Lu Haifeng didn't pay much attention to Coolpad's antics. His products had advantages, and he couldn't give them free publicity by responding.
He knew better than to help someone else hype their own name by "clapping back" online.
Liu Jianyu was visibly irritated by Coolpad's stunt, but when he heard Lu Haifeng's reasoning, he could only nod and follow instructions.
At China Star Technologies headquarters, Lu Haifeng personally walked into the sales department.
The staff were tense, nerves running high. Haifeng glanced at them, then asked calmly:
"How are preparations going?"
At 9:30 AM, traffic on CS's official website had already spiked. The Hongmeng S2 had exploded in popularity.
Haifeng wanted to see the numbers for himself.
"It's almost time!" someone called out.
He stared at the screen. They'd stocked up for this launch with a bold total of two million units.
But this was new territory.
Sales were online only, and the S2's pricing wasn't low. Whether the launch succeeded would depend entirely on how badly customers wanted it.
CS had shown sincerity, both in design and performance. But everything came down to the next few minutes.
At 10:00 AM, the countdown hit zero.
"Too many users online!"
The tech staff were glued to their screens, stunned.
The servers would've crashed if this kind of surge had hit most phone companies. But CS's systems held.
Ten minutes passed in a blur. Then one of the tech leads turned around, eyes shining.
"President Lu—it's sold out!"
Total silence for a second. Then gasps.
All two million units of the Hongmeng S2 series—gone in ten minutes.
Haifeng was stunned. He had expected a strong interest, but it was not like this.
At these price points—starting at ¥2999 (≈ $413) and reaching ¥4499 (≈ $619)—he figured it might take a day to clear the warehouse.
But this year's buyers were ravenous. The demand had blown past every expectation.
"Ten minutes…" he repeated, almost in disbelief.
He snapped back into focus and gave the order:
"This sale was a success. Post it on Weibo immediately—make it known."
The team jumped into action, crafting the perfect announcement.
"Hongmeng S2 Series Sells Out 2 Million Units in 10 Minutes"
The news hit Weibo like a missile, shooting up the trending list and landing in the top 10 within minutes.
Comments flooded in:
"666! Hongmeng S2 is a monster!"
"Amazing. CS is on another level this year."
"I'm heading to the experience store later. I need to try it myself."
"Didn't even refresh in time. It was like a robbery."
Everyone was talking about it.
Even users who didn't follow tech closely were aware—CS phones had become "must-haves." Their brand reputation was rock-solid now.
Back at CS, the mood was euphoric.
The margin per unit wasn't as high as it could've been, but the velocity of the sale was staggering. It was like legal bank robbery.
Jianyu came over, holding fresh data.
"President Lu, feedback is incredible. We might need to push the foundry in Taiwan to speed up production."
They needed more chips—fast.
Jianyu was ready to go full tilt. But reality slowed him down.
The Zhulong A2 processor was still being manufactured overseas, and the process was complex, near the level of top-end Qinglong chips.
Despite heavy investment in CS Semiconductor, lithography and advanced node production were still under development.
"We can't rush it," Haifeng replied. "Take a page from Xiaomi's playbook. Sometimes, less inventory is more leverage."
Scarcity built demand. If consumers saw the S2 as hard to get, they'd want it even more.
Jianyu nodded. He understood.
Later that day, CS posted an official announcement:
Apologies to users who didn't get a phone.
The second wave of sales begins next month.
It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to calm most buyers, at least for now.
Meanwhile, the rest of the mobile industry was in free fall.
On that same day, most companies sold in the four-digit range. Even the once-hot Honor 3X, which had just slashed its price, only managed 5,000 units.
It was a massacre.
Sales numbers that had once been solid now looked embarrassing.
Jealousy spread across the sector.
Several manufacturers, frustrated by their own stalled momentum, were now considering a new option:
Partnering directly with China Star Technologies.