Chapter 30 Guan Junshan Tricking Him Like This

Chapter 30: Guan Junshan Is Playing Him Like This

Lin Haoda grabbed the handrail and headed down the stairs. The steps were deep, very narrow, barely wide enough for one person, and each step let out a creaking sound.

The last step was a bit high off the ground. Lin Haoda jumped down, and the wall sconces flickered faintly twice.

"Is this the wine cellar?"

"Yes." Yang Yue walked over to the dark oak barrels, pointing at the exposed bottoms. "Each barrel here has a number. If you're curious, Mr. Lin, you can try some."

Lin Haoda stood politely on the outer side, glancing down quietly for a moment, then shook his head. "Better not. It took so long to store them up till now."

Yang Yue smiled, easing his concerns. "It's fine. This is just one of the cellars. During regular tours, we do this kind of activity too."

A blond, blue-eyed winemaker accompanied them. Yang Yue nodded to him, and the winemaker stepped past Lin Haoda to expertly twist open the valve.

A fruity fermented scent drifted through the humid air, mixed with a faint sour note. Lin Haoda focused on the winemaker's pouring motion. The wine, not yet fully matured, had a beautiful pale red color and a rich aroma. Lin Haoda wasn't good with alcohol, so he only dared to take a tiny sip.

The acidity hit stronger than the sweet aftertaste. His lips tingled, and he stuck out his tongue. Yang Yue and the winemaker glanced at each other and couldn't help laughing.

Crossing the vast cellar, Yang Yue pushed open a door. Inside was a more classically decorated room, with three walls lined with connected walnut cabinets displaying various bottled wine products, already sealed.

Each bottle had a label with the vintage and variety. Lin Haoda wandered around, and the winemaker followed him. When they passed a certain cabinet, the winemaker pulled out a bottle from the slotted shelf and examined it carefully against the ceiling light.

He stood there for a few minutes, then walked to the glass cabinet in the center of the room, set the bottle down, and turned back toward the door.

Lin Haoda walked over and asked Yang Yue, who was standing nearby, "What is he doing?"

Yang Yue picked up the bottle, wiped the dust off the label, said nothing, and handed it over.

Lin Haoda took it and saw two lines of text: the top line was the vintage—this bottle was ten years old; the bottom line was longer, probably the type of grape variety. It was too technical for Lin Haoda to understand.

Seeing the winemaker return from outside, Lin Haoda hastily put the bottle back in its place.

The two exchanged a brief conversation in French, which Lin Haoda didn't understand. When it ended, the winemaker pulled a corkscrew from his toolkit. Lin Haoda quickly spoke up, "Why open another bottle? I don't really drink. Don't waste it."

Yang Yue didn't answer or stop him. Lin Haoda stood under the light, watching the corkscrew pierce the cork. With a pop, air rushed in, and the cork was pulled out.

The winemaker poured a small glass first, tasted it, then let out an impressed exclamation. The second glass was pushed to Yang Yue, who raised his hand, signaling Lin Haoda to taste first.

Lin Haoda had little relevant knowledge or concept of wine tasting and still only dared to take a careful sip. Clearly, this bottle was more mature and of higher quality—a ruby-like flowing color, clean and sweet on entry, with a faint woody note in the aftertaste, like a gentle spring breeze softly brushing every corner of Lin Haoda's mouth.

No bitterness, only lingering fragrance. Unknowingly, he finished an entire glass of wine.

Then Yang Yue suddenly spoke: "This cellar is all Mr. Guan's private collection. The bottle in your hand was one he made before going abroad to study."

Lin Haoda gripped the empty glass, momentarily at a loss for words. After a quiet two seconds, he blinked belatedly and said, "Then... it's not really okay that we just opened it and drank it without permission, is it?"

Yang Yue smiled and cleared his throat, pointing at a surveillance camera on the ceiling. "Mr. Lin, rest assured, it's not exactly without permission."

Lin Haoda followed his gaze, stared at the dark camera lens for a moment, then called out, "Mr. Guan," wished him "a happy Thursday," and added sycophantically, "Thank you for treating me to such expensive wine!" He almost bowed.

The camera moved, rotating around the room. Lin Haoda took another half glass, this time guiltily turning his back.

But he soon calmed down. After all, he hadn't stolen it himself. He just wondered whether Guan Junshan, behind the screen, had received his heartfelt greeting.

After leaving the cellar, Lin Haoda got back into the sightseeing car they had arrived in.

Yang Yue drove him around the winery, giving a rough introduction to each building and vineyard. At first, Lin Haoda thought the entire winery belonged to Guan Junshan and was too shocked to speak. Only later, when Yang Yue said Guan Junshan only owned part of the winery's equity, did his mood settle a bit.

Around noon, the sun was strong—not the best time for a vineyard tour—so Yang Yue drove him back to the front hall. As soon as he got out of the car, his phone rang. Lin Haoda answered, "Hello?"

"Lin Haoda!" Manager Wang scolded on the other end. "Where have you been? Why couldn't I get through to you?"

Lin Haoda paused for a few seconds and told him, "I was in the wine cellar just now. Probably no signal."

"How can you be messing around everywhere?" Manager Wang said aggressively, as if Lin Haoda's brief disappearance had caused a huge problem. "If this deal falls through, pack your things and get out!"

"What happened?" Lin Haoda was slightly surprised, barely containing his irritation. "I'm coming up now."

After hanging up, he turned to Yang Yue and explained, "Sorry, there's an issue with the client. Could you tell Mr. Guan that I need to reschedule lunch for another day?"

"Of course."

Yang Yue nodded at him, glanced at the stairs, and asked, "Second floor? Need me to go up with you?"

Lin Haoda was anxious and didn't hear him clearly. He rushed up the stairs first. Strangely, this time, the two security guards didn't stop him.

The wooden floor was covered with carpet, and his footsteps made soft sounds, just like the cellar steps. Lin Haoda walked down the long corridor, finally stopping at the only carved wooden door at the end.

He knocked, and after getting permission, slowly pushed the door open. Bright light from the room spilled out, falling at his feet. Lin Haoda took a few nervous deep breaths and stepped inside.

Through the entrance, he entered the meeting room. The decor was vintage, similar in style to Guan Junshan's private wine cellar. Lin Haoda turned and saw Manager Wang sitting on the sofa, a pile of project proposals scattered beside him, his expression somewhat unpleasant.

"Manager," Lin Haoda walked over and asked, "What's going on?"

"The client isn't satisfied." He looked up at Lin Haoda, shifting the blame first. "Not to criticize you, but you've been working here this long and can't even write a decent proposal?"

"What's wrong with it?" Lin Haoda frowned, no longer in the mood for hypocrisy. "You were the one who insisted on meeting the client!"

"Shh, shh!" Manager Wang immediately raised a finger to his lips and shot him a look. "Keep your voice down! Quiet!"

Lin Haoda stood by the sofa for a few seconds, watching his cautious, hushed manner, which was both odd and ridiculous. He forced back a surge of anger. The room fell silent. Neither spoke. Then Lin Haoda heard muffled voices. He looked up and saw someone on a balcony through a door, making a phone call.

A half figure was reflected on the frosted glass. Lin Haoda stared for a while, his mood calming down. He asked again, "What's he dissatisfied with?"

Manager Wang's face darkened. His mouth opened and closed, and after struggling for half a minute, he finally told the truth:

"He asked me how I knew to send white eustoma."

Lowering his voice, he swore, "Right. How the hell should I know?"

After two or three minutes, the talking stopped.

Lin Haoda heard the door push open. He exhaled, stood up from the sofa, holding a neatly reorganized set of proposals, walked over, and took the initiative: "Sorry, I can explain about the flower delivery."

A pair of black shoes appeared in his view. The other person reached out, took a photocopied sheet from his hand, and remained silent for a long time.

As he moved, a faint breeze carried a familiar aftershave scent.

"Manager Lin," the other finally said, returning the paper. "What a coincidence."

Lin Haoda's expression changed. He belatedly looked up, stared at him for a full minute, and said nothing.

The room was suffocatingly silent.

Guan Junshan stood in the sunlight, arms casually crossed, eyes fixed on him. His tone was calm: "What is it?"

Today he wore a ruby-red shirt, no tie, the silk fabric shimmering in the sunlight, rippling with fine textures in the breeze.

Lin Haoda knew he couldn't overdo it, so he lowered his voice, but couldn't get the words out. He felt a faint numbness in his fingertips, a suffocating tightness in his chest, like a clump of wet cotton weighing him down, dragging his emotions downward, sinking unsteadily.

After a moment, he averted his gaze, and said, "Mr. Guan," then added, "I didn't expect to run into you here."

"It's quite a surprise," Guan Junshan said, his lips twitching into a faint smile, as if continuing the joke. "I thought it was just the same name."

Lin Haoda regretted not drinking all that wine just now. No, that wasn't right—he should have drunk more, poured out half, and taken another bottle.

Yang Yue had said most of the wines in the private cellar were priceless and hard to come by. Since Guan Junshan was messing with him like this, he'd have to waste a few more bottles just to break even.

"What are you thinking about?" Guan Junshan suddenly stepped closer, looking down at him as if seeing through his mischievous thoughts.

"Nothing," Lin Haoda replied, his voice soft and submissive. "My name is very common."

His damp red lips uttered words that made others uncomfortable, completely turning him into the kind of yes-man who had to go along with everything to keep the big client happy: "It's easy to have the same name."

Guan Junshan looked at his face and suddenly lost the urge to get angry. He turned and walked behind his desk, sat down, turned off the light, and said, "Let's start now."

Lin Haoda answered, "Okay," and sat down across from the desk. Then he swiftly opened his laptop and connected to the projector.