On Christmas Eve, December 24, the atmosphere on campus was very lively from early in the morning. As soon as everyone arrived at school, they began to give each other peace apples and say auspicious words. Moreover, today is Friday, and tomorrow is Christmas Day, which happens to be a day off. Many students gathered in twos and threes to discuss where they should go to play in order to have a happy and interesting holiday.

Qiao Chu didn't expect that she received an invitation letter before she received the peace apple. When her homeroom teacher Liu Qing handed her the beautiful card, she thought it was a greeting card and felt flattered.

I thought: Isn’t the teacher too polite? How can a teacher give greeting cards to students on Christmas Eve? If anyone is going to send something, it should be her as a student, right? But she was not prepared... What a mistake!

Later, after taking a closer look, she realized that she was just being overly sentimental. It turned out to be an invitation letter.

The cover reads "Invitation to the Brainiest Contest". When I open it, I see the following in beautiful calligraphy:

To Qiao Chu: Looking across the country, we are only looking for the strongest brains. You are welcome to come to Nanjing Hexi Expo Center to participate in the recording of the Strongest Brain. There are many like-minded friends here. They will develop your brain power with you and compete for the title of the strongest brain king. Let your brain burn! We're waiting for you!

It turns out to be “The Brain”!

This program is very popular. It features a group of talented teenagers from all over the country who go through various brain competitions and overcome many difficulties. The final winner is called the "Brain King" and can also represent the country to compete in foreign countries and win glory for the country. Qiao Chu's father Qiao Weimin is the most loyal viewer of this program.

Qiao Chu never thought that one day she would actually receive an invitation to this show. It was really... an honor for the family...

She was filled with emotion, thinking that her efforts were not in vain. After all, if she was not good enough, she would not have been noticed by the "Super Brain" program team. You know, the selection criteria for their program are very strict.

"Master, please agree to it! Have you forgotten our long-term mission? If you win first place in the competition, you will get a 10-point reward. What are you still hesitating about? Go ahead!"

First place? The corner of Qiao Chu's mouth twitched unconsciously. Ling Lingyi said it so easily. He is the brainiest one. Is it so easy to get the first place? There are so many talented people there, including some geniuses with superb IQs. Although she is very good now, she still has no confidence at all.

However, she didn't want to miss such a rare opportunity. Even if she couldn't become the Brain King, it would be good to see the world.

only……

"Teacher, we have final exams soon, and I can't leave at this time."

No matter how much she wants to participate in “The Brain,” she cannot forget her identity. She is still a student, and the final exam is very important to her.

Liu Qing seemed even more excited than Qiao Chu. She shook her head and quickly explained, "Don't worry, the recording time of The Brain is scheduled after the final exams. The participants of this program are basically students. The organizers will definitely take these issues into consideration. Just prepare for the final exams with peace of mind, and leave for Nanjing after the exams are over."

Hearing this, Qiao Chu looked at the invitation letter carefully again. Sure enough, the time was marked on the bottom line, which was mid-January next year, which did not conflict with the final exams.

Very good! This made her feel relieved, and she said to Liu Qing without hesitation: "Teacher, then I will participate."

Liu Qing nodded, and then gave him a few more instructions with concern: "Qiao Chu, you have to prepare well and perform well. This is a great thing that will bring glory to the school. The school leaders all attach great importance to it. This program is so famous and it is broadcast nationwide. Your performance on stage directly represents our Haishi No. 1 Middle School, so you have to strive to do your best, understand?"

"Okay, I understand. Thank you, teacher."

When Qiao Chu returned to the classroom with the invitation letter, she was still restless for a long time. She was so happy. This was the brainiest show. In her previous life, she often looked at the talented boys and girls in the show with envy and jealousy. She never expected that one day, she, Qiao Chu, would be able to stand there and compete head-on with them!

marvelous!

Her overly excited expression attracted the sidelong glance of Shen Ling next to her. She asked curiously, "What's wrong, Xiao Qiao? What's so good about it? What did Teacher Liu call you for?"

Qiao Chu flashed the invitation letter in front of her, Shen Ling took a closer look and couldn't help but exclaimed: "Oh, my God, it's the strongest brain!"

"The Brain" is well-known among students and almost everyone watches it. In their eyes, everyone in it is a role model and is simply a god-like existence. Every student has fantasized about becoming one of them, standing on the stage and dominating everyone.

Shen Ling asked excitedly: "Xiao Qiao, are you going to participate in the Super Brain?"

Qiao Chu replied with equal excitement: “Well, yes, next month.”

"Ah - that's great, Xiao Qiao, I can see you on TV then, and I will cheer for you in front of the TV!"

"Yes, thank you."

Qiao Chu looked at Shen Ling's happy smile, and suddenly thought that he seemed to have a surprise that he hadn't given out yet.

She took out a beautifully wrapped apple and a gift box from the desk, handed them to Shen Ling, and said with a smile: "Here, this is a gift for you, the peace apple, I wish you peace and safety in the coming year, and the other one is a Christmas gift. We can't meet tomorrow because we have a day off, so I'll give them to you today. I wish you a happy Christmas!"

Shen Ling was a little confused, looking at the two gifts in front of her in disbelief. The pink and purple packaging, with pink bows on them, looked very beautiful. This was the first time she received a peace apple and a Christmas gift. Suddenly, her nose was sour and her eyes were red. She was happy and moved, and she was a little at a loss, "This... Xiao Qiao... Is this really for me?"

Qiao Chu nodded heavily, pushed the gift in her direction, and urged: "Of course it's for you, open it quickly and see if you like it."

Shen Ling touched the bow on the gift. It was made of fine silk, light and flowing, so gorgeous that she was reluctant to open it.

"Hurry up, open it and take a look."

Finally, under Qiao Chu's constant urging, she opened it, carefully put away the bow ribbon, and carefully opened the box -

A crystal hairpin lay quietly inside.

The style of the hairpin is very simple and elegant, it is just a rectangle composed of three rows of beads. However, those beads are made of polished purple crystals and are neatly arranged in rows, emitting a mysterious and dazzling light, especially under the sun, refracting five-color light.

Shen Ling only took one look and liked it very much.

Qiao Chu looked at her surprised expression and knew that this gift was right. She breathed a sigh of relief, "Didn't you say my pearl hairpin was beautiful before? I was thinking of giving you a crystal hairpin, which is just right for your hairstyle. This one is much prettier than my pearl one."

Shen Ling carefully touched the purple crystal beads on the hairpin with her hand, and thought: It’s so beautiful... Xiao Qiao is really good at giving gifts, she likes purple the most!

However, there was some hesitation and uneasiness in her eyes. She turned to look at Qiao Chu and asked hesitantly, "Xiao Qiao, this hairpin is very expensive, right? If it's too expensive... I can't accept it..."

Then, she looked at the hairpin again reluctantly, hardened her heart, closed the box, and handed it back to Qiao Chu.

Qiao Chu didn't answer. She smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry, it's not expensive. I bought it with my pocket money. Every friend has one. Not only you, but Xianxian also has one. Take it."

Hearing that it was not expensive, Shen Ling was relieved. She happily took the hairpin and looked at it, and she simply couldn't let it go.

Qiao Chu looked at her smile and felt a little relieved. Although Shen Ling had to face such a family every day, fortunately, she still had such a bright smile. I just hope that she can get out of the quagmire one day...

The Christmas gift that Qiao Chu gave to Jia Xianxian was a sweater, which was a brand that Jia Xianxian had always liked. When Jia Xianxian came to play with Qiao Chu during break, Qiao Chu handed the gift to her. As expected, Jia Xianxian jumped for joy.

As expected of a good sister, this gift touched her heart. Because of her figure, Jia Xianxian has always paid attention to dressing up. As she couldn't control her diet, she wanted to use clothes to modify her figure and make herself look thinner. The sweater chosen by Qiao Chu just met her requirements. It was simply her dream item. In addition, she recently had a boyfriend, so she paid more attention to her appearance.

This gift comes at the perfect time! She can wear it when she meets Ye Kuan, she will definitely charm him!

"Xiao Qiao, I didn't expect you to prepare a Christmas gift for me. You are so kind! I have decided to be your good friend for life! However, I didn't prepare a gift. How about I give you a hug as a gift?"

After saying that, Jia Xianxian took a step forward and hugged Qiao Chu tightly, and kissed her on the cheek with a pout.

Boer——

Qiao Chu covered his face, helpless, "Are you giving me a gift or taking advantage of me?"

Giving gifts at Christmas is not popular among students. People usually just give apples as a token of appreciation. Few people spend time and money to choose gifts. She just did it on a whim and didn’t expect to receive any gifts in return, let alone… such a “soul-stirring” Bobo…

"Oh, no, I'm just expressing my love for you. I must have done something good in my previous life to have a friend as good as you. You're so beautiful, so outstanding, so considerate, and so..."

What followed was a mindless flattery of Qiao Chu, a series of flattery bombarded Qiao Chu like a chain of cannonballs. Jia Xianxian kept talking until the bell rang, and then she returned to her class, looking back every few steps.

At noon in the cafeteria, Qiao Chu, Jia Xianxian and Shen Ling had just finished their meal when they ran into Jiang Yuzhou. They often met in the cafeteria recently, and it was common for them to eat together, but it seemed that one person was missing today...

"Senior Jiang, where is Senior Fu?"

Jia Xianxian stuffed a mushroom into her mouth, raised her head, and asked in confusion: "Isn't Senior Fu here today?"

Her plate was full of vegetables, and her weight loss plan was still going on. This time her perseverance was unprecedentedly strong, which shocked Qiao Chu.

Jiang Yuzhou took a bite of the fragrant spareribs and replied vaguely: "He is here, but he brought a box lunch and will not come to the cafeteria at noon to avoid being surrounded."

"Being surrounded? Who will surround him?"

Jiang Yuzhou sighed: "Alas - don't underestimate the charm of the school hunk. Since this morning, Fu Zhen has been overwhelmed with gifts. Those girls are too crazy. Maybe it's because of the holiday, they are bolder than usual. After Fu Zhen rejected their gifts, they still didn't give up and used all kinds of means to send gifts to our class. His seat is now flooded..."

"So exaggerated?"

Jiang Yuzhou shook his head: "It's not an exaggeration at all. What I said is the truth. This is only the morning. During the lunch break, those girls will definitely not be idle. There is also the afternoon... Alas - I am really worried that after a day, our class will not be able to accommodate all the gifts Fu Zhen received..."

Qiao Chu was astonished and full of admiration after hearing this. As a school belle, although she also received many gifts, they were far less exaggerated than Fu Zhen's. However, when she thought of Fu Zhen's stunningly handsome face, she instantly felt that it made sense, as everyone has a desire for beauty.

"Then you don't have to worry so much that you don't come to eat, right?"

"He's not troubled, he's just overwhelmed. Believe it or not, if he came out, he would be surrounded by admirers before he even got to the cafeteria. Please refer to the grand scene of last Christmas."

Qiao Chu's face was filled with black lines. This... is too crazy, right?

It seems that being too charming is not a good thing.

She had originally prepared a peace apple to give to Fu Zhen to thank him for his previous help, but given the current situation, she decided not to join in the fun.

But...it shouldn't be a problem to still give Senior Jiang a gift, right?

After they finished their meal, Qiao Chu handed a bag to Jiang Yuzhou and said with a smile, "Senior Jiang, this is the peace apple and Christmas gift I gave you. Thank you for your help and care for me all the time."

Jiang Yuzhou was stunned by the huge surprise and asked in disbelief, "For me? Xiao Qiao, you also prepared a Christmas apple and a Christmas gift for me?"

He looked like he had won some big prize. Qiao Chu found it a little funny and said affirmatively, "Well, it's for you. I wish you peace and a Merry Christmas!"

This gift was what she should give. Jiang Yuzhou had always taken good care of her. If it weren't for him, the last incident with Yu Siying wouldn't have been resolved so smoothly.

"Thank you, Xiao Qiao."

Jiang Yuzhou took the bag quickly, fearing that Qiao Chu would regret and take it back. The smile on his face was so bright that it almost blinded others. As the second most popular male god on campus, although he was not as good as Fu Zhen, he also received a lot of gifts today. However, none of them made him happy as much as the one given by Xiao Qiao.

No, joy was not enough to describe his current mood, ecstasy was barely enough.

Xiao Qiao is so nice. She actually gave him a peace apple and a gift. Moreover, they were wrapped so beautifully. They must have been wrapped by her own hands, right? What a clever girl. She cares about him so much, maybe she likes him too...

Fu Zhen saw Jiang Yuzhou walking into the classroom holding a paper bag tightly, with a look of lust on his face, and asked, "Why, did you receive a gift from a girl again?"

Jiang Yuzhou shook his head vigorously: "No, this is different from other gifts. This is a gift from Xiao Qiao to me."

He sat down at his seat, took a deep breath, carefully opened the bag, and took out a peace apple and a gift box. Both were beautifully wrapped, and it was obvious that the person who gave the gifts had prepared them with great care.

"So pretty! I've never seen a peace apple wrapped so beautifully. Xiao Qiao is amazing!"

Jiang Yuzhou took the peace apple and looked at it carefully again and again, praising it as he looked at it. After looking at it for a long time, he reluctantly put it down, picked up the gift box next to it, and carefully opened the packaging.

"Wow—it's a scarf! So pretty!"

The gift box contains a men's scarf with a classic college-style plaid pattern and a clean khaki color. It looks simple and elegant, and feels very soft. It should be made of wool.

Jiang Yuzhou gently touched the scarf in his hand and felt very happy.

"Xiao Qiao is so nice. She knew I didn't have a scarf, so she gave me one. She also thanked me for helping her. Really, I didn't do anything to help her..."

It is still quite cold in Hai City in December, with the average minimum temperature being 3℃. This scarf is thin and just right for wearing in the current weather.

Fu Zhen looked at the gift on Jiang Yuzhou's desk and felt very unhappy.

You have no conscience! He helped her too, right? Why is there no gift for him?

"Fu Zhen, Xiao Qiao is so nice to me and gave me a gift. Is she interested in me...right? Right? Should I..."

Click--click--

As he was speaking, he was suddenly interrupted by an unknown sound. He turned around to look at the source of the sound and saw Fu Zhen holding a big red apple and biting into it.

That apple...

Jiang Yuzhou's whole body was stiff, his voice trembling, and he asked: "Fu Zhen... the apple in your hand... couldn't it be the peace apple that Xiao Qiao gave me?"

Fu Zhen nodded and finished the apple in his hand in a few bites. With a whoosh, the core drew a beautiful parabola in the air and fell steadily into the trash can in front of him.

Then he turned to look at Jiang Yuzhou and said as a matter of course: "Well, yes, I'm hungry. I didn't have enough for lunch just now."

Jiang Yuzhou suddenly felt as if the sky had fallen. He jumped up from his seat and shouted, "Fu Zhen, you...you are going too far. That was the apple of love and peace that Xiao Qiao gave me. I was planning to take it home and enjoy it, but you...you actually..."

His chest heaved violently and he was so angry that he was unable to speak.

Fu Zhen's expression was indifferent, with a hint of sarcasm on his face: "'Love and Peace Apple'? Isn't it just an ordinary apple? It doesn't taste special. Besides, aren't apples meant to be eaten?"

Jiang Yuzhou thought he was being unreasonable. "If you want to eat an apple, why don't you eat your own?"

He pointed to a pile of apples nearby. There were so many apples there that one could have used them to set up a fruit stall. There were also various high-quality imported red apples. These were all given to him by his admirers. Fu Zhen was too lazy to even look at them. They were piled in the corner like garbage. It was estimated that their final destination would be the trash can.

Fu Zhen shrugged: "Your apple is right in front of me, why should I go far away?"

Moreover, that peace apple was wrapped like a Christmas tree, which was so ugly that he found it an eyesore and it affected his mood.

These shameless remarks completely ignited Jiang Yuzhou's anger. He could no longer bear it and shouted, "Fu Zhen! Spit it out - I want to break up with you -"