After four years of living alone after marrying far away, he went back to his parents' home and

Lan Yujuan and Qi Lei stood nervously to the side, waiting.

Clearly, Qi Lei had also guessed that the semi-finals were already "arranged," and he sighed softly:

"I never imagined that there would be such a shady deal involved in such a small competition."

Lan Yujuan turned her head and comforted him with a gentle smile:

"Since we can't change it, we should just accept it as it is."

"No matter how the process is manipulated behind the scenes, one must be strong oneself to succeed."

"If this doesn't work, we'll go back and practice some more, and try to get a better result next time."

As soon as she finished speaking, her gaze swept to the side of the stage, to the group of people from the hilltop coffee shop where the "dispute" had occurred earlier.

For some reason, Manager Chang, who was leading the team at the mountaintop coffee shop, looked at Lan Qingqing, who was preparing to draw a question, with a very unpleasant expression.

Lan Yujuan's heart stirred slightly, and she subconsciously followed that gaze, turning to Lan Qingqing beside her, and murmured softly:

"Could it be that the game might take a turn for the better, and a lucky break has occurred?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Lei raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Huh?"

"Boss Lan, what do you mean by 'a lucky accident'?"

Lan Yujuan smiled knowingly, "Let's see, we'll find out soon enough."

Lan Qingqing, who was standing next to him, was still muttering to herself when she walked to the question-drawing area, closed her eyes, and grabbed a question.

Then, without even looking at it, he handed it directly to the host next to him, quick and efficient.

The host took the question, opened it, and chuckled as he tried to smooth things over:

"It seems that one of our contestants is a little nervous."

"Before answering the question, let me ask this pretty young barista next to me, how long have you been in the industry?"

As he spoke, he handed the microphone to Lan Qingqing.

Lan Qingqing clasped her hands behind her back, her ears turning bright red with nervousness, but she still replied in a clear voice:

"I just started learning about coffee, a little over a month ago."

The host paused, his eyes clearly showing disbelief. "Only a little over a month?"

Then, while leading everyone in applause, he praised, "After studying coffee for just over a month, you've managed to stand out among a group of professionals."

"The coffee brewed during the intense competition was so good that even the professional teachers collectively gave it a score of 8.8."

"This young barista is truly remarkable!"

"Come on, everyone, let's all clap and cheer for her!"

At the host's prompting, another round of enthusiastic applause erupted in the audience, specifically for Lan Qingqing.

Lan Qingqing stood in the center of the stage, her eyes brimming with tears of excitement, and instinctively raised her head and straightened her back.

This feeling was so magical; she had never experienced anything like it in the past seventeen years.

Even though she knew very well that her skill level was very low, she actually started to enjoy the competition stage from the bottom of her heart!

As the applause subsided, the host returned to the main topic, saying with a slightly regretful look:

"Alright, next, contestants, please answer the questions!"

But when the host opened the question, he was instantly dumbfounded. It took him several seconds to process it before he slowly began to speak:

"I must say, this young barista on our stage is incredibly lucky!"

"She just drew three true/false questions."

Upon hearing this reminder, the scene instantly erupted in chaos.

Even the judges on the sidelines started whispering among themselves.

"There were actually true/false questions? This is the ninth group, and she's probably the first one to draw one, right?"

"It seems like even God wants them to make it to the finals."

"I think this round is in the bag. It's just a matter of judging right or wrong. I'm sure I can guess one or two right out of three, right?"

Then, the host cleared his throat and began reading the questions:

Question 1: Is the most common type of burr in a hand-cranked coffee grinder a conical burr?

Lan Qingqing almost blurted out, "Yes!"

When she answered the question, her eyes lit up, and she was full of confidence.

She didn't guess on this question; she genuinely knew the answer!

Having only been at the store for a few days, Lan Qingqing always felt that the pork rib soup tasted a bit bland.

So the next day, she bought some dried peppercorns and, without her master Qi Lei's permission, used his portable grinder to grind a handful of peppercorns.

Qi Lei was so angry he wanted to beat her to death, so he chased her around several times with a broom.

After his anger subsided, he tried to soothe her tearful eyes by explaining, and in front of her, he disassembled the coffee grinder and began to introduce each part one by one.

She was particularly impressed by the conical grinding disc, because it really hurt when the broom hit her leg.

"Are you so sure?" the host asked with a smile.

"Would you like to hear the question again and think about it anew?"

Lan Qingqing stated firmly, "The answer remains the same: Yes!"

Congratulations, you answered the first question correctly!

"Question 2, please listen: Is the basic sensory characteristic of under-extracted espresso a high acidity level, true or false?"

Lan Qingqing thought for a second and then gave a definite answer: "Yes."

The host deliberately countered with, "Have you thought it through? You're not going to change it?"

The more the host pressed her for details, the more determined Lan Qingqing became: "The answer remains the same: Yes!"

When she was practicing making coffee, she made so many cups of espresso with a high acidity for herself, and was criticized by her master many times.

Practice brings true knowledge.

This question is based on her own experience; how could she not understand it?

Congratulations, you answered the second question correctly as well!

The three people competing on the stage gradually clenched their fists, feeling both nervous and excited.

The current situation has far exceeded the expectations of the three of them.

The contestants in the audience also started to get excited and couldn't sit still.

"Holy crap! Guys, can someone tell me what's going on with that 'Hidden Retreat Cafe on the hillside' on stage?"

"How did a small TV station's amateur coffee competition manage to produce such a stunning lineup?"

A few colleagues who knew the situation began to whisper their introductions from below the stage.

Not only were the audience at the scene eager to watch, but the netizens watching the live stream online were also incredibly excited, flooding the screen with comments and gifts.

[Champion, champion!]

This group is incredibly strong, and their luck is just phenomenal.

Where is the secluded cafe on the hillside? I'll have to check it out sometime.

I've been there, it's amazing!

......

The three people on stage were unaware of these changes.

At crucial moments, as long as the competition continues, they cannot afford to relax for a moment.

"Question 3, please listen carefully: Is the common method of making American coffee—adding an appropriate amount of hot water to espresso—correct or incorrect?"

After the host finished reading the question, Lan Qingqing was dumbfounded. "Huh?"

She hesitated for a long time, even starting to break down the question word by word, afraid that she had misheard it.

"Lan Qingqing, did you hear the question clearly? Should I read it again?"

Lan Qingqing hesitated for a moment, then nodded vigorously, "Yes, please read it again."

Those who were not experts began to argue incessantly offstage.

"Is this question really that difficult? Is it right or wrong?"

"I don't think that's right. Americano and espresso are completely different kinds of coffee!"

Those who are interested have already opened their phones and started asking the AI ​​questions.

Only the other contestants sitting in the waiting area gradually looked dejected, revealing helpless smiles.

Because they all knew that the reason Lan Qingqing hesitated on stage was not because she didn't know how, but because it was too simple!

This true/false question is a piece of cake for baristas who spend all their time in coffee shops!

"Yes!" Lan Qingqing finally gave her answer.

Before the host could press further, she confirmed again, "Yes, I won't change it."

The host spun around on stage, then exhaled and shouted:

"Congratulations, Lan Qingqing! You answered all three true/false questions correctly!"

"Congratulations to Group 9, the Hidden Mountain Cafe team, for a perfect score in theory!"

As soon as the host announced the scores, the rankings appeared on the large electronic screen behind the stage.

Half-Mountain Hidden Cafe climbed from the bottom of the rankings and eventually squeezed out the number one spot held by Mountain Top Cafe, successfully taking the top spot!

"Yay!" Lan Qingqing was so excited that she jumped up and down on the stage.

Then he rushed over to his teammates and hugged Lan Yujuan and Qi Lei respectively.

"Sis, we've made it to the finals!"

"Master, we've advanced to the finals!"

The semi-finals consisted of 15 groups, representing 15 cafes, with only the top six advancing to the finals.

Based on the current rankings, Banshan Xiaoyin Cafe has jumped to first place, making it firmly in the top six.

However, the current runner-up, Shanding Coffee, who is only a fraction of a point behind them, is in a bit of a precarious position to make it to the finals.

They will only have a chance to advance to the finals if at least one of the next five teams to take the stage scores lower than the Mountain Peak Coffee team.

When Lan Qingqing came down from the stage, she deliberately walked past the mountaintop coffee shop in a swaggering manner.

"Heh, weren't you so impressive? Turns out you were just bragging!"

The little girl who had just been arguing with her was so angry her nose was practically crooked.

"Haha, what's so great about that?"

"This is nothing yet; the final round will truly reveal the real champion!"

Lan Qingqing retorted with a grin, "Only if you make it to the finals!"

"However, given your current strength, I'm afraid it's a bit risky..."

"After all, those who are truly capable never stoop to underhanded tactics!"