After Divorce, I Can Hear the Future

At 6:30 in the evening, against the setting sun, Lu Liang arrived at a private club in the Shitamaku District.

Before the vehicle even came to a full stop, he saw Ota Ling and a young man standing at the entrance from a distance.

The young man appeared to be around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, yet judging by their positions, his status was equal to that of Ota Ling.

Seeing the car stop, Lu Liang got out, and Ota Ling stepped forward with a full smile, enthusiastically introducing the young man beside him: "Mr. Lu, this is Mitsui Takahiro."

"Mr. Mitsui, hello." Lu Liang squinted his eyes, maintaining his smile, as he recognized who this person was.

His father is Mitsui Yongli, the twelfth Family Head of the Mitsui family, also the Sect Leader of the Mitsui Group, while his mother Toyota Meiko is the sister of the current Toyota Sect Leader, Toyota's eldest son.

As the heir to a business empire, Mitsui Takahiro, the eldest son born with a silver spoon, has always been mysterious, with only his name on encyclopedias and no photos.

"Mr. Lu, hello, it's a pleasure to meet you for the first time." Mitsui Takahiro's Mandarin was very standard, as if he grew up in the Central Plains, with no trace of an accent.

"Likewise." Lu Liang smiled and shook hands with him, not surprised at Mitsui Takahiro's proficiency in Chinese.

The Japanese system developed early, so nowadays it only borrows Chinese characters, still considered relatively independent.

Unlike Korea, where, if you don't understand Chinese, you can't even read the historical books. However, this is also an advantage for them.

Because the eighteen-hundred-year history of Korea can be summarized in one sentence: 'Where's Daddy going', either acknowledging a father or on the way to find one.

"Gentlemen, please don't just stand at the door, come inside."

Ota Ling was all smiles, making an inviting gesture, and looked at Lu Liang: "Mr. Lu, please!"

Though he had a good relationship with Lu Liang, he intentionally maintained a distance in front of Mitsui Takahiro.

After all, they might turn into competitors, and he had already sent his son to Wen Chao's side before.

If he acted too close to Lu Liang, the board might suspect him of having personal agendas.

"Please." Lu Liang slightly nodded, not pretending to decline, took a big step, and walked ahead of the two.

The three men, along with the assistant staff, passed through a small garden with an early Tang style, reaching the main building in the courtyard.

On either side of the inner door stood over a dozen young girls in kimonos, who upon seeing Lu Liang, invited him to sit temporarily in the entrance.

One standing nearby handed warm water for handwashing, a hot towel for face wiping, while another knelt in front to remove his shoes and socks, performing a cleansing ritual.

Tatami mats were laid inside, the barefoot feeling on them was moderate, making one feel comfortable and relaxed.

Both men were seated methodically at the dining table, both using the traditional Japanese kneeling posture.

Lu Liang frowned, pressing his palms together with an apologetic expression: "Gentlemen, I'm really sorry, I've had an Achilles tendon injury before, how about we change the setting?"

"Mr. Lu, you are the guest, just make yourself comfortable, there's no need to mind it." Mitsui Takahiro said with a smile.

Seeing this, Ota Ling changed his sitting posture to a cross-legged position and said with a smile: "We are all friends here; there's no need for such formality."

"Sorry to make you laugh." Lu Liang did not decline anymore and followed Ota Ling's example by sitting cross-legged.

Two kneeling, one sitting,

The awkward one is the one sitting,

But now two are sitting, one kneeling,

The awkward one is the one kneeling.

Mitsui Takahiro's eye twitched slightly but was unable to change his posture, merely cast a resentful glance at Ota Ling.

He took a deep breath, slightly composed himself, summoned the maid at the door, filled the wine glass, and said: "Mr. Lu, I toast to you, I've always heard about your exploits and wished to meet you, today it's finally fulfilled."

"Aren't you disappointed meeting me today? Just a pair of eyes, one nose, and one mouth?" Lu Liang joked with a smile.

One can judge a person's character from details, and Mitsui Takahiro shares the same common flaw with those second and third generations he's met before.

Perhaps they received good education since childhood and attended some etiquette classes, but these kinds are usually pretentious.

Just like the small matter of changing posture, if kneeling was an East Country traditional etiquette, seeing everyone sitting, he wouldn't persist rigidly.

Lu Liang liked pretentious people the most.

Because they were easy to bully,

Just like a scholar who met a soldier, reasons couldn't be explained clearly, not because the scholar couldn't speak clearly, but because the soldier was too shameless.

Mitsui Takahiro was stunned, his CPU almost burnt out, suddenly not knowing how to reply, he was silent for a while.

Ota Ling sighed inwardly, only he could intervene to defuse the situation, laughingly saying: "Mr. Lu, you speak as if someone has an extra eye or something."

Lu Liang laughed: "If such a person did exist, I'd like to meet them. An eye on the forehead, wouldn't that be the Erlang God?"

Ota Ling suddenly became mysterious and said: "Mr. Lu, believe it or not, such people do exist in this world, but the extra parts can't function normally."

"There really are?"

Lu Liang showed an exaggerated surprise on his face, arching his hands in jest: "Mr. Ota, your knowledge is vast."

"Not at all, I've just lived a few more years and seen some strange people and happenings."

As the two laughed and chatted, Mitsui Takahiro furrowed his brows, feeling ignored, and abruptly cut to the chase: "Mr. Lu, I heard that Ant Group intends to hand over the payment business market in East Asia to Tianxing Finance?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the laughing duo halted their conversation.

Upon regaining their attention, Mitsui Takahiro displayed a satisfied smile, completely oblivious to the furrowed brows and trace of worry in Ota Ling's eyes.

Lu Liang restrained his smile, picked up a piece of puffer fish sashimi, placed it in his mouth, and savored its crispness and sweetness.

Unhurriedly, he said, "Mr. Mitsui's information is indeed up-to-date; this is indeed happening."

Mitsui Takahiro asked, "I have one thing I don't understand, could Mr. Lu enlighten me?"

"Mr. Mitsui, feel free to ask."

"Ant Group has painstakingly cultivated the East Asian market for many years to achieve today's success. How could Mr. Ma be willing to hand over all these core businesses to Tianxing Finance?" Mitsui Takahiro asked with a slight accusing tone.

Ant Group has a subsidiary in Tokyo, a tech company with a registered capital of 100 million dollars.

The company's major shareholders include Ant Group, Mitsui Sumitomo Group, and the PayPal Group.

The daily operations are managed by PayPal Group, a company jointly held by Ant Group and Mitsui Sumitomo.

Mitsui Sumitomo not only surpasses Ant Group in shareholding percentage at PayPal, but also holds more than 51% of the voting rights.

Ant Group can transfer PayPal Group shares, but if Mitsui Sumitomo disagrees, Tianxing Finance can only remain as an ordinary shareholder.

This is also why Mitsui Takahiro had the confidence to question Lu Liang.

Lu Liang continued eating puffer fish sashimi, feeling it was very tasty, a novel experience.

He picked up another piece, put it in his mouth, and suddenly looked at Ota Ling: "Mr. Ota, I seem to not know yet, what specific position does Mr. Mitsui hold in Mitsui Sumitomo Group?"

You can reprimand him seriously, but the key is whether Mitsui Takahiro has the qualification to do so.

His father is Mitsui Yongli, the Sect Leader of Mitsui Group, a major shareholder in Mitsui Sumitomo Group, but so what?

Ota Ling detected the unfriendly tone in Lu Liang's voice, a trace of bitterness flashed in his eyes, and he spoke stiffly: "Takahiro is my assistant."

"So it's you who want to know?" Lu Liang asked.

"Tonight is just for catching up and dining, not discussing business."

Ota Ling chuckled awkwardly, and very forcibly skipped over the topic.

He picked up a wine bottle, came to Lu Liang's side, and held it with both hands: "Mr. Lu, if Takahiro has offended you in any way, I apologize on his behalf, and hope you can forgive him."

Ota Ling drank the entire bottle of wine in one gulp, Lu Liang responded indifferently, picked up his wine glass, and tasted briefly.

He put down the wine glass, without casting another glance at Mitsui Takahiro throughout, stood up and said: "Mr. Ota, that's it for tonight, I have some matters later, I'm leaving ahead."

Ota Ling was taken aback, seeing Lu Liang's stern expression, he felt it inappropriate to stop him, and said with a wry smile: "Let me walk you out, then."

Lu Liang replied with a hum, leaving the dining table.

Ota Ling, not bothering to greet Mitsui Takahiro, hastily pursued, keeping pace with Lu Liang.

As the two walked through the courtyard, heading towards the front gate, Lu Liang suddenly asked: "Are you being sidelined?"

"It's too soon, the President just wants to groom his son." Ota Ling's mouth curved in a smile.

The reason Lu Liang abruptly left actually showed his bias towards him. If Lu Liang and Mitsui Takahiro were having pleasant discussions, then his presence would become trivial.

"Young people are somewhat restless, eager to prove themselves." Lu Liang said with a light laugh.

"Takahiro actually admires you greatly; the more he cares, the more prone he is to making mistakes." Ota Ling said.

"Really?" Lu Liang chuckled.

Everyone who admires him essentially wants to step over him and create their own legend.

He asked: "Within Mitsui Sumitomo, how do they view Ant Group's decision to transfer PayPal Group shares?"

Ota Ling showed helplessness: "I wish I could help you, but Takahiro's stance is theirs."

"Still unwilling?"

A trace of harshness flashed in Lu Liang's eyes as he glanced at Mitsui Takahiro hurriedly catching up from behind Ota Ling.

He let out a shallow laugh, directly turned, got in the car, waved at Ota Ling: "I'm leaving."

"Take care, Mr. Lu, and be safe on the road."

Watching Lu Liang drive away, Ota Ling turned and reprimanded: "You shouldn't have spoken to Lu Liang in that manner; do you know what position he holds, and what position do you hold?"

Mitsui Takahiro showed a look of shame but wanted to justify himself: "I just wanted to test Lu Liang's attitude, didn't expect him to be so firm."

"Testing Lu Liang?"

Ota Ling sneered, not knowing whether to say the young don't understand their limits or that new-born calves aren't afraid of tigers.

He sighed: "Don't do this again, I won't tell the President about tonight's events."

"Thank you." Mitsui Takahiro was taken aback, showing gratitude.