"I... this chocolate is my true feelings chocolate! I... I only gave it to you! Darling!"

From behind me came that girl's sweet voice again. She shoved the chocolate into my hands. I numbly accepted it. A second later, I snapped out of my daze—the soft pressure on my back vanished. Instead, slender hands rested on my shoulders.

It just hit me—yesterday was Valentine’s Day... So that’s what she meant by the chocolate? But why? Who’d actually give me chocolate?! That made zero sense!

Let’s face it—I got brutally rejected yesterday after confessing to my childhood friend of fifteen years. Yet now, a total stranger I’d never met was handing me chocolate? How was that even logical?!

I stiffly lifted my head. Before me stood a girl from my grade. She wore the same blue tie as me—our school used tie colors to mark grades.

She smiled at me, her blushing cheeks seeming to whisper something unspoken. What a breathtaking sight!

Not just her watery gray eyes, but even her black hair held my gaze. Her features were perfectly symmetrical, like a meticulously crafted doll. With such a delicate face, her smile was utterly intoxicating.

God?! Why?! Why was such a stunning girl here?!

But that thought made me even more skeptical—would a beauty like her really approach someone like me?!

"Isn’t that... Xia Mo from Class 12?! The one called the Ice Queen?!"

"What’s she doing in our Class 8?! Giving chocolate here?! Did she get the wrong person?!"

"Can’t believe Bai Huiyuan got so lucky!!"

"So unfair! A perfect girl wasted on a pig like him!"

...

Rude whispers erupted around me. Wait—what did "wasted on a pig" mean?! Was that an insult to me?! It definitely was!

Xia Mo? I’d heard the name before. Zhou Hao had gossiped about her recently—she was a school beauty and a top-five student. But why approach me?! She must have the wrong person!

"Excuse me... are you sure you have the right person?"

I asked without confidence. Of course—I was certain no pretty girl would confess to me. Someone like me could never attract her. Unless I’d sunk low enough to hire escorts...

"Nope! I’m here for you—Bai Huiyuan. Denying your name now? Dar-ling?!"

I didn’t know her, yet she knew my name. I recalled yesterday afternoon. Had she looked up my info right after?! If so, that was terrifying!

"Drop that weird ‘darling’ thing! We just met, okay?!"

"Why? Denying our relationship?! After what you did so intensely?! You even ran away yesterday!"

She cupped her face, acting utterly infatuated. She stressed "ran away" heavily—reminding me of something.

Was she blackmailing me with yesterday’s incident?! I didn’t care about my reputation. But Mengxiang was different. She’d had confessions before, but from strangers. This time, she wouldn’t want it getting out.

"Tell me your purpose!"

I kept my voice low. She seemed to know I’d guessed. She nodded, then shifted tone, still coy.

"Purpose?"

She tilted her head cutely, feigning confusion.

"We’ve never met. You must have a reason for approaching me!"

"I... can I say it?"

Xia Mo smiled slightly—a goddess-like smile that could make anyone fall. But behind it lurked a huge scheme.

"Say it!"

"Is it okay to say it here?"

She kept smiling, voice sweet. To me, it sounded like a threat. I felt dread—she might spill yesterday’s secret.

"Is it okay to say why I gave you Valentine’s chocolate here?"

"That’s what I’ve been asking from the start, okay?!"

"It’s... because..."

Xia Mo walked around to face me, hands on my desk. She lowered her gaze, hesitating. Then she looked up with moist eyes.

Earlier, the angle hid her beauty. Now I saw clearly. An ordinary high school girl in a standard uniform. Yet why did she radiate such a unique aura?!

"Because... I like you..."

The classroom air froze. Only the heater’s rumble filled my ears. Then—a pen clattered to the floor. My mind went blank. With a dry voice, I choked out:

"...Huh?"

This shattered my understanding. A girl I’d barely spoken to. The school’s celebrated beauty. The boys’ number one "most wanted girlfriend." She just said she liked me?!

"Didn’t you hear? I’m utterly captivated by you! Completely obsessed!"

"I understand even less now! And your wording’s all wrong!"

"I like you. Go out with me!!"

"Eh?! Did you mess up?! Go out with someone like me?!"

"What ‘someone like you’? It’s you! Darling!"

The classroom erupted. Silence vanished. Whispers flooded back. Then something even more unexpected happened—

To my left, Mengxiang shot up from her chair, cheeks puffed, and stormed out. She was angry?! Definitely angry?! After fifteen years—I, Xu Mengxiang, was jealous over a confession?! She rejected me yesterday, and now this?!

I didn’t know whether to feel happy or sad. The girl before me noticed my gaze toward Mengxiang. She grabbed my hand and dashed out. Hey hey hey! My hand—held by a girl for the first time. A strange warmth flooded my body.

Me! Bai Huiyuan! The day after my childhood friend dumped me, a perfect beauty was chasing me?!