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

"This punk, turning his back on us, doesn't recognize us?"

The phone rang for half a minute and wasn't answered; Lu Liang couldn't be bothered to dial again, just waiting for a return call from the other side.

Seeing Lu Liang daydreaming on the balcony, Feng Xi came over holding a steaming bowl of noodles, "Mr. Lu, have some food to warm your stomach. I'm not sure if it suits your taste."

Instant noodles, cooked not soaked, topped with an egg; it didn't look great, but smelled delicious.

"It looks tasty." Having not eaten instant noodles for a long time, the aroma stirred Lu Liang's appetite, even a lobster wouldn't tempt him to trade.

He ate the noodles along with the broth, nearly cleaned the bowl. Patting his stomach, he belched and smiled, "Why the thought to cook yourself? A call could have had it delivered."

"I'm worried you might not get used to it, and by the time the kitchen sends it over, it might be lunchtime," Feng Xi explained.

Sitting next to Lu Liang, Feng Xi noticed only a little broth remained at the bottom of the bowl, beaming with joy, her long, slender legs swung left and right in happiness.

The food from the kitchen and what she cooked just couldn't compare; it was about attitude, and a heartfelt gesture.

"Thank you."

Lu Liang smiled, patting her small head, then noticed she was still wearing shorts and a pocket tee; despite looking sexy and appealing, Incheon in November was getting snow-prone.

Lu Liang took off his coat and draped it over her, saying, "It's almost snowing, you should dress warmer when coming out."

"Hehe, probably just finished in the kitchen, haven't felt the cold yet," Feng Xi's face half-buried in the coat collar, smelled Lu Liang's lingering scent, enjoyed the warmth, leaning against him, smiling slightly.

The hotel was in a high-rise in the city center; she gazed at the scenery Lu Liang was looking at and murmured, "If only it snowed, it would be perfect."

As if the heavens heard her plea, the gray sky suddenly started drizzling, though the rain didn't last long, quickly turning into fine grayish-white particles.

Lu Liang chuckled, "As you wish."

"Mm-hmm," Feng Xi replied, her eyes smiling.

Suddenly curling up her legs, her whole body wrapped in Lu Liang's coat, reaching out with her arms to hand over a phone, she said coquettishly, "Mr. Lu, take a picture of me?"

"I'm not great at taking pictures."

"No worries, I'll teach you."

Feng Xi eagerly shared some photography tips: "For landscape portraits, as long as the person isn't centered, and from a top-down angle, keeping these two points makes it hard to take a bad shot."

"Let me try."

Feng Xi wrapped herself entirely in the coat, her legs curled up, showing only the half of a foot and toes with pink nails.

Lu Liang followed her instructions, stood behind her, and took multiple photos from a bird's-eye view.

"How's it look?"

"Whoa~ Mr. Lu, you're amazing, maybe you should switch to photography," Feng Xi looked at the photos with crescent-moon-shaped eyes, adding a slightly artistic caption before posting them on social media.

Lu Liang couldn't help but laugh, "I think it's not about the technique, but about the person in the photo. She's beautiful, so any shot will look great."

Their tender moment didn't last long, as soon Feng Xi received a call from her department leader.

Yesterday, the S8 global finals had ended; as staff members, they should be heading back.

"Mr. Lu, how long will you stay in Korea?"

Feng Xi suddenly asked; with the finals over, regular matches won't start for a while.

In the upcoming months, she'll only attend some entertainment matches or official activities.

She had quite a bit of free time.

"Not for long, heading to Xiangjiang soon."

Lu Liang heard the underlying desire of Feng Xi wanting to stay, but he didn't have even the slightest intent to ask her to stay.

He was like a very professional technician; during working hours, any sweet talk or vows could be exchanged, but outside work hours, whether to keep in touch was up to his mood.

"Mr. Lu, then how about I join you for a few days at Xiangjiang?" Feng Xi tilted her head, full of hope.

"Didn't you pick out an apartment last time? Go back to Modu first; I'll have someone handle the handover for you."

Just then, Lu Liang's phone on the table rang, starting with 00, showing it was an international number.

Feng Xi's eyes flashed with slight disappointment, but she didn't dare to interrupt Lu Liang, softly saying, "Mr. Lu, I'll go pack my clothes first then."

Lu Liang nodded, waited until Feng Xi left the balcony, then answered the call.

On the other end, Wilson's hearty laughter came through, "Lu, what prompted you to call me suddenly?"

"Wanted to ask you about something," Lu Liang directly asked Wilson, what gave Muddy Water the nerve.

Wilson paused, silent for a long time, then explained why he didn't promptly answer Lu Liang's call.

Lu Liang frowned, sensing something was amiss, "Kamon, tell me, what are you avoiding?"

Previously, he thought Muddy Water's speculation was just a crazy dog gone mad at the village edge.

Asking Wilson was only to reassure Wen Chao, to let him know Lu Liang had his concerns in mind.

But Wilson's sudden evasiveness suddenly made Lu Liang feel Wen Chao's worries weren't unjustified; this matter might not be as simple as it seemed.

Wilson was silent for a long time and sighed, "Lu, indeed nothing can be hidden from you."

"Stop talking nonsense, you're clearly trying to lead me on, deliberately piquing my curiosity." Lu Liang said irritably.

Wilson was taken aback, then suddenly laughed: "Hahaha... Am I really that poor at acting?"

"Even the call-girls in the red-light district probably have better acting skills than you."

"Looks like I'll have to pay them a visit later and learn a thing or two."

Wilson smiled, trying to change the subject again and again, but he just wouldn't get to the main point.

Lu Liang's expression grew increasingly calm: "I'm hanging up."

He didn't indulge him, directly hanging up the call.

Wilson knew, and it seemed he wanted to share the news with him, but kept beating around the bush.

This could only mean one thing, he was asking for a lot, even something Lu Liang might not be able to satisfy, and so he could only continue to lay the groundwork.

The phone had just disconnected, and soon it rang again, Lu Liang smiled but didn't answer right away, instead walking into the house.

He placed the phone on the table, letting it ring, walked behind Feng Xi, and wrapped his arms around her waist: "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, the flight's at 12:30 in the afternoon, the team leader said we must meet downstairs by 11." Feng Xi squinted her eyes, rubbing Lu Liang's chin with the back of her head, curiously glancing at the constantly ringing phone, but didn't inquire.

"Goodbye Modu." Lu Liang kissed her cheek.

Feng Xi responded with a hum, returning a French kiss, mumbling indistinctly: "Remember to contact me when you're back in Modu."

"Bye bye." After a brief tender moment, Lu Liang stood at the door, watching Feng Xi leave by elevator.

Returning inside, he picked up his phone, noticing two missed calls, the third one ringing again.

After a few seconds, Lu Liang answered the call: "Kamon, what can I do for you?"

"Lu, you really shouldn't treat me like this."

Wilson's tone was full of grievance, having automatically cast himself as the role of Divine Envoy, while Lu Liang was the savior he had chosen.

By rights, Lu Liang should be pleading with him, begging for an apocalyptic prophecy, not him humbly seeking Lu Liang to beg him.

"Say one more word of nonsense, and I'll hang up." Lu Liang coldly said, a hint of pride in his eyes.

"Don't hang up, don't hang up."

Wilson hurriedly stopped him, then said: "You should know very well what Muddy Water's survival tactics are, it's shorting the Chinese concept stocks."

"The reason Kazegniman goes all out to criticize you is because they want to short Panda's stock."

Lu Liang frowned tightly: "Is he an idiot? I've already cashed out billions of US Dollars, how much can possibly be left in there?"

Shorting a stock requires a gradual process, because during this time you need to continuously let market investors feel there's a chance for a bottom rebound, only then will they be willing to act as the buyers, finally getting trapped at the peak.

But retail investors and hot money aren't fools, they know that without his Panda, it will quickly return to its real value.

At this moment, if anyone dares to short, they would definitely run faster than rabbits, leaving the institutions nothing to gain.

"Fuck, do you know how much pressure I'm under? Can you please stop interrupting and quietly listen to me finish?" Wilson spoke in an unfriendly tone.

Lu Liang chuckled: "Alright, alright, go on."

"Shorting Panda is just a means, not the end."

Wilson continued: "Kazegniman just wants the market to know that even with you backing Panda, they dare to short."

"What's the objective?" Lu Liang asked.

"Of course, it's to attract more retail investors, assisting them in shorting more Chinese concept stocks in the future." Wilson answered.

"Shorting without any bearish news is like trying to fly by stepping on your own foot." Lu Liang sneered with disdain.

His expression gradually turned serious because Muddy Water also undoubtedly knew stepping on one foot couldn't fly.

Wilson sensed the probing in Lu Liang's words, he smiled willingly biting the bait: "But bearish news can be artificially created."

"How do you create it?" Lu Liang humbly inquired.

Wilson pondered for a long while, suddenly said: "Lu, I'm not trying to be alarmist, this thing is of great significance, it could even cause a war, are you sure you want to know?"

"What do I need to pay for it?" Lu Liang asked.

"You don't have to pay anything."

Wilson sighed lightly: "As long as you know it was me who told you, and no matter who asks, you can't say it was me who told you."

As soon as Muddy Water disclosed the report, Kazegniman criticized Lu Liang, and as the incident unfolded, he knew Su Shimin had started to take action.

Including the call just now from Lu Liang, he was just holding his phone, helplessly watching the call disconnect automatically.

He had thought about it for a long, long time and eventually realized he couldn't bear this reward, he couldn't even accept it.

Wilson didn't want to waste this intelligence for nothing, after much contemplation he decided to let Lu Liang choose.

Lu Liang accepting this goodwill and remembering it in his heart would be best, if not, it would only mean he had misjudged the person.

"Alright." Lu Liang nodded and said.

"Have you heard of the Spanish Flu?"