Chapter 235: Chapter 224: Holiday Chapter 235: Chapter 224: Holiday Lu Jiaxin originally planned to buy a regular sedan, a vehicle for getting around didn’t need to be too fancy, but Gu Wenfeng suggested buying a car with good performance. When they got to the dealership and saw those cars, she changed her mind to follow Gu Wenfeng’s advice and decided to buy a good-performance car. After all, safety comes first!
“Buy a BMW,” Gu Wenfeng said, explaining that this car’s safety features were comparatively good: “Jiaxin, you’re only buying a car for convenience. I think a second-hand one is fine.”
Lu Jiaxin didn’t mind whether it was new or second-hand. She wasn’t any important figure now, just an average high school student. Using a second-hand car was no issue at all. However, once she started doing business in the future, she’d need to care more about appearance and couldn’t be so casual anymore.
Gu Wenfeng liked cars, but he had never had the chance. After arriving in Hong Kong, he got involved with a second-hand car dealership through Feng Lihua’s connection. He didn’t ask for a salary but just a meal at lunch, and his main objective at the dealership was to learn–to study Cantonese and understand the performance of various car brands. After more than two months of learning, he had become knowledgeable about different brands.
At the second-hand car dealership, Lu Jiaxin picked out a BMW 323i. Gu Wenfeng first checked the car thoroughly from the inside out,, then took it for a test drive to make sure there were no issues before discussing the price with the dealership.
After swiping her card and signing, Lu Jiaxin said with some heartache, “Two hundred and eighty thousand Hong Kong Dollars, I could buy several courtyard houses in Mainland with that.”
Buying courtyard houses could appreciate in value, but buying a car depreciates, so buying a car is the least cost-effective purchase. But it couldn’t be helped; for the sake of appearances when doing business in the future, she’d need to buy a few more expensive cars.
Gu Wenfeng also found it pricey, but if they were to buy, they should buy a good one. His duty was to protect Lu Jiaxin, and buying a high-performance car was also for safety reasons.
By the time they finished buying the car, it was nearly one o’clock. Lu Jiaxin had scheduled with Nie Zhan for two-thirty. Although there was still time, she didn’t feel like running around anymore and had a casual meal at a nearby restaurant.
They had arranged to meet for a game of badminton, with Nie Zhan choosing the venue. What Lu Jiaxin hadn’t expected was that he’d choose the badminton hall at Hong Kong University, which showed he’d really put thought into it.
Since Nie Zhan had informed in advance, Gu Wenfeng drove directly into the campus, and as the two of them just exited the parking lot, Nie Zhan came to meet them.
Nie Zhan had an inverted-triangle body shape, meaning a wider upper body that gradually narrowed towards the waist. With this body shape, wearing well-fitting clothes of fine quality always looked good. Today, he was wearing a white sports outfit, and coincidentally, Lu Jiaxin was also dressed in a white sports outfit.
Seeing his outfit, Lu Jiaxin mentally kicked herself for her choice. If only she had known, she would have worn gray or black instead. Both of them in white looking too much like they were wearing couple outfits.
Noticing her clothes, a smile appeared on Nie Zhan’s face. “Jiaxin, shall we go play badminton first, or should we visit the school first?” he asked.
Thinking that she had just eaten lunch not long ago, Lu Jiaxin replied with a smile, “Since we’re here, of course, we should tour the school, especially the Business School; I want to have a look.”
Once she got accepted, she would be there for four years, so getting familiar with the environment would give her peace of mind.
As the two of them walked ahead, Nie Zhan introduced each building’s purpose and history. He really did his homework.
Gu Wenfeng and Nie Zhan’s bodyguard followed behind. Since it was New Year’s Day and the university was on holiday, there weren’t many students around. Combined with the good security on campus, their walk was rather leisurely.
Seeing how intently Lu Jiaxin listened, Nie Zhan felt his efforts the previous night weren’t in vain. After walking for about half an hour, they took a rest, and he asked, “Jiaxin, Hong Kong University Business School offers many majors: accounting, finance, economics, global management, business analytics, and more. If you’re applying for the Business School, you need to have a clear goal first.”
Lu Jiaxin had already done her research and responded with a smile, “I remember that you studied at Harvard for college. How come you’re so familiar with Hong Kong University?”
Looking at her intently, Nie Zhan replied, “You said you want to apply for the Business School, so I specifically asked a friend for advice about it. If you like, I can introduce you to that friend.”
After thanking him, Lu Jiaxin declined: “No need, I plan to major in finance.”
Nie Zhan’s college major had been economics, but it shared similarities with business. He remarked, “Finance involves investments, financial markets, banking, macro- and microeconomics and is quite difficult.”
Lu Jiaxin currently lacked knowledge in finance, and entering university would be the perfect opportunity to fill that gap. “I know it’s hard, but that makes it more challenging, don’t you think?” she said.
Nie Zhan didn’t try to dissuade her. Lu Jiaxin was decisive and knew what she wanted, requiring no input from him, “If you ever have any questions, you can ask me; I’m quite skilled in this area.”
“Don’t worry, I definitely won’t be shy about that,” she assured.
Nie Zhan took Lu Jiaxin to the Business School for a tour, and after a quick circuit with not much to see, they headed to the badminton hall.
After playing for half an hour, Lu Jiaxin was so tired that she waved her hand and said, panting, “I can’t keep up, let’s rest for a while.”
Sitting side by side, Lu Jiaxin drank half a bottle of water and said with a smile, “I thought you sat in an office all day and hardly exercised, but you’re quite impressive.”
Nie Zhan believed work was important, but so was taking care of one’s health: “I work out regularly during the week, and on weekends I go hiking or play tennis and golf with friends.”
He often made plans with friends because it allowed them to exercise and strengthen bonds, and if they came across a good project while chatting, they would collaborate on it.
Lu Jiaxin didn’t play golf, but she knew that it was something she would definitely need to learn in the future, as golf was part of Hong Kong’s upper-class social circles.
Nie Zhan asked, “Jiaxin, do you want to learn tennis? I find it more fun and challenging than badminton.”
Lu Jiaxin could play tennis, though not well, unlike her original self who couldn’t: “Not right now. I’ll learn after my exams are over!”
The two continued playing for over two hours intermittently, and after showering, Lu Jiaxin was famished. Nie Zhan had already reserved a table at Good Fortune Here, so they went straight to eating.
Lu Jiaxin was so hungry that she devoured the dishes as soon as they were served, which tasted even better than the last two times she visited. Nie Zhan was also hungry, but he ate gracefully.
After finishing her meal and wiping her mouth, Lu Jiaxin said somewhat embarrassedly, “I get anxious when I’m hungry and just want to fill up quickly.”
It was a natural bodily reaction, and she could have controlled it had she wanted to, but today she didn’t do so. She wanted to see Nie Zhan’s reaction–if he found it distasteful, they wouldn’t eat together anymore.
Perplexed, Nie Zhan asked, “Have you ever been hungry before?”
Lu Jiaxin nodded and said, “Last year there was an accident and I went hungry. Since then, I’ve had this problem. I’ve seen a doctor, and he said it’s a sequela from before, it’ll get better once I forget about it after a few years.”