Chapter 928
Will she really cry herself to death in the toilet?
Lu Yang stood with his back to the door, his figure tall and straight. His gaze pierced through the glass, seemingly fixed on some unseen corner of the city, where a desperate struggle concerning fate and wealth was unfolding.
After hesitating for a moment.
"Come in."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable clarity.
The door was gently pushed open, and Lu Nini walked in briskly, carrying a stack of documents.
"Chairman, you wanted to see me?" Her voice was clear and crisp.
Lu Yang turned around, his face expressionless, his deep eyes as calm and still as an ancient well.
He cut straight to the point, without any pleasantries: "Go, give the order to register a new company. Keep the name ordinary, and the business scope broad—investment, consulting, trade, anything is acceptable. That's the key point."
He emphasized his words, each one striking Lu Nini's heart: "Don't let outsiders know that I'm the boss behind this for now. After the registration is complete, have the new company give our CEO Xiao a hand."
Lu Nini blinked, her long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings, and instantly understood Lu Yang's intention.
The documents she was holding seemed to lighten slightly, and she couldn't help but smile, nodding repeatedly with a hint of teasing in her voice: "Understood! Understood! Don't worry, Chairman, I guarantee it will be done without anyone noticing!"
Looking at her "I understand you" expression, Lu Yang knew exactly what this girl was thinking.
He frowned slightly, deliberately put on a stern face, and glared at her: "Is it that funny? Do you think I'm taking advantage of someone in distress?"
Lu Nini quickly lowered her head, suppressing her smile, but her shoulders still twitched slightly suspiciously: "No, no, absolutely not! Chairman, you are so insightful and far-sighted, I just... I admire you!"
She paused, then couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "But... to lend a hand to our CEO Xiao? That's quite a 'thoughtful' suggestion."
She knew perfectly well that the "helping hand" Lu Yang mentioned was directed at President Xiao, who had just caused a huge uproar at the Qian family and was now being pushed to the brink by massive debt.
The target was Sina shares, which Mr. Xiao held like a hot potato and was frantically trying to get rid of.
"Hmph." Lu Yang snorted lightly, too lazy to continue arguing with her, and directly gave the order, "Have this new company contact Xiao Jun as soon as possible. Be humble, but make the goal clear: we want all the original shares of Sina that he has. The price can be as flexible as possible, but it must be fast. Time waits for no one, understand?"
"Yes."
Lu Nini held the documents in her arms, a smile playing on her lips as she nodded repeatedly.
Brother Lu is so mean.
There's definitely something to be gained from this, yet they talk as if they genuinely want to help someone out.
If that's really the case, why keep it a secret and not let Mr. Xiao know?
Lu Yang glared at her: "Is it that funny? Aren't you going to make the arrangements?"
Lu Nini immediately straightened her back, her face regaining its capable expression: "Yes, Chairman! I'll get on it right away! I guarantee the new company will appear before President Xiao as quickly and appropriately as possible!"
She emphasized the words "just right," her eyes gleaming with a mischievous light.
As she turned to leave, her steps were light and quick, as if she could already foresee Xiao Jun's ecstatic yet bewildered expression when he received the "lifesaving" call.
The office door closed gently, shutting out the noise from the outside world.
Lu Yang walked back to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the urban forest below.
The sunlight cast a deep shadow on his sharply defined profile.
Sina, as one of the three major Chinese internet portals, was once incredibly successful and was one of the few domestic internet concept stocks to be successfully listed on NASDAQ in the United States.
At the time of its listing, the market was euphoric, and its market value once soared to a peak of 5 million US dollars.
However, the good times didn't last long. With the collapse of the global tech stock and dot-com bubble, the Nasdaq index experienced a precipitous drop.
Sina's stock price also plummeted like a kite with a broken string, falling from the closing price of $20.687 on the day of its IPO to around $13.125 today, a drop of about 37%, with more than $2 million in market value evaporating in a short period of time.
Based on the latest closing price, its total market capitalization is only about $3.1 million.
Xiao Jun holds approximately 15% of Sina's original shares.
Based on the current share price, its market value is approximately US$4650 million.
The problem is that, as an original shareholder of a listed company, Xiao Jun cannot freely sell and cash out in the secondary market like ordinary retail investors.
According to the rules, he must endure the 90-day stock lock-up period.
This road is blocked!
At present, global internet concept stocks are in their darkest hour, being sold off in panic by investors. There is widespread lamentation, stock prices are depressed and liquidity is almost exhausted. Everyone in the market is in danger. Who would dare to take over a huge stake in a portal website with an uncertain future and a continuously falling stock price at this time?
Xiao Jun's eagerness to find a buyer was nothing short of wishful thinking.
He was in a truly desperate situation, where "heaven and earth seemed to hear no one's cries for help."
So, on the surface, Lu Yang's intervention at this moment was indeed "giving him a hand." When Xiao Jun was almost in despair and hitting walls everywhere, he provided an opportunity to cash out and leave immediately. Even if the price was discounted by 20%, this more than $37 million (after the discount) was a lifeline for Xiao Jun, who was on the verge of liquidation and urgently needed cash to fill the hole!
“If Xiao Jun could have kept his composure and waited a little longer…” Lu Yang couldn’t help but feel sorry for Xiao Jun. “He would probably rather have reduced his holdings of Xiao Shentong shares than choose to sell off his Sina shares at such a terrible price at this time. Unfortunately, he couldn’t wait any longer and had no idea what was about to happen. Besides, if I don’t take these shares, someone else will take them sooner or later, and they might even lower the price. So, he might as well let me have them. You won’t blame me when you find out the truth, will you?”
“Xiao Jun, oh Xiao Jun…” Lu Yang murmured silently, his eyes filled with complex emotions, which eventually turned into a cold, clear gaze. “Youyou is right. You’re not suited for business. You’re better suited to going back to being a lazy, good-for-nothing rich kid. For Youyou’s sake, for the Qian family’s sake, to stop cleaning up your messes, and to make you give up completely… I’ll take this on.”
He picked up the internal phone on the table, dialed the overseas line, and said in a calm and clear voice: "Chen Fan, you can speed up the pace of acquiring Sina's circulating shares a little. But be careful to keep a low profile and avoid attracting unnecessary attention."
at the same time.
A few days later, on the other side of the city, in a dimly lit executive lounge booth of a five-star hotel.
Xiao Jun's eyes were bloodshot, his hair was disheveled, his expensive suit jacket was casually draped over the back of the chair, and his shirt collar was open, revealing his red neck.
On the table in front of him were several empty wine glasses and a cell phone with a cracked screen—the result of his anger after failing to get through to Mu Qizhong the previous night.
Alcohol and despair were like two venomous snakes, gnawing at his nerves.
The humiliation of being kicked out of the Qian family, the disappointed and heartbroken look in his mother's eyes, the cold and resolute attitude of his younger sister Qian Youyou, and Lu Yang's calm indifference despite knowing everything... all these images were tearing at his mind.
He made countless phone calls, pleading with every "friend" and investor he could think of, people he had once called brothers, only to be met with either evasive excuses or opportunistic attempts to take advantage of his misfortune and offer exorbitantly low prices.
Sina's stock?
In this time when everyone is on edge and regards internet stocks as a plague, who would be willing to take on this hot potato?
Those who usually fawned over him were now replaced by indifference and schadenfreude.
He felt like a fish abandoned by everyone, struggling to survive on a dried-up riverbed.
"Damn it! A bunch of ingrates! Bastards!" He gulped down the last mouthful of the spicy liquid in his glass, his throat burning, but he couldn't suppress the bone-chilling coldness in his heart and the wildly growing, reckless courage of a gambler. "I refuse to believe it! I'm going to sell! Clearance sale! Sell it all! Even if it's a fire sale, I'll sell it!"
He grabbed the phone with its shattered screen, his fingers trembling, and tried again to dial a number he had little hope of getting through.
Just then—
"Buzz...buzz...buzz..."
The phone screen stubbornly lit up, and an unfamiliar local number popped up. Xiao Jun's heart clenched, like a drowning man suddenly seeing a floating straw.
He practically lunged at the phone, his fingers swiping clumsily several times with excitement and alcohol before finally answering, his voice hoarse and urgent: "Hello?! Who is this?"
On the other end of the phone came a mature, polite, but professionally distant middle-aged male voice: "Hello, is this Mr. Xiao Jun?"
"It's me! It's Xiao Jun!" Xiao Jun's voice rose involuntarily, carrying a hint of humility and expectation that he himself was unaware of.
"Hello Mr. Xiao, I apologize for bothering you. I am Li Ming, an investment manager from Pengcheng Wanli Capital." The other party's voice was calm and clear. "Our company has recently expressed a strategic investment intention in the domestic internet industry, especially in high-quality portal websites like Sina. We understand that you seem to be considering transferring some of your shares in Sina?"
boom!
Xiao Jun's mind went blank for a moment, then he was overwhelmed by immense joy!
Pengcheng Capital? Never heard of it! But who cares! Someone's willing to take over! Someone offered an olive branch when he was at his wit's end!
"Yes, yes, yes! I have it! I have Sina's original shares! 15%! I'm willing to transfer them all!" Xiao Jun was so excited he was almost incoherent, nearly jumping up from his booth. "You...you're interested? What price are you willing to offer?"
He gripped his phone tightly, his knuckles turning white, holding his breath as he awaited his fate.
Li Ming on the other end of the phone seemed to chuckle slightly, his voice still polite: "Mr. Xiao, don't worry. Regarding the price, our initial intention is to offer 20% off today's Sina Nasdaq closing price, and acquire all the shares you hold in one go. What do you think..."
20% off?!
Xiao Jun's ecstatic joy froze instantly, as if he had been doused with a bucket of ice water.
46.5 million, discounted by 20%?
A little over 3700 million?
This was much lower than he had expected!
He instinctively wanted to roar in refusal, but the words that came out were just labored gasps.
He looked around at the dim lights, the cold wine glasses, the shattered phone screen... and the enormous debt hanging over his head like the Sword of Damocles, along with the imminent margin call warning.
Refuse? Does he still have the right or the time to refuse? Does he have any other choice?
“80%...80% off is too low!” Xiao Jun’s voice trembled with resentment as he tried to make a final stand. “95% off! I can accept 95% off! And it must be settled in US dollars!” He threw out his last bottom line and conditions, his heart pounding in his throat.
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, as if they were weighing their options.
Those few seconds felt like an eternity to Xiao Jun.
Finally, Li Ming's voice came again, with a hint of compromise after "difficulty": "President Xiao, 15% off, that's the highest I can negotiate. As for the settlement in US dollars... we can apply to the head office for that, it shouldn't be a big problem."
15% off? Better than 20%, but still far below 5% off! Xiao Jun's heart was bleeding, but he knew that this was probably the limit he could negotiate.
The fact that they can request settlement in US dollars indicates they are quite financially strong. If we miss this opportunity, we might never get another chance!
He took a deep breath, the alcohol and despair mixing into a desperate, all-or-nothing resolve: "One price! 10% off! 10% off! If you're willing, I can sign the agreement right away! Cash, dollars! The sooner the better!" He practically roared it out, with the resolute determination of a gambler going all in.
There was another moment of silence on the other end of the phone, this time even shorter.
Soon, Li Ming's voice came through, carrying a hint of relief and the satisfaction of a deal being struck: "Great! Mr. Xiao is so generous! 10% off it is! Our boss... uh, our company greatly admires Mr. Xiao's decisiveness, so we'll do as you say, 10% off! Settlement in US dollars! We'll arrange the signing process as soon as possible, what do you think?"
He seemed to have inadvertently mentioned "boss," but immediately and awkwardly covered it up.
"Sign! Sign it now!" Xiao Jun didn't care about the details anymore. The immense pressure seemed to find an outlet in an instant. He relaxed completely, slumped in the booth, and said in a hoarse voice, tinged with relief and a barely perceptible sob, "No matter who your boss is... tell him that I, Xiao Jun, owe him a favor this time! A huge favor!"
At this moment, he genuinely regarded this mysterious "Pengcheng Capital" as his savior and a benefactor who offered timely help in his time of need.
On the other end of the phone, Li Ming's voice remained professional and polite: "Mr. Xiao, you flatter me. It's just a mutually beneficial arrangement. Please wait a moment, and I'll arrange the contract and follow-up matters immediately. Let's keep in touch." After saying that, he hung up the phone.
Hearing the busy tone on the phone, Xiao Jun held the phone for a long time without putting it down.
He leaned back in the soft leather chair of the booth and exhaled a long, deep breath, as if to expel the fear, anger, and despair that had been building up in his chest for days.
Although the price was drastically reduced, the nearly $4200 million in cash was enough for him to catch his breath and deal with the most pressing crisis.
As for the future... he closed his eyes wearily, unwilling to think about it for the time being.
. . .
Century Tower, top-floor office.
Lu Nini knocked on the door again and came in, her face showing a hint of excitement and relief after completing the task. She placed a freshly printed contract on Lu Yang's large desk.
"Chairman, the matter you assigned has been completed. This is the newly signed equity transfer agreement. 'Pengcheng Wanli Capital' will acquire all of Mr. Xiao's 15% stake in Sina, at a 10% discount as you instructed, with settlement in US dollars."
She paused, then added, "President Xiao signed the contract very quickly and readily, and even said he owed our boss a 'huge favor'."
Lu Yang picked up the contract, still warm from the printer, and quickly and carefully reviewed the key terms—equity ratio, transaction price (calculated at 90% of the closing price of $13.125 the day before signing), payment method (USD), settlement time… All the terms were clear and accurate, perfectly meeting his expectations.
"Hmm, not bad." Lu Yang closed the contract, a rare look of satisfaction on his face, though behind this satisfaction lay a cold calculation of Xiao Jun's future.
He looked up at Lu Nini and said, "Pass the word down: by the end of this month, all employees in the group will receive double their bonuses."
Lu Nini's eyes instantly lit up like stars: "Does everyone have it? Including..." She couldn't quite believe it.
Lu Yang glared at her, his tone unequivocal: "Otherwise what? Wasn't what I said clear enough? Including the sweepers, the gatekeepers, all registered employees, whether they are full-time or interns, even if they have only worked a few days this month, notify the finance department that they should not be shortchanged on their bonuses. Sharing is worse than keeping it to yourself."
"Yay! That's awesome!" Lu Nini couldn't help but cheer, excitedly making a small "V" sign. She then realized she had overreacted and quickly covered her mouth, but the smile in her eyes was impossible to hide.
"Alright, look at you, so pathetic." Lu Yang waved his hand, a rare smile playing on his lips. "If word gets out, outsiders will think that being my secretary is like I'm short of money. They'll laugh about it."
"Yes! Thank you, Chairman!" Lu Nini, like a happy little bird, hurriedly ran out of the office, eager to spread this wonderful news.
Silence returned to the office. Lu Yang picked up the contract, carefully reviewed it, his fingertips tracing the words "Sina" and "15% equity," and finally shook his head, gently closing the contract and placing it on the table.
He stood up and walked to the French windows again.
The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the sky a brilliant golden-red, signifying the end of the day and seemingly foreshadowing a fire about to ignite in the midst of a certain industry's winter.
"It should be in the next few days, right?" Lu Yang muttered to himself, his deep gaze seemingly piercing through the barriers of time and space. "With the hazy memories of my past life, plus the information I've had to gather from various sources recently... if nothing unexpected happens, China Telecom's domestic WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) business will be officially announced to the public."
He could almost see the scene: the official announcement that mobile phones could now access the internet! Although it was just a rudimentary WAP webpage, for the Chinese internet industry, which was in a state of stagnation at the time, especially for portal websites known for their information aggregation and news, it was like a thunderclap, a ray of dawn breaking through the darkness! This meant that a brand new, potentially huge mobile internet gateway had been opened!
Sina, as the first major Chinese portal website to participate in the cooperation in the official announcement, is undoubtedly rare and of benchmark significance!
“Once the news is announced…” Lu Yang’s lips curled into a confident yet slightly playful smile, “Won’t Sina’s stock price skyrocket? That kid Xiao Jun…”
He could picture Xiao Jun's possible expression after learning the truth, the dramatic shift from ecstasy to shock, then to remorse, and finally, perhaps even fury.
"You're not really going to cry yourself to death in the bathroom, are you?" Lu Yang shook his head gently, his tone revealing neither regret nor remorse.
He wasn't deliberately hiding it; it was just that the time wasn't right. Moreover, he had given Xiao Jun a chance, but the other party chose to cut his losses and leave at the darkest moment before dawn.
He turned back to his desk and picked up another encrypted document.
Inside is the latest portfolio report sent by Chen Fan's team from overseas.
Besides the 15% stake in Sina that he just acquired through "Pengcheng Wanli Capital," his overseas funds are also quietly and steadily accumulating Sina and NetEase shares on the secondary market, like a ghost. ... (End of Chapter)