The first cup was ready, and Su Miao eagerly stuck in a straw and took a sip.
The sweetness, wrapped in the fragrance of tea, burst across the tip of her tongue and slid down her throat. It felt as though a soft thread had lifted her from the crown of her head and given her a shake, so comfortable that she narrowed her eyes.
Heavenly Dao stood beside her, watching her drink. Confusion and curiosity twisted together into a knot between his brows.
"Is it good?"
Su Miao snapped out of that heady satisfaction and held the cup out to him.
"Try it."
Heavenly Dao took it and imitated her, taking a huge sip through the straw.
Before he could taste it, a pearl came rolling down the straw and shot straight into his throat, getting stuck there, neither up nor down.
From his neck to his cheeks, he rapidly turned red. The suffocating sensation made him double over and cough violently. Only after three or four coughs did he barely manage to cough the round little thing back into his mouth.
With the pearl in his mouth, he stared at Su Miao in utter disbelief.
"Th-this is a hidden weapon?"
Su Miao was first badly startled, then bent over laughing so hard she could not straighten up for a long while.
She panted for quite some time before she could barely speak.
"No, it's a pearl... It's just... forget it. If you're not drinking it, give it to me."
Heavenly Dao guarded the cup warily.
"No. I will finish it. This is a challenge."
He tipped his head back and poured it straight into his mouth. This time, he had learned his lesson—the pearls were fixed at the bottom of the cup, and he drank every last drop