Chapter 320: It's all a scheme

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Lu?"

Cui Ziqing stepped forward politely and asked.

Lu Zhe felt a surge of joy in his heart.

The fish had taken the bait.

"I am. May I ask the surname of such a young, beautiful, and charismatic lady?" Lu Zhe pretended not to know who Cui Ziqing was.

He was attending the event in the capacity of a Sommelier; if he immediately tried to get close to Cui Ziqing and acted like he knew her background, she would surely think he had come prepared.

Naturally, she would raise her psychological defenses.

It was just like the old saying.

High-end hunters often appear in the guise of prey.

Now that Cui Ziqing had taken the initiative to come over and strike up a conversation, in Lu Zhe's eyes, winning her over was all but guaranteed.

It was as easy as reaching into his pocket to retrieve an object.

"My surname is Cui, Cui Ziqing. Our Cui Family is a co-organizer of today's international wine tasting event," Cui Ziqing began, introducing herself.

"So it's Miss Cui."

"I heard of your esteemed name back in Shanghu."

Lu Zhe began to employ his most practiced ruse.

Playing hard to get.

I am using a pick-up technique, but you think it's just a polite remark—little do you know, this is also a technique.

"You're too kind, Mr. Lu. Your status in the wine circle is well-known; how could I dare accept such praise?"

"May I ask if Miss Cui needs something?" Lu Zhe deliberately didn't look at Cui Ziqing, instead casting his gaze elsewhere, appearing as though she were inconsequential to him.

Cui Ziqing's heart was deeply shaken.

In Yezhou, she was known as the eldest princess of the Cui Family.

But in Shanghu, she didn't stand out at all.

As a top Sommelier in the Shanghu wine circle, Lu Zhe possessed the strength and status to completely disregard her.

Cui Ziqing remained neither humble nor pushy.

Besides, it was all just an act; she might as well win Lu Zhe over first.

"Mr. Lu, could we step aside to talk?"

Cui Ziqing extended an invitation to Lu Zhe.

Lu Zhe frowned.

"Miss Cui, if you have something to say, you can just say it directly. Isn't it a bit inappropriate in such a public setting, right in front of so many people?"

Cui Ziqing glanced at the surrounding guests.

She was the eldest princess of the Cui Family; who would dare gossip behind her back?

"It's fine, Mr. Lu. We're just chatting about some wine-related matters; it's no big deal."

"Very well, then."

Lu Zhe acted as though he was doing it reluctantly, following Cui Ziqing towards a quieter corner.

Zhou Shaoqi had been watching the whole time, wanting to chime in several times, but neither Lu Zhe nor Cui Ziqing gave him the chance.

"It's over."

"Another beautiful princess has been taken by this guy Lu Zhe."

Zhou Shaoqi sighed with regret.

Lu Zhe's move had been tempered a thousand times; it worked on all kinds of girls, a classic universal ruse.

Whether you were some great princess, a socialite, or an innocent student, he took them all down.

Lu Zhe became famous in the circle relying on this move.

Just now, the corners of Lu Zhe's mouth had curled up slightly.

Seeing this smile, Zhou Shaoqi knew he had no chance left.

If it weren't for the fact that there were so many people present, he would have wanted to smash the wine glass in his hand.

Damn it.

He hadn't even made a move yet, and he had already lost.

It was truly frustrating.

Sigh.

Zhou Shaoqi was furious and frustrated.

There was no help for it.

Who told him his methods were all so old and slow?

Even though Zhou Shaoqi's methods were old, they were effective!

Combined with his status as a Sommelier, it was simply invincible.

He could sweep a girl off her feet in just a few hours.

On the other side, in a corner of the wine tasting event.

"Miss Cui, if you have something to say, you might as well say it directly."

"My position is clear; you should know that I cannot get too close to wine merchants, otherwise the International Sommelier Association will send people to investigate whether I've accepted bribes."

As soon as Lu Zhe opened his mouth, he shut down whatever Cui Ziqing was going to say.

He knew better than anyone what Cui Ziqing's purpose was in seeking him out: she simply wanted him to say a few kind words about a certain wine at the event and capitalize on those few sentences to build its reputation across Jiuzhou.

Lu Zhe often did this kind of thing.

He accepted massive amounts of money for it, too.

He had engaged in these shady transactions with both domestic and foreign wine merchants.

On the surface, he had always maintained a good disguise and had never been exposed.

He managed matters at the wine events well; basically, he kept half of the money for himself.

The other half, he turned over to the organizers.

Even if something went wrong, the organizers could ensure his safety.

Hearing Lu Zhe's words, Cui Ziqing had no idea where to even begin.

He had completely blocked her intentions right from the start.

It was obvious he wasn't going to give Cui Ziqing any opportunity to use him for publicity.

What could she do now?

There was no way for now.

She could only slowly work on building the relationship.

Rules are rigid, but people are flexible.

As long as people are carbon-based lifeforms, there is no one who cannot be influenced.

"Mr. Lu, look at how you put it; I just wanted to make friends with you."

"Who doesn't know your level of skill? You are hailed as the strongest Sommelier in Jiuzhou, a talent that only appears once in a century."

"I truly admire someone like you—polite and possessing genuine talent. Your palate is irreplaceable; to call you the number one person in Jiuzhou today is not an exaggeration at all."

Cui Ziqing said many flattering words.

Although part of what she said was insincere, in social dealings, how much of what is said is actually true?

There is an old saying that rings very true.

Words spoken at a drinking table—only the wine is real.

Everything else is fake.

The same goes for wine tasting events.

Apart from the numerous wines displayed today being real, if anyone believed half of what was said, she would view them as a novice just entering society.

Cui Ziqing was no fool; she understood this principle.

But then again.

Lu Zhe's words and actions had indeed added quite a bit of favor in Cui Ziqing's heart.

His words matched his actions.

His character was excellent.

It felt like he was a second Zheng Qian.

If she could develop him into a connection for the Cui Family, the Cui Family's business would definitely flourish in the future.

Cui Ziqing could even introduce him to Zheng Qian.

Zheng Qian had said before that he wanted to open the Xunnidi winery within Jiuzhou.

Cui Ziqing's behavior, even if it fell into old clichés, was perfectly normal given the interests of her family and to ensure her younger brother, Cui Jinghui, could smoothly ascend to the position of head of the Cui Family.

She wasn't just doing it for the Cui Family, but even more so for the long-term development of Zheng Qian's winery.

Even if Lu Zhe's sense of justice was extremely strong and he couldn't be won over, she would strive not to make him an enemy.

Otherwise, having spent so much effort getting Xunnidi up and running, it would all be for nothing because of a word or two from a Sommelier.

Not even mentioning Lu Zhe slandering or spreading rumors, even just a single phrase like, "It's very average."

That would be enough to strangle Xunnidi in the cradle.

Conversely, even if Xunnidi really didn't suit his taste, Lu Zhe, out of consideration for her face or Zheng Qian's, wouldn't say anything too harsh.

To open up the market, one must first pass the Sommelier's hurdle.

If one couldn't even pass this hurdle, there was no point in talking about opening up the market or global sales—those were just empty words.