Chapter 72 : Tan Han’s First Experience at the Bakery

Just as I was pondering how to strike up a conversation with this aloof academic prodigy, I noticed Tan Han had started wandering around on her own.

That alone wouldn’t have flustered me, but her target wasn’t the ordinary pastries or the finished products in the display case.

It was the “special treat” Senior Tang Yihan had deliberately left out for Senior Ying Shiqian.

Those experimental creations from Senior Tang Yihan each one a tastebud-shattering disaster.

I couldn’t even imagine Tan Han’s face contorting after tasting it.

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

Tan Han looked slightly surprised at my reaction, pausing her movements.

“Didn’t Store Manager Xia Li say we could try anything?”

“Well, yes, but that cake you’re holding… It's one of Senior Tang Yihan’s experiments. The taste isn’t exactly… pleasant…”

“So, I can try it?”

Tan Han clearly missed the point of my warning, and with the fork in her hand, she scooped a tiny bit of the cream and put it in her mouth.

“Uh… well, sure… haha… forget I said anything…”

Seeing her only take a bit of the cream, I let out a sigh of relief.

At least she wasn’t being reckless.

“The cream tastes pretty good,” Tan Han savored the flavor, gave it a positive nod, and even flashed a thumbs-up.

Then, she swiftly dug a spoonful from the sliced piece, moving so fast I didn’t have time to react.

I thought she’d stop there, but she went for it big time.

By the time I realized what was happening, Tan Han had already put the cake and its filling in her mouth.

My secondhand embarrassment kicked in, and I watched as Tan Han’s usually calm expression changed.

Though she was clearly trying to hold it together, she couldn’t hide the grimace on her face.

“Hey… hey Sorry, I didn’t think you’d actually eat it! Spit it out! Don’t force yourself!”

I hurriedly grabbed some tissues and handed them to her.

“Do you want me to get you some water?”

“Mmm… yeah…”

After the initial shock, Tan Han instinctively took the tissues I offered, but in the end, she swallowed it.

I could almost see the tiny glistening pearls at the corners of her eyes.

“Sorry… please get me a glass of water…”

She finally gave in and accepted my offer.

“Alright, one sec…”

I quickly grabbed a paper cup, filled it with water, and handed it to her.

With the water’s help, Tan Han seemed to recover.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. It’s mostly my fault for not stopping you… sorry.”

I apologized sincerely.

Tan Han was essentially a guest here, and for her to have such an experience if the store manager found out, would my wages get docked?

“No need to apologize. I didn’t expect… Senior Tang’s experiment to be so… unique…”

Tan Han set down the cup and wiped her mouth with a few more tissues.

“Sorry about that. Senior Tang Yihan has been trying new recipes, but her recent attempts haven’t been very successful. This was probably meant for Senior Ying Shiqian to taste and wasn’t cleared away in time,” I explained hurriedly, hoping Tan Han wouldn’t misunderstand.

“Phew It’s fine, Little Han… can I call you Little Han?”

Tan Han sighed, then spoke up directly, though she hesitated, as if unsure if the nickname was appropriate.

“Of course, you can!”

I nodded quickly, already used to being called that.

“Then you can call me Little Tan. Everyone usually calls me that. The store manager calling me Little Han feels a bit odd.”

“Got it.”

I nodded eagerly.

Whether or not Tan Han was telling the truth, it was good to distinguish between us.

It’d be awkward if both of us responded to the same nickname.

Plus, with the huge gap in status between me and Tan Han, agreeing to the wrong thing could make me look bad.

I had my pride to maintain too.

“Little Han, can you get me a red velvet cake from the shop? My connection to Witch Academy started with a red velvet cake, but I didn’t get to taste it back then.”

“Uh… sure.”

I looked at Tan Han, surprised she brought it up herself.

I’d been deliberately avoiding mentioning Witch Academy, considering she was abducted here.

I didn’t want to upset her.

Even though she seemed calm and had accepted everything, her words just now suggested she was even more at ease with it than I’d imagined.

How exactly did the academy comfort her?

An academic prodigy like her should be full of pride, right?

Even for someone as quiet as her, it shouldn’t be like this, should it?

But since she mentioned red velvet cake, I got to work.

Red velvet cake was our shop’s flagship product.

Every delivery order from the seniors was for red velvet cake.

The reason warmed the heart: our online red velvet cake shop only sold red velvet cake.

So, since this was Tan Han’s request, I didn’t hesitate to bring out a whole, uncut red velvet cake.

Its glossy red cream coated a vibrant red cake base.

While the taste was quite ordinary, our store manager had given it a special meaning.

“The whole thing?”

Tan Han asked, eyeing the entire cake I brought out, clearly implying she couldn’t eat that much.

“I’ll cut it for you.”

As I spoke, I picked up the tool specifically for slicing cakes.

I loved cutting this the way the blade sank smoothly into the cake felt amazing, though sadly, with few customers, I rarely got the chance.

Soon, I handed her a small plate with a slice of cake while wiping the red cream off the knife with a cloth, feeling a bit like I was handling a murder weapon.

“Enjoy.”

I enthusiastically handed her a small fork, then got back to work, like taking away the cake that had embarrassed Tan Han earlier.

I wasn’t sure if Senior needed it anymore.

If not, I’d have to toss it.

It was another disastrous creation, though sniffing it up close, it didn’t smell off.

As for the taste, you’d have to ask Tan Han, but I didn’t have the guts to bring it up, mainly for fear of getting hit.

After taking the cake to the back, I returned to find Tan Han had only taken a few bites of her red velvet cake before setting it down, seemingly uninterested in continuing.

“What’s wrong? Not to your liking?”

I asked, holding the now-sliced cake.

It wasn’t suitable for the display case anymore, so I’d just portion it out.

“Nothing, it’s just… the taste is more ordinary than I expected.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty standard,” I agreed.

But even for me, I wouldn’t stop eating a cake halfway just because it was ordinary.

I wasn’t picky.

Were girls’ thought processes really that different, or was Tan Han on a diet and avoiding eating too much?

Girls usually love sweets, right?

And Tan Han didn’t seem like she needed to diet.

Though, this bit of waste was nothing compared to what Senior wasted when experimenting with new recipes.