As Sean Lowell was slowly waking up, he heard many conversations, but only the words "Summer Fairmont" and "Whiskey" managed to stir his desire to speak.
Leo Vaughn hastily explained for Artie Vaughn: "Master Sean Lowell, this was my younger sister, she just came back from Scotland today, maybe there's a bit of misunderstanding."
Leo, while trying to find the right words to salvage his dear sister's image, was also worried that Artie might fall down herself as she dashed off.
"Your sister, want to have a meal together?" Sean Lowell, thoughtfully watching Artie's distant silhouette, asked a question quite inconsistent with his image as a master.
Another episode of "can't believe I'm seeing this" — the Jilted, spotless, asking a girl for a meal!
After a brief hesitation, Leo immediately found a compromise: "How about… I go ask my sister?"
"Please do." Sean Lowell quickly responded.
He now appeared very clear-headed, completely unlike the person who just opened his eyes moments ago.
"You're in such a state, why are you thinking about food? Change your clothes and head to the hospital. The ambulance is almost here." Gordon Sterling's level of concern didn't drop to zero despite Sean Lowell's clear-headedness.
"Is there a place where I can bathe?"
"No place for bathing, but there is definitely some place for brainwashing." To Gordon Sterling, it seemed Sean Lowell's mind had a bit of a malfunction.
"Summer Fairmont, nice name."
"Alright, I think you're beyond saving. Even a craniotomy couldn't clear the clutter in your head."
To maintain the sensitivity of the Divine Palate, cold, spicy, or hot are all off-limits.
These are things most people find hard to stick with long-term, but for the self-disciplined Sean Lowell, it's no big deal.
However, when it comes to preserving the Divine Palate's sense of smell and taste, discipline alone isn't enough.
A hall-of-fame Wine Taster can't even afford the liberty to catch a cold.
Most people have experienced weakened senses of smell and taste when they have a cold, sometimes even completely losing them.
But these issues are transient; once the cold is gone, the senses return.
Yet this is true only for the masses.
For those at the hall-of-fame Wine Taster level, even the tiniest cold can result in irreparable harm.
Distinguishing a three-degree difference in wine is already considered a "devil's question" in Wine Taster exams.
Within one degree is nearly an impossible task for a human tongue.
Someone like Sean Lowell, who can pinpoint differences to a decimal place, is undoubtedly a national treasure and a rarity.
Sean Lowell is not only the youngest national Wine Tasting Master but also the youngest international master-level Wine Tasting expert.
Sean Lowell's tongue is far rarer than pandas, hundreds of thousands of times rarer.
The number of wild and captive pandas combined is at least two thousand, but the Divine Palate, there's only this one.
Everything Sean Lowell has achieved came from hard work, yet more significantly, it was a gift from the heavens.
When someone's ability reaches the level of a national treasure, they invariably find themselves constrained.
Even the tiniest damage can lead an extraordinary genius to fall into the mundane world.
"Are you really not going to the hospital? The ambulance is here already."
"I'm not going."
"Then if you catch a cold, Elder Ford and Dean Churchill will probably chop me into pieces!" Rumor has it, when overweight people are chopped, they have more pieces than average.
"Then that's fate." Often, Sean Lowell likes to leave his life's arrangements to destiny.
"Fate your sister! You're just destined."
"Thank you."
"Thank your sister! You're just thankful."
"Appreciate your kind words."
What more could Gordon Sterling say?
What more could he say!
No amount of persuasion can beat destiny.
...............
Leo hadn't reached the exit of the venue yet when he saw Artie kneeling and crying.
Sure enough, The Devilish Lolita had once again taken a grand fall.
Perhaps the view from her chest was obstructing her line of sight.
For the 36D Pouting Siren, falling is as common as eating and drinking.
Leo quickly stepped forward to help Artie up and handed her a packet of tissues.
Artie didn't accept them immediately.
Handing over a whole pack instead of just pulling out one tissue, isn't that a bit lacking in the Nation's Gentleman vibe?
Where did all that overwhelming big brother energy go?
Artie's initial refusal wasn't because of disdain.
If Leo handed her one tissue, then The Devilish Lolita would really scorn him.
Tears hung on her face, hands clutched a pink PRADA killer bag.
Crying, Artie took out her portable disinfection trio—disinfectant spray, disinfectant gel, and disinfectant wipes—from the compartment that previously housed The Fairmont Family Whiskey.
After fierce disinfection operations, Artie finally accepted the tissue handed to her by her brother Leo.
The Pouting Siren has always had a hygiene obsession.
When young, Leo often ate things left by Artie that wouldn't normally be left in an ordinary household.
Like Delafee's edible gold chocolates.
Or Delafee's strawberry-flavored edible gold lollipops.
As for these hall-level desserts that many dream of, if anyone ever touched them, even just to look at them, little Artie would absolutely never eat them.
Anyone, including The Pouting Siren's dearest twin brother.
As a child, she had a slight hygiene obsession, which increased as she grew up.
No matter where Artie goes, she always carries her disinfection trio.
To prevent losing them, she always carries at least two sets.
At home, they're visible everywhere; outside, they're at her fingertips.
The little hygiene-obsessed grand enchantress didn't immediately deploy her "disinfection trio" when she fell, just checked if her clothes were dirty.
Besides the allowance of scene conditions at the time, more importantly, it was her extraordinary mission for The Fairmont Family Whiskey.
What Wine Winters Ambassador would bear watching a whiskey family with a 500-year heritage perish?
And yet, being accused by that pretentious master as scheming and murderous!
And yet, being called a crazed goddess by that big fat talker!
And yet, being told by her brother not to let a big swindler worthy of kicks and punches catch a cold!
Too wronged! The teardrops overflowed and couldn't even be swallowed down.
"Don't cry, it's my fault, I shouldn't have scolded you. Master Sean Lowell told me to ask if you'd like to eat together later, don't cry, okay?" This is the pampering comfort + head pats from the doting brother.
"Hmph, what a bad brother, you know you're wrong and still scold little Artie." The Pouting Siren was just beginning to release her nature, then realized something was off:
"Huh? Where did you scold me just now? I'm clearly just mad that you think catching a cold is very important for the pretentious master. More mad that you don't think whether little Artie's great revenge can be avenged is most important. You must be secretly thinking of scolding your world-shattering, earth-shaking, top-notch beauty sister, huh!"
Apologies, for a girl like The Pouting Siren here, if not skilled enough, might as well not be offered.
You'll never know if the extinguisher you're throwing down is filled with carbon dioxide or hydrogen peroxide.
"I'll explain later about Master Sean Lowell not catching a cold. I think you and the master might have some misunderstanding. You hurried back, and the wine you mentioned, I didn't taste in advance. If you leave like this, you'll be mad for several days, affecting your top-notch beauty. Or shall we clear up the misunderstanding first?"
"He already said it's scheming and murderous, what else is left to explain? Even if he said he wouldn't appreciate the whiskey, wouldn't make the slightest difference, right? Or if he doesn't like whiskey, that top-notch beauty wouldn't be as angry as she is now, isn't it?"
Artie was really fuming, a well-aged bottle over half a century old was called murderous by Sean Lowell.
"This matter is strange, even to me. I've known Master Sean Lowell for five years, never heard him criticize any wine, at most just no comment. I wasn't scolding you, I wanted to help you scold back!" If Leo knew such a malicious event like "scheming and murderous" was happening, he would've stopped the Wine Winters Ambassador from Winters Spirits at all costs.
Artie reluctantly pulled out one tissue from the pack Leo handed her.
Even more reluctantly wiped away her tears.
Then, she stepped forward and hugged Leo on her tiptoes: "Brother, after a year without seeing you, your most dazzling, lovable sister almost died missing you!"
Artie's tear glands were acting up today, leaking out drops now and then.
Because there was restraint needed during the "rescue" performance earlier, this once-a-year reunion hug came a bit later than usual.
"Mm, my earth-shattering, top-notch beauty sister. Welcome back."
"Brother, you're not allowed to cry, okay? You've loved crying since young, can't do it now you've grown."
"Do we have a brother who loves crying since young, little Artie? How come I don't know?" After the hug, Leo used his thumb to wipe away Artie's remaining tear marks.
"Mm-hmm, when you were five, I overfed your goldfish till death, you cried; when you were six, I broke your limited edition Saint Seiya figurine into little pieces, you cried; when you were seven, I tore your winter vacation homework into shreds, you cried; when you were eight..."
Artie looked up at Leo: "Ahhh crybaby brother, do you want me to keep going?"
"Mm, brother is a crybaby, and our Artie is the steadfast grass-saving champion." Leo didn't mind Artie's teasing.
Childhood memories, instead of about crybabies and grass-saving champions, are more about having a perfect childhood.
Artie loved teasing Leo since childhood, and Leo, was always willing to be teased by Artie.
No amount of oddities can surpass a simple willingness.