Since Zhang Hupan had only just started working, Zhu Yan did not dare let him serve customers. After all, the job involved more than just a few polite phrases and proper movements. Nearly a third of the customers here were foreigners, and Zhu Yan had never heard Zhang Hupan speak English. He was only a freshman, after all, so she figured his English probably was not very good. If he stammered in front of the foreigners and could not get a single word out, it would ruin the bar's reputation. So Zhu Yan instructed Zhang Hupan to focus mainly on odd jobs for now: clearing tables, wiping plates, pouring away leftovers, passing dishes, and so on. In the end, she also told him to pay close attention whenever he had free time, studying how the others spoke and behaved when serving customers, as well as the everyday menu.
A master of the cultivation world was destined never to be ordinary. Even in an extremely mundane job like waiting tables, he could make it display endless charm. That was exactly what Zhang Hupan was doing now. Sorting bottles and jars, moving tables, and wiping chairs were all simple tasks, yet beneath Zhang Hupan's magical hands, they became as graceful and fluid as flowing clouds and water. With a light sweep of his arm across the table, all the wineglasses and bottles seemed to be magically arranged in perfect order on the tray. With only a gentle shake, the tablecloth folded over itself like waves, becoming a neat little square. Everyone's attention was drawn to the miraculous techniques of this ordinary-looking young man. Some foreigners even applauded in appreciation. In the corner, a strange light shimmered in Liu Xizhen's eyes as she secretly wondered why this young man always acted so unexpectedly. Her daughter, who never spoke to strangers, could somehow laugh and chat with him. A freshman could speak English more fluently than she could. He remained completely unmoved in the face of beauty. And now, even such a simple task could be performed with such dazzling brilliance.
His graceful, flowing movements, polite greetings to every customer, and fluent English made Zhu Yan feel that it was utterly incredible for all these things to belong to a freshman who had only just entered university. Zhang Hupan's thoroughly gentlemanly bearing even made Zhu Yan imagine that this man was perhaps the son of some powerful family who had deliberately come to this bar to experience an ordinary person's life. As it turned out, Zhu Yan's wild imagination had actually come close to the truth. However, his other identity was not that of a scion of a powerful family, but that of a legendary immortal!
"You really have never worked in a bar before?" Zhu Yan finally could not resist asking in a low voice as Zhang Hupan passed by her.
"Yes!" Zhang Hupan answered very straightforwardly.
"You really have never been to a bar before?" Zhu Yan asked again, unwilling to give up. She thought perhaps he often visited bars, which was why everything he did was so outstanding.
"No!"
From Zhang Hupan's honest expression, Zhu Yan was certain he was not lying to her. "Then how did you learn to do all this?" Zhu Yan asked curiously.
"Heh heh, before coming to the bar, I read some books about this." Zhang Hupan answered casually.
"It was that simple?" Zhu Yan stared at Zhang Hupan in disbelief.
"Of course. I spent an entire day and a half studying culinary culture!" For Zhang Hupan, spending a day and a half studying culinary culture—and still failing to learn much of it—already made him feel that his progress was extremely slow. Yet who could possibly comprehend and master the inheritance and accumulation of tens of thousands of years of human culinary culture in such a short time?
Zhu Yan could only shake her head. Before she knew it, the word "monster" had appeared in her mind.
Perhaps Zhang Hupan really was a monster in everyone's eyes. He was impervious to the charms of beautiful women, possessed expert cleaning techniques, spoke fluent English, and observed impeccable gentlemanly manners. All of this was concentrated in a freshman who had come from a remote mountain village to study in the city just over a month ago. Yet today was perhaps destined to be a day that tormented everyone's nerves. Zhang Hupan's skill at making fruit platters left Li Da, who had extensive experience in the field, red-faced with embarrassment. He nearly looked for a piece of tofu to kill himself with. As a cultivator, Zhang Hupan had been taught by Zhang Sanfeng from childhood to experience nature, comprehend the Heavenly Dao, learn to communicate with heaven and earth, and merge with the world around him. Thus, his understanding of nature—including every flower, plant, fruit, and vegetable nurtured by the earth—was beyond anything an ordinary person could match. Zhang Hupan could even sense and experience the life force of every plant on earth: when it would flower, when it would bear fruit, and when it was at its most beautiful. To Zhang Hupan, a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, all of this was nothing more than child's play.
Once the fruit reached Zhang Hupan's hands, it seemed to regain the vigorous vitality it had possessed before being picked. With a few casual movements, Zhang Hupan endowed the platter with boundless life. No matter from which angle it was viewed, the fruit platter he arranged was a flawless work of art. Its fresh, vivid colors made people want to sweep up every piece before them, yet its perfection also made them feel that taking a bite from any angle would destroy the most beautiful thing in the world. Zhu Yan and the others had never seen such a miraculous platter in their lives. With just a few casual arrangements, he had created something so perfect. It was the first time they had ever seen customers stare at a fruit platter for so long, unsure where to begin. In truth, if they had been in the customers' place, they would not have known where to begin either.
In truth, the few seemingly simple arrangements Zhang Hupan had made were not simple at all. Every one of those perfect placements was based on his profound understanding of the fruit, down to its very life imprint. Each piece was arranged along its life trajectory, allowing its unique fragrance and freshness to be displayed at their best from every angle. At the same time, the combination of every kind of fruit was so natural that they seemed as if they had always belonged together. Not everyone could appreciate the work before them with the professional eye of someone as experienced as Li Da. Yet anyone could instinctively tell that the fruit platter before them was incredibly enticing and utterly perfect. This was the power of life. This was the mystery of the Heavenly Dao. This was the wonder of nature.
Although the fruit brought some pleasant surprises and a hint of coolness to those accustomed to nightlife, once true night descended and the DJ's high-pitched voice rang out, everyone's spirits began to heat up and stir. The dancers onstage also seized the moment to ignite the passion in the hearts of all the night owls. The way of nature had to be quietly experienced with one's heart. Once people's hearts began to stir and the surroundings grew noisy, a fruit platter was nothing more than a fruit platter. No one would pay attention anymore to the handiwork of what could be called the greatest fruit-platter master in the world today. Although the cultivation world was not lacking in people who could surpass Zhang Hupan, no Nascent Soul Stage master would ever make a fruit platter.
However, Zhang Hupan's outstanding—or, more precisely, perfect—performance had won over every member of the bar staff. Even Shangguan Yun, the bartender who had always looked down on everyone, no longer underestimated this young freshman.
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