"Ugh, this is so boring, I'm going back to sleep."

When that person heard the name Lu Liang, a flash of astonishment crossed his eyes, and he immediately made a swift exit, beating a hasty retreat.

Wang Xiaocong was obviously bragging, but Lu Liang did have the capacity to produce hundreds of millions, which might even be in US dollars.

They were still playing big and small, this kind of binary bet, whoever had more chips could laugh last, and he wasn't stupid.

Lu Liang smiled indifferently and didn't bother arguing with the other party, after all, Little Wang's surname was Wang, not Lu, and it was enough just to let off some steam.

"Such a damn coward."

Little Wang cursed under his breath and looked at Lu Liang's chips in surprise, "Did you guys win all this?"

"Kexin's just lucky, hitting every target she points at," Lu Liang said with a smile.

"You're really lucky," Xueli said with eyes full of envy.

She wasn't envious of her best friend earning so much in tips, she was just envious of the luck that brought men good fortune.

In contrast, her own luck wasn't good, if she hadn't pointed wrongly, Little Wang wouldn't have gotten so riled up and lost so much.

The group of four went downstairs to exchange their chips.

Lu Liang kept only three million to exchange for a check, and the scattered couple hundred thousand were given as a generous tip to the manager, the rest was all transferred to Lin Yike's account.

"Liang, that's too much,"

Lin Yike was flattered and pleasantly surprised; after deducting 20% in taxes, she still had nearly five hundred thousand in her account.

"Keep it, Xinxin, Liang gave it to you because he likes you and feels you bring him good luck," Xueli said, trying to play matchmaker for the two.

The internet said that the second phase of Tianxing Private Equity Fund amounted to one billion dollars, with a single subscription of twenty million dollars.

Those who could fork out were either rich or noble.

All of these people were about to become friends of Lu Liang.

Even though Wang Xiaocong was good friends with Lu Liang, there was no direct contact between him and her, but if Lin Yike became Lu Liang's girlfriend, then their connection would significantly grow, after all, she was the matchmaker for the both of them, and Lin Yike was also her best friend.

"Thank you, Liang," Lin Yike kept thanking him, her smile growing sweeter.

Lu Liang just smiled and looked at Xueli, patting Little Wang on the shoulder, "Let's go, time for some late-night food."

You could say Xinpu Hotel is a huge money pit, as long as you had the money, you could experience all kinds of entertainment without leaving the premises.

The temperature in the south was very pleasant, even in late November you could still catch the tail end of summer, with the evening temperature around 20 degrees.

The group, sitting on the private lawn, enjoyed barbecue and beer with dedicated chefs and waiters.

After chatting about everything under the sun, Lu Liang also found out that Xueli was an internet-famous blogger who ran her own women's clothing online store.

Lin Yike was her schoolmate and colleague, both of whom graduated from Zhejiang Business University, and were recently looking for new products for their online store in Yangcheng.

The reason Xueli explained in such detail was also to subtly remind Lu Liang that an internet celebrity isn't a derogatory term.

It's just that there are too many unethical internet celebrities causing scandals online, which is why being an internet celebrity has come to carry a negative connotation.

She didn't want Lu Liang to see them through prejudice and was also trying to elevate her own value.

As the night grew deeper, Little Wang clutched his head, pretending to be overwhelmed by alcohol, creating an opportunity for Lu Liang.

"They've gone back, let's go back to our room too."

Lu Liang walked ahead, Lin Yike followed behind.

Everyone was an adult, some things didn't need to be spelled out; they would naturally take their course, and this path was also a shortcut to a woman's innermost feelings.

Having slept together or not made a big difference.

Now that they had been honest with each other physically, Lin Yike wasn't as timid as before, she snuggled quietly against Lu Liang with bedding in her arms, "Liang, what do you like about me?"

Lu Liang lit a cigarette, slowly exhaling the smoke, "Your short hair, your style, they remind me of a friend."

"Was she a girlfriend?" Lin Yike asked curiously.

Lu Liang thought for a moment, "Sort of."

"How did you two break up?"

"We gradually lost contact."

"Were there no signs?"

"What signs do you need?"

Lu Liang smiled indifferently,

Months went by without contact, and it was natural that they drifted apart.

Last Friday, he received a package.

Inside was just a credit card.

She had made her choice, and he wasn't going to disturb her.

The friendship of gentlemen is as light as water.

Lin Yike hugging the bedding, suddenly lay down on the bed, cutely staring at Lu Liang, "Am I your girlfriend now?"

Liang burst into laughter, standing up to stub out his cigarette and incidentally patted her butt, "Let's not talk about such a mood killer."

Lin Yike yelped in pain and whined with her nose wrinkled, "You're so annoying, can't you just deceive me?"

Liang came back after washing his face, pinning her underneath him, "If you try hard enough, maybe you can be deceived."

Lin Yike bit her lip, unable to help but moan softly, "Then can you give me a rough direction, please?"

"That'd be too deliberate if I just gave it away."

"You're fishing without bait."

"Whoever is willing will take the bait."

"What if I don't want to bite?"

"You've already been caught."

"~"

...

The next day, two men and two women spent a day playing in Macau, and on the opening day, Liang returned to Xiangjiang with Wang Xiaocong.

Little Wang, though very fond of Xueli, also knew clearly which occasions he could bring her to and which he couldn't.

As for Liang's relationship with Lin Yike, it was a gentlemen's friendship: if fated, they'd meet again in worldly society; if not, they'd forget each other in the same realm.

"You're really a scumbag," Wang Xiaocong shook his head, his words and expressions laden with disdain for Liang.

They had known each other for only half a year, and in front of Wang Xiaocong, Liang had flirted with three girls – Wen Shanshan, Zhang Tian'ai, Lin Yike, and also Li Xiaomeng, making it four precisely.

"A fling is a fling, a girl is a girl, you've got to differentiate."

Liang curled up the corners of his mouth, revealing a roguish smile.

The things one cannot possess in youth will haunt one for life; he probably will never escape it.

Playboy founder Hugh Hefner was his role model – 89 years old this year, married three times, with more than 2,000 girlfriends, and it's said he's determined to be buried next to Monroe when he dies.

Wang Xiaocong grumbled angrily, cursing, "Sooner or later, you'll end up with renal failure like Liu Cixin."

He always considered himself a man of deep love, devoted to one until the next.

"A man can on average take action 8,000 times in his life. Even if it's eight times per, a thousand conquests is a breeze."

"You, on the other hand, should not take your youth for granted and indulge without limit. You should get some replenishment and exercise; it's not like you lack the means."

Liang laughed with a mischievous glint in his eye and gently kicked Little Wang in the calf, nearly bringing him to his knees.

"No need, I'm still young. What the hell do I need to replenish?" Wang Xiaocong retorted disdainfully, his mind already calculating plans to seek advice from Old Meng back in Modu – he was an expert in this area.

The two returned to the hotel to freshen up,

then set off for the race meeting at the Racecourse.

Xiangjiang's high society still maintains the old traditions, especially today since it's the opening day of the winter horse races.

Each one dressed in a suit and shiny shoes, Liang, wearing casual clothes, stood out like a sore thumb in such a setting.

Polo shirt, jeans, sneakers – if it weren't for their exclusive invitation from select members, the security staff would have thought they were tourists from outside the venue who had taken a wrong turn.

"Should we go out and change our clothes?"

Little Wang felt slightly embarrassed, while Liang looked at him with disdain, "Think about your dad being Old Wang, and I'm with you. What are you afraid of?"

Little Wang suddenly felt confident, but then realizing something was off, he cursed, "Damn it, you're taking advantage of me again."

Liang laughed and, upon seeing HSBC's Li Jun, waved and said, "Mr. Li, is today's event really that formal?"

Out of politeness, it is appropriate to follow local customs, but if they were unaware, there was no need to go back and change.

Still, it's better to make it clear,

it's ignorance, not impoliteness.

Li Jun smiled and said, "It's not that formal; it's just that everyone is used to it. It doesn't have the relaxed feel of the mainland."

He knew Wang Xiaocong and greeted him with a smile, "Mr. Wang, nice to meet you. I've had the honor of meeting your father a few times."

Just before last Christmas, Wanda went public on the Hong Kong stock market in one of the largest IPOs of the past two years.

And for businesses going public in Xiangjiang, there's no way to avoid dealing with their HSBC Bank.

"Mr. Li. I've heard my father mention you," Wang Xiaocong responded with a smile.

Although he acted like a fool in front of Liang because of their close relationship,

in public, he was still the aloof prince, the son of a wealthy family.

After some idle chat, Li Jun turned to several people nearby, "Mr. Lu, I was just talking about you with a few friends."

Gambling is rampant in Xiangjiang, from the financial stock market all the way down to the gambling stalls in the marketplaces. Today, surprisingly, many people came, and most were here for Liang.

As of the 25th of last month, in just two months, Liang turned one hundred million dollars into two hundred million dollars.

They were very interested indeed.

If the tycoons from the mainland are willing to put only 10% of their wealth into high-risk, high-return private equity funds, then the tycoons from Xiangjiang are willing to put at least 20%, if not more.