Chapter 23: The Red Wine Banquet

  "Hey, are you just going to leave like that? Your mom seems really angry. You'd better listen to her arrangement tonight, aren't you the one who hates arguing with her the most?"

  He dragged me out of the room with a flick of his sleeve, and I felt a piercing gaze on my back. I thought to myself that I was deeply sinful, how did I end up with such an unprofitable job!

  "Is it Xiao Ran, the daughter of Li Zong who is very close to you? Why didn't you say so clearly? She would definitely understand!"

  "Do you think you really understand me?" A cold face, with a glint of chill in his eyes, "I'm not going to follow her wishes, she's always like that, just ignore her. Just visit this site. As long as you continue to cooperate with me, don't worry about the rest."

  "As soon as he mentions his mom, he becomes a different person, and yet he still has the nerve to be stubborn." I muttered under my breath, with "uncomfortable" written all over his face.

  Her mother is really quite strict, not like what Yang Ge said, could it be that my opening already gave her a bad impression, so she can't accept me? But, what Auntie said was also a bit over the top, forcing her own son to do something he didn't want to do, and using their mother-son relationship to threaten him, this way really doesn't consider Yu's feelings at all, no wonder he would rebel... indeed, like mother, like son.

  The two returned to the second-floor balcony, overlooking the dazzling scene in the backyard. The guests were all appearing one after another, and Auntie had also come downstairs, chatting and laughing with other elegantly dressed people. A beautiful piano melody floated through the air, accompanied by the faint scent of roses and the enticing aroma of red wine.

  His expression was heavy, his eyes followed Auntie, and he slightly furrowed his brow. The dense pain in his eyes couldn't be dissolved. He and his mother had a strained relationship, which wasn't good for either of them. Why couldn't the two just communicate properly? A mother and son were connected at heart, but they had knots in their hearts that only they could untie; no one else could help.

  "We're going down too! Go and have a good talk with your mom, tell her what you really think!"

  I hastily put on my high heels, hooked his arm and pulled him in.

  "Do you want to die?" He stood firm, and I was bounced back by his counterattack.

  "Are you going to go on like this? If you want to make up, you have to put in some effort yourself! Even parents don't understand everything if you don't tell them. Can't you perk up a bit? This isn't the Zhang Ze Yu I know!" I exclaimed.

  He stared at me in surprise, silent for half a second, slightly raised the corner of his mouth and said indifferently: "I'm already very used to her being like this, and don't forget, you're the one who messed it up first."

  "Yes, I'm sorry, so I hope you can make up and I can alleviate some of my guilt." After a pause, I lowered my voice and said, "Even if you want me to cooperate, you have to go down first. What's the point of not attending this banquet?"

  I lifted my face and looked into his eyes with determination, the twinkling lights were dazzling.

  "I forgot to tell you, this is a red wine tasting party. I hope it will satisfy me as you said. Since you want to cooperate with me so much, I'll satisfy you." He raised an eyebrow and the corner of his mouth returned to that hint of a sly smile.

  Walking past the rose garden on both sides of the villa, I arrived at the banquet venue. The undulating blue swimming pool reflected the lively scene on land. Everyone held a high-footed cup in their hand, filled with half a cup of transparent red or pale yellow liquid, and surprisingly, all conversations revolved around wine. Suddenly, I felt dizzy and nauseous, my knowledge of wine was triggered, and my stomach was also uncomfortable from eating too much at dinner.

  "What? Can't hold on now? Weren't you just boasting and wanting to rush in quickly?"

  "I...I'm fine, I'm okay." I took a few deep breaths.

  The crowd began to stir, and among the guests, there were many young faces. I could faintly hear them whispering about the man beside me. I also sneaked a glance at him, his handsome face under the light, with a solemn expression. His appearance would inevitably cause a great commotion. Standing next to him, I felt an enormous pressure that was not ordinary.

  Take a deep breath, and gently place my hand on his elbow, he leads me into the crowd, and suddenly a strong beam of light shines on us, all eyes instantly turn to us, I tense up straight, enduring the pain in my feet, trying to walk as elegantly as possible, with a stiff smile on my face, not daring to glance sideways. The lights follow us all the way to the small stage set up, walking on the green grass feels like walking on the red carpet.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, this is our wine consultant Miss Lu, welcome to ask questions, we will answer them all! Wish you a wonderful evening!" He gave me a sly smile, released my hand, put the microphone in my hand, and politely nodded at me before elegantly walking off the stage, leaving me standing alone, staring blankly at the crowd of people surrounding the pool, who were all casting curious glances at me.

  What does he mean? The wine consultant should be him! He clearly knows a lot, why is he pushing me, an outsider, to make a fool of myself?! This has gotten out of hand, this is not something I can handle! My scalp is tingling as I glance around, and my aunt is sitting at the banquet table closest to me, holding a wine glass and staring at me expressionlessly. I'm in a tough spot now, if only I had told the truth, my skills aren't up to par yet, being glared at by him would be better than being stared at by all these people! My mind is a mess, how can I still remember so many professional terms and wine knowledge?!

  "Miss Lu! Can you show us how to better appreciate red wine?"

  A well-dressed uncle standing in front of me smiled slightly and handed over the wine glass in his hand, crystal clear burgundy, with a beautiful texture. I clenched my fist tightly, relaxed, stretched out my hand to take it, and also smiled slightly at him.

  He let out a sigh of relief in his heart, wasn't wine tasting just put into practice? This shouldn't be difficult for him. So relying on the already very deep impression at the dinner table, following the sequence of observing color, smelling aroma and tasting flavor, he demonstrated step by step as calmly as possible, explaining the benefits of each step, during which guests also asked questions about wine tasting, and he answered them fluently and logically.

  The crowd's sighs of amazement and applause gave me a lot more confidence. I looked towards where my aunt was standing, she still didn't bat an eyelid, seemingly unimpressed by my performance, but I knew this was just a small dish, probably these guests were all new to red wine and were intimidated by me, a newcomer who had just started learning. Anyway, the feeling of narrowly passing the test was still very satisfying, the corner of my mouth curled up in a big arc, my face turned towards Zhang Ze Yu on the side of the stage, his expression still had that playful look. I secretly made a face at him: Hmph! Think you can make me lose face? It's not that easy!

  Then, several noble ladies asked some relatively basic questions, such as how to store red wine and what are the benefits of drinking red wine. I answered them one by one, fortunately, this type of question is the most basic, and I also witnessed that magnificent underground wine cellar with my own eyes, so I still remember it quite clearly.

  The tense mood has relaxed, it seems that my memory is still good, although it's a last-minute effort, it's not bad.

  "Now please savor it slowly, I'll be right back!" He bowed slightly and walked calmly towards the shadow where Yu stood.

  As soon as he was on stage, I saw a group of beautifully dressed girls surrounding him, those young women who were eager to strike up a conversation, he ignored them and walked away in disappointment. At this moment, I also saw a girl with long curly hair wearing a purple off-the-shoulder dress talking to him, her hand on his shoulder, his face was expressionless, his eyes fixed on me as I approached, and his mouth spat out a clear word: Get out! Then the girl ran away in surprise.

  He's still so indifferent, it seems not just to me, but that's his nature. Those girls who were scared away by him all looked at me with vicious eyes, I sighed helplessly, you can see how dangerous the "girlfriend" position next to this devil is, feeling like I'll be killed by him sooner or later. But looking at these eyes full of hostility, for some reason my mood is still quite good.

  "Can't you give me some notice beforehand? It's so sudden, what if I'm not prepared, it'll be your family that loses face!" I smiled and walked over, sitting down on the wooden railing beside him, taking off my shoes to rub my sore instep.

  "Aren't you confident? This is exactly my girlfriend's task." He raised the corner of his mouth, and there was a color in his eyes that I couldn't read.

  "Whatever, I just hope this can slightly alleviate your mom's prejudice against me and make up for my mistakes." I looked down at my feet and said casually, "Now it's your turn to communicate with her properly, I've already saved enough face for you."

  He didn't say anything else, with only the beautiful music and the noise of people's voices in my ears. A pair of black high-heeled leather shoes entered my line of sight, stopped in front of me with its head turned towards me, I lifted my head along it, and saw Auntie's indifferent face, she was looking at me with her arms crossed over her chest.

  "Ah...... Aunt! I'm really sorry about what happened in the room just now! Please don't be angry with me because of Shu Yu!" I quickly got up and signaled to him at the same time.

  Her expression remained unchanged, as if I was air talking to her, and nothing could affect her mood.

  "Mom, I'm sorry, but I still mean what I said. Please respect my choice." After a pause, Yu also stood up, still speaking politely, his eyes firm.

  "A Yu, I have something to discuss with Miss Lu alone, you go ahead first." She ignored A Yu's words, her tone was light and her piercing eyes were fixed on me.