Chapter 91: Chapter 85 Handsome Guy
Honey-glazed char siu, splendid grouper, and a seasonal vegetable.
Lu Jiaxin took a bite of the fish first. It was tender, smooth, and its fresh aroma was well preserved. She had eaten this dish at this hotel in her past life, but it wasn’t nearly as delicious as it was now. After some thought, she felt it could be attributed to two factors, the first being that the later chefs didn’t have the current one’s skill, and the second was that the ingredients were farm-raised, whereas now she was eating wild-caught ones.
After a satisfying meal, Lu Jiaxin was in an excellent mood and wanted to go out for a walk. Unfortunately, Gu Wenfeng stopped her, noting that the wind outside was strong and her illness hadn’t completely healed; she might catch a cold again if she went out.
Considering her physical condition, Lu Jiaxin reluctantly gave up the idea. Not long after they left the restaurant, she saw a group of men in black suits clustering around a man heading their way.
Seeing the man’s appearance, Lu Jiaxin blinked her eyes involuntarily. His deep black eyes resembled glistening obsidian, his facial features were neither too broad nor too narrow but just right, his figure tall and striking, and he wore a sleek gray suit that made him look both handsome and elegant. A man like that would be the center of attention anywhere.
Gu Wenfeng waved his hand in front of her and said with a smile, “Stop looking, they’ve gone.”
Lu Jiaxin snapped back to reality and excitedly said, “Brother Gu, let’s go find the manager and ask about that young master’s identity.”
It’s true what they say, ‘Why labor in search of what finds you without effort?’
Gu Wenfeng paused for a moment, then pulled her to a corner and said earnestly, “Miss Lu, that young man is clearly from a wealthy or noble family and isn’t suitable for you.”
He actually thought she was smitten with the handsome man and wanted to approach him. This was a bit too far-fetched. Lu Jiaxin couldn’t help but laugh and say, “Brother Gu, I’m only fifteen years old, and I still have three years until I’m an adult.”
Who doesn’t like to look at good-looking guys? But just because she enjoyed looking didn’t mean anything was going to happen. Right now, she just wanted to focus on making money and getting into university, nothing else.
Gu Wenfeng, seeing her sincere expression, said a bit embarrassedly, “I thought you had taken a fancy to him because of the way you looked at him earlier.”
Lu Jiaxin grinned and said, “Such a handsome man, wouldn’t it be a loss not to take a few extra glances when you encounter one?”
Gu Wenfeng thought he might be getting too old to keep up with the young people’s way of thinking. To ease the awkwardness, he suggested, “I’ll escort you back to your room first, then come down to inquire.”
Since there had been a misunderstanding to begin with, Lu Jiaxin must have wanted him to inquire about the young man’s identity because she thought the painting could be sold to him.
Lu Jiaxin felt that she was like a delicate porcelain doll in Gu Wenfeng’s eyes.
Once upstairs, Gu Wenfeng followed Lu Jiaxin into her room and, after closing the door, he lowered his voice and said, “Miss Lu, do you want to sell the painting to that young man we just saw?”
Lu Jiaxin nodded, “The handsome guy just now, with his expensive clothes and watch, usually doesn’t hesitate to spend money.”
Gu Wenfeng, however, felt that the young man probably wouldn’t buy it, and even if he did, he wouldn’t offer a high price. The reason being, he thought that someone like the man they saw typically wouldn’t be interested in things passed down from their ancestors.
Lu Jiaxin protested softly, “A child raised in Hong Kong, influenced by Western culture, might consider some of our ancestral heritage as dross, but this certainly doesn’t include antiques and paintings. Brother Gu, in times of chaos, gold is prized; in prosperous times, antiques. The wealthy understand this principle better than we do.”
“So why do you think he’d pay a high price for your painting?”
Lu Jiaxin posed a question, “Brother Gu, what do you think a person who holds a high position and owns massive wealth would pursue?”
Gu Wenfeng didn’t guess, “What do you think it is?”
“Longevity. Throughout history, emperors have been the most keen to seek eternal life. The symbolism of this painting is very good; purchasing it as a celebratory gift for the elders in the family is most suitable.”
Gu Wenfeng couldn’t help but ask, “Did your mom teach you all these?”
With a smile, Lu Jiaxin said, “No, I realized it from books, and this is also why my mom insisted that I must be admitted to university. She feels that more education can broaden one’s thinking and allow one to see further, and in the future, prevent being bullied by others.”
Gu Wenfeng strongly agreed with this statement, “Not only will you not be bullied, but acquiring knowledge to become a useful person serves the motherland.”
Lu Jiaxin smiled, but did not respond.
After securing the door, Lu Jiaxin took out a tape recorder and matching books from her luggage. She wasn’t just making a show of it, instead, she began to study earnestly. She was fluent in French, able to communicate with others without any barriers; she could speak English and communicate as well, but when it came to professional topics or if the speaking pace was too fast, she couldn’t keep up. Therefore, she had been studying very seriously for the past few months.
An hour later, Lu Jiaxin felt somewhat tired, stood up to stretch her limbs, and then checked her watch, realizing it was past eight o’clock. She wondered when Brother Gu would be able to return.
After a fifteen-minute break, Lu Jiaxin resumed working on math problems. Her background was in liberal arts, which made mathematics a significant challenge for her.
Talking to herself, Lu Jiaxin said, “Starting from scratch is so hard; I’ll need to hire a tutor once I return to the Forty-nine City.”
She wasn’t worried about the four subjects of Chinese, politics, history, and geography; math was her only concern. In her previous life, she was not particularly good at math, even after putting in a lot of effort for the college entrance exam, she only scored one hundred and nine points. It had been over ten years since she’d touched a book, no memory remained. However, to achieve good results and gain university admission, she had to improve her math skills.
Gu Wenfeng didn’t return until just before nine o’clock. Upon entering the room, he poured himself a glass of water to drink. After finishing, he said, “The young man just now is called Nie Zhan, the grandson of the Hong Kong tycoon Nie Shiheng. He came here to negotiate a government project.”
Lu Jiaxin thought it over and was puzzled; she didn’t remember a tycoon with the surname Nie from Hong Kong in her previous life. Well, possibly she was simply uninformed and hadn’t heard of them; “He looks young, yet he can represent the company in negotiations with the government.”
Although she didn’t know the details of the project, cooperating with the government meant it was definitely large in scale, which was indicative of Nie Zhan’s abilities.
Gu Wenfeng said, “He’s twenty-four this year, a master’s graduate from Harvard Business School, extremely impressive. It seems this project involves setting up a branch office in Peng City, rumored to be facilitated by him personally.”
Lu Jiaxin felt that Nie Zhan had far-reaching vision. Opening a bank in the Mainland now would definitely yield huge profits as long as they didn’t pull out midway.
Gu Wenfeng said, “Miss Lu, members of the Nie Family have been kidnapped before, so every time they travel, they bring many bodyguards close at hand. We can’t recklessly approach him, otherwise, it could cause misunderstandings.”
With a smile, Lu Jiaxin said, “There’s no need to contact him directly, just getting in touch with his secretary will do. We are here not only to sell our paintings but also to make friends.”
“You won’t have any problems talking directly with the secretary?”
“Don’t worry! Secretaries for young masters are highly paid and won’t ruin their reputations and lose their jobs over a single painting.”