My second life is a bit strange?

"After dinner, your brother will fly a kite with you."

"Okay." The child's face always had a smile that wouldn't go away.

……

"School's started."

"A one-week vacation is simply not enough..."

"Just bear with it, spring break starts in March."

At the beginning of the semester, everyone was listless and had no desire to study. They all wanted to just get through the month and then continue enjoying their vacation.

Koichi and Seji took mops to the toilet to wash up. They noticed some ice on the corridor outside the toilet and exchanged a glance.

He threw down the mop and glided across the toilet doorway.

"Hey, you guys be careful." Eriri couldn't help but warn him as they passed by, but Kaede shook his head and said, "You wouldn't understand boys' happiness."

Seji lost his footing and slipped, sliding forward with a whoosh. Instead of helping him up, Koichi dragged him along with a mop, just like in curling.

The scene was quite comical. Eriri was clutching her stomach and laughing nonstop. Kaede quickly took a picture of the scene and forwarded it to the class group chat.

"Hahahahahaha!"

"I'm dying of laughter, you two are really clowns."

"It would be a waste of talent not to participate in the sports meet."

"Please, let's do this year's Olympics!"

"Alright, you've had enough fun. Remember to shovel off the ice on the ground so that students passing by don't slip." This area was originally their class's responsibility to clean, and Feng repeatedly reminded them.

Although they had rubbed almost all the ice off the ground.

"I understand, monitor."

Seji stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes. Koichi patted him on the shoulder and looked at the two leaving with envy, saying, "I'm so envious. The class monitor has so many girls around him."

Chapter Twenty-Four: Love/Friendship

"Hehehe, Seji, what do you think will happen if I put this piece of ice in the class monitor's clothes?" Koichi held a piece of ice in his hand, a sly smile on his face.

"So big?? I'll definitely die." Shizhi shuddered.

After thinking for a moment, Koichi threw away the ice cube in his hand, replaced it with a smaller one, rinsed it clean at the sink, his face full of resentment as he muttered to himself, "Why is it that only the class monitor has pretty girls around him?"

Shizhi quickly distanced himself from him, fearing he might be implicated: "Don't say I didn't warn you."

When he arrived at the classroom, he saw Kaede chatting with Kaguya. The cold princess actually smiled at him, which made Koichi even more jealous, and he felt like his body was about to break apart.

"Take this, this is my last Ripple!!" He took advantage of the other party's inattention and threw the ice cube into his clothes.

By the time Feng sensed something was wrong, it was too late. The biting cold made him instinctively straighten up, and the ice slid off his back, leaving a trail of water.

Eriri rushed over to help him, tugging at his clothes and shaking them to get the ice out. Kaede then pulled out several tissues and rubbed the ice inside his clothes.

Even though the prank was successful, Koichi felt like he had lost completely.

"You are already dead."

"What?!"

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but my classmates always feel like the class monitor's eyes have a red glow.

"Is this what you call male happiness?" Eriri laughed, her shoulders shaking.

Kaguya covered her mouth and chuckled secretly. Her classmates whispered among themselves, saying that Kaguya's change was too drastic. They said that if a girl changed her hairstyle, it meant she was in love or had encountered some major setback.

In addition, Kaguya was often with them, so rumors circulated that Kaguya and Kaede were together. However, some people disagreed with this view and put forward new arguments.

Halfway through the morning classes, it started snowing heavily outside, and by the last self-study period, the playground was already covered in a layer of snow.

Seeing that everyone in the class was distracted, Feng quietly left the classroom and went to the office to discuss it with the teacher. After ensuring their safety, the teacher agreed to their request to go to the playground for free activities.

Feng returned to the classroom door, stood on the podium, and tapped the blackboard. The students looked at him blankly.

Feng cleared his throat and said, "Want to go out and play?"

"think!!"

The shout broke the silence, and people from other classes looked around curiously.

"Shh, I've spoken to the teacher and he's given permission for you to have free time. The other classes are still in session. Everyone line up and go to the playground quietly. Be careful, understand?"

"I heard you~" Everyone cooperated by speaking in hushed tones, but couldn't help laughing afterward.

The girl sitting in the front row suddenly shouted, "I love you so much, class monitor!"

The class started teasing him, making Feng blush bright red: "Hurry up and go!"

Everyone lined up, and some even brought out shovels from the storage room. The snow-white playground was trampled into a mess by these guys.

Every now and then, a few snowballs would fly through the air, a lively scene that made the students from other classes extremely envious.

...

Kaguya, as usual, went home and lay on her bed staring blankly at the ceiling. Valentine's Day was just two weeks away...

Should we give them chocolates?

Kaguya imagined it for a moment, then her face turned red. She quickly muttered to herself, "It's just friendship chocolate."

I sat up and started looking up information. After a while, I found that the so-called handmade chocolates online were just chocolates bought from the supermarket, melted, and then solidified into the desired shapes.

It was somewhat different from what she had imagined. Just then, she saw Hayasaka standing to the side yawning, and realized that there was a teacher right there, so why did she need to look up any information?

Hayasaka taught me how to make chocolate!

"Young Miss, do you really think I'm omnipotent?"

"Hayasaka is omnipotent!" (Loudly)

"Okay, okay." Hayasaka reluctantly agreed. Shirogane had actually changed the young lady so much, and now she wanted him to teach her how to make chocolate. It was obvious who it was for.

"Making it by hand requires starting with processing the cocoa beans, which is quite troublesome."

"That's how you show sincerity."

Hayasaka swiped on the tablet and said, "I've already had someone bring in a batch of cocoa beans that just arrived in the warehouse."

"Wait, Hayasaka, what excuse are you using?"

"Don't worry, I just said that Miss wanted to eat the chocolate I made. Everyone's used to Miss being so capricious, so no one will think much of it."

"I'm not being willful!!" Kaguya said unhappily, crumpling Big White into a ball.

A moment later, there was a knock on the door. A woman dressed in black pushed a box in, unloaded the goods, and left without saying a word.

Hayasaka painstakingly pried open the nails on the crate, revealing fresh cocoa beans inside. Kaguya picked one up and examined it: "So this is a cocoa bean. It looks like a cantaloupe."

Hayasaka cut it open with a knife, and the cocoa beans inside looked somewhat like the flesh of a mangosteen. They felt very sticky, like a bursting caterpillar.

Seven cocoa pods were used to scoop out a bowl of cocoa beans. Hayasaka then wrapped the cocoa beans in banana leaves and put them back in the box, ensuring they were sealed tightly.

"It will ferment in a few days. Keep the temperature at 30 degrees Celsius. The beans will be ready to use then. When Miss comes home every day, remember to use kitchen paper to absorb the water on the surface. The cocoa beans are ready to use when they turn purple."

"Ah."

From then on, the first thing Kaguya did every day when she got home was to open the box, carefully turn the beans over to absorb the moisture, until the coffee beans turned purplish-brown after seven days, and the fermentation was completely complete.

She took a photo to remember the occasion; it happened to be the weekend, so she had plenty of time to make chocolate. Under Hayasaka's guidance, she roasted the coffee beans in the oven at 60 degrees Celsius for four hours.

With a ding, Kaguya got out of bed, ran to the oven, put on gloves, flipped the roasted beans, and baked them at 150 degrees for another twenty minutes, taking them out and flipping them every five minutes.

Smelling the aroma, all the big white dogs gathered in front of the oven. The third baking time was 135 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes.

When you finally take it out, the outer shell crumbles with a gentle squeeze, revealing the dark cocoa beans inside.

He smashed the beans in the bag with a rolling pin, then put the powder into a high-speed blender to grind it. The buzzing sound startled Da Bai, and he jumped up from the ground.

Its claws popped out, and it ran outside with a clattering sound. After a while, it quietly peeked out again, looking this way.

When it was almost ready, Hayasaka directed the servants to bring in a machine that was about half a person's height: "This is a household cocoa grinder that can automatically grind chocolate."

"It's so simple, I thought it would be complicated."

"Of course, it can be typed by hand, but with Miss's strength... I estimate it will take until tomorrow morning to finish."

"Let's use this machine." Kaguya decisively gave up and poured the ground cocoa powder into the machine to start stirring.

"It will be almost ready by the time Miss wakes up tomorrow morning."

"So long?" Kaguya was somewhat relieved that she hadn't chosen to grind by hand. Afraid that Big White would cause trouble while they were asleep, she had locked the door before going to bed to prevent it from sneaking out.

The chocolate made this way will definitely taste delicious.

Kaguya thought to herself.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Chocolate Melted by Love

Kaguya yawned as Hayasaka helped her wash and dress, while the grinding machine in the kitchen continued to hum.

Hayasaka provided guidance as Kaguya added appropriate amounts of cocoa butter and starch-free sugar in stages.

Eight hours later, the chocolate was finally ready. The chocolate in the container was poured onto a clean marble slab.

Spread the chocolate liquid back and forth like making a pancake to cool it down.

Hayasaka: "It looks very smooth. The chocolate is a great success."

Just as he was about to taste it, Kaguya brushed away his mischievous hand.

Heat the water bath to 30 degrees Celsius, take a spoonful, and set it aside to solidify at room temperature. When you can gently wipe it with your hand and it doesn't stick to your hand, the chocolate is truly a success.

All that's left is garnishing. Kaguya lined the bottom of the square container with a layer of chocolate, then sprinkled some chopped nuts on top, then another layer, and finally decorated the top with dried strawberry slices and cranberries.

She kept thinking about what Hayasaka had said: making chocolate is about expressing your feelings. When she came to her senses again, the edges of the chocolate had already been trimmed into the shape of a heart.

Kaguya's face flushed bright red, and she hurriedly used the remaining materials to make a classic square shape. Considering the weight of the three people, the result was far too small.

But what should I do with this heart-shaped one? It's a bit much to eat by myself...