After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future

The night deepened, Lu Liang returned to the Trump Hotel.

Liu Qing had just left her room when she encountered the formally dressed Lu Liang, which made her frown involuntarily.

Lu Liang seldom dressed so formally—in the few years that she knew him, he had worn a suit no more than a handful of times.

The last instance seemed to be when Old Te visited China for a state visit, and Lu Liang was invited as one of the twelve representatives from the East.

Returning in the middle of the night in formal attire?

Liu Qing suddenly had a bad premonition because she remembered her cousin, Liu Zhen.

Originally, they had agreed to compete fairly to grow the market—one representing DiDi, the other representing Uber, vying for the ride-hailing market.

But to ensure a swift victory, she bypassed Liu Zhen and contacted Uber's head office directly, acquiring all of Uber's operations in the Chinese District through a merger.

This led to Liu Zhen's departure and the sisters turning against each other.

That afternoon, David had also told her that if Mr. Lu offered the right price, she could be the one abandoned.

Liu Qing forced a smile, about to greet him, when suddenly at the end of the corridor by the elevator, she saw a blonde girl.

It looked as though the girl had some grudges against Lu Liang, though she only complained a bit before entering his room.

Emma Roberts, one of Hollywood's Four Little Flower Dandies, not even reaching five foot three, but well-proportioned and considered the epitome of a leading lady, known for her bewitching face.

Lu Liang turned his head and saw Liu Qing, offering a faint smile.

The puzzlement in Liu Qing's eyes turned into mockery.

With a mutual glance, they went about their own business.

Entering his room, Lu Liang joked with a smile, "I thought you wouldn't come."

The program at the seaside mansion was magnificent, featuring not only grand opera shows but also erotic strip teases.

Some even went on stage, embraced, and went at it together, which, according to Wilson, was all to vent the day's stress.

Lu Liang was a traditional man; he couldn't accept such uninhibited scenes and came back early.

But the lust that had been stirred was hard to quell.

So, he logged onto his long-unused Instagram to see if he could find a companion for the night.

There, he saw Little Wang's goddess, Emma Roberts, with whom he had a passing acquaintance. But because of the last time Dongzi got involved in an immortal jump case, which required his urgent attention, he was unable to keep the fair lady's company.

He sent her a symbolic message, without much hope, yet she replied immediately: Where are you, I'm in New York.

With feigned arrogance, Emma quipped, "A summon from a mysterious Eastern tycoon—if I didn't come, I feared I might be blacklisted."

"Still angry?" Lu Liang couldn't suppress his amusement. "Didn't I just explain that last time, due to an emergency, a friend was in trouble and needed my help?"

"And afterward?" Emma glanced at Lu Liang. She had been keeping an eye on his itinerary for those few days.

After he left that day, Lu Liang went silent. Then she heard that he was already back in his country.

"Let bygones be bygones, we should focus on the present," Lu Liang said with a smile, embracing her waist.

Emma snorted, skipping over the topic. She had come tonight, which meant she'd already forgiven Lu Liang's abrupt departure.

Playing the blame game later seemed pointless, it would just displease the man, just as Lu Liang said—they should focus on the present.

"So how long are you planning to stay in New York this time?"

"About a week."

Lu Liang said, gradually getting dressed and resting his chin on her shoulder, blowing air on her earrings, "Do you have time tomorrow? Accompany me to East Hampton to look at some houses."

Having met only twice, if she were to claim it was due to affection or admiration that she surrendered herself, it would be utter nonsense—it was either for money or for resources.

They were adults and should be straightforward.

His insinuation was that he was buying a mansion in New York to visit often, and the current investment would surely pay off.

"Do you think I'm that kind of opportunistic woman?"

Emma retorted playfully, then suddenly wrapped her arms around Lu Liang's neck, laughing like a carnivorous woman, "Mainly, I wanted to see what's different about Eastern men."

"I'm sure it won't disappoint you."

Traditional Chinese medicine is actually excellent; it's just that men rather than women have inherited it, it has been looted, it has been through destruction, it's too slow to show effects, to the extent that it's gradually considered feudal superstition.

Pure herbal ancient formulas do have their merits.

Lu Liang delegated all authority, letting Xu Jiawei and David's assistant, George, handle the submission procedures.

He and David agreed that Goldman Sachs would buy 630,000 bitcoins at a premium of 20% over the price of 13,500 US Dollars, in exchange for approval from DiDi's review and the support of DiDi's board of directors.

Your destruction has nothing to do with you; the attitudes and small actions of Liu Qing had already been in vain; it was time for her to face reality.

Near noon, David arrived at the hotel.

Upon seeing Lu Liang and Liu Qing dining, along with the unrelated Gao Jinhua and DiDi's Liang Jing,

he first gave Lu Liang a slight smile, then turned to Liu Qing and sighed, "Jean, on behalf of Goldman Sachs, you're always welcome."

Liu Qing's heart sank. Forcing a smile, she looked up and asked, "David, what do you mean by that?"

David sighed again, "After the board meeting this morning, Goldman Sachs decided to grant its 5.23% shareholding and 15% voting rights in DiDi to Mr. Lu, who has full authority to use them on our behalf."

As long as DiDi operated normally, they would no longer participate in any major decisions or personnel changes, Lu Liang would be their spokesperson.

Liu Qing felt as if an invisible hand was gripping her heart, her fingers white-knuckled around her cutlery. She glanced at David, then back at Lu Liang.

As expected, Lu Liang had offered Goldman Sachs a chip they couldn't refuse, and she had become a disposable pawn. She would be the helpless fish on the chopping board.

Once Lu Liang secured 67% of the voting rights, he could remove her from all her positions and even kick her off the board.

After mulling over it for a long time, Liu Qing, pondering a solution, finally managed a bitter smile and said, "Mr. Lu, well played."

Now that Goldman Sachs was no longer backing her, and Uber only followed her because they followed Goldman Sachs, it was a checkmate.

Lu Liang held 15% of the decision-making power, had the backing of Goldman Sachs' 15%, Zhu Hu owned 13%, and Cheng Wei held 30%.

With more than two-thirds of the votes, totaling 73%, he could even decide to dissolve the board.

"Mr. Liu, I'm sorry," Lu Liang said softly.

Liu Qing laughed at herself. The words were on her lips, but she swallowed them, "I accept my loss, Mr. Lu. Don't worry, I'll honor my promise."

She was silent for a long time before saying, "I have one request."

"Spare me the details, if possible, I will accommodate."

"I hope to stay until the day we go public."

With Goldman Sachs turning its back, DiDi was now fully under Lu Liang's control, and there was no point for Liu Qing to stay any longer.

But she wanted to witness DiDi's public listing, to see the unicorn company she had built reach that milestone.

Lu Liang thought for a while then rejected her, "Mr. Liu, indecision leads to disaster. It's better to be free from it—for everyone's sake."

It wasn't that he didn't want to agree; he couldn't. It was necessary to remove Liu Qing before the listing, not afterwards, as it would affect the stock price.

And it allowed him to shift the blame; DiDi's failure to list before could now be pinned on Liu Qing, with Lu himself positioned as the protagonist.

"I understand," Liu Qing chuckled, then left a final word before she departed, "I'll return home tomorrow to begin the handover process."

She left, not looking back.

Gao Jinhua glanced at Lu Liang, offering a forced smile, "Mr. Lu, shall I see what's wrong with Mr. Liu?"

Before yesterday, he might not have even greeted Lu Liang and would have just followed Liu Qing, but now, Lu Liang deserved attention and respect.

"Go ahead, Professor Gao," said Lu Liang with a smile.

He liked Gao Jinhua's rebellious nature, but his current sycophancy seemed just as good.

The pride of intellectuals exists in very few; the majority side with whoever wins.

Liang Jing offered a smile and extended her hand, "Mr. Lu, let's reintroduce ourselves. I'm Liang Jing, the Uber representative in China."

She was from Uber, which backed Goldman Sachs, and with Goldman Sachs now backing Lu Liang, she too had no burden switching sides to Lu Liang.

"Chairman Liang, if I offend you in the course of our work, please forgive me," Lu Liang said, his face breaking into a friendly smile as he shook hands.

Liang Jing heaved a sigh of relief, replying with a smile, "Mr. Lu, should you need any assistance, just say the word, and I'll do my utmost."

David watched Liu Qing's retreating figure and sighed, "Jean's actually very talented."

Lu Liang nodded in agreement and exclaimed, "It's precisely because of her talent that she refuses to bow to others."

Unlike with Hu Weiwei, he didn't extend an invitation to Liu Qing because that could be seen as an insult to her.

David shifted his gaze away and asked, "What's the plan for the afternoon?"

"Wilson helped me find a house in East Hampton. I should probably go check it out and then wait for the approval to come through."

Feeling the vibration of his phone, Lu Liang picked it up. Emma had sent a half-naked photo, saying pitifully that she was hungry.

David caught a glimpse and chuckled, "The funds are all set. When can we make the transaction?"

"Tokyo time, two o'clock in the afternoon, on the seventh floor of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Xingheng Investment Company," Lu Liang replied after a pause.

That morning, he had received a call from Sun Yutao who had prepared the paperwork and flown to Tokyo overnight to meet with Wen Chao.

Tianxing contributed all their chips of 478,000 Bitcoins, and Xingheng Company added 152,000 Bitcoins, totaling 630,000 Bitcoins.

David smiled and extended a hand as a gesture of friendship, "Here's to a successful partnership. DiDi's review materials will pass by next Wednesday at the latest."

"A pleasant partnership."