After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future
Chapter 490 - 485: A Little Bet to Lighten the Mood

The next morning, after the regular meeting ended, Lu Liang led his team to the Beijing airport.

"Mr. Liu, why not take my plane?"

Lu Liang said with a smile, extending an invitation to Liu Qing.

Including security personnel, the audit team had 23 members, but there were only 12 seats on the plane.

Just like the last Panda IPO in the United States, part of the group would take a private jet, and the rest commercial.

"Thank you, Mr. Lu. However, I need to bring two more people, is that okay?" Liu Qing responded with a smile.

Lu Liang nodded slightly, looking towards the other two individuals, one was Uber board representative Liang Jing, and the other he did not recognize.

"Mr. Gao Jinhua, an honorary professor at Huaqing University, has advised several conglomerates on US IPOs and might be helpful for our trip."

In his early fifties, tall but slender, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, he gave off an air of gentle and courteous scholarship.

Gao Jinhua smiled and extended his hand, saying, "Mr. Lu, it is good to meet you at last, after having heard so much about you."

"Professor Gao, good to see you, thank you for coming. It's almost time; we should head out." Lu Liang paced ahead.

As he walked, he instructed Xu Jiawei, "Contact Zhu Hu and find out more about this Professor Gao."

Xu Jiawei nodded, deliberately slowing his pace to let Liu Qing and his two companions go ahead while he hung back and made a phone call.

"Xiaoqing, Mr. Lu is indeed cautious," Gao Jinhua's eyes twinkled with sharpness, though his smile remained.

"If he weren't cautious, he wouldn't be Lu Liang."

A hint of concern appeared on Liu Qing's face, "Professor, what are our chances of victory?"

Gao Jinhua thought for a moment and made a three with his fingers, "It also largely depends on whether Mr. Lu's chips are heavy enough."

He was not only an honorary professor at Huaqing University but also a lecturer at Harvard University and Liu Qing's mentor.

Old Liu was his mentor, and this generation's Old Liu was his good friend; Liu Qing was his student. He had deep ties with the Liu family.

Meanwhile, Lu Liang reached the front seat; while waiting to enter the runway, he also received a call from Zhu Hu.

"Lu, Professor Gao has quite the reputation both in domestic and international academic circles. For instance, David from Goldman Sachs, Jones from Morgan, and Pier from DuPont have both a mentor-mentee and friendly relationship with him… Also, he has deep ties with the Liu family..."

Zhu Hu regretted not realizing earlier, especially after the 5G voting scam incident tarnished the Liu family's name.

If Liu Qing were forced out of DiDi, it would spell the end for the Liu family. Given his ties with the Liu family, Gao Jinhua couldn't just stand by.

There's a saying: the pen for the scholar; the sword for the warrior.

Merchants, intent on making money, need to create momentum, but because of their identity, whatever they say tends to come off insincere, causing people to wonder if they have ulterior motives.

Thus, spokespersons are needed—experts and scholars—and Gao Jinhua was a prominent figure among them.

He had participated in the World Economic Forum, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Tokyo Forum, G20, and was also a committee member of the BRICS Summit.

"The plane is about to take off; let's leave it here."

After ending the call with Zhu Hu, Lu Liang's smile widened, easing the furrowed brow of worry.

His major concern was the unknown, but now knowing Liu Qing's cards, he felt more at ease.

Although Professor Gao had significant connections, his role was mainly to mediate and smooth things over.

The United States, more so than the East, values personal relationships, but when it comes to interests, not even one's father can be considered.

As everyone took their seats and the plane taxi and took off, getting into the relatively stable stratosphere, they also embarked on a 13-hour journey.

Lu Liang unfastened his seat belt, stood up from his seat, and with a full smile approached Mr. Liu and others, "Mr. Liu, does Professor Gao play mahjong?"

Liu Qing glanced at Gao Jinhua, who nodded slightly, and she said with a smile, "Since Mr. Lu is interested, let's go along with the host."

Gao Jinhua said, "Mr. Lu, a little gambling adds to the fun, just don't play too big; I'm not as wealthy as you guys."

"You are too modest, Professor Gao. Your annual dividend income is probably higher than Mr. Liu's salary."

Lu Liang kept a cheerful face; in a collaboration between businessmen and scholars, if a businessman could take the lion's share, the scholar would naturally get the smaller share.

Zhu Hu had just sent a document showing that Gao Jinhua held stakes in eight listed and non-listed companies, accruing at least five million in annual dividends.

Though it might seem a bit stereotypical, a scholar who has taken money is no longer pure; Lu Liang could finally lay his worries to rest completely.

Gao Jinhua squinted his eyes, a cold gleam flickering, "Mr. Lu, depending on how big you want to play, I might dig out some old reserves to join you."

Lu Liang led the group to the middle section's entertainment room, opened a wall drawer, and took out various colorful chips.

He grinned and said, "Each stack is 1,000 points, let's say each point is ten thousand, just for a small game, so as not to lose all of Professor Gao's capital."

Once he finished speaking, Gao Jinhua looked unpleased, "If you can make me lose all my capital, that would be a feat for Mr. Lu."

"Then let's see the truth under our hands." Lu Liang said joyfully, turning his head to Liu Qing, "How about it?"

Liu Qing smiled lightly, "I'm fine with it, but we are one short, seems like we still need one more."

Everyone turned their eyes to Liang Jing, and she quickly waved her hands apologetically, "Mr. Liu, Mr. Lu, you play, I can't."

Although she was the General Manager of Uber China, after DiDi acquired Uber, Liu Zhen left, and all members withdrew.

She was the only one left in the company's China department, her job was to unconditionally support Liu Qing in board meetings.

With an annual salary of only six hundred thousand, a ten-thousand-per-point game was out of her league. If luck was not on her side, she might go bankrupt before the game even finished.

"We're still short one person."

Lu Liang scanned the cabin, and Xu Jiawei was immediately ruled out; he still had business to attend to, and besides, he was male.

Having two men and two women for the card game was best, as it balanced out the workload; it would be ideal to find someone prettier than Liu Qing.

Suddenly, Lu Liang looked towards Chief Steward Lin Yan and called her over with a smile, "Chief Steward Lin, we are one short, come help us out quickly."

Knowing the stakes were high, Lin Yan quickly waved her hand, "Mr. Lu, you play, I only know Guigang Mahjong."

Guigang Mahjong, also known as Cantonese Mahjong, only has chicken wins; you can pong but not chow, you must self-draw, and there are no multipliers.

"How about Guigang?" Lu Liang looked at Liu Qing and Gao Jinhua, both nodded, "Guigang's rules are simple and not brain-burning."

"Let's start then, all the winnings are in one, five, nine."

Lu Liang looked towards Lin Yan and said with a smile, "Sit down quickly, just consider it a favor, it's the same as last time, the wins are yours, the losses are mine."

"Okay." Lin Yan looked at the two of them, nodding firmly.

She felt the mood was a bit off when she boarded the plane, and now playing large stakes confirmed there was tension.

Although she didn't know why Lu Liang had asked her, since Boss Lu had said to help, she couldn't refuse in front of others.

With the sound of mahjong tiles clashing, the first hand officially began.

Playing cards seemed a bit metaphysical,

Those who didn't want to play often were especially lucky.

Lin Yan self-drew on her first hand and even had a concealed Kong, drawing six one-five-nines.

In less than five minutes,

the first hand earned her 240,000.

Lu Liang squinted his eyes happily, even though he lost money, he was still very cheerful, "Continue."

As long as Liu Qing and Gao Jinhua lost money, he didn't care about winning or losing.

Liu Qing also gradually put away her underestimating spirit, winning or losing didn't matter to her, the key was not to lose to Lu Liang.

A flicker of pain crossed Gao Jinhua's eyes, but his demeanor remained light and breezy, different from the spirited competition between Liu and Lu.

His annual income wasn't even ten million, and losing eighty thousand a hand was still slightly painful for him.

Joyful times always pass quickly,

In a blink, five hours had passed.

Some people's chips had nearly hit 3,000 points, while others' chips were almost depleted, and some had barely moved.

Lu Liang opened his drawer, took out two chips representing 100 points, and clinked them a few times, smiling broadly at Gao Jinhua, "Professor Gao, out of chips?"

Although he had lost eight hundred points, Gao Jinhua had almost lost everything; Liu Qing might have made a small profit, but most of the winnings went to Lin Yan.

"Don't bother on my account, Mr. Lu."

Gao Jinhua struggled to maintain his smile, his previously gentle and refined aura had vanished almost completely.

Lu Liang gestured to call over a flight attendant standing at the door, "Help Professor Gao get another stack, we play to enjoy ourselves."

Liu Qing frowned tightly, speaking out, "Mr. Lu, we've been playing for so long, why not take a break first?"

"Come on, I've lost more than eight hundred, and Professor Gao is close to a thousand. A few more rounds and the luck might turn," Lu Liang's smile remained.

Liu Qing stealthily kicked Gao Jinhua under the table, and he took a deep breath, pulling out a chequebook, and signed for ten million, "Let's not play anymore today, I'm a bit tired. Next time."

The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!