Chapter 252

After Ningguang finished her massage and bath, she came to the front hall.

She saw Diona wiping the tables.

Ningguang smiled slightly and walked over to Diona.

Earlier, when Granny Ping had informed her, she had asked Yelan to investigate Xia Zhi's background, as well as the backgrounds of all the employees in the shop.

She knew that Diona came from Springvale in Mondstadt, and had worked as a bartender at the Cat's Tail tavern in Mondstadt City for a while. Her bartending skills seemed to be highly praised by adventurers.

But because this was cross-border intelligence, it was more difficult to investigate and transmit. In addition, Diona's status was only that of a Vision holder, and she was not yet qualified to be on Yelan's special attention list. Therefore, her investigation into Diona's background was limited to this.

However, she had been coming to the shop frequently these days to freeload meals, and through daily interactions, she had some understanding of Diona's personality.

For her, dealing with a naive and tsundere girl like Diona was much easier than dealing with those cunning and ruthless old foxes.

Ningguang came to Diona's side and greeted her with a smile.

"Miss Diona."

Suddenly being addressed by such an important person in such a formal tone, Diona was a little surprised.

"Miss Ningguang, is there something you need from me?"

Ningguang sat down naturally on a chair by the table, propped her cheek on one hand, and chatted with Diona, who was standing inside, like a regular customer.

"There is something. While I was getting a massage inside, Mr. Xia told me that Miss Diona is the best bartender in all of Mondstadt."

"Huh? The best bartender in all of Mondstadt?"

Diona was stunned for a moment, and then her face flushed slightly, and she shook her head quickly.

"No, that's not true!"

"Miss Diona, there's no need to be modest. Mr. Xia also said that even the most famous bartenders in Liyue can't mix the kind of drinks you can."

"Ah..."

Ningguang looked at Diona with a smile.

Although the girl in front of her denied it, her cat ears and tail were swaying slightly, betraying her true emotions of being happy to be praised by the boss.

"Mr. Xia is a very capable person, isn't he?"

"Yes, the boss is very capable. He seems to know everything!"

"Speaking of which, this is the first time I've heard Mr. Xia praise someone like this. I've met many bartenders and tasted many good wines. Mr. Xia's high praise makes me very curious about Miss Diona's bartending skills. I wonder if I could see them?"

"This... this..."

Diona was a little embarrassed.

"Is it not possible?"

"I actually... actually don't know how to bartend..."

"If Miss Diona doesn't want to show me, that's fine. Why make such a clumsy excuse?"

A trace of regret couldn't help but appear on Ningguang's face.

Seeing this, Diona quickly said, "No... I'm telling the truth. And we don't have any alcohol in the shop right now, so even if I wanted to mix you a drink, I couldn't..."

"I see. Miss Diona, don't worry. I happen to have some alcohol with me."

Ningguang took out a bottle of wine from her spatial artifact and handed it to her.

"It's just that it's not a very good wine. Miss Diona, please make do with it for now. I'll send you some better wine later."

Huh??

Diona took the bottle in a daze.

Why did it feel like she had been tricked?

Ningguang looked at her with a look of anticipation in her eyes: "Miss Diona, please begin your performance."

"..."

Diona had no choice but to return to her old profession.

She originally didn't want to bartend, especially to make delicious drinks for people.

Because she hated alcohol.

She had previously worked part-time at the Cat's Tail tavern, only to make the worst-tasting drinks.

The frustrating thing was that those adventurers seemed to have some kind of illness. No matter how she randomly added strange ingredients, they would always find the resulting drinks delicious.

Now that she had found a way to realize her dream, she only wanted to focus on mixing Rainbow Juice and slowly learn how to make Rainbow Juice from the boss.

However, Miss Ningguang was pestering her, saying that she wanted to see her bartending skills. The key was that she was recommended by the boss, so she couldn't refuse.

There was no other way.

Anyway, her goal was to destroy Mondstadt's wine industry, which had nothing to do with Liyue.

This didn't violate her principles!

Thinking this, Diona opened the cork of the bottle in her hand.

Suddenly, a very intoxicating and rich aroma wafted from the bottle.

This wasn't good wine?!

Diona's expression was strange. Although she had never formally studied alcohol, based on her experience working at the tavern, she could tell that this bottle of wine was of much higher quality than the ones she used to use for mixing drinks at the tavern.

She glanced at Ningguang, who was sitting across the table, and thought that perhaps in the eyes of such a super-rich person, this really wasn't considered good wine...

"Miss Ningguang, what flavor would you like?"

"Let me think, Rainbow Juice flavor, is that possible?"

"Of course."

Diona nodded, bent down, and took out a bottle of Rainbow Concentrate from the cabinet.

Ningguang watched with great interest, ready to appreciate Diona's bartending process.

To be praised by Mr. Xia, her bartending techniques must be very impressive, right?

Then, she saw Diona take a clean glass from the table, pour half a glass of wine into it, add a drop of Rainbow Concentrate, shake it to mix it, and then hand the glass to her.

"Miss Ningguang, please enjoy."

???

Ningguang lowered her head and stared blankly at the beautifully colored drink in front of her, asking, "It's done?"

"Yes."

"Is this how you usually bartend?"

"Yes, this is how I always bartend."

Ningguang raised her head and glanced at Diona, finding her expression to be very sincere.

She could tell that Diona wasn't lying.

Perhaps it was because a skilled bartender only needed the simplest techniques.

Ningguang was silent for a moment, picked up the glass, and brought it to her lips.

A strange aroma of wine with the special fragrance of Rainbow Juice wafted into her nose, making her eyes light up.

Ningguang took a small sip.

The cool liquid flowed into her mouth, and the flavors of countless fruits burst forth, with an intoxicatingly mellow taste.

It was as if, in an instant, countless fruits had undergone the magical process of fermentation into wine on her tongue.

Ningguang savored it for a long time before reluctantly putting down the glass and looking at Diona, who was a little nervous and uneasy.

Diona saw that Ningguang wasn't speaking, just looking at her, and couldn't help but ask softly, "Miss Ningguang, how does my drink taste?"

Ningguang smiled and said softly, "It's delicious. This is the best drink I've ever had. Miss Diona, just as Mr. Xia said, you can be called the best bartender in Mondstadt, no, and Liyue."

Diona blushed slightly, embarrassed, and said, "No... I just know a little bit about bartending..."

----

You can join my Patreon to read 70+ chapters early and support me and my work.

Patreon.com/rivyura