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

"Call Uncle, and I'll treat you to a drink."

Lu Liang smiled mysteriously, pulling a bottle of drink from his coat like magic, teasing Little Ma Yun.

"Xiao Qing, quickly call Uncle Lu."

Beside them stood a stunning nanny, her face barely concealing excitement at seeing Lu Liang, quickly urging someone to address him.

Little Ma Yun stared at the drink, disgruntled and shouting, "I want the drink, give it to me now."

"Don't be angry, here you go."

Lu Liang was caught between laughter and tears, suddenly feeling something odd.

How did Old Ma, someone like a worldly demon, give birth to a child that seems a bit silly?

"He's not my son!"

Just then, a gritted voice sounded behind Lu Liang.

"Mr. Ma, long time no see."

Daqiangzi was stifling his laughter, his face flushed red.

Huang Zheng elongated his philtrum, his mouth askew with a grin, greeting, "Mr. Ma, good evening, have you eaten yet?"

Lu Liang turned around, seeing Old Ma's face black as a pot bottom, his rock-style heavy makeup couldn't hide his anger.

He glanced at the few people who were struggling to hold back laughter, and suddenly had a bad feeling.

Lu Liang let out a few forced laughs to ease the awkwardness but couldn't help asking once more after looking at Little Ma Yun, "Mr. Ma, is he really not your son?"

"He's called Fan Xiaoqing, a special guest of the gala."

Old Ma suddenly looked malevolently at Daqiangzi, he didn't blame Lu Liang for he was unaware.

The blame lay with those troublemakers calling Fan Xiaoqing Little Ma Yun.

If Ali hadn't invited Fan Xiaoqing, someone else would have invited him to attend.

Daqiangzi chuckled dryly, touching the tip of his nose.

Old Ma is a pioneer in the e-commerce industry, worth respecting, but they are also competitors.

If it takes just a little cost to make Ali embarrassed, JD would definitely not miss this chance.

Unfortunately, Ali anticipated their anticipation, bringing Fan Xiaoqing to Hang City days early; otherwise, inviting Little Ma Yun to JD's gala would have been explosive.

"Mr. Ma, this black eyeshadow looks cool, planning to sing rock tonight?"

Lu Liang looked at Ma Yun and Daqiangzi, feeling that business rivals are sometimes just that straightforward.

"Mr. Lu, interested in making a cameo on stage?"

Old Ma slightly nodded, discreetly eyed the stunning nanny, signaling her to watch Fan Xiaoqing closely and ensure he didn't run around.

With a face resembling 95%, being invited to Ali's gala, if he embarrassed himself, it would reflect on him.

"Forget it, being a spectator is nice too, better than overshadowing the hosts."

Lu Liang reluctantly watched the little boy leave, his mouth curling into a smile, unable to conceal his amusement.

About to speak, he suddenly noticed a chilling, threatening gaze, he laughed heartily and stopped.

Nearing half-past seven, the gala was about to start, with Eastern TV and Douyin broadcasting live online and offline simultaneously.

An assistant came running over, quietly informing, Ma Yun slightly nodded, turning to everyone and said, "Everyone, if there's been any lack of hospitality, please excuse me, I'll head backstage to prepare now."

"Mr. Ma, you go ahead and take care of your business."

As Ma Yun headed backstage, Lu Liang, bored, chatted idly with Daqiangzi, "Dong, what have you been busy with lately?"

"Warehousing and logistics, interested?" Daqiangzi asked.

JD has been pursuing a self-operated route, but warehousing and logistics are heavy asset projects, with investments of billions and a return on investment taking over a decade, even with IPOs and financing it can often be tight.

"Not very interested, but if Dong ever needs something, just name an amount."

Lu Liang, absent-mindedly, looked at the gala star guests, noticing a few familiar faces, his mouth curling up.

Yang Mi, Reba, Zhang Tian'ai, seems only missing Tian Xi, his loves in domestic entertainment were all present.

"Just pretend, pretend." Daqiangzi glared, displeased with Lu Liang's pretentiousness.

He was someone with a temper, unlike Little Wang, who always catered to Lu Liang.

Lu Liang chuckled, hearing the discontent in Daqiangzi's words, "Dong, forgive my slip of the tongue, you know, I've been in Xiangjiang lately, not much aware of the mainland enterprises' situation."

Daqiangzi's tone softened, he pondered and said, "If there's surplus money, consider investing, although seeing returns in three to five years is tough, it's a good long-term investment."

Although Ma Yun always stated that Taobao was founded to nurture more self-operated enterprises like JD, showing his status as a pioneer.

Yet, in recent years, Ali Group's business focus clearly leaned toward Tianmao, adopting JD's self-operated model.

For instance, Double Eleven's full name is Tianmao Double Eleven Shopping Festival, whereas Taobao has been excluded from the strategic core, showing JD's self-built logistics and self-operated store system have been recognized.

"Okay, just let me know when you plan to finance." Lu Liang smiled, indicating that tens of billions of US Dollars were no problem, even hundreds of billions were doable.

Daqiangzi was momentarily speechless, he sighed, "Sometimes, I really don't enjoy discussing these matters with you."

He detested people pretending to be something they're not, but Lu Liang loved it, and could massively put on airs, key was he could pull it off.

Lu Liang chuckled, turning his gaze to the stage, shifting the topic, "The gala is starting."

The show started at 7:30 sharp, and not only did it feature top celebrities from Domestic Entertainment, but the host lineup was also exceptionally impressive.

"Mr. He and Teacher Sa, the host supergroup from Funan and CCTV were all present."

"The Four Returning Stars, Four Little Actresses, my goodness, even the Four Heavenly Kings from Xiangjiang?"

"This is what happens when capital gets involved. Such a lineup, I doubt even the Spring Festival Gala could pull it off."

"I declare, this year's Tianmao Double Eleven is absolutely the best in history."

As soon as the show began, related topics started trending on major social media platforms.

In just twenty minutes, the online discussion had already surpassed the recent championship win by IG.

Weibo timely launched a rewardless guessing game, like guessing how many seconds it would take for Double Eleven's transaction volume to hit 100 million, how many minutes to break 10 billion, and whether the total daily volume could exceed 200 billion yuan.

"At Shanda, it's just a funeral."

Those in the know had mixed feelings, the more grand the scene tonight, the more bittersweet they felt.

An indescribable feeling,

even if they had no personal connection with Ma Yun, nor any stakes involved.

'If the banks don't change, we will change the banks.'

'Dreams are necessary, what if they come true?'

'Today is cruel, tomorrow is cruel, the day after tomorrow is beautiful, but most people die tomorrow night...'

They are not qualified to comment on Ma Yun, his rights and wrongs will be judged by later generations, but undoubtedly, Ma Yun is a legend.

The end of a legend always leaves one with a sense of loss, especially at such a young age, 54 is still in one's prime.

"Speaking of young..."

They couldn't help but shift their gaze to the front row of the audience; Lu Liang, at thirty-three, was even younger, and his experiences were more legendary.

It's unknown if he can break this curse, after all, throughout history, no businessman born in the East Country has met a good end.

The gala reached halfway, nearing nine o'clock.

On stage, the hosts shouted in unison: "Let's welcome the founder of Ali Group, Mr. Ma Yun, to perform a song 'Life Blooming with Rage' for everyone~"

As soon as the words fell, dry ice smoke filled the venue's entrance, and a cyber armored vehicle broke through the mist and drove into the venue, heading for the stage.

"So many times I have fallen on the road~"

"So many times I have broken my wings."

"Now I no longer feel lost,"

"I want to surpass this ordinary luxury..."

Inside the venue,

suddenly a voice weathered by time rang out.

A gust of wind blew away the smoke, revealing the full appearance of the cyber armored vehicle, which was remodeled from a double-decker bus.

Wearing a studded leather jacket, with Martin boots, and hair styled into a mohawk, Ma Yun, guitar in hand, made a dazzling entrance.

"I want to live a life blooming with rage~~~~ like flying in the vast sky~ like traversing the boundless wilderness..."

Lu Liang sat in the front row, able to see Old Ma's prominent neck veins, spittle flecking, looking nearly frenzied.

He sighed, "No technique, it's all emotion."

Daqiangzi nodded in agreement.

After more than four minutes, the song ended.

Old Ma jumped off the vehicle and said with a smile, "I always thought being a star, just singing and acting, how hard could it be? But today, facing twenty thousand people's gaze, honestly, I was a bit nervous, my palms kept sweating."

"Every industry is really not easy."

He is an outstanding speaker, even facing the country's top host team, he could firmly hold the initiative in his hands.

"I don't know if everyone is happy tonight, if they're satisfied, anyway I'm quite satisfied, it fulfills my longtime rock dream."

Old Ma held the microphone, strolling the stage, talking about how today was not only the tenth anniversary of Double Eleven but also the twentieth anniversary of Ali.

"Twenty years of trials and tribulations, Ali Group has grown from a small sapling into a company that benefits society and the nation, it is my honor.

Thank you to all Ali people.

But every feast must come to an end, and now I too am graduating from this university."

Old Ma faced the audience and gave a deep bow, informing them that as he aged, he found it increasingly difficult to handle things.

So, after careful consideration, he decided to step down from the position of Chairman of Ali Group starting today, to be succeeded by the group's Executive Director Zhang Yong.

Afterward, he would fully devote himself to rural education, returning to his favorite profession.

"Old Ma is retiring?"

"Is it because of the failed listing of Ant?"

"No wonder such a big event, turns out it's a swan song."

"I told you, it's one thing for Liangzi to come, but why are both Dongzi and Zhengzi here too?"

One word stirred a thousand waves, the news of Ma Yun's retirement spread like wildfire across the prairie.