The social phobia substitute will not dream of the band girl

It’s protection money after all?

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"Hongxia, do something big, do something big!"

"...?"

As a longtime friend, Ijichi Nijika knows Yamada Ryo's personality. While she usually appears aloof simply because she's uninterested in boring "mortals," she's actually quite the thoughtful and playful person. But lately, she's been acting a bit strange...

No, it's very strange.

"Are you still making chocolate?"

Hearing Hongxia's question, Yamada Ryo stopped playing tricks and walked over to her obediently. Today, she was still wearing neutral clothing that rarely exposed skin, but she also wore an apron on the outside.

"Do."

"Since you are going to do it, do it well, put your heart into it, and don't say weird things." Hong Xia preached patiently.

"Is it strange? I heard what Ping Xin said before."

Yamada Ryo's answer made Hongxia stop her hand.

If he said that, then it should be a good thing? "Gan Da Shi" translates to "having lofty aspirations"? I don't quite understand it, but it should be a good thing...

"That's it."

Hongxia answered and didn't ask any more questions. Instead, she started concentrating on making chocolate.

Physical labor such as housework helps to exercise the body and relieve stress. Moreover, clean floors, smooth tiles, and delicious meals are all visible "achievements" that bring people spiritual pleasure. Therefore, Hong Xia smiled unconsciously.

For Hong Xia, who often does housework, doing housework can help her clear her mind.

"You have a beautiful smile... The chocolate with your thoughts in it must be delicious."

"This is for giving as a gift!"

"You'll definitely be very happy to receive this ordinary letter, after all, you put so much thought into it."

"No, it's not for him!" Hong Xia retorted subconsciously.

Seeing her expression, Yamada Ryo felt that he didn't need to persuade her anymore, after all, she had already fallen into the trap.

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"Ichiri...is your chocolate...your natal one?" Kita Ikuyo spoke hesitantly.

"......Yes."

Goto Ichiri was also hesitant, but her attitude was different from Kita's, and the air fell into silence.

Chapter 49 Life is like a box of chocolates

Adolescents are always restless, sometimes fueled by excess energy and surging hormones, sometimes by a yearning for a more exciting world. Most of the time, these emotions revolve around the classmates, friends, and acquaintances with whom they spend every day, perhaps even closer than family.

Friendship, love, family affection, respect, admiration, and love are too profound for these young souls to understand, so that they cannot see their own true hearts.

So...is love an illusion?

Kita Ikuyo didn't know, even though she was surrounded by many examples. She couldn't see through her own heart, at least not completely. She was born into a well-off family, enjoyed a good education, and grew up "correctly," but she still didn't understand what love was.

Even at this moment, Kita couldn't be sure whether what she felt in her heart was love, longing, gratitude, friendship, or some other mixed emotion, but there was one thing she understood, very clearly. That was...

If a person named Kita Ikuyo has love in her heart, then her love for that man must be far less than that of Goto Ichiri in front of her.

The bright smile that used to come naturally to her disappeared from her face, and her green pupils also lost some of their luster. Although they still sparkled, they had more flaws.

Do I really love my senior?

Is my love for him real, or is it just an illusion?

Is this kind of love right or wrong? Is it worth it?

...

There were many questions like this, many that I had thought of, and many that I hadn't thought of. But the more Kita Ikuyo thought about it, the more she understood one thing... that is, even if her love existed in her heart, it was definitely not as passionate and pure as that in Goto Ichiri's heart.

The pure and kind Kita inevitably develops a dark feeling towards the person in front of her, and this color is generally called...

Hey.

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"Toru-chan, Enka-chan, Hina-chan and I are going to a party at Shin-chan's house with some chocolate. Do you want to come with us?"

As the evening neared 20 p.m., Fukumaru Koito and Ichikawa Hina initiated a group call, successfully calling down Higuchi Enka, who had just finished her homework, and Asakura Toru, who had been reading manga since dinner. The four masters and apprentices (crossed out)...

The four childhood friends went to Hirashin's house together. When passing by the old park, Asakura Toru wanted to show off his special skills, but was forcibly taken away by Enka on the grounds that it was too dark and dangerous.

"By the way, what kind of gifts did everyone prepare?"

Despite her earnest efforts, Koito still felt a little insecure. Anyone could tell she needed a little encouragement, but it was clear her childhood friends weren't exactly ordinary people.

"I bought this at the convenience store. Do you want to eat it?"

Being favored always makes one feel safe and secure... Is that right? "...I just made one at random." After a pause, Enka added, "Chocolate is chocolate. There's no meaning above or beyond that."

Classic tsundere, stubborn and refusing to explain. "Hina (I) made a box of amazing chocolates~"

Unexpected seriousness. When a person becomes serious, people can often find true genius.

Ah, everyone's reactions were normal, not nervous at all. Was I too nervous? Although the process was not what I imagined, Koito was relieved.

The process is completely wrong, but the result is right.

With Enka's mother's urging, the group didn't waste too much time wandering around the convenience store, the old park, or the cats on the street. In about ten minutes, they arrived at Hiranobu's house for the second gathering. Since they had school the next day, they all returned home before 10:21 PM, spending an interesting but ordinary evening...

At least that's how it looks on the surface.

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"Okay, it's finally time for the exciting prize drawing... We've received over a hundred gifts from school alone, plus gifts from various channels and acquaintances. Add to that the guaranteed high-end gifts and the special gift I'm most interested in, and we've got a plan for tonight's entertainment—"

As he spoke, Ping Xin opened the bags and boxes containing chocolates and gift boxes and scattered the contents into the air. A stranger present would have been speechless with astonishment, as these gifts of all shapes and sizes defied gravity and floated in the air. Their original order was disrupted, forming a ring of stars, swirling around the central "star."

Or...flowing?

"...It's my turn, draw a card!"

After drawing about 70% of the prize pool, Ping Xin finally began to receive the so-called "special prizes", which were gifts prepared by the people he cared about most.

"One of the latest bulk chocolates from the convenience store, and... a pair of cufflinks."

Sometimes people also call it cufflinks. In layman's terms, it is a button specially used on cufflink shirts to replace the cuff buttons. In the West, as a respectable person, in addition to having a custom-made suit, you also need to pay attention to many details such as cufflinks.

Fortunately, these rules have been reduced a lot compared to the past, but what remains unchanged is that the so-called rules and order are still set by those who are powerful and wealthy.

"Is this... a donut?"

Compared to ordinary donuts, the chocolate donut prepared by Higuchi Enka is larger in size, but strangely, the hole in the middle is also larger. It can even be said that only an overly thin edge is left, and the shape is like a leftover cake that was hung around the neck and eaten.

If Ping Xin were to evaluate her, he would probably say, "She's just like her former self."

Of course, any sensible person would not choose to expose the shortcomings of a cold and delicate girl in front of many people, unless he wants to be chopped with a hatchet or never want to go to bed again.

"Heh, I think this looks more like a collar than a donut."

Ping Xin accurately grasped the key point, and in return he would return it tenfold in the subsequent little fun segment.

No, a hundred times!

Suppressing the urge to fly out and draw some positive characters on Enka's body, Pingxin continued to patiently play the card drawing game, and sorted out his thoughts on the chocolate, suggestions for improvement, and ideas for return gifts and memorized them in his mind. This is also a way to use his super brain power.

The chocolate snack that Fukumaru Koito gave was an exquisite chocolate key that was shaped using a mold and then carved on it. If he hadn't known that Koito's gift meant the "gate of knowledge" and that his worldview didn't allow it, Ping Xin would have even wanted to lift her bangs to see if there was an extra keyhole on it.

Last among the four, Ichikawa Hina's gift arrived late, wrapped in a box that looked much larger than the other gifts, and inside was...

Many different kinds of chocolates piled together.

There was a message card on the top, which read:

Chapter 50: The Troubles of Happiness

A month passed quickly. For a powerful being, such peaceful days would make people feel uneasy and frightened. However, as long as one calms down and thinks carefully, one will find that this is how life should be.

Going to work, attending school, searching for a job, everyone rushes around for life and their dreams. They find a respite on a day off, in the warmth of home, in the arms of their loved ones, and finally, without hesitation, they rush forward once again into a life filled with uncertainty and danger. After experiencing moments of ordinary, turbulent, or as exciting as the protagonists of novels, they close their eyes and bid farewell to the world...

But what does this have to do with me?

Everyone has his own way of life, his own creed, his own life, and so does Ping Xin.

To do my best, to do everything I should do, to live a life without regrets, and finally to take myself away after the watch ends. This is Ping Xin's wish, but...

How easy is this?

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Wake up with a sigh, then act with a smile—

March 3th, White Valentine's Day.

Ping Xin spent a lot of time running around, just to send each return gift to where it should go. Sometimes he applied for admission to a girls' school in a legitimate way, and sometimes he transformed into the wind and quietly put the gifts in the shoe cabinets of good children like a white-bearded old man climbing a chimney.

The intelligence is accurate, the movement is fast, and most importantly, it is silent. Maybe Santa Claus is also an assassin?

Yes, after all, he was dressed in red, maybe it was dyed with blood. Otherwise, how much money would it cost just to prepare gifts every year?

And we all know that this money will not come out of thin air!

"As for Valentine's Day return gifts, what kind of gifts do you think would be good, Hina?"

—No, no, no, this is something you should be thinking about before White Day, right? Why ask someone the day before they meet? It's like you forgot about it and only remembered it when you actually met... Even Hiashi would want to rant about it.

Standing on the school rooftop, Pingxin leaned the center of his body against the railing, trying hard to think of and simulate various possibilities while being careful not to break it. It was really a hassle.

After brushing off the nonexistent dust, he withdrew his hands and then circled the railing in a square pattern, looking around, trying to find some inspiration from the scenery on top of the teaching building. But when a person can't solve a problem no matter how hard they think, they often can't find the answer either, because even they themselves think so.

"It's difficult..."

After circling around, Pingxin climbed the ladder to the highest point of the school in the true sense, but the people below knew nothing about it. His eyes were always looking at something, but at nothing.

As a lazy person, if the recipient of the gift can tell him what he wants straightforwardly, preferably with attention to every detail, then Ping Xin should be very happy, but the subordinates who are ordered to do it by him may not be so happy.

But as someone who values ​​appearances and strives for hard work (giving his all and leaving no regrets), he doesn't want to be perfunctory, and...

Hinana was really serious about making the gift this time. In addition to what I saw and personally guided her to do, she actually put in a lot of effort in private.

Pingxin thought of the surprise gift he received that day, a large red chocolate box that looked like a Christmas tree decoration, with about 100 chocolates stuffed inside.

Well, 99 to be exact. Although Pingxin didn't count them one by one, he could definitely feel them. He used his ability, his heart, his eyes, and a little math knowledge.

These chocolates are all different in type, shape, flavor, ingredients, etc. There are some random combinations, but more importantly, there is a kind of care, concentration, and patience that makes Ping Xin feel it regardless of time and space.

Dark chocolate, white chocolate, milk chocolate, solid chocolate, semi-liquid chocolate, flow chocolate, hazelnuts, marshmallows, or even chocolate with another flavor added directly into it...

By arranging and combining these and more characteristics, there are many types of chocolate that can be obtained, definitely more than 100, but no one has ever given Heishin so many chocolates, and there are a full 99 types.

Plus the message written by Ichikawa Hinana on the card inside—

【The taste of life, the taste of happiness】

"...You remembered what I said casually, right?" Ping Xin couldn't help but laugh.

Hiranobu was more casual when talking to Hina and Toru, and he might not even remember the words he said in such a relaxed state of mind, but she did.