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

"If it really was the internal propaganda team taking action, what were their intentions?"

Lu Liang had a feeling, as if it were directed at him, with a 15-minute video in which he occupied one third of the duration.

Although it was a positive image, he wasn't sure whether they were worried he would leave, planning to tie him down, or both.

Lu Liang thought it over and decided to execute the three no's principle: not initiate, not refuse, not take responsibility.

Let the uproar be as loud as it may, he would turn a deaf ear.

Things were fine as they were now, everyone doing their own thing, nothing to do with each other on regular days. He would step in and help whenever he could, but he wouldn't be co-opted.

A cat's meow snapped Lu Liang back to reality.

Li Manli sat in front of him, her legs in a W shape, blinking her adorable big eyes, gazing at him with dewy eyes, her manicured nails lightly scratching the sofa, making a creaking noise.

"What's wrong? Do you have a fever?"

"Meow meow~" Li Manli nodded heavily, her eyes shimmering like clear autumn waters, full of tender affection.

"At least let me go take a shower first."

"No, you can't, you mustn't~"

...

The next day, a little after nine in the morning, Lu Liang took Li Manli to Puxin Disneyland.

He wore cooling sleeves on his arms and his glances were unfriendly. Last night she was like a cat in heat, wildly scratching at him, leaving his arms and back covered in nail marks that probably wouldn't fade for a couple of days.

"The cooling sleeves are for sun protection." Li Manli giggled, pinching her earlobes, looking resigned to any scolding or beating.

Lu Liang wouldn't actually hit her, but occasionally he would poke her forehead to see if there was the sound of waves inside.

After checking into the hotel, he ran into Little Wang and his girlfriend, greeted them with a smile, and didn't interact further.

Mr. Wang, after all, was a major internet celebrity. Lu Liang didn't like to show off, and naturally, Mr. Wang wouldn't want to bother him.

"Xiaocong, who is that man? And the girl beside him, why does she seem familiar?"

Little Wang's new girlfriend was also part of Shanghai's internet celebrity circle. Although Li Manli wasn't dressed in her signature Lolita style today,

just simple jeans and sneakers, complemented by a white off-the-shoulder top, her figure looked great — curvy in all the right ways.

But she still felt familiar, like she had seen her at Panda's year-end gala but suddenly couldn't remember her name.

"Friend, don't ask what you shouldn't."

Little Wang looked at Lu Liang's retreating figure, full of mixed emotions.

Last night, his mother had specifically called him, advising him to keep in touch with Lu Liang whenever possible.

Lin Ting had a keen political sense and immediately recognized the internal propaganda's involvement, with major platforms tacitly cooperating in the publicity.

It wasn't out of fear that Lu Liang would flee, thus morally binding him, but rather, they were forging a gilded image for him so that he could conduct business and act with more ease.

A person like Lu Liang was more fitting outside the party than within it.

Just like a financial nuclear weapon, if not in the wild and relying on its independent development, it would lose its deterrent power.

After all, having a background makes a difference as opposed to having none.

It's like a college student who always claims to be self-supporting through hard work but is actually from a rich family — that basically collapses their personal image.

If they intended to co-opt Lu Liang, it probably wouldn't be a questionable internal propaganda move, but rather CCTV taking a stand and speaking out personally.

"Let's go play."

Li Manli sprayed on some sunscreen, helped Lu Liang with a bit as well, and put on a mask and hat, excitedly charging into the park.

When going out with Lu Liang, she preferred wearing a mask and hat. After all, as a minor internet celebrity with millions of followers, if she was recognized, it could cause quite a bit of trouble for Lu Liang.

At ten o'clock sharp in the morning, the beating of drums and the sound of firecrackers filled the air, announcing the official opening of the Disneyland that was invested with 55 billion US Dollars.

At the same time, one plane flew from Modu to Beijing, another from Beijing to Xiangjiang, then on to Singapore, and finally to the United States.

The former was Hu Weiwei; she left Mobike to join Tianxing Technology in Beijing, ready to start the second act of her life.

The latter was Dai Wei; ofo was rotten to the core, ruined by his self-righteous Enfeoffment Decree.

A board of directors, each with a veto right — if the enterprise could maintain normal growth, there would be peace.

But now, things were clearly not normal.

Meituan powerfully took over Mobike, with Tencent assisting on the side.

Shared bicycles had become integrated into the lives of hundreds of millions of people, and it was time to raise the prices and start making a profit.

The two companies shared the same goal, to end this costly war of attrition, to help Meituan consolidate resources, and then to embark on the road to an IPO.

In contrast to Tencent, which supported ofo, Ali's biggest difference lay in its fondness for sending executives to meddle in the businesses it invested in.

UC, once strong, was literally played to death by Ali, and Youku had been played until it was half-dead, now barely clinging to life.

Dai Wei didn't want to follow in their footsteps, so he took the initiative to use his veto right, which opened Pandora's box.

The four veto rights were used in turn, rendering the execution of any project impossible, and the company fell into endless infighting.

Mobike took advantage of their weakness, urging suppliers to demand payment, and disclosed that Little Huang's loss rate was as high as 22.5%, meaning for every 1,000 bicycles, 225 were lost due to various reasons.

Then there was the group that came out of nowhere.

Every night, under the cover of darkness, they would drive trucks around, collecting Little Huang's bikes and dumping them in some deserted groves.

This led to a significant decline in daily active users and revenue.

Dai Wei suspected Mobike was behind it, but he had no evidence, and neither did he have the energy to pay attention to these matters anymore.

Because the $30 million was spent again.

The chaotic management system also made Ali lose interest in further investment, as did DiDi and Jingwei, the other two major financiers.

ofo, the industry leader with over 22.5 million users, collapsed like a mountain, with funds less than $5 million on their accounts, not even enough to pay next month's salaries, let alone the billions in unpaid bills.

Dai Wei had thought of many solutions and even asked his family for help, but the news of the four veto rights had already spread far and wide.

A business bound to lose money, nobody wanted to take over this mess, so he decided to go abroad in search of a solution.

Soon, Lu Liang also received news of Dai Wei's departure.

He couldn't help but be stunned, "He's just running away? Won't the Dai Family help?"

Zhu Hu gloated, "Would Iron Boss invest in a privately-owned enterprise on the verge of bankruptcy? Especially when the founder is his own son—do you know how many eyes are watching this unfold?"

Although he had taken over Lu Liang's shares and lost a few million US dollars, discovering that someone had invested tens or even hundreds of millions for nothing made him feel better.

"He should still come back."

Lu Liang appeared thoughtful. He had learned from Zhu Hu that, in fact, ofo was on the verge of collapse more than a half month ago, and Dai Wei had been put on the court's list of enforcees.

Somehow, he managed to get another $20 million and stubbornly hung on for another twenty-something days.

Lu Liang suddenly realized, because just over twenty days ago, there was a crisis in the south, and choosing to flee at that time would drag his whole family down with him.

After all, deserting before the battle was rare and would label him a traitor, but now, he could go abroad under the guise of finding solutions.

He hadn't burnt all his bridges; there was still room to maneuver.

"If he finds money, he'll definitely come back, as all his family connections are here, but without money, what can he do even if he does return?"

"True, but what about the users' deposits?" Lu Liang suddenly became curious. After all, there were at least 20 million people.

"I heard Ali went to Meituan and conceded defeat, deciding to raise the hourly rate simultaneously since they still owe so many people their deposits. From now on, ofo has to fend for itself, making money each day and refunding deposits in the order they come in, until the day Little Huang's bikes completely disappear from the market, turning it into bad debt."

Zhu Hu shook his head with a sigh, "Young people just can't hold up. They could have toughed it out, but running away changes the nature of things. No matter how nicely it's put, fleeing is fleeing."

Lu Liang lamented, "This does indeed set a poor precedent."

He suddenly thought of Old Jia. He initially thought he would be the first to flee; he did not expect Dai Wei to beat him to it. Now with a precedent set, if Old Jia also entertained such thoughts, it would probably be too late to run.

"I heard Hu Weiwei joined Tianxing Technology?"

Zhu Hu was beating around the bush, showing interest in the projects Lu Liang had invested in, chuckling as he spoke, "If you're short of funds, just let your Hu know."

"Hu, I'll remember your words. When it's time for fundraising and I invite you, don't you play dumb," Lu Liang teased with a laugh.

Zhu Hu also responded with laughter, "Just ask, I might not have anything else, but I've still got some money."

Ending his call with Zhu Hu, Lu Liang slumped onto a bench in the rest area of the amusement park like a salted fish.

Li Manli stood behind him, massaging his shoulders and hands, coquettishly urging, "Let's go play a little more, huh?"

"I'm tired, let's rest for a while."

Li Manli nodded, flashing a sweet smile, "Then you rest, and I'll go buy you an ice cream cone, okay?"

"Sure."

Lu Liang scrolled through Weibo and saw Old Jia furiously blasting Dai Wei, publicly revealing the ofo collapse.

As he watched Old Jia break down, he couldn't help but laugh out loud, murmuring to himself, "Could it be that Old Jia wants to run too?"