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Chapter 306: Journey to Europe
Chapter 306: Journey to Europe
Lu Jiaxin spent three days in Venice before making her way to Milan.
Milan is one of the world's top three fashion capitals, alongside Florence and London. Upon arriving in Milan, Lu Jiaxin rested for a day before hitting the streets, which were lined with top international fashion brands, boutiques, and designer stores.
Qian Xiaoxiao saw how eagerly Lu Jiaxin went shopping every day, and despite developing blisters from all the walking, she showed no signs of slowing down. Qian tried to persuade her to rest a couple of times to no avail, so she eventually turned to Gu Wenfeng for help. "Brother Feng, can you please talk to Sister Xin? She needs to rest her feet for a couple of days."
"What's wrong?" Gu Wenfeng asked.
After hearing the reason, he replied, "I'll find a way to get the boss to rest for a couple of days at the hotel and let her feet heal before she continues."
Qian Xiaoxiao nodded and then asked, puzzled, "I wonder why Sister Xin enjoys shopping so much? She doesn't seem to get tired of it."
Gu Wenfeng frowned at her and said, "The boss is a fashion designer. When she goes shopping, she's not just looking at pretty clothes like most people. She's studying and observing."
Qian Xiaoxiao hadn't thought of it that way.
Gu Wenfeng added bluntly, "Xiaoxiao, if you can't even understand something this simple, then I need to remind you that you're not cut out for this line of work. You're still young, so it's not too late to switch careers."
Qian Xiaoxiao returned to her room feeling dejected. She spent time thinking deeply about what Gu Wenfeng had said and realized that she genuinely enjoyed her job.
After coming to this realization, Qian Xiaoxiao apologized to Lu Jiaxin for always trying to dissuade her from going shopping. As a bodyguard, her behavior had been inappropriate.
Lu Jiaxin smiled and said, "You only tried to persuade me to rest because you couldn't bear to see my blisters."
Qian Xiaoxiao shook her head. "Sister Xin, you see me as a sister, so you don't mind. But Brother Feng sees this from a bodyguard's perspective, and I haven't been doing a good enough job."
She lacked the thoroughness of Gu Wenfeng and the professionalism of Zong Jinghua. If she wanted to stay by Lu Jiaxin's side, she needed to change, or she wouldn't be able to face Gu Wenfeng, much less continue working for Lu Jiaxin.
Qian Xiaoxiao said, "Sister Xin, you mentioned before that if I wanted to become a qualified female bodyguard, I would need to undergo training. Sister Xin, I want to go for training."
In the past, she had thought that being a bodyguard was simple—all she needed to do was beat up anyone who caused trouble. But after seeing Gu Wenfeng and Zong Jinghua in action, she realized how naive her thinking had been.
"It will be tough, and I'm not sure if you can take it," Lu Jiaxin said.
Qian Xiaoxiao assured her that she wasn't afraid of hardship. "Sister Xin, I'm not afraid of hard work. I'm just afraid of not being able to protect you. If I truly can't cut it, I won't stay."
Lu Jiaxin was pleased with her attitude and smiled. "Once we're back in Hong Kong, I'll make the necessary arrangements."
Qian Xiaoxiao wasn't worried about how challenging the training might be. However, she brought up another concern. "Sister Xin, if I leave, Brother Feng and Brother Zong are men, so there may be times when they can't protect you as closely as I can."
Lu Jiaxin reassured her, "Nie Zhan said he would help me find a female bodyguard. When we get back to Hong Kong, I'll ask him about the progress, and we should have someone new joining us soon."
Qian Xiaoxiao hesitated before asking, "Sister Xin, can we really trust someone that Boss Nie finds?"
Lu Jiaxin smiled faintly and said, "Those who eat from another's bowl must heed their words and be willing to sacrifice for them. It's as simple as that. Xiaoxiao, that's what being a professional is all about. Otherwise, no one will want to hire them."
In this regard, it wasn't just Qian Xiaoxiao who lacked this awareness; many people from the mainland had a similar mindset. Lu Jiaxin hadn't pointed it out earlier because she wanted Qian Xiaoxiao to discover her own shortcomings and correct them, so that the upcoming training would be truly meaningful.
Unwilling to expend such effort and resources otherwise, she only did so because she recognized the issue. Now that she's aware, Lu Jiaxin plans to send her for training after the new year, hoping for a complete transformation upon her return.
Qian Xiaoxiao felt ashamed as she recalled her conversation with Gu Wenfeng and apologized to Lu Jiaxin.
But Lu Jiaxin didn't mind. "A person's knowledge and ideas are limited," she said, "so we must continually learn, absorb others' strengths, and improve on our weaknesses."
With her memories of the next two decades, Lu Jiaxin had a unique advantage in the world of fashion. Still, she knew that didn't make her better than everyone else or infallible. Only through learning and leveraging her strengths could she continually improve and correct her shortcomings.
Qian Xiaoxiao nodded. "Sister Xin, I'll be more mindful from now on."
After spending over a week in Milan, Lu Jiaxin prepared to head to the Floral Capital, the place she had studied abroad in her past life. But before leaving, she called Nie Zhan to ask when he would be joining her.
Nie Zhan's voice was low and hoarse as he replied, "Something came up here, and I can't come to you."
From his tired voice, Lu Jiaxin sensed that he was exhausted. The real estate market in Port City had recovered, and property prices were on the rise, so there shouldn't have been any pressing issues.
"Can you tell me what happened?" Lu Jiaxin asked.
Nie Zhan explained, "We had a food poisoning incident at our hotel. More than a dozen guests suffered from vomiting and diarrhea, and one elderly guest with a weak constitution passed away after being rushed to the hospital."
Lu Jiaxin's heart sank. A death resulting from food poisoning at a hotel was a highly detrimental incident that would severely damage its reputation. Such an occurrence was rarely accidental and could be due to mismanagement or, more maliciously, food tampering by a competitor. The Nie family held a prominent position in Port City, so the latter possibility seemed unlikely.
Lu Jiaxin inquired, "Have you identified the cause?"
She quickly added, "If it's not convenient to say, just pretend I never asked."
Nie Zhan trusted her implicitly. "It was due to stale ingredients," he said. "In handling this incident, I discovered the hotel's management is in disarray. The purchasing manager not only played favorites but also accepted bribes."
Just as she had suspected, the problem lay in mismanagement. "How bold of this purchasing manager," Lu Jiaxin remarked. "Does he have some sort of backing?"
Nie Zhan was a little annoyed that she had hit the nail on the head again. "The purchasing manager is Nie Jingshu's brother-in-law," he said. "Previously, my older brother said that such a person shouldn't be given a position of power and could, at most, be given a nominal title. But Nie Jingshu didn't listen."
The fact that he didn't even refer to him as 'second brother' showed how angry he was.
Lu Jiaxin frowned in displeasure. "With such a major incident, why are you handling it instead of Nie Jingshu? Even if he can't handle it, your older brother should be the one to step in."
Nie Zhan explained, "He hid after hearing about the death. My brother and sister-in-law had left for Beverly Hills two days before the hotel incident. On their second day there, my sister-in-law accidentally fell and, upon going to the hospital, discovered she was pregnant. The fall affected the fetus, and the doctor said she must remain on bed rest. In this situation, it's not ideal for my brother to return either. Jingting has never handled such a significant crisis, so it fell to me."
Lu Jiaxin was shocked. She couldn't believe that the person in charge during such a major incident would hide and let someone else clean up his mess.
(End of Chapter)
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