After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future-Chapter 93: The Outcome Changes Once Again

"Lu, why are you thinking about buying a house in University City?"

"Being close to reputable schools, getting some cultural exposure."

"Isn't it because you're eyeing the schoolgirls?"

"Xiaowen, you know too much."

Zhou Xiaowen chuckled, taking Lu Liang's comment as a joke.

The real estate industry often pairs rookies with experienced agents, and although many beginners are clumsy, Lu Liang had always shown her respect.

As they chatted and laughed, they arrived at Quyang Road near Tongji Campus and circled around the whole campus.

The area was filled with residential communities or mid-to-high-end apartments, with comprehensive basic amenities.

"Lu, do you have a preferred community?" Zhou Xiaowen looked down at her phone to refresh the average prices of nearby communities.

Lu Liang turned the car around and stopped in front of a community entrance, "Help me check, see if there are any homes for sale here."

Real estate in Modu was extremely valuable and properties in University City were considered school-district homes, evident from the landscaping and spacing between buildings.

After a round, Lu Liang noticed that Shuxiang Jinxiu had the largest green area and the widest spacing between buildings, and the security seemed very tight too.

"Lu, your taste is always spot-on; this place has an average price of 72,000 per square meter, which is much higher than the average in University City."

Zhou Xiaowen handed her phone to Lu Liang, letting him browse at his leisure. The prices were clearly listed, and since he was the one who brought her into the business, she had nothing to hide.

"Lu, what have you been up to lately?"

"Eating, drinking, thinking about how to spend money every day."

"I wish I could win a jackpot someday, I'm not asking for much, just five million."

Zhou Xiaowen looked at him admiringly, treating Lu Liang like that guy who won the lottery by betting on 88, draining the prize pool.

Lu Liang just laughed and didn't explain, choosing two apartments: "Contact the property agent for these."

One was a large three-bedroom covering 135 square meters, and another was a four-bedroom of 175 square meters.

Both were listed for sale online and looked good from the schematics, but would still need to be evaluated in person.

Zhou Xiaowen contacted the associated real estate agency and discussed her commission, right in front of Lu Liang.

The agency would take 1.5% of the total sale price; for a sale of 10 million, that would be 150,000, of which Zhou Xiaowen would make 80,000 and the agency 70,000.

Lu Liang suggested, "High-end properties can be tough to sell, and there are several listed in this area, so you might be able to negotiate down to 1%."

Normally, properties in University City were barely considered school-district homes, located slightly off-center, with more renters than buyers.

The usual agency cut in Modu was between 0.5-2.5%, with 1.5% being on the generous side. Since Lu Liang knew Zhou Xiaowen, he wanted her to earn more.

Zhou Xiaowen hesitated but then relayed Lu Liang's advice and after some negotiation, managed to get between 1% and 0.5%.

Soon, a young man in a sharp suit rushed over, "Mr. Lu, Miss Zhou?"

"Let's look at that three-bedroom, 135 square meters first."

Lu Liang opened the car door for him.

"Mr. Lu, it's just upfront in building 7, I'll walk."

The crisply dressed young man, all smiles, ran to communicate with the security guard to open the gate.

They checked out both apartments in succession. The 175-square-meter apartment was bigger with more rooms, but it was only on the second floor.

The 135 square meters one was on the 12th floor, slightly smaller, but its balcony faced directly onto Tongji University's playground and had good lighting.

Lu Liang asked, "How much for this 135-square-meter unit?"

The agent replied, "Mr. Lu, the owner listed it for 10.5 million, and it comes with a car space since this building has a good location; the average transaction price is around 78,000 per square meter."

"10 million, including the car space, full payment. If that works, let's sign the contract; have a good talk with the owner."

Paying in full strengthened Lu Liang's position to bargain, although even if he took out a loan, the owner would still get the full amount.

But involving a bank would complicate the process, and it was a matter of whether the owner was willing to concede.

After the agent made a call, he returned looking troubled, "Mr. Lu, the owner hopes to settle at 10.3 million."

"It's five o'clock now. If they agree, have them call me by eight tonight; if not, forget it."

Lu Liang was assertive, waved Zhou Xiaowen over, and prepared to leave by car. He had some free time today and wanted to meet up with Zhou Xiaowen to catch up.

Otherwise, he would have left it to Wen Chao to handle it properly and slowly, which might have resulted in a better deal at a lower price.

The agent quickly shouted, "Mr. Lu, rest assured, I'll certainly persuade the owner."

"Sorry for making you come out for nothing this afternoon."

Lu Liang drove towards the city center, planning to drop Zhou Xiaowen off at her store first.

"No worries, haven't we had our share of fruitless trips before?" Zhou Xiaowen smiled, supporting herself on the car seat, idly swinging her legs.

Lu Liang couldn't help but grin, remembering those times. It had only been half a year, but it felt like ages ago.

"Let's grab a bite, what do you feel like eating?"

"How about that chicken pot place we used to go?"

"Let's skip it, let's have hotpot instead."

Passing by New World Mall, Lu Liang recalled a good Western-style hotpot restaurant he had been to a few times.

He was mainly too lazy to go far; the chicken pot restaurant wasn't that tasty, just generous in portion.

Upon arriving at the Western-style hotpot restaurant, Zhou Xiaowen was startled by the menu prices; every dish was several hundred yuan.

Lu Liang, familiar with the place, ordered three or four dishes, still not quite satisfied, "See if you want to add anything."

"No need, four dishes are plenty."

"Alright then, we can always order more if it's not enough."

Zhou Xiaowen's expression was complicated, the words on the tip on her tongue, but she swallowed them back. Throughout the meal, she remained very quiet.

Like Granny Liu visiting the Grand View Garden for the first time, not speaking and not moving meant not making mistakes nor saying the wrong things.

The bill finally came to over 2,400 yuan.

Suddenly, Zhou Xiaowen understood the feeling of reuniting that afternoon.

Lu Liang had no obvious difference from wealthy bosses, but because Zhou Xiaowen had known him before, there was an odd feeling lingering between them.

Familiar yet unfamiliar.

Just past seven in the evening.

Lu Liang dropped Zhou Xiaowen off at the store, and as she got out of the car, it seemed like she wanted to say something but ended up not saying it.

Lu Liang smiled, waved, and drove away, knowing only Liu could maintain composure knowing his wealth.

Regrettably, Liu was married.

Xiaowen smiled, watching Lu Liang leave, a hint of disappointment flickering in her eyes.

It was not about liking him, just a slight fondness, but she knew it was not possible anymore.

She called the afternoon's agent, "Manager Wu, if I reduce my commission, can it help close the deal?"

Zhou Xiaowen didn't know when she would see Lu Liang again, nor if there would even be a chance to meet.

She knew Lu Liang wasn't short of money, but still wanted to help him, to put a full stop to past favors.

Before eight at night, Lu Liang got home and received a call from the realtor, the owner agreed to sell for ten million.

The next morning, the parties met at the housing authority: Lu Liang, Zhou Xiaowen, the designated agency, and the property owner.

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At the price of ten million, Lu Liang paid in full for a 135-square-meter three-bedroom apartment in Shuxiang Jinxiu District, changing his fixed assets from two cars to two cars and one apartment.

After the transfer procedures were completed, Lu Liang returned to the office.

He let the apartment remain vacant; only an empty house gathering dust gave him a reason to ask Su Wanyu to move in to house-sit.

After three in the afternoon, Lu Liang was discussing with Old Meng, the venue and staffing for the private equity fund.

The venue was already set in the New International Building, with a total area of 3800 square meters.

Lu Liang contacted the renovation team, setting aside 1000 square meters for the private equity fund office and trading room.

In terms of trading personnel, he planned to include four rookies and two experienced staff, to train the newcomers as they went, planning to add more according to the situation.

During their conversation, Liang received an unexpected call.

Mobike's Hu Weiwei, saying she was coming to Modu for work and asked if Lu had time to meet.

"Ms. Hu, I still have some things to handle. Why don't you come over to my office?"

Lu Liang smiled, fiddling with a lighter in his hand.

No one visits without a reason, Hu Weiwei's sudden visit definitely meant something, and now he was holding the advantage. Going out to talk was just a chat, but her coming over was a formal visit; the nature of the two was different.

"I'm available whenever you are, what time suits you?"

Hu Weiwei was very polite. Lu Liang was not yet famous when he visited Hang City, but he had already proven himself with two battle achievements.

It was said he was even setting up a private equity fund, someone she now looked up to and should rightfully visit.

"Let's make it five o'clock."

Lu Liang ended the call, and Meng Changkun also bid farewell: "You're busy, I'll head off."

"No need to see you out."

Lu Liang nodded, opened his computer, and started playing games.

Even if Hu Weiwei arrived early at four-thirty, he let Chen Jinchun ask her to wait a bit, to really test her patience.

He played until just past five, then picked up the phone and said, "Xiao Chen, ask Ms. Hu to come in."

Hu Weiwei got straight to the point, "Mr. Lu, Mobike is planning to launch a Series A funding round this Friday."

"How much is the valuation, and how many institutions are interested in participating?"

Lu Liang was momentarily distracted; the result had changed again.

Originally, Mobike was predicted to launch the Series A funding on September 28, with a valuation of 18 million US dollars.

Friday was only August 19, more than a month ahead.

"The valuation is 10 million US dollars. Venture capital firms like Redwood, Chenyang, and Jingfeng are interested in participating in the Series A."

"Why choose this time for fundraising?" Lu Liang's brow furrowed, the valuation was eight million US dollars lower than expected.

"Because of ofo..."

Hu Weiwei hesitated, then decided to tell the truth. Mobike shouldn't be fundraising at this valuation. But there was no choice, since ofo had gone crazy.

Dai Wei was almost copying their business strategy, launching aggressive promotions to acquire new users, like three days of free rides for new registrations and five days for five yuan offers.

The cost of Mobike bikes was twice that of ofo's, with high production costs and slow deployment, far from matching their competitors—Mobike's leading position was in jeopardy, forcing them into early fundraising.

Lu Liang suddenly understood, also feeling relieved.

Perhaps because he and Dai Wei signed a hedging agreement, causing ofo to enter a frenzied state and thus pushing Mobike into early Series A funding.

Lu Liang wasn't changing outcomes for the first time; as long as it involved him, it was better than changing without any relation to him.

Lu Liang asked, "Ms. Hu, if Tianxing Capital joins, how many shares can you offer us?"

"Three percent, we are offering ten percent for this round of funding."

Hu Weiwei really hoped that Lu Liang would hold more shares; his support meant she could grasp more say.

However, she still had to consider Li Bing's attitude, since the three venture capitals were invited by Li Bing, who could not be left without gains.

Lu Liang frowned, "Three percent is a bit less."

He already held twenty percent of ofo and wanted to hedge the risk; he needed to hold more than ten percent of Mobike.

Either way, he wouldn't lose.

"Mr. Lu, I know it's less, but this is the maximum authority I can exercise," Hu Weiwei said apologetically, assuring Lu Liang that Tianxing would lead the next round.

"Where will the fundraising reception be held on Friday?"

Lu Liang smiled, not delving into that topic; the outcome had changed, and whether Mobike had another round was still uncertain.

Three percent would do.

He wanted to take this opportunity to meet Li Bing.

Last month, Li Bing launched NIO, and according to the company's registration, it seemed to be a smart electric vehicle brand.