"Never dated, over twenty." Summer Fairmont first pointed at herself, then at Leo Vaughn, using the simplest words to express the clearest refusal.
"Ah, Summer, what are you talking about? My brother hasn't dated over twenty girlfriends. I was just jokingly introducing girls to him. If Cupid's Earth's representative doesn't show up in person, how is he supposed to shoot arrows? Don't misunderstand Artie, and definitely don't misunderstand my tall, rich, and handsome brother—the best in the universe." Artie Vaughn pretended to be a flower, resting her chin on her hand, winking madly at Summer Fairmont.
Summer Fairmont didn't want to continue the topic about Cupid, so she handed Artie a whiskey: "For you."
"Why are you giving me whiskey now? We'll have enough time to mess with alcohol after we meet. Look here first, see this face of the Nation's Gentleman. Isn't it astonishingly handsome? Is this the face of your future husband? The more you look, the more you gain."
"The top of his head." Summer Fairmont and Artie sat in the back seat, Leo Vaughn in the front passenger seat, and unless she made an effort to turn, all Summer could see was the top of his head.
"Don't bother arguing with Artie. The more you tell her don't do something, the more unstoppable she becomes." Leo Vaughn turned and apologized to Summer Fairmont.
The two exchanged a knowing glance and ignored The Pouting Siren.
Artie wanted to say something more, but Summer Fairmont cut her off with just two words: "Get out."
Summer's meaning was clear: either Artie stops her matchmaking or she gets out of the car; this was the choice Summer gave Artie.
"Ah, Summer, don't be like that. In this car are the world's most beautiful woman and the most handsome man. How could you bear to get out?" Artie said this and then rested her head on Summer's shoulder.
She looked like a bird snuggling up, but unfortunately, The Devilish Lolita could never have a dainty frame.
The Vaughn Siblings drove Summer Fairmont back to the city.
Gordon Sterling had a scheduled distillery livestream tonight and couldn't accompany Sean Lowell to the dinner.
People who didn't know better thought the main revenue of Lowe-Fairmont Tipples Fashionable Spirits Co., Ltd. came from the annual Lowe-Fairmont Tipples.
They simply didn't understand what kind of business empire Gordon Sterling was trying to build.
Lowe-Fairmont Tipples is Sean Lowell's "exercise work."
Since it's an exercise, it can't be mass-produced.
Sean Lowell releases one edition of Lowe-Fairmont Tipples a year, but that doesn't mean he's practicing just once a year.
If each exercise were made in dozens or hundreds of tons, it would definitely be deceiving The Dump Me Alliance with something else.
Every edition of Lowe-Fairmont Tipples is only 200 jin; even if it's bottled in 100ml bottles, it can only fill up to 1000 bottles.
One thousand bottles of Lowe-Fairmont Tipples at a price of 20.99 yuan each total up to just twenty thousand yuan, which is less than a tenth of the donations Tina receives during her livestreams, not to mention those on the fan donation leaderboards.
People with a little understanding thought that Lowe-Fairmont Tipples Fashionable Spirits Co., Ltd. was sustained by fan donations, but they were mistaken.
Most of the fan donations go to the platform.
Even though nearly eight million in post-tax donations a year is astronomical for most hosts.
But this is still a far cry from the concept of a "business empire."
The main income for Gordon Sterling comes from various distilleries, especially from the annual Top100 list of wines.
Sean Lowell appears in the public eye just once a year, so what's left for Gordon Sterling to do besides bicker with fans in livestreams?
Once the Top100 list is out each year, Gordon Sterling hits the road doing one livestream at a time for each distillery.
Talking about the stories behind the wine, the culture of it, the history of the distillery, Gordon Sterling's livestreams for each distillery are completely professional and thorough.
He shoots promotional videos and does livestreams for these distilleries for free.
The only requirement is if the wine makes it into the annual gala, the distillery must offer The Dump Me Alliance fans the lowest price available online.
Gordon Sterling earns commissions from the sold wines.
How much he earns depends on how much wine he can sell—it's all about his skills in selling.
Not everyone has this capability.
There are doubts about whether The Dump Me Alliance, primarily composed of young women, can move the traditional Celestar white wine market.
Initially, many big distilleries felt the same and watched closely.
But they underestimated the young and vibrant "wife fans."
If, hypothetically, they are Sean's "wives," then their parents would be Sean's "in-laws."
Now that the "son-in-law" is promoting wines, ensuring that they are direct and genuine from manufacturers and cheaper than through other channels,
wouldn't they at least buy some as filial gifts for their parents? If they can't afford it themselves, can't they let the future in-laws take advantage of their son-in-law's wine business benefits first?
Fan culture has never been as simple as "I support you, so it's my business alone."
The most excessive part is that each year's Lowe-Fairmont Tipples is sold to The Dump Me Alliance fans at 20.99 yuan by Gordon Sterling.
Because quantities are limited, buying is through a lottery system.
Also, because quantities are limited, once purchased, the resale price often jumps from the decimal-pointed 20.99 yuan to a non-decimal-pointed 2099 yuan.
What's the implication here?
Every fan who wins the draw for Lowe-Fairmont Tipples feels like they hit the lottery.
The reasons why fans go crazy for The Jilted are multi-faceted and multi-angled.
And all of this cannot be separated from the meticulous planning of business genius Gordo.
Gordon Sterling can miss the livestreams where he argues with fans, but the scheduled distillery livestreams are non-negotiable.
Due to this, what should have been a five-person dinner became a four-person event due to Summer Fairmont returning at this time.
Gordon Sterling was somewhat concerned about Sean Lowell's social skills.
After "cultivating" for five years, Sean Lowell was unprecedentedly eager.
But Gordon Sterling's worries were justified because Sean Lowell's first reaction upon seeing Summer Fairmont could be described as a car crash: "You look just like my mom."