Romantic Escapades of the Golden Age

Since it's already open, let's drink!

The Kryptonian are so carefree, they don't seem to have any qualms about it. They can't just pour the wine from the decanter back into the bottle, put the cork back in, and pretend nothing happened.

Unlike high-alcohol spirits, red wine undergoes an oxidation reaction upon contact with air, a process that is irreversible and cannot be stopped. If left for an extended period, it will spoil.

Because of their high alcohol content, spirits do not undergo deterioration upon contact with air. Or rather, even if they do, the effects are extremely subtle.

Therefore, spirits can be enjoyed slowly after opening the bottle, but red wine cannot. To say you won't drink red wine after opening it is a true waste.

Those bottle-sealing preservation methods only slightly slow down the process of red wine spoiling. So if it's still drinkable, it's best to finish it as soon as possible after opening the bottle.

As for Charlize Theron, after listening to Catherine's explanation, she was completely lost in thought, her mind wandering off somewhere else.

Although she wasn't highly educated, she still knew names like Napoleon and Hitler. And who else could "Howard" that Catherine Hepburn mentioned besides Howard Stark?

Take that tiny sip she just took, for example—the liquor was so weak it couldn't even moisten her throat. It might be more than she could afford with all her salary since she started working.

No! You might not be able to afford it even if you work your whole life...

Shocked and disheartened, Charlize Theron began to question her life.

As for the old lady who took out the bottle of wine, she certainly didn't have many negative emotions. She simply stared at the wine in the decanter with a nostalgic look.

"This bottle of wine was a gift Howard gave me when he proposed, saying we'd drink it together on our golden wedding anniversary. But as you all know, he married Maria Stark, and I didn't marry him."

"So, is it not surprising at all that the playboy has found someone new?" Henry said, examining the label on the bottle as he tried to decipher it.

Catherine smiled. "That's not the case. His relationship with Maria Stark came later. It was around 1938, when Hollywood criticized me as box office poison. Disheartened, I left Hollywood for the first time."

Howard originally wanted to continue the relationship, but in 1939, World War II broke out. Although he did not join the army, he became a technology advisor to the U.S. military. His focus remained on the war.

"That's when I met Spencer. I was captivated by him at first sight and could never escape his charm until the old man passed away. That was in '67, I think."

"By then, Howard had already married Maria Stark. To put it another way, even if he were still single, I wouldn't have been able to accept him immediately."

The gossip of the Golden Age, told by the author himself. Just listening to it is exciting; Henry was practically crossing his legs and whistling.

However, one shouldn't be too obvious in their spectator attitude. The red wine in the decanter seemed to gradually awaken from its slumber, and its rich aroma began to waft out.

Henry poured himself another small sip, and with the same tasting technique, downed it in one gulp. "Hmm, we'll have to wait a little longer. But the wine is starting to breathe, the flavors are slowly coming in. You can try some too."

Two more sips were poured for each of the two ladies. Charlize Theron seemed not to have fully recovered and simply drank it mechanically.

But the moment the liquor touched her tongue, she experienced an explosive sensation. Almost simultaneously, all her taste buds were stimulated and activated, vying to send messages to her brain.

Charlize was once again so shocked that she was speechless.

Catherine's reaction wasn't as bad as Charlize's; she simply brightened up, marveling at how different the red wine had become. Then, she lingered, swirling the empty glass and inhaling its aroma.

Caught off guard, Catherine launched a surprise attack, asking, "Children, you've come to see this old woman not to hear about my past romantic escapades, have you? Tell me, what do you want?"

Henry then told her about Charlize Theron, omitting some of the more unpleasant details.

For example, the two met because Charlize was so hungry that she stole bread from a restaurant; and she was tricked into becoming a Playboy photo model.

Of course, the latter was mentioned in a rough manner, but without going into details. But given Catherine's knowledge of Hollywood, even without those details, she could probably imagine the whole process.

"So, you want me to help you find a reliable agent?" Catherine asked.

Actually, she had come to her senses when the topic of Charlize came up. However, out of trust, she did not interrupt Henry's statement, meaning that what he said was not too far off the truth.

However, even Charlize herself was shocked by Henry's request. They hadn't even been working together for a few months, and he was already giving up on her?

Perhaps due to her constant acting practice during this period, Charlize's expressions always perfectly conveyed her feelings. So her disappointment at this moment was quite obvious, but it wasn't disappointment in others, but rather disappointment in herself.

Henry quickly explained, "Honey, it's not that you performed poorly, it's just that I'm not good enough as a temporary agent. I underestimated the difficulty of this job when I first offered to be your agent."

"But in the two or three months I've actually been working with you, you should have noticed yourself that good projects don't come our way, and we can't even get roles with lines. The opportunities I can get for you are all from third-rate film crews."

"So I hope to help you find a reliable and more capable agent. I'll continue to help in other areas as well; I can't just abandon you like this."

Understanding Henry's thoughts finally eased Charlize's expression. The little girl almost jumped on him and hugged him tightly, giving him a big kiss.

This is also a minor side effect of her recent intensive acting training, making her emotions too outward and not yet at a level where she can control them freely. Therefore, her emotional expressions are often quite direct.

Henry, of course, also noticed this unusual phenomenon. And based on his experience and the psychology books he had read, people whose emotions fluctuate significantly are prone to getting stuck in a rut.

Therefore, Henry usually pays close attention to Charlize's facial expressions, so as not to let her inexplicably have thoughts like "I'm sorry for being human."

Catherine Hepburn certainly saw and understood the interaction between the two. What If...? this relationship, how could two strangers go to such lengths for each other?

But as an elder, she always had to vet the children she admired. Hollywood has everything, but it's full of fleeting affairs and hypocrites.