A Warm Marriage After Rebirth

Chapter 129: Chapter 129: A Resounding Face-Slap (Part 2)

Michelle Galloway was already floating on air. To build the reputation of the Fortune Antique Shop, her father had even invited many reporters. With this publicity, her chances of getting into the Aethelgard Film Academy would be even greater! ’Once the news is broadcast,’ she thought, ’and with a little maneuvering behind the scenes, even more people will know and praise me!’

”I never thought a small place like Sanford would produce such talent! To be honest, I only know about drinking coffee and savoring red wine; I’m really not a fan of this tea stuff!”

”Thank goodness we have someone who can take the lead. Otherwise, we really would have been disgraced today!”

”She’s beautiful and so accomplished. Michelle Galloway is truly impressive!”

...

Hearing the chorus of praise from the crowd, Michelle Galloway grew even more smug. Heaven knows how long she had prepared for this day; just learning the art of tea had nearly killed her! But it seemed her hard work was finally paying off.

”Don’t get too happy yet,” Logan Grant warned in a low voice. ”This is just the first round. The main event is next. This group of foreign students hasn’t even started making trouble.”

”Everyone, get ready to take whatever they throw at us! That guy Simon lost to Seraphina Sterling yesterday, so there’s no way he’ll let us off this easily! The moment you get a chance, go after them—show no mercy! We should beat them to a pulp!” Genevieve Churchill was so angry she started rolling up her sleeves.

Everyone around her broke into a cold sweat. This was a cultural exchange, not a battlefield! Beat them to a pulp? What on earth was she thinking? How could Veridia First High School have chosen someone like her to come? It might be one thing if she were a male student, but she was a girl! Was it really okay for a girl to be this aggressive? Wasn’t Veridia First High School worried that its sterling reputation would be ruined by Genevieve Churchill?

Genevieve Churchill also realized she might have gone a little overboard. She coughed lightly twice. ”Um, what I mean is, if Simon starts something, we don’t need to spare his feelings. Say whatever will piss him off the most! No need to be reserved or feel embarrassed! We should knock them down a peg!”

Michelle Galloway was inwardly reveling, enjoying the praise and envious gazes of the crowd. But she had celebrated too soon.

”They say Apex’s tea culture has a long history, that it’s one of Apex’s oldest traditions. Yesterday, Sterling praised it to no end. I came here today looking forward to this tea ceremony demonstration with great enthusiasm, but I never expected that what you’ve shown is only slightly better than garbage! If this is the tea culture that you people from Apex promote, then it’s nothing special at all!”

Simon didn’t even glance at the purple clay teacup placed before him. The other foreign students followed his lead, not taking a single sip. They let the fragrance of the tea dissipate, and even the steam slowly rising from the cups seemed to fade into lonely wisps.

As soon as he said this, a chill fell over the room.

The smile on Michelle Galloway’s face froze.

”When it comes to the art of tea, Apex’s version is far, far behind Country R’s tea ceremony! You don’t even have a complete ritual, so how can you call it a culture? In my opinion, this tea culture seems more like a tradition from Country R. It doesn’t seem to have much to do with you people from Apex at all! Don’t tell me you stole this tea art from Country R, did you? You just failed to steal its essence!”

Simon leaned back in his chair and poured the now-cold tea onto the floor. The room grew cold once more. The biting chill outside probably couldn’t compare to the icy atmosphere inside at that moment.

Michelle Galloway’s expression turned even uglier. To have the fruits of her painstaking labor belittled in such a way! Having always been pampered and proud, her face instantly turned cold.

”Simon, tea culture has a history of over five thousand years in Apex. Country R’s tea ceremony was also introduced from ancient Apex in later years. You can say that Country R has carried on and developed our excellent and ancient tea culture, but you cannot say that we in Apex imported it from Yashima!”