Peach-Orange! – Chapter 364 – Receiving Gifts, Getting Confessed To?

March signifies the complete departure of winter.

With spring’s arrival comes the season of revival for all things. As for animals… well, you get the idea. ¹ BREED! PLAPPLAPPLAPPLAPLAPLAPLAPLAPLAPLAPLAP

One morning, Chi Xiaocheng was, as usual, spacing out during class, pondering how to earn more emotional points while half-heartedly paying attention to the lecture.

Then, during the break, a slightly handsome but shy curly-haired young man approached her.

Chi Xiaocheng was sitting in the front row’s corner, a spot naturally prone to being stared at by those zoning out in the back. The moment the young man walked over, he instantly drew many eyes.

He stopped in front of her but didn’t take any further action, so Chi Xiaocheng curiously looked up and asked, “Classmate, is there something you need?”

Faced with that sweet, slightly soft loli voice, the curly-haired boy instinctively averted his gaze and quickly placed a gift box on the desk. “Classmate Chi… no, Xiaocheng! This is a gift for Goddess Day. Would you… would you like to have lunch with me at noon?”

Today was March 7th.

The next day was International Women’s Day, but thanks to unscrupulous merchants pushing consumerism, March 7th had also been branded as “Goddess Day.”

Though not as significant as Valentine’s Day in mid-February, for trend-following young people, this day still held some special meaning for girls.

A gift and a lunch invitation.

His intentions were obvious.

Half the class turned to look at them at that moment. Even the teacher, taking a break, sipped hot water from a thermos and watched the two with amusement.

If you thought about it more deeply, a public invitation carried a slight hint of emotional coercion.

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With so many eyes on them, considerations like saving face for both parties would make rejecting the offer something that required careful thought.

But before Chi Xiaocheng could even finish saying “Sorry,” the shy boy couldn’t handle the attention anymore.

He dropped the gift box on Chi Xiaocheng’s desk, blurted out another “Sorry!” and then fled the classroom in embarrassment.

It was very much like those Japanese protagonists; making a vague, dramatic gesture before waiting for the heroine to chase after him or seek him out after class.

Then they’d have a chat, leading to some ambiguous, undefined relationship.

This curly-haired boy was also somewhat handsome, shy, and melancholic, giving off strong “nice guy protagonist” vibes.

Too bad the cute girl he’d invited was a yuri purist.

Chi Xiaocheng stared at the gift box, not even getting a chance to call him back.

“If Tao-Tao finds out about this, she’ll explode, won’t she?”

Weighing Su Tao’s possessiveness over her, Chi Xiaocheng felt a little troubled by the gift box in front of her.

But with so many people watching, outright throwing it away would be too cruel.

After looking around, Chi Xiaocheng finally waved over a girl sitting nearby. “Caiqin, can you do me a favor?”

She didn’t know many girls in the class, but this one was among the few she got along with.

Lin Caiqin turned her head. “What’s up, Xiaocheng?”

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Chi Xiaocheng scooted over and discreetly handed the gift box to her under the desk. “Can you find a chance to return this to that guy from earlier? I don’t know how to handle this.”

Lin Caiqin smiled. “Xiaocheng, this is still someone’s heartfelt gift. With so many people watching, what will they think if they see you handing it to me? And how will that boy feel if he gets it back?

“Honestly, just keep it for now. If you don’t want it and aren’t sure what’s inside, you could always donate it to the school’s charity in his name.”

Hearing this, Chi Xiaocheng’s eyes lit up.

She gave Lin Caiqin a thumbs-up. “Why didn’t I think of that? You’re so smart!”

She returned to her corner and placed the gift box in her desk.

But her actions sent a message to the rest of the class:

Chi Xiaocheng doesn’t reject gifts!

Doesn’t that mean… there’s a chance?

Of course, she had no idea people were already getting excited. Worried that her Tao-Tao might overreact and go full “speedy response mode,” Chi Xiaocheng decided to take a photo of the gift box.

She sent it over WeChat.

Orange: “Tao-Tao, I got a gift.”

Su Tao replied instantly: “???”

Followed by a barrage of messages:

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“Who sent it?

“Male or female?

“Why is the box pink? What did they say to you?

“What’s inside?

“Did you accept it?

“Xiaocheng, are you in class right now? I’m coming over!”

Though Chi Xiaocheng knew Su Tao would panic, the flood of messages still caught her off guard.

Just then, the break ended, and the class bell rang.

Chi Xiaocheng slowly typed back, “Some guy I don’t know gave it to me. Said it was for Goddess Day or something and even invited me to lunch.”

Su Tao: “You said yes???”

Su Tao: “You didn’t, right?!”

In her own classroom, Su Tao, who had stopped herself from rushing over only because class had started, was indeed, as predicted, freaking out.

She kept shaking her leg while staring at her phone, waiting for Chi Xiaocheng’s reply.

But the messages stopped.

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Something must have happened on Chi Xiaocheng’s end. Even after half a minute, there was still no response.

“What the hell is going on?!”

Su Tao tapped Chi Xiaocheng’s chat window repeatedly. Seeing this, the girl next to her leaned over and whispered, “What’s wrong?”

Su Tao got along well with everyone in class, so she quickly answered, “Xiaocheng just texted me saying someone gave her a gift.”

The girl, Jiang Nan, shrugged. “That’s pretty normal, isn’t it?”

“Normal?” Su Tao’s mouth fell open slightly, her expression stunned. “No… Jiang Nan, how is that normal? Someone gave Xiaocheng a gift! They even invited her out! They might’ve confessed to her!”

Jiang Nan rolled her eyes. “Why wouldn’t it be normal? Xiaocheng is just as much of a beauty as you are. It’d be weird if no one pursued her. Weren’t you too busy to take care of her lately? If anything, you should be happy about this.”

“How could I possibly be happy?!”

Su Tao grabbed her hair. “I know Xiaocheng is adorable, but… but people pursuing her is wrong! I mean… I….”

She didn’t know how to explain this to her classmate.

A whole semester had passed, and the only ones who knew about her feelings for Chi Xiaocheng were her roommates, Chen Qian and Xiaowei.

Everyone else just thought Xiaocheng was her little sister.

She couldn’t just outright say, “I’m in love with Xiaocheng,” could she?