Fan Yu, Spoiled Sour Plum Drink?

"Little boss, what are you selling here?"

Fan Yu, who had just finished working on soul tools, dragged his slightly exhausted body into the academy cafeteria.

He noticed a newly opened stall and figured food was food wherever he ate, so he walked over.

"Coffee.

"The menu's on the side. Just tell me what you want to drink."

A childish voice came from behind the counter. Only then did Fan Yu realize that a child of about six or seven was tidying things up inside the stall.

"Child, why are you here all by yourself? Where are your adults?"

When he had first seen no one at the stall, Fan Yu had thought the owner was busy in the kitchen. But now that he had come closer, he saw there was no one in the kitchen at all.

In the entire stall, aside from this child crouched down and wiping the counter, there was no one else.

"Mister, aren't you here to buy coffee?"

"Child, I was planning to try this coffee of yours, but with your adults not here, who's going to make it for me?"

"But I'm the one who makes the coffee. Mister, do you not trust my ability?"

"Hm?"

Hearing that, Fan Yu inexplicably grew interested.

What could a little child possibly make?

He wouldn't knead him a lump of mud, would he?

"Then... give me a Luckin classic iced Americano."

Fan Yu glanced at the menu and chose the iced Americano between the raw coconut latte and the classic iced Americano.

The price of 9.9 Gold Soul Coins was neither particularly high nor particularly low.

Fan Yu truly had never heard of a drink like coffee before, so he treated it as trying something new.

"One Luckin Iced Americano?"

Bai Ran stopped what he was doing, stood up, and asked, his tone carrying a bit of confusion.

"Make it two."

As the saying went, good things came in pairs. For the sake of how adorable this child was, Fan Yu decided to buy an extra cup and bring one back for his disciple, who was still doing research in the laboratory.

Speaking of children, he had been married to Zhou Yi for many years, yet they had never had a son or daughter. It had always been one of Fan Yu's regrets.

"Mister, I'll say this first: the classic iced Americano tastes a little bitter.

"And once coffee is sold, there are no refunds or exchanges."

"A bitter taste is fine. But child, is what you wrote on here true?"

Fan Yu, who had been looking around, noticed the descriptions for the two coffees.

Luckin Iced Americano: refreshes the mind and clears the head.

Luckin Raw Coconut Latte: clears heat and detoxifies.

If the effects were real, what did a little bitterness matter? At worst, he could treat it like drinking a special medicine.

"Of course it's true. If it's fake, I'll compensate you three times over."

(Fan Yu: Kid, I bought two cups, so what's with you giving me six?)

A few minutes later, Bai Ran handed the two freshly made iced Americanos to Fan Yu.

Watching the other man's departing back, then looking around at the surroundings, Bai Ran thought, this time, there shouldn't be anyone to stop him from getting off work, right?

"Yo, you added this much ice?"

Holding the two iced Americanos in his hands and feeling the chill coming from his palms, Fan Yu was still rather surprised.

The ice makers on the market were not cheap at all, and ice cubes at this temperature, even if the academy's ice-attribute soul masters were used as cheap labor, would still cost quite a bit.

At 9.9 Gold Soul Coins a cup, could he really make money?

Fan Yu gently shook his head, then returned to his private laboratory.

"Caitou, take a break and come eat something."

Seeing that his disciple He Caitou was still earnestly doing research, Fan Yu hurriedly called out, his tone carrying a bit of concern.

Fan Yu was still extremely satisfied with this personal disciple of his. He could endure hardship, did not like to talk much, and at a glance was clearly a fine hand at research—commonly known as a top-tier workhorse.

Especially when it came to the other party's talent in soul tools. Compared to himself, Fan Yu felt He Caitou had a greater chance of breaking through to become a Class 9 soul engineer. For this reason, he had specifically applied for the Ultimate Soldier Project for this disciple.

Although Fan Yu had already made initial contact with Huo Yuhao, Huo Yuhao's innate soul power was too low, and his first soul ring was only a ten-year one. Future breakthroughs would be extremely difficult, so for now, Fan Yu had not listed him as the number-one seed.

"Teacher."

He Caitou stopped the research in his hands, then came before Fan Yu and said respectfully.

To He Caitou, Fan Yu was not only his revered teacher, but also the benefactor who had extended a helping hand when he was at his lowest.

After losing his family and home, he had long since come to see Fan Yu as a father figure.

"Once you've finished organizing this research report, go back and rest. If you keep staying up in the lab every day, your body won't hold out."

Seeing the exhaustion written all over He Caitou's eyes, Fan Yu could not help reaching out and patting his disciple on the shoulder.

"Teacher, I can actually keep going a little longer..."

"Hey, when I tell you to rest, you rest properly. Besides, your master's wife is waiting for me at home tonight."

Fan Yu had not gone home in nearly a month.

If the two of them had not both been working at Shrek Academy...

Zhou Yi might have started suspecting her husband had died in the laboratory.

"Uh..."

Hearing this, He Caitou said no more. Instead, his gaze fell on the late-night snacks his teacher had just brought back. He planned to grab a quick bite, then get to work on the research report and try to finish it as soon as possible.

"Eh, Teacher, is this iced sour plum soup?"

Seeing the two cups of murky black stuff, He Caitou hurriedly picked up one of them.

After working for so long, he really was a little thirsty.

In weather this hot, getting a cup of chilled sweet drink like this was something he would not trade even for a soul bone.

"This isn't sour plum soup, it's coff..."

Before Fan Yu could warn him that coffee tasted bitter and not to gulp it down...

The next second, He Caitou spat all the coffee in his mouth back out.

"Pah, pah, pah..."

"Teacher, has this sour plum soup gone bad? The academy cafeteria is really something, actually selling spoiled sour plum soup."

Because he had once been fortunate enough to find a piece of pig fur in his braised pork, He Caitou's impression of the outer court cafeteria had never been very good.

He just had not expected it to become even more outrageous now, to the point where they would keep selling sour plum soup that had gone bad.

The director of the academy cafeteria must not have been able to take two steps without the gold bars stuffed in his pockets falling out.

"Caitou, this isn't sour plum soup. It's coffee, sold at a new stall the cafeteria opened recently."

"Coffee?"

"I heard the young owner say it's a drink with a rather bitter taste, but it can refresh the mind and clear the head."

"Wait, is it really that bad?"

Seeing He Caitou's exaggerated reaction, Fan Yu picked up the remaining cup of coffee and carefully took a sip.

It really was bitter, and there was also a sour, astringent taste to it.

Compared with other drinks, it was nothing short of a disastrous performance.

Fan Yu could not help wondering whether that child had burned something while boiling it and then poured the liquid into a cup.

Even pot-washing water, in terms of how awful it tasted, could not compare to one percent of this cup of Iced Americano.