Ashley complained inside but after taking a glance at the indomitable Chant, she had to concede and
accept the task.
'Okay, just do it. There is no other way out.'
She tried to recall each step Chant had done earlier.
First, she picked the tea leaves with the special clips and put them into the porcelain cup. She then
waited for the water temperature to simmer down to 70 degrees Celsius. After that, she poured the
water into the cup to wash the tea leaves.
Ashley's hand motions were stiff and she almost dropped the tea pot from her hand a couple of times.
Luckily, she managed to avoid breaking the tea pot thanks to her quick thinking.
She was very attentive in every step. Nothing else mattered to her at that time, except for the tea set,
water and tea leaves. She was laser-focused on what she was doing.
Chant watched her and nodded with satisfaction.
The Lu family didn't need to strengthen its position in the business world through a marriage with a
prominent family.
Besides, he himself had a failed marriage. So he hoped Andrew could find somebody he really loved
and have a marriage without his partner having ulterior, financial motives.
To his surprise, Andrew has done that.
Thinking of the ridiculous things Andrew's parents had done in front of him, Chant felt sorry for Andrew.
But now everything was good. He had found somebody who could take care of him now. He didn't have
to worry about him anymore.
When Andrew got downstairs, he saw a lovely scene.
Ashley knelt on the carpet on the floor. Her hair was let down and was casually bound with a rubber
band. She looked natural and youthful. Moreover, she was concentrating on making tea and very
careful with whatever was in her hand.
From where Andrew stood, he could see her pale face and serious expression. She pressed her lips
tight and looked a little nervous but the motions of her hands were smooth and fluid.
He appreciated her exposed creamy neck, her straightened back and found Chant who sat opposite
her smiling with satisfaction. Chant saw Andrew from across the room and he winked at him from the
distance.
He wasn't the same kind of serious and stern person he was this morning.
Andrew moved his eyes away and strolled slowly in front of them.
Perhaps Ashley was too focused on what she was doing, she didn't notice that Andrew moved closer to
her.
After she finished the last step, she poured a cup of tea for Chant and passed it to him. "Grandpa, have
a try."
Chant took the cup and had a sip.
Ashley watched him, waiting with bated breath.
Chant clicked his tongue and looked at Ashley, and then turned to look at Andrew. "Not bad. But you
didn't control the water temperature well enough."
Ashley heaved a sigh of relief. She heard Chant said, "Andrew, you've come. Want to try the tea Ashley
made?"
Ashley turned back and found Andrew had been standing by her side from the time she was finished
preparing the tea and poured a cup for Chant.
Ashley was surprised and stammered, "Andy... You... How long have you been here?"
'Did Andy witness me perform the whole tea ceremony?'
Ashley felt her face was turning bright red with embarrassment. Grandpa must have already seen him
come in, but why didn't he tell her?
"I just came in a moment ago," replied Andrew.
He looked at the utensil spread on the table and asked, "Will you let me have a taste?"
Ashley looked at Andrew and stuttered, "Do you have to have tea?"
Andrew sat down by her side, gazed at her red-flushed face and said yes.
Ashley shifted her eyes between Chant and Andrew, and then poured a cup for him.
Andrew gracefully took the cup. His hand that held the cup and reached for his lips was pale, with
shapely knuckles. It was as beautiful as the white porcelain cup.
Ashley stared at his hand and got lost in her thoughts.
Chant felt satisfied as he watched the two of them. He stroked his beard and said to himself, 'The
young people today love to show their affection to each other publicly.'
After Andrew put the cup down, Chant asked, "What can you say about it?"
"Great," said Andrew.
Chant clicked his tongue and made no comment.
He stood up, rubbed his waist and said, "I'm old. My waist feels sore after sitting for a while. Andrew,
you take Ashley to look around the house. I have to go get some rest."
Ashley immediately replied, "Grandpa, let me help you go to your room."
"No, you two young people go out to have fun. Andrew will show you around," responded Chant.
He left them and went upstairs alone.
Ashley watched his back and asked Andrew, "Is Grandpa okay?"
"Don't worry about him. He'll be okay. Let's go out to have a look around," replied Andrew.
"Okay," said Ashley.
They stood up and were ready to go out the door when Andrew suddenly thought of something and
turned around.
Ashley was a bit confused. She asked, "What's going on..." Before she could finish her words, she saw
Andrew pick the tea pot up and drank it in one gulp.
Ashley dragged his wrist and said, "What are you doing? Nobody drinks tea like that. If you are thirsty,
I'll go bring you a cup of water."
As she said that, she turned around and was about to go to the kitchen.
But Andrew grabbed her hand and stopped her. "No, I'm not thirsty."
"Then why did you..."
She realized something before she spoke and she turned silent. Her face began to blush again as she
watched him drink another pot of tea.
"Don't drink that. I didn't make that tea. Grandpa made it..."
After they went out of the house, a gentle breeze greeted their faces. However, Ashley's face was still
flushed red from what happened earlier.
It was about 5 o'clock in the afternoon. In downtown J City, it would still be sunny, but not where they
were now. They were at a suburban area and at the top of the mountain. Tall tress blocked the
sunshine and cast shades, which made the temperature around the area a bit nippy.
They wandered around, their hands clasped together.
Ashley worriedly looked at Andrew. He had just drunk a whole pot of tea. It was quite a big pot. Would
he feel uncomfortable?
After they got outside, Ashley glanced at him from time to time to check if he was okay.
"What?" Andrew asked Ashley. He had noticed Ashley eyes were monitoring him while they were
strolling around the suburban area.
"Are you okay?" asked Ashley. Seeing his confused face, she added, "You just drank a whole pot of
tea. Are you feeling okay?"
He stroke her head gently and replied, "I'm okay. Don't worry about me."
Upon hearing his comforting response, Ashley breathed a big sigh of relief.
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