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

"Can I not film this?"

Wen Shanshan forced a smile, cautiously looked at Lu Liang, and simply couldn't accept such a 'trendy' storyline.

Desperate as film stars moving to web dramas was, doing this genre too had her worried that acquaintances would laugh at how low she'd stooped.

Especially with Yang Tianbao's grand wedding around the corner, she didn't want to gift him this joke.

"It won't matter, pick another project for yourself. Let's not count this one." Lu Liang called Wu Tianzheng, decided to invest, and asked him to bring people over to the company to sign the contract tomorrow.

With a budget of 5.25 million, they probably wouldn't need that much because he planned to trick Little Wang's Panda TV into sponsoring some filming funds.

Although it was an ancient time-travel drama, it featured ridiculous settings and focused on satire. Even if they inserted some modern ads, it probably wouldn't be a big issue.

Wen Shanshan was delighted, wrapped her arms around Lu Liang's neck, kissed him, and cooed, "Dear, you are so good to me."

At night, the two returned to the hotel. Lu Liang browsed Weibo while Wen Shanshan continued to pick her favorite projects.

As the midnight chimes rang, Lu Liang showed a strange smirk. "Are you sure you won't reconsider?"

Thinking that Lu Liang had changed his mind, Wen Shanshan stretched lazily to highlight her curves, tossed away her tablet.

Snuggled close to Lu Liang's arm, she closed her eyes, pretending to doze off. "Dear, I'm sleepy. I'm going to sleep first."

Lu Liang chuckled softly but didn't persuade her any further.

[December 30, Crown Princess Consort's Promotion Achieves a Cumulative 2.4 Billion Viewers]

35 episodes, total views of 2.4 billion, average per episode of over sixty-eight million. Lu Liang hadn't been involved in this industry before, but it seemed quite impressive.

Wen Shanshan wasn't interested, and he didn't insist.

After all, a coerced melon wasn't sweet, and forcing her into performing might ruin this hit web series.

The next morning, Lu Liang arrived at New International Building.

After a week's setup, the staff from Tianxing Capital had also moved in, completely leaving the old place.

Behind the front desk information panel, slightly to the right, gold lettering was added.

"Tianxing Investment Co., Ltd" Both companies shared a similar origin, and the front desk staff got along very well.

"Mr. Lu, good morning," Tang Caide greeted with a smile, representing all the employees.

Everyone looked at Lu Liang with admiration, proud that from now on, they could boast their company was located in Modu's most bustling Lujiazui.

These three words alone spoke volumes about the company's status.

Lu Liang smiled and made a round of the office, the working area was neat, spacious, and bright, the drink and snack bar was stocked, and there were over a dozen massage chairs in the lounge.

Everything disclosed high welfare and a superior working environment, making him very content. "We'll knock off at four this afternoon and have a company dinner."

The last dinner was with Tang Caide and Chen Jinchun. Now, after more than two months, the company's staff had expanded to 35 people.

There were a lot of new faces that Lu Liang barely recognized, and this was a good opportunity to get to know everyone better.

Everyone cheered joyfully, shouting, "Long live Mr. Lu~"

"That's enough, everyone go back and familiarize yourselves with your positions."

Lu Liang smiled and waved his hand to disperse the crowd, then followed Tang Caide to his office area.

Three desks were placed at the entrance; they were the workstations of Wen Chao, Chen Jinchun, and Fang Shiyu.

Upon entering, he saw a full-wall floor-to-ceiling window facing the Pujiang River, the total area was 122 square meters—three times the size of the previous office. It included a lounge and a bathroom.

At one corner of the office area, there was a two-meter-tall money tree, and in the rest area, a costly root-carved tea table was set.

"The money tree and tea table were gifts from Mr. Meng; he mentioned that you have agreed," Tang Caide spoke softly.

"They must be quite expensive," Lu Liang commented while feeling the tea table's excellent craftsmanship and material. It was obviously pricey.

"This set resembles the Gold Camphor. I've seen Caicloud; such a large root carving should be worth a few million," Tang Caide responded.

"Mr. Meng is thoughtful."

Lu Liang was surprised but pleasantly accepted.

Soon, people began to arrive with opening gifts.

Like Shen Peng, Zhu Hu, other businesses from upstairs and downstairs, and even the property management of the building.

There were over thirty floral baskets at the door, most of which Lu Liang didn't recognize the senders. He asked Wen Chao to keep track, just in case they met someday, and he couldn't remember, which would be awkward.

Approaching nine-fifteen,

Lu Liang went to the adjacent trading room.

The new energy sector hadn't launched yet; they were still quietly building positions at the bottom.

So far, the investment was 1.98 billion. With Lu Liang's anticipated 5.5 billion, there was still 3.55 billion left, requiring about three days.

At ten-twenty-five.

After watching a press conference hosted by the State Council.

Lu Liang gave a few instructions before leaving the trading room again.

By September 18, the entire new energy sector had surged more than double, definitely boosted by major policy benefits.

The State Council usually holds press conferences at ten.atripletoday nothing was mentioned, so the market movement wasn't scheduled for today.

"Damn it, I asked you to help, and you just stand there watching?"

At the company entrance, Wang Xiaocong was panting, holding a fifteen-inch tall bull statue, identical to those at Modu Bund and Wall Street.

It was different from those other two places, which had only bronze bulls; the one Little Wang held was likely pure gold.

"Gift-giving is all about handing it over personally to show sincerity," Lu Liang said with a smile.

To his surprise, the gold bull was not ordinarily heavy; it probably weighed about fifty to sixty pounds.

Following the recent rush to buy gold by Water Shell, the domestic gold price had surged but then fell back, yet a gram still cost 310.

A pound being 500 grams would be 155,000 yuan; if it were pure gold, then it would be at least eight million yuan.

"Pure gold?" Lu Liang asked.

"What else did you think, that I would gift something gold-plated?"

Wang Xiaocong, lying slouched in front of a tea table, showed his disdain. "Come on, I'm born in the '85, why stick to these old relics? Can't you switch to a leather sofa? The solid wood is uncomfortable to sit on."

"This tea set was a gift from Old Meng."

"I just don't get along with those born in the '70s."

Lu Liang unwrapped the package and squeezed the bull's horns, feeling a special connection to it since he too was born in the year of the bull. "Much appreciated."

"I'm off then."

After sipping some tea, Wang Xiaocong prepared to leave, but Lu Liang stopped him. "Hold on, stay and meet a few people with me."

"Who?" Wang Xiaocong was curious.

"I forgot their names, but they should be arriving soon. We're meeting at eleven o'clock."

"What for?"

"I invested in a web drama; rather than let outsiders benefit, I plan to get Panda to sponsor."

Lu Liang owned 15% of Panda's shares; the more famous Panda became, the higher its valuation, and the more he would earn.

"What's the name of the web drama?" Wang Xiaocong asked.

"The Crown Princess Consort's Promotion."

"The Crown Princess? Getting a promotion?"

"A gender-bending time-travel drama."

"..."

Wang Xiaocong suddenly lost all interest. "How much do you plan to get Panda to sponsor?"

"About 2 million yuan for the exclusive naming rights."

"2 million? What's the total budget?"

"About 5 million or so."

"..."

Wang Xiaocong was speechless. A web drama with a budget a little over 5 million, one could imagine, definitely lacked stars, famous directors, or IP—completely featureless.

And yet, the sponsorship fee was still 2 million; Lu Liang acted as if he was giving a great deal.

Little Wang really wanted to ask if Lu Liang was treating Panda like a fool, but considering it was only 2 million yuan, it wasn't that much money.

"Alright then, I'll speak to Long Fei later; you can have the producer of the web drama contact him," Wang Xiaocong said.

After all, the company hadn't yet raised funds and it had only two shareholders—he would provide 1.7 million and Lu Liang 300,000 yuan, contributing an extra 3 million or more.

If the web drama flopped, Lu Liang would certainly lose more than him. Little Wang felt somewhat relieved by that, and he really got a bargain joining Tianxing Asset Management anyhow.

A little loss didn't matter.

Lu Liang simply smiled lightly, seeing that Little Wang agreed to sponsor largely to show him face. He couldn't be bothered to explain. Once the web drama went online, Little Wang would willingly apologize.

At eleven o'clock sharp, Wu Tianzheng arrived on time, bringing the screenwriter and the director of the web drama, two young people in their twenties or early thirties, to whom Lu Liang gave extensive authority.

He only assigned someone to manage the finances and monitor expenses. The whole crew could decide everything else.

He also introduced Wang Xiaocong, having already found a good naming sponsor. "Think of a way to incorporate Panda TV into the plot; that shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"No problem at all," Qin Shuang, the screenwriter, said with a big smile, rarely encountering such an agreeable investor.

In filming web dramas, it's almost a standard for investors to push their own agendas, but Lu Liang hadn't made any demands, which felt like a blessing to them.

"There is a problem," Wang Xiaocong suddenly realized. "Isn't it a historical drama? How can you integrate Panda's advertisements into it?"

Director Lv Jiji was puzzled. "Mr. Wang, didn't you see our project proposal?"

"There's something unique about this script," Lu Liang said with a smile, handing over the project proposal.

Wang Xiaocong quickly read through it and looked shocked. "This is too bizarre."

"The current netizens might just like this style."

"It does seem intriguing."

Wang Xiaocong stroked his chin thoughtfully. "How about selling the exclusive premiere rights to Panda?"

He recalled the platform's game streamer PDD, who after being called "Sao Pig", soared in popularity.

Such a controversial web drama might really be intriguing; otherwise, Panda could also use this opportunity to introduce a film and TV section.

"Greedy people can't chew well and can't walk steadily; don't even think about taking off," Lu Liang discerned Little Wang's thoughts right away.

iQIYI and Tencent Video had been battling for years and never thought about entering the streaming field. Little Wang, just starting in the streaming business, thought he could not only handle online variety, but also dabble in video streaming.

Lu Liang worried he would stretch himself too thin.