After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future
Chapter 470 - 465: Can This Collaboration Succeed?

"Let's talk about it later, I've been quite busy recently."

Lu Liang offered a wry smile as he declined Xu Huiqi's invitation.

Xu Huiqi felt a momentary daze, almost wanting to pull out a mirror from her bag to see if she really looked that unappealing.

Because not long ago, Xu Xiaojun had brought a few friends home for drinks, and in their idle chat, Lu Liang's name had come up.

Lu Liang was not as faithful as people outside said, having dated an internet-famous girlfriend for over two years.

On the surface, he had a girlfriend, but behind the scenes, he was ambiguous with many other girls, even with female celebrities.

The number of women he was involved with long-term was certainly not less than three.

Xu Huiqi couldn't understand; she was even willing to be one of those three, but why simply wouldn't Lu Liang accept her?

As night fell, the tour group returned to Beijing, and Xu Huiqi had finished her work, full of grievances, reluctantly heading back to school.

After dinner, as the foreign guests all returned to their hotel for rest, Zhu Hu and Shen Peng found Lu Liang: "How about we go have a drink?"

"Just a little then," Lu Liang laughed, following them to the Jade Lake Club in the outskirts.

It so happened they met Lei Jun, Lin Bin, the second in command of Xiaomi, and He Xiaopeng from Xiao Peng Car, who had just finished dinner and seemed to be heading for a soak in the hot springs.

Upon seeing Lu Liang and his group, He Xiaopeng's eyes twinkled with delight as he asked, smiling, "Mr. Lu, why don't you join us?"

Xiao Peng Car had been having a rough time recently, Li Xiang and NIO were busy with financing, preparing for IPOs.

Even Weima Car was selling like hotcakes, leaving Xiao Peng Car, one of the 'Weiliao' trio, at risk of falling out of the top tier.

Therefore, he had come to Beijing, hoping to get support from Lei Jun, conveniently meeting three giants of the investment world, a wonderful coincidence.

"Let's do it together then, it's more fun with more people," Lu Liang smiled, knowing why Zhu Hu and Shen Peng had sought him out.

It was simply to understand the situation with cryptocurrency and see if they could grab a piece of the pie.

But this project was not something Lu Liang could openly discuss, nor could he bring others in on it.

Because he was like a mouse in the warehouse, not eating much, but defecating, potentially ruining a lot of food.

Zhu Hu and Shen Peng exchanged glances, understanding Lu Liang's intention, it seemed they would have to do their own investigation.

Six men, all in big shorts wrapped in bathrobes, made their way to the outdoor hot spring pool.

Winter was coming, and soaking in the hot springs was the best and most fatigue-relieving health activity.

"Mr. Lu, you were accompanying Mr. Su Shimin and the others to the Great Wall this afternoon, how was it?" Lei Jun asked, having just returned to Beijing that day, and planning to find some time to visit Su Shimin the next day.

Blackstone Group and Vanguard were respectively the fifth and sixth largest shareholders of Xiaomi, jointly owning 7.85%.

Next month Xiaomi decided to distribute 9.9 billion US dollars in dividends, and then to start full preparations for an IPO, needing to give them a heads up.

"The scenery was beautiful, and the views pleasant; the South Line can be completed in just over two hours, we should go more often in the future."

Lu Liang soaked in the water, sighing in contentment, eyes squinting comfortably, his face filled with pleasure.

Lei Jun couldn't help but laugh, "Seems like it wasn't that enjoyable."

It was like the coded language of diplomacy, where the two parties have a frank conversation—saying a lot, but not agreeing. The two sides exchanged views—sticking to their own points, no agreement reached. The two sides fully exchanged opinions—we argued a lot, but no cups were thrown.

Zhu Hu smiled bitterly and nodded, and Shen Peng sighed; on the way back, and during the meal, they had played the role of the 'atmosphere group' all night. If they could have a pleasant conversation after that, it would be really surprising.

Lei Jun was surprised: "Are the differences really that big? Is it about the next economic and trade cooperation?"

Lu Liang suddenly spoke up: "It's about something else."

He looked at He Xiaopeng: "Mr. He, how has Xiao Peng Car been doing recently? I haven't followed this industry for a while."

He Xiaopeng was taken aback, not expecting to be suddenly called upon, and quickly said, "We're planning to release the G3i, a modified model of the G3."

The sales of the Weima EX5 were too good, even the BYD Song was affected, let alone the Xiao Peng G3, which shares the same price range and is also an SUV.

They planned a model upgrade, to improve the interior, exterior design, and the assisted driving features of the car machine.

He Xiaopeng suddenly asked, "Mr. Lu, I heard the Tianxing Car Machine has reached L2 level; can our new G3i also be outfitted with your company's car machine?"

Under Lu Liang's frantic investments and poaching, Tianxing OS had successfully broken into the top tier of the market.

Although everyone knew Lu Liang's ambitions, he wanted to make Tianxing Car Machine the domestic Apple, making car manufacturers and users familiar with their ecosystem, so when the market scale increased in the future, it would be time to reap the benefits.

Any ambitious car manufacturer would not let Lu Liang have his way, but the current situation was compelling, whether it was Xiao Peng, NIO, or even the well-selling Li Xiang, the immediate priority was survival before considering other issues.

NIO had earned a name for itself, Li Xiang had secured sales, but Xiao Peng, targeting the mid-market, was still outflanked by Weima Cars.

The redesigned G3i, if not accepted, could mean Xiao Peng might disappear from the market for quite some time.

They were in desperate need of a selling point, and also needed a fresh injection of blood; Lu Liang happened to perfectly satisfy both needs.

Lu Liang was all smiles, swimming up to He Xiaopeng, bare-chested, and putting an arm around his shoulder: "Mr. He, if the company has any difficulties in management, just let me know. As you know, I'm very optimistic about the prospects of this market and your capabilities."

The two chatted amiably, shoulder to shoulder, and Lu Liang learned that Xiao Peng Car planned to conduct a Series B+ financing round, with an estimated valuation of 1.8 billion US dollars, seeking 180 million US dollars in funds.

After some thought, Lu Liang waved his hand grandly and decided to invest 90 million US dollars, leading this round.

He didn't know whether Xiao Peng Car's future would merge into obscurity, but it didn't matter. He had invested in all three—NIO, Xiao Peng, and Li Xiang—and even if Xiao Peng lost money, he could make it back on NIO.

The main thing was to increase the market share of Tianxing OS. As long as the market grew, the customers got used to it, and the car companies became dependent on it, wealth would naturally flow in thereafter.

Lei Jun frowned slightly, sensing that Lu Liang was changing the subject. He turned to look at Zhu Hu and Shen Peng.

But the two were preoccupied—one looking up at the night sky, the other gazing down at the bubbling spring water.

There were many cryptocurrencies currently, but it would generally refer to Bitcoin, as it had the largest trading volume.

Even if Lu Liang didn't tell them, they had decided to invest a little. When it came to making money, naturally, they wouldn't bring others along.

As the night deepened, people gradually left the spring pool and returned to their hotels in the city.

The time swiftly advanced to the afternoon of the eighth. Old Te, accompanied by his wife, arrived in Beijing for a state visit.

What was discussed on the first day nobody knew, but Old Te was clearly very pleased, frequently breaking into childlike grins.

On the second day, Lu Liang, Lei Jun, Old Ma, Cao Wangde, and others were invited to the square outside the East Gate to attend the welcome ceremony.

When Old Te saw Lu Liang, he was all smiles, as though an annoying fly had found a cracked egg, giving him a royal treatment.

Others just shook hands, but with Lu Liang, he gave a hefty hug: "Lu, how's the project in Detroit going?"

"Thanks to your blessings, it's going very well."

With a forced smile, Lu Liang glanced at the cameras, guessing what the front page of the newspapers would be.

After all, it was quite normal for others, but extraordinarily special regarding him, which could easily lead to wild speculations about the closeness of their personal relationship.

"As long as it's going well. On behalf of the once industrial jewel, I thank you." Old Te's weathered face broke into a broad smile. He intentionally hugged Lu Liang's shoulders again for the cameras, fearing that Lu Liang was not noticeable enough.

Lu Liang, enduring the discomfort, pulled away. Old Te chuckled, patting him on the shoulder before moving on to Lei Jun.

Old Ma's eyes glistened with a smile that couldn't hide his schadenfreude: "Mr. Lu, he seems quite taken with you."

In the past, he was always the most noticeable one, but ever since Lu Liang appeared, he had felt slightly neglected.

Though he felt some loss, the pressure was much lighter.

After all, this guy was not like the typical politician; he didn't follow the usual rules, and it was easy to fall into a pit if you weren't careful.

"A blessing or a curse, a curse that cannot be avoided," Lu Liang sighed, inquiring about the economic and trade cooperation that Ali planned to offer later.

The morning was the welcome ceremony, and the afternoon was for discussions.

As far as he knew, Sinopec was going to cooperate with General Motors on liquefied natural gas, with contracts exceeding 56 billion US dollars.

The Energy Department was also going to sign a strategic cooperation memorandum with the state of West Virginia, pledging a total investment of 83.7 billion US dollars over 20 years, given the right technological and economic conditions.

Sinograin was also poised to sign a memorandum of understanding with ADM to strengthen cooperation in the field of soybean trade.

Even Aviation Industry Corporation of China was set to cooperate with Boeing to order 300 aircrafts, with a total worth exceeding 37 billion US dollars.

But the most crucial was the central bank, which appeared ready to engage in in-depth discussions and cooperation with the US Treasury and Su Shimin in the field of financial payments.

Their conversation,

would likely affect the future direction of Bitcoin.

The cooperation between the two countries was very sincere, and as invited entrepreneurs, Lu Liang and his peers naturally had to show some sincerity.

Old Ma pondered for a moment before whispering: "Mr. Lu, do you think this collaboration will be successful?"

Lu Liang was surprised, and that trace of surprise was exactly what Old Ma captured. His eyes twinkling with amusement: "Then let's talk it up big."

Clearly, Lu Liang shared his perspective; the cooperation seemed smooth on the surface, but implementing it would definitely not be so straightforward.

Hollywood's main villains had changed, and they had been neglected too long. Now, deep cooperation would be tantamount to aiding an adversary.

Old Te had not even been in office for a year before he unilaterally terminated nine international treaties—adding one more economic and trade cooperation down the line wouldn't be out of the norm.