After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future
Chapter 432 - 429: Lake University

"I'm not going."

Zheng Xiaoxuan glared ferociously at Lu Liang, but her attitude wasn't as presumptuous as before.

Previously, she had always regarded Lu Liang as a deadbeat who had abandoned his wife and child and was two-timing, but his look just now reminded her that being a deadbeat was only one facet of Lu Liang's identity.

He was also the financial tycoon who controlled hundreds of billions in funds, who had once shorted the yen and British Pounds and dominated the international market, and who had even been invited to the White House in Washington to have an amiable chat with Old Te.

The accumulation of wealth for most people often skirts on the edge of legality, but true capital accumulation is undoubtedly accompanied by endless blood and sin.

Lu Liang had only been developing for a little over two years and already possessed such a vast fortune; his hands must be directly or indirectly stained with much blood.

"What's the matter? Are you scared of me?" Lu Liang's mouth curled into a smile, a smile with a somewhat profound meaning.

"No. As if I'd be scared of you."

Zheng Xiaoxuan stiffened her neck, then, catching a glimpse of the diaper on the sofa out of the corner of her eye, decisively picked it up and headed to the bathroom, "Yu, let me help you."

Lu Liang suddenly laughed, quite cheerfully, "After all, just a little girl, so easily handled."

In the bathroom, one of them was in charge of holding the baby, and the other of cleaning and wiping.

Zheng Xiaoxuan suddenly said, "Yu, how about we don't go to Beijing, it's too crowded, let's go back to the United Kingdom earlier."

Su Wanyu cocked her head, puzzled, "Didn't you always want to go and see the city wall?"

"There are too many people; I doubt we'll see much."

Zheng Xiaoxuan clung to the excuse of it being too crowded, mainly because she didn't want to meet Lu Liang again.

She felt that only by returning to the United Kingdom, to Edinburgh, could she feel safe.

"Then, let's not go to Beijing. Staying in Modu is also fine; it's very convenient for food, housing, and transportation."

Su Wanyu glanced outside the door; during the National Day, Lu Liang would probably take a few days off, and she wanted to be with him.

Suddenly an alarm rang; Lu Liang walked to the balcony to take a call, and when he came back, he said, "I need to step out for a bit, and I won't be back for dinner tonight."

"What about tomorrow?" Su Wanyu quickly asked.

"Tomorrow depends on the situation, let's talk about it then."

Lu Liang patted the little one's head and then touched Su Wanyu's cheek, laughing lightly, "Daddy's leaving now."

"Bye-bye, be safe on your way," Su Wanyu smiled naively, holding the little one and waving goodbye to Lu Liang.

She liked this scene very much; the man of the house working hard outside while she took good care of the family at home.

Zheng Xiaoxuan sighed lightly, "Then let's stay in Modu a few more days."

Elsewhere, Lu Liang took a ride back to the company.

Old Ma had been waiting in the reception room for a long time, his face all smiles, "Mr. Lu, still looking great. I hope you don't mind my sudden visit."

"You wouldn't suddenly visit just to catch up, would you?" Lu Liang smiled unchangingly, not too courteous.

Apart from the cooperation with Mitsui Sumitomo Group, he had no other business dealings with Old Ma.

An unscheduled, sudden visit was likely about DiDi, or more precisely, about Liu Qing.

Over the years, Old Ma had always praised Old Liu as a godfather of business, and Old Liu had also commended Old Ma for his leadership qualities.

Their praisings of each other weren't just business flattery; they truly handed down the torch to each other.

Though the once-glorious Taishan Association had declined, it was succeeded by Lake University, initiated by Old Ma.

The president was Old Ma, and the board members were Old Liu, Ma Lun, Guo Changguang, Shi Yuzhu - almost all the original members of the Taishan Association.

He didn't know what deal was made, but Old Liu indeed handed over all his connections to Old Ma, and both of them shared a relationship of both mentor and friend.

Cheng Wei suddenly became assertive, making a move against Liu Qing at the board meeting, with the news spreading quickly. Everyone was waiting to see Lu Liang's stance.

At this time, Old Ma's sudden visit obviously had a clear purpose.

Old Ma chuckled and said directly, "It's been a long time, certainly to catch up, but also on behalf of someone else."

"It wouldn't happen to be a certain Mr. Liu, would it?" Lu Liang teased, brewing the tea and handing Old Ma a cup.

Old Ma took a sip and praised the excellent tea before saying, "Indeed, Mr. Lu's eyes are sharp, nothing escapes you."

"Cheng Wei has approached me and explained the reasons. I do have some thoughts, but I'm still considering."

Lu Liang acted as if he had just found out about the matter, keeping himself clear of responsibility.

Although Zhu Hu and Shen Peng wouldn't have openly challenged Liu Qing at the board meeting without notifying him first, he still had to make the necessary appearances. He was only an invited participant, not the one who initiated the plan.

After all, the Liu family is the top comprador group in the country, especially Old Liu, whose disciples are spread throughout the nation.

Lu Liang picking a fight with them on his own initiative is different from doing it at Cheng Wei's invitation and for monetary gain.

The former's actions were a bit too arrogant and could easily provoke the fury of Liu family disciples, while the latter, he is simply a mercenary motivated by profit.

Today, he could target the Liu family for profit, and tomorrow, he could just as easily aid the Liu family for the same reasons.

He has no allegiance,

his allegiance lies wherever the profit is.

Old Ma squinted his eyes, not quite believing Lu Liang's words, but it was none of his concern, so he might as well take it as truth.

He was just a messenger, "Mr. Lu, Mr. Liu would like to meet with you, do you have time available?"

"Which Mr. Liu?" Lu Liang raised an eyebrow.

"Old Mr. Liu."

"When?"

"Mr. Liu will be coming to Modu shortly, the specific arrangements depend on your schedule."

"Then how about tonight? I probably won't have time the day after tomorrow."

"Alright, I'll pass the message along."

Old Ma gestured for his assistant, asking him to contact Old Liu's assistant to schedule dinner for tonight at six.

After handling someone else's affairs, he had to take care of his own, "I heard that Mr. Lu has collaborated with Mitsui and Hyundai?"

At the time, he felt somewhat displeased, after all, it was through him that Lu Liang had met Ota Ling from Mitsui Sumitomo.

Lu Liang nodded with a smile, "There's a project that I felt Mr. Zheng could help with, so I pulled him in for a bit of fun."

He detected the dissatisfaction in Old Ma's voice, so he deliberately soothed him, it wasn't that he didn't include him, he just couldn't.

For some projects, once they grow to a certain size, money is only a basic requirement, the key is the resources they bring.

Like in earlier years, Lu Liang wanted to invest in Mobike; he had the money, but Mobike wasn't interested in him.

Because at that time, he couldn't bring Mobike the sort of resources that would aid its growth.

Similarly, now, Lu Liang had resources from Wall Street at his disposal; iQiyi and 360 Finance had both contacted him.

With his mere acceptance, they were entirely willing to initiate a round of financing exclusively for Tianxing, just to invite him to join.

Starting from Panda's IPO to its performance after going public, it was a glaring signboard of gold.

"What project?" Old Ma couldn't help his curiosity about the combination of Mitsui Sumitomo, Hyundai, and Lu Liang.

He truly couldn't imagine what kind of endeavor this trio of forces could undertake.

Lu Liang simply smiled and remained silent, and Old Ma didn't press further, instead asking Lu Liang if he was familiar with Lake University.

Last year during their second recruitment, he considered inviting Lu Liang, but Lu's development was so rapid, the idea of him returning to being a student seemed inappropriate, so he waited a year, preparing to invite him to become a mentor and board member.

Lu Liang chuckled, "Mr. Ma, I'll pass, I only have an associate's degree, I wouldn't want to mislead the youngsters."

When he first learned of Lake University's reputation, he had investigated what sort of institution it actually was.

In recent years, whenever Old Ma gave media interviews, he often stated that becoming a teacher and working in education was his ultimate destination.

In reality, he was paving the way for Lake University, with his vision being that, in the future, at least 200 of the top 500 domestic enterprises should be Lake University alumni!

The university's founding intentions were admirable—at least on the surface—with the goal of continuously providing entrepreneurial talent for the nation and giving new entrepreneurs the opportunity to meet industry magnates.

But one shouldn't ponder too deeply since Lake University required applicants to have three years of entrepreneurial experience, a company with annual revenues of thirty million, and also three sponsors.

Recommendations from sponsors took precedence over the other strict requirements like three-year entrepreneurial experience and annual revenues.

This meant that Lake University applicants didn't have to be pure entrepreneurs, but if they weren't pure entrepreneurs, how could they secure recommendations from three sponsors?

Obviously, one could achieve this through familial and ancestral connections.

But if someone had a sponsorship and wasn't an entrepreneur, then what else could they be?

There was once an academy that prided itself on study, teaching, and patriotism, vowing to serve the world and the people, to carry on the work of the ancient sages, which later turned into the Donglin Party.

Lu Liang already had more than enough troubles and certainly didn't need to add an unnecessary complication.

His growth trajectory differed from Old Ma's; they walked different paths, cooperation for mutual benefit was acceptable, but they couldn't conspire together.

Lu Liang always felt that Old Ma's approach was particularly dangerous; one day, he could take a serious fall.

Walking steadily on two legs, he saw no need to add another and risk it becoming a burden.

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