After leaving the office, she hailed a taxi. 

Lu Nan was about to go to the passenger seat, but Chen Xiao beat her to it, “You sit in the back.” He then told the driver, “Let’s go to the nearby Starbucks.” 

With a clear mind, Lu Nan naturally understood that sitting in the more dangerous passenger seat was not just Chen Xiao’s courtesy, but more importantly, when she was out with him, he wouldn’t let his female subordinate pay for the car. 

Choosing Starbucks meant that whatever Chen Xiao was about to say next wasn’t suitable for the office. 

“In terms of the supervisor-subordinate relationship alone, aside from unintentionally attracting attention and having too many admirers, Chen Xiao is indeed a good leader,” Lu Nan thought to himself. 

The driver stopped the car, Chen Xiao paid, and even remembered to get a ticket for Lu Nan—he was so thoughtful (of course, appearances are also important). It was clear that Sasha’s troubles over the past few months had not been in vain. 

… 

During their time in Wanghai City, Chen Xiao not only realized that Sasha had finally given up on him, but also confirmed several times that Lu Nan’s attitude towards him remained strictly professional. 

Undeniably, Lu Nan’s open and straightforward demeanor when punished for playing games impressed Chen Xiao and also made him somewhat concerned. 

In their daily interactions, Lu Nan showed no sign of shyness towards him. Therefore, at the farewell party before departure, Chen Xiao’s gesture of changing Lu Nan’s drink had some concern for her well-being but mostly tested how she felt about him personally (not out of excessive self-love, but because he had encountered too many such situations). The fact proved that, for now, he hadn’t misjudged her. 

Lu Nan was probably the most well-rounded among this group of newcomers and the most suitable for handling complex matters. 

“Just sit down, I’ll go buy two drinks. What do you want?” 

Lu Nan replied without hesitation, “I’ll have an iced Americano. Thanks, Brother Xiao.” 

With that, Chen Xiao returned with two iced Americanos in hand. 

He sat down and said, “I’ve already talked it over with Manager Wang about you taking over Feixiang. Although he is a little worried about your lack of experience, he is still willing to give you a chance to try. Within this week, before the Director of District Tong comes, if your work ability and professionalism can satisfy Mr. Yang, then General Manager Xiang will have nothing to say, and it will also be very convenient for you to carry out your work in the future.” 

“I understand. Thank you, Brother Xiao,” Lu Nan nodded and didn’t ask more about why it was so important to impress Mr. Yang. 

Chen Xiao admired Lu Nan’s intelligence. For a girl her age, it was rare to see someone with even a bit of cleverness who didn’t show off. 

“You’re welcome. Opportunities always come to those who are prepared.” Chen Xiao replied. He believed Lu Nan’s potential extended far beyond her current situation, given her ability to recall factory and retail prices, understand competitor information, handle pouring drinks and table etiquette, excel in shorthand, speak tactfully, focus on details, and do homework in advance (such as monitoring fleet leaders appearing on television). 

As the one who discovered her potential, he was eager to see if Lu Nan could withstand the inevitable discrimination in this field and how far she could go if she persisted. 

Therefore, he specifically called Lu Nan out to mentor her. 

If Chen Xiao knew that Lu Nan only planned to slack off for half a year, he might have felt he had invested his genuine feelings wrongly. 

Of course, even after years of being a corporate slave, Lu Nan still had a basic sense of responsibility. Even if she planned to slack off, she would do so impeccably to her colleagues and clients. 

Slacking off doesn’t mean she’s worthless. 

Attitude and ability are two separate concepts. 

Being able to have so much time to slack off after completing her job is Lu Nan’s ability. 

“The first batch of goods after Mr. Yang paid will arrive at their warehouse this afternoon. After lunch, we will go to assist his employees in scanning the code and putting them into the warehouse.” When Chen Xiao said this, he saw that Lu Nan didn’t look puzzled at all, so he knew that she must have understood or asked someone about the process of scanning the code for new wine to be put into the warehouse. He continued, “Also, the two key account managers recruited by Feixiang have also arrived. Starting tomorrow, you will train them in product knowledge. Is that okay?” 

Although she had only received training repeatedly for half a month, Lu Nan was not at all intimidated by the task of training others. “No problem. I’ll confirm with you later which PPTs can be used directly, and which are for internal reference only and cannot be shared.” 

Chen Xiao nodded with satisfaction and kindly reminded Lu Nan, “Most of the major account managers hired by distributors are usually experienced and often have good public relations skills. They may look down on you because of your age and experience and may not take your theoretical training content seriously. However, the basic salary of major account managers is paid to distributors by our company in the form of cost-sharing. This means the cost of employing these managers is also shared by our company. As the group purchase manager, you need to ensure your key account managers are focused and professional, not just ordinary salespeople who quickly move consumer goods without any standards. 

Lu Nan nodded. 

It is certainly pleasant to be young again, but my overly immature appearance does cause me to be looked down upon or even discriminated against at work. 

This is a path I’ve walked before. Restarting shouldn’t be more difficult than the previous mode. 

At this moment, Lu Nan felt that something seemed to be wrong, but she still comforted herself by saying, “Work hard first and then relax.” 

Little did she know that diligence and slacking are inherently contradictory terms. 

“Alright, there’s nothing scheduled for the morning. You can stay here and familiarize yourself with the training content. I see you brought your computer. Do you have a USB drive? Did you bring it?” Chen Xiao was quite satisfied when he saw Lu Nan nod and added “thorough work” to Lu Nan’s list of advantages. “Then I’ll copy the information for you, and you can review it and let me hear it after you’ve explained it.” 

Lu Nan did not disappoint Chen Xiao. After reviewing the material, she gave a trial presentation for only half an hour, and she made the business people who were drinking coffee at the table next to her move their chairs twice—both times to move closer. 

The first time, Chen Xiao and Lu Nan didn’t care, but Lu Nan lowered her voice a little to avoid disturbing the other party. 

The other party’s second action of moving the chair was a bit obvious, and it even made a noise. 

Lu Nan stopped her presentation. 

The other person smiled apologetically—he was a middle-aged man wearing a shirt and trousers without a tie and black-rimmed glasses with frames but no lenses. 

P.S. He’s bald. 

“Sorry to interrupt. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I just thought this girl’s speech was lively and interesting.” Although the bald businessman had a distinctive appearance, he seemed courteous. He took out his business card and handed it to Lu Nan. “I’m the general manager of Warrior Training Company. We are currently hiring and are in need of professional female trainers. Perhaps you could consider changing jobs?” 

Lu Nan politely accepted his business card, which had a black background with gold lettering. 

China Warrior – Quality Development Training Co., Ltd. 

Yuan Shengli (General Manager) 

Below are the contact details for the Hailin City office, including address, phone number, and email. 

Lu Nan apologized, “Mr. Yuan, I don’t have a business card yet.” 

“No problem, you look familiar to me, so it must be fate. How about adding me on WeChat?” Mr. Yuan, who is in charge of training, was very outgoing and not afraid of awkwardness. He even nodded politely at Chen Xiao while trying to poach his colleague. 

Even with Chen Xiao’s good temperament, he was amused. “I haven’t fully polished this uncut gem I discovered, and someone is already trying to steal it?” 

It was the first time Lu Nan saw Chen Xiao almost lose his composure, and he couldn’t help but smile. “Mr. Yuan might not remember, but we indeed met recently in the Sofitel Hotel lobby.” 

“Oh! Right! You are the young friend Mr. Song knows.” Yuan Shengli suddenly realized, “You look different, so I didn’t recognize you. In that case, we should definitely exchange contact information. Our company collaborates a lot with Mr. Song’s side.” He directly showed his phone’s QR code to Lu Nan. 

Lu Nan glanced at Chen Xiao and added him on WeChat. “Thank you for your appreciation, Mr. Yuan, but I am quite satisfied with my current job. Since you are involved in corporate training management, you must have a wide social circle. If you ever need any wine, feel free to contact me.” 

Only then did Chen Xiao’s expression improve. 

After being rejected and even being counter-sold, Yuan Shengli was not angry at all; instead, he smiled even more happily. “Sure, I will definitely remember to contact you when I have such a need. Lu Nan, right? ‘Leaning against the Nan tree in front of the Cao Hall, passed down for two hundred years…’ It’s a good name.” 

—It’s not impossible for him to recite poetry with a bald head, but it does look odd. 

Lu Nan smiled and thanked Yuan Shengli for his compliment. 

Chen Xiao checked his watch. “Mr. Yuan, my colleague and I have something to do, so we’ll take our leave.” 

“Please do as you wish.” Yuan Shengli, who had not achieved his goal, did not bother to argue. He waved to Lu Nan and pointed to his phone, “Contact me on WeChat.” 

After leaving, Chen Xiao also laughed, “First, your former boss tried to retain you, and now the head of a training company is recruiting you. Lu Nan, you have quite some skills.” 

“Mr. Song’s invitation was a polite gesture, and Mr. Yuan’s approach was a courteous conversation starter. You can listen, but there’s no need to take it too seriously. I’m not an indispensable key player; they might just find me pleasing to the eye,” Lu Nan said, understanding her place well. 

Chen Xiao didn’t dwell on this issue anymore. He was very satisfied with the way Lu Nan tactfully rejected Mr. Yuan just now, and he also understood her behavior of following basic social etiquette to accept the business card – but isn’t adding on WeChat necessary? 

Chen Xiao felt a bit uneasy because someone wanted to poach someone he valued, but it also proved Lu Nan’s excellence; only outstanding people are in high demand. 

“You mentioned before that you took the teacher qualification exam, right?” Chen Xiao recalled seeing this in Lu Nan’s resume. 

“Ah, yes, I took it during my free time in college. But later, I realized that teaching… wasn’t quite for me.” Just the thought of a fixed schedule was enough to make the freedom-loving Lu Nan feel stifled. 

Chen Xiao nodded, “I thought you had a strong presence when you presented the PPT, like a teacher.” 

Lu Nan was stunned for a moment, as if she didn’t expect Chen Xiao to joke with her, and then she smiled flatteringly. “I’ll just take it as a compliment from Brother Xiao.” 

“Let’s go eat.” 

When it was time to eat, Lu Nan made a final attempt. “Brother Xiao, let me pay.” 

“As the city manager and brand specialist, I get meal allowances. Why are you fighting me to pay?” 

“But…” Just because you have meal allowances doesn’t mean I can’t pay. 

However, Chen Xiao was very principled about who pays for meals. 

Lu Nan surrendered, “Okay, okay, I get it. I will serve Feixiang well to repay Brother Xiao for treating me to meals, coffee, and cab rides.”