After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future-Chapter 283 - 282: Eight Trillion Market Value

"Mr. Shen, how much do you think the box office will be?"

Journalists still remembered that today was the premiere of First Rich, and members of the main creative team like Shen Teng, Yan Fei, and Zhang Tian’ai were the main focus, while Lu Liang just had a minor role.

"2.5 billion at the box office."

Shen Teng, with his chin up and neck stiff, struck a pose of daring loyalty, which successfully made everyone laugh.

It wasn’t that a domestically produced film hadn’t reached 2 billion at the box office, but it was difficult, thus far only Demon Brushing Records and Mermaid had.

Even he didn’t quite believe in a 2-billion box office, but Lu Liang had put out the word, and he would have to back it up even if it meant his face got slapped swollen.

After all, his misprediction would be better than a mistake from Lu Liang.

Worldly society wasn’t about fighting and killing, but about interpersonal intricacies. Having been in the entertainment circle for so many years, he knew it didn’t matter if he was embarrassed, but he definitely couldn’t let his golden goose backers be embarrassed.

Lu Liang looked at Shen Teng in surprise, gave a faint smile but said no more.

Suddenly, a journalist raised a sharp question, targeting Lu Liang and Zhang Tian’ai.

The first time the public knew about Zhang Tian’ai was because of the drama series Crown Princess Consort.

The web series just happened to be produced by Lu Liang.

Now that she was again the leading lady in a film produced by Lu Liang, the question arose whether the two were dating.

Lu Liang laughed lightly, "Perhaps, Director Yan is better suited to answer this question."

Yan Fei grinned, "Tianai is suitable for this role, and that’s why it’s hers."

"Also, this friend here, Mr. Lu has also invested in Xia Luo and Donkey Gets Water, and seemingly even Wu Jing’s War Wolf 2."

His implication was clear, letting Zhang Tian’ai play the lead in this movie was solely because she was fit for it, with no other motives.

If they were truly in a relationship, with Lu Liang’s capability, he could let her be the leading lady in any film he invested in.

"Suddenly, I’m so happy～"

Zhang Tian’ai cocked her head, winked at Lu Liang, and playfully said, "Mr. Lu, why don’t we stir up some scandal? The scandal about Mr. Shen and me seems to be fizzling out."

Instead of hiding and sneaking around, better to mix truth and fiction, so if their relationship got accidentally exposed later, it would be mistaken as just promoting a scandal.

Shen Teng, looking indignant, said, "What are you saying? Just think, over a decade ago, I was also the heartthrob of the military art academy."

"That’s fine, then I’ll go and chat with Mr. Zhang about the promotion fees." Lu Liang said with a smile at the corner of his mouth, getting ready to leave.

Zhang Tian’ai waved goodbye with a smile, then shouted loudly to Zhang Chen, "Mr. Zhang, remember to give more money."

"What money, does stirring up a scandal with me bring you shame?" Shen Teng looked displeased.

Zhang Tian’ai grimaced, hesitating, "Mr. Shen, it would be nice if you were a bit thinner."

A wave of laughter erupted in the theater, and amidst the laughter, Lu Liang left the stage of the premiere.

He departed, and soon after, the premiere concluded, but the related news quickly fermented online.

Lu Liang’s personal appearance and participation in the premiere was a hot search term that the production company couldn’t have bought for any amount of money.

Not to mention him going onstage for an interview.

Although it’s often said that Lu Liang is addicted to publicity, he promotes mostly his own investments.

If you wanted to pay him for promotion, it would cost at least nine figures, and more likely Lu Liang wouldn’t even consider it.

"666, an ’82’ score man."

"These journalists are no good, they totally missed the joke."

"A 2-billion box office? A 2.5-billion box office? Damn, each more daring than the last."

"No way, does Ai Bao truly like Liangzi? Those eyes, they were practically melting."

"The ultimate dream of female stars is to marry into wealth, and Liangzi is Tang Seng’s flesh; If I were Zhang Tian’ai, I’d have delivered myself already."

"While it’s undeniable that many actresses think this way, it definitely doesn’t include Ai Bao. A hard-working girl like her, who gave up a chance to become a second-tier star after her web series exploded, and focused solely on honing her acting skills to earn this role."

"The act of vomiting, did she shout your name when playing poker with others, defending her like that?"

All at once, news about First Rich filled the air, outpacing Riding the Waves, overshadowing Journey to the West: Demons Subdued, and far ahead of Danao Tianzhu.

Initially, only slightly notorious, First Rich became the hottest movie of the Spring Festival file because of Lu Liang’s participation and attendance at the premiere.

With such high popularity, as long as the plot was passable and suited for family viewing during the Spring Festival, recouping the 150 million investment was no issue—it was just a matter of how much profit would be made.

Wu Jing was so envious that he was practically drooling.

Had he known that Lu Liang’s participation would bring such explosive publicity, he would have spared no expense even domestically to build a Green View greenhouse exclusively for Lu Liang.

As night fell, the airplane arrived at Pu Xin Airport.

Zhuo Yifan informed that Tesla would be holding a delivery ceremony for Mao Dou 3 the next day.

Musk would also arrive in Modu early tomorrow morning to personally preside over the delivery ceremony of the first batch of 30 vehicles.

He knew that Lu Liang had divested from the private equity fund and was no longer a shareholder of Tesla, but he still hoped to meet him.

"What time tomorrow?" Lu Liang asked.

"Four in the afternoon, Shangri-La Hotel."

"Alright, got it."

Deep into the night, Lu Liang held Li Manli until the chimes of midnight rang out, startled, silent, and finally closing his eyes to digest it all.

Li Manli blinked, her brows tinged with an indelible sadness, "Liang, are you asleep?"

"Hmm?"

"Dad asked me to come back for the New Year."

"That’s good, you won’t be alone this year."

"But I don’t want to go back."

Li Manli was downhearted, having been in a cold war with her family for almost a year.

During that period, only she would initiate calls home; otherwise, no one would call her. She even found out about her brother’s wedding in August through social media.

Recently, her dad had called her out of the blue, apologizing and hoping that she would come home for the new year.

She was delighted and bought lots of gifts in advance until her mom called to inquire whether she was dating Lu Liang.

Lu Liang sighed softly, wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes, "It’s fine if you go back, and it’s also fine if you don’t. I support you either way."

Li Manli made a sound of acknowledgment, curling up and squeezing tightly into Lu Liang’s embrace, "Goodnight, Makabaka~"

Sometimes, she truly felt suffocated, but then she would think of having Lu Liang, and it all seemed to matter little.

"Goodnight," Lu Liang kissed her forehead.

...

Tesla really knew how to pick the time.

Mao Dou 3 chose to be delivered on the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month.

The end of the year approached, but it wasn’t yet the vacation period. All companies were busy with inventory checks. Aside from production companies promoting films for the Spring Festival slot, the mobile phone and automotive industries had no new releases, leading to a brief public opinion vacuum.

From Musk’s arrival in Modu at five in the morning, the whole internet talked about Tesla and the delivery of Mao Dou 3 all day long.

Lu Liang had a favorable opinion of Tesla and Musk, as it was a leading new energy automobile company in the world.

It was a pure admiration for power.

However, there were too many filial and wise fans online, saying things like, "Fortunately, technology is in civilized hands," "What use are refrigerators, color TVs, big sofas when simplicity represents technology?", and even Liangzi was subservient to Tesla.

It seemed like everything was rose-colored, and this really irritated Lu Liang. He sighed, "Old Zeng, stand up for yourself, don’t be outdone by Su Daqiang."

Lu Liang silently relaxed his investment requirements for Modu. As long as the gap wasn’t too large, he was determined to invest in Modu.

Even though he knew that Su Daqiang, in order to secure a hundred billion investment, would spare no efforts and offer the highest courtesies.

But money was not an issue for Lu Liang; as long as the policy incentives were reasonable, he was determined to compete with Tesla.

Although annoyed, he was past the age for youthful rivalry; it was mainly about that lavish display of wealth.

[November 3, 2021, Tesla’s market cap reached 1200 billion US dollars]

"Eight trillion RMB market cap, tsk tsk..."

Lu Liang’s mouth watered; initially, he thought the current market cap of 80 billion US dollars was already high, little did he know it was still at the bottom.

If he didn’t plan to personally enter the fray, he would probably continue to buy more of their stock like Ningde and become a long-term shareholder.

But since Lu Liang decided to make cars, he couldn’t just stand by. With such a giant shadow cast over him, who else could stand out?

Modu should be one of Tesla’s great expansion locations, if not the only one, definitely one of them.

Lu Liang needed to seize the opportunity from them, and that meant starting to undermine them now.