Chapter 521 Returning to China
Not long after Dominic Burton left, Alex Acosta and Jeffrey Epstein came together to the villa where Lu Yiming lived.
Alex Acosta said to Lu Yiming with a relieved expression: "The investigation is over. No more hyenas will bother you."
Lu Yiming knew that in order to compete with the U.S. Department of Justice, Alex Acosta and his team must have mobilized a lot of resources and connections and done a lot of research behind the scenes.
If they were obstructing the Investigation Bureau's actions behind the scenes, it would be basically impossible for Lu Yiming to get away so quickly.
Having regained his freedom, Lu Yiming secretly breathed a sigh of relief and immediately said gratefully, "Thank you for your hard work."
The FBI may not be able to find evidence, but they can freeze Lu Yiming's funds for two or three years and keep dragging their feet on releasing him. Procedurally, no one else can do anything to them.
Fortunately, Lu Yiming had found a protective umbrella in advance. Both parties wrestled with each other on this matter, and no one could act recklessly, which eventually led to the current situation.
Jeffrey Epstein asked, “What are you going to do next?”
He had spent so much effort and used so many connections to help Lu Yiming settle this matter, naturally hoping that Lu Yiming would continue to lead the Saltwater Fund in the stock market. What he feared most now was that Lu Yiming would be frightened and run away directly, then he would feel that he had suffered a great loss.
Lu Yiming naturally understood Jeffrey Epstein's idea, and immediately stated: "The cooperation will naturally continue. At present, the stock market can continue to short sell, and the income is gradually stabilizing. There will definitely be no mistakes. I can guarantee this."
With Lu Yiming's guarantee, Alex Acosta and Jeffrey Epstein were completely relieved. After all, the record of Saltwater Fund was there, and they were still very confident in Lu Yiming.
After chatting for a while, Alex Acosta and Jeffrey Epstein left.
Li Yiwen completely relaxed, and collapsed on the sofa like a puddle of mud, sighing, "It's finally over. You don't know, I've been worried these days, afraid that I'd be arrested when I woke up one day."
Lu Yiming also lay down on the sofa, but his expression was somewhat relieved: "Isn't this normal? Think about it, we are robbing the United States now, it is normal to take some risks. It's okay, this is your first time, you are not mentally prepared, you will get used to it next time."
Li Yiwen, who was originally relieved, felt his heart rise to his throat when he heard this: "Wait, do you want to do it again?"
This time, I almost died here, and that was when the United States was not prepared. Next time, I guess the FBI will be waiting for you before you even land at the airport.
Lu Yiming said as a matter of course: "Of course, the US stock market basically crashes every ten years. According to the current rules of the game on Wall Street, they will definitely make a bigger mess next time. Would it be reasonable for me not to come here and take the opportunity to pick up some pocket money?"
“…”
On April 6, Lu Yiming and others finally set out for return home.
The news that Lu Yiming's investigation was dropped and he regained his freedom was just learned by Hong Kong's Tung Wah Daily, Hong Kong Commercial Daily and Sing Tao Daily, and then published in the latest issue of the newspaper.
Ever since the news of Lu Yiming being investigated by the FBI spread from the Internet back to China, Lu Yiming's whereabouts have been watched by many people. There are onlookers, and of course there are Lu Yiming's partners. There are even many users of the Future Fund who demand early redemption.
The news that Lu Yiming was about to return to China spread back to the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong, and Lu Yiming's partners, Future Capital, parents and classmates all breathed a sigh of relief.
Because he was restricted from leaving the country, Lu Yiming called Wang Hongsheng directly and asked for leave for half a semester. So he was not in a hurry to return to school, but landed directly at Baiyun Airport.
When the plane landed and Lu Yiming walked out of the cabin, he was surprised to find a large group of people in front of him. In addition to reporters and photographers holding cameras, there were also officials and business celebrities from Baiyun City.
This grand occasion made Lu Yiming and Li Yiwen, who were used to big scenes, feel a little uncomfortable.
Li Yiwen glanced out the window and sighed softly, "There are so many people."
Lu Yiming couldn't help but complain: "It's normal for a few reporters to come, but it's outrageous that the second-in-command is here."
As soon as the two got off the plane, several government officials came over to shake hands and express their condolences.
"Mr. Lu, Mr. Li, you are finally back. It seems that our efforts have not been in vain."
Lu Yiming rolled his eyes when he heard this.
you?
effort?
What kind of effort have you put in? Stop flattering yourself.
I was caught by the FBI. Don’t you have any idea what power you have?
Although he secretly complained in his heart, Lu Yiming had an expression of having survived a disaster. He shook hands with these officials and said, "Thank you for your concern."
Well, your efforts are probably limited to this.
It would be rude to exaggerate further.
After the official courtesy, it was the reporters' turn. The reporters were already eager to see Lu Yiming, and when they saw him coming, they immediately rushed to surround him, as if they would miss out if they were a little slower.
"Mr. Lu, first of all, welcome back to China safely. What do you think about the FBI maliciously filing a lawsuit against you?"
Lu Yiming glanced at the pretty female reporter with red lips and white teeth, and immediately smiled, saying calmly, "Although I encountered a malicious investigation, I was able to turn danger into safety with the efforts of many parties. This shows that if you are upright, you have nothing to fear. As long as you act uprightly, law and justice will exist anywhere in the world."
In the crowd, another reporter started looking for trouble. She immediately accused Lu Yiming of something serious: "Mr. Lu, you openly shorted a country, plundered social wealth, and brought heavy suffering to countless people. Do you think you are doing things right? I heard that many stockholders in the United States committed suicide because of bankruptcy. Wouldn't your conscience be condemned?"
This question was so sharp, and it was full of sarcasm, almost pointing at Lu Yiming's nose and scolding him.
The people around looked at the reporter at the same time.
Lu Yiming frowned and looked at the reporter. He knew very well that this guy was definitely here to cause trouble.
“Which media are you from?”
Facing the gazes of the crowd and Lu Yiming's unfriendly questioning, the reporter was not at all flustered. Instead, he was somewhat complacent and said, "I am Ma Danfeng, a reporter from the Zhalang News Channel. What? Mr. Lu, are you going to use your power to suppress my freedom of speech?"
As soon as the "freedom of speech" hat was put on, Lu Yiming knew that this person was not a good person and must have come prepared.
It really is worthy of being called Zhalang!
When it comes to provoking topics and creating confrontation, they are, as always, very professional.
Lu Yiming sneered in his heart. Since the other party wanted to make trouble, he naturally didn't need to be polite. He immediately asked back, "Where is Zhalang's company located?"
Although Ma Danfeng was a little confused about Lu Yiming's routine, she quickly replied: "Of course it is a company opened in Xiaguo. Mr. Lu, please don't change the subject."
"Is Zhalang a Xiaguo enterprise?"
Lu Yiming showed a mocking look on his face, and his words became sharper: "As far as I know, Zhalang's registered place is in the Cayman Islands, and it received investment from American and Japanese financial groups. How can it be a company in Xia Country? It's just a foreign company doing business in Xia Country and making money from Xia people. You don't even know whose pawn you are, and you are here talking to me about freedom of speech? If there is no freedom of speech in Xia Country, do you have the chance to stand here?"
Zhalang was established only a little over a year ago, and it mainly focuses on the Internet. However, the cost of Internet access is still relatively high, so many people don’t know about the existence of Zhalang. Now that Lu Yiming directly exposed the true identity of Zhalang, the media and officials around him all looked at Ma Danfeng with strange eyes.
Ma Danfeng didn't expect that Lu Yiming knew so much about Zha Lang's background. She also felt dozens of strange looks from the surroundings, and suddenly became angry and snorted, "Mr. Lu, don't you think it's very rude to speak like this?"
"demeanor?"
Lu Yiming responded sharply, "Even the US Bureau of Investigation believes that I am innocent, but you are trying to stand up for your master. What's the matter? Did you take the master's money and plan to show your loyalty to your master? Or are others reluctant to give you dog food, but you still bring your own dog food to eat?"
Lu Yiming's words immediately amused everyone around him.
"Good fellow, I've heard that Mr. Lu is good at speaking and eloquent. Today I see that his reputation is well-deserved."
"Bring your own dog food. I learned a new word."
"This man has thin eyebrows and thin lips. Judging from his appearance, he is a mean person. I didn't expect him to do such a shameful thing."
Ever since Lu Yiming pointed out Zha Lang's identity, everyone's perception of Zha Lang has become abnormal. Now Lu Yiming ridiculed Zha Lang's reporter in front of everyone, which made everyone lose their good impression of Zha Lang even more.
No matter how we interview or how we fight, it is a domestic matter. What is your intention as a foreign media to pretend to be a Chinese enterprise and conduct business in China? What is your intention?
Ma Danfeng realized that she seemed to have incurred public anger and could no longer take advantage of the situation. If she continued to insist, she was afraid that her dirty deeds of taking money to do things would be exposed. She did not dare to stay any longer and fled.
After returning from studying in the United States, she was recruited by Zhalang, but was employed by the consortium behind Zhalang, doing things like sowing discord and transferring intelligence.
Although her attempt to sow discord failed, she did succeed in making Lu Yiming hate her.
With this little episode, the other reporters were all excited. Compared to Lu Yiming's return to China, didn't catching the spy seem to be a more topical issue?
At that moment, a reporter suddenly realized something and said, "No wonder I always felt that Zhalang was a little weird. I was puzzled before, but I didn't expect it to be a spy company. By the way, Mr. Lu, the news that you were arrested by the FBI was first revealed by Zhalang. What do you think of this company?"
Lu Yiming made an unceremonious judgment: "I think some people, although they are in Xia Country, their hearts have already flown to the other side of the ocean."
This statement is clearly a disdain for Sina's culture of worshipping foreign things and fawning on foreigners.
The reporters were eager to see the excitement, and a reporter who knew Zhalang well continued to ask, "As far as I know, Zhalang is preparing to go public on NASDAQ. It just so happens that you, Mr. Lu, are also making a big splash on NASDAQ. If Zhalang goes public successfully, have you ever considered acquiring Sina? If you really did acquire Sina, would you make changes to Sina?"
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "If he dares to go public, then I really dare to buy it. If I acquire Sina, the first thing I will do is to dissolve this broken company. Some things contribute more to the world if they disappear than if they exist. Why should we reform them?"
Lu Yiming's words were half true and half false. Although it seemed feasible for Lu Yiming to directly acquire Sina, if he spent so much money to buy it and then disbanded it directly, wouldn't that money be wasted? Everyone thought that Lu Yiming must be joking about the disbandment.
After leaving the airport and getting into the Audi A6L that came to pick them up, Li Yiwen complained, "You shouldn't have said that in front of so many people just now. It's really offensive."
Lu Yiming looked disgusted when he heard this: "I have long disliked this crappy website, Zhalang. It is a portal website located in Xia Country, and it always says that Xia Country is not good in this or that way. What kind of shit is this? It eats Xia Country's food and still blames Xia Country?"
It would be fine if he simply complained about the imperfect social system in the country, after all, Xia Country does have a lot of problems now, but Lu Yiming couldn't tolerate mindless praise of the United States.
Why not praise the United States when there are so many other countries to praise?
What can the beautiful country have to brag about when even opium dens are open 20 years later?
What's more, this time Zha Lang had inexplicably provoked him. If he didn't say a few words to him, he wouldn't be Lu Yiming.
As soon as Lu Yiming returned home, he smelled the aroma of old hen soup and immediately said loudly: "It seems that I will have a good meal at noon today."
Ning Xuehua popped her head out of the kitchen and complained, "You little brat, you're still thinking about eating! If I hadn't seen the news, I wouldn't have known that you had encountered such a big thing outside."
After saying that, he glared at Lu Ding and said, "You two are hiding everything from me. What? I'm an outsider, right?"
Lu Ding touched the tip of his nose, not daring to look Ning Xuehua in the eye, and muttered, "Isn't he back safely now? He hasn't lost a single hair."
Ning Xuehua was still a little scared and said, "What's going on in the United States? Are you going to go to jail for speculating in stocks? Where is the democracy and freedom you were promised?"
Lu Yiming directly exposed the true face of the United States: "The United States is a very overbearing country. To put it bluntly, the officials are allowed to set fires but the people are not allowed to light lamps. It's okay for them to short sell, but it's unbearable for outsiders like me to make money."
Ning Xuehua was immediately very worried: "Son, why don't you not go abroad in the future? I always feel that it's a mess outside and it's not safe."
Lu Yiming had no particular interest in traveling abroad. As for traveling, one could not tour all the beautiful scenery in China in a lifetime, and the so-called customs and practices in foreign countries were basically exaggerated.
"Well, I definitely won't go abroad if it's not necessary."
Of course, this is just talk. The U.S. stock market crashes every few years, and I'm sure they will do it again next time.
Upon learning that Lu Yiming had returned safely, both Long Qiquan and Wang Hongsheng from Fu Ri University called to inquire about his situation.
Faced with the concern of the school leaders, Lu Yiming naturally reported that he was safe and said that he would return to school immediately after tidying up.
The two were relieved when they heard that Lu Yiming was fine. Long Qiquan said, "This time it was really thrilling. Young man, next time if something happens, let us know in advance. Our Fu Ri University is a famous school after all. How could we allow our students to be bullied outside? This time we only found out about your accident in the United States after watching the news, and then we quickly contacted the embassy for help."
Only then did Lu Yiming realize that it was Fu Ri University that provided help to the embassy, and he immediately expressed his gratitude.
Long Qiquan complained: "These are nothing, as long as you are okay. The United States is too shameless, arresting people for no reason."
Lu Yiming was open-minded and said with a smile: "After all, the United States is unreasonable and it's not a new thing. Didn't they use all kinds of means to prevent our scientists from returning to China?"
"That's true. Okay, as long as you're okay, go back to school as soon as possible. It's already halfway through the semester!"
"Okay, I'll leave after I finish this bowl of chicken soup!"
Lu Yiming's pager did not rest for the entire afternoon. His roommates Ni Cong and Wang Dazhuang, his business friends Zheng Youyuan, Qian Hongli, Guo Guangchang, and of course his best friend Li Quanwang, all called to inquire about Lu Yiming's condition.
Lu Yiming even received a call from Lin Yuzhen, whose TV series had just finished filming.
Listening to Lin Yuzhen's voice coming from the phone, Lu Yiming was a little dazed.
"Lu Yiming, are you okay?"
Lu Yiming replied in a carefree tone, "What can I do if you ask that?"
Knowing that Lu Yiming was safe, Lin Yuzhen pursed her lips. While she was happy in her heart, she laughed and scolded: "I knew that you, a scourge, would not fall so easily."
When Lu Yiming heard this, he immediately became unhappy and shouted, "Hey, hey, I just got out of danger, can't you say something nice?"
At this time, Lu Yiming heard Gu Zhiruo's voice coming from the phone: "Lu Yiming, because of your matter, Zhenzhen was so anxious that she cried. She was relieved until she heard that you returned home safely."
Then I heard Lin Yuzhen yelling, "What are you talking about wiping tears? I didn't! Lu Yiming, don't listen to Gu Zhiruo's nonsense."
Listening to the laughter and jokes coming from the other end of the phone, Lu Yiming felt very relaxed. This feeling of being cared for was really good.
"Okay, just come back, I'm hanging up."
“Beep, beep, beep…”
After witnessing Lin Yuzhen's "decisive and swift" action again, Lu Yiming was speechless.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Lu Yiming went to open the door, and a figure rushed into Lu Yiming's arms.
"Lu Yiming, you are finally back."
Lu Yiming looked carefully and found that it was Shi Qingxue.
After learning that Lu Yiming was returning to China today, she asked for leave from school, took the nearest flight back to Baiyun City, and went straight to Lu Yiming's home after leaving the airport.
"Lu Yiming, I'm so worried about you."
"Sorry, I won't do that next time."
Holding his beloved girl in his arms, Lu Yiming kept comforting her.
The atmosphere was getting more and more heated, and it seemed that it was time to do something. Lu Yiming held Shi Qingxue's cheek, and Shi Qingxue closed her eyes shyly as she watched Lu Yiming's face get closer and closer.
Ning Xuehua, who was cleaning in the bedroom, heard the doorbell and walked out, shouting as she walked: "Who is it? Here I come..."
