Zhou Ning froze for a second, then nearly burst out laughing on the spot.
She quickly covered her mouth with both hands, her shoulders shaking up and down.
Linda stood off to the side, taking in the whole exchange between the two of them.
She walked over and gave them a cold, sweeping glance.
“Still in the mood to chat?”
She tapped the counter.
“What about the customer’s Americano? Waiting for the customer to come in and make it herself?”
Shen Yuan immediately wiped the expression off her face and straightened up.
“Got it.”
She turned and walked toward the grinder.
She took off the portafilter and cleaned out the leftover grounds.
Then she started grinding fresh coffee.
The machine roared to life, and dark brown coffee grounds fell into the portafilter.
Shen Yuan picked up the distributor.
Maybe because the tension from earlier hadn’t fully faded, her wrist gave an uncontrollable tremor as she pressed down.
The coffee bed wasn’t level.
Just as she was about to dump it out and start over—
Linda had somehow appeared beside her.
A hand reached out and gently pressed down on Shen Yuan’s wrist.
Linda’s fingers were a little cool, but her grip was steady.
“Steady.”
Just two words.
Her voice wasn’t loud, and her tone wasn’t harsh either.
But those two simple words were like an anchor, firmly pressing down the last bit of fluster deep in Shen Yuan’s chest.
Shen Yuan took a deep breath.
She let the tension drain from her shoulders and gripped the portafilter steady again.
Dumped the grounds, reground the coffee.
This time, her movements were far smoother than before.
Distributed, tamped.
Click—the portafilter locked into the group head.
She pressed the extraction button.
Dark brown liquid with rich crema flowed slowly down through the spout.
Time, flow rate—everything was just right.
Shen Yuan added hot water and poured the espresso into the cup.
A standard hot Americano, done.
She placed the coffee on a tray.
After a moment’s thought, she turned and walked over to the pastry case.
She picked up a small butter cookie with tongs—one of the samples offered to customers—and set it on a small plate.
She carried both out together.
Shen Yuan walked back to the seat by the window.
She set the hot Americano down in front of the female customer.
Then she slid the small plate with the cookie over.
“Your hot Americano.”
Shen Yuan wore a perfectly measured smile.
“I’m sorry for the trouble earlier. This is a little pastry we bake in-house—a small treat for you to try.”
Her tone was sincere.
“I hope a little sweetness can brighten your day a bit.”
The female customer looked at the steaming coffee in front of her, then at the delicate cookie.
She looked up and glanced at Shen Yuan.
This time, her tone was far softer than before—even carrying a hint of hidden embarrassment.
“Forget it.”
She reached for the spoon and stirred her coffee.
“I wasn’t really trying to make things hard for you, honestly. It’s just that I was in a meeting at work earlier, and my boss chewed me out right to my face. I had a lot of pent-up anger, and I couldn’t hold it in.”
Shen Yuan stood by the table, thinking silently to herself.
Your boss yelled at you, so you came to yell at the coffee.
That latte was so innocent.
But the smile on her face grew even more obedient.
She gave a slight bow and said in an extremely earnest tone:
“Well then, I hope next time you’re in a meeting, your boss’s internet suddenly drops.”
The female customer’s hand, holding the coffee, paused mid-air.
She blinked for half a second.
Then—”pfft”—she couldn’t help it and burst out laughing.
And with her laugh, the customers at the nearby tables who had been eavesdropping with their ears perked up started laughing too.
The tense, suffocating atmosphere in the shop vanished in an instant.
The female customer took a bite of her cookie and waved her hand.
“Alright, go do your thing. This is hot enough—it’s good.”
“Enjoy.”
Shen Yuan set down the empty tray and turned back toward the counter.
Linda had been standing behind the bar the whole time.
She watched Shen Yuan put the tray back in its place.
Watched Shen Yuan pick up the half-damp rag, walk to the sink, and lower her head to keep wiping down the freshly washed cups.
The rims.
The bottoms.
The bodies.
Shen Yuan wiped them meticulously, not missing a single spot.
As if that whole scene had never happened.
Linda looked away.
She said nothing.
She simply reached up, took a clean glass from the shelf, and gently slid it over to Shen Yuan’s side.
It was the store manager’s silent approval.
And at that moment, behind the counter, neither Shen Yuan nor Zhou Ning noticed that in the hidden corner by the window, farthest inside the café, a man in a white shirt slowly closed the book in his hands.
Zhou Yan had seen plenty of part-time girls who came to work at the shop.
Pretty ones, clever ones, sweet-talkers—there were plenty.
But Shen Yuan was different.
She was clearly nervous, her hands trembling, yet she still stepped forward.
No playing the victim.
No showing off.
Zhou Yan watched for a moment, then got up and walked over to the counter.
Linda raised an eyebrow.
“Boss, you’re personally evaluating the new hire?”
Shen Yuan nearly dropped the rag in her hand.
Boss?
She’d thought he was just a handsome customer quietly reading.
No wonder he sat in the corner—his vibe wasn’t like someone just there to enjoy the free AC.
Zhou Yan smiled.
“Not really evaluating. Just wanted to order a coffee.”
Linda wasn’t having it.
“It’s your own shop. What are you ordering for?”
Zhou Yan was good-natured about it.
“Then let me patronize my own employee’s work—counts as supporting store performance.”
Linda couldn’t be bothered with him. She said to Shen Yuan, “Make the boss an Americano.”
Shen Yuan felt the pressure immediately.
Make one for a customer, worst case you get a complaint.
Make one for the boss, you might lose your job outright.
She asked quietly, “Iced or hot?”
Zhou Yan looked at her, at the way her lashes were straining with tension, and a hint of amusement crept into his eyes.
“Hot. Not too hot, though—I’m afraid of burning my mouth.”
Shen Yuan: “…”
Great.
Was that a reminder of the earlier scene?
The boss knew how to hit a nerve.
She carefully made a hot Americano and set it in front of Zhou Yan.
“Try it.”