Lu Nan walked in from the side table area and saw three identical small wine cups arranged on the coffee table in front of the sofa. With her back to everyone, she tasted them one by one from left to right. 

After swirling the first cup on the left and taking a careful sip, Lu Nan said without hesitation, “This is Yuan Chuan’s Classic Fifteen-Year-Old wine, named ‘Heavenly Fragrance and National Beauty.’ It has a rich aroma and clings well to the glass.” 

After setting down the empty glass, she tasted the middle one, nodded, and said, “This glass contains Yuan Chuan’s Classic Ten-Year-Old wine, ‘Boundless Heroic Spirit’. It has a sweet and fresh taste with a smooth finish.” 

She then smiled and said, “The remaining glass naturally contains Yuan Chuan’s Classic Liquor, the Twenty-Year-Old “Dream of Han and Tang Dynasties”. Since the base liquor is aged longer, its color is slightly more yellow than the other two.” 

As she spoke, the people at the table behind her were examining the color of the liquor in their glasses—they were drinking the twenty-year aged wine today. However, the lighting in the private dining room had a warm tone, making it difficult to distinguish the color. 

At this moment, Lu Nan said, “You can use a white napkin as a background to better observe the color of the wine.” 

Chen Xiao, who was about to remind everyone, smiled and nodded while holding a napkin. 

Everyone then realized this and used white napkins as a background. Indeed, with the pure white background for comparison, the slightly yellowish color of the wine became more noticeable. 

“This slightly yellow color is the result of the interaction between microorganisms and aromatic substances in the wine. The older the wine, the more pronounced the color,” Lu Nan explained with a smile. 

Then, she turned around, holding a small cup of the 20-year liquor in her right hand while covering her face with her left. She downed it in one go and then flipped the cup over to show that not a single drop remained. “It has a rich and layered taste, with the unique fragrance of sauce-flavored liquor lingering. The taste of this type of liquor isn’t for everyone, but for those who love it, it’s truly irresistible.”  

“She got every one right!” 

“Impressive!” 

The flirtatious atmosphere created by Meng Lusi’s earlier toast, when she had playfully suggested a cross-arm toast, had completely vanished. The conversation at the table was now entirely focused on the three Yuan Chuan Classic liquors. 

Everyone at the table clearly remembered the names of the three types of Yuan Chuan’s classic liquor. Although they didn’t remember the exact description for each, they did recall the light-yellow color of the twenty-year-aged wine. 

Right then, one of the attending leaders even offered to introduce Mr. Yang to some contacts for event liquor procurement. While it was just an introduction with no guarantee of success, it was enough to pleasantly surprise Mr. Yang. 

Liu Yuhan and Meng Lusi were also pleased because they knew Lu Nan was from Yuan Chuan Distillery and there was no direct competition for shipments between them. In other words, Lu Nan’s presentation tonight actually created a good opportunity for them to boost their sales performance. 

At this point, Meng Lusi was starting to feel some admiration. This Manager Lu may be young, but her professionalism is truly impeccable. Take me, for example—I’ve been drinking for years, and I can barely distinguish between fragrance types, and even that isn’t always accurate. But she’s on a whole different level!  

At this point, someone had to be the stepping stone. Meng Lusi thought, ‘A glass of twenty-year aged liquor, though at 53 degrees, is still good liquor, and I won’t be at a losing out.’ She then stood up, accepting the bet, and raised her glass to both Leader A and Lu Nan, ready to down it in one gulp.

However, Lu Nan simply took a wet napkin from a passing server and wiped her hands before smiling. “It’s just a small trick. If Manager Meng drinks a few more times, she’ll be able to do it too. So instead of letting you take all the credit, why don’t we split this drink? Let’s invite our esteemed guests here to raise their glasses together—for our gathering today and for Dream of the Han and Tang Dynasties! Cheers!” 

The atmosphere had reached this point, and with Lu Nan being the center of attention, everyone naturally agreed to whatever she said. 

Meng Lusi watched as Lu Nan walked over and poured half of the wine from her glass—though it was only half, it still amounted to two taels. When Lu Nan calmly drank it all in one go, Meng Lusi completely realized that she had clearly underestimated Manager Lu. 

… 

At the end of the event, Mr. Yang said to Chen Xiao, “Manager Lu is really outstanding and professional!” Then he turned to Lu Nan and said, “Manager Lu, you must teach Xiao Liu and Xiao Meng the skills you demonstrated tonight.” 

Lu Nan smiled and said, “There’s nothing much to teach. What I said at the performance meeting was just the truth. Manager Liu and Manager Meng, after tasting more of Yuan Chuan’s wine, will naturally be able to distinguish it.” 

“Ah, but that’s different. Even if they can tell, they don’t have your rich and elegant vocabulary to describe it. I think they still need to study professional knowledge properly,” Mr. Yang said seriously.  

“Of course, helping key account managers improve their professional skills is part of my job,” Lu Nan nodded with a smile. 

Chen Xiao witnessed everything. Though he didn’t know why Lu Nan seemed so experienced at the dinner table, it was clear she had the ability to independently organize and participate in performance meetings, as if she were born for this job. 

Lu Nan impressed everyone with her professionalism, so when she declined Leader A’s invitation to the second half of the event at the hotel entrance, Meng Lusi honestly came over to smooth things over. 

Everyone was a mature and respectable person in society. After Leader A had invited her twice without success, with Meng Lusi offering a smile and Mr. Yang steering the conversation to another topic, he decided to take the hint and let it go. 

… 

Today, Chen Xiao was fortunate. Either because the leaders invited by Mr. Yang were very important to him, or perhaps because the Yuan Chuan manufacturer had already made enough of an impression at the event. Either way, Mr. Yang didn’t insist on Chen Xiao attending the second half of the event. 

In the taxi, only the radio was playing, with the soft melodies of old Cantonese songs. 

After two or three minutes of silence, Lu Nan looked at the streetlights passing by, one after another. She was calculating that after she got home and finished washing up, it would probably be around eleven o’clock. If she hurried, she might still manage to write another chapter while drying her hair.  

Suddenly, Chen Xiao, sitting in the front passenger seat, spoke up. “You did well tonight. The wine tasting part… was thoughtful.” It was clear that only someone with a naturally sharp sense of taste, combined with careful observation, could have pulled off such an impressive performance. He was genuinely curious—how many other skills did Lu Nan have? 

Lu Nan shrugged and accepted the compliment calmly. 

She was actually tempted to reply, “It’s a shame this skill can’t be replaced by someone else,” but thinking about it, since she had already been paid, she felt she should maintain “professional ethics” and quietly swallowed that rather sharp remark. 

Chen Xiao still felt a bit guilty about what had happened, but if he kept dwelling on it, that guilt might turn into irritation.

With that thought in mind, Lu Nan shifted to a completely safe topic and decided to tease him instead, “Don’t you need to go to the second half of the event tonight, Brother Xiao?” 

Chen Xiao turned around from the front seat and gave her a sidelong glance. “You seem a bit disappointed?”

“Not really, just asking casually,” Lu Nan gave him a “you know what I mean” look, “After all, Meng Lusi went through a lot of effort just to sit next to you.” 

Chen Xiao rubbed his forehead. Both of them knew that Meng Lusi’s behavior at the banquet probably had some ulterior motives. Wanting to sit next to him was just the most obvious sign. The deeper reason was that Liu Yuhan and Meng Lusi, who had been in society for many years, looked down on Lu Nan, the so-called “superior.” However, no matter how you looked at it, Chen Xiao’s excessive attention to his colleague (Lu Nan) during the banquet was the main reason the event almost went out of control. 

In such situations: 

If Lu Nan had drunk the toast with Leader A, she would have lost her advantage as a representative of the Yuan Chuan wine manufacturer, and Liu Yuhan and Meng Lusi would have definitely put pressure on her, making her their subordinate. At that point, Mr. Yang might not be willing to speak up for her anymore. Although Mr. Yang was a principled person, having an extra free key account manager for social engagements was definitely something he would appreciate. 

If Lu Nan had firmly rejected drinking with Leader A, she would have offended him and made things difficult for Mr. Yang. This could have damaged the cooperation between Yuan Chuan and Feixiang, and Feixiang might not be willing to invite people from Yuan Chuan to future events. They might even request to change the contact person with the city office, giving Dong Hui a chance to take over. That would have been disastrous for Lu Nan. 

But Lu Nan had managed to find a third, best option. 

It’s fortunate she had such skills; otherwise, her future work would be even more challenging. 

Thinking about this, Chen Xiao began to hesitate about whether he should apologize to Lu Nan for Meng Lusi’s behavior. But how should he apologize? 

Should I say, “I’ll be more careful next time to avoid causing trouble’?” or “Should I mention that I’ll be more mindful in my interactions with the major clients at the distributor?” 

Those words sounded strange, not quite like something a superior would say to a subordinate. 

As he was struggling with this, Lu Nan suddenly laughed, “I’m just kidding. This issue is Meng Lusi’s personal behavior and has nothing to do with you, Brother Xiao.” 

Chen Xiao sighed in relief, “I’ll still be involved in the next meeting, but after that, you’ll need to handle it independently. Do you find it challenging? Do you need a partner?” 

Lu Nan shook her head, “Meng Lusi is a smart person. After tonight, she won’t bother me again. Similarly, Liu Yuhan won’t either.” She then addressed the second question, “Feixiang already has two key account managers. One from our side is just right. Adding another key account manager might lead to issues. If Meng Lusi tries to pull them into drinking with their clients, should I intervene or just observe?” 

Chen Xiao thought for a moment. The only reserve key account manager for the classic wine group purchase department was Dong Hui, and he remembered her bold drinking behavior at previous internal office wine parties and the last Wanghai City banquet. 

He could see why Lu Nan was worried. 

Even Liu Tao had commented that Dong Hui was a strong-willed person with an aggressive look in her eyes. Whether she could get along with Fei Xiang’s two key account managers was indeed a concern. More importantly, it seemed like Lu Nan and Dong Hui didn’t quite get along either… It’s better not to get involved. 

Chen Xiao nodded and said, “Then try handling it on your own for now. When you report this month’s expenses at the beginning of next month, I’ll review them for you again.” 

“Alright, Brother Xiao. I’ve arrived.” The taxi first stopped at the entrance of the Xinguang Yipin, and Lu Nan got out.  

At the third tasting event, Meng Lusi indeed didn’t cause any trouble. Chen Xiao observed, and Lu Nan was able to effectively manage the pace of the banquet on behalf of Mr. Yang. After that, he didn’t participate anymore. What Chen Xiao didn’t know was that Lu Nan had already almost won over the two key account managers.  

The above is something that happened later. For now, let’s focus on the days following the second small event. Lu Nan was invited to train Liu Meng and the others again. After the training, Meng Lusi chatted with Lu Nan casually. “Your boss, Manager Chen, isn’t coming to the tasting sessions anymore?” 

Lu Nan nodded, “He’ll probably come once more, but unless there are special circumstances, he won’t come again. Lusi, do you only like Brother Xiao and dislike me?” 

Meng Lusi, who was a head taller than Lu Nan, smoothly rested her arm on Lu Nan’s shoulder. With her head close to Lu Nan’s ear, she whispered, “If you were a guy, I’d definitely like you too. After all, you look quite handsome when you drink.” 

Her breath brushed against Lu Nan’s ear. 

It was a sensitive spot for Lu Nan and felt a bit ticklish. 

Are you playing with me? Do you think I’m scared? However, Lu Nan remained calm and turned his head, her nose almost touching Meng Lusi’s. Their faces were only about five centimeters apart. With a glimmer in her eyes, she flirted and said, “Miss, don’t be so strict about gender.” 

Meng Lusi, who had intended to tease Lu Nan, turned red instantly. She was a bit caught off guard and stammered, “Wh-what? Don’t be so strict?” 

Lu Nan’s gaze instantly regained clarity. She straightened her back, stepped back ten centimeters, and took off Meng Lusi’s hair tie. “I said, don’t tie your hair so tightly; it will cause your hairline to recede.” She then tilted her head and smiled at Liu Yuhan, waving goodbye, “Mr. Yang said there’s a performance meeting tomorrow. See you tomorrow night.” 

After Lu Nan left the small meeting room, Meng Lusi, with her hair loosened and holding the hair tie, couldn’t believe it. “Was she just… flirting with me?” 

Liu Yuhan spoke objectively, “You were the one who made the first move.” 

“So I was the one getting flirted with?” Meng Lusi pointed at her own nose. “Let me tell you, this Lu Nan is really something. Just now, when she was staring at me and saying sweet words, my heart actually started racing!!!” 

“You could say you tried to steal the chicken and ended up losing the rice.” Plastic sisters are just that sharp-tongue