After Divorce, I Can Hear the Future

The location for the phase two factory has been finalized. Wang Xiaofeng temporarily stayed in Wuhan to verify cooperation details, while Lu Liang, along with Hu Weiwei and some members of the inspection team, took a flight back to Modu.

Just as the plane landed at Puxin Airport, Xu Jiawei was browsing online news and suddenly said, "Mr. Lu, there's media online exposing that regulators have entered Ant Group, forcibly halting its IPO."

"Where is the information from?"

Lu Liang frowned but did not seem too surprised because he knew that regulators stopping Ant Group's IPO was only a matter of time.

It's just that Old Ma is stubborn or has no way back, only able to continue down the dark path to pursue that tiny possibility.

Xu Jiawei continued browsing related news, made several inquiries, and then said: "The news hasn't been confirmed yet, but it was initially exposed by Hang City Metropolitan Daily.

It's now topping Weibo's trending list, and in just twenty minutes, the topic's read count surpassed one hundred million.

It doesn't feel like hearsay."

Lu Liang appeared thoughtful, picked up his phone, and called Douyin's Yang Zhenyuan: "Hey, Old Yang, I want to ask you something."

When a company encounters a public opinion crisis, under normal circumstances, it would contact major platforms, opt for a cold treatment if necessary, or divert attention.

Alibaba, being a major internet group, should be adept at handling such matters. If the news is false or without official documentation, it should step forward to clarify at the earliest, not let public opinion ferment.

Yang Zhenyuan said no calls were received from Alibaba's PR department, indicating the news is certainly true with no room for maneuver; denial and clarification are meaningless acts.

Leaving Shanghai Airport, on a forty-minute drive to Su City, Lu Liang was constantly browsing online public opinion.

"Thieves of the State!"

"Intentions behind establishing Lake University!"

"Counting Ali Group's seven sins!"

"996 blessings? The arrogance of the capitalists!"

"30 billion moves 3000 billion, then moves 30 trillion!"

"Ant Group's path to IPO? Wrong, it's a path to death!"

"One diagram to understand the relationship between Old Ma and the Squid Clan!"

Several months ago, Old Ma's various insightful articles criticizing that financial regulation wasn't open enough went unnoticed, but now they are all being unearthed.

Along with Lake University, Ali and Old Ma's past remarks, various issues are also being dredged up to settle past scores, similar to the scenario when Lenovo was cleared online.

Netizens who once addressed him as Ma Ba Ba are now calling him an old thief, capitalist.

"Heroes are powerless when circumstances change."

Looking at the overwhelming, one-sided public opinion, Lu Liang's eyes revealed complex emotions.

One wrong step, every step is wrong,

One mistake, half a lifetime of achievements completely negated.

Does Old Ma have faults?

Yes!

But undeniably, he has contributions too.

The booming development of the e-commerce industry has closed the gap between buyers and sellers, reducing the markup made by middlemen.

Financial regulation lowering payment permissions quickly transformed the nation into a cashless society, decreasing many societal incidents.

He's just different from Lu Liang; Lu Liang knows he is blessed, so he has always been learning, maintaining awe.

In contrast, Old Ma, although continuously portraying himself as a self-made, hard-working man once peddling goods with a yoke.

But some people at 12 don't even know English exists and have never met a foreigner, while others are already proficient in English at 12, often having chances to communicate with foreigners.

Old Ma claiming to be self-made is as ridiculous as Little Ma saying he's from an ordinary family.

His early life was too smooth, leading to gradually inflated ambitions, despite knowing it's a red territory, still wanting to cross the red line.

...

In the following days, Ant Group was ordered to halt its IPO by regulators, Ma Yun fell from grace, becoming the most popular topic on the internet.

Facing public discussions, although Ant Group did not stand up to clarify and explain, it also did not deny, basically regarded as default.

Public opinion continued to ferment, and after a few more days, there were reports that Ant dissolved its IPO team, indefinitely shelving the listing plan, with related news confirmed by P8 executives.

For a moment, Hang City's entire housing market average price dropped by three thousand yuan overnight, with properties close to Ali Park dropping as much as ten to twenty thousand yuan.

"Where did Ma Yun go?"

As the incident fermented near a week, the topic of Old Ma's whereabouts quietly climbed Weibo's hot search.

In the past, Old Ma, like Lu Liang, would frequently appear in the public eye, creating an existence buzz.

But ever since Ant Group's IPO was stopped, Old Ma, as the person involved, vanished without a trace.

To the extent that there are rumors that he ran away.

Meanwhile, Su City Tianxing Park.

"Mr. Lu, I lost."

Old Ma sighed slightly, his hair graying, wrinkles at the corners of his eyes akin to ravines, the whole person seemed void of vitality.

The once high-spirited Mr. Ma was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a small old man nearing fifty.

"Knowing the impossibility yet acting on it, hasn't the outcome been predetermined?" Lu Liang handed him a cup of hot tea.

Old Ma appeared lost, staring at the reflection in the teacup, a bitter smile: "I thought... forget it, not talking about it."

"You thought regulators would compromise like before, until Ant Group successfully listed, turning raw rice into cooked rice."

Lu Liang smiled as he voiced the unsaid words for Old Ma.

Old Ma remained silent for a long time: "Did you know about Ant Group's fate long ago?"

Lu Liang lifted his teacup, blew the hot steam, sipped a bit, and responded: "Didn't you know?"

"Knowing the impossibility yet acting on it."

The same phrase from Old Ma's mouth carried no hint of regret, only the calm acceptance of willing to bet and accept losses.

He lifted the lukewarm tea, drank it all, regained his mood: "When do you plan to take over Alipay's business in East Asia?"

Unable to be listed, the Ant Group was already a failed project, no longer worth wasting time on.

At first, he agreed with Lu Liang that if Ant Group's listing attempt failed, Alipay's overseas business would be spun off to bolster Tianxing Finance's online development overseas, leaving himself a retreat.

Now that Ant's listing failed, a fait accompli, he should fulfill the promise.

Lu Liang did not immediately answer, instead asked: "What attitude did the regulatory department take towards Alipay?"

Ma Yun spoke softly: "Someone recommended a CEO to me, he's quite good, with rich investment banking experience, should be able to lead Ant Group out of the current predicament."

Ant Group, valued nearly at 200 billion US dollars, unable to list, needs someone to step up and take responsibility, also needs someone to clean up the mess.

Lu Liang pondered for a long time, giving a definite timeline: "After National Day, the setup over in Xiangjiang is almost sorted out."

"By then, I'll inform the newly appointed CEO to handle the follow-up handover with you." Ma Yun said.

"What about you?" Lu Liang asked.

Ma Yun smiled: "What I miss most is the time when I was an English teacher. I should develop towards philanthropy in educational aid."

Lu Liang's eye twitched slightly, yet kept smiling: "Wish you could have students all over the world in the future."

Ma Yun smiled and said: "I also wish you could achieve the dream that Ant had not accomplished."

The two shook hands, each showing a kind smile.

Ma Yun left, as Lu Liang watched his back, couldn't help but laugh: "Old fox, still pretending here."

The taste of power makes someone crave for it, once possessed, they'll spend a lifetime chasing fame and profit.

With Old Ma's character, he might only calm down for a while, guessing it won't be long before he re-emerges.

"Can Guangsheng Bank finish its internal adjustments by October 8th?" Lu Liang thought for a moment and called Wen Chao.

He has a premonition that this fire will eventually reach Tianxing Finance, they must act quickly.

Wen Chao sensed the command in Lu Liang's tone, patted his chest, made a military promise: "Can."

"Then I'll go over on the 8th."

After ending the conversation with Wen Chao, Lu Liang called Hilt, inquiring about the status of Harris and Delimei.

"Sir, Harris and Delimei aren't doing well." Hilt felt helpless, sighed deeply.

Harris is akin to a sharp double-edged sword, able to hurt others and oneself.

As Delimei filed lawsuits in the forty-nine states and Federal Court, IRS watched Delimei in nearly all areas, just waiting for them to make mistakes.

That feeling is like running a KTV but police check the premises every few days; consumers dare not stay long in such places.

Previously developing savings, wealth management, and other businesses have almost come to a halt, only the loan department remains operational.