"HSBC is in decline."

The neutral factions, such as the Wu Family and Lei Family, exchanged glances upon hearing Lu Liang’s statement and chose not to remain silent any longer.

Wu Guanzhong, the son-in-law of the world-renowned shipping magnate Bao Yugang, immediately stepped forward to express his stance: "Mr. Lu, you have a noble heart. Mr. Xu has devoted himself tirelessly to the real estate industry; we should support him. At the New World stock offering tomorrow, Hui Defeng Group is willing to lend a helping hand."

Not wanting to lag behind, Lei Zhengyang quickly added, "Mr. Lu, if you need anything, just say the word. Jiulong Construction is at your service."

As a new regime comes to power, so do new ministers; with HSBC on the decline and a new king about to ascend, they too must take action.

Helping Hengtai Group acquire New World Development was their combined gift to Lu Liang upon their meeting.

Meanwhile, at Yiyun Villa.

"Nonsense, this is ridiculous! Are they treating our Zheng Family like some nobodies?"

Although Zheng Jiachun refused the invitation, he had informants present to relay the developments in real-time.

Every statement at the cocktail party reached his ears precisely and without omission.

Now, nobody is being discrete; they’re openly planning to present New World to Lu Liang as a gesture of goodwill.

If an uncle can tolerate it, the aunt surely cannot.

"Mr. Qi, if the Zheng Family mortgaged 62% of Zhou Da Fu’s shares, how much capital could we raise?" Zheng Jiachun asked, his face somber.

In this world, maintaining face is crucial; if he concedes without a fight, he couldn’t face the Zheng ancestors after a hundred years, even if it means using Zhou Da Fu as a bargaining chip.

Qi Yaonian, elated, quickly responded, "Mr. Zheng, if you’ve already decided, I can confidently persuade the board."

As he had mentioned before, aiding the Zheng Family also implied aiding HSBC; today they give up five city blocks, tomorrow ten, for the sake of a night’s peace. This logic isn’t lost on the board members.

It’s just that the risks don’t proportionately match the benefits.

So, after their risk assessment, they might choose to abandon the effort.

However, with the Zheng Family doubling down and wagering Zhou Da Fu’s shares, it becomes a risk worth taking.

At 9 PM, across the ocean at New York Station, the final $50 billion subscription began.

"Is everything going smoothly?" Lu Liang stepped off the podium and went to a quiet corner to call Harris.

"Smoothly, yes, but the sources of the funding are quite complex," Harris remarked worriedly.

While they all operated under the guise of fund companies, a deeper investigation would reveal the truth.

Behind these so-called fund companies stood the Italian Mafia, Brazilian Gang, and Old Mo’s drug traffickers.

After all, with changing times, dark forces also evolve, establishing fund investment companies.

"As long as they pass the IRS’s scrutiny, we’ll take as much as there is," Lu Liang chuckled.

The IRS, also known as the Internal Revenue Service, has a saying: even a smuggler has to pay taxes in the United States.

Since they’ve established companies and ensured the capital participates smoothly in subscriptions, it indicates they’ve passed regulations.

"That’s logical, but I’m still concerned," Harris expressed his worry.

If someone intentionally lets a stray slip in, how should they handle it?

"Stand firm, no matter what," Lu Liang said sternly, instructing firmly.

Because the possibility is high, but besides standing firm, they have no other choice.

If they casually disclosed client information, who would dare deposit their money with them in the future?

"Hopefully, I’m overthinking this," Harris sighed, knowing well the consequences of not holding firm, with Swiss Bank as the prime example.

"Keep in touch, and report any issues to me promptly."

Ending his conversation with Harris, Lu Liang approached Xue Jingyang and touched his face, "Miss Xue, do I have a flower on my face?"

Plenty were secretly observing him, but Xue Jingyang was the only one who didn’t hide it; her gaze was filled with such affection it almost shimmered.

"No flower, but there’s a light, sparkling," Xue Jingyang said with a smile, extending her arm to link with Lu Liang’s.

Only when standing next to Lu Liang did she feel like a princess, akin to the moon that doesn’t shine by itself but through the reflection of the sun.

Lu Liang couldn’t help but chuckle. Linking arms with Xue Jingyang, he approached Old Xu, "Mr. Xu, if there’s nothing else, we’ll head off now. See you tomorrow morning."

Xu Jiayin glanced at Xue Jingyang and gave a knowing smile, pretending to urge them to stay, "Won’t you stay a while longer?"

"The main act is over; staying any longer is pointless."

Lu Liang gave a light laugh, said farewell to a few familiar friends, and left the villa.

He drove the vehicle himself, with Fang Shiyu pushed to the car behind with the security personnel.

Xue Jingyang sat in the passenger seat, her fingers playing with the lace on her dress, looking visibly tense.

"The weather’s nice tonight, come take a drive with me."

Lu Liang held the steering wheel with one hand, the other resting on the center console, as Xue Jingyang gently took his hand, softly affirming.

Departing from Cyberport, they drove along the coast, through the seaside promenade, circled half of Xiangjiang Island, and finally returned to the Four Seasons Hotel in the city.

As soon as she got out of the car, Xue Jingyang seemed ready for anything, her expression tense, head down, following closely behind Lu Liang.

Even after entering the room, she sat on the edge of the sofa, half perching, hands clasped on her lap.

Lu Liang, amused, ran his fingertip lightly over her flawless skin, "Didn’t have a boyfriend during school?"

Xue Jingyang flushed, speaking softly, "Had one in high school, but it didn’t last long."

"Why did you break up later?"

With a long night ahead, Lu Liang didn’t rush. He fetched a bottle of wine from the cabinet and two wine glasses.

"I used to think he was handsome and could play basketball, but gradually I realized that he was also immature and his thinking wasn’t developed."

Xue Jingyang softly said, that relationship at the time wasn’t really love, just two young people longing for romance and having a mutual liking for each other.

As for why they broke up, she remembers it clearly to this day. One day after school, he was giving her a ride and they were caught by their teacher and classmates.

At that moment, he was so scared that he ran away immediately.

Later on, his mom even went to the school and caused quite a scene.

"Those days before graduation must have been tough, right?" Lu Liang sighed lightly, empathizing with how awkward the situation must have been back then.

Xue Jingyang was surprised and quickly nodded, "Thankfully, it was the first semester of senior year, and I graduated six months later."

She hadn’t expected Lu Liang to be so attentive, realizing how difficult that period was for her.

At the time, she thought she had met her prince charming, but it turned out the guy was so irresponsible, and his mom even came to the school.

The strange looks and gossip made her want to jump off a building, luckily it only lasted a few months.

The shadow of that first relationship made her afraid to date during college, until she joined the Hengtai Dance Troupe.

Xue Jingyang mustered the courage to ask curiously, "Mr. Lu, what was your first love like?"

"It’s been many years, to be honest, I can’t even remember clearly now." Lu Liang sighed deeply.

Xue Jingyang pouted, "You’re just reluctant to say."

"It’s not that I don’t want to say, there’s just nothing much to tell."

Lu Liang sunk half into the sofa, crossed his legs, and took a sip of his drink before saying, "I didn’t have a campus romance. I met my first girlfriend after starting work, so it was destined not to be as profound and pure as a school romance."

Back then, he was just working at a real estate agency, and she was looking for a place, so he was attracted to her and kept trying to please her, and eventually, he managed to woo her.

Their relationship ended without any conflict, she just needed to work out-of-town, and Lu Liang was busy with his job, so they gradually lost contact.

"Weren’t you sad?" Xue Jingyang asked, feeling perplexed, as Lu Liang seemed unfazed.

"At that age, around twenty-four or twenty-five, beaten down by society, who has the time to be sad?"

Lu Liang chuckled, adults don’t have the luxury of being sad.

Have a midnight snack, drink a bit, get a foot massage, and when the sun rises, you go to work as usual.

"And then what?" Xue Jingyang asked curiously.

"Later, I had two more relationships, each ending without any drama, everything felt like it was just to satisfy each other’s physical needs."

Xue Jingyang’s mouth dropped open in surprise, her face revealing her astonishment, she muttered to herself, "Can it really be like this?"

"Why can’t it?"

Just then, Lu Liang’s phone on the table vibrated slightly.

He picked it up, glanced at it, and said, "You go take a shower first, I’ll make a call."

Xue Jingyang nodded, blushing, took off her necklace and jewelry, and slowly headed to the bathroom.

Lu Liang walked to the balcony, opened a small gap in the window, allowing the night breeze to fill the room, to avoid eavesdropping.

He returned Wen Chao’s call, "What’s up, tell me."

"Mr. Lu, Ant Group’s subscription funds have already been transferred into the company account, but the funds from Tencent and PIF might need to wait until next Monday or Tuesday."

Wen Chao explained, currently they have about 62.1 billion US dollars in available funds. If HSBC holds back, they might secure the victory tomorrow.

Major groups all have risk assessment divisions, even Macau’s betting sites have increased the odds for the Zheng family to defend New World to 1 to 3.32.

So, it’s unlikely HSBC would support the Zheng family knowing full well the risks; abandoning the Zheng family’s defense of New World would be their best option.

"HSBC hasn’t shown any reaction so far, but we should still stay cautious. Tomorrow we’ll throw in 30 billion US dollars to scare them and see their reaction."

Lu Liang thought for a moment, planning for tomorrow, as New World is issuing a private placement of 30% equity, which will be traded like a new share issuance on the secondary market, totaling 750 million shares.

The Zheng family holds 34.384% of the shares, while Hengtai holds 31.108%. This time, whoever reaches 50.1% first leaves no hope for the other side to turn the tables.

Wen Chao paused for a few seconds and added, "Mr. Lu, I just spoke with Harris, Delimei has subscribed to 32 billion US dollars and is expected to complete the subscription by midnight."

"I know. If you have time, keep a close eye on Delimei." Lu Liang informed of Harris’s concerns.

Wen Chao thought for a while and echoed Lu Liang’s sentiment, "If that happens, our only choice is to face it head-on."

Running a bank is like running a restaurant, even if you know the enemy might poison your restaurant, apart from being vigilant, there’s nothing else you can do.

"No need to worry too much, after all, one won’t die from holding it in, blessings and misfortunes often accompany each other, it might actually be a good thing."

Lu Liang squinted his eyes, if that situation really arises, it could indeed turn out well.

Just like Huawei being targeted and rising from the mobile industry to become the top domestic brand.

As the saying goes, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

After a long conversation with Wen Chao, when the call ended, Lu Liang went to the bathroom, and the floor tiles had already cooled down.

He took a shower, changed into a bathrobe, and went to the innermost bedroom of the suite, seeing the bed covers ballooned by knees.

Xue Jingyang was absentmindedly playing with her phone, occasionally glancing toward the door, coincidentally meeting Lu Liang’s gaze at that moment.

With a swish, her face turned bright red, like a startled deer, her eyes darting around, unsure where to look.

Lu Liang smiled gently, sat by the head of the bed, already a seasoned veteran, and naturally draped an arm over Xue Jingyang’s shoulder, "What are you looking at?"

A whiff of youthful scent mixed with a light perfume flooded his nostrils, and the skin in his arms was warm and blushing, like a freshly peeled egg, smooth, tender, and warm.

"Just casually scrolling through short videos..." Xue Jingyang’s words came to an abrupt halt, as a warm breath in her ear made her let out a soft hum.