message received. I'll pass that on to Karina."
"You…"
"Kidding." Su shook his head, still grinning. Then, more thoughtfully, he said, "But you're not wrong. Without Karina, Xinghai wouldn't have grown so fast. When Xinghai went public, she deserved the biggest credit."
Ye Rudai nodded at once. "I heard she's going to be on the cover of Fortune next month. If that's true, she'll be the first female business leader to ever appear on the cover."
"That's because Wall Street made a lot of money off Xinghai," Su said with a chuckle. "And Karina—while a woman—isn't really a symbol of feminism. Or maybe, she represents a moderate kind of female empowerment. That distinction is important in the U.S. You see, feminism is politically correct here, but the moment it gets too extreme, capital walks away."
"…Say something I can actually understand."
"Haha. You don't need to understand. Just remember this—Karina is very capable." Su smiled, thinking to himself: and one day, she'll even run for president.
"But you were right," he added, "now that Xinghai is public, Karina's management style does need to shift."
"Before, she had pressure and a vision to bring the company to IPO. So even if the team felt tired, even a bit stifled, they accepted it—because there were options on the table. There was something to fight for."
"But now, the options have vested. The shares have been split. If people still feel burned out… well, these white-collar folks might not be so patient anymore."
When Su said "white-collar folks," Ye Rudai gave him a slight glare.
She had been in the U.S. for more than six months and had become all too familiar with the word racism.
"To the average worker, they don't feel stock price pressure. And with the PC and internet industries growing explosively, job opportunities will skyrocket. At that point, I don't want Xinghai to turn into a talent factory for the rest of Silicon Valley."
That, Ye Rudai understood immediately.
He meant: if Xinghai couldn't retain its employees, people would jump ship constantly—and Xinghai would end up as nothing more than a breeding ground for other companies' talent.
A little turnover was normal. But if people were leaving because they couldn't stand Xinghai's culture, that was a real problem.
…
When they arrived at Xinghai HQ, Ye Rudai went off to visit Yang Yiwen, and Su headed straight for Karina's office.
As he had promised, he relayed everything Ye Rudai had said—verbatim.
Of course, Karina wouldn't take offense at a younger girl's comment.
But when it came to Xinghai's management intensity, Karina had her own views.
"Boss, I understand what you're saying," she said, twirling her pen with a calm smile. "I've been to FarCore. I know how you want it to be—like Eden, a haven for technical staff."
"But Boss, that's China. In China, FarCore has no competition. No one can keep up with it."
"Here, it's different. This is Silicon Valley. Dozens of companies register every day. Double digits close down, quietly, every day…"
Su rolled his eyes. "It's not that dramatic."
"Okay, I'm exaggerating—but you get my point."
"…"
"Also—look at Xinghai." She pulled open the blinds that covered the glass wall of her office.
Her office was fully transparent, glass all around. Anyone inside could see out, and vice versa—she hadn't installed any one-way glass.
Outside, the staff all sat quietly at their desks, heads down, working intently.
"I'm not being racist," Karina said. "But I do think our current team's ethnic makeup is… particularly good at enduring hardship."
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Chapter 422: Family
When Karina started explaining Xinghai's employee demographics and dropped the phrase, "I'm not racist," Su Yuanshan could barely hold back a chuckle.
The more "politically correct" something needed to be said, the more sensitive the underlying issue usually was.
Because of its founder's background and its appointment of Karina—a woman and one of the most politically correct CEOs possible in Silicon Valley—Xinghai had avoided many of the biases common in the tech industry. In fact, these very factors contributed to Xinghai's highly diverse team.
Among them, Asian employees made up the largest portion.
In addition to students from the mainland and Taiwan, there were also many Indian engineers who had begun to rise through Silicon Valley's ranks.
When Su Yuanshan glanced out and saw a few Indian colleagues quietly tapping away at their keyboards, he cleared his throat.
"We're a young company," Karina said, lowering the blinds naturally. "If we want to catch up to giants like AT&T or IBM, we have to keep unlocking our employees' potential—smoothing out their inertia."
"That's why I implemented a strict performance evaluation system," she added matter-of-factly.
Su simply nodded.
It's not like he could say a company shouldn't pursue excellence.
And the truth was, the "grind mentality" had started becoming popular in Silicon Valley too. After all, the notion that everyone in the Valley could get rich just by showing up? That applied to companies, not employees.
"And don't worry," Karina added with a smile, seeing that Su seemed to be onboard. "Our company culture might be focused on performance, but it's still relatively flexible."
"Mm." Su nodded again.
These days, he wasn't even Xinghai's official boss anymore—just its largest shareholder. Of course he still cared about the company, but when it came to actual blood, sweat, and tears, that belonged to Karina and the rest of the exec team. They were more invested in Xinghai's future than he was.
If the leadership wasn't worried, then he had no reason to be overly anxious either.
And he had to admit—his own bias toward Karina might be coloring his judgment. In his previous life, she'd joined HP and quickly gained a reputation for being ruthless. When the company underperformed, she axed multiple executives in one go. Her style demoralized staff to the point that HP nearly collapsed.
But now? Karina had personally built Xinghai. She wasn't joining a company under pressure—she was leading a company she helped create. That made all the difference.
And if the worst did happen—if she really started screwing things up—Su could still intervene.
Let's be honest, if even Steve Jobs could be ousted from Apple, then anything could happen.
…
They talked a bit more about Xinghai's future direction. Once again, Su found himself silently admitting that his own tendency to rely on old impressions needed to change.
Reading Karina's strategic roadmap, he saw clearly: this woman had assessed the future of the internet with precision. She understood both the risks and the opportunities.
As soon as Xinghai went public, she had quickly invested in multiple internet startups.
Her next move? Investing in EM and NewBook.com—the companies started by Pony Ma and Ding Lei after leaving Xinghai.
Her reasoning: If you're going into internet, there's no point ignoring two companies that already dominate the landscape.
And the numbers backed her up. All signs suggested that as soon as those companies went public, buying in early meant guaranteed profits. Wall Street's top dogs were already circling with stacks of idle capital.
Su didn't comment.
…
"Let's clock out and get out of here."
After wrapping up with Karina, Su went to see Yang Yiwen.
"There's still ten minutes," she said, glancing at the time with a smirk. "I've got to lead by example."
Su rolled his eyes. She and Ye Rudai were just casually chatting in the office.
"You haven't worked this lazily in a while."
Yang glared at him. "Don't be rude. What did you and Karina talk about?"
"Nothing much. Just Xinghai's direction and investment strategy."
Then she glanced toward the glass doors, lowered her voice, and asked, "Did you talk about restructuring the Xinghai Foundation?"
"Not yet," Su shook his head. "She represents Xinghai, same as you. And I represent capital. In some ways, that makes us natural opposites."
"…" Yang Yiwen fell silent.
But she couldn't argue—he was right.
She, Chen Haomin, Claude, Howard—no matter how close they were to Su personally, their roles made them Xinghai executives first and foremost. Even Yang Yiwen, his most loyal lieutenant, had a duty to protect Xinghai's stability and future.
"We'll talk about it later. For now, I just want the Xinghai Foundation to attract idealistic allies. Karina… she's already a natural one. You all are too."
Su paused, then added with a soft smile, "No, you're not allies. You're family."
Yang Yiwen felt a warm sense of reassurance at those words.
Ye Rudai blushed slightly, but said nothing—only smiled.
Su had already explained the purpose of the Xinghai Foundation to her during one of their walks. If Xinghai and FarCore wanted to go further, they'd need more allies.
Strategic partners like Sony and TI were important—but even more important were capital partners.
As FarCore expanded into more and more sectors, they would eventually face countless opponents—some even mortal enemies. Without capital alliances to buffer those relationships, they'd become everyone's target.
Su didn't want a future where, if FarCore hit a rough patch, no major voice would step up to speak on its behalf.
…
Back at home, Qin Si and Zhou Xiaohui had just finished work and were now in the kitchen—one cooking, the other helping.
"Xiaohui-jie, what's our schedule next?" Su asked.
"Tomorrow, a visit to Apple. The day after, the Microsoft launch event. After that, we'll inspect NewBook's Silicon Valley branch—Mr. Ding already called," she replied.
"Ai… We should've gone to Apple after the launch."
Su let out a sigh.
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Chapter 423: A Meeting with Apple
To be honest, Su Yuanshan felt a bit uneasy about Steve Jobs returning to Apple—or more precisely, he was uneasy about Jobs.
Even after attending Apple's product launch, Su still didn't feel entirely at ease.
Both of them carried the label of "genius," but Su knew very well that he was the counterfeit version, while Jobs was the real deal—complete with all the brilliance and baggage that came with the title.
Smart, obsessive, sharp-tongued, temperamental, idealistic, and entirely devoted to his work.
There were times when Su couldn't help but marvel at how lucky his senior engineers were to have him as their boss. If they had to work under someone like Jobs? He wasn't sure how many would survive.
At the very least, characters like Xi Xiaoding or Li Mingliu—both highly opinionated—would have definitely clashed with him.
…
The next day, the team carried on with their usual schedules. Su was again chauffeured by Tang Wenjie, who pulled up outside Apple's headquarters.
"I've heard Old Steve isn't exactly easy to deal with. Want me to come with you?" Tang asked as he opened the car door, eyeing the tall Black security guard at the entrance. "If it comes to blows, I'll shield you."
That one-liner immediately broke the tension in Su's face. He burst out laughing, remembering how Tang had once thrown himself in harm's way to protect Yang Yiwen. "Please, I'm not your sister-in-law. No need to go that far."
"So I'm off then?"
"Go ahead…"
Su closed the car door himself, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and slowly made his way toward the building.
He wasn't visiting in any official capacity today—this was a personal call. A meeting between two men who had both been called "genius entrepreneurs" in Silicon Valley—though neither had yet reached the status of "legend."
At this point in time, Apple hadn't yet built its iconic spaceship campus, but they had acquired a sizable plot of land. It resembled FarCore's capital R&D center in scale.
Still, Apple wasn't nearly as open as it would be in the future. For now, they had gates.
A motorized gate stood at the entrance, firmly closed during work hours. A tall, stern-faced Black security guard stood with his hands behind his back, eyes locked on Su.
"Hey man, I'm here to see Mr. Jobs," Su said, glancing up. "Name's Su Yuanshan."
The guard gave him a quick look, then radioed in twice. After confirming something, his eyes changed slightly, and he waved the gate open.
Moments later, two middle-aged men hurried out of the building to greet him.
They introduced themselves, then led Su into the building and up to a café on the fifth floor.
As Su moved through Apple's headquarters, he observed everything carefully. With Jobs now back in charge, the place was visibly changing. There were coffee tables and sofas scattered throughout for breaks—but barely anyone was using them. Most employees looked rushed and tense. Clearly, workloads were heavy.
In the massive café, only a handful of staff were seated with drinks. At the far corner, Steve Jobs sat alone, slightly turned toward the window, gazing outside.
"Mr. Su, the president is waiting for you over there," said Wilson, one of the senior administrators, as he gestured politely toward Jobs.
"Thank you. I see him."
"I'll leave you two to it," Wilson said with a courteous smile, clasping his hands in front of him and stepping back.
His eyes twinkled with the anticipation of someone about to watch fireworks.
—As a senior manager, Wilson had witnessed Jobs' previous ouster, his dramatic return, and his fiery rampages since coming back. Besides Apple staff, the person Jobs had publicly criticized most often… was FarCore.
To be exact, the YX team at FarCore.
Jobs had immediately moved to dissolve ARM's development agreement and open up the architecture as soon as he returned—thanks to a boardroom vote that Wilson had helped push through. They kept a small maintenance team and freed the rest of the source code.
And now, Su Yuanshan had come alone to Apple HQ.
Wilson was eager to see what kind of sparks would fly.
He also knew Su's track record. Every time the young mogul came to Silicon Valley, he made the rounds—visiting big-name companies. In the past, Apple was always last on the list—if it even got a visit at all. Wilson remembered that Su had only come by once, way back when he was still trying to promote EDA tools.
But this time? After a secret meeting with Intel's Andy Grove at Bill Gates' house, Su was now visiting Apple right after.
Clearly, he wanted to meet Jobs.
After all, some people had once called Su "the next Steve Jobs."
That label had all but disappeared now—which, in itself, spoke volumes. To many onlookers, it meant Su might have already surpassed Jobs.
…
"Mr. Jobs, may I sit?" Su said as he approached the table, matching the intensity of Jobs' gaze with a calm smile.
Jobs, true to form, didn't smile. His face was hidden under a dark beard. Though not particularly tall, he carried an intimidating air—an invisible pressure that made him seem larger than life.
But that pressure dissipated almost immediately.
The corner of Jobs' mouth twitched upward. He gave a small nod. "Su, hello. Please, sit."
"Thanks. I'll just have a coffee," Su said casually as he took the seat opposite Jobs—like any normal person in a normal café.
Jobs didn't mind. He called out behind him, "Someone, get him a coffee."
Then he placed both hands on the table and looked Su Yuanshan straight in the eye.
Su exhaled slightly, dropped his gaze for half a second, then returned it with a smile. "First, thank you for making time to meet."
Jobs shook his head. "I'm not busy."
"…That kind of shuts down the conversation, doesn't it?" Su thought to himself.
Especially since it was obviously a lie. Apple was in crisis—losing the war against the x86 platform and approaching a breaking point.
Whether in his past life or this one, Su knew: Apple was at a pivotal moment.
After returning, Jobs had slashed unprofitable projects and refocused the company. He was guiding Apple toward its future: mobile communication devices.
In plain terms—smartphones.
At this time, the feature phone market was design-dead. Apple, with its legendary design pedigree, had a real shot at redefining it.
In fact, now was likely the beginning phase of the original iPhone's design.
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Chapter 424: The Only Future
Although in his past life, the first iPhone didn't appear until well into the 21st century—and debuted with the mission of killing off feature phones—Su Yuanshan had heard that it took Apple four to five years just to design it. And the seed of that idea had been planted even earlier.
He had just reminded himself not to rely on outdated memories to judge people, and he certainly wasn't going to make the same mistake again by underestimating the "unstoppable wheel of history."
After all, people change. Not only do they change—they change drastically when they intersect with someone like him.
Just look at TSMC in his previous life. Back then, it had been unstoppable. But now? After Su raided many of its top engineers with high salaries, recreating its former glory would be anything but easy.
And now, with Jobs returning early to Apple—and even making the radical move to open source ARM—it was clear: he had found a new direction.
Su didn't think Jobs' stubbornness came from ignorance. The success of Xinghai was there for all to see. Jobs didn't need to copy Xinghai's approach, but the company's mobile division and strategic direction were certainly worth studying.
Apple didn't want to be just a PC company. It wanted to be a comprehensive consumer electronics brand. Entering the smartphone and tablet market was, therefore, only logical.
…
"But I'm curious, Mr. Su," Jobs said as a staff member brought over coffee. Shifting slightly in his chair, he stared at Su with narrowed eyes. "I heard that every time you visit a company, it's either for a partnership or a business deal—even when it's under the guise of a 'personal visit.' Is that true?"
"It is," Su said candidly, stirring his coffee. "And I use the 'personal' title because I'm honestly terrible at formal negotiations. Once there's a fixed agenda, I lose patience fast."
"When I realized that about myself, I stopped using any formal executive title."
"So then, the real question: what do you want to collaborate with us on this time?"
Jobs studied Su carefully. As much as he resented how Su's companies had eroded Apple's market share in some areas, he couldn't deny the kid's genius. Not just any kid, either—Su was barely in his twenties and already a business prodigy. He was the kind of person every leader in Silicon Valley had to respect—regardless of age.
Over the past few years, Apple had gambled everything. It allied with IBM and other partners to push the PowerPC platform and ended up battered and bruised. The company that had once pioneered personal computing now survived solely on PowerBook sales.
But this was Apple. If all they had left to show was a single laptop, it would be a betrayal of their legacy.
So when Jobs returned, he immediately began shifting Apple's strategy toward mobile phones and tablets—ultra-low-power platforms that would extend the ARM design legacy and Apple's system architecture into a new age.
He believed, without a doubt, that the future belonged to handheld devices.
And on that point, he and Su Yuanshan saw eye to eye.
"I heard ARM disbanded," Su said calmly, sipping his coffee. He met Jobs' gaze directly. "To be frank, they were an excellent team."
Jobs twitched slightly. The corner of his mouth, his cheek—just for a second.
He wasn't a chip designer, but he understood metrics—and this felt like Su rubbing salt in a wound.
The ARM team had spent years dancing around FarCore's YX architecture's patent walls, only for every attempt to end in a legal threat. Every time they made a move, FarCore would unleash another round of legal action, clearly intending to kill ARM in its crib.
And now Su came, praising the very team he'd helped destroy?
"I know it was your recommendation to disband the ARM team," Su continued. "Although Acom is often hailed as 'the Apple of Britain,' they aren't Apple. They lack your vision."
"That's why I hope Apple can take leadership of what remains of the ARM team. Of course, the architecture won't be called ARM anymore. It could be YX, or AYX, or YXA—I don't care."
Su set down his coffee and smiled. "I just don't want brilliant engineers to be forced out of the industry or have their talents go to waste. That's why I'm here."
And he meant every word.
In other words: Su didn't want to see great talent wasted—especially not outside of his own influence.
He had realized recently that while Qin Weimin's team was practically invincible across China and Asia, and while his early lead had forced ARM into submission, when it came time to compete against other architectures globally, they still weren't quite enough.
With the rise of the smartphone market, the once-beaten-down PowerPC alliance had started eyeing mobile applications. ARM might have folded, but AIM still existed—Apple, IBM, Motorola. And PowerPC was still around.
Because of Su's alternate timeline, many European phone manufacturers that once used ARM had now switched to PowerPC.
Faced with that reality, Su had no choice but to reconsider ARM.
If he could get Apple on board through the ARM legacy, it would be a huge step forward for YX.
And again, Su's goal had never been to defeat anyone.
He just wanted every company to find its place in the future landscape.
That place wouldn't be decided over coffee—it had to be earned.
Jobs stared at him, brow furrowed in thought. He was trying to discern Su's true motive. And maybe… he was starting to get it.
Then he smiled.
"Su, you don't need to worry. ARM's team has work in Europe. We're just a shareholder. We can't make those decisions."
"Mr. Jobs, I'm speaking as a chip architect now," Su replied without blinking. "In my professional opinion, PowerPC is fundamentally flawed for smartphones and tablets."
"Yes, it's RISC-based. But years of trying to challenge Intel in the PC space have bloated it—high power draw, overly complex integrations."
"Smartphones and tablets are integrated too, yes. But differently. They need different functionalities."
Su leaned forward slightly. "If you want to enter the mobile space, then you have to understand: YX—or ARM—is the only future."
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Chapter 425: Principally Agreed
The phrase "the only future" made Steve Jobs bite his lip without even realizing it.
He was someone who pursued perfection in design with a kind of obsession—he could not tolerate even the slightest flaw. And it was precisely this trait that both made Apple great and earned him enemies, eventually getting him booted from the very company he had founded.
In this moment, he was forced to admit to himself—Su Yuanshan was right.
In fact, the reason Jobs had suggested disbanding the ARM team, while quietly bringing its core members into Apple, was because he hoped to continue developing breakthroughs based on ARM architecture, looking for an eventual replacement for PowerPC.
To be frank, even if Su hadn't come to him, Jobs had planned to reach out to FarCore before the end of the year to request licensing for YX architecture—or at least to discuss a settlement. Because as long as ARM remained a functioning independent entity, under the "rules" established by Intel, FarCore was never going to grant patent access to a direct competitor like ARM.
But now that ARM had been dissolved, FarCore no longer had that excuse.
…
Su couldn't read Jobs' thoughts or tell if he was actually swayed. But he did sense that Jobs agreed with him on one point: PowerPC was not suitable for smartphones or tablets.
Its power consumption, its integration model—none of it fit.
"Let me put it plainly: YX architecture is already integrating baseband chips, and we're prepping for tape-out."
"Hm?" Jobs blinked. "You mean phones can be made thinner and lighter?"
"Yes. And once LCD panel technology matures, we'll have handheld, readable devices with full operating systems. And the main obstacles that once held those devices back—we're actively addressing them and have made progress."
Jobs raised an eyebrow and responded almost immediately: "You're talking about storage and battery life?"
Su nodded with a smile. "Exactly."
Chips, display, battery, and flash memory—these were the four pillars of mobile hardware. Add an operating system on top, and you had a true mobile device.
Over the past few years, Su had quietly laid out a complete plan. He had formed partnerships, invested in R&D, and fought for each piece of the puzzle. It was all part of his vision: to become the dominant force in the global smartphone industry.
Under his "quietly enter the village, don't fire your gun" strategy, FarCore had already built its infrastructure in silence.
Very few in the world could understand what Su was building.
But Jobs understood. That one, nearly instinctive question about battery and storage—that was proof enough.
At this point, FarCore had no rival in China or even in Asia. But going global? That was another matter.
LCD, flash memory, battery tech—those were manageable. Even the OS could be open-sourced, with every layer of code exposed for developers to build upon.
But the chip—the core revenue engine of smartphones—was the part that would face scrutiny. There would be technical challenges, yes, but also manufactured political obstacles.
Su had always believed: if it's not Trump, it'll be Cloud-Trump, Rich-Trump, Wide-Trump—there would always be someone.
To bring his mobile chip into the global market, he couldn't rely solely on FarCore's DNA.
And that was why he was here.
To destroy the PowerPC alliance—or, if he couldn't destroy it, to plant a thorn deep inside it.
…
Jobs fell silent.
His breathing grew a little faster.
Truthfully, he'd never had any emotional attachment to the PowerPC alliance. It had been a product of his predecessors and of Wall Street politics. The only thing he actually liked about it was the PowerBook.
Even then, from a design standpoint, Jobs thought the PowerBook had major flaws.
Now Su Yuanshan was proposing a partnership in low-power, high-integration chip development—effectively offering a new kind of PowerPC alliance. But the comparison ended there.
PowerPC, from the beginning, had been a political weapon. IBM had created it specifically to challenge the Wintel alliance, a move born of ambition and resentment. After all, both Intel and Microsoft had risen with IBM's support. But when the protégés got too powerful, the master had tried to slap them down.
It didn't work. The PowerPC dream backfired, and IBM nearly destroyed itself in the process.
Su's proposal, on the other hand, wasn't about taking sides or launching a war. It was focused, pragmatic, and aimed at the future—not the PC battlefield, but mobile and handheld devices.
In that space, there were no defined enemies—yet.
Yes, RISC-based designs still roamed the market. And yes, many could technically support phones. But the only serious competitor, in Jobs' eyes, was still PowerPC.
And if Apple was going to build the kind of smartphone he envisioned, PowerPC wouldn't cut it. The chip would need to be reinvented from scratch.
Several seconds passed before Jobs realized Su was still sitting across from him, quietly waiting.
He blinked, then offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Just thinking."
"No problem. So… does that mean you're interested in a partnership, Mr. Jobs?" Su's eyes flickered slightly. He wasn't naive—he didn't expect one meeting to seal a deal with Apple. But from Jobs' expression…
At the very least, he had gotten through.
And that was enough. The first wedge had been planted. As for formal cooperation? That would depend on timing.
If things didn't work out with Apple… he could always try Motorola.
As Su drifted momentarily into that thought, Jobs finally spoke.
"Su, I have to admit—the rumors about you were right. You have great vision."
Su snapped back to attention and looked directly at Jobs, awaiting his next words.
"And I have to admit—you've convinced me."
Jobs stared right into his eyes and said clearly, "In principle, I support working with you."
Su's pupils narrowed instantly.
In principle?
"And… non-principally?" Su asked, his tone light but sharp.
He'd heard that phrase too many times recently. Experience had taught him: it usually meant, "I agree with you, but I'm still saying no."
He wasn't sure if Jobs meant it the same way.
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