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Cheng Lang smiled. "Come on, let's head back to school."

Shen Huaiyu asked curiously, "You had me practice Tea Whisking to promote the milk tea shop too?"

"Of course," Cheng Lang said. "There are too many milk tea shops on the market right now. Without something special to compete with, how could we possibly stand out? We have to find a way to make customers willingly come in and spend money."

"But..." Shen Huaiyu still did not quite understand. "What does that have to do with Tea Whisking?"

"Of course it has something to do with it!" Cheng Lang looked at Shen Huaiyu with a grin. "Haven't you heard the saying, 'A beautiful sight is a feast in itself'?"

Shen Huaiyu looked at Cheng Lang, and his face gradually turned red.

Cheng Lang called over a waiter to pay the bill. After they returned to school, Cheng Lang urged Shen Huaiyu to change into a white ancient-style robe he had borrowed from a costume photography studio across from the school. He himself sat in front of the computer, exported the recordings from the voice recorder, and uploaded them to cloud storage and several social media accounts for safekeeping.

"I'm changed." Shen Huaiyu came out of the bathroom and looked at Cheng Lang in confusion. "Is this how I'm supposed to wear it?"

Cheng Lang turned around and felt his eyes light up. Shen Huaiyu stood in the dormitory doorway in a white robe, its wide sleeves and long flowing hem making him look even more ethereal and graceful. He truly looked like a gentleman of jade, refined and elegant.

Cheng Lang clapped in admiration. He could not help marveling that people who studied archaeology and read ancient texts really did have better bearing. The scholarly air rolling off Shen Huaiyu was far more handsome than those costume-drama pretty boys on television.

Shen Huaiyu looked down at his clothes and could not help asking, "What dynasty is this outfit actually from? I studied it in the bathroom for ages, but I still couldn't figure it out."

Shen Huaiyu's question stumped Cheng Lang too. "...I don't know either. I just picked it at random from the studio."

The two looked at each other. Cheng Lang said, "Forget it. That isn't important. As long as it looks good on you."

Cheng Lang shut down the computer. "Let's go! To the milk tea shop."

There were no classes at school on Saturday afternoon, but plenty of students still came and went across campus. The moment Shen Huaiyu and Cheng Lang emerged, with Shen Huaiyu dressed in ancient clothing, they drew countless looks. Some people even secretly raised their phones to take pictures.

Shen Huaiyu felt a little uncomfortable and instinctively hid behind Cheng Lang. The two hurried out through the school gates and arrived at the milk tea shop. Cheng Lang opened the electric rolling shutter and casually posted the recruitment notice he had just printed at the entrance.

"The landlord gave us a one-month grace period," Cheng Lang explained to Shen Huaiyu. "During this month, we need to find the shop's market positioning and lay the groundwork for promotion. We're going to make this into a stylish internet-famous milk tea shop."

Shen Huaiyu seemed to understand, but not entirely.

Cheng Lang brought out the Tea Whisking tools he had prepared beforehand. There were six items in all: a water pitcher, a tea caddy, a hare's-fur tea bowl, a tea whisk, a tea spoon, and a tea cloth. The pitcher and tea caddy were both white porcelain, smooth and lovely, warming to the touch. Cheng Lang placed the tray before Shen Huaiyu, then went to set up the camera and reflector. Shen Huaiyu sat upright nearby, watching Cheng Lang bustle around, clearly wanting to say something but holding back.

Cheng Lang caught sight of Shen Huaiyu's conflicted expression from the corner of his eye and raised a brow. "What? Are the tools I bought incomplete?"

Shen Huaiyu glanced at the items on the tray. "...They're all right. Do you need any help?"

After spending some time together, Cheng Lang had basically figured out Shen Huaiyu's way of speaking. "They really are incomplete? I looked them up online. These were the things everyone seemed to buy. What else is missing?"

Shen Huaiyu explained, "When I made Tea Painting at home, I ground tea paste into tea powder myself. But there's already ready-made Tea Whisking powder here, so it's all right."

"As long as you can make it." Cheng Lang smiled. "Use this to get some practice first. We'll shoot a video. You won't show your face—we'll only film your hands and the tea in the bowl."

"Things are too rushed today, and we haven't prepared everything. We can slowly add things when we get the chance later. Not just Tea Whisking tools, either—there are all kinds of little things you use when studying archaeology and restoring cultural relics. If you like, you can prepare a set and keep it in the milk tea shop. Whether this shop can establish its own theme and distinctive style will depend on how much effort you, our boss, are willing to put into it."

Shen Huaiyu nodded, rolled his sleeves up several folds, and began Tea Whisking.

Cheng Lang found the right angle and began filming. In the highly saturated shot, one fair, well-proportioned hand with distinct knuckles held a white porcelain pitcher, while the other supported its base with a tea cloth. The pitcher circled the tea bowl as water poured into it, warming the bowl.

Brilliant sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows. In the rich sunlight, those hands and the exposed stretch of wrist looked even more beautiful on camera, fairer and more slender than the white porcelain pitcher itself. The camera moved closer as the hand picked up the tea whisk and stirred evenly inside the hare's-fur tea bowl.

Watching Shen Huaiyu's movements, Cheng Lang suddenly craved steamed egg custard.

Cheng Lang swallowed. He watched Shen Huaiyu pour out the water from the hare's-fur tea bowl, then pick up the tea caddy and scoop two spoonfuls of Tea Whisking powder into it. Shen Huaiyu used the specialized technique for Tea Whisking. He was handsome to begin with, and his hands were especially exquisite. Coupled with the flattering light before the camera, the fluid sequence of movements carried the elegant charm of an ancient gentleman.

Next came the key part of Tea Whisking. Shen Huaiyu instinctively glanced at Cheng Lang and found him staring intently at the camera. Shen Huaiyu lowered his head as well, picked up the pitcher, and poured a little water into the hare's-fur tea bowl. Then he rapidly whisked it, blending the Tea Whisking powder with hot water and whipping up a great deal of foam. From Cheng Lang's angle, it looked somewhat like cappuccino.

"Is this the latte art part?" Cheng Lang asked curiously.

Shen Huaiyu, who had just picked up the tea spoon, could not help smiling, the corners of his lips curving upward.

"Mhm." Shen Huaiyu answered gently. His voice was as soft as a breeze on a mild spring day, brimming with amusement.

In the high-definition shot, a fair, slender hand with distinct knuckles held a bamboo tea spoon and drew across the foamy tea soup. Before long, a small boat riding the wind and waves appeared on camera. Shen Huaiyu completed the painting with effortless ease, then inscribed two lines of poetry beside it—"The time will come to ride the wind and cleave the waves; I will hang high my cloud-like sails and cross the vast sea."