My absurd experiences in North America over the years

Neither of them went out on the last day of the weekend.

The curtains were half-drawn, and the afternoon light squeezed in through the gaps, drawing a thin, long golden band on the carpet.

The TV in the living room was on all the time, with the volume turned down low. A half-eaten fruit platter was spread out on the sofa, next to two cups of coffee that had gone cold.

Ivanka leaned against one end of the sofa, her legs curled up at her sides, wearing Li Fu's dark gray coat, which was a whole size too big, wrapping her up completely, with only her smooth ankles and a section of her calves showing.

Li Fu sat at the other end, with Ivanka's long legs draped over his thighs, occasionally rubbing her toes against his abdominal muscles.

When he looked down to look, Ivanka would casually turn her head back and pretend to look at the TV screen.

American TV series of that era were generally of high quality, and even though Li Fu didn't watch many American TV series, he was easily drawn in by the plot.

While watching the show, the two moved closer together on the sofa from both sides, eventually snuggling together.

In the afternoon, Ivanka fell asleep in Li Fu's arms without realizing it. When she groggily raised her head, it was almost 16:00 PM.

She nuzzled against Li Fu's chest twice, "How come I slept for so long?"

"Maybe... she's just too tired!" Li Fu said, tapping Ivanka's waist with his fingers.

"Too tired?" Ivanka frowned slightly.

Maybe so! The two of them have indeed been a bit crazy these past two days, and she's been very proactive at times, so her body has definitely been taking a lot of toll.

She said "oh," then lay back down, burying her face in his chest like a cat that didn't want to leave its nest.

Li Fu put one hand on her waist and held the remote control in the other, turning the TV volume down another notch.

Outside the window, the Hudson River shimmered with a silvery light, and the New Jersey skyline across the river appeared exceptionally tranquil in the afternoon sun.

I should have gone out for a walk; it's rare to have such bright sunshine these past two days.

However, none of them wanted to move.

Perhaps they'd rather spend time together in the hotel.

This is a rare moment of relaxation.

Li Fu looked down at Ivanka in his arms. She had fallen asleep again, her eyelashes casting a small fan-shaped shadow on her eyelids. Her breathing was even and long, and her breath tickled his chest.

Monday morning arrived quickly, and both of them returned to work.

Ivanka was going back to the company for a meeting. She stood by the revolving door in the hotel lobby, wearing a trench coat and her hair tied in a low ponytail. Her capable demeanor was completely different from the girl who had snuggled in his arms watching old TV on the weekend.

"Let me take you back to the company first!" Li Fu took the car keys from Thompson.

"And you?" Ivanka took his arm.

"I need to go to JPMorgan Chase. The restructuring of Tribune is in its final stages, and there's a closed-door meeting of the creditors' committee this afternoon," Li Fu received a fax from Lina.

2 PM, JPMorgan Chase headquarters conference room.

A dozen or so people sat on either side of the long table: representatives from JPMorgan Chase, lawyers from several major creditor institutions, representatives from the management of Tribune, and several secretaries responsible for taking notes.

Jackson sat at one end of the long table, holding a pen and making notes on the documents in front of him.

When he saw Li Fu come in, he nodded slightly and gestured with his chin to the seat next to him.

Li Fu sat down and opened the documents in front of him.

The cover of the document reads "Forum Newspaper Restructuring Plan - Final Version".

He had the plan memorized perfectly.

Tribune filed for bankruptcy protection on December 8, 2008, with total assets of approximately US$76 billion and total liabilities of approximately US$129 billion, making it severely insolvent.

The original restructuring negotiations have reached a stalemate. The subordinated creditors want to gain more, while the senior creditors are unwilling to budge. The management is caught in the middle and has no way to resolve the issue.

In Li Fu's previous life, they even struggled for two or three years.

However, things are different now. After Li Fu invested $300 million to purchase a large amount of Forum Daily's debt, the situation changed completely.

He used $2 million of his name, Forrest Capital, to purchase senior bonds from Citigroup and other banks eager to liquidate their assets, effectively acquiring bonds with a face value of approximately $6.67 million. He then used another $10 million to purchase subordinated bonds, leveraging approximately $1 billion in face value.

In the senior debt category, Li Fu became the second largest creditor after JPMorgan Chase, and in the junior debt category, he held an overwhelming 77.9%.

The entire subprime creditor camp was essentially following his lead, and the individual subprime creditors had very little say. As a result, the previously deadlocked negotiations were quickly advanced, and the final solution was finally agreed upon.

According to the law, senior creditors will receive 91.2% of the equity in the restructured company, while junior creditors will receive 7.4%. Forrest Capital's combined stake in the new company will ultimately be approximately 12.85%.

This figure means that Forrest Capital will have a seat on the board of directors of the restructured company and will have considerable influence.

"Mr. Li, your share is large enough that we need your signature on the final document," Jackson's assistant approached, his voice low. "Once you sign, you will have a voice in the board of directors."

Li Fu turned to the last page of the document and wrote his name in the signature column.

As his pen glided across the paper, he suddenly recalled an email Lina had sent him a few months earlier from his office in Nashville: "Tribune's junk bonds have now fallen to over 90%."

He wasn't interested at the time; the decision to go on a shopping spree only came after he invested in and acquired a stake in The New York Times.

He did not acquire a large stake in Forum News from an investment perspective, but rather wanted to establish control over media discourse.

Now they have finally succeeded.

Forrest Capital's 12.85% stake makes it the second-largest shareholder of the Tribune, not much different from Oaktree Capital's 18.1% stake, which is the largest shareholder.

If they join forces with JPMorgan Chase, they can easily overwhelm the other party.

He put down his pen, closed the document, and pushed it back to the center of the table.

Jackson, who was chairing the meeting, glanced at his signature and then signed his own name as well.

"The board seats will be officially confirmed after the restructuring is completed," Jackson put down his pen and looked at Li Fu. "But with your share, there shouldn't be any problems."

To some extent, he is deeply intertwined with Li Fu, JPMorgan Chase, and Forrest Capital.

Regardless of whether it's from the perspective of personal or corporate interests, the bankruptcy reorganization led by JPMorgan Chase will certainly guarantee Li Fu's absolute rights and interests, and may even favor him.

It was already dark in Manhattan when I left JPMorgan Chase headquarters.

Li Fu stood at the door, lit a cigarette, and watched the neon lights across the street flash red in the night.

Just then, his phone vibrated. It was a message from Cole: "I've blocked Bradson for you. He understands. You can focus on finishing up the Tribune business."

Li Fu looked at the words and felt inexplicably moved.

Cole had nothing to say to him from the beginning.