Sweat began to bead on Zhang Haoliang’s forehead.
Ahem! “President Wang… he really likes to joke around.”
“……” Everyone was speechless.
Meanwhile, the livestream chat had already exploded:
“WTF! It really was a 2009!?”
“Damn, swapped the label and sold it as ‘99…”
“Wait—this scam’s from Lafite’s national distributor? Are there any real bottles on the market?”
“Honestly, this is already ‘good.’ Over 95% of Lafite sold in the market is fake. At least they gave him real wine. 99% of people wouldn’t know the difference…”
“Then what’s up with Liu Lang? Dude didn’t even look at the bottle, just took two sips and pegged the vintage.”
“Does he drink it often or something??”
“Uhhh… now I’m curious…”
Just like the netizens, everyone present was now staring at Liu Lang with a mix of shock and curiosity.
Among them, Liu Tianxian’s expression was the most complex.
Looking at Liu Lang, her eyes sparkled suspiciously.
And then, out of nowhere, a silent alarm went off in her heart.
Oh no… What if… out of all the people we could’ve chosen… we picked the wrong one?
Could he be… that guy??
A flicker of fear flashed through her mind—but her face gave nothing away. She kept her calm and smiled sweetly at Liu Lang.
“Impressive! How’d you tell?”
“The colour difference is minimal—almost impossible to spot with the naked eye. But the taste, there’s a very subtle variation. Mainly in elasticity, acidity, and the complexity of the fruit aromas…”
With the memory crystal-clear in his soul, Liu Lang’s face softened into a nostalgic look. He shared the knowledge the old winemaker had once imparted to him, along with his own insight and memories.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The entire room—and even the livestream audience—was suddenly as quiet as a classroom full of grade-schoolers hanging onto every word of their teacher.
Except for Zhang Haoliang and his two companions—who looked like they’d swallowed flies—everyone else seemed oddly at peace.
The panic in Liu Tianxian’s heart was slowly replaced by curiosity.
At that moment, she really wanted to ask:
“Who the hell are you?”
But what came out instead was:
“You… really like red wine?”
“Hell no. It tastes awful. I’d rather drink Beibingyang soda.” Liu Lang pulled a face.
Pfft! Liu Tianxian laughed.
“Then how do you know so much?”
“Well…” Liu Lang hesitated, then sighed.
“I’ve got a decent memory.”
“Memory?” Liu Tianxian looked confused.
“Back then, my family took me on a trip to that winery. We tasted some rare vintages, and this old guy rambled on forever about how to tell them apart… left a real impression.” Liu Lang looked off into the distance, lost in thought.
“Wait, what? The Lafite winery lets tourists visit?” Dilraba turned to Yang Mi, curious.
“No clue. Never been there.” Yang Mi shrugged and started thinking.
Everyone seemed a bit unclear about this.
But someone clearly knew more—
“That old guy was…?” Zhang Haoliang asked urgently.
“How would I know?” Liu Lang replied casually. “His name was weird—sounded like a luxury car or something.”
“La… Lafargue??” Zhang Haoliang’s voice quivered ever so slightly.
“Hey? You know him?” Liu Lang asked in surprise.
“（￣口￣）！！”
Zhang Haoliang didn’t respond.
His face paled dramatically.
He stared at Liu Lang, eyes wide, mouth slightly open—like he had just seen or heard something utterly mind-blowing.
On the other side of the screen, a man was watching the livestream, stunned.
A woman beside him asked curiously,
“When did he go on that trip? I don’t remember.”
“Two years ago…”
“??”
“That year, the Chairman had planned a diplomatic visit to France. One stop included a tour of top wineries. When I got wind of it, I flew ahead—tried to buy out Lafite. Brought the brat with me and told him it was a family vacation.”
“Oh, so that’s what happened… Wait, didn’t the Chairman not visit Lafite in the end?”
“Nope. The Rothschilds pulled some underhanded moves, jacked up the price. Romanée-Conti was backed by the Vatican, so in the end, we had to settle for Château Margaux—the third-best option.”
“No wonder. That castle was so pretty. I thought it was chosen for the scenery. Didn’t realize there was a whole story behind it.” The woman then asked again,
“So who was that old guy?”
“The legendary winemaker of Lafite. He’s long retired and out of the public eye. Very few people know about him anymore.”
“No wonder he gave such a detailed explanation.” The woman nodded.
“That’s not even the important part. Damn… two whole years later, and he still remembers every word, every sip…”
The man stared at the screen, deeply moved.
“Of course!” the woman said proudly. “I’ve always said—our son may not say much, but he remembers every little moment with his family.”
The man didn’t reply.
He just continued to stare at the screen—
As if he was meeting his son for the first time.
“Who are you, really!?” Zhang Haoliang suddenly blurted out at Liu Lang.
“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” Liu Lang was confused.
“??” Everyone looked at Zhang Haoliang, puzzled by his strange reaction.
Zhang Haoliang quickly composed himself and laughed awkwardly.
“I’m just curious how you ended up touring that place.”
“Oh, my family was thinking of getting into the wine business. So we combined a vacation with a bit of hands-on learning.” Liu Lang replied casually.
“Ah, so your family’s in the alcohol business. Makes sense.”
Yang Mi and the others nodded in realization.
Zhang Haoliang didn’t ask anything further.
But in his eyes, a deep wariness had begun to take root.
Liu Tianxian’s gaze flickered constantly as she looked at Liu Lang.
“You haven’t really introduced yourself, have you?”
“Not much to say, honestly…” Liu Lang sighed and gave a quick rundown:
“Family’s alright. I sucked at school. After high school, the fam pinched every penny to send me to the U.S. for college. Barely scraped through and made it back. Now I’m basically in the ‘waiting-for-a-job’ stage.”
“Really?” Liu Tianxian giggled.
“C’mon, what was I supposed to do? Lie about being some rich heir just to get a date? Besides, my surname doesn’t even match!” Liu Lang threw up his hands.
Pffft!! Liu Tianxian and the others couldn’t hold back their laughter.
Liu Lang, however, didn’t laugh.
His expression turned thoughtful.
In that moment, a new notification popped up in his mind:
【Ding! Impressive comeback! Reward: Level 1 Memory Experience Card x1】
Nice. A surprise bonus!
This one… totally worth it.
On the other side of the screen, the man spit out his tea.
The woman beside him laughed so hard she was crying:
“Old Liu! Your son’s thinking of changing his surname and adopting those three as dads!”
“That’s slander!” the man’s face darkened.
“Right? Why those guys? Out of all the people in the world, he wants to be the son of three guys who owe our family money…” the woman said with mock seriousness.
“Stop. You’re twisting my words!” the man groaned.
“Haha! Honestly though, it’s your fault. You never taught him about money properly growing up.” She teased.
The man fell silent for a moment.
Then he sighed:
“Maybe… But at some point, money stopped mattering to me. All these years, I’ve only done what I wanted—and what I felt I should do.”
The woman said nothing.
She simply nodded.
Then turned her attention back to the screen—
At that moment, the show was starting to play Liu Lang’s personal intro segment.
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