boyutpedia Page 480
Page 480
"As everyone has seen, Xiaoqiang is actually in charge of my company. I'm only responsible for making money. I have absolutely no authority over how to spend or manage the money. Otherwise, I would have hired a beautiful woman as my secretary long ago," Gu Ran joked.
Some of the guests present laughed heartily; they were all outsiders, so they were having a good time.
But Su Xiaoqiang's uncles weren't laughing; this had blocked their path forward.
Knowing that their approach with Gu Ran was not working, they asked Su Xiaoqiang if she was hiring, hoping to place their children in Su Xiaoqiang's company, just like before.
This is how they were previously placed in Su's company, then they took root in the lower and middle levels, creating the complex personnel situation within Su's company.
Now they want to use the same trick on Su Xiaoqiang.
If a relative wants to work for you, you wouldn't object, would you?
But Su Xiaoqiang wasn't stupid. She was smart and had her own opinions. So she said that their company was an investment firm based in Shanghai, so they needed graduates with a degree in business administration from a top-tier university in China, as well as work experience.
This alone immediately deterred most of the relatives, because their children weren't doing well in school...
I have several relatives whose children are studying abroad, and I thought I finally had a chance.
But Su Xiaoqiang immediately said sarcastically, "Oh, a foreign university, huh? What's its QS ranking? If it's not in the top 100, forget it..."
The parents' eyes widened immediately. The QS World University Rankings is one of the rankings with the most participating institutions and the widest global influence.
As for the top 100 universities in the QS rankings, only two universities from mainland China made the list in 2011: Tsinghua University and Peking University.
Their children are sent abroad to attend diploma mills, the kind you can get into just by paying money. When they return home, they can only fool naive fools who have never seen the world.
Their diploma mills are so bad they wouldn't even make it into the QS University Rankings; many of them wouldn't even be as good as the most ordinary public second-tier universities in China.
They knew Su Xiaoqiang was deliberately trying to annoy them, but they had no other choice, so they decided to take a roundabout approach and go to Su's father.
“That’s my son-in-law and daughter’s company, I can’t control it.” Mr. Su simply shrugged. “Even after I sell the company, they’ll still have to support it.”
This is basically just abandoning the business and letting things fall apart.
The relatives gritted their teeth, but there was nothing they could do. They looked at Zhang Qiong and Zhang Wanjun, but dared not go up and say anything.
Because of the two women's aloof and elegant demeanor, they seemed to keep everyone at arm's length and didn't want to talk to them at all, only speaking to Su's father and mother.
These relatives knew they were not worthy of such an honor, so they dared not bother them, lest they humiliate themselves.
In fact, these relatives had made quite a bit of money under Su's father's influence. With that money, they could have started a small business and lived a comfortable and wealthy life for the rest of their lives. But they still seemed unsatisfied and wanted more.
That's very true; who would complain about not having enough money?
In short, under Su Xiaoqiang's ironclad defense, these relatives were defeated and had no chance to intervene in their company.
But these relatives were still persistent, like vultures, they wouldn't be happy until they got a bite of rotten flesh.
They felt there was plenty of time and planned to use time to slowly 'influence' Su Xiaoqiang and his wife.
But Su Xiaoqiang and Gu Ran left home the day after their engagement ended to go on a trip.
This left all the visiting relatives completely dumbfounded; they were astonished that he had used such a cunning technique to escape!
*……*……*
Gu Ran, Su Xiaoqiang, and Xiao Lianhua boarded a flight to Paris, France.
They departed in the early morning; the direct flight takes about 12 hours, so they can take a nap and enjoy the scenery—perfect timing.
It was Xiao Lianhua's first time taking a long-haul flight abroad, so she was extremely excited and kept looking at the scenery outside the plane.
The visas for the three were obtained by Gu Ran through his connections with the Lionheart Society, through Lancelot.
Lancelot comes from an old family in France, so he contacted someone at the French Embassy in China to personally wait for the three at the airport and issue them visas on the spot.
In the VIP waiting room, the ambassador and his secretary personally processed the visas for the three of them, shocking everyone in the waiting room.
Being able to stay in the VIP lounge made them think they were of high status, but when they saw that the ambassador himself had come to the airport to process their visas, they were taken aback.
It is important to know that an ambassador is the highest-ranking diplomatic representative dispatched by the head of state, enjoying full diplomatic privileges and immunities, and can request an audience with the head of state or high-ranking government officials of the host country at any time.
But for an ambassador of such high status to personally process visas for people, it's unclear who these two adults and one child are.
Gu Ran was not surprised by this. It was only because he had to take Su Xiaoqiang and Xiao Lianhua with him. If it were him, he wouldn't need to go through so much trouble, because he had several counterfeit passports in the executive department's suitcase, which contained many visas that were indistinguishable from the real thing.
By the time the three arrived in Paris, it was already night. They passed through border control smoothly and entered France.
"We're going to Germany later, do we need to apply for visas in advance?" Su Xiaoqiang asked.
“No need, a Schengen visa allows you to travel to all EU countries,” Gu Ran said.
Gu Ran applied for a Schengen visa, so a French visa allows travel to most EU countries without needing to apply for additional visas.
Schengen is a small city in southeastern Luxembourg, named after the 1985 Treaty on the Gradual Abolition of Border Checks (also known as the Schengen Agreement), which was signed there. Initiated by five member states—Germany, France, Belgium, and others—the agreement aimed to eliminate border checks between member states and allow for free movement of people.
The Schengen Area currently consists of 29 member states, including 25 EU member states (such as Germany and France) and 4 non-EU member states (such as Switzerland and Iceland).
The three of them carried only one small suitcase. Gu Ran dragged the suitcase, while Su Xiaoqiang carried Xiao Lianhua in his arms because there were too many people at the airport and he was afraid she would get lost.
Lancelot had previously asked Gu Ran if he wanted someone to pick him up at the airport, but Gu Ran thought about it and declined. He was there for vacation, not for a mission, so it wasn't appropriate to use his position for personal gain.
After graduating, Lancelot worked at the French branch of the executive bureau, where he had previously interned. This was his hometown's base, so it was like he was working back home.
The two had just stepped out of the airport and were about to take a taxi to their booked hotel.
Chapter 559 Paris with a Scent
Just a few steps outside the airport, Gu Ran noticed a girl following them suspiciously.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, ready to see what she would do next.
The blonde girl kept her eyes on Su Xiaoqiang's pockets, as if she wanted to steal his wallet.
Taking advantage of the crowd, the girl suddenly quickened her pace, preparing to make physical contact with Su Xiaoqiang and steal something in the chaos.
Gu Ran smiled slightly. Although he didn't turn around, he could see everything clearly because of the white eyes he was receiving.
Just as he was about to teach this Parisian thief a lesson, an old man suddenly appeared and blocked the girl's path, intimidating her with his eyes.
The girl was indeed stunned by what she saw. Knowing that her actions had been exposed, she turned and left without looking back.
So Gu Ran stopped and walked towards the old man. Su Xiaoqiang was confused, but she also stopped while holding Lianhua to see what Gu Ran was going to do.
"Mr. Gu, I am very sorry for what I said earlier. I was presumptuous." The old man spoke in fluent Chinese, which made him appear very polite.
He apologized because he had just helped block the thief, knowing that Gu Ran must have noticed the thief as well.
"It's alright." Gu Ran smiled. "And you are?"
"Hello, my young master is Lancelot, and I am the family's butler. You can call me Sebastian. My young master instructed me to pick you up and take you to the hotel."
The old butler was dressed in a black suit and white gloves, looking every bit the part of a wealthy family. People around him would make way for him when they saw his attire.
“Sebastian…” Gu Ran was stunned. It seems that butlers in the world of anime and manga are all called by this name.
He shook his head and chuckled, saying, "Didn't I say I'm just here on vacation and don't need to use the Lionheart Society's resources?"
"This is our young master entertaining his friends; we didn't use any of the Secret Service's resources." Sebastian raised his hand and waved it lightly. His white gloves were very conspicuous in the night. Soon, a black stretch Lincoln pulled up beside Gu Ran.
"Oh..." Gu Ran understood. Lancelot knew he was coming, so he specially arranged for someone to pick him up, which was a way of showing concern between classmates.
"Then I won't stand on ceremony," Gu Ran said with a smile.
"Please, go ahead." Sebastian opened the Lincoln's door.
After getting into the car, Sebastian instructed the driver to take Gu Ran to the hotel he had booked earlier. He told Gu Ran that the hotel was also owned by the Lancelot family and that they had upgraded their regular suite to a presidential suite. He told Gu Ran that he could ask for anything he needed.
"No need to be so particular, just keep it simple," Gu Ran said.
“After all, you are the president of the Lionheart Society, so you should travel with the appropriate status and protocol,” Sebastian said respectfully. “This is what the young master instructed.”
Gu Ran understood Lancelot's meaning. If the student council president were to travel, it would definitely be a grand affair. Although the Lionheart Society was not as wealthy as the student council, it still had to have the proper formalities.
“How long do you plan to stay in France? I can be your guide and show you around,” Sebastian said.
"Please show us around Paris, then I'll be going to Marseille. But the rest of the trip is private, and I don't want anyone else following me."
“I understand, I will protect your privacy,” Sebastian said respectfully.
The car took everyone to a hotel on the banks of the Seine. The hotel's presidential suite was on the top floor, with a view of Notre Dame Cathedral not far away.
At this time, Notre Dame Cathedral had not yet been burned down, and its pointed bell towers still stood on the banks of the Seine, telling the story of the rise and fall of centuries.
Xiao Lianhua kept pressing her face against the car window, looking out. She seemed curious about everything she saw, and every now and then she would pull Su Xiaoqiang aside and ask her questions. Su Xiaoqiang would answer her if he knew the answer, and if he didn't know, he would honestly say that he didn't know.
Are there fish in the Seine?
"Is there?"
"Are the fish in that river edible?"
"Probably not. I heard that the Seine River is so polluted by industry that the fish in it are not safe to eat."
“It’s different from our village. In our village, we can eat all the fish in the river, and even crayfish!” Lianhua said softly.
After helping everyone settle their luggage, Sebastian said, "You all probably haven't had dinner yet. I've already instructed the chef to prepare a special French meal for you. Would you like to eat in your suites or at the restaurant?"
"Let's go to a restaurant, the atmosphere will be nicer," Gu Ran asked. "Do you need to change into your dress?"
“No need,” Sebastian said. “The young master said you don’t like being restricted, so we booked a terrace suite for you. It’s a private space, so you don’t need to change clothes.”
"Okay, thank you."
"You're welcome, it's what I should do."
Sebastian led Gu Ran to a terrace suite in the hotel restaurant. The balcony of this suite was fitted with curved floor-to-ceiling windows, offering an unobstructed view of the landmark buildings along the Seine.
French cuisine is indeed unique, with its delicate texture and emphasis on the freshness of ingredients, which is quite different from the prepared meals of America and England.
Lancelot even specially sent Gu Ran a bottle of fine wine from a top winery, which, paired with excellent steak and seafood, made for a very enjoyable dinner.
Xiao Lianhua was the happiest eater, as she seemed to have never eaten a super-sized Boston lobster before. She kept asking to take pictures so she could show them off to her friends later.
After dinner, Sebastian specifically sought out Gu Ran to discuss the airport pickpocket incident.
“The thief appears to have been hired specifically to steal your and Ms. Su’s passports and belongings so that you could return to China,” Sebastian said. “The identity of the person behind this is still under investigation.”
"Oh?" Gu Ran nodded slightly.
Besides taking Su Xiaoqiang out for fun, he also needed to help his father-in-law check the accounts of the overseas office.
Therefore, Gu Ran already had a target in mind for the person hired by this thief.
"No need for you to investigate. I roughly know who did it, and I'll handle it from here on out," Gu Ran said to Sebastian.