Chapter 257

One year after Lin Yun and Anya became magical girls together, and until the day they entered the hall of marriage, Anya gave him chocolate every year.

At first, it was snacks bought from roadside shops; later, it was semi-finished products self-processed using national magical artifacts; and finally, it was chocolate made completely by hand, starting from the raw materials.

Among all the chocolates gifted over so many years, the one that left the deepest impression on Lin Yun's memory was probably the first time Anya bought semi-finished products and gave the chocolate a shape.

"Hmm... It's not that I'm being too harsh, I'm just genuinely a bit confused."

Carefully studying the chocolate taken out of the gift box, Lin Yun at that time couldn't recognize what Anya had made at all: "What is this chocolate supposed to be? A cane? A branch?"

"Really, it's a sword!"

Calling out with a slightly reproachful tone, Anya pointed at two protrusions on the chocolate, one large and one small: "Look, isn't this the sword's guard? And right above this is the hilt, and this long part is the blade..."

"I-is that so?"

Lin Yun squinted, looking left and right, unable to reach the conclusion that "this thing is a sword" no matter how he looked, but seeing that Anya was indeed very enthusiastic, he could only respond: "If you say it's a sword, then it's a sword."

"It is a sword!"

Anya patted Lin Yun's arm in a huff: "And isn't it Valentine's Day? Why are you criticizing whether a girl's chocolate looks like something or not? Shouldn't you be asking me why I made it in the shape of a sword?"

"I think making it look a bit more like one would actually help you find a boyfriend in the future..."

Lin Yun stopped halfway through his sentence, seeing that Anya had already clearly shown a very unhappy expression, so he obediently changed his words: "Alright then, why did you make it into the shape of a sword?"

"Hehe, so you are curious after all?"

Anya, like a Sichuan opera face-changing performer, quickly shifted from anger to joy: "I won't keep you in suspense. Since you want to know so much, I'll tell you specially just this once, okay?"

"Oh, sure, I'm very curious." Lin Yun's voice was completely flat.

"The reason I made it a sword is because—in my opinion, the Ah Yun who came to save me when I was in crisis back then was like a knight... no, more like a prince riding a white horse and holding a sword."

Anya closed her eyes slightly, with a look of deep fantasy on her face: "I was a princess bullied by bad guys, and my white horse prince descended from the sky at that moment to save me."

"What princess bullied by bad guys? Who exactly could bully you? And in the beginning, it was clearly you who saved me; I was just returning your favor..."

Lin Yun instinctively tried to correct the verbal loopholes from his perspective, but halfway through, his brain gradually realized that the first half of Anya's sentence seemed to have said something even more incredible: "... Wait, what did you say?"

"My white horse prince descended from the sky?" Anya clasped her hands together, placed them on one side of her cheek, tilted her head slightly, and pressed her face against the back of her hand.

"No, although that's very close, I meant the sentence before that."

"I was a princess bullied by bad guys." Anya wore an expression of self-pity.

"... The sentence before that." Lin Yun lowered his eyelids.

"Ah, I forgot."

Anya smiled brightly: "I said it before, you know. I'll tell you specially just once; if you didn't hear clearly, there won't be a second time."

"But you clearly said I was like a prince..."

"I don't know."

Anya put her hands down and started shaking her head: "I am now a princess whose memory has been wiped by the wicked Empress after giving the chocolate, so I don't know what I said."

She stood up, pushed the chocolate that didn't look like a sword at all but was supposedly "a sword" in front of Lin Yun, then bent slightly and brought her mouth close to Lin Yun's ear:

"Anyway, keep your sword safe, Your Highness the Prince."

The memory ended there.

Because Lin Yun could no longer remember what he was thinking after that; it was probably happiness? Or perhaps the shyness brought by falling in love at a young age? The overly detailed thoughts had been forgotten by him, leaving only the lingering warmth of emotion remaining in his heart.

Unknowingly, the play-fighting between Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang had also ended. Lin Xiaolu, who had reluctantly hugged Xia Liang, returned to her seat and opened the last paper box in front of her.

"Here, Senior Cuique, this is for you!"

Then, she pushed her chocolate in front of Senior Cuique.

It was a brown-black ring made of chocolate, with some raised thin chocolate plates on top of the ring; the plates were cut into sharp shapes, accompanied by some hollowed-out patterns.

Undoubtedly, this piece of chocolate, like the two Lin Xiaolu had just given away, had many imperfections and could even be said to be a bit rough. But given her skill and ability, the chocolate now placed before Senior Cuique was probably the limit of her handiwork.

"So what is this one? A bracelet?" Xia Liang guessed while observing Lin Xiaolu's "new work" beside her.

"Like the hat given with a birthday cake!" Bai Jingxuan evaluated it this way.

In fact, even Senior Cuique herself had thought so at first.

Because she knew today was her birthday, and the chocolate Lin Xiaolu brought out, which looked like a decoration, was undoubtedly very similar to the paper birthday hats given by cake shops in her memory.

However, the current her is "Senior Cuique"; logically, the juniors in the Fang Ting City team, except for Xia Liang, should not know that "Senior Cuique's birthday is today."

Excluding the possibility that Xia Liang actively informed the other two, Lin Xiaolu should not know Senior Cuique's birthday; then, what could this piece of chocolate symbolize?

Or perhaps, what were the paper birthday hats in cake shops originally modeled after?

An answer had already surfaced in Senior Cuique's heart.

"This is a crown, right?"

She said softly: "It looks very much like one, Bai Mei."

This sentence instantly brightened the expression of Lin Xiaolu, who had been somewhat hesitant.

"That's right, it is a crown!"

She raised her voice excitedly: "As expected, Senior Cuique, you can tell!"

Ignoring the voices of Xia Liang and Bai Jingxuan beside her saying "So it's a crown," Lin Xiaolu stood up, ran to Senior Cuique's side, and began pointing at every detail on the chocolate, explaining: "This ring below is the base of the crown, this part a bit higher is the emblem, and then I made a pointed top here; when making this part..."

She spoke very seriously to Senior Cuique about the details of this "crown," how she thought when designing each decoration, what problems she encountered while making it, what originally good ideas were abandoned due to insufficient ability, and what places had better results after compromise than originally intended... She spoke for a full six or seven minutes before finally stopping.

"And finally, what I want to say is why I decided to make it in the shape of a crown..."

She glanced at the chocolate on the table, her eyes wandering: "But since saying it might be a bit embarrassing, and there's a troublemaker beside us waiting to see my embarrassment, so Senior Cuique, I might... only say it once."

Senior Cuique listened to Lin Xiaolu's words but did not respond immediately.

She just gazed at this "crown," certain memories in her mind surging up like bubbles in the deep sea; the images in those memories were still so clear even now, causing her to suddenly take a long breath, and then, with some serenity, lower her gaze:

"Mm."

"It's just... because that guy Xia Liang told me before that when giving chocolate, you have to put all your views and feelings about that person into it. So, I was actually thinking about how I view Senior Cuique."

Although she had been eloquent when discussing the specific design earlier, when it really came to discussing the motivation for designing this "crown," Lin Xiaolu's expression suddenly became quite stuttering:

"I, actually, once thought of making it in the shape of a thread, because your magic armor, Cuique, is a thread, and my magic armor also has a thread part; this is something I can learn from you; later I also thought about whether to make it into a magic wand, because the first time I met you, you used a magic wand to teach me how to fight."

"But, after thinking for a long time, I felt that Cuique seen only from these angles is not the most complete Cuique I know. The you I know should be some kind of existence that is more complete, more beautiful, and also more... distant."

"The first time you appeared before me, you saved my life, and at that time, in my eyes, you were the most shining existence in the world. I thought at that time, if this were a fairy tale, and I were fortunate enough to be a heroine, I suppose the person I met at this moment would be the prince of my life."

"But I am not a heroine, this is not a fairy tale, and Cuique, you are also a girl, so I often feel regret, because that instant feeling was probably just my illusion all along."

"However, even so, the reason this story is just a fantasy is only because I am not good enough; as for you, Cuique... without a doubt, in my heart, you are that prince who can save others, or rather, it doesn't have to be a prince; if you are a Princess, it is the same."

"So, this crown..."

Lin Xiaolu lifted the chocolate crown, holding it suspended before her own eyes, positioning it above Cuique's head: "This is you in my eyes."

"Thank you for saving me, thank you for guiding me, thank you for being willing to stay for me, thank you for being willing to love me..."

"I like you the most, Cuique."

This was the words Lin Xiaolu most wanted to convey to Cuique at this moment.

And these words likewise left Cuique speechless for a long time, even making her throat feel tight.

She really wanted to stand up right now and tell Lin Xiaolu, you are my Princess, I will be that king who gives you the whole world.

She very much wanted to turn around and embrace her Queen, telling her I love you, I will wear the sword and crown to protect you, until eternity.

The Queen offered her sword to the prince who was forever in her heart, while the Princess offered the crown to the person who was like a prince in her eyes.

It is just that the prince failed to become a king; the sword at his side has long been rusted, the Queen is not by the bedside, and in the sleeping palace remains only one person who does not know whether they are a prince or a Princess, a person full of regret.

—"Eh, w-what's wrong? Cuique, why do you suddenly seem so sad? Is this... tears?"

"What's wrong? Junior Senior? Don't cry, did Xiaolu say something wrong? Hey Xiaolu, come over quickly, you apologize quickly!"

"Teacher, don't be sad, I have a handkerchief here!"

And at some unknown time, the juniors had already surrounded Cuique, panicking and rushing around because of Cuique's sudden outpouring of emotion.

"... I am fine, it is not Bai Mei's fault."

She accepted Bai Jingxuan's handkerchief, pressing it to her eyes, her voice slightly hoarse: "I just thought of some past things, and my emotions got a bit excited; it is all in the past, nothing major."

But yes, the her of now, at least, is not alone.

Perhaps the sword has already rotted, perhaps she cannot bear the weight of the crown.

But, she will use this rotted sword to protect everything she still possesses.