Give Her a Chance to Flirt! - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

She didn’t say anything, yet her silence made Lin Jiu feel more uneasy than a verbal condemnation would have.

A surge of inner strength and stubbornness rose within her. Gritting her back teeth, Lin Jiu forced her finger away—inch by agonizing inch—before it could touch her own lips.

Once her hand was completely down, Lin Jiu immediately grabbed a nearby wet wipe to clean off the meringue and said quickly:

“I spaced out for a moment. My apologies for making a fool of myself.”

Yu Yihan gave a noncommittal “Mhm.” The way she set down her dessert spoon was crisp and final; she clearly didn’t intend to touch it again.

She glanced at her wristwatch: “Let’s call it a day.”

“Alright.”

Lin Jiu didn’t know if Yu Yihan believed her.

Regardless, it was what it was. Lin Jiu thought self-abandoningly that at least she had salvaged the majority of the situation.

As Yu Yihan turned to grab her bag, Lin Jiu patted her cheeks, which were flushed with shame, forcing herself to cool down quickly.

She had done her best to make amends; obsessing over what had already happened was pointless. The most important thing now was to control her “Green Tea” instincts and avoid offending people further.

This was the scene Yu Yihan saw when she turned back.

Lin Jiu was standing by the table, her thin summer dress outlining her graceful figure, revealing a pair of slender, straight calves beneath the hem.

Her hand was pressed against her cheek; the contrast between her porcelain skin and the faint blush looked like light snow falling on rose petals.

Is she blushing?

Lin Jiu originally possessed an elegant, classical beauty with a touch of charm. When a bashful expression appeared on her face, it created an extreme sense of contrast.

Her head was slightly lowered, her swan-like neck curved, as if she were lost in a moment of dejected self-reflection over her previous actions.

Her silhouette was reflected on the sheer gauze partition behind her—soft, delicate, and making it difficult for anyone to be harsh with her.

Even though Yu Yihan didn’t fall for such tactics, simply as a piece of scenery, Lin Jiu was soul-stirring enough.

Specifically, the aura surrounding her reminded Yu Yihan of the scenery she saw during her last visit to the Shifeng Mountain tea fields.

Amidst the surging mists and steam, the fresh tea leaves on the tips of the branches stretched out their graceful forms. Just by looking at Lin Jiu, one could almost smell the faint, refreshing fragrance of Longjing tea.

Yu Yihan watched for two or three seconds before Lin Jiu lowered her hand. Only then did she speak slowly:

“I hope tonight marks a new starting point for the cooperation between our two families.”

“Really?”

Yu Yihan knew what she was thinking—Lin Jiu was likely surprised that her earlier blunder didn’t require further explanation.

She took the lead and walked out. Hearing the crisp click of high heels following close behind, she said:

“My personal impression of you will not affect our cooperation.”

Personal factors would not influence the arrangements and preparations for company projects; this was Yu Yihan’s consistent style.

“The opening ceremony that day…”

“The opening ceremony that day,” Yu Yihan repeated with a faint smile. “It was simply going with the flow. No merchant would complain about a project having high heat and public attention.”

Yu Yihan stopped in front of the elevator, and Lin Jiu stepped up to stand side-by-side with her.

Lin Jiu glanced at Yu Yihan’s profile and suddenly realized: Yu Yihan was a true, sophisticated merchant with a seasoned hand.

After the original body had provocatively lashed out at her, generating a week’s worth of headlines, Yu Yihan attended the ceremony and, with a single sentence, reignited the dying embers of that hype. She made the fire burn even brighter, ensuring the project received immense attention during its early stages.

Following this line of thought, Lin Jiu understood another layer of meaning.

The reason Yu Yihan hadn’t seen the Lin family for a week wasn’t out of petty spite; she wanted to crush the Lin family’s arrogance.

Lin Jiu could even imagine that in the subsequent detailed negotiations, Yu Yihan would undoubtedly fight for a greater advantage and more profit for the Yu family.

She appeared to be in the center of the chaos, but like the eye of a hurricane, she was perfectly calm.

A softened relationship with Yu Yihan was exactly the result the Lin family wanted. Once the news reached them, Old Matriarch Lin gave Lin Jiu a lukewarm compliment.

Lin Jiu’s parents were more excited. This was likely the first time in their lives they had seen their younger daughter turn the tide on a disaster. They couldn’t contain their excitement and directly transferred a sum of pocket money into Lin Jiu’s card, even asking if she wanted any other rewards.

When she returned to her room, the system spoke guiltily:

“Apologies, Host. The identity I provided today almost compromised the mission.”

Lin Jiu’s hand stopped as she was removing her earrings. She placed them back on the jewelry tray:

“It’s normal for abilities to have pros and cons. It’s not your fault.”

She wasn’t ungrateful; there’s no such thing as perfection in this world.

Furthermore, she felt that after this incident, she had caught a glimpse of how to control this instinct. She even had a new spark of inspiration, just waiting for someone to test it on.

Thinking of her dear Eldest Uncle’s family, she actually felt a bit of anticipation to see them again.

“Then, congratulations on completing the mission once more. To clarify the main quest: your task is to defeat the Yu family and make the Lin family the top tea-trading clan.”

“Beginner’s guidance is over. My suggestion moving forward: Use the opportunity of following the project to quickly participate in the company’s core business, become a person of real power, and compete on the same stage as Yu Yihan!”

The system spoke with high morale while Lin Jiu slowly took off her jewelry.

“Hello?”

Lin Jiu acted as if she hadn’t heard. She looked up: “Ah, I’ve decided what reward I want.”

“?”

When Lin Jiu found her parents and told them her desired reward was to learn tea-making, they were completely caught off guard.

Her father said in pleasant surprise: “It’s a good thing to want to learn.”

Her mother, who knew her daughter better, was skeptical: “This isn’t just a whim, is it?”

“How about this: follow the project first. When your elder sister returns from Tongmu Village, if you still want to go, you can go with her.”

The sister mentioned here was Lin Jiu’s biological sister, the most proficient in tea-making and highly regarded by the Old Matriarch.

Lin Jiu didn’t expect to start today; she was just using the opportunity to make the request. She nodded:

“Okay.”

As a tea-trading family, the Lin family owned tea gardens, tea enterprises, tea manors, tea houses, and even their own tea museum. Their sales channels were innumerable.

But at the core, the tea gardens and the tea-making process were the foundation of the Lin family.

Tea is divided into handmade tea and machine-made tea. In this world, the demand for tea is massive; handmade tea cannot satisfy such a huge volume, so machines must meet the market’s needs.

However, because tea culture is flourishing, people’s pursuit of handmade tea is extremely fanatical. The price of handmade tea is exorbitant, and the status of tea-making masters rises accordingly.

The Lin family had ancestral techniques. The original body was unwilling to endure the hardship and refused to learn, but Lin Jiu wanted to.

The system was quite annoyed by the rebellious host, seriously suspecting she hadn’t even thought about tea-making until it gave her instructions, at which point she decided to go to the middle of nowhere to rub tea leaves.

The system was so angry it didn’t speak to Lin Jiu for three days. Lin Jiu enjoyed the peace, continuing to familiarize herself with every aspect of this world, especially the tea culture.

The original body, however flighty, had grown up in a tea family; she was very familiar with tea through osmosis.

But for the current Lin Jiu, who possessed the “Green Tea Spirit” identity, it was like having a cheat code.

She could fully comprehend books about tea after reading them once. She could identify any tea just by catching its scent.

As the fusion between her identity and herself deepened, her skills became more refined. Lin Jiu sensed she would gain new abilities soon and was quite looking forward to it.

But there were downsides.

Because her essence was a “Green Tea,” her love for tea skyrocketed. She threw herself into research materials and documentaries, forgetting to eat and sleep. She would go to the family’s small garden three to five times a day just to look at the tea plants.

Using the university entrance exam as a metaphor wouldn’t emphasize her enjoyment enough; to describe it accurately, she was like a cat-lover with catnip—intoxicated and unable to let go.

Seeing this intensity, Lin Jiu’s parents became worried and called Zhao Chun to the house.

Zhao Chun was the original body’s childhood friend and one of the few people who could tolerate her temper. She was a successful person who had managed to “pluck wool” from the Lin family thanks to her friendship with Lin Jiu.

Lately, she had been wondering why Lin Jiu hadn’t called her to go mess around, only to receive an invitation from Lin’s mother, urging her to take Lin Jiu out to eat, drink, and have fun—anything to stop her from studying tea anymore.

Zhao Chun: Did my ears malfunction? How can there be such a strange request?

Zhao Chun arrived at the Lin house full of confusion and found Lin Jiu in the tea room.

The tea room was connected to a small courtyard, lush with greenery and the constant hum of cicadas.

Inside the sparse, elegant room, a primitive Chinese-style desk sat horizontally. Lin Jiu was dressed in beige casual clothes, sitting at the desk and leisurely tasting tea.

This scene looked like an elegant and fresh painting of a classical lady.

Zhao Chun couldn’t help but stare blankly.

Is this Lin Jiu?

Sensing someone had arrived, the protagonist of the “painting” slowly raised her head, revealing a pair of bloodshot “rabbit eyes.”

“…Holy sh*t.”

Zhao Chun dutifully dragged Lin Jiu out of the tea room, affectionately handed her a bottle of eye drops, and said lovingly:

“Babe, want to go clubbing?”

Lin Jiu applied the eye drops and said:

“Don’t call me babe. Call me by my name.”

“Oh, Xiao Jiu,” Zhao Chun adjusted smoothly. “So, clubbing? Let’s go out and have fun.”

Lin Jiu lacked interest.

Seeing this, Zhao Chun said:

“Your parents are very worried about you. They want you to go out more and not just stay at home studying all the time.”

After speaking, Zhao Chun complained in her heart—usually people are urged to study, but here she was, earnestly trying to persuade someone not to study.

Lin Jiu seemed moved, likely touched by her parents’ well-meaning efforts.

Zhao Chun felt somewhat relieved.

The next moment, she heard Lin Jiu say with great interest:

“Sure, let’s go check out that tea manor in Qingyu.”

“…”

Tea manors are categorized into different business models based on their target audience.

The manors in luxury malls are the most refined, hosting elegant gatherings and tea ceremonies, decorated with zithers, go boards, calligraphy, and paintings—extremely tranquil.

Lin Jiu stood inside her family’s storefront and glanced across the way. The ancient plaque of the Yu family hung high.

Zhao Chun followed her gaze and asked curiously:

“Your two families are rivals. This is a mall developed by your family; why didn’t you just refuse to sell a storefront to Yu Yihan?”

At first, Lin Jiu thought this made a lot of sense. After digging through her memories for the reason, she went silent for a moment, a faint look of melancholy in her eyes.

Zhao Chun asked: “What’s wrong?”

Lin Jiu: “I wanted to loudly scold her and refuse her entry into the mall, but she simply gave… too much.”

“…”

Zhao Chun’s expression was beyond words. She didn’t know if the money was “too much,” but the “Green Tea” remarks were certainly excessive.

As the saying goes, speak of the devil—the very person they were talking about walked out of the Yu family tea manor. A group of people followed her, all dressed in suits; they appeared to be discussing business.

Perhaps because she had just finished making a saucy remark, Lin Jiu’s back stiffened the moment she saw Yu Yihan.

Especially when Yu Yihan’s deep gaze swept lightly over her.