Welcome to Paris
Chapter 7/8. Feel free to support us on Patreon!
After more than ten hours, the plane finally landed in Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport safely.
Although It was midnight in China, due to the difference in time zones, it was afternoon in France.
The warm sunlight shone upon this peaceful land while the wind blew gently.
Having slept in the plane for quite a few hours, Lin Ruoxi wasn’t too tired when she got off. After all, compared to her usual workload, sitting on a plane was nothing to her.
Yang Chen naturally held no exhaustion. Upon stepping into Europe, his previously smiley expression had vanished. Too many memories surfaced in his mind which made him feel a little nostalgic.
The two of them walked to the exit of the arrival hall together. Lin Ruoxi only carried a small Prada shoulder bag. She had branch offices in Paris after all, so she didn’t have to prepare a lot of things beforehand nor was she required to bring a luggage. Yang Chen was completely carefree and brought nothing at all.
Yang Chen had made countless adult jokes earlier, but he became extraordinarily quiet after getting off the plane. All he did was walk silently. Lin Ruoxi was able to tell the change in Yang Chen’s behavior.
She turned her head to glance at the man who was deep in contemplation and lost in his world. Lin Ruoxi had a feeling that Yang Chen’s current state was a more accurate representation of his true self.
Lin Ruoxi couldn’t help but ask, “What are you thinking about?”
Yang Chen subconsciously reached out to his shirt pocket and took out a packet of cigarettes, but soon noticed smoking was prohibited in the airport. Smiling, he replied, “Nothing much. Just a few insignificant matters, but they’re all in the past now.”
Lin Ruoxi didn’t strike with more questions. She knew that Yang Chen definitely wasn’t willing to recall the so-called absurd matters.
“Oh yeah, who will be picking us up?” Yang Chen asked.
Lin Ruoxi was leading the way in front. While walking, she said, “The director of the European branch. He’s called Goodman.”
“Goodman? Interesting. Is it a guy?” Yang Chen asked.
“Of course, no girls would have a name like that,” Lin Ruoxi said. “His mother is a Chinese and his father French, but he’s born in Britain. He had stayed in China for many years and used to be my senior in school. Since one of his ancestors is the princess of a royal family, although it was not an inherited title, he’s considered to be part of the royal family. When Grandma was still here, she raised him personally and appointed him to be the director of the European branch after merely giving him a year’s training. I’ve only met him twice after becoming the CEO. Since our branch office is coincidentally nearby Paris, he had offered to welcome us.”
Yang Chen rubbed his nose and murmured, “He’s a mixed-race and also your senior. He must be really handsome, isn’t he? Babe Ruoxi, is he yet another Zeng Xinglin?”
Lin Ruoxi frowned a little. She would feel uneasy every time Zeng Xinlin was mentioned, since it could be said that she had brutally caused his death.
“Goodman is different from Zeng Xinlin. He isn’t overly ambitious and greedy in the business world. He’s more like a romance-loving French man who cares about his royal bloodline. Money is not his main goal,” Lin Ruoxi said.
Smiling, Yang Chen asked, “You’ve only met him twice. How would you know what kind of a person he really is?”
“I understand a person really fast,” Lin Ruoxi said calmly. However, she added in his mind, I’m just never able to understand you, a thick-skinned fellow.
Yang Chen smirked but didn’t deny her statement.
Having walked for around 15 minutes, the two finally reached the exit. People who were there to pick up families and friends were all over the place. However, the two didn’t take long to discover a signboard with the Chinese characters ‘Yu Lei International’.
At the same time, Yang Chen noticed the mixed-race Goodman whom Lin Ruoxi had mentioned earlier.
Dressed in a white western suit, Goodman indeed appeared outstanding. Although his hair was black, his face contours were obviously Caucasian. His pupils were blue-green while his figure was considerably taller than Yang Chen.
The smile on his face was prominent and natural. His noble aura made the nearby tourists glance at him occasionally when passing by.
Upon seeing Lin Ruoxi standing by the exit in her black dress, Goodman’s eyes shone. His smile became more apparent but wasn’t creepy. Slowly walking forward, he extended his arms to gesture a hug.
Lin Ruoxi wasn’t against the etiquette. It was really common in western countries after all. Hugging and touching cheeks weren’t considered to be inappropriate.
However, before Lin Ruoxi stretched her arms out as well, a silhouette rushed over and received Goodman’s hug. “Haha, it’s great to see you. Let’s have a hug.”
Lin Ruoxi was astonished. Yang Chen who was previously behind him somehow ended up in Goodman’s arms. He was even patting Goodman’s back like they were really close friends.
Goodman was shocked as well. His facial expression was stiff. After making sure who was in his arms, he was all the more surprised.
Quickly backing off, he asked in Mandarin, “W—who are you?”
“He’s Yang Chen, the director of our sister company. He was the one who was originally supposed to represent the main branch. But since he’s inexperienced, and I coincidentally want to check out how we’re doing in Europe, I came here together with him,” Lin Ruoxi explained. She didn’t reveal her true relationship with Yang Chen.
Yang Chen’s act earlier was indeed embarrassing. The way he forcefully hugged Goodman earlier was judged by many tourists passing by.
Goodman, however, was incredibly experienced. He instantly understood the situation and started secretly treating Yang Chen’s ‘immaturity’ with disdain. Holding the same smile on his face, he said, “Mr Yang, I’ve heard of your name before. You must be extraordinary to become a director at such a young age. I’m Goodman, it’s great to see you. I’ll definitely serve you well in France. Please ask if you require anything.”
“Ahh, you’re really polite.” Yang Chen smiled in satisfaction. He extended his arms yet again and said, “Come, let’s have another hug.”
Goodman looked rather awkward. Smiling stiffly, he said, “Hehe, Mr Yang is indeed humorous. Let’s go out now and chat in the car. I haven’t met Ruoxi in a very long time. We need to catch up nicely.”
Lin Ruoxi couldn’t take it as well. She poked Yang Chen’s back secretly to signal him to not go over the line.
Yang Chen felt really gloomy. The fellow had referred Lin Ruoxi as ‘Ruoxi’ instead of ‘Boss’. He was nice enough to not punch Goodman in the face.
It was obvious that Goodman wasn’t too interested in Yu Lei International, but held intentions for Lin Ruoxi. She mentioned that he loved romance, and what kind of romance loving man could do without a woman.
Yang Chen and Lin Ruoxi followed Goodman out of the airport. Intimately, Goodman asked Lin Ruoxi if she was tired because of the flight, and occasionally talked to Yang Chen in hopes of getting closer to him.
“I wonder what Mr Yang used to work as. Was your position high as well? I bet you have a lot of working experience,” Goodman said.
As Yang Chen finally got out of the airport, he quickly lit a cigarette after refraining for so long. He flick the poor-quality cigarette and answered blurrily, “I used to sell mutton skewers at a market in the west of Zhonghai. I don’t think you’ve been there before. The land is quite flat. It isn’t high at all.”
Goodman almost fell on the ground face-down. His lips twitched a little and said, “Oh… really… really… So you had been in the food industry.”
Lin Ruoxi’s face was ice-cold. She acted like she had heard nothing and proceeded to the car quickly.
It could be seen that Goodman had spent much effort. He had specially prepared a Bentley limousine to pick Lin Ruoxi up. The car had lots of features included in the luxury internals, as if it was a moving luxury hotel. In addition, the color scheme was elegant. More importantly, he knew that Lin Ruoxi would like that car as her personal car was a Bentley as well.
After the three boarded the car, Goodman ordered the driver to head to Hotel Sofitel where their rooms were booked. It was an extremely costly five-star hotel.
“It’s reported in the news that terrorist organizations may cause a disturbance in the fashion week and get rid of a few wealthy businessmen. Although it’s just a rumor, it’s better to be more cautious. I’ve specially brought four bodyguards to guarantee your safety in the dark. This way, not only will you be safe, you won’t be left uneasy,” Goodman said as pointed at a Mercedes S500 following behind.
“You’re indeed as careful as ever,” Lin Ruoxi said. When she heard the keyword ‘bodyguard’, she silently glanced at Yang Chen who was seated at the opposite. That fellow was helping himself with the stuff in the fridge. He was even prepared to open a bottle of wine to start drinking.”
With him beside me, I won’t be in any danger, will I… Lin Ruoxi thought. Probably due to the many occasions where Yang Chen dealt with disasters with ease, Lin Ruoxi felt that she was safe as long as Yang Chen was present.
“Haha! Bingo! Found it!” Yang Chen cheered in the car loudly and took a bottle of grape wine out from the fridge before removing the packaging.
“It’s great that Mr Yang likes it. This margarita was made in 1982. There are less than ten bottles in the entire Paris. Even the rich would find themselves hard pressed to get their hands on one of these bottles without connections,” Goodman said happily.
In the blink of an eye, Yang Chen had successfully removed the cover, causing the rich fragrance of the grape wine to fill the car. It was indeed extraordinary.
Although Lin Ruoxi didn’t love wine very much, she could tell from the fragrance that it was expensive. She liked just how thoughtful Goodman was, not because she was unaware that it was impossible for her to get together with him. She simply admired his attentiveness.
Lin Ruoxi planned to ask Yang Chen to serve her some of that wine. However, the next action pulled off by Yang Chen had made her completely forgot that thought.
Gulp! Gulp! Being stared upon by the dumbstruck Goodman, Yang Chen raised the bottle and covered his mouth on the opening of the bottle before downing the wine!
Lin Ruoxi clenched her teeth, not because she felt that the wine was wasted, but how discourteous and rude Yang Chen was!
Goodman’s jaws dropped. The precious bottle of wine worth tens of thousands of Euros was consumed by the savage man like it was soda!
“I’m sorry, Goodman. Yang Chen has always behaved this way. He isn’t intentionally messing with you.” Even Lin Ruoxi felt sorry to Goodman. He had spent much effort and time to obtain the wine. Anyone would be displeased if they were in his shoes.
Goodman was deeply annoyed, but he waved his hand smilingly. “It’s fine, as long as Mr Yang likes it. There are two more bottles here. Ruoxi, I’ll open another one for you.”
Lin Ruoxi nodded and glanced at Yang Chen. He had finished half of the grape wine already, looking immensely satisfied and unrestrained.
“Hehe, I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was this expensive. How about letting me pour some of it for you guys as well? Sharing is caring,” Yang Chen said with a smile before burping.
“Nevermind. Mr Yang shall enjoy this bottle,” Goodman said in a courteous manner. Do you expect us to consume your saliva?! he thought as he took another bottle.
Yang Chen used his tongue to lick the dark red liquid on the opening. He let out a naughty smile and said, “I believe you shouldn’t open another bottle for now. Just look at where the car is going. Why is it that we are not headed to Hotel Sofitel...”