Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Book 2: Chapter 128: Lin Xiaolu’s Chocolate

Vol 2 Chapter 128: Lin Xiaolu’s Chocolate

Ever since Lin Yun and Aya became Magical Girls together, up until the day they walked down the aisle, Aya gave him chocolate every year.

At first, it was just some snacks she picked up from a small roadside store. Later, she started using magical crafting tools from the Kingdom to semi-handmake them. Eventually, it evolved into fully handcrafted chocolate, made from raw ingredients by her own hands.

And out of all the years she gave him chocolate, the one that left the deepest impression on Lin Yun was probably the first time Aya bought a semi-finished product and gave it a shape of her own.

“Hmm… It’s not that I’m trying to be mean. I’m just genuinely confused.”

Carefully studying the chocolate he pulled out of the gift box, back then Lin Yun couldn’t for the life of him figure out what Aya had tried to make. “What is this? A cane? A tree branch?”

—“Come on! It’s a sword!”

She sounded half annoyed as she pointed to the two raised sections on the chocolate: “Look, isn’t this the cross-guard? And this part here is the hilt, then this long part is the blade…”

“I-Is it?”

Lin Yun squinted, turning the thing left and right, but no matter the angle, he just couldn’t see it as a sword. Still, seeing how excited Aya was, he could only go along with it. “If you say it’s a sword, then I guess it’s a sword.”

“It IS a sword!”

Aya gave his arm a light slap, fuming. “And who critiques a girl’s chocolate on Valentine’s Day anyway?! Isn’t this the moment where you ask me why I made it in the shape of a sword?”

“I just thought if it looked more like one, it’d help you when you’re looking for a boyfriend in the future…”

Mid-sentence, Lin Yun noticed the obvious displeasure on Aya’s face and quickly corrected himself. “Okay, okay. So why did you make it a sword?”

“Hmph, I knew you’d be curious!”

Aya’s mood shifted in an instant, as if she were performing a face change in Sichuan opera. “Since you’re so eager to know, I’ll tell you—but just this once!”

“Oh, great. I’m dying to know,” Lin Yun replied with zero inflection.

“The reason I made it a sword is because—when I was in trouble, and you came to save me, to me… you looked like a knight. No—more like a prince on a white horse, wielding a shining sword.”

Aya closed her eyes slightly, a dreamy look taking over her face. “I was the princess being bullied by the villains, and my prince charming descended from the heavens to save me.”

“What princess being bullied? Who could even bully you? And besides, you were the one who saved me first. I was just repaying the favor…”

Lin Yun instinctively started pointing out the holes in her fantasy, but halfway through, his brain finally registered something far more shocking in her earlier words. “...Wait, what did you just say?”

“My prince charming descended from the heavens?” Aya put her hands together and tilted her head against them.

“No, before that.”

“I was the princess being bullied.” Aya gave a pitiful look.

“...Before that.” Lin Yun lowered his gaze.

“Ah, I forgot.”

Aya beamed. “But I did say it’s a one-time-only reveal. If you didn’t hear it clearly, there’s no second chance.”

“But you definitely said I was like a prince…”

“No idea.”

Aya let her hands fall and began shaking her head. “I’ve already had my memory wiped by the Evil Queen after giving the chocolate, so I have no idea what I said.”

She stood up and pushed the chocolate—supposedly shaped like a sword—toward Lin Yun, then bent down slightly and whispered near his ear:

“So, take good care of your sword, my Prince.”

And with that, the memory ends.

Because Lin Yun could no longer recall what he thought after that moment. Maybe he was happy? Or maybe he was just shy from the sudden romantic tension? Whatever detailed thoughts he had at the time were already long gone, leaving behind only the warmth of the emotion still lingering in his heart.

Before he realized it, Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang’s play fight had also come to an end. With obvious reluctance, Lin Xiaolu gave Xia Liang a quick hug, then returned to her seat and opened the last paper box in front of her.

—“Here, Veronica, this one’s for you!”

She pushed her chocolate toward Veronica.

It was a chocolate-crafted ring, dark brown in color, with thin chocolate plates rising from the top. The plates were cut into sharp shapes with delicate filigree patterns.

Without a doubt, just like the other two chocolates Lin Xiaolu had given earlier, this one wasn’t perfect either—somewhat rough, in fact. But given her skill level, this chocolate in front of Veronica was likely the best she could manage.

“So what is it this time? A bracelet?” Xia Liang guessed as she observed Lin Xiaolu’s latest “creation.”

“Looks like one of those birthday party hats!” Bai Jingxuan chimed in.

Even Veronica herself initially thought that.

Because she knew it was her birthday today, and the chocolate Lin Xiaolu presented did strongly resemble those paper birthday hats often given at cake shops.

But right now, she was “Veronica.” The only junior in the Fangting City team who should know today was her birthday was Xia Liang. Aside from Xia Liang leaking it on purpose, Lin Xiaolu shouldn't know about it. So what exactly was this chocolate supposed to symbolize?

Or maybe, just maybe… what were those paper hats originally modeled after?

A thought surfaced in Veronica’s mind.

—“It’s a crown, isn’t it?”

She spoke softly. “Looks just like one, White Rose.”

That single sentence instantly brightened the previously hesitant Lin Xiaolu’s face.

“Yes! It’s a crown!”

She raised her voice, unable to contain her excitement. “I knew you’d see it, Veronica!”

Ignoring Xia Liang and Bai Jingxuan’s “Oh, it’s a crown?” reactions, Lin Xiaolu dashed over to Veronica’s side, pointing at each detail on the chocolate and explaining excitedly: “This ring is the crown base, this part is the crest, and here I made a little spire. When I was working on this part…”

She spoke earnestly about every aspect of her chocolate crown—the ideas behind each detail, the struggles during the process, the good concepts she had to abandon due to her limitations, and how some compromises ended up turning out better than expected. She went on like this for six or seven minutes before finally stopping.

“And lastly, I want to explain why I decided to make it a crown…”

She glanced at the chocolate on the table, her gaze drifting. “But it’s a little embarrassing to say, especially with someone next to me just waiting to tease me. So Veronica, I might… only say it once.”

Veronica listened without interrupting.

She simply gazed at the crown, as if memories were bubbling up from deep within her mind—vivid and crystal-clear scenes that made her let out a long breath and drop her gaze gently.

“Okay.”

“It’s just that… Xia Liang told me that when you give someone chocolate, you have to put all your thoughts and feelings for that person into it. So I was thinking a lot about how I really see Veronica.”

Earlier, she had been eloquent when explaining the crown’s design, but now that it came to the reason behind it, Lin Xiaolu suddenly began to stammer:

“I actually thought about making it shaped like a thread, since both your magical armor and mine have thread elements—that’s something I’ve learned from you. I also thought about making it a wand, because the first time I met you, you were using a wand to teach me how to fight.”

“But after thinking about it a lot, I felt that those versions of you weren’t complete enough. The way I see you, you’re something more whole, more wonderful, and… more out of reach.”

“The first time you appeared in front of me, you saved my life. In that moment, you were the most dazzling thing I’d ever seen in this world. I thought, if this were a fairytale, and I were lucky enough to be the heroine, then surely the person I met at that moment would be my prince.”

“But I’m not the heroine, and this isn’t a fairytale. And you’re a girl too, Veronica. So I always felt a bit of regret, like that moment… was just a beautiful illusion.”

“But even if that’s true, the only reason it was an illusion is because I’m not good enough. You, Veronica… you, without question, are the prince who saves others. Or even if you’re not a prince, if you’re a princess instead, it’s the same.”

“So, this crown…”

Lin Xiaolu lifted the chocolate crown and held it in front of Veronica’s head.

“This is how I see you.”

“Thank you for saving me. Thank you for teaching me. Thank you for staying with me. Thank you for loving me…”

“I love you the most, Veronica.”

That was what Lin Xiaolu most wanted to say to her in this moment.

And it left Veronica utterly speechless, her throat tightening with emotion.

She wanted so badly to stand up right then and say, You are my princess, and I’ll be the king who gives you the whole world.

She wanted to turn around and hug her queen, tell her I love you. I’ll protect you both—with my sword and my crown—forever.

The queen had given her prince a sword. The princess had gifted her prince a crown.

Only, the prince had failed to become a king. His sword was now rusted. His queen was no longer at his side. And in the sleeping chamber, there remained only one person who no longer knew if they were prince or princess—one overwhelmed with regret.

—“Hey, wh-what’s wrong? Veronica, why do you suddenly look so sad? Are you… crying?”

“What’s going on, little senpai? Don’t cry! Did Xiaolu say something wrong? Hey Xiaolu, come over here, quick! Apologize!”

“Don’t be sad, teacher! I have a handkerchief!”

At some point, the juniors had gathered around Veronica, anxiously fussing over her sudden burst of emotion.

“...I’m okay. It’s not White Rose’s fault.”

She took Bai Jingxuan’s handkerchief and pressed it to her eyes, her voice a little hoarse. “Just remembered something from the past. Got a little emotional. It’s nothing serious—it’s all behind me now.”

But yes, at least now, she wasn’t alone.

Maybe the sword had rotted. Maybe she wasn’t strong enough to carry the weight of the crown.

But she would wield that corroded sword to protect everything she still had left.