Chapter 26: Only the Land and Sun and Moon Endure
At 9:30 AM, Lu Liang drove to Tomson Golf.
This luxury villa area, developed under the leadership of Tomson Group, combined business, entertainnt, and residential purposes. Each villa was standalone and ca with a garden, but very few were permanently occupied. Most were rented out for corporate team-building events or gatherings among friends.
Passing through the villa area, Lu Liang arrived at the sports center next to the golf course. There were separate facilities for basketball, tennis, and golf practice ranges for beginners.
He spotted Old ng on the tennis court, sweating profusely. Despite his large belly, he was surprisingly agile for a middle-aged man. Across from him was Zhou Xiaoqi, dressed in professional won's tennis attire. Her short skirt showcased her long, perfectly straight legs.
"Let’s head over."
Lu Liang parked the car and entered the court with Li Manli.
The two were dressed in matching sports outfits—blue and pink—with identical white flat-brimd hats.
Li Manli’s eyes constantly darted toward Zhou Xiaoqi. She said enviously, "That sister’s legs are so long and straight."
It wasn’t just n who admired beautiful legs; won did too.
Although Li Manli was 1.64 ters tall, which wasn’t short, she still felt a bit inadequate compared to Zhou Xiaoqi, who stood at over 1.7 ters.
"Your proportions are better, and you’re prettier," Lu Liang said, smiling to comfort her as they approached ng Changkun for a greeting.
"Brother, you’re here! Co and have a round!"
ng Changkun glanced at Li Manli. Although he had seen many beautiful won, he was montarily stunned by the girl’s delicate appearance.
Her exquisite features were flawless, and her innocent, wide-eyed expression evoked a protective instinct. However, he quickly regained his composure. Exceptional beauty, while rare, wasn’t singular—especially among friends.
A friend’s woman was off-limits. This was a fundantal principle of friendship.
At his level of success, he didn’t lack female company, and coveting a friend’s partner was beneath him.
"Sure, but I’m not very good. Brother Kun, you’ll need to take it easy on ."
Lu Liang took the racket from Zhou Xiaoqi. He had never played tennis before but assud it would be similar to badminton.
That was overly optimistic. The power required for tennis was on an entirely different level from badminton.
Fortunately, Old ng noticed Lu Liang’s inexperience and slowed down the ball, occasionally lobbing it his way to help him practice.
As the two exchanged rallies, Lu Liang gradually got the hang of it and began to enjoy the sport.
The solid, rhythmic sensation of striking the ball was exhilarating.
However, before long, Old ng ran out of stamina, waving his hand repeatedly. "I’m done for."
He turned to Li Manli, who had been watching and playing on her phone. "Sister, why don’t you take a round with Brother Lu?"
Li Manli blinked innocently and quickly shook her head. "Sorry, I don’t know how to play tennis."
"Just give it a try. I didn’t know how earlier either, but you’ll learn as you go," Lu Liang encouraged, waving her over.
Sipping tea on the sidelines, ng Changkun watched the two beginners clumsily play against each other, laughing aloud at their antics.
anwhile, Zhou Xiaoqi prepared tea. "It’s odd, you know. Just a few months ago, Mr. Lu was still living in a talent apartnt."
Though young, Zhou Xiaoqi had been modeling for years, climbing her way up before ending up by ng Changkun’s side.
Compared to her, Li Manli was an innocent, naive "fem fatale." Within half an hour of chatting, Zhou had gleaned everything Li Manli knew.
ng Changkun raised his eyebrows in surprise but quickly lowered his voice. "Enough, he’s coming over."
"I’m done. The sun’s getting too strong."
Lu Liang, drenched in sweat, grabbed an ice-cold towel from a cooler to wipe his face and handed another one to Li Manli.
"Have so tea and take a break," ng Changkun said, motioning for Zhou Xiaoqi to give up her seat and fetch so snacks.
Lu Liang added, "Manli, why don’t you join Miss Zhou and help out if needed?"
He wasn’t worried about Li Manli being probed for information. What she knew was limited and inconsequential.
The past didn’t matter—what mattered was the present and the future.
Once the won left, Lu Liang consulted ng Changkun about setting up a company and ntioned his investnt in a movie.
"What kind of movie?"
ng Changkun feigned surprise. In reality, the only reason he had invited Lu Liang to play tennis was because he already knew about the investnt.
From today onward, Lu Liang was officially his friend and had shed any suspicion of being a fraud. Their relationship could continue to grow.
"A movie adapted from a stage play."
Lu Liang briefly outlined the story but didn’t dwell on the topic, knowing ng Changkun wasn’t particularly interested.
"Comrcial investnts are indeed more reliable than personal ones," ng Changkun said after so thought. He wasn’t fond of the film industry, having consistently lost money on his past investnts there, which he had done mostly for fun. ř𝘼ΝȎ₿Ε𝙎
He called over his assistant, Liu Jun, who had been standing nearby. "Assistant Liu, help Mr. Lu with the paperwork over the next few days."
Having spent nearly two decades in Magic City, particularly in Xinpu District, ng Changkun had connections in various governnt departnts. With his assistant involved, the process would be expedited, avoiding unnecessary complications.
"Brother Kun, have Assistant Liu explain the process to , and I’ll handle it myself."
ng Changkun chuckled. "Without experience in this area, you’d find it a headache. Helping each other is what friends do. Who knows, we might collaborate again in the future."
After a mont of thought, Lu Liang clasped his hands in gratitude and stopped insisting.
Building relationships was about mutual support, gradually deepening ties through reciprocal acts of assistance.
"Have you decided on a location for the company yet?"
"Not yet. I was planning to look around this afternoon."
"Don’t bother. I happen to have a few offices for rent. I’ll show you later."
"Brother Kun, your business ventures are quite diverse," Lu Liang remarked, surprised.
He had only sought advice, never expecting ng Changkun to provide a full-service solution.
ng Changkun laughed. "These days, anyone with money wants to dabble in real estate. As they say, only the land and the sun and moon endure."
"Even soone like Bill Gates, who runs a cutting-edge tech company, is busy acquiring land."
"True. Real estate remains an irreplaceable pillar," Lu Liang agreed, drawing from his nine years of experience in the industry.
The frenzy reminded him of Tokyo in the late ’80s, as described in history books. Back then, countless Japanese boasted about selling Tokyo to buy Arica. Magic City was experiencing a similar craze.
If Lu Liang had enough money, he, too, would buy a few properties as a backup plan.
After lunch, ng Changkun took Lu Liang to the Yongfeng Building in Xinpu District.
The 33-story building covered 4,800 square ters, with the 15th to 17th floors owned by Kunqian Trading.
ng Changkun’s company occupied the entire 17th floor. The 15th and 16th floors had been divided into offices ranging from 220 to 480 square ters, primarily rented to young entrepreneurs.
So of these businesses were ventures he supported, focusing on e-comrce, live streaming, and new dia.
"I don’t really understand these new industries, but they’re fascinating. Don’t underestimate these small companies with only about ten employees—they target nationwide markets."
As they toured the floors, ng Changkun chatted amiably with Lu Liang, like a king surveying his domain.
"With the rise of mobile internet, many new industries have erged. One of these might even produce a unicorn soday," Lu Liang said, fully agreeing.
At the sa ti, he beca acutely aware of how far he lagged behind ng Changkun.
The rumors of "Ten-Billion ng" clearly underestimated him.
ng Changkun laughed heartily. "From your lips to God’s ears."
A unicorn company required a minimum pre-IPO valuation of $1 billion. If he hit the jackpot with just one, his descendants would be set for generations.
The group visited several available offices on the 15th and 16th floors.
"Brother Lu, do any of these catch your eye? Or do you have specific requirents?"
Businesspeople tended to be superstitious about feng shui. For instance, ng Changkun preferred offices facing the sun but backed by shadows, as a fortune-teller had advised that his "Water Destiny" needed yang energy to balance and attract wealth from all directions.
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