Chapter 73 : The Fifth Heavyweight Member

After tasting the red velvet cake, Tan Han got up and started browsing around, picking up interesting cookies to try.

I was a bit envious of her.

If the store manager told me I could eat anything here, I wouldn’t be as bold as Tan Han to just try things so naturally.

I wanted to introduce her to some of the new products, but she declined, saying she preferred to try them herself.

I didn’t insist.

After all, the new items displayed up front were at least not as bad as that cake from earlier.

But there were some bolder-flavored items here too.

Hopefully, she wouldn’t try those.

Those heavy-tasting items were usually packaged as blind boxes for sale in the bakery.

Cheap and novel, the bakery blind boxes sold quite well, relatively speaking, compared to other pastries.

Since Tan Han wasn’t chatting with me and I had nothing else to do, I cast a Cleaning Spell to tidy up the shop.

The Cleaning Spell was, in some ways, truly a godsend.

It wasn’t just for washing dishes it could handle dust, garbage, and even keep me clean.

If I didn’t still have the habit of bathing, the Cleaning Spell could’ve replaced showers entirely.

It also worked on dirty clothes, cleaning them with the spell before tossing them in the washer, not for any practical reason, but to give the clothes a ceremonial rinse, letting them know they’d been “washed.”

“Little Han, is that… a spell?”

Just as I’d cleaned the floor to a mirror-like shine, a voice from behind startled me.

I hadn’t expected the quiet academic prodigy to initiate a conversation.

“Phew You scared me! Yeah, it’s a spell Cleaning Spell. Pretty practical,” I said, calming myself and explaining without complaint.

“You can already use spells?”

Tan Han asked, visibly surprised.

“Uh… sort of. Using spells is actually simpler than you’d think,” I nodded, but I didn’t want her to misunderstand that using a spell and mastering it were two different things.

“I know, it’s a spellbook, right?”

“Huh? You know?”

I was shocked.

She actually knew?

Was I the clown here?

I’d been thinking about how to explain spellbooks and spell slots.

“I know a bit. The senior who’s been guiding me these past few days mentioned it.”

“That’s nice…”

I sighed sincerely.

She’d been guided by a senior for two days.

Why didn’t I get that treatment?

Wait, no, I had Sister Bai.

But I hadn’t asked her about these things, since I didn’t even know the concepts back then, so I had no reason to bring them up.

Tan Han noticed my unmasked envy and seemed about to explain, but she didn’t.

On one hand, there was no need to explain her treatment was a reflection of her own worth.

On the other hand, Xia Li’s voice came from the back, indicating the store manager was done with her tasks.

“Yihan, seriously, you took the club application form without telling me? I had to search for it forever,” Xia Li’s voice carried a hint of exasperation, though she couldn’t bring herself to scold.

But you didn’t tell me you were looking for it.

How was I supposed to know, Store Manager?

Besides, I’m the one who usually handles these things,Senior Tang Yihan’s voice followed.

Soon, their figures appeared in the front.

“Little Han Come here. I found the application form. If you’re set on joining the Bakery Club, come sign it”

Xia Li waved at Tan Han with a smile.

Hearing Xia Li’s voice, I instinctively thought she was calling me, but when I saw Tan Han move, I froze in place.

My eyes widened in disbelief.

Tan Han was joining the Bakery Club too?

Has she been brainwashed by Xia Li?

Didn’t she know the state of the Bakery Club?

Including me, there were only four members.

What was she after?

The store manager’s little savings?

I had a feeling the Transcendent Knowledge in that little savings wasn’t safe anymore.

What else could Xia Li have used to lure Tan Han?

Her charisma?

I certainly didn’t see it.

But I could see that the Senior Store Manager was loaded.

Even if she had a thousand flaws, she paid my wages.

And she paid them so promptly yesterday.

Who could hold a grudge against wages?

Where else could you find a boss this good?

“Senior Xia, please call me Little Tan. That’s what my family always calls me. Little Han feels a bit odd,” Tan Han said to the store manager as she walked over.

I was touched by Tan Han’s statement, but that didn’t stop me from following to see what was happening.

By the time I got there, Tan Han had already filled out the form without hesitation.

Her speed shocked me didn’t she want to think it over?

“Alright Congratulations to Tan Han for becoming our Bakery Club’s fourth…”

Xia Li was about to celebrate when she was interrupted by Ying Shiqian and Tang Yihan.

“Store Manager, correction it’s the fifth! We forgot to tell you something,” Ying Shiqian hurriedly explained.

“Huh? Fifth? How did I not know?”

Xia Li was stunned.

She was the store manager and club president.

How was she unaware?

“It’s Little Han! Yang Yuehan. This morning, we pulled Little Han into the club. We were waiting to tell you when you got here.”

“Little Han?”

Xia Li turned to me with a suspicious look, then glanced at Ying Shiqian and Tang Yihan, as if asking what was going on.

“Seriously, Store Manager, can you stop focusing only on Tan Han? You really don’t care about your employees. Yesterday, Little Han succeeded in her first attempt at meditation! You don’t want a little genius like that?”

Seeing Xia Li’s confused expression, Ying Shiqian launched into a lecture, making it hard to tell who the store manager was.

“Hm? Huh? What… ah?”

Xia Li let out four exclamations in a row, unable to form a complete sentence, showing just how shocked she was by the news.

Tan Han, who had just set down her pen, looked directly at me for the first time.

Even she couldn’t ignore this news.

She had initially thought this freshman in the shop wouldn’t have much to do with her, so she’d kept her distance, not pursuing deeper interaction.

She’d seen too many people try to cozy up to her, but Little Han felt different keeping a respectful distance without forcing contact.

The meditation mentioned by the senior likely referred to the Witch Meditation Method.

Tan Han had learned about it over the past two days but hadn’t tried it yet.

She’d asked about meditation, including time records and other details, so she understood what succeeding on the first attempt meant.

Tan Han realized it was time for her to take the initiative to build a relationship with Little Han.

Meditation was the cornerstone of harnessing transcendent energy.

Making a casual friend and discussing meditation topics seemed like a good idea.