novellhall Chapter 10 Green
Chapter 10 Green
Miyazawa Itsuki was in the back kitchen of the café, preparing for the peak customer season.
He carefully washed and disinfected his hands, briefly checked the oven, milk frother, and other equipment, and then transferred the frozen Basque cake to the refrigerator to thaw.
The magnetic sticky note on the refrigerator door records today's main menu.
Caramel pudding.
This was also the first dessert he learned from Mrs. Morizumi.
Now they have achieved the goal of surpassing their predecessors.
Miyazawa prepared the pudding mixture and then preheated the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Only after he had done all this did he walk out of the kitchen.
Mr. Morizumi's coffee was already on the table, steaming hot.
Miyazawa picked up his coffee; the latte art was a standard leaf.
He took a small sip, savoring the rich aroma of coffee with just the right amount of sweetness.
Mr. Morizumi's coffee-making skills are quite outstanding; even Miyazawa Itsuki, who has no appreciation for coffee, can sense the difference between his coffee and mass-market coffee.
After finishing his coffee, Miyazawa Itsuki washed the coffee cup clean.
It was already 7 p.m.
A peak in customer traffic is also approaching after get off work.
Soon after, customers entered the store.
Miyazawa Itsuki is in charge of reception, but if there are desserts that need to be made by him, he will switch to the work of a pastry chef.
During the time Mrs. Mori was away on a trip, he was in charge of preparing the pastries at the café.
His baking skills are certainly professional enough. Some people even come specifically for his desserts.
After serving several regular customers, Miyazawa Itsuki tidied up the cups and glasses on the table.
The crisp sound of the wind chimes at the door rang out.
A girl wearing a coat and sunglasses stepped into the store.
The customer who came specifically for the desserts also came to the shop today.
Miyazawa Itsuki, holding a cup, met the girl's gaze through her sunglasses. She nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
The girl sat in that familiar corner by the window. After putting away the cups, Miyazawa Itsuki came to her.
"Miss Qing hasn't been here for a while," Miyazawa Itsuki said with a polite smile.
"Yes... I've been very busy with work lately."
The girl's voice sounded tired.
The voice was slightly cool, yet melodious, as if one could imagine the girl's face hidden behind sunglasses, like a snow woman from legend. Cold and beautiful.
Among the many guests who visit Mori-zumi Cafe, Ms. Ao is indeed the most special.
Miyazawa Itsuki first met him one summer evening last year.
Mr. Morizumi left the shop for some reason, so the cafe closed early. Miyazawa Itsuki was cleaning the shop.
At that moment, a slender figure tentatively knocked on the shop door.
"Excuse me... do you have anything to eat?"
At that time, Miss Qing wore her signature sunglasses, revealing only half of her face, which had a beautiful shape.
Miyazawa Itsuki wanted to say that the shop was already closed, but upon hearing the other person's weak voice, he swallowed his words.
"...I desperately need something sweet because I have low blood sugar." A low, hushed voice came from the enamel-colored lips.
Miyazawa Itsuki hesitated for a moment.
"I'm sorry, the barista has already left. If you don't mind, I can make you a cup of coffee and prepare a dessert."
"Thank you." The girl breathed a sigh of relief and sat down in the corner by the window.
Miyazawa Itsuki used the coffee machine to make her a mocha. Although he didn't have the manager's skills, he still knew the basic procedures for operating the coffee machine.
I also treated them to caramel pudding, a dish I had recently learned to make.
Aside from the shop manager and Mrs. Morizumi, this was the first time anyone had tasted his desserts; they were his first customers.
After thanking her softly, the girl silently savored her coffee and pudding.
When drinking coffee, the girl was clearly not used to it and added a lot of maple syrup and milk.
But while eating the pudding, her hand holding the spoon paused slightly for a moment. She remained in the position of bringing the spoon to her mouth, as if she were in a daze.
She finished the pudding without making a sound, and then put down her cutlery.
"Excuse me, do you have any extra pudding? I'd like to buy some to share with my friends."
"I'm sorry, but since the pudding isn't a semi-finished product, but rather something I made fresh, I don't have any extra ingredients today. If you like it, feel free to bring your friends next time," Miyazawa Itsuki replied matter-of-factly.
The girl was silent for a moment, then nodded, paid the bill, and left.
After that, the girl became a regular customer at the store.
Although he doesn't come very often, only once every one or two months, he always requests Miyazawa Itsuki to make desserts for him each time he comes.
Once, due to a work mistake, a cake made by Mrs. Morizumi was mistakenly served to her. The girl even seriously called Miyazawa Itsuki over and said in an unhappy tone:
"You taste different."
"What?" Miyazawa Itsuki was confused.
"Please try some." She pushed a piece of cake, with a spoonful already removed, towards Miyazawa Itsuki.
Miyazawa Itsuki looked puzzled, but considering that the other party didn't seem to be joking, he still gritted his teeth and took a bite.
Only after tasting it did I realize that he had served the wrong cake. This was a cake Mrs. Morizumi made as a demonstration. The balance of sweet and sour was more refined.
I developed the corresponding sensitivity because of my professional-level baking skills.
He didn't expect that the girl could also taste the difference.
After apologizing for his mistake at work, Miyazawa Itsuki reserving the cake he had made.
Although her expression was obscured by the sunglasses, the way her cheeks puffed out as she chewed gave the impression that she was very satisfied.
This incident made Miyazawa Itsuki pay more attention to the girl. Gradually, they started to communicate occasionally.
To distinguish her from the other guests, the girl told Miyazawa Itsuki that he could call her "Blue".
Miyazawa Itsuki then called her "Miss Ao".
At this moment, Miss Qing held the menu, her tone carrying a strangely high spirit.
"Is today's featured dessert crème brûlée?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll order this." A subtle smile curved at the corners of Miss Qing's lips. "For coffee, I'll have a mocha. With sugar."
"Okay, please wait a moment." Miyazawa Itsuki noted it down, informed Mr. Morizumi that the guest wanted a sweetened mocha, and then returned to the kitchen.
The pudding pretreatment was complete and it was in the quick-freezing condenser. He took out a cooled pudding, sprinkled it with granulated sugar, and melted it with a blowtorch.
His professional-level skills have given him a special technique: melting and condensing caramel to create snowflake-like cracks that look beautiful.
Once the caramel pudding was ready, it was placed on a plate along with the coffee brewed by Mr. Morizumi, and Miyazawa Itsuki delivered it to Ms. Ao's table.
Miss Qing had a particular fondness for his desserts, but she was indifferent to his coffee, probably because it really wasn't very good.
After quietly finishing her coffee and pudding, Miss Qing suddenly spoke up:
"Hey buddy, have you considered changing jobs?"