The milk tea shop was packed to the brim with onlookers, three layers deep both inside and outside.
Xu Musen, accompanied by inspectors and the press as well as the troublemaking student Huang Teng as a witness, entered the shop together.
There's a saying that goes, "Don't watch the kitchen when eating."
Especially before kitchen hygiene was strictly enforced, the kitchens of many small shops were so filthy there was no place to set foot.
Fried chicken and milk tea shops were particularly bad.
But Xu Musen's milk tea shop was set up to high standards by him.
Warning signs, fire extinguishers, and anti-slip notices were in place; the counter had been wiped clean without a speck of dust, and not a single piece of garbage could be seen in the shop.
It was even cleaner and tidier than some exemplary shops outside.
Zhao Lianmai led the way and opened the doors to the storeroom and kitchen.
The moment the door was pushed open, a cool breeze carrying the fragrance of fruits hit them, with not the slightest scent of the mould that accumulates in storage areas.
The two people from the press took continuous photos with their cameras, obviously looking for some hot topics.
If they really found something like flies, headlining a news story exposing campus hygiene issues would undoubtedly make for a valuable addition to their resumes.
However, the scene in the kitchen and storeroom brightened their eyes.
The milk tea shop's kitchen wasn't filled with many items, but each was pristine, water buckets neatly aligned, seasoning tables gleaming with the silver-white of stainless steel.
In the fridge, fruits were wrapped in cling film and stored meticulously.
In the storeroom, milk tea ingredients were also placed on metal shelves raised off the floor, surrounded by UV lamps that were periodically turned on for sterilization.
The inspectors were taken aback for a moment.
This standard was even higher than what they required.
In such an environment, not to mention mosquitoes, even ordinary bacteria would have a hard time surviving.
Their gaze turned to the troublemaking student behind them.
"Are you sure it was the fruit fly from drinking this shop's milk tea?"
The police furrowed their brows.
Huang Teng, looking at such a clean storeroom, was also dumbfounded; he had not expected it to be this immaculate.
But having come this far, he could only stick to his story, as these matters were such that, as long as he didn't admit it, they wouldn't be able to do anything to him in the end.
"...It was this shop."
"Well, then go ahead and search for yourself; this is the cleanest storeroom I have ever seen."
The inspection personnel already had a good idea of what was going on.
Huang Teng clenched his teeth: "This... maybe they knew in advance and secretly switched out the fruits that had bugs!"
Xu Musen chuckled from the side, "From the time you discovered the bug until now, it has been less than twenty minutes. Moreover, you've been watching the whole time, and we never opened the storeroom. How would we have had time to switch the fruits?"
Huang Teng's face was covered in a sheen of nervous sweat: "Maybe I was just unlucky and happened to buy the one cup that had a bug..."
"Alright, we only speak based on facts; this milk tea shop has no issues, absolutely no hidden health hazards."
The inspection personnel didn't feel like dealing with their situation anymore. They looked at the young man before them, his status as a student being the only reason they didn't press further.
Huang Teng didn't dare to make another sound after being reprimanded.
Exiting the storeroom and seeing the students gathered outside, the inspection personnel also reached out to Xu Musen.
"Your hygiene is very impressive; you also have a strong sense of fire safety. Keep it up."
"Certainly, thank you for the guidance."
Xu Musen also extended his hand and shook hands with a smile.
He understood that the inspector had deliberately shaken hands with him in front of everyone as a form of endorsement.
The people from the press were quick to update their posts on the campus forum.
The observers, seeing the photos of the clean and tidy kitchen and storeroom, were suddenly abuzz with excitement.
"Damn, this kitchen is cleaner than my own at home!"
"Holy smokes, who says milk tea isn't healthy? I'm at home sweating it out without the air conditioning, and these fruit milk teas are chilled day in, day out."
"Exactly, exactly, the drain of their kitchen is cleaner than the bowls I eat from!"
"Now I really have to drink it!"
Many who originally didn't fancy milk tea much also became interested after seeing the clean and tidy pictures posted online.
Some people started to point fingers at the troublemaking student.
"I knew it couldn't be true from the start. I'm a long-time fan of this milk tea shop, never had a problem! Someone must be framing them."
"This guy looks sneaky, standing off to the side not daring to let out a peep, damn using us all as pawns."
As opinions began to polarize, suddenly two more people rushed over, shouting: "I just saw them tossing out spoiled fruit in the trash can behind the storeroom! It was all rotten."
Several eyebrows furrowed, and the student looked as if he had finally found a lifeline.
"I told you so, they definitely threw away the rotten fruit ahead of time!"
Huang Teng insisted on checking it out, and the inspectors followed him there.
At the trash can behind the storeroom, a few flies buzzed around, and the scent of rotting fruit wafted through the air.
"Everyone look! This must be evidence of their cover-up!" Huang Teng shouted loudly, and the people from the press started filming again.
"You're talking nonsense! We have never thrown anything into this trash can; how do you prove it was our fruit?"
The part-time girl working at the milk tea shop said angrily.
Xu Musen looked at this trash can, recalling that it hadn't been there before and was conveniently located in a blind spot of the surveillance cameras, and close to his storeroom.
Clearly, someone had deliberately placed it there.
Indeed, there were fruit flies in the trash can.