Chapter 128 Do you have a Certificate? Show it!
Everyone was hooked.
"Cynthia, this tea artist you brought in is amazing. Where'd you find her? Why were the previous ones all old men?"
The tea tasting event had been held a few times, each time organized by different folks.
This time it was Cynthia's turn, and the tea artist had suddenly gotten sick, so she had to bring in Camilla as a last-minute replacement.
This had never happened before.
Another person quickly chimed in, "Exactly! Why didn't they hire someone like her before? Instead, they kept bringing in old men. This is way better."
"She's good-looking and has a sweet voice."
"This girl is really good. Her voice is so soothing."
Amara and Elodie were stunned the moment they saw Camilla.
Then they watched as Camilla calmly took the stage, speaking fluently about tea culture, citing references with ease.
Amara listened to everyone's praises about Camilla—how good she was, how beautiful, how elegant—all compliments!
She thought, 'Why?
'Why does everyone like Camilla?
'But Camilla doesn't even understand tea. Why is she sitting up there pretending to be an expert, teaching these ladies?'
Amara's eyes flashed with resentment, and deeper down, it was clearly a burning jealousy!
"Wait a minute." Amara stood up, interrupting Camilla, and everyone's eyes instantly focused on her.
Elodie didn't have time to stop her.
Cynthia frowned.
Camilla calmly asked, "Do you have a question?"
Amara smirked, "Miss, you're here to teach us about tea culture, but are you even a tea artist? Aren't you a bit too young? And what you're saying sound so unprofessional. You're even quoting lines from documentaries."
With that, everyone started to murmur.
"Yeah, why did they suddenly change the tea master?"
Those who had attended previous tea tasting events knew the instructor was a man in his sixties. Why was there suddenly a young girl?
Seeing this, Cynthia stood up to explain, "Here's the situation: the originally scheduled tea artist fell ill two days ago, so I invited a new one for everyone. I assure you, her tea skills are impeccable."
Amara raised an eyebrow, "Then may I ask, what level of tea artist is she?"
Amara did her homework. She had researched extensively last night, cramming all the relevant knowledge.
She knew that tea masters are divided into five levels: Junior, Intermediate, Senior, Technician, and Senior Technician.
Each level has a corresponding certificate, recognized and issued by the state, officially called the Tea Artist Professional Qualification Certificate.
It's an exam-based certification.
And the exam isn't easy; it requires systematic study of tea knowledge and skills.
Amara's roommate had taken the Junior Tea Master exam, even paying for a prep course, and passed only on the second attempt. So Amara knew how hard it was to get this certificate.
She thought, 'Even if Camilla knows a bit about tea, so what? I bet she doesn't have a tea master certificate!'
Cynthia was in a bit of a bind.
On one hand, she was annoyed by Amara's tactless disruption; on the other, she was unsure.
She only knew that Camilla could make tea and knew some tea culture, but she wasn't sure if she had a certificate.
Thinking of this, Cynthia looked at Camilla with some concern.
Camilla, however, gave Cynthia a reassuring look, then turned her gaze to Amara, enunciating each word clearly, "You said I was unprofessional. Could you please point out exactly how I was unprofessional?"
Amara was caught off guard.
She had just thrown that out there; she didn't actually know how Camilla was unprofessional.
Even though she had crammed last night, she hadn't memorized everything.
Amara's eyes darted around, trying to change the subject, "I'm asking you now if you have a tea master certificate. Don't try to divert the topic."
"As a teacher, I'm actively listening to my students' feedback and addressing their doubts. Is there a problem with that? What do you mean by diverting the topic? You can say I'm not good enough, but you must provide a reason. I won't accept baseless accusations!"
Such a strong Camilla was hard for Amara to handle.
Seeing everyone's questioning eyes on her, Amara straightened her back instinctively, "What you said wasn't entirely wrong, but the basics of tea culture are known to everyone here."
"Even if they don't know, a quick online search would make them sound knowledgeable."
"Different levels of tea artists teach at different depths. Are we here today just to hear you talk about basic knowledge?"
Some people were already swayed and nodded in agreement.
"She's right. A certificate is a good way to prove your skills and experience. Without one, it's hard to know what you're capable of."
"Exactly, there are so many scammers nowadays. Just show us the certificate to put everyone at ease. If you really have it, it shouldn't be hard, right?"
Cynthia's expression was already very unpleasant.
Camilla was her guest. Questioning Camilla was like questioning her.
Compared to Cynthia's tension and anger, Paloma was relaxed, sipping her tea leisurely, enjoying the show.
She thought, 'It's worth coming today; there is drama to watch. Not bad.'
Paloma had never met Camilla and didn't know this girl, but her looks and demeanor were not Paloma's type.
She thought, 'How to put it? The kind that acts unassuming but is actually out of touch.
'All that elegance and poise, to me, is just being pretentious!
'Like Cynthia.
'And like Camilla.
'Not my type at all.'
Paloma even thought with some schadenfreude that if this girl didn't have that certificate today, it would be hard to wrap things up.
Camilla observed everyone's reactions, not only remaining calm but even taking a moment to reassure Cynthia with a look.
"If I have the tea master certificate, how do you plan to apologize for your baseless accusations and rude behavior?"
Amara sneered, "If you really have it, I'll do whatever you want. Deal?"
"Deal." Camilla had been waiting for Amara to say that.
Camilla waved to a girl at the door. The girl, dressed in the tea tasting event's custom attire, walked over with small steps.
Camilla's bag and some essentials had been handed to her for safekeeping before entering.
The girl, being smart, brought the bag over proactively.
Camilla smiled at her, "Thank you."
The girl blushed and whispered, "You're welcome."
Before coming, Camilla had anticipated this might be necessary, so she had placed the certificate in the bag's inner pocket.
Different levels of certificates have different colors. Camilla slowly unzipped her bag in front of everyone.
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