Zhao Liangyun didn't fully understand why Ren made this call.
Spending millions in subsidies and slashing prices to compete in a mobile phone release?
"It's foolish," Zhao muttered to himself.
"But if the company says go, I go."
The launch was getting closer. The Honor brand was stepping into the spotlight and bleeding money to get there.
Sub-¥1,000 Showdown
Just last year, Xiaomi set the stage with the Redmi.
China Star stunned the market a few days ago with its Starlight M1.
Now, Honor was stepping in with the Honor 3C.
Another entry is under 1,000 RMB (≈ $138 in 2025).
And the offer was fierce:
200 RMB discount coupon on the official site (≈ $27.52)
200 RMB phone card for the first 100,000 buyers (≈ $27.52)
Effectively making the phone cheaper than Redmi
The cost-performance ratio was brutal.
It wasn't just a product release—this was a battlefield.
Huawei's sub-brand was making a statement:
We came to play. We came to win.
Zhao knew the stakes.
"If this launch fails, Honor might never recover."
So Huawei went all-in:
Strategic coupons
Massive price cuts
Social media blitz across Weibo and forums
Old Man Ren Moves First
Haifeng received word of the aggressive discount strategy.
He raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't think Ren would strike this early."
Liu Jianyu brought him a report.
"Honor's 3C is priced at 799 RMB (≈ $110) after coupons.
It's intense competition—especially on the specs."
Haifeng gave no immediate reply. But he was already thinking three steps ahead.
He knew something many others didn't:
In a few years, Honor would dominate China's mobile market.
In his previous life, Huawei's dual-brand system had been their most significant move:
Huawei focused on high-end and offline
Honor dominated online, capturing youth and budget segments
The combination was devastating.
The Poster War Begins
That night, Honor's official Weibo posted its promo materials for the 3C:
5MP front / 8MP rear camera
5.0" large screen
2,300 mAh battery
MediaTek chip
Slogan:
"Ultimate cost performance—you deserve it!"
Honor shot straight into Weibo's Top 10 Trending Topics.
Without online traction, there's no shot at penetrating offline markets. This was standard war doctrine.
Haifeng saw the poster.
Then, I made a call to Ren.
No one knows what was said.
But afterward?
Haifeng turned to Liu Jianyu and said:
"Write a response. Post it in two hours."
Two hours later, the Starlight Series official Weibo fired back.
Same layout
Same font
Same visual style
Except… it wasn't the Honor 3C on the poster. It was the Starlight Q1.
And the specs?
5MP front / 8MP rear
Golden Crow high-performance chip
Unprecedented cost performance
The community exploded.
"Did they just copy Honor's entire poster?"
"This is a direct slap to the face!"
"Battle lines are drawn!"
The new Starlight poster skyrocketed to the Top 5 on Weibo—surpassing even Honor's.
Everyone knew now:
China Star vs. Honor
This was no coincidence. This was war.
Honor HQ – The Mood Shifts
The launch was tomorrow. The team was buzzing.
Zhao sat proudly in his office, admiring the campaign.
"This is it. Our moment. Huawei and Honor—together."
But then…
A market team member burst in with bad news.
His face darkened.
The poster had been stolen. The internet was laughing.
The company drowned out Honor's moment, which it thought it could ignore.