Chapter 25

"Come on, everyone, sit down. The drinks here are great, you all have to try them."

Eric acted like he owned the place, waving his hand elegantly as he guided everyone.

Many people had been eager to start, and as soon as Eric finished speaking, they quickly took their seats.

"Sophia, sit here."

Eric pointed to the seat next to him and said to Sophia.

"Thanks, but no need. I'm fine sitting here."

Sophia shook her head gently, then sat down next to Jack.

The moment Sophia sat down, Abby immediately took the seat on Jack's other side. In an instant, Jack was surrounded by two beautiful women.

Seeing this, Eric's eyes darkened immediately, and the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

By all rights.

He should have been the star of this gathering.

But whether it was Sophia or Abby, they both revolved around Jack, which made Eric look bad.

However, Eric didn't lose his temper right away. He just added another layer to his hatred for Jack.

"Waiter."

Eric snapped his fingers crisply and said to the server at the bar, "Go get the most expensive wine from that cabinet over there."

"Yes, sir."

Two servers dressed in crisp tailcoats bowed in response, their movements perfectly synchronized, and turned to get the wine from the bar.

Soon enough.

They brought back several bottles of champagne, gleaming with luxurious golden light.

"This is the Black Gold Ace of Spades, limited supply, tastes great. Everyone must try it." Eric picked up a bottle, his fingertips brushing over the cold surface, but his eyes looked past everyone, challengingly meeting Jack's gaze.

The surrounding classmates let out gasps of amazement.

"Wow, Black Gold Ace of Spades! I heard one bottle costs tens of thousands of dollars!"

"Eric, you're spending way too much!"

"I've only seen this wine in magazines; finally getting to see it in person today!"

Hearing everyone's flattery, Eric's face showed even more satisfaction.

He opened a bottle, poured the liquid into a glass, then walked up to Jack and held the glass out to him.

"Jack, come on, try this wine." Eric's tone carried a hint of provocation. "I drink this wine all the time. I wonder, Jack, have you ever had it?"

Jack looked up, gazing at Eric calmly, his eyes as deep as the ocean.

He calmly took the glass and drained it in one gulp.

After tasting it, he said, "It's okay."

As a military man, Jack wasn't much of a drinker, but he'd had his share of alcohol.

On the day of his promotion to three-star general, at the celebration banquet, he had sampled famous wines from around the world.

Any wine he drank that day was ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times better than this!

"Okay?"

Eric was stunned, thinking to himself, "A country bumpkin is still a country bumpkin. He's probably never had such good wine in his life."

"Putting on airs. This is Black Gold Ace of Spades, and you're saying it's just okay?" A girl next to Eric looked at Jack with disdain.

"He's probably never had any good wine."

"I think so too." The others chimed in.

Facing everyone's mockery, Jack didn't even lift an eyelid. He looked at the Ace of Spades in front of him, his hand gently stroking the glass.

"The quality of wine isn't about the price."

Jack spoke slowly, but his voice had a certain power that made people listen.

"It's about the person drinking it, and their state of mind when drinking."

"For example, on the battlefield, when life and death happen in an instant, even a sip of cheap vodka tastes better than this Ace of Spades."

The private room instantly fell silent.

Everyone looked at Jack, overwhelmed by his presence—an aura that only comes from experiencing life and death. This quality made him completely different from these rich kids who only knew how to party.

Eric's face turned awkward. He hadn't expected that his carefully prepared show-off would be deflected by Jack's casual remark, which even turned into a counterattack.

He could only say jealously, "You talk like you've actually been on a battlefield."

Jack didn't argue back, didn't even give him a glance. He just quietly looked at the liquid in his glass, as if through this drink, he could see the distant past.

"Alright, let's dance."

Someone suggested.

"Yeah, yeah!"

Music suddenly filled the air, and the atmosphere in the room changed instantly.

To the energetic beat, several guys who had been restless pulled their female companions onto the dance floor and started swaying to the music.

Eric was in his element in this kind of setting. He held his wine glass, moving through the crowd, his every gesture creating an air of carefree confidence.

"Kelly, nice moves."

"Cara, let's have a drink."

Eric flirted skillfully with each girl, and many girls surrounded him, all wanting to get close to him. After all, Eric was not only rich, but also handsome and on the school basketball team.

Naturally, someone like that was popular.

Eric enjoyed the girls' attention, which swept away the frustration he'd felt earlier with Jack. However, when his gaze caught Sophia and Abby still sitting beside Jack in the corner, his smile faded somewhat.

Immediately.

Eric walked away from these girls.

Then he approached Sophia, respectfully extending one hand, and invited her elegantly, "Sophia, may I have this dance?"

Sophia was startled. She looked up to see it was Eric, and without thinking, shook her head in refusal. "Sorry... I don't feel like dancing today."

Eric's expression froze. He'd lost count of how many times Sophia had rejected him.

However, to maintain his persona, Eric didn't get angry. Instead, he showed gentlemanly tolerance.

Then Eric turned his gaze to Abby on the other side. "Abby, since Sophia doesn't want to dance, would you be willing to dance with me?"

Abby held a glass of champagne in her hand. Facing Eric's invitation, she wore a faint smile on her face.

However.

The next moment, Abby also shook her head and said, "Sorry, I don't feel like dancing today either."

Rejected twice in a row.

Eric could no longer maintain his composure, and his expression turned ugly.

He withdrew his outstretched hand, hiding it behind his back where his fingers clenched into a fist, knuckles cracking.

He took a deep breath, trying hard to suppress the anger in his heart, and forced out a stiff smile. "Well, since neither of you beautiful ladies wants to dance, I won't force you."

With that, he turned and strode toward the dance floor, grabbed a drink from a server's tray, and downed it.

"Ungrateful!" he cursed silently. "Sophia, Abby, you'll regret this sooner or later!"

The music on the dance floor remained loud, but Eric could no longer muster any enthusiasm. He looked at the partying crowd, his heart filled with irritation and resentment.