Candy and Mirrors

The Xia Liang chocolate was eventually devoured amidst a chorus of positive reviews.

Although it was a little strange to bite into a chocolate that resembled their own Heart Gem, after taking the first bite, both Bai Jingxuan and Lin Xiaolu gradually let go of their reservations and quickly stuffed the chocolate into their mouths.

Larkspur sipped slowly, seemingly absorbing the lively atmosphere around the table; her calm expression betrayed no hidden emotions.

And so, after the other three had already distributed their chocolates, Lin Xiaolu took the stage last.

Lin Xiaolu reluctantly took the three large cardboard boxes out from under the table, placed them on the table, and then rummaged through the ribbons binding the boxes, before looking troubled.

"Oh, I forgot to label the name."

She rummaged through the boxes for a while, probably trying to figure out the contents by the patterns on the packaging, muttering to herself, "Which one is for whom?" But she quickly gave up and announced, "I forgot who these chocolates are for, so I'll open them and deliver them!"

So, under the silent gaze of everyone, Lin Xiaolu began to unwrap the chocolates she had made herself.

Fortunately, although her boxes were quite large, several times the size of Xia Liang's, the packaging was very simple, just a few ribbons wrapped around the outside, making them easy to open. Lin Xiaolu quickly took out her chocolate creation from the first box:

--A plate of chocolates shaped like bow-shaped candies.

In terms of craftsmanship, Lin Xiaolu's sculpted figure was indeed inferior to Xia Liang's. Not only was the level of detail mediocre, but even this relatively simple figure had some bumps and dents. However, the people present obviously didn't care about such things and were waiting for Lin Xiaolu to continue speaking.

"Cough cough."

Clearing her throat under everyone's gaze, Lin Xiaolu pushed the plate of chocolates in front of Bai Jingxuan: "Yours."

"Is this for me? It's candy."

Bai Jingxuan picked up a seed with some curiosity and examined it, then looked at Lin Xiaolu with a puzzled expression. "But why?"

"Why? Even if you ask me this kind of question..."

Lin Xiaolu pursed her lips, clearly wanting to say something, but feeling too awkward under everyone's gaze, she replied stiffly, "No reason! I just had an inspiration and made it into this shape!"

"I see..." Bai Jingxuan immediately showed a visible expression of disappointment.

"Hey, hey."

So Xia Liang, who was sitting next to Lin Xiaolu, reached out and poked her arm. "Don't be stubborn at a time like this. If you don't take this opportunity to say what's on your mind, when are you going to say it?"

What does it mean to have a disagreement?

Lin Xiaolu glanced at Xia Liang with some displeasure. "Didn't you say that the shape of the chocolate should be a secret between the two of you, and only the person who gave it and the person who received it would understand? It would be strange to say it out loud, wouldn't it?"

"But look at Xiao Xuan, she clearly doesn't understand."

Xia Liang nudged Lin Xiaolu again. "Stop being a riddle reader, explain it."

"Ugh, hiss."

Lin Xiaolu glanced at Bai Jingxuan again, and seeing that Bai Jingxuan was also looking at her with some expectation in her eyes, she couldn't help but take a deep breath through her teeth.

She paused for a moment, then crossed her arms and shook her head, seemingly organizing her thoughts. After another moment, she slowly began to speak:

"I mean, well, you know..."

"Hmm." Bai Jingxuan nodded, holding the candy-shaped chocolate, indicating that she was listening.

"That's right, don't I often eat the candy you give me?"

As if giving up on something, Lin Xiaolu sighed and looked at Bai Jingxuan: "I did a quick calculation, and from the first one you gave me to the one I ate a few days ago, it seems I did take quite a bit from you."

"Mmm," Bai Jingxuan hummed twice in agreement.

"That's why I thought that since we both really like this candy, maybe making it this way would better represent our relationship."

Lin Xiaolu's voice trailed off. "As for why it's shaped like a bow, it's because I feel like you don't wear many accessories, and this shape suits you well. Maybe it can be used as a hair accessory or something..."

"Hmm... like this?" Bai Jingxuan held the candy above her eyebrows, like a hair clip hanging in front of her hair. Then, she reached out and brushed her bangs aside, simulating the effect of a hair clip holding her hair in place.

"More or less?" Lin Xiaolu blurted out her true feelings, clearly embarrassed and on the verge of bursting out, but she still glanced at Bai Jingxuan's gesture. "This way, it does look rather cute?"

"Indeed, I think it's cute too." Xia Liang nodded in agreement.

"Cute."

Larkspur chimed in, "Maybe I really should buy a hair clip like that."

The crowd's praise immediately cheered Bai Jingxuan up. She ran to Lin Xiaolu's side and gave her another hug. "Thank you, Sister Xiao Lu!"

By this point, Bai Jingxuan had hugged everyone present.

"Don't touch my clothes with your chocolate-covered hands."

Lin Xiaolu warned him, and reluctantly hugged him back, but her forced poker face crumbled in three seconds. "Seriously... you really love to act cute."

The two hugged for a while, and then it was Lin Xiaolu's turn to unwrap the next chocolate.

She stood up, untied the ribbon on the second box, and then took out a Rule shaped oval chocolate from it.

"What's this?" Bai Jingxuan, who hadn't yet returned to her seat, pressed herself against Lin Xiaolu, looking at it from left to right. "A fried egg?"

"I think it's a shrub?" Xia Liang judged, "It looks a lot like the shape of the shrubs in the green belts along the roadside."

"It must be the face of a small animal, or Fairy?" Larkspur joined the discussion while munching on his half-eaten chocolate. "Look, those two protruding parts look a lot like ears."

After each of the three gave their guesses, they looked at Lin Xiaolu, hoping she would reveal the correct answer to the question.

"It's a mirror." Lin Xiaolu remained silent for a long time, then turned her head away with a gloomy expression.

"... Ah, I see, it's a mirror!"

Xia Liang immediately exclaimed in a somewhat exaggerated voice, "I was mistaken just now, it actually looks quite like a mirror!"

"Yes, it looks very similar!" Bai Jingxuan agreed.

"I was sitting a bit far away, so I couldn't see clearly." Larkspur immediately contradicted her previous conclusion. "Don't mind what I said."

"It's okay, I know I didn't do it well."

Lin Xiaolu, in a fit of desperation, placed the cratered oval shape in front of Xia Liang, then flipped it over, revealing its concave shape:

"I originally planned to make a mirror finish first, and then pour a border on top, but I used a bit too much chocolate for the border, so it ended up looking like this... Anyway, this is for you."

"Oh, so it's for me..."

Xia Liang's smile froze for a moment, but quickly returned to normal. "Making it like a mirror, does that mean it's related to my Magic Armament? That's a pretty good idea."

"That's only one aspect."

Lin Xiaolu hesitated, then said, "Besides this, there's more."

"Anything else?" This piqued Xia Liang's interest. "What do you mean?"

"That is..."

Lin Xiaolu looked around and noticed that everyone was still staring at her, clearly wanting to hear what she was going to say next. So she took a deep breath, boosted her confidence, and continued, "To me, you are also a mirror."

"Oh!" Bai Jingxuan exclaimed in surprise.

"Huh?" Xia Liang covered her mouth in surprise.

The Larkspur blinked in surprise.

"Because, let's say we became magical girls around the same time, or rather, you actually became one two months later than me."

Lin Xiaolu didn't look at Xia Liang, but stared at the chocolate on the table. "However, your talent is obviously stronger than mine. Your Blossoming and progress after becoming a magical girl are much faster than mine. So, at the beginning, I was actually very envious, even a little jealous."

"We usually study together, Soul Meditation together, and practice together. I can see clearly how you improved and how you left me behind. So, I later realized that by observing your changes, I could understand what I was lacking."

"Look, we even learned the phrase 'learn from others' in Chinese class... Whether it's about studies, magical girls, or getting along with others, if I hadn't met you, I probably wouldn't have understood what I lacked, and I definitely wouldn't have become the person I am today, right?"

With that, Lin Xiaolu finally looked up and met Xia Liang's gaze. "So, thank you. I hope we can continue to walk together in the future."

Everyone was speechless for a moment after Lin Xiaolu's long speech.

A moment later, Larkspur and Bai Jingxuan clapped, while Xia Liang lowered her hand from in front of her and slowly stood up.

She walked up to Lin Xiaolu, opened her arms, and tilted her head slightly. "Come on."

"What's coming?" Lin Xiaolu looked at her with some curiosity.

"Give me a hug, like you and Xiao Xuan did just now." Xia Liang's expression remained unchanged, even still carrying a gentle smile, but her voice had a slight nasal tone. "I'm very touched, so come on, let's have a limited-time hug."

"No..." Lin Xiaolu took a step back. "That's so cheesy!"

"Stop being stubborn, you just said those things."

Xia Liang wasn't deterred by Lin Xiaolu's words at all. Instead, she took a step forward and said with a grin, "I know you'd love to have a hug like that with your best friend too."

"Who said we're best friends! I've already told you I'm jealous of you, don't you understand?"

Lin Xiaolu took several steps back. "Don't flatter yourself! You're not a primary school student, don't try to act cute like that!"

"You... you said such touching things, but now this group is starting to back away."

Xia Liang sighed, "Fine, I'll do it myself then."

"What do you mean, 'do it yourself'... Hey, don't come any closer! I'm warning you!"

"Come here for a hug!"

"No!" Lin Xiaolu started running around the house.

"Don't be shy, come on!" Xia Liang then chased after her and started running.

For this reason, the two started playing a cat-and-mouse game in the house.

"They have such a good relationship."

Larkspur ate the last bite of chocolate, she looked at the two people not far away, feeling both gratified and somewhat melancholy.

Exchanging chocolates on such holidays is not a modern invention; in the two years after she became a magical girl, the Fangting City Squad did something similar.

Back then, since everyone in the team was still a student, Anya and Su Shengzi would brazenly hand him chocolates in the classroom. Doing this in high school would draw a chorus of boos and shouts of strange things like "get married!" Afterwards, envious and jealous boys would always tease him about it, and rumors about "Lin Yun from Class Two being a playboy" were rampant in the school, causing Lin Yun considerable distress at the time.

Although, in the end, he did marry Anya.