Chapter 23 Not Interested
"This Manager Huang is really too polite. It was just helping their restaurant get a good promotion in the magazine and sharing a meal with him, and he offers to give away tens of thousands worth of red wine just like that."
He looked at Liu Wentian with mocking amusement and said, "Kid, you must have never drunk this kind of red wine, right? Romanée-Conti red wine, I guess you haven't even heard of it. After all, a few years of your salary wouldn't be enough to buy a bottle!!"
Liu Wentian replied indifferently, "I'm not interested in red wine."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Lai Gaojun sneered and said mockingly, "If you don't understand red wine, just admit it. Don't say you're not interested. Pretending to save face, how hypocritical!! Giving you this wine would be a waste. I think you're more suited to drink beer that costs a few bucks a bottle."
Liu Wentian shrugged his shoulders, seemingly admitting that he didn't understand red wine, with an indifferent attitude.
"You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear!" Lai Gaojun sneered contemptuously.
Lai Gaojun poured himself a glass of wine and pretended to drink it elegantly, putting on a face of enjoyment.
In fact, he didn't know how to taste wine either, but perhaps because of the price tag on that red wine, he found it extremely delicious.
Though he didn't understand, he pretended to be a connoisseur, commenting, "The color is transparent, the taste pure, it has an excellent balance and a lingering aftertaste. Truly, it's a wine that lives up to its tens of thousands price tag, ha ha."
After he finished, he turned to Li Chuyue with some pride and asked, "Miss Li, have you ever drunk the '95 Romanée-Conti red wine?"
Li Chuyue shook her head and said, "No."
Although she had never tasted it, she was aware of its price—a market value of tens of thousands with a scarcity that made it even harder to obtain. She was somewhat astonished at the extent of Lai Gaojun's facade.
Lai Gaojun's face lit up with joy. He picked up the wine glass on the table, poured red wine for Li Chuyue, and said with a smile, "Since you've never tried it, then today is the day. Red wine suits a beautiful woman. Only a great beauty like Miss Li deserves this red wine. Although I really don't understand, Miss Li, such a Heavenly Immortal-like person, how could you take a liking to a guy like him?"
He looked disdainfully at Liu Wentian.
Liu Wentian didn't speak, but Li Chuyue began to get upset.
Li Chuyue replied coldly, "Mr. Lai, you don't need to worry about our affairs. I know perfectly well what kind of person Liu Wentian is!!"
"Well... let's not talk about that for now. Since we're fortunate enough to meet Miss Li today, and we've received such fine wine, why don't we enjoy a few glasses, huh?"
Lai Gaojun didn't expect that at this time, Li Chuyue would still be defending Liu Wentian. Although somewhat irritated, he quickly suppressed his anger.
Seeing Li Chuyue sitting still, seemingly unwilling to drink, he started to get angry, "Miss Li, no matter what, our companies have quite a few collaborations. Not giving this much face is really looking down on me, Lai someone. If Miss Li despises me, that's fine, then we won't continue collaborations with Miss Li's side in our magazine!!"
Li Chuyue grew irritated, thinking the man was way too arrogant. Not drinking his wine equals not collaborating, as if work was child's play! Though annoyed, she thought it was just a drink after all. Might as well drink it, it's not a big deal.
Just as she was about to raise her glass, a smile crept onto Lai Gaojun's face, his heart swelling with pride, thinking that no man with power has to fear the absence of women, and that even a beautiful woman like her must yield.
However, Liu Wentian, at this moment, spoke indifferently, "Don't drink his wine."
Li Chuyue pouted, looking at Liu Wentian with a pitiful gaze, not understanding why he was being so domineering today, illogical - she herself didn't really want to drink this man's wine; it was just a matter of going along with it. Yet, hearing Liu Wentian's commanding words, she felt a sweetness in her heart, a kind of happiness.
Like a wronged little wife, she set the wine down and complained, "If I won't drink, then I won't. What's there to be angry about?"
Liu Wentian remained silent, drinking down the contents of his own glass filled with an ordinary red wine in one gulp, as if to say that he simply didn't know much about wine nor was interested in it.
Although the wine he drank wasn't as expensive as the one in Lai Gaojun's hand, it was probably hard to find a second person in the restaurant who would drink red wine in such a manner.
Lai Gaojun could no longer restrain himself and burst out angrily, "Boy, don't be too arrogant! Who do you think you are, acting so cocky in front of me? I'm warning you, leave the restaurant now, or else, I'll call Manager Huang and have him send someone to throw you out - it won't look good!!"
It was funny indeed - he was the one trying to seduce someone's girlfriend right in front of them, and yet he had the audacity to act as if he was the one being offended, further revealing just how arrogant and conceited he was.
Liu Wentian lifted his head, his icy gaze causing Lai Gaojun to shiver suddenly and swallow his saliva, taking a step back. He felt as if he was being targeted by a ferocious lion, a chill set in his heart.
"What do you want?? Are you trying to start a fight here?? Barbaric!! Ridiculous!!" Lai Gaojun, after recovering his senses, clearly felt embarrassed by his reaction and, in a fit of rage, said.
Liu Wentian's tone was icy as he said, "You're disturbing our meal; believe it or not, I'll throw you out right now?"
Upon saying this, his aura became sharp and fierce, startling Lai Gaojun, who felt as if he was facing a desperado.
"You... you..."
Lai Gaojun was so frightened at the moment that he was at a loss for words. Then he saw a somewhat portly, ruddy-skinned middle-aged man approaching and exclaimed happily, "Manager Huang!! You've come at just the right time. There's this brat here who doesn't know his place; please help me deal with him. He's really clueless, not realizing where he is, he actually thought of laying a hand on me!!"
The manager named Huang, as if he had come specifically for this table, pretended to just notice Lai Gaojun's presence, and with a laugh, said, "Ah, Mr. Lai, what brings you here too? Who has provoked you?"
Suddenly, Manager Huang glanced at Liu Wentian, whose face was overcast, and his expression changed. Squinting his eyes, he said, "Wait a minute, Mr. Lai, who did you say you wanted to deal with? Surely not the gentleman here?"
Lai Gaojun hadn't caught on yet, still chuckling, "Haha, Manager Huang, you're joking with me again, how could you not know I'm here? Didn't you just send me a bottle of '95 Romanée-Conti? You're just too kind. In the next issue of the magazine, I will certainly feature your restaurant again, prominently advertised and placed in the most visible position."
Manager Huang, however, did not respond, just glancing at Lai Gaojun then back at Liu Wentian and Li Chuyue.
At this moment, Lai Gaojun, pointing at Liu Wentian and full of resentment, said, "Manager Huang, please do me a favor and throw this brat out of the restaurant. He's completely disrespectful, dressed in clothes that look like street market goods, probably some peasant worker, and he dares to challenge me, completely overestimating himself! In the future, I suggest that this brat should never be allowed a foot inside Le Gouxi Western Restaurant again, just blacklist him."