Yuan silently met Margaret's gaze.
She did not ask anything further. She merely smiled meaningfully, then raised the wineglass in her hand to her lips and drained the strangely colored liquor in one gulp.
Then she set down the glass and smacked her lips, seemingly savoring the taste she had just sampled. With a hint of disgust, she said, "Tastes awful. It's like someone mixed soy sauce into the alcohol, then watered it down at the end. And there's no aftertaste at all. It feels like the wine just vanishes after going down my throat, without leaving even the slightest extra flavor behind."
Yet although she called it "awful," when she saw her empty glass slowly fill again with the exact same liquid as before, she picked it up and drained it in one swallow.
This time, the blatant disgust on her face turned into understanding. She shook the now-empty glass in her hand and added, "Rotgut."
"I have received your evaluation. My deepest apologies for failing to provide a drink to your satisfaction."
Standing opposite her, Margaret nodded obligingly, as though she truly were a bartender. "This is a failure in my work. Would you be willing to give me another chance to make some adjustments to the drink in your hand?"
"Oh? You even offer remixes? Then I'll gladly accept. I'll leave it to you."
Yuan froze for a moment, then laughed as if she truly agreed. She placed her glass on the bar. "Personally, I'd prefer something stronger and more stimulating in both intensity and taste. And preferably without too many distracting flavors..."
But halfway through, her tone abruptly shifted. She pulled back the glass, her voice turning cold. "...Do you think I'd say that?"
With that question, the formerly relaxed atmosphere around them immediately became far