Chapter 23

Chapter 23 Challenge Accepted

Ye Sijue wanted to speak up but Mu Xia shot him a look before she replied with a meaningful smile, "Very well. Challenge accepted!"

Situ Qingshan was momentarily taken aback but recovered quickly with a smirk.

"Good! Let's do it. Right here, right now!"

Mu Xinyue was not idling away in the gallery either as she went over to hash things out swiftly with the organizers, after which two coffee tables were moved onstage and equipped properly.

Ye Sijue looked a tad apprehensively at Mu Xia who remained silent throughout.

Once the host saw that both of them are ready, he said, "Ladies, you may begin."

Situ Qingshan burst into action the moment his voice trailed off.

The first step to creating latte art was, of course, to prepare the espresso which had to be hand-brewed by the participants themselves.

The assiduous Situ Qingshan weighed up fifteen grams of coffee beans and fed them into the grinder with tremendous refinement.

She was surprised to see Mu Xia appearing quite competent when she stole a glance over, as though the latter actually knew what she was doing. Mu Xia had fluidly set up the paper filter inside the filter holder before she raised the kettle to pour the boiling water in, clockwise and in a circular movement.

Situ Qingshan was unable to contain herself when she observed that, noting that this was something only professional brewers would know. Pouring clockwise would allow for the filter to adhere better to the holder, and at the same time, eliminate the starchy taste from the paper and warm up the receptacle.

The resultant would be a much more flavorful cuppa.

It was easy to tell from Mu Xia's understanding of this coupled with her deft gestures that she knew how to make coffee.

「How can it be possible for this country girl to know how to brew?」

In spite of her certainty that she was not hallucinating, Situ Qingshan was completely bamboozled.

「Isn't Xia from the countryside?」

Situ Qingshan remained stumped for some time before she pinched herself hard and turned her focus back to the task at hand.

「Brew it! Even if Xia knows how to make coffee, will she be able to do latte art?」

Situ Qingshan took a deep drawl in a bid to settle herself and resume her own work.

Traditional pour-over coffee required two infusions of water, after which an aromatic cup would be ready.

Situ Qingshan quietly chuckled when she saw Mu Xia still awaiting her second infusion while she herself was already done, and dismissed Mu Xia's knowledge as something the latter must have picked up from a stint at a coffee shop.

Shortly after, Mu Xia completed her brewing as well, and in response, the host communicated that they could both proceed with the creation of their latte art.

Compared to brewing, the latte art was the real litmus test.

The creation of latte art required the use of whole milk, and each person needed to conceive their theme before they began.

Maintaining an elegant smile, Situ Qingshan was first to speak, "My chosen theme is: { A Snow-Covered Cottage in Freezing Weather} …"

When the microphone came to Mu Xia, she paused before replying staidly, "Mine will be: {The Bloom of a Thousand Pear-Flowers Ushered Forth by the Night Breeze of Spring} ."

Situ Qingshan twitched her lips upon hearing Mu Xia similarly reciting a verse from classical poetry.

「Is this little bitch trying to be pedantic like me? How many years did she spend in school?

I am, of course, an arts graduate from the University of Avenport.」

Situ Qingshan scoffed at the thought of Mu Xia's proposed theme in the assumption that the latter was only going to put together a few pear-flowers, and went on to concentrate on shaping out her own designs with the whole milk.

First, Situ Qingshan covered the top of the coffee with froth from the whole milk, and then employed the use of latte art pen to tease out a snow-capped mountain and a little wooden house upon it.

At a glance, it did foster the feel of A Snow Covered Cottage in Freezing Weather.