Chapter 269
“An old man and a young girl, really quite a comical sight.”
“Could that Yasmine really have lost it, dancing with a beggar like that?”
“Shh, keep it down. Those who come to these wine tasting events aren’t ordinary people, don’t speak out of turn.”
“Looking at his tattered clothes, he doesn’t seem like anyone important.”
Under the spotlight, Yonas and Irene were waltzing. Irene’s hand rested gently on his shoulder as she gazed at his handsome face, momentarily dazed, because those eyes were not looking at her, but at Yasmine.
Not far away, Yasmine was dancing with an elderly gentleman. Although time had turned his hair white, it couldn’t diminish his upright posture. Through the tunnel of time, she almost glimpsed the young man he once was.
Something’s not right! Irene suddenly looked at Yonas, and those eyes held a subtle smile. That old gentleman was definitely not a beggar! He was….
The orchestral performance filled the air with the waltz, and for the first time, Yasmine saw such a serious expression on the old gentleman’s face. His head was lowered as he looked at her, as if trying to peer into another soul through her. At this moment, he was nothing like his usual humorous self when commenting on the wines or the childish manner he had with Lucy. Through the seams of time, she seemed to see the grace of the man he once was.
“When I was young, I attended a ball. I was just a kid, never seen anything like it before, feeling shy and too timid to speak. Then she appeared in front of me and pulled me to dance. I’ll never forget how bright her smile was the first time I saw it,” the old gentleman recounted to himself.
Yasmine appropriately chimed in, “Did you fall in love with her?”
“No, at that time I wasn’t good at dancing at all. I kept stepping on her feet. Everyone at the venue was laughing at me. I thought, someday I’ll learn the waltz well and ask her to dance again.”
“Did you succeed!
The old man continued, “No, she can never dance again.”
Yasmine stayed quiet, unsure of what to ask, whether she should ask if she had passed away.
“Young lady, you remind me so much of her when she was young. Even the things you say when tasting wine are similar.” The old man’s eyes grew even softer.
“Maybe I could have been good friends with her,” Yasmine said.
“That’s probably not possible now. She’s gone,” the old man said.
As the music ended, his once straight back suddenly slouched again, making Yasmine wonder if it was on purpose.
Back at his seat, he seemed like a different person. He walked over to Lucy again, “Hey young one, don’t think about running off. Now, tell me which wine here is your favorite.”
Lucy glanced at the bottle he was cradling, licking her lips, “The one you’re holding.”
The old man immediately hugged the bottle tight, “No way! Do you know how much this wine costs?”
“I don’t care, you asked me,” Lucy swiftly snatched the bottom of the bottle.
Both of them held onto the wine, and the old man protected it as not to spill, “You’re bullying an old man!”
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14:26 Mon, Nov 4
Chapter 269
Lucy turned red, “You’re not respecting the young!”
Yasmine quickly stopped Lucy. “Alright, stop it, this bottle of wine costs hundreds of thousands. Just one sip is several thousands. I saw that the old gentleman already let you have several sips earlier.”
02%
Lucy finally put down the bottle, looking a bit shocked at this plainly dressed old gentleman and the ordinary–looking wine bottle. “Really? It’s worth that much?” she questioned, hardly believing it. Although the Lynch family was quite wealthy, Uncle Donovan would never spend that kind of money on a bottle of wine, nor would Lucy ever dream of buying one so expensive.
Yasmine glanced around the hall–a towering mountain of wine glasses, corners filled with all sorts of wine bottles, many with unique designs, some quite expensive, but no one would actually bring out a wine worth millions for people to taste.
“Haven’t seen anything like this before, huh? The wines you can buy on the market aren’t considered too rare to collect. The truly top–notch wines have long been hidden away in cellars by those who know their worth. Not too long ago, the Grandeur Auction Assembly sold a bottle of Romanée–Conti for 500 thousand dollars. I was envious for a long time, but there was nothing I could do since I found out about it too late,” the old gentleman said wistfully, his expression of regret not feigned.
“Mr. Chavez, this bottle of wine is at my home. A while ago, my grandpa and Yonas drank half of it together, and the remaining half is in the wine cellar. It’s a top–notch vintage from 1945. Why don’t I invite you to finish the other half?” Irene’s bright and cheerful smile was hard to resist.
Yasmine slightly lifted her head. Irene stood in front of the old gentleman, with Yonas following behind.
<Mr. Chavez?> Yasmine seemed to have heard that name before.
Bernard slowly turned around, still carefully guarding that precious bottle of red wine in his hands. “Irene, I don’t drink leftover wine. I don’t lack a sip of wine.”
Usually, when people heard Bernard say something like that, they would realize they spoke out of line. But Irene maintained a gentle smile, speaking graciously, “Mr. Chavez, my grandpa has a lot of good wines stored up, even some ten times better than Romanée–Conti. I just mentioned that to entice you over to taste Mr. Lewis’s collection.”
A glint flashed in Bernard’s eyes, and he suddenly chuckled, “You little rascal, spilling the beans like that! If your grandpa knew, he’d probably be furious.”
“Mr. Chavez, if my grandpa knew I was inviting you, he’d be thrilled,” Irene said, not missing a beat.
“A wine better than Romanée–Conti? What could that be?” Bernard looked forward expectantly.
“Howling Eagle Cabernet, the king of wines, the most enigmatic wine from the Golden Coast. Grandpa got a few bottles of the introductory ’92 Howling Eagle and stored them deep in the cellar. Haven’t you ever wanted to try it, Bernard?” Irene’s eyes sparkled with confidence and assurance. Thanks to Howling Eagle’s reputation, no wine enthusiast can resist its allure, and no wine collector would willingly miss out on a ’92 Howling Eagle.
Lucy quietly sidled up to Yasmine and whispered in her ear, “She dares to bring out the most basic wine.”
Yasmine shook her head. “You don’t understand what that means. Back in the day, Panorama Valley’s most popular wine consultant joined Howling Eagle, blending Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with a dash of Cab Franc to create the first batch of Howling Eagle wine. The purest of those, the entry–level ones, have a top–tier taste. Knowing Bernard’s passion for wine, he would definitely want to try it.
“Sure, but let’s finish the tasting first. The real treasures are still to come,” Bernard chuckled.
Irene nodded in agreement.
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