Chapter 356: Full Marks
Just before Lauren was called forward,
Peggy sidled up to her, her voice dripping with false concern.
"Oh, Ms Hols, it’s such a sha about your syrup. I’m sure whatever you put together within the short ti will be... interesting."
Lauren ignored her which didn’t go down well with Peggy, spiking her anger. She had never been treated with such disdain before.
How many tis will she need to drum it into her ears that she was the only champion here?
Maybe after this round she will have no choice but to acknowledge who the real master was. Anyways, it was just a few seconds.
When Lauren’s turn ca, she stepped forward with her drink. The room fell silent.
She made her presentation with confidence, it was a delicate balance of floral, spicy, and nutty flavors,
The judges took their first sips, and an unexpected hush fell over the room. Their expressions were unreadable.
From the first person to taste the drink to the last, it was the sa expression... no one could tell whether they were pleased or disappointed with the taste.
After what felt like an eternity, they finished their tasting, still silent.
Peggy smirked, sensing victory. "Mr Hols, I’m sure it was a good effort," she said, patting her on the back condescendingly. "Better luck next ti."
The other contestants, picking up on Peggy’s deanor, started to join in.
"Maybe coffee competitions aren’t your thing, Lauren," one said.
"Yeah, maybe stick to sothing simpler," another added.
"I can’t believe she accused Peggy of sabotaging her," soone muttered. "She should apologize."
"I think so too, an apology is not out of place or what do you think guys?"
"Hurry up and apologize, she’s your master after all," soone from Peggy’s team chipped in.
Lauren looked at them calmly as if she was looking at a joke. "On what grounds should I apologize?" she asked casually, but her response seed to trigger their smugness.
"We are apparently the winner for this round. Shouldn’t you apologize for falsely accusing a senior?" The other team mber said.
"I never knew you had suddenly swapped your role with one of the judges."
"I’m also surprised that I didn’t hear when Café Solstice was announced as the winner," Jamie smirked.
"Stop spewing nonsense. Or is this just an excuse for your failure?" Another one sneered.
While the contestants were busy spewing nonsense, the judges, however, seed deep in thought.
One of them, an elderly man nad Mr Khan with a discerning palate, finally spoke up. It was said that he could taste the difference between beans picked at dawn and those harvested at dusk.
His sensitivity to the slightest variations in flavor was so acute that no imperfection escaped his notice.
It was due to this reputation for unparalleled taste perception that made every contestant hold their breath in anticipation of his verdict.
"Ms Hols, right? You’re the team leader of Empress Brew?"
"Yes," Lauren nodded as she stepped forward.
"I guess the judge is so kind that he just wants to quietly comfort her without telling her the real marks."
"It would be embarrassing and hurtful to directly tell her that she got no score."
They were so confident Lauren had no score because when the others made their presentations, as soon as a judge tasted their coffee, they would imdiately give a score, but in Lauren’s case, no score had been given by any of the judges.
Rather, after tasting they had to converge briefly before sending one judge to slowly break the bad news to Lauren.
"It’s such a pity that Empress Brew did so well in the morning and was quite ready to fly across the globe but who would have thought that just before the sun set, its wings had already been clipped off even before it took flight," an ardent follower of Peggy said.
Just as Peggy was about to slip in another remark to stir up more mocking replies against Empress Brew, Mr Khan spoke again.
"Did you, by any chance, learn under Master Olivier Rousseau?"
Everyone: "..."
Even the online viewers stopped typing for once, wondering who Sir Olivier Rousseau was.
Not long after, a murmur spread through the room.
"Sir Olivier Rousseau was a legend in the coffee world, known for his unparalleled skill and innovative flavors."
Lauren smiled but remained silent. Did she know Sir Olivier Rousseau? Of course, he knew him like the lines on her palms. After all he was her maternal grandfather who had been angry with her since she was a teenager for not paying attention to the legacy which he wanted to pass on to her since she showed the slightest interest in coffee making.
All the other grandchildren had no interest except to enjoy it as a drink, but Lauren was the only one who went an extra mile.
Seeing Lauren’s smile Mr Khan’s heart skipped a beat. There was sothing distinctly familiar about that smile too.
He had had the good fortune of being in a conference once where Sir Olivier Rousseau attended briefly.
Soone had asked Sir Olivier Rousseau a controversial question and if he rembers correctly, it was this sa way he had smiled after hearing the question. Even the dimple on the young girl’s face...
He’ll be damned if they shared no relation. He could bet with his life that the young girl here was a descendant of the icon.
He suddenly shook his head and went to take his seat. The revelation was too much for his mind to digest.
This behavior of Mr Khan’s definitely gave both the on sight audience and the online viewers so much to talk about.
"Ms Hols? Learn from Sir Rousseau? That’s laughable," soone scoffed.
"There’s no way she even knows who he is," another jeered.
"See, she couldn’t even give Mr Khan an answer. No way would she have that kind of connection," a third added.
"See the way she just smiled."
"Yeah, she’s just trying to save face," soone else’s voice said.
Peggy’s smirk widened. How could Lauren learn from Sir Olivier Rousseau? With all her accomplishnts, she had never seen the old man for once in her life not to talk of Lauren.
Lauren having any contact with Olivier Rousseau was like the distance between heaven and earth. It was impossible. Not in this life.
She was certain the judges would soon announce Lauren’s failure.
The head judge, at this ti, cleared his throat. "After careful consideration, we’ve reached a decision. Empress Brew’s drink... is the most exquisite and sophisticated blend we have ever tasted. It is an extraordinary achievent."
"The judges have unanimously agreed and it’s... Full Marks to Ms Hols and her team ."
A stunned silence settled over the room and among the online viewers. No one moved or spoke, trying to process the judge’s words.
It was an unexpected outco...none of them saw it coming, not even mbers of the Express Brew team, who erupted in joy as soon as reality sank in.
"Full mark! Full marks!" They kept echoing as they jumped about with excitent.
"What?!" One of Peggy’s online fans finally blurted out when she finally recovered from the shock.
"This can’t be right," another echoed.
"What is not right? Are you insinuating that the judges have suddenly turned partial in their judgnt?" Empress Brew’s fans attacked imdiately.
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