Chapter 4 The tingling, warm sensation of Martini
Shen Cen went into the bathroom and replied while brushing her teeth: 【Thanks.】
I had just put my phone down when another message notification sounded.
She swiped to open her phone and saw Jiang Shiyu's reply: "All you can say is thank you?"
What does this mean?
Shen Cen frowned, guessing that Jiang Shiyu might have felt that her "thank you" was too weak, so he typed several more lines in the chat box.
The internet emboldens people, and she is more uninhibited than in real life.
When Jiang Shiyu saw the message, he almost choked on the water he had just drunk.
What is she doing? Is she writing an acknowledgment section for her thesis?
-
On days without classes, Shen Cen combines breakfast and lunch into one meal, a habit she has maintained since university.
When Fu Meihua first discovered Shen Cen's habit, she would always call her in the morning to urge her to get up and eat breakfast. Later, she realized that Shen Cen only dealt with her when she called, and that she was too busy with work to take care of her every time, so she just said, "Don't call me when you have a stomachache in the future," and gave up.
After having an early lunch, Shen Cen set off for Si Ji. Summer in Jingjia is very hot; even though it was only June, the air was already stifling.
There weren't as many customers at the bar today as last night. Just as Shen Cen stepped inside, a man at the counter called out to her, "Miss Shen."
Shen Cen had seen this man a few times; he always followed behind Jiang Shiyu. Jiang Shiyu had mentioned him once before; his name seemed to be…
"He Yan?"
"Miss Shen actually knows my name." He Yan was somewhat surprised. He walked out from behind the bar and led Shen Cen inside: "The boss is waiting for you in his office upstairs."
The bar has three floors in total. The second floor has some private rooms, and the third floor is Jiang Shiyu's office and staff lounge. After climbing two floors of spiral staircase, the two arrived at the office door.
Shen Cen knocked gently on the door, but there was no answer.
She turned to look at He Yan, who said, "I guess the boss has gone to the private room on the second floor. Miss Shen, please go in and sit down first. I'll go call the boss."
"Okay, thank you for your help."
He Yan opened the door and invited Shen Cen in. As soon as Shen Cen stepped into the office, he was shocked by the scene before him.
Jiang Shiyu's office wasn't large, but it was decorated extremely elegantly, resembling a small bar. The first thing that caught the eye was a neat wall of bottles, which looked quite impressive under the dim golden lighting. In front of the wall was a small bar counter with various bartending tools, and a bar stool on each side. It was a perfect place to sit, enjoy drinks, and chat.
At the far end was a walnut wood desk, with not many things on it, except for a laptop in the center. Behind the desk was a walnut wood cabinet, the doors of which were closed, but from the outside, it appeared that there were quite a few things inside.
Shen Cen walked to the wine wall and examined it carefully.
Without realizing it, her gaze was drawn to the bartending tools on the bar counter.
The scene of Jiang Shiyu mixing drinks flashed through my mind—
His hands gripped the glass, and water droplets from the rim slid down the veins and dripped onto the table.
She had always thought Jiang Shiyu's hands were very beautiful. His fingers were long and slender, with well-defined knuckles, and his nails were neatly trimmed.
"What, want to try bartending?"
Jiang Shiyu entered without anyone noticing.
Shen Cen was so startled that her heart pounded, and she quickly turned around: "Ah..."
It felt like being caught doing something wrong.
"Do you want to?" he asked again.
"Mmm," Shen Cen responded softly. She was actually quite interested, but hadn't offered to try it herself.
Jiang Shiyu walked to the wall of liquor behind her, thought for two seconds, picked out a few bottles of syrup and liquor, and placed them on the bar. He then took out the bartending equipment and began to wipe it down.
Shen Cen stepped forward: "Do you need my help?"
"Need not."
Jiang Shiyu refused decisively, and Shen Cen immediately withdrew his outstretched hand.
Perhaps sensing her helplessness, Jiang Shiyu looked up and said, "You can think about which one to choose first."
Shen Cen lowered his eyes in thought, then replied, "The one you mixed for me when we first met."
"Oh?" Jiang Shiyu stopped what he was doing. "It seems you remember it very well."
Jiang Shiyu had clearly misunderstood her meaning.
Shen Cen: "I didn't mean anything by it, I just thought that one tasted the best."
"Okay." A barely perceptible hint of disappointment flashed in Jiang Shiyu's eyes.
He pushed the clean glass in front of Shen Cen: "That wine is called Martini."
This drink is not complicated to make, but it is extremely challenging for the bartender.
Jiang Shiyu gave a demonstration first, and his entire set of movements was so smooth and fluid that Chen Cen was somewhat stunned.
She only snapped out of her daze when Jiang Shiyu tapped the cup in front of her twice with his knuckles.
"Did you understand it?"
Shen Cen blinked twice: "Hmm, it doesn't seem difficult."
Jiang Shiyu pointed to the tools in front of him: "Give it a try."
After saying that, he raised an eyebrow and said, "If you don't know, I can help you again."
No need.
Shen Cen muttered something under his breath, took the tools, and followed the steps Jiang Shiyu had just taken.
However, while the eyes have learned, the hands are like they were just put on this morning; the left and right hands are even fighting each other.
"The pressure could be more even."
Jiang Shiyu stepped forward, intending to take the cup and demonstrate.
Shen Cen did not understand his meaning and kept holding the cup tightly.
until--
Their fingertips touched suddenly.
Perhaps because he had just touched ice, his fingertips were slightly cool, but warmer than his own hands.
A tingling, warm sensation flowed from my fingertips into my entire body.
Shen Cen subconsciously pulled his hand back.
In her panic, her elbow hit the bar counter, causing the utensils to rattle and clatter several times, but thankfully none of them fell over.
Jiang Shiyu nodded approvingly: "Not bad, you can flip this bar over with just one hand."
Shen Cen: "..."
With Jiang Shiyu's second guidance, the following steps went much more smoothly. After squeezing a few drops of lemon juice and garnishing with a slice of lemon, a martini was complete.
Shen Cen couldn't wait to take a bite.
The next second—
"Cough cough cough..."
I almost choked on it all.
Jiang Shiyu quickly handed her two tissues: "What's wrong?"
Shen Cen was still coughing and unable to speak, but he pushed the wine in front of him, gesturing for him to try it.
Jiang Shiyu poured some into an empty glass and drank it all in one gulp.
He suspected he was chewing lemons dry.
He remained unfazed: "Not bad, better than the first time I did it."
Shen Cen suspected that he had found a new way to mock him.
It tastes terrible, even though the drink she made is not good at all.
But why does Jiang Shiyu's mixing taste so good!
She suddenly remembered seeing a saying before.
Although a Martini only requires two types of liquor, different bartenders' techniques can produce different results.
The challenge for bartenders is to find the right one among countless possible outcomes.
She clearly didn't choose the right one.
But Jiang Shiyu made the right choice.
However, this was her first time mixing drinks, and the appearance was passable, so Shen Cen took out her phone from her bag to take a picture as a souvenir.
After trying several angles and taking many photos, Shen Cen was still not satisfied.
Jiang Shiyu took in everything: "I'll do it."
"Is it okay?" Shen Cen hesitated for a moment, but still handed over the phone.
"You don't believe me?"
"Believe, believe."
As it turned out, Jiang Shiyu's photography skills did indeed exceed her expectations.
The composition and lighting complement each other perfectly.
Shen Cen flipped through the photo album, satisfied with every single picture.
"How is it?" Jiang Shiyu asked.
His face practically screamed "Praise me!"
Just as Shen Cen was about to speak, Jiang Shiyu's phone rang.
Jiang Shiyu's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. However, when he saw who was calling, he immediately composed himself, walked to the door, and respectfully answered the phone: "Grandma."
Upon hearing that it was Grandma Jiang on the phone, Shen Cen stopped what he was doing and looked over.
Grandma Jiang said something, and Jiang Shiyu kept responding.
This scene amused Shen Cen. Jiang Shiyu was usually a carefree and irresponsible person, but he would become well-behaved in front of his grandmother.
At this moment, Jiang Shiyu suddenly glanced at her: "Xiao Cen... she's here."
As he spoke, he walked over and handed the phone to Shen Cen.
Shen Cen nervously accepted it, casting a pleading look at Jiang Shiyu.
She was afraid that if she wasn't careful, she would reveal to her grandmother that she wasn't familiar with Jiang Shiyu.
Jiang Shiyu pushed the phone closer to her and said in a low voice, "It's nothing."
She had no choice but to pick up the phone: "Grandma."
When Grandma Jiang heard that it was finally Shen Cen on the other end of the phone, she couldn't contain her joy: "It's Xiao Cen! Grandma has missed you so much!"
Shen Cen and Grandma Jiang had never met in real life. The last time they talked on the phone was a few days before they got their marriage certificate, when Jiang Shiyu introduced Shen Cen to Grandma Jiang.
Just like how she dealt with Fu Meihua's pressure to get married, Jiang Shiyu was also trying to appease his grandmother's pressure to marry. So, in front of his grandmother, Shen Cen did her best to cooperate with him.
Hello, Grandma.
Thinking about how she had been avoiding Jiang Shiyu for a while and hadn't accompanied him to visit her grandmother, she said somewhat embarrassedly, "Grandma, Shiyu and I will come to see you in a couple of days. I've been quite busy with school lately and haven't had a chance to visit you. I'm really sorry."
Grandma Jiang chuckled on the other end of the phone: "It's alright, it's alright. You young people should focus on your work. Xiao Yu also told me that you kept saying you wanted to come see me, but he was too busy with work, which is why it was delayed."
Shen Cen was taken aback.
What is Jiang Shiyu doing? Is he taking the blame for himself?
She looked at Jiang Shiyu again.
Jiang Shiyu found himself holding a glass of wine, the very one he had just mixed. He gently swirled the glass, the ice cubes clinking softly. As if he hadn't heard Grandma Jiang's words, he remained silent, his face expressionless.
However, Shen Cen thought about it again and realized that he said this in order to make their marriage seem more real in front of his grandmother.
Stopping her thoughts, she continued talking, following her grandmother's lead. After chatting for more than ten minutes, Grandma Jiang said she needed to take a nap and prepared to hang up.
Before hanging up, she reminded the two of them to let her know in advance next time they came so that her aunt could prepare some of Shen Cen's favorite dishes.
When Shen Cen returned the phone to Jiang Shiyu, he glanced at the time on it; it was almost two o'clock.
She's been here for over an hour.
Not forgetting why she had come, she stretched out her hand: "Give it to me."
"What?" Jiang Shiyu asked back.
What else could it be?
"Pendant".
"Let me look for it." With that, Jiang Shiyu got up and walked to his desk, taking a bag out of the drawer.
Perhaps to avoid getting the pendant dirty, he even put a thin, transparent, sealed bag over it.
"Thank you." Shen Cen quickly took the pendant.
Seeing that she accepted the little figure as if it were a treasure, Jiang Shiyu asked, "You really like this little person?"
“Yes, it’s a character from a game.” Shen Cen nodded.
"game?"
"Conquer the Central Plains, a MOBA game that's been quite popular these past two years, have you heard of it?"
Set against the backdrop of the Warring States period, the game features historical figures based on real people. It typically involves teams of 2-5 players competing against each other, and is relatively easy to pick up. More importantly, both the game's stunning graphics and its close integration with historical knowledge are of the highest quality.
Several young history professors at Peking University were playing it, and sometimes they would team up. Then one day, Chen Shili brought a set of blind boxes containing game character keychains to the office, and Shen Cen chose her most frequently used character, which is the red-clad female warrior she has now—the Yue Kingdom female swordswoman, Yue Nu.
"I've heard of it." Jiang Shiyu nodded, a faint smile appearing on his lips. "I didn't expect Teacher Shen to play games too."
"What, teachers can't play games anymore?" Shen Cen joked.
What others don't know is that she's actually a homebody in private, often spending her days off at home playing games or watching TV series.
"Then next time there's a chance, Teacher Shen, could you teach me?" he asked naturally.
Shen Cen pretended to think: "That's fine, but my students all paid tuition to attend my classes."
She found herself much more relaxed in front of Jiang Shiyu, no longer needing to be careful with her words, and even unable to resist cracking a few jokes.
"tuition fee……"
Jiang Shiyu pointed to a large, unopened box in the cabinet behind him: "A friend gave me a set of decorative items last time, I think it's from this game. If Teacher Shen doesn't mind, I can use it as tuition, how about that?"
A note from the author:
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[Standing-up Rabbit Head] Before the VIP chapters, updates will be based on the rankings; after the VIP chapters, updates will be daily! There are plenty of drafts in reserve, so please feel free to read!
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