Milk Tea

The youth wore white gloves, and his butler suit was meticulously maintained. His smile was gentle and his tone appropriate; he didn't seem like the owner of a small teahouse in the Outer City at all, but rather like a trained attendant from some noble estate.

No, not an attendant—he stood there too naturally, as if he were part of the scenery. He gave the impression that he belonged right there, seemingly integrated with the entire teahouse.

He showed neither the restraint one might feel when meeting a guest nor an exaggeratedly welcoming passion. He simply offered a perfectly measured greeting and then waited quietly for her response.

Venus walked to the bar, leaning her hands on the counter as she scrutinized him carefully.

There were no mana fluctuations, nor was there the unique aura of a practitioner.

So, the youth before her was a complete and total ordinary person?

This result left her slightly disappointed for a moment.

When she had seen this teahouse still lit up late at night, she had thought there might be some interesting person or event here. Finding only an ordinary person was somewhat unexpected.

However, despite her disappointment, her interest in the teahouse didn't diminish much.

"Why is your teahouse open so late?" Venus tilted her head, glancing at the deserted street outside. "Can you even get any business in a place like this at this hour?"

Li Yuan placed the tea cup in his hand back on the counter and replied with a smile.

"The teahouse is a hobby; business is a secondary concern."

Venus arched an eyebrow; that was a rare answer.

Among the people she had met, nine out of ten who opened a shop for business would have profit constantly on their lips. As for the one who didn't say it, they usually had the math calculated more clearly than anyone else in their head.

Opening a shop purely out of interest was very rare.

She scrutinized Li Yuan a few more times.

He was young, handsome, and possessed an extraordinary temperament. His speech was also very measured. Combined with this style of opening a teahouse in the Outer City just for interest, he didn't look like an ordinary commoner no matter how she viewed him.

A guess quickly formed in Venus's mind—he was likely the scion of some Great Noble house who had nothing better to do and had come to the Outer City to experience life.

She had seen people like this before.

Among the nobles of the Empire, there were many youths of the younger generation who liked to stir up trouble everywhere. Some went to the border to become mercenaries, some disguised themselves as merchants to travel the world, and others insisted on going to the countryside to farm, claiming they wanted to experience the hardships of the commoners... It was purely a case of having too much time and money.

In the end, most of them would come back crying before long.

So, the youth opening a teahouse before her wasn't too outrageous; she just wondered how long this interest of his would last.

Thinking of this, Venus didn't probe any further. Adopting the mindset of "since I'm already here," she sat down directly at the bar.

"What kind of tea do you have?"

Li Yuan took out a menu and handed it over with both hands.

"This is the shop's menu. You can take a look first."

Venus took the menu and flipped it open casually.

There were many tea varieties listed: black tea, green tea, Oolong tea, flower tea, and so on. Most were common types. Although the names varied slightly from place to place, they weren't unfamiliar overall.

She had originally intended to just glance at it, but her gaze was drawn to a small line of text at the bottom.

There was a tea variety there that she had never seen before.

"Milk tea?"

Venus tapped that line with her fingertip and looked up at Li Yuan.

"What does this mean?"

"It's a new item in the shop," Li Yuan looked at the menu and explained with a smile. "It was just launched a few days ago."

This wasn't a lie; more accurately, it was added when the menu was updated last night.

There had been few customers lately, and Setis and the others hadn't visited for about a week. Having nothing to do, Li Yuan suddenly remembered the milk tea he had drunk back on Blue Star and tried to make some.

The Ogu Continent didn't have the exact corresponding ingredients, so the method was naturally different from his memory.

However, with black tea, milk, honey, and a bit of fruit jam for flavoring, the final product was unexpectedly good.

Since he had made it, he added it to the menu as well.

He hadn't expected that within just one day, it would be about to welcome its first customer.

"Milk tea..."

Venus tried to find any mention of this name in her memory but found nothing, which instead piqued her curiosity even more.

Tea was tea, and milk was milk. Putting these two things together sounded somewhat strange. But strange or not, it didn't stop her from wanting to drink it.

"That's the one, then." She placed the menu on the bar. "Give me a cup."

"Certainly," Li Yuan nodded. "Do you have any preferences for temperature and sweetness?"

Venus blinked, asking in return.

"Temperature and sweetness? What do you mean?"

"The way to enjoy milk tea is different from other teas. It can be made hot or iced, and the sweetness can also be adjusted."

Hearing this explanation, Venus felt that this teahouse seemed less and less like a serious one.

However, the less serious it was, the more interesting she found it.

"Whatever." She waved her hand. "I'll leave it to you."

At this point, she added a half-joking remark.

"But if it doesn't taste good, I won't pay."

Li Yuan replied with a smile.

"Please rest assured, it will definitely be delicious."

"You certainly talk big."

Venus rested her chin on one hand, leaning against the bar, while Li Yuan turned back to begin preparations.

Since the milk tea base was already prepared, he only needed to pour it out; the rest was adjusting the concentration of fruit jam and honey.

Li Yuan thought for a moment and felt that 70% sugar would be more appropriate, so he prepared it according to the taste he remembered as most suitable for women.

Venus watched his practiced movements, a bit more appreciation appearing in her eyes.

While she wasn't an expert in the art of tea, she still had a keen eye. This youth's every movement was efficient, and his treatment of guests struck a balance between not being cold and not being overly enthusiastic.

Even when facing her, he could remain unfazed—his breathing, tone, and heartbeat showed no change at all. This was extremely rare for an ordinary person seeing her for the first time.

Venus Basal Polivik was quite confident in her appearance and temperament; the number of people who could maintain a normal heart while talking to her was countable on one hand.

Clearly, the youth before her was one of them.

Li Yuan, focused on making the tea, didn't know her thoughts. By the time Venus gave him a high score, a cup of milk tea with the golden ratio was nearly complete.

After adding ice cubes to a Collins glass specifically prepared for milk tea, he poured in the blended tea, and the task was done.

A thin layer of mist soon formed on the outside of the glass, so Li Yuan thoughtfully added a cup sleeve. He placed it on a coaster and slowly pushed it in front of Venus.

"Milk tea. Please, enjoy."

Venus looked down; based on the color alone, it was indeed nice.

It looked much better than the random mixture of tea and milk she had envisioned. The ice was divided into several small pieces, and the light honey-colored tea liquid carried a faint fruity fragrance, making her look forward to its taste.

She picked up the glass and took a small sip.

In the next instant, her eyes lit up slightly.

The fragrance of the black tea wasn't covered by the milk; instead, it was made even softer. The sweetness from the honey was smooth, without any cloying feeling. The flavor of the fruit jam merged perfectly with the tea, leaving only a slight sweet and sour note at the end.

The icy sensation slid down her throat, and her originally somewhat melancholy mood actually lightened a bit along with it.

Venus looked at the glass and offered a sincere compliment.

"It tastes good."

Li Yuan gave a slight bow.

"I appreciate your approval."

Venus said no more, lowering her head to continue tasting.

The first cup soon reached the bottom, and she pushed the empty glass forward.

"Another one."

Li Yuan smiled as he took the glass.

"Of course."

When the second cup was finished, Venus drank it even faster than the first.

"Again."

A third cup, a fourth, a fifth—by the sixth cup, Li Yuan was starting to feel that something was slightly off. It wasn't that he was afraid she'd get sick... but he didn't have many ingredients prepared, only enough for about ten cups.

But seeing how happy Venus looked while drinking, worrying about that now seemed like it would ruin the atmosphere.

However, the problem Li Yuan worried about didn't happen—after the seventh cup went down, Venus put down her glass with a look of total satisfaction.