Chapter 80: Actually Caught

Words : 1422 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 80: Actually Caught“Mr. Wang, Mr. Lu, enjoy yourselves. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave,” Zhuang Xiaoting said. Noticing Lu Liang had accepted her business card, she tactfully excused herself, striking the perfect balance in her exit. “How do you feel about her?” Wang Xiaocong asked. “She’s a very capable woman,” Lu Liang mused while sipping his drink. “But I’d guess her family background wasn’t great.” Wang Xiaocong was surprised. “You’ve heard of her before?” “Nope.” “Then how do you know?” “Just a guess,” Lu Liang replied with a faint smile. He sensed a kindred spirit in Zhuang—a self-made success born of hardship. Unlike himself, who relied on foreknowledge of the future, it was hard to imagine what sacrifices a woman like her had made to rise to her current status. Surely, she must’ve endured countless humiliations. But while some might sell themselves for 200 yuan, others could command 2 million or even more. S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. “How’d you guess?” Wang pressed, curious. His father had a knack for similar judgments—being able to assess a person’s background at a glance despite never having met them. “Uh... let’s just go dance,” Lu Liang deflected, feeling too lazy to explain. Even if he did, someone like Wang Xiaocong—born into wealth—probably wouldn’t understand. “Damn it, I hate people like you,” Wang muttered, pulling one of the girls with him downstairs to dance, his face dark with irritation. By 2 a.m., after a wild night of partying, Lu Liang called for a designated driver and returned home alone. Wang’s tastes were a bit too niche—he had invited women with “snake-like” internet celebrity faces, and one even resembled a rune mage. A little playful banter and casual flirting were fine, but taking things further? Lu Liang couldn’t stomach it. The next morning, PandaTV dominated the headlines: "Lu Liang Drops Into Wang Xiaocong’s Livestream" "PandaTV Crosses 5 Million Registered Users" "New Goddess Li Xiaomeng Signs with PandaTV" "PandaTV Secures Third Place in Interactive Entertainment Streaming" Five of the top ten trending Weibo topics were related to PandaTV, even overshadowing news of Wang Xiaocong and Lu Liang’s nightclub visit. Lu Liang scrolled through the trending topics without much reaction. Wang had mentioned last night that he planned to spend the remaining 3 million yuan in PandaTV’s account on paid trends. With an additional 20 million yuan injected later, the platform’s operations would remain sustainable, ensuring PandaTV’s place among the top three streaming platforms after Douyu and Huya. During the upcoming Series A financing round, the platform’s valuation would naturally soar. After breakfast, Lu Liang leisurely headed to work. A night of indulgence was enough; it was time to focus on business again. Meanwhile, news was circulating that Li Jianlin and Wu Junle had completed their sell-off, with rumored profits totaling 480 million yuan. The stock price of Teli A had plummeted from its peak of 48 yuan to 25 yuan—a near 50% drop. Lu Liang stared at the trading interface, pondering whether to continue shorting the stock. He had already made a name for himself in the financial world and didn’t need Teli A to bolster his reputation further. Even if others had used his actions to divert attention, the results had met his expectations. Now, every move he made was under scrutiny. Entering the market recklessly could easily result in being exploited by others. After some thought, he decided to continue offloading his holdings. Li Jianlin and Wu Junle knew his positions—20,000 shares valued at 50 million yuan. He planned to sell half and then re-enter under a different account. Р????Ɲ????ＢΕs̩ The Punan Road No. 88 account could no longer be used. “What the hell is this?” Lu Liang exclaimed when he woke up from a nap, planning to start selling during the afternoon session. It was Thursday, and selling today meant funds would clear by tomorrow—perfect timing. But when he checked the market, Teli A’s trading screen had turned black, marked with a temporary suspension symbol. “Did they actually get caught?” Lu Liang rubbed his chin, pondering the situation. A moment later, as if to confirm his suspicion, Teli Group issued an announcement stating that a major issue was under discussion that could affect market trends. To protect shareholder interests, the company had applied for an indefinite trading suspension. Rumors quickly spread that officials from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and the disciplinary committee had entered Teli’s Shenzhen office. Others claimed to have seen CSRC vehicles parked outside Zhongxin Fuying’s headquarters, suggesting Li Jianlin had been summoned for questioning. Over at Futian Road No. 12, news surfaced that the general manager of the Citic Securities branch and Wu Junle had also been taken in for investigation. “Justice comes full circle. The heavens spare no one.” “Great job taking down these stock market manipulators!” “Don’t forget about Lu Liang.” “Yeah, what about Lu Liang?” “Anyone in Magic City? What’s his status?” The news ignited heated discussions in stock forums, with the flames eventually reaching Lu Liang. Though his profits from shorting the yen had earned him the moniker “Hero Against Japan,” it didn’t erase the fact that he had also profited from Teli A. Punan Road No. 88, where his trading account was first noticed, had become synonymous with his reputation. Angry netizens cried out, “Not a single one of these profit-making manipulators should escape!” At that moment, Lu Liang was in the company’s reception room, meeting with Zhao Haisheng. “Mr. Lu, the CSRC just retrieved some data from our branch,” Zhao said. Concerned about phone surveillance, he had decided to personally visit, despite the risks. “Was it my trading records?” Lu Liang asked, smiling casually and looking utterly relaxed. Zhao nodded dumbly, stunned by Lu Liang’s calm demeanor. He himself had nearly died of fright after experiencing two such incidents within two days. His thinning hairline now seemed even more sparse. “Relax. If they’d found anything significant, they’d have come knocking already,” Lu Liang said nonchalantly. His trades could withstand scrutiny, even if it was just left-hand-to-right-hand transactions within legal bounds. Unlike Li and Wu, who engaged in high-frequency trading and colluded with shareholders to lock up shares, Lu Liang had nothing to fear. Zhao widened his eyes in disbelief. “Mr. Lu, so you really made profits purely through skill?” “What else? Insider trading? Front-running?” Lu Liang asked with a chuckle. Zhao forced a dry laugh, still skeptical. In A-shares, big funds rarely made money through legitimate means. After a pause, he added, “The public sentiment right now isn’t great. Should we issue a clarification on your behalf?” "There's no rush—let the bullet fly a little longer. Without suppression, how can there be a dramatic rise?" Lu Liang’s lips curled into a smile, already formulating a new plan. After seeing Zhao Haisheng off, he deliberately stayed at the company, letting the rumors spread further. Situations like this were akin to compressing a spring—the more pressure applied, the greater the rebound when released. During this time, Meng Changkun came by to check on him. However, seeing that Lu Liang was acting as if nothing had happened, he quickly left. Meng was somewhat in the know. Just last week, a few of them had gone out to sea for fun. Thankfully, Lu Liang hadn’t agreed to certain suggestions at the time; otherwise, he might now be among those summoned for questioning. That afternoon, during a teaching session, Su Wanyu was noticeably distracted, glancing out the window from time to time. She seemed terrified that a group of formally dressed officials might suddenly appear with a document and take Lu Liang away. Noticing her inattentiveness, Lu Liang tapped her on the forehead with his pen. “Focus! What are you thinking about all day? Can’t you hope for something good for me?” “I do, but that’s how it always happens on TV,” Su Wanyu replied, feeling aggrieved. “Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘Art originates from life but transcends it’?” Lu Liang chuckled. Then, he added, “If I were in trouble, they’d already be here. Cooperating with investigations is every citizen’s responsibility.” “Really?” Su Wanyu tilted her head, still unsure. Lu Liang scowled. “Do you not trust me?” “No~” she quickly denied, pouting slightly.

Chapter 80: Actually Caught

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