Chapter 405: Showing off and Being Stolen by a Rival

Words : 1898 Updated : Oct 13th, 2025

"Mr. Wang, Mr. Long, Mr. Lu, we’ll take our leave first; see you later.” Seven or eight people chatted leisurely in the VIP lounge at the airport before Liu Mou and the other hosts boarded the plane for New York. After waiting a while, Sun Yutao also arrived. Panda froze 102.2 billion yuan at the Modu Station, oversubscribed by 268.9 times. They had invested 4.5 billion US dollars for stock subscription, and given the current rate of subscription, they ended up with just over 16 million in shares. Therefore, they also needed to participate in the New York Station roadshow, and put forth another 4.5 billion US dollars in an effort to secure more shares. "Everyone’s here, let’s get going.” Lu Liang stood up and stretched his back, and Little Wang smiled, patting his lower back, “I say, Mr. Lu, you’re gonna be 33 next year, do you still think you’re young?” "I’m still spirited! Surfin’ till 80—no dream.” Joking and laughing, they passed through the jet bridge and entered the plane’s cabin. Although it was Lu Liang’s plane, it was the first time he had seen it since the interior was finished. There were 12 luxury seats at the front, a dining and conference room as well as a recreation room in the middle, and a rest area at the back. "Not bad, there’s even a mahjong table, just right for four players, seems like it won’t be too boring on this long journey.” Little Wang immediately took a liking to the recreation room, giving the secured mahjong table high praise. "It’s indeed well-designed.” Lu Liang also took a tour and then returned to his seat, buckled up, and waited for takeoff. "Wasn’t it your design?” Little Wang asked, surprised. "I’ve been dead busy these days; I had no time for these things.” Lu Liang picked up his phone and took a few photos of the cabin, sending them to Li Manli, “It looks great, I really like it. I can’t bring you along this time. Next time, I’ll take you out for fun.” Little Wang sat beside him, glancing from the corner of his eye at who Lu Liang was messaging. He roughly understood what was going on, and his face was full of disdain. Leaving the plane’s interior design to one girl, playing with another, and working himself to exhaustion—the dogs would shake their heads. "Keep looking, and your eyes will get gouged out.” Lu Liang put away his phone, rested with his eyes closed, until the plane reached the stratosphere, when he finally left his seat and went to the rest area at the end. "Coming to join for a game?” Little Wang called out urgently, having already summoned Long Fei and Sun Yutao; along with Lu Liang, they made four. Playing mahjong while discussing the upcoming roadshow arrangements. These past few days, Long Fei had been negotiating with institutions like Cruick and ultimately decided the share price should be increased to 2.2 US dollars. It seemed like a mere 0.22 US dollar increase, but it meant the overall valuation rose by 424 million US dollars, and they were slightly nervous about it. Therefore, Cruick asked them to see what Lu Liang thought, and if he said it was okay, they would finalize it. "Even at two dollars and twenty cents, it’s only a 11.1% premium, with such a high subscription rate domestically, what are you afraid of?” Lu Liang pondered; they still had 4.5 billion US dollars, ensuring the New York IPO’s frozen funds would be no less than ten times that amount. He told Long Fei to agree confidently; if the market considered it too high, they would take all the remaining shares themselves. When that time came, they’d let those Wall Street institutions miss out completely, and Tianxing Private Equity could soar on the Nasdaq. "With your word, we’re much more at ease.” Little Wang smiled, called Xu Jiawei over to fill in, and ensured that Lu Liang could rest easy. "Zhong Wuyan in times of need, Xia Yingchun when there’s none.” Lu Liang shook his head and sighed, closing the door to the rest area, and it immediately became quiet. Even at the back end, the soundproofing and vibration damping were so effective that, without paying close attention, one couldn’t tell they were on a plane. Lu Liang took a shower, changed into pajamas, switched on starry sky mode, gazed at the stars above, and slept for over five hours. Upon waking, he felt refreshed, the fatigue swept away, but when he stepped out of the rest area, the entertainment room was already empty. Little Wang and Sun Yutao had gone back to their seats to rest, and only Long Fei stayed in the conference room, working on the roadshow speech. Lu Liang didn’t disturb his work, felt bored, walked around, and came to the cockpit door. "Mr. Lu, would you like to take a look inside?” The chief attendant of this flight was a beautiful woman in her thirties. Different from Sun Yali’s charm, she wasn’t particularly stunning, but had a pleasant appearance and was very amiable when she smiled. "Can I take a look?” Lu Liang was curious. "Of course, you can.” The chief flight attendant nodded with a smile, picked up the cabin phone, and contacted the pilots upfront. Lu Liang also noticed her name badge, Which was incongruent with her demeanor, named Lin Yan. After a moment, the co-pilot agreed, the cabin door opened, and suddenly the view was clear – the sky blue, the land white, a beauty so intoxicating, so heart-fluttering. Lu Liang stared in amazement for a long while. He had been on private planes before, but he had never entered a cockpit. The stunning view he was witnessing alone felt like it justified 70 million of the plane’s 370 million Yuan price tag. Lin Yan opened the cabin’s cupboard and pulled out a small stool, “Mr. Lu, you can sit here and enjoy the view.” "Thank you.” Lu Liang sat on the stool and when he didn’t understand something, he would simply ask. Both the captain and the co-captain were eager to answer his questions. The salary for an aircraft pilot is also tiered; long-haul flights pay more than short-haul, international long-haul more than domestic, and private airplane flights more than international long-haul. Joining Lu Liang on his trip, no matter the destination, would net them at least a 30,000 Yuan bonus each way, so naturally, they shared everything they knew. An hour later, Lu Liang felt like he could fly the plane. Because the more high-end the mode of transportation is, under normal circumstances, the simpler it is to drive; only when faced with emergencies do the operations become difficult. Just like them, since the airplane had entered the stratosphere, they had engaged the autopilot mode. The two pilots began to take turns; one monitored the flight data while the other was free to do as they wished, be it sleeping or watching a movie. Ultimately, Lu Liang restrained his impulse to take the controls, patted both pilots on the shoulder, “Junhui, Chen Shuo, I better get going then, I won’t disturb you any longer.” He left the cockpit, the cabin door was locked again, and Lin Yan stood smiling at the door, “Mr. Lu, we have been traveling for six hours and thirty minutes, and it is estimated that there are another seven hours and twelve minutes until we reach our destination. Would you like to arrange a meal?” Sёarch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Not hungry yet, maybe later.” Lu Liang went back to his seat and saw Little Wang sleeping like a log, so he decisively took a seat next to Fang Shiyu to chat about everyday matters. For example, how his online romance fraudulently cost him ninety-eight thousand, or how the construction of his family home was progressing, along with how his aunts and uncles were doing. It wasn’t until his cousin got annoyed with him, not able to answer one in three questions, that Lu Liang shifted his attention elsewhere. For instance, he complained in the NIO shareholders’ chat group, trying to stir up the previous topic: “So boring during the flight.” Shen Peng was the first to respond, “Mr. Lu, are you going to New York to help Panda go public?” "Right.” Lu Liang was bubbling with excitement and had just typed out a line when he was suddenly interjected. Daqiangzi said, “Recently, I’ve been studying at Minzhou University and have benefited greatly from some courses which offer unique insights. Mr. Lu, if you have time, you should come and take a look.” He might be over forty, but he never stopped learning, and recently he was participating in an East America Business Administration doctoral program. This program stretched across the Atlantic, involving two continents, six countries, and he was currently partaking in the United States part of the course. The doctoral program, initiated by Huaqing University, had an average student age of 50, all of whom were industry leaders from various countries. For instance, Shen Hui from Weima Motors and Yu Shirong from Wei’er Group were both participants in this doctoral program. Not only could you meet new friends, it was also very helpful for broadening your horizons, learning new ideas, and better understanding American society and markets. Lei Jun: “Learning is endless, Mr. Liu is impressive.” Little Ma: “I really admire Mr. Qiang. I looked into this program myself, but I just couldn’t make the time to join, which I have always regretted.” Daqiangzi said, “One can always make time if they squeeze it in. Continuous learning is the only way to progress and not be left behind by the times.” "Thanks, Mr. Liu, I’ll have a look if I find the time.” Lu Liang deleted what he was about to post and suddenly felt lackluster, wanting to show off, but it seemed Daqiang had stolen his thunder. He stroked his chin, muttering to himself, “Maybe I should also sign up for a class. It seems my associate degree is a bit low?” Others either had graduated from 985 or 211 universities, and even if they came from humble origins, once they achieved success, they would go to domestic and international prestigious universities to add luster to their resumes. Lu Liang only had an associate degree. Although he had self-taught English, it was still just an associate degree. He didn’t even hold a candle to Chen Jinchun’s bachelor’s degree in his own company, let alone compete in the East Country’s business circles. In his entire company, the only person who had a lower educational level than him was his cousin, who had joined the military right after high school. "Better leave that for later. Who has time for these frivolities now?” Lu Liang sighed, woke up Little Wang, called over Long Fei, and with three of them sitting down, they invited Lin Yan to fill in as the fourth for a game of Mahjong to pass the time.

Chapter 405: Showing off and Being Stolen by a Rival

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