Chapter 255: Xia Liang's Chocolate

The second person to start distributing chocolate was Xia Liang.

Putting aside Bai Jingxuan, who was left puzzled after Cuique suddenly pinched her cheek, the other two had obviously already adapted to this process; when Xia Liang went around the table handing out chocolates one by one, even Lin Xiaolu knew to reach out properly to receive it, and quietly added a "Thank you."

Compared to the large chunks of chocolate Bai Jingxuan had given, Xia Liang's work, judging solely from the packaging, was much smaller than Bai Jingxuan's. Everyone received only a palm-sized small box; the boxes were tied with ribbons and also decorated with bows of different patterns, and next to each bow was glued a dried flower corresponding to the recipient's code name. For instance, the gift box for Lin Xiaolu had a small dried white rose pasted on it, Cuique's box had a paper-folded Cuique flower, and naturally, Bai Jingxuan's box featured an edelweiss.

"What kind of flower is this?"

The lingering pain on her face was quickly washed away by curiosity; Bai Jingxuan examined the wrapped box in her hands and asked with some surprise.

"That flower on yours? It's your code name. It's Edelweiss, also known as Snow Edgeworth." Xia Liang explained with a smile: "You haven't seen it before?"

"Mm, first time seeing it."

Bai Jingxuan's gaze fixed tightly on the artificial flower on the box: "I see, so 'Edelweiss' looks like this..."

And while she was focused on the fake flower on the box, on the other side, Cuique was also observing the box Xia Liang had handed to her.

Thoughtful as always.

That was her first impression upon seeing this outer packaging.

Undoubtedly, the other party must have thought of the idea in their mind long ago, had clearly decided what to do before today, and was thus able to prepare these decorations corresponding to the teammates' code names in advance.

This was also a very Xia Liang-style approach; if there were an external judge at this moment, scoring the chocolate outer packaging of Cuique, Bai Jingxuan, and Xia Liang without any extra information, Xia Liang would likely be the one leading in scores.

Of course, this did not mean Bai Jingxuan did poorly; rather, compared to Bai Jingxuan's straightforward style of using sincere effort to deeply move a few specific people, what Xia Liang was best at was using meticulously prepared works to gain the best first impression from everyone possible.

And this difference in style was reflected not only in the packaging, but also in the chocolates inside.

When Cuique took Xia Liang's chocolate out, she couldn't help but pause for a moment due to the shape of the chocolate: because this chocolate was actually an exact replica of her Heart Flower.

To be fair, although limited by the complex structure of the Heart Gem itself, Xia Liang couldn't reproduce every single detail on the chocolate one hundred percent. But at first glance, Cuique couldn't even point out what was wrong with this "imitation."

Lin Xiaolu's and Bai Jingxuan's Heart Sprouts were the same; compared to Lin Xiaolu, Bai Jingxuan had been promoted to the Leaf Level for a longer time, so the form of her sprout appeared more mature, already approaching the look of "having grown leaves." This distinction was also captured by Xia Liang in daily life and reflected in the shape of the chocolates.

"It's so good it makes me feel a bit unwilling."

Holding her own chocolate Heart Sprout, Lin Xiaolu couldn't help but mutter. Even though she already knew what kind of chocolate Xia Liang would give, once she actually held it in her hands and thought of what she had made herself, she couldn't help but feel a wave of discouragement.

But, since they were both Heart Sprouts, the fact that the other person noticed the difference between her Heart Gem and Bai Jingxuan's still made Lin Xiaolu feel a tiny bit happy.

Yes, a tiny bit.

"Thank you! Sister Xia Liang!"

Bai Jingxuan's expression was more direct; she jumped down from her chair, ran straight to Xia Liang's side, and gave her a hug: "But, making the chocolate look so good makes me feel a bit reluctant to eat it. Can I just display it?"

"Well... you still have to eat it, after all, chocolate isn't something easy to preserve."

Xia Liang gently hugged Bai Jingxuan back: "If it melts due to high temperature later, or cracks from being too dry, this chocolate will become ugly and also inedible; wouldn't that be the most regrettable part?"

"That's what you say, but eating one's own Heart Gem... feels a bit strange."

Lin Xiaolu also felt she couldn't bring herself to take a bite, so she voiced her opinion from the side: "Don't you feel it's like gnawing on your own arm? It feels like it would hurt the moment you bite down, a bit subtle."

"Would it? Anyway, it's not real."

Xia Liang tilted her head: "Rather, shouldn't eating this shape give you a sense of 'completing oneself'?"

"Who would feel that." Lin Xiaolu rolled her eyes at her.

While the group was having a heated discussion here about "whether one should actually bite into a chocolate shaped like a Heart Gem," Cuique was alone, rummaging through Xia Liang's chocolate box, when she suddenly made a new discovery.

She felt the weight of the box Xia Liang gave her was somehow off, because after she took out the chocolate Heart Flower, the box, which should have been empty, still felt heavy, as if something else was still inside.

Poking a few times inside the box with her finger, Cuique then discovered there was actually a hidden compartment inside, and when she lifted the compartment, she found another piece of chocolate hidden beneath it.

It was a piece of chocolate shaped like a light leaf, with the veins on the leaf completely composed of runes. And judging by Cuique's past experience, undoubtedly, this shape was also a Heart Gem; rather, it was Xia Liang's Heart Leaf.

"... Why is this in my box?"

So she took this piece of chocolate out, looked at Xia Liang, and asked somewhat strangely.

Lin Xiaolu and the others' discussion was still ongoing, so Xia Liang seemed not to hear Cuique's question at all, continuing to debate with the other two.

"Xiao Jin." Cuique called out again; this time, she could clearly see Xia Liang's expression was slightly unnatural, but she still ignored her call.

This abnormal behavior made Cuique squint her eyes; after thinking for a moment, she stood up holding the chocolate, walked over to Xia Liang's side as well, and patted the other's shoulder:

"Hey."

"... What is it, Senior?" This time, Xia Liang couldn't continue pretending to ignore Cuique's question.

"So why is this chocolate in my box? Isn't this shape supposed to be your Heart Gem?" Cuique asked, staring at Xia Liang's face.

"Ah, this."

Xia Liang blinked her eyes, did not make eye contact with Cuique, and slightly turned her head away: "Because when I first tried making it, I used my own gem as a reference, so there happened to be this piece of chocolate. Since I made it, keeping it myself has no meaning; I thought it was better to give it away, so I gave it to you..."

"Then why give it to me?" Cuique pressed on relentlessly.

"That's naturally because, Senior, you are the senior and teacher of all of us; we respect you the most."

Xia Liang explained with a beaming smile: "The extra piece of chocolate should be given to the most venerable and respected person, right?"

"Mm... seems so?" Lin Xiaolu, standing nearby, pondered and agreed.

"Mm-mm!" Bai Jingxuan, on the other hand, strongly agreed with Xia Liang's statement.

Having received support from the other two, Xia Liang seemed to feel more confident, spread her hands, and said: "So that's the whole story; since there was an extra one, I gave it to you. Senior, just eat it without worrying."

"Is that really so?" Such lofty reasoning sounded indeed flawless, but Cuique still felt something was off.

"What else is there to say? Rather, since everyone is a bit concerned about eating chocolate shaped like their own Heart Gem, why not have Senior taste this one first and evaluate the flavor?"

Xia Liang pushed the matter forward smoothly: "Anyway, I don't think there's anything wrong with the shape, but since none of you are willing to taste it to evaluate the flavor, it's a bit of a pity for me. So Senior, you show them both how it's done first!"

Evaluate the flavor?

Cuique raised an eyebrow, feeling somewhat baffled inside, but the request sounded equally unproblematic, making her even doubt whether she was overthinking it.

A faint glimmer of magic flashed through her glasses; in an instant, she used magic to probe the chocolate in her hand and found it no different from all the other chocolates, including Bai Jingxuan's; that is to say, judging solely by its ingredients, it was just an ordinary piece of chocolate.

So, did this girl really just want her to evaluate the flavor?

Thinking it over, Cuique ultimately felt there was no need to refuse, so she nodded and replied: "Fine."

Saying this, she raised her hand and brought the chocolate, shaped like Xia Liang's Heart Leaf, to her mouth.

Because it had been held in her hand for so long, the chocolate's stem had melted slightly, with dark brown liquid seeping out and sticking between her fingers; the slightly sticky texture gradually spread across her skin.

A sweet scent wafted from the tip of the chocolate. Senior Cuique merely parted her teeth slightly, yet she could already feel that sweetness reaching her mouth, even the back of her tongue, and a sense of the coming sweetness began in her throat.

Xia Liang had been staring intently at Senior Cuique's movements for some time; though her expression remained calm, even she felt her heart beating faster.

Actually, she hadn't thought it through clearly herself, but if Senior Cuique were to eat this chocolate, which was identical to her Heart Gem, would it be like... would it be a bit...

Xia Liang's thoughts became utterly chaotic in that instant; her racing heart made her face begin to flush, and some strange association made her swallow hard.

Although it was her own suggestion, when the moment truly arrived, she began to feel strange, complex emotions: "Is this really okay?", "Is this a bit strange?", "I'm a bit shy." By the time Senior Cuique was about to take a bite, Xia Liang felt her brain was almost steaming.

Then, right before everyone's eyes—

—"Mm."

Senior Cuique stuffed the heart-shaped chocolate back into Xia Liang's mouth.

"If I were to eat this of yours, it would feel as though everyone had a share, thereby isolating you."

Wiping her fingers with a nearby napkin, Senior Cuique lowered her eyelids slightly: "So I thought about it. If you truly wish for everyone to taste it with their own mouths, then I should just eat my own portion."

Saying this, she turned and walked back to her seat.

"Since Senior Cuique has said so..." Lin Xiaolu had always prioritized Senior Cuique's opinion, so upon seeing Senior Cuique make her decision, she too turned back to face her own chocolate.

"Just now, it looked... delicious." Bai Jingxuan, moved by the "looks delicious" atmosphere between Senior Cuique and Xia Liang, believed that for her, the greatest respect for delicious food was to eat it.

As for Xia Liang herself, she remained frozen in the posture of having the chocolate stuffed back into her mouth, staring blankly for a long while.

After a moment, she slowly closed her teeth and bit the front end of the chocolate into her mouth.

Delicious, very sweet; it seems I did a good job.

That was her first thought.

Being fed chocolate by the junior senior made her very happy.

That was her second thought.

Judging by her ears, which had turned red and hot, the proportion of this second thought occupying her mind was probably far greater than that of the first.