Life at the Top

“Can’t enjoy good food without some good wine.” Vita laughed as he took out two bottles of aged brandy and said, “It’s all thanks to you that I could advance further in my career, Mr. Laine. Let me give you a toast.”

Smiling, Jasper picked up his cup and said, “Cheers to that. Before we talk about anything else, you should first stop calling me Mr. Laine. You’re about John’s age, and I should be addressing you as an older brother instead. Please, call me Jasper.”

“Alright, Jasper, cheers!” Vita’s face was bright red as he excitedly clinked his glass against Jasper’s and downed its contents.

Jasper, too, tilted his head back and finished the entire glass.

…

“This is the meat of the albino beluga sturgeon, a rare fish which can only be harvested for half a month every year. It’s suitable to be consumed by women because it nourishes your body and skin.”

Jasper did not give Celine the cold shoulder as they ate. He cut her a slice of sturgeon meat as he spoke.

When he heard that, Vita smiled and said, “Two years ago, a pound of this could be bought for 8,000 dollars. But bear in mind that it was 8,000 dollars back in 1999. Now, there’s simply no supply although there’s a great demand for it. You can’t buy it even if you have the money.”

bite of the meat. It was tender, fresh, and fatty without

seeing lots of sturgeon in the rivers when I was a child.

what Celine said, Jasper exclaimed in

I only left the country when I was in fourth grade, but it’s been more than ten years since I’ve

a lot of sturgeons, but overfishing has caused its numbers to drop greatly. A policy was even introduced so now, they can only

one of the largest ones that have ever been caught in recent years, but he didn’t sell it to anyone despite being offered several million dollars for it.

and served Jasper a bowl of snake soup. He smiled meaningfully as he said, “You should have more of this, Jasper. It has amazing healing properties. All the herbs are aged and harvested from the depths of the forests, which

the ones who should drink more of this. Don’t regret it when you’re in your 40s and have weakened

slightly inappropriate

worried Celine would not be used to

If you actually want treatment, you might

into laughter when they

present because of Celine, who was a stranger,