CHAPTER 702: CHAPTER 429: MAINTAINING A STRANGE RELATIONSHIP WITH MY SISTER-IN-LAW?

"Little maid," the female customer said, folding her arms and covering her mouth with a smile, addressing Hanamaru Hanabi across from her, "Your face is cute, yes, but you’re missing that little bit of femininity, the most essential quality, a touch of allure."

Hanamaru Hanabi kept smiling.

The female customer turned her attention to Uesugi Sakura, her smile suddenly brightened, her voice softened considerably, almost biting her words as she asked:

"The handsome guy must understand, right? Cute girls only throw tantrums at you, only force you to acknowledge their beauty, only make you appreciate them. During holidays, they demand gifts, and if they’re not satisfied, they’ll return them. But women... they have self-awareness, they know how to show themselves to men, to use their allure to please them, know what he likes, know what to say and when, and can unexpectedly give you a surprise."

As she spoke, she placed her hands on the front desk, her gaze seemed to be admiring Uesugi Sakura’s appearance.

Hanamaru Hanabi directly hugged Uesugi Sakura’s arm, leaned against his shoulder, and said to the female customer:

"Sorry, my brother-in-law is already married."

The female customer was stunned for a few seconds, immediately straightened up.

"Handsome guy... you’re married?"

Uesugi Sakura: "..."

Hanamaru Hanabi snuggled against his shoulder like a kitten: "Yes, my sister loves my brother-in-law very much. She prepares dinner for her personally every day, massages his back, and my brother-in-law loves her very much too."

The female customer felt this was a provocation towards her, completely annoying, yet inexplicably upset, glaring at her and said:

"But she’s your sister! What does it have to do with you, little girl?"

"But she’s my sister, and this is my brother-in-law, and he has nothing to do with you."

"You!"

With Hanamaru Hanabi holding Uesugi Sakura’s arm clearly having the upper hand, the female customer was helpless against her, could only snort, picked up the two ice creams on the counter, and stormed off.

Uesugi Sakura glanced inside the store, Towa Rina and the twin sisters were in the kitchen, Kobashi Rie had gone to the bathroom, none of them witnessed the previous scene.

"Can you let go now... don’t forget, Hanabi, in the café, you’re still my sister-in-law."

"Aren’t you thankful to Hanabi?" Hanamaru Hanabi didn’t let go but hugged him even tighter, purposely making the previously seated female customer see it, deliberately irritating her.

That female customer wasn’t one to take it lying down either, she turned her face away, not bothering with this little girl.

Uesugi Sakura pushed her hand away from his arm: "Thanks a lot, but... now, can I get back to work?"

"Do I sense some disdain from you, Sakura?" Hanamaru Hanabi released his arm, suddenly turning calm in her tone.

"No, not at all," Uesugi Sakura hurriedly explained, "I like you the most."

"That’s good." Hanamaru Hanabi’s expression immediately softened, showing a smile, "Sakura, keep it up, Hanabi is going to work too!"

It was quite energetic indeed.

Seeing her leave with a tray, Uesugi Sakura also began his work.

He prepared two cappuccinos for the previous female customers and placed them on the counter, leaving Tashiro Yuuri to serve them.

As she was leaving, she specially glanced at Uesugi Sakura.

...

The work was really busy, almost nonstop all afternoon. Uesugi Sakura kept greeting customers coming in and then, with Kobashi Rikai’s assistance, brewed the coffee.

Uesugi Sakura glanced at the freshly ground coffee she handed over:

"Hmm, you’ve improved. Just get a bit more practiced, and remember to grind the beans evenly."

"Okay, sure," Kobashi Rikai replied, "Shall I take the coffee powder to the extraction next?"

Uesugi Sakura nodded, turned to pick up a metal kettle, and said, "Yes, remember to use hot water for the first cup. This customer prefers a bitter taste. I’ll prepare the milk foam for the second customer first."

"Got it!" Kobashi Rikai smiled as she answered, moving to the other side to put the coffee powder into the machine, extracting a more bitter coffee.

She’s not quite skilled with the traditional pour-over method yet and could only rely on the machine.

However, with more customers than before, and even Uesugi Sakura’s pour-over method would be too time-consuming.

After finishing a series of tasks, she brought the extracted coffee to Uesugi Sakura.

"How is it?"

"Not bad."

Uesugi Sakura took a glance, expertly took one cup, and started latte art with the freshly foamed milk.

He focused on the milk stream flowing from the frothing pitcher into the coffee cup, extremely earnest, under his skillful control, a simple latte art appeared, every movement elegant and natural.

"Sakura, you’re amazing." Kobashi Rikai watched in astonishment, this was the level only seen from masters online.

"It’s nothing." Uesugi Sakura casually replied, placing the coffee on a tray, waiting for the little maid to take it.

If Hanamaru Hanabi came over, she would give Uesugi Sakura a special smile before taking the tray away.

Such work continued until six in the evening.

At six-thirty, as customer flow decreased, everyone enjoyed a breather.

To verify how much Kobashi Rikai had learned, Uesugi Sakura personally supervised her coffee-making process.

She was a bit nervous until a very ordinary cup of coffee came out, which she carefully served to Uesugi Sakura for tasting.