After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future
Chapter 440 - 435: Power Can Go Unused, But Must Not Be Absent

"Without Mr. Ma's support, I'm afraid it would be impossible to get Softbank firmly on our side."

Looking at Old Ma leaving, Liu Qing sighed. Old Ma's relationship with Sun Zhengyi was not just good.

The first round of financing for Old Ma had come from Sun Zhengyi, and Softbank's investment in Ali had become a legend.

If Softbank remained neutral, the situation would be very unfavorable for her, because the neutral party's demand was an early IPO.

"As long as Goldman Sachs doesn't switch sides, the situation will be evenly matched," Old Liu said with a contemptuous smile, still confident of victory.

"I hope so."

A trace of worry flashed in Liu Qing's eyes. She had previously served as the IPO consultant for DiDi, and the application was rejected by the Ministry of Commerce.

If Lu Liang took over as consultant and resubmitted the application to list in the US, and if the Ministry of Commerce approved, that would be very telling.

On the other side, at Beijing Airport.

"This time it really was much faster."

Lu Liang put on his coat and walked out of the cabin.

His previous trip from Modu to Beijing, including waiting for the flight, took at least five hours.

But with a private plane and advance clearance for the flight path, the whole journey took just three and a half hours.

Moreover, before landing, there was time to wash hair and face, maintaining a fresh and clean image.

Very nice, the plane was bought late though.

Led by Lu Liang, a group of people walked out of the airport and saw Cheng Wei, Zhu Hu, and others waiting in the reception area.

"Mr. Lu, the proposal has been approved. Just attend the board meeting tomorrow, and you will be DiDi's IPO consultant," Cheng Wei informed him immediately, because it also represented that facing investors, he would no longer be alone.

With the addition of Lu Liang, a strong ally, he could speak louder and didn't have to only say YES to Liu Qing.

Zhu Hu said with a smile, "Mainly because there's no cost to trying. Inviting Mr. Lu was just a shot in the dark—if it worked, it would be a huge profit, and if not, no loss."

"According to Mr. Liu's original plan, DiDi wouldn't consider filing for an IPO in the next three years."

"Picking peaches isn't so easy; it definitely takes some time," Lu Liang said with a smile, feeling no loss.

He was clear about his role, a challenger, and therefore, he had to bear some cost.

If it hadn't been for the derailment of DiDi's IPO journey, even if Lu Liang were richer, he couldn't have squeezed in to share the pie.

"Let's go, stop standing around chatting. Let's eat some copper pot lamb slice first, and then take a bath."

Zhu Hu directly arranged the schedule, laughing, "Mr. Shen will also come later, on a later flight."

"The host calls the shots, I always trust your arrangements, Hu," Lu Liang said with a smile as he entered the business car provided by Cheng Wei.

Previously, when watching Hong Kong movies, he always wondered why those big boys liked to discuss cooperation while soaking in bathhouses.

Later he found out it indeed was a matter of experience—avoiding surveillance devices was secondary; the key was to meet face to face with honesty.

The same goes for golf; how well you play isn't important at all, after all, they are not professional players.

The key lies in the time before reaching the destination, walking on the vast lawn and chatting.

Bathing works on the same principle, a large pool of forty to fifty square meters, each person at a corner, relaxing the body and soul, and also able to talk freely.

"Lu, have you thought about how to get DiDi to list? Is there anything we can help with?"

After dinner, the group came to the Secret Whisper Villa in the suburbs, Zhu Hu with a wet towel on his head, comfortably sighing.

"Do you really want to help, or just making empty offers?" Lu Liang said with a smile at the corners of his mouth, wrapped in a bathrobe, sitting by the shore soaking his feet.

He had just soaked in the hot spring last night, got excited for half the night, and finally managed to sleep a bit on the plane.

The sulfur smell of the hot spring here was noticeably stronger than that of Modu; he wanted a good sleep tonight.

"What you're saying, help that's 'real' or 'fake'—of course it's sincere!" Zhu Hu said with a displeased face.

"Then help me deal with Old Liu," Lu Liang said with a smile.

Liu Qing serving as DiDi's IPO consultant, with the Ministry of Commerce being the biggest obstacle for the IPO, was, in fact, not an obstacle for him.

After all, Li Junyi had shown him documents with wet ink. If he was still troubled, Lu would simply throw in the towel and quit.

His biggest obstacle was Liu Qing, the Liu family.

Because from Liu Qing's perspective, Cheng Wei inviting Lu Liang to join was already a rebellion.

If this momentum wasn't suppressed, and Lu Liang successfully helped DiDi go public, proving Cheng Wei's choice to be correct,

then Liu Qing's credibility and power in the group would inevitably suffer a major blow.

DiDi's IPO was important, but without her, Liu Qing, everything was meaningless.

Zhu Hu chuckled awkwardly, "Then pretend I didn't say anything."

If he had the ability to deal with Old Liu, he wouldn't be making things difficult for Liu Qing, nor would he need to pull Shen Peng into the mix.

Cheng Wei frowned and asked, "Mr. Lu, are you saying that Liu Qing will sabotage?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

Lu Liang laughed wryly, making a metaphor, "It's like a peach tree, about to ripen, and suddenly someone wants to steal it, and as the owner, you're powerless."

"Do you just watch it being taken, or do you destroy it so no one gets it?"

Cheng Wei fell silent. He was a narrow-minded person, not that magnanimous.

"What peach tree? Did you guys think to contract a few mountains while I was away, supporting the national rural development plan?"

Shen Peng chuckled. As men, they didn't care about being seen, so in front of everyone, he stripped down to just his underwear.

With a nimble leap, he jumped into the pool, splashing water everywhere, and dove under for several dozen seconds before coming back up.

He looked towards Lu Liang and teased, "Mr. Lu, why are you making us soak in your footbath?"

Lu Liang gave a wry smile, "I already soaked last night, staying awake till dawn, so I want to get some solid sleep tonight."

"Youth is a beautiful thing, full of vigor."

Shen Peng fell silent, his face filled with envy.

Money can be earned if it's not enough,

But youth, once gone, does not return.

This year he turned fifty, and with today's advanced technology and affluent living, life spans have significantly increased; had it been ancient times, he could have called himself decrepit.

Zhu Hu looked bewildered as he turned to Cheng Wei, "Mr. Cheng is just two years older than Mr. Lu from the Mainland, so why is it okay when he soaks?"

Cheng Wei's face was filled with distress, as he subconsciously swept back his thinning hair, "Maybe it's because I'm weaker."

At that remark,

The air was suddenly filled with merry laughter.

During their conversation, Shen Peng also found out what topic they had been discussing.

He sighed, "Mr. Lu's worries are indeed real."

If you can't have it, destroy it.

Even if Lu Liang had everything arranged, Liu Qing remained the biggest uncertainty.

Shen Peng asked, "Mr. Lu, what are you thinking? I assume you have a solution, right?"

Lu Liang spoke lightly, "When necessary, kick Liu Qing out of the board, relieve her of all duties."

"That's indeed one solution."

Shen Peng nodded; the best way to face a potential threat was to nip it in the bud.

Zhu Hu also nodded in agreement, "But the timing has to be chosen carefully. After all, Mr. Liu led DiDi through every key developmental stage, he made significant contributions and has deep-rooted influence."

Cheng Wei's face went blank, as he soaked in the 41.5-degree water, feeling an icy chill in his heart. All he wanted was to regain some of the founder's power, but to push Liu Qing out the door?

Lu Liang, seeing the reluctance in Cheng Wei, said softly, "Mr. Cheng, if you don't remove the roots, the weeds will grow back come spring."

"I understand." Cheng Wei nodded, giving Lu Liang a lingering look, "When necessary, I will cooperate with all my efforts."

He suddenly felt a shiver down his spine as Lu Liang made his plans public, revealing his true intentions.

All negative information about Lu Liang had disappeared online, yet Tianxing Private Equity was still at a standstill, indicating the issue was far from resolved.

Lu Liang's decision to face off against the Liu family was not an act of petulance, but a direct challenge.

He must have planned to kick Liu Qing out long ago; after all, offending the Liu family was inevitable, so there was no point in accepting their olive branch.

Cheng Wei felt like he was bargaining with a tiger; if Liu Qing got kicked out, would Lu Liang become another Liu Qing?

If that happened, DiDi might completely change ownership, and whether he could continue as chairman would be a different matter.

But it seemed he had no choice,

Once the arrow is shot, there's no turning back.

"Mr. Cheng, do you know Mr. Yang from Douyin?"

"I've met him a few times."

"Last year when Douyin merged with Watermelon, he actually planned to take the money and run."

Lu Liang gave a smile and glanced at Zhu Hu, "Brother Hu must know about this too, right?"

Zhu Hu said, "He wanted to leave with 70 million, fearing he'd be undervalued after the merger. Mr. Lu persuaded him to stay at Douyin for a year before deciding."

"Now Mr. Yang is not only the general manager of Douyin but also a board executive at Byte."

Lu Liang smiled, his feet almost turning white from the soak, got up, and played waiter, topping up everyone's glasses of wine on the shore.

Pausing behind Cheng Wei, he patted his shoulder, "One's energy is always limited, and Tianxing Technology already keeps me too busy."

"Truth be told, DiDi, Liu Qing, and you, Mr. Cheng, are not important to me, but without Mr. Liu, you are very important to me."

Lu Liang's face lightened with a smile, raising his glass towards Cheng Wei, who quickly picked up his own, placing it quite low, "Thank you."

Lu Liang's intention was to reassure him, to not worry about becoming another Liu Qing, for if he wanted to be Liu Qing, he wouldn't just be an ordinary shareholder in Douyin now.

"Hope everything goes smoothly tomorrow." Lu Liang smiled and looked to Shen Peng and Zhu Hu, giving an airy cheers to them.

What he said was indeed a candid truth, just concealing a phrase.

'Power can remain unused, but one must possess it.'

Back then with Douyin, it wasn't that he wanted Class A shares with no decision-making power; he had no choice.

Because at the time, Lu Liang was too weak compared to Byte's strength, which possessed the crucial technology for short videos.

Otherwise, Lu Liang would never have let Douyin go, with shares currently valued at 18 billion US dollars but cold as ice.

"Here's to a smooth ride!"

Shen Peng and Zhu Hu each raised their glasses, exchanging glances, each seeing a hint of amusement flash in the other's eyes, clearly not buying Lu Liang's story, but they didn't call him out on it.

Boss Lu wasn't running a charity. Getting involved with DiDi — now valued at 50 billion dollars and at the peak of its potential — wasn't just for fun.

If he wasn't aiming for DiDi,

Could it really be just for love?