Energizing Chocolate (Part 2)

He Yinxin's Adam's apple bobbed, his gaze lingered on Jiang Yichun for a moment, then immediately turned to Lin Feng.

"Professor Lin, I personally think this student's analysis is very thorough, but this group and the previous group have a lot of similarities in their PPT presentation ideas."

"It's fair to say their approaches are similar, even identical. So, did one group borrow from another, or... is there a suspicion of plagiarism?"

The word "plagiarism" exploded in the small lecture hall. Several students who were playing on their phones looked up and shook their heads like a weasel that couldn't find a melon.

Jiang Yichun reached out and grabbed the hem of her pants, then gripped the mouse. Her lips twitched, but Lin Feng interrupted her first.

"Hmm. As expected of you, Xiao He, you spotted the problem right away. Jiang, can you explain yourself? Who copied whom?"

Lin Feng looked up at her, his tone laced with harshness: "You should know that plagiarism is the behavior I hate the most, right? I just want you to have a good attitude towards learning!"

Jiang Yichun took a deep breath and nodded: "I know all of that, Professor."

"They copied us from the previous group."

She glanced down at the audience and saw Qiao Maizi tugging at the bow on her sweater, making her fair and pretty face appear even paler.

Jiang Yichun quickly looked away and took out his phone: "Professor Lin, teaching assistant, this is my evidence."

"Members from other groups asked my group members to refer to the PPT content, and my group members thought it was just borrowing some ideas."

"I didn't expect that the other party would directly use the PPT she had worked so hard to make, and just change the content to their group's."

After speaking, she glanced at Qiao Maizi again: "I don't know if it was intentional or a group member's laziness, but plagiarism is an established fact."

She opened her phone, opened the screenshot of Zhang Xingxing's chat history with that group member, and placed it in front of Lin Feng and He Yinxin.

Lin Feng scanned the chat history, his brow furrowing even deeper.

He sighed, "Tsk. I see. First group, do you have anything to say? Did you really cheat?"

Qiao Maizi stood up: "This, this... Teacher Lin, I didn't know. The PPT wasn't my responsibility; I assigned it to my group members."

"I thought simpler things like this would be easier to do, and they probably wouldn't do something like this..."

Lin Feng frowned, then sighed deeply.

"See, this is the downside of group projects."

Jiang Yichun's hands were still tightly gripping the hem of her pants. She looked up and met Qiao Maizi's eyes.

Those proud eyes were filled with panic and helplessness, and tears were even about to fall.

Jiang Yichun frowned: So what if you copied it? Why are you acting so aggrieved?

"Alright, class time is limited. Although this is just a presentation and a group assignment, plagiarism must be strictly resisted under any circumstances." Lin Feng lightly tapped the table with one hand. "I will handle the first group's score fairly. This is not only a respect for the hard work of the second group, but also a respect for academics."

"Also, Jiang, you and your group members can't just send materials to other people indiscriminately, understand?"

"You've run into a teacher like me who likes to meddle, but you've encountered one who prefers to mind your own business. You must be feeling incredibly frustrated!"

Jiang Yichun nodded, still holding the computer in his hands: "I understand, thank you, Teacher Lin. We'll definitely be more careful next time. If there's nothing else, I'll go back to my seat."

With Lin Feng's tacit approval, Jiang Yichun walked up the steps of the lecture hall, turned around and sat back in his seat.

Zhang Xingxing's eyes were already shining. Before Jiang Yichun could even sit down properly, her hands reached out to him: "Xiaochun, you were so cool just now, you were practically glowing!"

Jiang Yichun was completely bewildered by her sudden enthusiasm and hurriedly laughed, "No, no, no, I'm just telling the truth. We should make things clear when we've been wronged."

"Yes, yes, our Chun is the best. And by 'awesome,' I also mean your explanation on stage." Zhang Xingxing chuckled, then pulled another piece of white chocolate from her pocket and stuffed it into Jiang Yichun's hand.

"I understand, after all, I've been preparing for so long."

Jiang Yichun understood immediately and took the chocolate, stuffing it into his pocket.

Her fingertips continued to caress the chocolate, her gaze naturally falling on the boy sitting in front of her.

The greasy smell of the fried dough sticks gradually dissipated, and the familiar scent of kapok laundry detergent once again lingered around her nose.

She looked up at his back and noticed that he had let down the collar of his sweater at some point, and there was a faint mole on the back of his neck.

Jiang Yichun raised his hand, his fingertips gently tracing the small mole through the air.

According to the old lady, a mole on the back of the neck is a kiss mark from a lover in a past life.

Once the damn idea took root, it grew like a vine in her mind.

Kiss, kiss?

With him...

He Yinxin's lips appeared in front of her.

Although he was an "academic geezer" and his complexion was never very good, his lips were always moist, shiny, and a little thick.

Will it feel soft when I kiss it?

Jiang Yichun's heart was pounding faster and faster. She had long since lost track of what the people on stage were reporting, her mind filled with images of romantic movies.

She withdrew her hand and gently rubbed it against her lips.

"Classmate." He Yinxin's voice rang in her ears.

Jiang Yichun shuddered, immediately stopped rubbing her lips, and met his gaze.

"Hmm, what's wrong?" Her cheeks flushed, and she avoided his eyes, but her gaze was still fixed on his face.

Without the glasses obscuring his view, and with the two so close together, Jiang Yichun could see his appearance more clearly.

With sword-like eyebrows, bright eyes, and striking features, as well as her still rosy lips.

He's really suited to acting in idol dramas.

If he pinned the female lead against the wall and kissed her, stroking her long hair with his well-defined knuckles...

Her heart was pounding wildly, and she could only barely hold her face up to hide her flushed cheeks.

He Yinxin looked away, frowning slightly: "My pen is out of ink, do you have a pen?"

His serious tone completely extinguished any romantic notions in Jiang Yichun's mind.

"Uh, yes, yes. If you want a kiss... a kiss, do you want a red pen or a black pen?"

Jiang Yichun's mind went blank for a moment, and she almost blurted out the words that were on her mind. Fortunately, she hadn't lost her composure yet, and she quickly responded in the tone of a Taobao customer service representative.

He Yinxin paused, his brow furrowing even more pronounced: "I... any pen will do."

"What's wrong? Your face... looks very red."

"The classroom is a bit hot, hehe, teaching assistant, you should go listen to the lesson." Jiang Yichun avoided his slightly scalding gaze, took out a pen from his somewhat worn pencil case, and placed it on the table.

"Sweetie, here's your pen."

"Please remember to leave a good review!"

Jiang Yichun forced a smile at him, covered his cheek, and muttered something under his breath.

He Yinxin's ears also turned a blush. He lowered his eyes, gave a soft "hmm," quickly picked up the pen, and turned around.

Jiang Yichun watched his retreating figure, took out the small white chocolate from his pocket, and popped it into his mouth.

The sweet white chocolate melted on her tongue, and the slightly cloying sweetness finally brought her back to reality.

Jiang Yichun covered his head, his eyes wide:

What the hell was I thinking about? I... I actually thought of so many strange things about a mole on the back of He Yinxin's neck?

There's even a kissing scene...

No, kissing AI is way too advanced!

Besides, I don't like him at all. He should kiss other girls. No, he won't kiss other girls.

Why would he kiss someone? He's the kind of guy whose first kiss would land on the girl's nose.

She patted her cheeks, raised her head again, and buried all her emotions and desires beneath her calm exterior.

She started listening to the reports from the groups below, but her eyes would inevitably wander to the boy in front of her.

He seemed calm throughout, his well-defined hands writing and drawing on the clean white paper, making soft rustling sounds.

Jiang Yichun stared intently at the tip of his pen until the end of the class.

When the bell rang, Jiang Yichun was still staring at the pen until He Yinxin turned around.

His face was still flushed, and he blinked rapidly, "Xiaochun? Hi, customer service, are you still there?"

Jiang Yichun finally came to her senses, and she subconsciously leaned back to avoid his waving hand.

"Hi, I'm here. May I ask..."

He Yinxin placed the pen and a note on her desk: "I'm very satisfied. I give you a five-star review."

Jiang Yichun moved the pen away. There were five small stars drawn on the note, and a cute smiley face drawn behind them.

That smiling face struck her heart, and Jiang Yichun let out a soft gasp.

"It's kind of cute, that smiley face." She covered her mouth.

He Yinxin was taken aback, raising an eyebrow: "Huh? Xiaochun, what... what did you say?"

Jiang Yichun snapped out of her daze, and a surge of shame, excitement, and a sense of accomplishment erupted in an instant, completely exposing the fear that had been buried deep within her heart.

Overwhelmed by a mix of emotions, she was already incoherent: "I... I said I'm cute! Oh, sorry, Lao He, I have class now, I have to go, see you next time!"

Jiang Yichun folded the note, put it in his pencil case, then stuffed his computer and manuscript paper into his bag and rushed out of the classroom.

He Yinxin was left standing there, waving goodbye to her helplessly.

He Yinxin looked puzzled and turned to Zhang Xingxing, asking, "Zhang, what's wrong with Xiaochun?"

Zhang Xingxing, who witnessed the whole thing, just smiled and said, "I don't know. Maybe my chocolate was too delicious, and she was so overwhelmed by the sweetness that she was dizzy."

"Oh right, I remember Xiaochun doesn't have a class next period."

He Yinxin's pupils contracted, and she gave a dry laugh: "Maybe she's going to the library to study."

He turned around and looked at the two mint leaves floating in his thermos.

"I hope to meet you again."

The symbolism of mint flowers swirled in his mind once again.

That jar of mint leaves seemed to hold some strange spell, and he and Xiaochun always seemed to meet again in mysterious ways.

He could picture Jiang Yichun standing tall on the podium, her stubborn eyes, and her powerful, clear words.

He thought that she was never a delicate flower that needed to be protected; she had always been a wild grass that grew freely.

That tall, upright figure gradually transformed in his mind into her flushed cheeks and... her lips, gently caressed by his hand.

"Kiss."

Her words echoed in his ears once again.

She wants a kiss? With whom?

Could it be...?

He Yinxin picked up the thermos and took a big gulp, cutting off all strange daydreams.

The refreshing scent of mint instantly filled the air, gradually suppressing the anger in his heart. He began to mutter to himself, "But you weren't wrong, you really are..."

"Xiao He?" Lin Feng's words completely pulled him out of the chocolate vortex.

He Yinxin turned to look at her mentor: "What's wrong, Professor Lin?"

"Remember to tally the scores. Also, there's a group meeting later, don't forget like before." Lin Feng patted his shoulder. "I know you're excellent, and I know about your relationship with your family, but you can't work yourself to the bone without taking care of your health, understand?"

"The school will give you money when you're short, and I will too. I can't guarantee anything else, but I'll definitely make sure you're well-fed."

He Yinxin nodded: "I know all that. As your student, Professor, I've gained a lot of resources, and I don't even have to pay so much tuition. Thank you, Professor..."

"No need to thank me." Lin Feng raised his voice when he saw that only the two of them were left in the classroom. "You gave up the opportunity to go to A University, so I should be thanking you."