"What a coincidence, I was going to say the same thing." Huai Shi smiled.
"Now then, the chit-chat should be over… shall we begin?"
"Let's begin."
Huai Shi slowly straightened up, putting some distance between himself and the blonde lady opposite: "How are we going to compete?"
"Didn't you bring alcohol? If you're really arrogant enough to have a duel with a bartender, then let's use the most traditional turn-based method. Each round both sides present a glass, the first to fall loses, the one standing wins." Elisa said, "In the archaeological team, disagreements are usually solved like this at my place, isn't it fair?"
"I don't care."
Huai Shi shrugged, then posed the last question: "Then, who goes first, who drinks first?"
"The method to solve this problem is even fairer."
Elisa revealed a mysterious smile, her wrist turned, and her fingers flicked, producing an ancient-looking coin as if by magic, carrying a faint aura of a curse.
It flipped between her fingers, the skeletal face on the front and the intricate curse script on the back overlapping and changing constantly.
It was obviously a border relic.
This was Elisa's solution, the simplest method.
A coin flip.
"Heads or tails?"
Huai Shi looked down, examining the spinning coin in her hand, his brows slightly raised: "Tails then, I like the design of that skull."
Then, Elisa smiled brightly, lifted her thumb, flicked it, and in an instant, the coin soared into the air.
In the stillness, it ascended.
The golden gleam spun in the air, reflecting as it passed between the eyes of the two gazing at each other, the coin rising, reaching the highest point, then falling as it tumbled downwards.
In Huai Shi's eyes, Elisa's sly smile was reflected.
At that moment, the elder sister's palm suddenly raised upward, reaching for the coin in mid-air, or rather, slapping downwards… In that fleeting moment, seizing a chance to decide the outcome.
Heads above, tails below.
She won.
If the coin had indeed been struck by her…
Indeed, the heavy and cold coin had already landed in her palm, but her hand hadn't pressed down to finalize this result.
Instead, she felt soft, slender fingers, with a hint of a cool palm.
Pressing against her own palm.
Elisa's pupils contracted in astonishment, finally seeing clearly Miss Huaizhi's move. In that instant, coming from behind to the fore… not trying to disrupt her action but gently and swiftly sticking to her palm beforehand.
Under the overlapping fingers and palms of the two, the coin stood upright in mid-air, subtly tilting with the changes in their muscle forces.
From simple luck to pure strength contest, but it seemed to become more fair.
This too surprised Elisa even more.
The opponent's reflexes, speed, and skills, experience could surprisingly match her, even subtly surpassing her, a seasoned member of the archaeological team.
The two palms held firm against one another, stalemated in mid-air.
Like in traditional martial arts novels where they compete using inner power.
The great force flowed between the flexible pivots formed by the wrists, palms, and fingers, forming a fragile balance. Whenever their palms slightly moved, a sharp friction sound pierced the air.
Like an invisible glass being wiped, it grated on the nerves.
Soon after, the sound of balance collapsing echoed.
From Miss Huaizhi's palm.
Using drummer skills unreservedly, the zero-distance finger force was enough to match the terrifying power of the Izumo Great Sumo, let alone exceeding the bartender's strength...
First the index finger, pressed forward by a centimeter, followed by the ring finger, thumb, little finger…
The balance in the arm wrestling began to shift.
Huai Shi took the upper hand.
Tails above, heads below.
Pressing Elisa's palm, inch by inch, downwards.
Until Elisa sighed, abruptly withdrawing her hand, no longer competing with Huai Shi.
Smack!
The dust settled.
"Hmm?" Huai Shi frowned: "You should still have the strength to fight back, giving up just like that?"
"A bartender's fingers are their life, not tools for competing with others... Precision and agility are what matter most. It'd be too ridiculous if I injured my fingers before the competition."
Elisa flexed her fingers, her smile growing more cunning: "Besides, I may not have lost yet."
In that moment, Huai Shi's palm felt a peculiar sensation.
As if the surface of the coin on the table was rapidly changing, the skull relief disappearing swiftly, replaced by… the script on the back.
When he lifted his hand, he saw the final result.
Heads above, tails below.
It was Elisa who won.
Huai Shi immediately smiled wryly, not expecting that before the coin flip, the outcome was already decided.
From the start, she had intended to cheat.
"So sneaky, huh?" He laughed quietly.
"This is proof of going all out."
Elisa raised her fingers, prying out the coin embedded in the table, and tossed it playfully in the air: "To gain the upper hand from you, big sister, I've brought out all the gambler's underhanded tricks I've got tucked away, aren't you pleased?"
"It's an honor." Huai Shi shrugged.
Elisa had returned to her workstation, after taking off her coat and hanging it on the hook of the liquor cabinet, revealing her signature white shirt and black vest underneath.
Her blonde hair tied up neatly at the back, very efficient.
The bartender was readying for work.
The duel was about to begin.