Chapter 56: The Complicated Mr. Liu

Wang Jingli trotted over the entire way and respectfully called out, "Chairman Lu."

Lu Chen waved his hand, feeling somewhat speechless, and then followed Wang Jingli into the banquet hall.

"Speak, what is going on?"

After following Wang Jingli into the banquet hall for a short distance and greeting the people around him, Lu Chen arrived at a slightly secluded corner.

"Chairman Lu, the capital flow in my company has nearly doubled recently!"

Wang Jingli looked around at his surroundings before speaking in a low voice.

"These capital flows are different from before; they have already split into countless shares, and a large number of clients have entered."

Wang Jingli wore a relaxed expression as he casually pointed at a guest to Lu Chen's side.

A trace of panic flashed in his eyes.

His tone was low and rapid.

It seemed as if he were introducing someone to Lu Chen.

"When did it start?"

Lu Chen paused, raised his wine glass, touched it from a distance with the guest who had been pointed out, and then moved a little closer to Wang Jingli.

He took a sip of champagne before asking the question.

Scanning the guests with his eyes, Lu Chen frowned.

"After sending out all the invitations, that is to say, the signs only appeared yesterday, but a significant amount of anonymous capital flow had already entered by yesterday."

Wang Jingli paused, the corners of his eyes lifted slightly, and then he spoke in a low voice.

He took the opportunity to clink glasses with Lu Chen.

"Alright, I understand. It is still the same promise; you decide the timing yourself."

Lu Chen wore a smile and spoke at a very fast pace.

He patted Wang Jingli on the shoulder and then took a step forward.

"You must be Mr. Liu, right?"

Lu Chen greeted him with a smile and lightly touched glasses with the person Wang Jingli had just pointed out.

"You are that Young Master Liu who bought the Rainbow for the sky-high price of 65 million pounds at the auction!"

The more Lu Chen looked at this person, the more familiar he seemed, and he spoke again as if suddenly realizing the truth.

"No wonder Manager Wang told me just now that as long as I saw you, I would definitely be able to recognize you!"

"I don't deserve such praise, I don't deserve it. I was only buying it for those above. To have the honor of meeting you..."

Mr. Liu glanced at Wang Jingli, and Wang Jingli hurriedly stepped forward to whisper an introduction of Lu Chen's identity into Mr. Liu's ear.

Mr. Liu's pupils shrank slightly, and the smile on his face deepened.

"So it is Chairman Lu! Forgive my dull eyes. My father has been mentioning Chairman Lu in my ear for a long time; I have finally met you in person!"

"Your father is?"

Lu Chen sipped his champagne and clinked glasses with Mr. Liu again.

A trace of doubt flashed in his eyes; logically speaking, it was unlikely he had ever met Mr. Liu's family.

Could it be the gathering organized by Professor Li?

Slowly, a figure emerged in Lu Chen's mind, gradually overlapping with this young face.

It really did look somewhat similar!

"So it is the son of Elder Liu! I have been busy during this period and haven't had the chance to pay Elder Liu a visit; I am truly ashamed!"

"That is not your fault, Chairman Lu. I know that you and the old man have already set a time."

Young Master Liu said with a smile, pointing to the sofa nearby.

"Let's go sit and talk. My nicotine craving just hit; want one?"

Lu Chen nodded with a smile, took out his cigar case from his breast pocket, placed it on the coffee table, and gestured slightly toward Mr. Liu.

He took one out from inside and began to preheat it.

Mr. Liu did not refuse Lu Chen's kindness and also pulled one out from his own cigarette case.

"I heard that Mr. Lu is interested in Nitan?"

Mr. Liu preheated his cigar and looked up at Lu Chen, who was meticulously preheating his own.

He scanned the surrounding guests again and gave Wang Jingli a look.

Only then did he speak in a low voice.

"Mr. Liu, this is not a good place for negotiations."

Lu Chen did not answer immediately; instead, he waited until the cigar was preheated, took a puff, and exhaled the smoke.

He waited for Mr. Liu to start smoking his cigar as well before speaking.

"Hahaha, Mr. Lu is interesting. Today is just for relaxing. When you meet our old man, we can talk in detail, how about that?"

Mr. Liu leaned back against the backrest, smoked his cigar with a smile, and slowly exhaled the smoke.

"Mr. Lu, this cigar of yours..."

Mr. Liu gave a thumbs up!

"It is much better than the ones the family allocates to me!"

"If you like it, I will have my butler send you a box later. This stuff is really a bit hard to get."

Lu Chen responded with a smile and relaxed as well, adopting the same posture as Mr. Liu, though the two sat a little closer together.

"Mr. Lu, what is your take on the Rainbow?"

Mr. Liu scanned the surrounding guests once more before asking in a low voice.

"Recently, Crown has raised a portion of funds from us, saying they want to engage in financial innovation—securitization or something like that. I don't quite understand it. You come from the outside; do you know about this stuff?"

Lu Chen was stunned for a moment, took a deep look at Mr. Liu, and then swept his gaze across the surrounding guests.

He slowly took two puffs of his Cigar and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"Mr. Liu, I am in the industrial sector; I really don't understand finance that well, and the shares of Crown are not something I want to take."

Lu Chen narrowed his eyes, said this in a low voice, and after taking another puff of his Cigar, he spoke again in a low tone.

"Since it is innovation, the risk is not just ordinarily high; innovation often lacks the experience of predecessors."

"So that means Mr. Lu does not look favorably upon this project?"

Mr. Liu's voice became even deeper, and there was a hint of a smile in his tone, seemingly with a tiny bit of teasing mixed in.

"Mr. Liu, be careful with your words; if you say more, I will have to exercise my rights as a director of Crown."

Lu Chen glanced at Mr. Liu and teased him with a remark.

He picked up his champagne and clinked glasses with Mr. Liu.

"It has been a pleasure chatting with Mr. Lu. This is my Business Card; let's keep in touch when you have time. I still have some matters to attend to."

Mr. Liu saw someone in the distance waving at him and gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

He set down his wine glass, took a Business Card from his pocket, and handed it to Lu Chen solemnly.

Only then did he speak.

Lu Chen also took out a gold-stamped Business Card to exchange with him.

"Then I won't disturb Mr. Liu any further."

After Lu Chen watched Mr. Liu walk away with a smile, a trace of gravity flashed in his eyes.

He glanced at the Business Card, which had only three characters: Liu Hengsheng.

He beckoned to Wang Jingli.

Wang Jingli then leaned over.

"How much do you know about Mr. Liu's family?"

Lu Chen closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, a sharp glint flashed through them.

"Mr. Liu, he is considered a comprador, though he also has his own businesses, which are quite diverse."

Wang Jingli began to explain in a low voice.

Lu Chen listened while nodding slightly, occasionally clinking glasses from afar with guests who were greeting him.

Yet, his eyes grew increasingly complex.

Before long, Wei Er carried his wine glass and walked to the center of the banquet hall.

The doors of the banquet hall seemed to have been closed as well.

This made Lu Chen feel slightly uncomfortable.