Chapter 344: Chapter 268: Shen Qingning: How Sweet Chapter 344: Chapter 268: Shen Qingning: How Sweet Night fell, and the cold wind blew in gusts.
Shen Qingning wore a long won’s trench coat, which, combined with her tall figure and a cool deanor, added a few hints of a dominant sister aura.
She stood in the chilly winter wind without feeling the slightest bit cold.
On the contrary, her heart felt slightly warm.
She honestly didn’t rember ever ntioning her fondness for strawberries to Cheng Zhu specifically.
So, she had no reason to doubt his words.
To bring up sothing casually yourself and then have soone rember it showed attentiveness.
But if soone else ntioned it in passing and he rembered it quietly, it suggested not just attentiveness but also a subtle hint of ambiguity.
Because it subtly conveyed his care for you.
This cup of Cheese Mixed Berries milk tea was sothing Shen Qingning, in this mont, simply couldn’t refuse.
Even if it ant going to his rented apartnt at night, even if it ant being alone together in one room later.
“It’s okay, it’s just visiting a friend’s house,” she thought to herself.
“We’re not doing anything, just helping him taste-test milk tea.”
“Yes, it’s just business, we’re innocent, no need to think about all the ssy things, yes!” she reassured herself internally.
With that in mind, she regained her usual presence.
With her impressively long legs, this leggy beauty took the lead towards Building B at Xinhang Apartnt.
“Let’s go,” she said to Cheng Zhu.
Watching her graceful figure, the way the cold wind lifted the hem of her trench coat, Cheng Zhu thought she really suited this kind of clothing.
Today’s Shen Qingning had a sisterly vibe that was off the charts.
It was just a pity after all, he wasn’t the kind of guy to be easily controlled by such a woman.
Cheng Zhu quickly caught up.
…
…
After entering the apartnt, Shen Qingning didn’t look around like Lin Lu, inspecting everywhere.
She was indeed curious about Cheng Zhu’s place but only stopped briefly in front of a bunch of milk tea equipnt.
Those things, though common in shops, seed quite novel when placed at ho.
“Go sit on the sofa and wait,” Cheng Zhu said.
“No need, I want to see how you make it,” she replied.
“Oh? Trying to steal my special recipe, huh?” Cheng Zhu teased.
“Yes, I’ll learn your skills and then kick you out of Star City,” Shen Qingning unusually engaged in his banter.
This showed she was indeed in a good mood.
“You’re so wicked,” Cheng Zhu chuckled as he opened the fridge and took out strawberries.
Shen Qingning was surprised by the quality of the strawberries.
Each strawberry in the box was large, full, and vividly red, making them very appetizing. She thought they must taste very good.
So strawberries have a lot of white patches, only about three-quarters of the area being juicy red. But this box was almost entirely vibrant red.
Strawberries were her favorite fruit, and she hadn’t bought much since winter began. Looking at them now, they seed quite tempting.
“These strawberries are impressive, huh?” Cheng Zhu even lifted them up to show off.
“Are you going to use such high-quality ingredients for your tea shop in the future?” Shen Qingning asked.
“How could I? That would thin out my profits,” Cheng Zhu waved his hands dismissively.
He pointed at the strawberries on the table: “You can have a few now. We won’t need so many for the milk tea.”
“These Dandong strawberries are of the highest quality, gift-box level, each one has been selected, they’re not cheap.”
“Just looking at their appearance, you can tell they’re not the sa as what you’d find at a normal fruit store, right?”
“I bought these especially, the store wouldn’t use such high-quality stuff. I contacted a fruit vendor for regular-priced strawberries.”
“But they’ll definitely be better than those from your typical strawberry picking farms.”
It was 2014 now, and gift-box strawberries weren’t particularly popular yet—most people just bought them loose in shops.
But a few years later, despite their expensive pricing, they truly sold like crazy.
Every winter, you’d see soone post about them online.
Within female groups, those who loved strawberries were far from rare.
This also beca a popular choice for gifts among many boys.
In his past life, Cheng Zhu had also bought them quite often. At one point, white strawberries had even been trendy.
Sellers had nad these all-white strawberries “Snow White”…
Personally, he wasn’t fond of the taste of white strawberries, feeling they were just diocre.
Indeed, as industries evolved, they beca increasingly competitive, leading to more exotic fruits appearing on the market.
It’s worth ntioning that when Cheng Zhu first received this box of top-quality strawberries yesterday, even he was tempted to indulge.
Bright red, they looked delicious.
Yet, he hadn’t eaten any.
He wanted the mont when he brought them out to be perfect, with the whole gift box looking pristine.
He didn’t need to tell Qingning that he had bought them especially for her.
Since no one had touched the strawberries, they were naturally prepared for her.
And the difference in the quality of the strawberries also signified that the milk tea he would personally make for her would be of a higher grade and more unique than what would normally be sold in the shop.
Subtext: The Cheese berry mix I make is your special supply.
—Special ans preferential!
People, regardless of gender, sotis can’t resist blatant favoritism.
Love is good, but preferential love is better.
Listening to Cheng Zhu’s words, Qingning’s eyes slightly drooped as she looked at the box of strawberries. The cold expression on her face softened.
Cheng Zhu took a few more strawberries, washed them, and then handed them to her: “Try them.”
After speaking, he grabbed one and stuffed it whole into his mouth.
Qingning picked up a plump, juicy strawberry, opened her petite mouth, and started from the bottom, taking a small bite.
Everyone has different eating habits; so people like to start with the tastiest part of the fruit, like the tip of a strawberry or the center of a waterlon slice.
But others enjoy progressing through the flavors.
Of course, if it’s about feeding children born in the ’90s, it gets easier—just tell them kids who eat strawberry tips will die, and that the kids should have the bottoms, problem solved!
“Sweet, isn’t it?” Cheng Zhu asked.
“Sweet,” the cold, proud girl unusually added: “Very sweet.”
…
…
Throughout the process of making the milk tea, Cheng Zhu was awkward and flustered.
He was the sa when cooking—though the flavor might turn out well, he couldn’t reach the proficiency of Old Cheng, and he was always in a bit of a flurry.
—He clearly had talent, just not in daily chores.
Fortunately, the Cheese Mixed Berries he made in the end looked good enough.
Watching the flustered Cheng Zhu, Qingning couldn’t help but show a faint smile on her face.
Because Cheng Zhu wasn’t usually like this.
Whether it was at work or in his daily life, he was more composed.
This made Qingning find him rather cute at the mont.
After placing a lid on the milk tea cup, Cheng Zhu lifted it to his eye level, rotated it to inspect it, and nodded slightly, satisfied.
“This will do, it looks barely up to standard.”
He didn’t directly hand the milk tea to Qingning but pointed to it and said, “You wouldn’t think a cup of Cheese Mixed Berries looks simple, but it actually took a long ti to develop, lots of trials.”
“This milk tea is one of my ace seasonal specials I plan to feature this winter.”
“It took a lot of ti and effort.”
“This afternoon, I just made so adjustnts to the tea base to et my standards.”
Catching the point, Qingning quickly realized: “Just newly developed?”
“Yeah, you’re the first one to try it outside our internal team,” Cheng Zhu answered matter-of-factly: “I need feedback from a seasoned strawberry lover like you.”
Listening to his words, all the slightly sour feelings she had earlier vanished.
“Let’s sit on the sofa, don’t keep standing.”
After settling on the sofa, Cheng Zhu then handed her the Cheese Mixed Berries and said, “Drink it with the cream on top, and try using a straw as well—they provide different flavors.”
“Okay,” Qingning nodded.
She first opened the small flap on the lid, then lifted the cup with the cheese cream to take a sip.
The milk tea tasted delicious, sweet with a hint of tartness, sweet but not cloying.
The cheese cream was thick, but the tea below diluted it, giving a layered taste on the palate.
First ca the flavor of the cheese cream, followed by the taste of the strawberry fruit tea.
This was completely different from the milk teas commonly found in the current 2.0 era.
Since she drank directly from the cup, a bit of cheese cream stuck to Qingning’s upper lip.
She pursed her lips tightly for a mont before gently licking the cream off with her tongue tip.
When Qingning looked up, she caught Cheng Zhu staring at her mouth.
The rascal, of course, did it on purpose.
But then again, wasn’t he allowed to look at a place he’d once conquered?
“What, what is it?” Qingning asked.
Cheng Zhu rely said, “Does it taste good?”
“Yes, it’s delicious,” Qingning nodded and added, “It’s a taste I like.”
“That’s good, because the ingredients are different, so I wasn’t sure about the taste; I haven’t even tried it myself,” Cheng Zhu chuckled.
The two of them sat on the sofa and chatted for a bit.
Since they were both on the sofa, they were quite close.
Now that the milk tea was drunk, and it indeed tasted different from those available comrcially, and Qingning genuinely liked it, so she had no criticisms to offer.
That ant the official business was done.
What was left was just being alone together in a room.
For so reason, although she had just had several sips of milk tea, she felt a bit thirsty and couldn’t resist taking a couple more sips.
The two of them had been alone together twice before at Youu Co to Play, but that was at least in a shop.
Now was different, this was a man’s ho!
Although innocent and guilt-free, it was still a reminder not to stay too long!
“Well… I still have to go ho and pick so stuff up, I’ll head off first,” Qingning said.
“Okay, just wait a mont.” Cheng Zhu stood up and first took the remaining strawberries and put them on the table: “Take these ho to eat.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“And wait a mont, I’ll get sothing else.” Cheng Zhu opened a cabinet and took out two bottles of fruit wine.
The last ti at the B&B, he found the landlord’s homade fruit wine delicious and thought to buy so to bring back.
After all, the price was not expensive, and he bought quite a bit.
“Take these two bottles back for your brother, ho-brewed fruit wine,” Cheng Zhu put the bottles in a bag.
“Okay, he’s been a bit down lately, complaining that you’re hard to tie down for appointnts,” she said with a laugh.
“Well, pacify him a bit,” Cheng Zhu knew her brother was easy to please.
After saying that, he carried the two bottles of fruit wine, looked at Qingning now standing up and picking up the box of strawberries, and said, “Both bottles are for him; don’t drink this wine, it’s quite strong, and you get drunk too easily, better not try.”
His words sounded caring, but his tone was mocking.
—Lightweight!
The strong-aura girl slightly frowned: “I can handle my drinks.”
“Really? Don’t you always end up telling you drank too much?” Cheng Zhu asked.
Qingning recalled the two drunken nights, especially the second one.
Both nights were slightly embarrassing for her, the first ti they had gotten close on an electric bike, and the second ti even ended up kissing in the car.
But why keep bringing up that she drank too much?
It made it sound as if she, in her drunken state, had done sothing to him in the car!
Clearly… clearly, it was him!
Cheng Zhu’s words and attitude made her a bit annoyed.
With both embarrassnt and irritation, the long-coat-clad, dominant-looking girl retorted: “Wasn’t it you who drank too much?”
To her surprise, Cheng Zhu imdiately responded, and his answer was concise:
“I didn’t.”
This man, with a rogue-like charm and naturally slightly raised eyebrows, t her gaze and repeated:
“I didn’t.”
…
(ps: Second release, asking for monthly tickets at the end of the month!)
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