Thank-You Chocolate

From the mount parking area at the entrance of Rainbow Cloud Wetlands, Larkspur walked at a leisurely pace for more than ten minutes before finally arriving at the door of the small house where Fangting Squad was located.

Although she didn't feel physically tired, the hours-long struggle with Ink Lotus had left her feeling mentally exhausted. So she took some time to stand in the shadows and adjust her expression, making sure no one could see her fatigue, before silently releasing the Spell Formula and entering the hut.

Inside, the three juniors were all gathered around the sofa, huddled around Xia Liang's phone. Larkspur could hear the music and conversation coming from the phone and could tell that they seemed to be watching some kind of video, so she didn't make a sound when she entered. As a result, the juniors were completely unaware that someone had come in.

Bai Jingxuan was the first to notice Larkspur. She noticed it when she shifted her Larkspur from the screen because her eyes were getting tired from staring at the screen. Then, while the other two were still focused on their phones, she rushed over, shouting "Teacher!"

"Teacher, you're back so late!" Although she said what sounded like a complaint, Bai Jingxuan had already wrapped her arms around Larkspur's arm. Her actions didn't seem to mean any blame at all, and it looked like she was just being affectionate.

"Yes, there were some unexpected circumstances that caused a slight delay."

Larkspur didn't plan to tell the younger generation about Ink Lotus for the time being, so she only briefly mentioned her itinerary before patting Bai Jingxuan's arm and asking, "How was your day? What are you all doing now?"

"We're learning exactly how to cook eggs..."

Bai Jingxuan made no attempt to hide her actions, almost blurting them out, but was interrupted halfway through by Lin Xiaolu, who was chasing after her aggressively from behind.

"Larkspur, you're back!" As she said this, Lin Xiaolu subtly tugged at Bai Jingxuan's sleeve twice, signaling her to shut up.

"Welcome back, junior." Xia Liang took this opportunity to stand on the other side of Larkspur and softly welcomed her.

Such greetings had long been a daily occurrence for Larkspur. Back in Fangting City, whenever she returned late due to work or patrols, her juniors would always come to chat with her in the living room. However, unlike Larkspur's memory, usually after greeting her, they would chat for a few words and then go back to their own business. But today, especially Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang, after the initial greetings, lingered together as if waiting for something, creating a rather strange atmosphere.

The two women looked at each other, each seemingly wanting to say something, but neither made a move. Bai Jingxuan appeared to want to say something, but Lin Xiaolu held her firmly, leading to a stalemate.

This strange behavior naturally puzzled Larkspur. However, she quickly remembered what day it was and what Lin Xiaolu had mentioned in the message she sent to Lin Yun earlier that day—the younger generation seemed to have made chocolates specifically for her.

She already knew the temperaments of these girls quite well, and after a moment's thought, she realized what they might have done. Thinking that rather than waiting for Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang to waste time here, she decided to take the initiative. So, in the somewhat strange atmosphere, she raised her hand and made a slightly downward gesture. "Ahem, wait here for me a moment, I'm going to get something."

After saying that, she turned and left amidst the somewhat surprised gazes of her juniors. She then walked to her locker, opened the door, and rummaged through it to find several rather exquisitely packaged boxes.

She scanned the boxes back and forth, confirming that they were indeed the things she had prepared, then took the boxes back to the door and handed them to the younger generation:

"Here, chocolate."

She bought these boxes of chocolates yesterday while sampling them on the roadside, along with some Cloud-Qi Cake for her memorial visit to the Martyrs' Cemetery. She used up the Cloud-Qi Cake at the Memorial Cemetery, but took the chocolates back to her hotel.

She didn't think too much when she bought the chocolates; she just thought they tasted good and could take them home for her child to try. But after buying them, she remembered that Valentine’s Day's Day was coming up, so after some thought, she decided to keep them for another day and give them to her as a Valentine’s Day's Day gift.

"Since it was bought directly from a roadside dessert shop, it's not something particularly special. Just treat it as a snack and try it."

As she handed over the chocolate, she said, "Anyway, I personally think it tastes pretty good."

"Wow! The teacher gave me chocolate!" Bai Jingxuan showed a very simple and happy emotion when she received the chocolate.

"Thank you, senior." Xia Liang, in a manner reminiscent of a well-behaved girl, bowed politely to express her gratitude, then neatly put away the chocolate.

Only Lin Xiaolu, after receiving the chocolate, was silent at first, then a little happy, then confused, and finally exclaimed in surprise, "Eh? Wait a minute, why did Larkspur give me the chocolate first?"

"What do you mean 'why'... because today is Valentine’s Day?"

Larkspur looked at Lin Xiaolu with some confusion. After all, she knew that Lin Xiaolu had also prepared chocolates "behind her back," so she should have known the meaning of Valentine’s Day. However, she didn't expose Lin Xiaolu's plan, since it was a message sent to Lin Yun, and Larkspur had no reason to know. "Giving chocolates is just a common courtesy."

"But, theoretically speaking, chocolates should be given to someone you like on Valentine’s Day?"

Lin Xiaolu's voice trailed off. "While there shouldn't be any problem with liking someone in a broad sense, when it comes to actually giving it to them, I still feel a little..."

"Ah, this one."

Although she still didn't understand why the other person would ask such a question at this point, Larkspur still gave a serious answer, "Although this holiday was originally only for couples and young men and women who wanted to confess to their crushes, as time went by and the customs evolved, it gradually became a holiday where people could give chocolates to friends, relatives, and even acquaintances. After all, a holiday is more lively when more people participate."

"Furthermore, the Magic Kingdom is, after all, a place where sweets are prevalent, and chocolate is a part of everyone's daily diet. So, in its later stages, the biggest function of this festival was simply a day for promoting chocolate."

As she spoke, she pointed to the box in Lin Xiaolu's hand. "As for the Material Realm, although it hasn't evolved to the point of being as casual as the Magic Kingdom, giving chocolates is still a very common courtesy among Magical Girl Squad. This courtesy is used to express gratitude for the care of teammates and to form a mutual agreement."

"After all, most magical girls, in order to ensure the completion of their missions during their term, often find it difficult to fall in love during that time, and the heartwarming experience of giving each other chocolates, which is very special during their youth, is out of reach for them. Over time, this led to the practice of teammates giving each other chocolates to express 'I understand you, let's do our best together'."

"While the magical girls who initially did this probably did so with a sense of finding joy in hardship, as this practice became more widespread, it transformed into a positive and inspiring act that symbolized teamwork. Eventually, it unknowingly became a new tradition, and people even started calling this kind of chocolate 'Thank-You Chocolate,' which is roughly how it happened."

As Larkspur finished speaking, Bai Jingxuan had already opened the outer packaging, picked out a chocolate, and started eating it without hesitation.

Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang, on the other hand, still looked thoughtful. Lin Xiaolu, in particular, commented with a complicated expression, "I see... Larkspur really knows a lot of obscure knowledge."

"It's not exactly obscure, is it? Of course, the reason I know about this is because some of my former teammates liked to research these things."

Larkspur crossed her arms, seemingly doubting her own conclusion. "That's how she explained it to me when I first learned about the concept of 'Thank-You Chocolate'."

"... well."

Lin Xiaolu suddenly sighed.

Holding the gift box given to her by Larkspur, she looked at Xia Liang, her eyelids drooping, and said with a hint of reproach, "It's all your fault. If you hadn't kept saying all that nonsense to me, I would have given the chocolates away long ago."

Is it my fault?

Xia Liang's eyes widened slightly, then she couldn't help but smile wryly, "You were the one who suddenly told me you 'didn't know how to explain why you wanted to give me chocolates,' and then you kept pestering me to speak for you, right?"

"Then why don't you just tell Larkspur directly?"

Lin Xiaolu muttered, "I already let you go, and you were still going back and forth with me. Now look what's happened, all the surprise and joy are gone."

"I don't know how to say it..."

Xia Liang sighed helplessly, "Who knew there was such a thing as a Thank-You Chocolate? I spent ages trying to figure out how to explain that I was going to give chocolates."

"You were quite adept at saying 'like' and 'dislike' to me when you were talking about it," Lin Xiaolu said, glancing at the other person sideways.

"That's different..." Xia Liang's breath hitched slightly, then she looked away.

The two women spent a long time exchanging riddles and shifting blame, leaving Larkspur completely confused. She could only make out that they seemed to be blaming each other for not mentioning the chocolates sooner, but she had no idea what else they were arguing about.

"So, what are you two arguing about?" Having decided to play dumb, Larkspur continued to act as if she knew nothing at all.

This time, the three younger members had no intention of hiding it any longer.

Lin Xiaolu released her grip on Bai Jingxuan's hand, and Bai Jingxuan, having received the signal, spoke directly:

"We also made chocolates for the teacher!"