I, the number one master of metaphysics, have achieved legendary status in the entertainment industr

"Green tea is fine." Yu Tinglan sat down on the sofa in the living room, her gaze sweeping over an old book and a few copper coins spread out on the coffee table.

Lu Fan responded and went to the open kitchen to boil water.

As the kettle buzzed, he took out the tea canister he had brought with him. The tea was the same one Avril had bought before, and Lu Fan didn't know if it was any good or not.

He tore open the packaging, pinched a small amount of tea leaves, put them into two clean white porcelain cups, and poured the boiling water directly into them. His movements were hardly methodical; they were simply the steps of "brewing the tea leaves."

Carrying two cups of tea back to the living room, Lu Fan placed them on the coffee table in front of Yu Tinglan and sat down on the single sofa next to her.

"Sister Lan, I just made this casually, please make do with it."

Yu Tinglan thanked him, picked up the cup, blew away the floating leaves, and took a sip. The tea was warm, with a noticeable astringency and a faint aroma; it was the most rustic and even somewhat rough tea flavor.

She put down her cup, not commenting on the quality of the tea, but instead looked up at Lu Fan with gentle eyes: "Do you... usually brew tea like this?"

Lu Fan nodded and took a sip himself: "Mmm. As long as it quenches my thirst. When I was a child in the orphanage, it was good enough to have hot water to drink. Later, when I went out to learn a skill and work, I never cared about these things."

He spoke calmly, as if he were talking about something completely ordinary.

Yu Tinglan's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this. She recalled the hardships Lu Fan had endured in his early years from the information she had investigated, and now, there were people who disliked Lu Fan at every turn. This made a corner of her heart soften, and a trace of indescribable pity welled up within her.

"The way of tea is sometimes also the way of tranquility." Yu Tinglan suddenly stood up and walked towards the kitchen. "If you don't mind, I'll teach you once. It's very simple, but the taste will be different."

Lu Fan was somewhat surprised and stood up, saying, "Sister Lan, there's no need to trouble yourself."

"No trouble at all." Yu Tinglan had already found the kettle and tea canister with practiced ease. "Now that you're a superstar, you'll need to know how to handle people."

Her tone was relaxed, but her eyes held a tenderness.

Lu Fan stopped refusing and walked to the kitchen counter.

Yu Tinglan boiled another kettle of water. While waiting, she poured Lu Fan's bag of green tea into a small porcelain dish and gently stirred the tea leaves with her fingertips: "Green tea doesn't need boiling water, around 80 degrees Celsius is best. If it's too hot, it will easily develop a bitter taste."

Her voice was soft and gentle, ringing slowly in Lu Fan's ears, creating a tranquil and beautiful feeling.

Lu Fan couldn't help but glance sideways, feeling that Yu Tinglan's profile was bathed in a soft glow.

Is this what home feels like?

Lu Fan thought to himself.

He never knew what home felt like from a young age, and he never experienced it while he was with Avril.

At this moment, Lu Fan's heart also softened.

"Warming the cup will better bring out the aroma of the tea." Yu Tinglan's words pulled Lu Fan back to brewing tea. He looked down and saw that the water had just been heated to the side of the pot and small bubbles were forming.

Yu Tinglan gently lifted the teapot with her fair fingers and first rinsed the two white porcelain cups with hot water.

Then, she put an appropriate amount of tea leaves into one of the cups, lifted the kettle, and held her wrist so that the water flowed slowly along the side of the cup instead of directly pouring it over the tea leaves: "This way, the tea leaves are not easily scalded, and the taste is more fresh."

Steam rose gently, carrying with it a refreshing aroma of tea.

Under the warm yellow light, Yu Tinglan's focused gaze shed her usual sharpness in the business world, revealing a unique gentleness and tranquility.

"Look, the tea color is coming out." She gestured for Lu Fan to look at the clear tea color that was gradually spreading in the cup.

Next, she poured the first brew into another cup as a rinse and warming agent, then poured in hot water again: "The second brew usually has a better aroma and flavor."

After doing all this, she gently pushed the cup of tea she had brewed towards Lu Fan, then picked up another cup for herself: "Would you like to try some?"

Following her example, Lu Fan first smelled it, then took a small sip. The temperature was just right, and the previous astringency had almost disappeared, replaced by a clearer sweetness and a lingering aftertaste.

They are definitely different!

"It tastes much better." He praised honestly, looking at Yu Tinglan, "Sister Lan knows her stuff."

"I only learned a little bit from my elders before." Yu Tinglan leaned against the kitchen counter, took a sip of tea, and looked at Lu Fan's face. "There are many little things in life. If you pay a little attention, the experience will be different. Just like your skills, if used for the right purpose, you can save people and also make your own life... more at ease."

Her eyes were gentle, and her words seemed to conceal a deeper concern.

The kitchen was small, and the two stood side by side, very close. Yu Tinglan could smell his clean scent mixed with the fragrance of fresh tea.

Lu Fan held the warm teacup, his fingertips still seemingly retaining the slightly cool touch that Yu Tinglan had occasionally given him during the demonstration.

He looked at Yu Tinglan's profile, so close to his eyes, the light casting a small shadow under her eyelashes, and the tension in his heart inexplicably eased a little.

"Thank you, Sister Lan." His voice was a little lower.

Yu Tinglan turned her head and met his gaze. His eyes reflected the light and her, and his focused gaze made her heart flutter slightly.

"Still calling me Sister Lan?" She suddenly raised an eyebrow, a hint of playful reproach in her voice. "Why weren't you this polite when I was teaching you tea? Do I really look like I belong to that 'sister' generation?"

Lu Fan was taken aback by her question, then chuckled, "Then... Ting Lan?"

"Mmm." Yu Tinglan smiled contentedly, responding cheerfully. She put down her teacup, leaned slightly towards him, and lowered her voice, a hint of mischief in it, "That sounds nice. Call me that from now on."

The distance between them grew closer because of her action; they could almost feel the ripples caused by each other's breath.

The fragrance of tea in the air seemed to be mixed with a different kind of aroma.

Yu Tinglan's gaze slowly slid from his eyes to his well-defined hand holding the teacup, then rose again to look into his eyes: "You see, changing how you address me, doesn't it feel... a little different?"

Lu Fan's Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

The smile in her eyes flickered, like tiny hooks hiding starlight, silently stirring the tranquil air. He could clearly feel his heartbeat quickening, and a long-lost, warm, restless emotion quietly began to grow within him.

He didn't avoid her gaze, his voice deeper and slower than before: "It's different."

Yu Tinglan seemed to have received some kind of encouragement, and her smile deepened.

She reached out, not to touch Lu Fan, but to gently tap the rim of the teacup in his hand. Her fingertips were only a millimeter away from Lu Fan's hand holding the teacup; they could even feel the warmth emanating from each other's fingers.

"Tea should be drunk while it's hot; once it cools down... the taste changes." Yu Tinglan paused, then added meaningfully, "Some feelings are the same."

The implication of that sentence was almost blatant. Lu Fan felt a slight tingling sensation spreading rapidly from the spot where her fingertip had lightly touched him.

He looked at Yu Tinglan's face so close to his own, the clear reflection in her eyes and the undisguised expectation and probing made all the surrounding sounds seem to fade away.

Lu Fan leaned forward, responding to the temptation that was so close at hand.

In that instant when breaths mingled and the air was so thick it seemed impossible to separate them.

"Ding-dong! Ding-dong!"

The sudden ringing of the doorbell poured cold water on the ambiguous atmosphere between the two.

……