From the mount station at the gate of the Colorful Cloud Wetland, Erald Sparrow walked at a leisurely pace for over ten minutes before finally reaching the little cabin where the Fangting Team was staying.
Although her body showed no signs of exhaustion, the hours-long tug-of-war with Mo He had left her ntally drained. She spent a mont adjusting her expression in the shadows, ensuring no trace of weariness could be seen before quietly undoing her magic technique and stepping into the cabin.
Inside, the three younger mbers of the team were all gathered around the sofa, huddled near Xia Liang's phone. Erald Sparrow could hear the music and dialogue coming from the device and quickly determined they were watching so kind of video. Not wanting to interrupt, she stayed silent upon entering, so much so that the younger ones didn't even notice soone had co in.
Bai Jingxuan was the first to notice Erald Sparrow. Her eyes had gotten tired from staring at the screen, so she shifted her gaze and saw her. Taking advantage of the fact that the other two were still engrossed in the phone, she imdiately cried, "Teacher!" and threw herself at Erald Sparrow.
"Teacher, you ca back so late!" Although her words sounded like a complaint, Bai Jingxuan's hands were already wrapped around Erald Sparrow's arm, and her actions carried not the slightest hint of bla—in fact, it was clear she was just being playful.
"Mmm, so unexpected things ca up and caused a slight delay."
Erald Sparrow had no intention of detailing the matters concerning Mo He to her younger teammates, so she brushed off her delay lightly and patted Bai Jingxuan on the arm. "How about today? What were you all doing just now?"
"We're learning how to make eggs—"
Bai Jingxuan, with no hint of concealnt, nearly blurted everything out. However, halfway through her sentence, she was interrupted by Lin Xiaolu, who rushed over with a dramatic air and tugged shiftily at Bai Jingxuan's sleeve, signaling her to stay quiet.
——"Erald Sparrow, you're back!" Lin Xiaolu exclaid as she made her way over, still subtly nudging Bai Jingxuan into silence.
"Welco back, Senior." Xia Liang took the opportunity to step to Erald Sparrow's other side, softly offering her greeting.
This kind of welco had long since beco routine for Erald Sparrow. Whenever she returned late from work or patrols in Fangting City, if the younger mbers of the team were in the living room, they would always co to greet her. However, today felt different. Usually, after exchanging pleasantries, they would chat briefly and then go about their own business. But today, especially Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang, lingered after the greeting, as if waiting for sothing, creating an odd atmosphere.
They exchanged aningful glances, seemingly each wanting to say sothing but hesitating to take the lead. Bai Jingxuan looked like she was about to speak but was firmly held back by Lin Xiaolu, leaving the situation at an impasse.
Erald Sparrow noticed their strange behavior and naturally found it puzzling. However, she quickly rembered the significance of today and the ssage Lin Xiaolu had sent to Lin Yun's phone earlier—apparently, the younger teammates had made chocolate intending to give it to her.
Familiar with their personalities, Erald Sparrow didn't need long to figure out what was going on. Instead of waiting for Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang to stumble through their hesitation, she decided to take the initiative. In the increasingly awkward atmosphere, she raised her hand and gestured downward slightly. "Ahem, wait here for a mont—I'm going to grab sothing real quick."
After saying this, she turned and left under the younger ones' sowhat surprised gazes, heading to her luggage cabinet. Opening the cabinet, she rummaged through it and pulled out a few exquisitely wrapped boxes.
After inspecting the boxes one last ti to confirm they were exactly what she'd prepared, Erald Sparrow carried them to the door and handed one to each of her younger teammates:
"Here—chocolates."
The chocolates were ones she had picked up for tasting at a roadside shop the day before. She had also purchased Qi Cloud Pastries for morial Cetery visits, but the pastries had been used up at the cetery, while the chocolates had been brought back to her lodging.
When she originally bought the chocolates, she hadn't thought much about it. She simply found them tasty and figured the kids might enjoy them. But after purchasing them, she rembered it was nearly Valentine's Day and decided to save them as holiday gifts.
"I bought them directly from a roadside dessert shop, so they're nothing particularly special—just consider them a little snack," she explained as she handed out the chocolates. "That said, I personally think they taste pretty good."
"Wow! Teacher gave chocolates!" Bai Jingxuan responded with pure and unadulterated joy as she received the gift.
"Thank you, Senior," Xia Liang replied with a rare display of demure politeness, bowing respectfully before carefully stowing the chocolates away.
Only Lin Xiaolu hesitated after receiving her box. First, she was silent. Then, she looked happy. Next ca confusion, and finally, she blurted out in surprise, "Huh? Wait a minute, why is Erald Sparrow giving chocolates first?"
"What do you an, why?"
Erald Sparrow looked at Lin Xiaolu, puzzled. It wasn't like Lin Xiaolu didn't understand the significance of Valentine's Day—after all, Lin Xiaolu herself had prepared chocolates in secret to give out. Of course, Erald Sparrow couldn't acknowledge this detail openly, so she played dumb. "Giving chocolates is a fairly common tradition for this holiday, isn't it?"
"But, well, technically, isn't Valentine's Day about giving chocolates to soone you like?"
Lin Xiaolu's voice grew increasingly quiet. "I an, in the broader sense of 'like,' it makes sense, but when it's ti to actually give them, it still feels a little…"
"Ah, right."
Still unsure why Lin Xiaolu was suddenly overthinking things, Erald Sparrow gave a straightforward explanation. "Originally, this holiday was ant for couples and those confessing to their crushes. But over ti, as customs evolved, it beca more common to give chocolates to friends, family, or even acquaintances. After all, holidays are more festive when more people participate."
"In the Magic Kingdom, where sweets are incredibly popular, chocolate has always been a part of daily life. Over ti, Valentine's Day there evolved more into a chocolate promotional day than anything else."
She pointed to the box in Lin Xiaolu's hands. "As for the Material Realm, while it hasn't beco quite that casual, among magical girl teams, giving chocolates has turned into a aningful tradition. It's a way of expressing gratitude and solidarity."
"Most magical girls have little ti for romantic relationships during their assignnts, so they often miss out on experiences like giving chocolates to soone special. In response, gifting chocolates to teammates beca a way to say, 'I understand you; let's keep supporting each other.'"
"It likely started as a way to make the most out of a bittersweet mont, but over ti, it beca more motivational and a symbol of teamwork. These days, they even have a special na for it—'Thank-You Chocolates.'"
By the ti Erald Sparrow finished explaining, Bai Jingxuan had already unwrapped her box and popped a chocolate into her mouth without hesitation.
anwhile, Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang seed caught in deep thought. Lin Xiaolu, in particular, appeared conflicted as she muttered, "I see… Erald Sparrow really does know a lot of niche trivia."
"I wouldn't call it niche." Erald Sparrow crossed her arms, her tone carrying a hint of self-doubt about her own conclusions. "I only know about it because I had a teammate who loved researching these things. They were the ones who explained 'Thank-You Chocolates' to ."
"Sigh…" Lin Xiaolu suddenly let out a resigned sigh.
She clutched the neatly wrapped box of chocolates and turned to Xia Liang with a slightly pouty expression. "It's all your fault. If you hadn't been filling my head with random nonsense, I would've given her my chocolates by now."
"My fault?"
Xia Liang widened her eyes slightly in surprise before letting out a helpless laugh. "You're the one who kept going on about how you didn't know how to explain why you were giving chocolates and wouldn't leave alone until I promised to speak for you."
"Well, you should've just told Erald Sparrow directly."
Lin Xiaolu muttered, "I asked you to help, and you just kept passing the buck. Now look—any chance for a surprise is completely ruined."
"I didn't know what to say either…"
Xia Liang sighed in exasperation. "Who could have guessed there'd be this whole 'Thank-You Chocolate' tradition? I spent ages trying to co up with a reasonable explanation."
"You seed pretty smooth when you were talking about 'like' and all that earlier," Lin Xiaolu remarked with a pointed look.
"That was different…" Xia Liang's voice faltered, and she quickly averted her gaze.
The two went back and forth for so long, tossing bla at each other, that Erald Sparrow beca thoroughly bewildered. All she could discern was that they seed upset at not presenting their chocolates on ti, but as for the rest of their argunt, it was completely incomprehensible.
"So, what exactly are you two arguing about?" Having decided to feign ignorance, Erald Sparrow doubled down and pretended to know nothing.
This ti, the younger ones no longer felt the need to hide anything.
Lin Xiaolu let go of Bai Jingxuan's arm, and with her cue, Bai Jingxuan cheerfully declared:
"We made chocolates for you too, Teacher!"
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