Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Book 2: Chapter 123: The Friendship Proving Ceremony

Vol 2 Chapter 123: The Friendship Proving Ceremony

The chocolates Xia Liang made were clearly more refined in appearance than Bai Jingxuan’s. Even though Lin Xiaolu could only see the half-finished product, the flower-petal-like shape and the slightly warped surface patterns both showed the effort and thought the maker had put into it.

“Wow, you’re actually pretty good at this,” she said as she walked over to Xia Liang’s workstation and tried to figure out what the piece was. “Is this… a leaf? Or a flower?”

“It’s a Heartstone Seed.”

Xia Liang was wiping her hands with a towel as she chuckled and explained, “This one’s modeled after your Heartstone Seed. That’s why it looks like a bud.”

“Ohh, that explains why it looked kinda weird… So it's my Heart Bud…” Lin Xiaolu rubbed her chin and nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly did a double take. “Wait—mine?”

“Who else? If Xiaoxuan can make you chocolates, why can’t I?”

Xia Liang shrugged. “Valentine’s Day is about giving chocolate to people you like, right? So I made some for each of you.”

“It’s not that, I’m just surprised.”

Lin Xiaolu shook her head. “That brat Bai Jingxuan is still young, so she can say stuff like ‘I like everyone’ without a second thought. I thought someone mature like you would take it more seriously—you know, like ‘chocolate should only be for the one you like most’ or something.”

“It’s not like I’m confessing to a guy or anything. Why be so formal about it?”

Xia Liang rolled her eyes at Lin Xiaolu’s remark. “Actually, who says I’m giving you chocolate just because of some vague custom? Maybe it’s just because I genuinely like you.”

“Ah, oh…” Lin Xiaolu blinked, and then her calm voice suddenly shot up an octave. “...Huh?! What did you just say?!”

“I said I really like you.”

Xia Liang repeated with a hint of annoyance. “Is that such a terrifying thing? Why are you acting like you’ve seen a ghost?”

“You—you like me?”

The straightforward confession sent a jolt through Lin Xiaolu. She pointed to herself in disbelief, her thoughts swirling like a vortex in her eyes. “This is kind of… But I—I only see you as a normal friend…”

“Well, I meant the kind of ‘like’ between teammates and friends. What’s wrong with that?”

Xia Liang had been confused at first by Lin Xiaolu’s reaction but quickly caught on to her misunderstanding. She grinned teasingly. “What, did you think I meant that kind of like? Getting a little romance-brained, are we?”

“Hah? What romance-brained? No way!”

Lin Xiaolu snapped out of it a bit and immediately retorted, “I—I obviously knew you just meant as friends! You’re the one who said it weird!”

“Oh, you knew it was a ‘just friends’ thing?”

Xia Liang batted her eyelashes innocently, then her expression shifted as she furrowed her brows in mock sadness. “So… are you saying Xiaoxuan and I aren’t your friends? That we don’t deserve to like you, or be liked by you?”

“How did you even twist it like that?!” Lin Xiaolu’s eyes went wide.

“Sigh… I thought after a year of fighting side by side, cramming late at night, and being there for each other, we were closer than sisters. Turns out I’m not even qualified to be called your friend.”

Xia Liang dropped her gaze and pretended to wipe away tears. “You’re so heartless, Xiaolu.”

Her acting wasn’t particularly convincing—so much so that even Lin Xiaolu could tell she was faking it. Xia Liang even flicked her hair to reveal the earrings Xiaolu had given her for her birthday. And when Xiaolu tried to argue back, she found herself, oddly enough, standing on the losing side of the argument.

Smack!

Before she could react, Bai Jingxuan had somehow wandered over and gave Xiaolu a light slap on the shoulder.

“Don’t bully Big Sis Xia Liang!”

Then she laid down her own righteous judgment.

Lin Xiaolu’s face fell even further.

She glared at Xia Liang, who was still pretending to cry—and sticking her tongue out at her mid-“sobbing.” It was so obvious she was baiting her, like saying: “Let’s see how you’re gonna comfort me now.” As annoying as it was, even Lin Xiaolu knew it’d be smarter to play along at this point.

“...You guys got it all wrong.”

So she took a deep breath and muttered, just barely audible, “I’ve always thought of you two as my friends.”

“That was so half-hearted,” Xia Liang commented.

“Fake,” Bai Jingxuan chimed in, cheeks puffed out in disapproval.

“Ughhh…”

Shot down again, Lin Xiaolu pouted. “I’m not lying! Of course I think you’re my friends!”

“…What do you think?” Xia Liang dropped the act and turned to stand with Bai Jingxuan, like two judges deliberating.

“I don’t believe her. She’s always bullying me,” said Judge Bai, clearly letting personal grudges color her verdict.

“You guys know I’m telling the truth!”

Lin Xiaolu’s face turned red. “You’re just messing with me at this point!”

“Objection, contestant Lin Xiaolu,” Xia Liang said, pushing an imaginary pair of glasses up her nose. “We’re looking for proof, not excuses.”

“Exactly!” Bai Jingxuan quickly backed her up.

“What kind of proof do you even want?!”

Now she was genuinely upset, pointing at Xia Liang. “You know I barely have any friends at school! If I have any real friends outside, it’s just you two! Who else could it be?! It’s not like I can conjure friends out of thin air!”

“Oh, strong argument from contestant Lin Xiaolu!”

Xia Liang clapped and turned to Bai Jingxuan. “I think I’m convinced. What about you, Dr. Bai?”

“Well… Xiaolu-jie really doesn’t have any other friends,” Bai Jingxuan admitted, sympathy now creeping into her voice. “She either goes home right after school or goes on patrol…”

“I do have some, okay! I go out with friends sometimes—I’m not that much of a loner!”

Lin Xiaolu reflexively defended herself, but then quickly toned it down, remembering her goal. “But yeah, you get the point. Believe it or not, it’s true.”

“Believe it or not, huh… What do you think, Dr. Bai?” Xia Liang asked again.

“Seems legit,” Bai Jingxuan nodded.

“Agreed. Even if contestant Lin Xiaolu can’t appeal to us emotionally—after all, she’s a spoiled and bratty rich girl who can’t even recall those warm ‘friend moments’—she still nailed the most important logic point.”

Xia Liang spread her arms wide, as if presenting an award. “That is: Even at school, her only real friend is Jiang Yuan. So if she’s not friends with us… she’d have no one to hang out with!”

“You little—! I swear I’m gonna lose it!” Lin Xiaolu shouted.

“Anyway, that’s basically what the chocolate is all about,” Xia Liang said, putting on her usual smile as the dramatics ended, summarizing it all like it was nothing.

“…Huh?” Lin Xiaolu clearly hadn’t caught up with the sudden shift and still looked pissed.

“I mean, if you’re making chocolate but don’t know what to base it on, just think about that kind of feeling.”

Xia Liang reached over and patted Bai Jingxuan’s head like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Just like how you had to prove through words that we’re your friends—chocolate is about putting that same feeling, that desire to share something and be understood, into what you make.”

“I don’t get it. Are you seriously not changing the subject?” Lin Xiaolu raised an eyebrow.

“In other words,” Xia Liang explained, “you use chocolate to answer the question: ‘How do I really feel about you?’ Like how Xiaoxuan wrote it straight on the chocolate, or how I modeled mine after your Heartstone Seed.”

She showed her earring again. “When you gave me this for my birthday, you got it exactly—it’s that kind of ‘only we would get it’ feeling.”

“Only we would get it… huh?” This time, Lin Xiaolu actually looked thoughtful and lowered her gaze.

“Yep, that’s the idea. Now get back to making your chocolate, contestant Lin Xiaolu.”

Xia Liang pulled her hand away from Bai Jingxuan’s head and smiled. “Tonight’s judges won’t be as lenient as we are. If you can’t get your feelings across, you’ll be the one regretting it.”

“Yeah… I know.”

After all the chaos, Lin Xiaolu finally had some direction.

“But seriously, you were totally messing with me earlier. And now you’re changing the subject, right?”

No one answered her.

The only reply she got was the sound of the other two continuing their work at their stations.

“Hey, you two—!”

Yep. No matter what the outcome was, one thing was crystal clear:

Lin Xiaolu had been completely played.