(MC POV)
I was busy cleaning up the utensils that Kiyomi used after she left when the door swung open once more.
This time, another woman walked in wearing almost the same style of clothes as Kiyomi just without the cloak and mask. In her hands were several shopping bags of various sizes from different shops within the capital.
"Hmm... Empty as always I see," Diao Chan muttered, taking off her hat to hang on the rack before sauntering in.
She walked past without acknowledging me to sit at the counter, tossing her bags on the side of the counter without a care.
"An Iced Macchiato with a Coffee Tiramisu and Chocolate Pudding. Now."
I immediately moved to work on her order while she took out a mirror to start touching up on her makeup.
Yep, that's the Diao Chan of this World.
Without me to discipline her, she remained with Feng Xian who went to Heaven Sect and became an Elite Practitioner really quickly.
The ironic thing was that Diao Chan also never changed her attitude and made use of Feng Xian's influence to do whatever she wanted while the poor dude was basically stuck cultivating inside Heaven Sect.
He was still smitten with her so whatever money he earned inside the Sect went to Diao Chan.
She then took the opportunity to relocate to the capital to live a life of luxury instead of inside the Sect.
No one dared to mess with her since they knew she was Feng Xian's girl and anyone who tried to mess with her basically got a visit from Feng Xian himself and was beaten to an inch of their lives.
She found our store by chance and ended up really liking our coffee and sweets so she comes here often at this time of day.
And in case you're wondering, she's part of the reason why our shop is this empty during the late afternoon since she would harass other customers if they were around.
I peeked at Lian Li to see that she didn't look too surprised by her attitude so I guessed that she must have already seen how Diao Chan is like in this World through her own memories.
"What's taking you so long? Is an Iced Macchiato that hard for you to make?" Diao Chan complained as she finished applying her lipstick.
"Sorry, just give me a moment to make sure it's perfect."
She gave an exaggerated sigh, "I'm already a regular customer here and you still can't do it fast… Maybe I should just take my business elsewhere instead…"
I paused in making her drink and levelled a stare at her.
Her eyes were hidden behind her sunglasses but I could tell that she was unnerved by my gaze and pretended to be busy with checking her makeup with her mirror.
No wait… Did she just shudder?
Hmm… She may not be a full masochist right now but she definitely has the hidden side in her it seems.
I then went back to preparing her coffee, making sure to drizzle a little bit of caramel sauce at the top before placing it on top of the counter in front of her.
"Your Iced Macchiato, please hold on for your Coffee Tiramisu and Chocolate Pudding."
"Mmm…" She muttered, unwilling to look me in the eye after what happened a few moments ago.
I went to the back to prepare the sweets while Lian Li followed behind me.
"Ehehehe~ It seems that Diao Chan still has that side hidden inside her. Doesn't it, Master?"
"I guess even in another World, she's still the same as always. Although I don't know if I even need to do anything for her in this World?"
I mean… All the other girls so far were facing quite significant problems on their own. This place is thus a refuge for them but I doubt we offered anything of that sort to Diao Chan.
Lian Li seemed to be smiling from ear to ear at my words, as though she knew something that I did not.
"What?" I asked.
"Ehehehe~ Nothing, Darling. I think I should go and check on our daughter~"
That means there's definitely something.
I brought out the Coffee Tiramisu and Chocolate Pudding, finishing my preparation faster than usual thanks to some reality manipulation on my part since she was complaining about me being slow.
That must have come as a surprise to Diao Chan since she quickly swiped something off the table and pretended to be busy sipping away on her Iced Macchiato.
Hmm… That's definitely quite suspicious…
"Your order, Miss Diao Chan."
"Mmm…" She nodded, still not meeting my gaze.
I decided to go back to cleaning up the shop so I picked up my broom and went to the shop floor to start sweeping.
Diao Chan was just quietly keeping to herself as I worked, though I realised that she seemed to be more nervous than usual.
As I neared her, I realised that the thing she had swiped off the counter was a sketchbook of sorts and it had fallen onto the floor near her feet, the book opening to one of the pages.
I chanced a peek at the page and… I realised that they were sketches of me in various different poses, the last one being me staring right at the viewer.
Oh…
If I were to hazard a guess… Maybe Diao Chan actually wants to be an artist but didn't have the confidence to make the leap? So she just comes here to work on her craft with me as her muse?
Well… The possibility that she simply has a one-sided crush on me also exists I suppose, but I'm guessing it might be more of the former? At least maybe for now.
She wasn't aware that I saw her sketchbook yet and was busy with tasting the sweets I brought her.
Deciding that I would just tease her a little, I made my way towards her under the cover of sweeping up the floor.
Just as I reached behind her, I whispered, "Those are some really nice drawings, you have quite the talent. There's no need to hide it here, you know?"
She froze.
Her head slowly shifted down to see the opened sketch book by her feet and I could see her entire body tensing up.
Diao Chan then slowly looked up again and turned towards me, "Ahh… Ahh… That… That's not…"
I winked at her, "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."
She then gave me a look of both relief and disappointment which kind of confused me.
What was she expecting from me?
She then pulled off her sunglasses to look at me again, "Umm… Do you… Do you know how to draw? I… I can't get hands right… And it's hard to draw hands while referencing my own…"
Oh? What's this? She suddenly got so meek just because I found out about her drawing?
That's cute~
"Do you want me to reference mine?" I offered.
"Y… You will?! I… I mean… Ahem… Hmph, you should be honoured that I'm willing to accept that. Come over here and let me see your hands. Don't get me wrong! It's not like I really need you to!"
Ahahaha~ I never thought I would one day see Tsundere Diao Chan!
I really want to pat her head now~
