The Fourth Class Is Modern Chinese (Continued)

Because she and I kept staring at the gifts, he quietly looked away.

"...It's, um, a return gift for the cups."

Then he mumbled at breakneck speed.

"It'd be weird to just take things from other people without giving anything back, and the timing was pretty suitable too. Though saying I got them as an afterthought doesn't sound great... Anyway, they're Christmas presents."

He came to that conclusion on his own and nodded repeatedly, but I could only make out the beginning. The rest was so mumbled that I couldn't understand a word.

Still, it was perfectly clear how embarrassed he was. She and I exchanged glances and smiled faintly.

"...May I open it?"

"Yeah. Uh-huh."

She asked uncertainly, and he gave an ambiguous reply while still looking off to the side.

We were already used to his way of expressing himself, so we untied the ribbon without hesitation. Knowing that the wrapping paper and ribbon were important parts of the gift too, we carefully and slowly unwrapped them over quite some time.

When we saw the gifts in our hands, she and I both drew in a soft breath.

"Wow..."

"They're hair ties..."

Her voice carried a smile, and he let out a breath as if a weight had been lifted from his heart. Maybe he had been worried about how the two of us would react. Why worry about that?

I tightened my grip on the hair tie in my palm.

The pale-colored hair tie was fluffy and soft, like fresh white snow, and it somehow felt warm.

Curious, I glanced beside me. Just as when she held a small bird, chick, or hamster, she carefully cupped the hair tie in both hands. The one she held was the same design as mine.

"Mine and Yukino's are a