The sickly one in F4 was the group's darling.

On the rosewood tea table, the remaining tea leaves at the bottom of the celadon cup rippled slightly.

Bai Ci held the empty cup, her wrist slender and graceful, her light brown eyes sparkling, full of longing for more tea.

He found the tea sweet, better than the stream water, and it warmed him up completely. Bai Yanzhi remained silent... so it must mean it could be refilled, right?

Xiao Qi whispered in his mind, "Bai Bai, you've already drunk three cups. Even though it's tea brewed by your older brother, if you keep drinking like this, he might think you've been thirsty for days."

Bai Ci retorted, "I haven't been thirsty for days; I drank water this morning. Besides, the tea was delicious; wasn't it brewed for people to drink?"

Xiaoqi paused for a moment: "...What you said makes sense. But look at his expression."

Bai Yanzhi's fingertips were still resting on the handle of the purple clay teapot. Steam rose from the spout, and the white mist swirled around his cold and hard eyebrows for a moment before slowly dissipating. He showed no intention of adding more tea.

Raising his gaze, his cool eyes swept over the empty cup in Bai Ci's hand. His fingertips lightly tapped the table, and his thin lips parted slightly, his tone calm yet carrying a deliberate hint: "Are you drinking tea like water?"

Bai Ci blinked, looked down at the empty cup, then looked up at Bai Yanzhi, whose expression was restrained, her eyes filled with pure confusion: "Isn't tea just water?"

These words were spoken frankly and sincerely, without a hint of arguing; rather, they sounded like a genuine request for guidance.

With just one simple sentence, Bai Yanzhi, who was used to seeing all kinds of people, was rendered speechless.

He had met people who didn't understand tea before. In the business world, there were countless pretentious and powerful people who treated tea ceremony as a formality and famous teas as decorations.

Holding his cup, he praised, "Good tea, good tea," yet he couldn't even distinguish between pre-Qingming and pre-Qingming tea. He was too lazy to argue, showing no sign on his face, but in his heart he thought: I won't invite him next time.

But now, the Yunjian Snow I painstakingly found and brewed myself has become just ordinary water to quench people's thirst.

But this person, from the moment he entered until now, has had his cup refilled three times, drinking one cup after another like a cow, waiting for him to personally pour tea and refill his cup without any restraint or politeness, making him, the elder brother, look like a servant serving tea and water.

Suppressing the inexplicable frustration in his heart, Bai Yanzhi spoke with a barely suppressed tone: "Tea is tea, and water is water. This Yunjian Snow tea only produces twenty catties a year. Do you think it's like well water in the courtyard that you can just fill up anywhere?"

His intention was just to casually remind the kid to cherish the tea he had painstakingly brewed and not to drink it carelessly like plain water; he wasn't trying to put on airs or be strict with rules.

Besides, Bai Ci is a member of the Bai family after all, and he will inevitably have to drink tea on various occasions in the future. He can't always bring this "three sips a cup" style outside.

Bai Ci paused for a moment upon hearing this.

Only 20 jin (10 kg) are produced per year?

He did a quick mental calculation: in his understanding, twenty pounds was a very small amount.

In the mountains, wild alfalfa can grow in several large patches in spring, and when dried, it can weigh dozens of kilograms; in the old town market, the tea stalls are filled with tea leaves, and each sack is at least half full.

This tea, called "Yunjianxue," is produced in a limited quantity of only twenty catties per year, making it quite precious.

He immediately and sensibly suppressed his desire to ask for more tea, neatly placed the empty cup back on the tea table, put his hands back on his knees, straightened his back, put his ankles together, and sat upright, looking as well-behaved as a student listening attentively in class.

"Oh, then I won't drink tea. Plain water will do for me."

His tone was obedient and frank, without a trace of displeasure or grievance, as if he were simply offering a very reasonable alternative.

Bai Yanzhi's eye twitched.

Not drinking tea anymore? Drinking plain water instead? The point of his words wasn't "not giving people tea," but Bai Ci's logic was clearly not on the same level as his. You think I drink tea like water? Then I won't drink it anymore and will drink plain water instead. That's not wasting good things, is it?

Bai Yanzhi silently looked at the innocent-looking boy in front of him.

Seeing his face ashen and his expression even colder than when he put down the cup, Bai Ci thought she had truly offended him.

Perhaps in the Bai family, let alone drinking tea, they might not even have the right to drink water.

Wasn't that how the original owner was?

I never dared to take anything from the refrigerator myself, and I would only touch the snacks on the tea table after I had to watch my expression. Even the spare key to my room was left on the public shelf for a whole month without anyone telling me.

In the Bai family, he wasn't someone who could just ask for things without permission.

So Bai Ci silently crossed out the "drink water" option in her mind and stopped making any further requests.

But in the end, I still felt a little wronged.

He walked for most of the day, from the old town market to the top of Qinglu Mountain, and his legs are still sore.

I entered the tea room and drank three cups of hot tea in a row. My stomach had just warmed up and the sweet aftertaste of the tea was still lingering in my mouth when the teapot was taken away before I had had enough.

There were a few pastries on the tea tray, but judging from Bai Yanzhi's expression, he probably couldn't finish them.

Seeing his somber expression, Bai Ci sat up straight, behaving obediently as if afraid of displeasing him.

But a thought was still lingering in her mind. Her mouth moved faster than her brain, and she couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "How stingy. I already said I was just drinking water, and she's still angry."

The sound was soft and gentle, yet it clearly reached the ears of everyone present.

The tea room fell into a deathly silence.

Bai Yanzhi fell silent.

Having dominated the business world for over a decade, he could calmly deflect attacks from shareholders at board meetings and accurately grasp the bottom line of even the most formidable opponents at the negotiating table. No one had ever dared to argue with him.

No one else could silence him in this way.

But this person spoke with such seriousness that even if he wanted to get angry, he couldn't find a point of leverage.

You say his logic is wrong, but every step he takes is based on your reasoning.

You said he was talking back to you, but he acted as nonchalant as if he were discussing the weather with you.

Bai Yanzhi looked at the innocent-looking boy in front of him, who didn't understand his emotions at all, and fell completely silent.

He never intended to put on airs, but this person unintentionally manipulated him, and his good intentions were ruined by this person, who made him look stingy and miserly, as if he were just making a mountain out of a molehill and being petty.

He was so angry he almost laughed.

Zhou Yan, who was already struggling to hold back, finally couldn't help but let out a muffled laugh when he saw Bai Yanzhi's helpless expression.

With a flick of his finger, scalding hot tea splashed onto his collar, leaving a small, dark stain. He hurriedly put down the teacup to wipe it off, making up an excuse: "Oh dear, this tea is way too hot."

Uncle Chen, who was standing in the corner, quickly handed over the handkerchief, then returned to his original spot, clasped his hands in front of him, his face as calm as still water, his posture impeccably upright.

But if someone gets closer, they'll see that his two clasped thumbs are pressing against each other, and his lips are pursed.

Bai Yanzhi glanced coldly at Zhou Yan, his eyes carrying a hint of warning.

Zhou Yan stopped laughing awkwardly and joked, "Yanzhi, your rare good tea has really become a thirst-quenching delicacy in Bai Ci's mouth."

Bai Yanzhi withdrew his gaze and landed on Bai Ci, who was still sitting upright with a hint of grievance in his eyes. He helplessly rubbed his temples, pushed the teapot towards Bai Ci, and resigned himself to the situation with a sense of "I'm too lazy to argue with you."

"Pour it yourself." His tone was neutral, lacking the tension from before.

Seeing this, Zhou Yan, undeterred, chimed in, "See, your older brother is still the most soft-hearted. But speaking of which, Bai Ci, with your appetite, ordinary tea probably won't satisfy you."

Bai Yanzhi glanced at Zhou Yan but didn't reply. He tapped his fingertips lightly on the armrest twice, his thoughts drifting elsewhere.

Bai Ci glanced at the teapot, then at Bai Yanzhi's face. After confirming that this wasn't a test, she finally felt reassured and poured herself a fourth cup.

This time he was smarter. Instead of gulping it down, he held the cup and sipped it slowly, glancing at Bai Yanzhi's expression out of the corner of his eye as he drank, like a cat that had stolen some dried fish but was still making sure its owner hadn't noticed.

Looking at his cautious yet irresistibly sneaky drink, Bai Yanzhi suddenly had a thought: This younger brother was probably sent by God to punish him.

Bai Yanzhi pretended not to see it, and he even pushed the plate of snacks towards Bai Ci.

"Eat."

His tone remained calm, but Bai Ci understood that this time it didn't mean "you can only touch it if you look at my face," but that it was really okay to eat it.

He put down his teacup, picked up a piece of osmanthus cake, took a bite, and his eyes lit up instantly.

Looking at those bright eyes, Bai Yanzhi inexplicably felt... that this person wasn't so outrageous after all.