Chapter 24 "Many people are praying for your happiness..."

You think you're right. At most, Obito Uchiha is just your lover now. He has no right or qualification to criticize you.

And even if you really do have a fiancé, shouldn't he be the one feeling uneasy? How can he act so aggressively?

"This topic is meaningless," you said.

"You used to be very close to those Uchiha when you were in Konoha, so you still can't forget them?" he asked again.

What strange things is he imagining now?

He even made the connection that maybe you favored him because you saw the shadow of the former Uchiha in him. Well, now he's become a substitute.

After he calms down, you say to him earnestly, "You should read less of those stand-in novels. There aren't that many melodramatic plots in the real world."

Obito seemed to have calmed down, and said, "Then can you guarantee that your sudden departure from Konoha wasn't to escape those Uchiha?"

"That's definitely part of the reason." You don't deny it; escaping is shameful but useful, and you must carry this principle through to the end.

He's already interrupted your packing. When your patience runs out, you crumple up your coat and throw it at his head, saying irritably, "Since you're here, then pack with me."

Although he still harbored resentment about the matter, Obito obediently helped you pack your luggage. After you finished packing, he asked, "Are you going back to the Land of Waves?"

This is the downside of having an Uchiha as a lover; he's always asking questions. If it were any other lover, he probably wouldn't ask so many. But considering his special abilities, you say, "I'm not going back yet; I need to go somewhere else."

He said "Oh," as if he didn't care, but did he really not care at all? Obviously not.

You push your suitcase to the corner of the room, and when you look back, you find Obito sitting quietly on the single sofa. You look at him, and he looks at you.

“No night service needed today,” you said. “Have you been waiting here for a tip to pack your luggage?” As you spoke, you walked to the desk next to you, took out a wallet from the drawer, and pulled out several brand-new bills. You don’t usually handle cash, but Bai had put these in your wallet for you in case of emergency.

Bai is so thoughtful, and now it's coming in handy. You smiled and stuffed the bills into his collar, saying, "You're welcome."

His teasing and flippant tone sounded like a provocation, but he wasn't as angry as he thought he would be. Or rather, he seemed to have a hard time getting angry at you because he knew how awful you were and understood your true nature, so he wouldn't be provoked.

"Are you trying to brush me off?" He narrowed his eyes slightly.

Actually, if you ignore the scar on the right side of his face, he still looks somewhat childish. It's just that he always likes to frown, especially when you tease him, he tends to grit his teeth, which is why he looks so fierce.

You pull out a check, and now you can finally do what you saw in movies and TV shows in your past life: pull out a check and let the other party fill in the amount.

Sla—

You tear off a blank check and hand it to him, saying, "You can fill in whatever you want."

He took the pen from your hand, wrote a string of words on it, and then stuffed the check back into your hand. You looked at it closely and couldn't help but laugh.

On the blank space of the check, a line of words was written in a flamboyant style: I don't need your money.

She's exactly like a naive and innocent character from a TV drama. You said, "So, what do you need?"

Obito fell silent. He looked at you and said, "I can't believe I had any expectations of someone like you."

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure disappeared. No sooner had Obito left than Haku arrived at your room. He probably noticed the noise coming from your room a long time ago, but he waited until now to knock on your door out of caution. He said, "Did that Uchiha say something inappropriate again?"

Calling him ignorant is an understatement; he should be described as self-righteous. He thinks that just because he's your lover, he can do whatever he wants. Luckily, you didn't give him that power.

"Here—" You handed the check that Obito had just written to Haku, "What a Uchiha who treats money like dirt."

See? He said that Uchiha was very immature and couldn't even understand your good intentions. Although you didn't think anything of it, Bai was angry for you. He said, "Mingxi, your good intentions have been misunderstood by him."

Yes, in his heart you are so gentle and kind, even helping the person who tried to assassinate you before without holding a grudge. Is there anyone in this world kinder than you?

"What? Bai, you're getting angry yourself?" You just handed Bai the check to share something interesting, how did it make him so angry?

"I just... feel sorry for you, Mingxi. You've done so much, but he doesn't appreciate it at all."

What an ungrateful wretch! Bai couldn't help but feel a bit of vicious resentment.

"Oh, it's not as serious as you make it out to be. I just thought it was funny, that's why I shared it with you. I should have known better than to tell you, so you wouldn't get angry." You snatched the check from his hand, lit it with a lighter, threw it into the ashtray, and watched it burn to ashes.

Bai opened the window to let in some fresh air, then asked, "Do we need to tell Orochimaru in advance that we're going to his place?"

"No need, just treat it as a surprise inspection. It'll be a good opportunity to see how they usually work." You hated surprise inspections the most when you were working in your past life. You never thought you would become the kind of person you used to hate the most.

"Okay," Bai replied.

A few months ago, you transferred part of your pharmaceutical company's research and development line to Orochimaru's laboratory and reached a cooperation agreement with him. You're not referring to a verbal agreement, but a cooperation with a written contract of hundreds of pages.

Orochimaru was taken aback when you pulled out that thick stack of paper contracts. Let these ninjas feel the power of the rule of law. He quickly recovered, then smiled and handed the contract to his subordinate Kabuto Yakushi, saying, "Kabuto will read this document carefully. If there are no problems, I will formally sign this contract."

This enormous workload naturally fell to Kabuto Yakushi. You felt a little sympathy for him, but not much, really just a tiny bit. After all, Kabuto himself was a smiling but actually very cunning guy with glasses.

We seem to have strayed from the topic. Let's get back to the main point. The contract you signed with Orochimaru clearly stipulates the experimental results that he should produce in the first quarter.

Orochimaru is an excellent scientist. It would be a shame not to take advantage of someone so talented and passionate about scientific research, so you choose to exploit him without any qualms.

When you say it's a surprise inspection, it really is a surprise inspection, the kind that doesn't give you any warning. But when you suddenly appear in the lab, Orochimaru doesn't seem very surprised. He says, "Are you here to inspect the progress of the work? I have other things to do right now, so let Kabuto show you around the work progress."

As he spoke, he shoved Yakushi Kabuto next to you. The latter still had that smiling look on his face, giving off an indescribable cunning feeling, like a shrewd fox.

The fox spoke up, saying, "You must be tired from your long journey."

Hey no, you're here to inspect the work, not to drink tea and eat snacks. And don't think you can get away with this. Make it clear from the start: "You don't need to entertain me now. I'm here to see your research results."

"Ah... this is really something. I don't know if I did something to cause you to misunderstand, Aki. I'm sorry, I was just thinking that you might be a little tired right now. In that case, please allow me to take back what I just said." Kabuto gestured for you to follow him and led you to visit the different laboratories.

He explained the research progress of different laboratories to you one by one, saying, "When this batch of vaccines is developed, the first to be vaccinated will be the orphans in the orphanage. Speaking of which, Mingxi, you really care about the life and death of those orphans, even though they themselves don't care about their own lives."

You always claim to be a heartless capitalist, but it seems your actions contradict your words. You are far less heartless than you claim. Pharmacist Kabuto quietly observes your profile as you gaze down at the vaccine research site behind the laboratory glass window.

He asked you why you did it. His question seemed casual, so you didn't give a serious answer. You said, "Because I could do it, I wanted to do it, so I did it." I can't see through your motives. Did you do it because of your inner kindness?

Kind people like you will eventually be swallowed up by this dark world, but at least for now, before you are swallowed up, you are still shining with an attractive light.

Your finger rests against the glass window of the laboratory. You are quiet and don't want to disturb the researchers inside. You are watching the researchers, and Kabuto is watching you. Suddenly, your gaze sweeps over.

Under the cold white light of the laboratory, her round almond-shaped eyes appeared even more crystal clear.

He was being watched, and realizing this, his breath caught in his throat. He froze, looking very awkwardly out of character. It took him a few seconds to find his voice before asking, "Do you have any other questions?"

"Why are you staring at me?" Kabuto Yakushi is a wicked guy. Being stared at by him like that will only make you feel like he's plotting something again.

"Because you are beautiful, Mingxi." This is the truth. Your beauty is radiant and captivating, full of vitality, and especially for those living in darkness, their eyes will involuntarily follow you.

Being beautiful alone only leads to death, no matter the world. If you hadn't been bound to this capitalist system, you'd probably still be obediently staying in Konoha. So, you should thank this system. Although this ruthless system swindled a lot of your money at the beginning, you wouldn't have gotten to where you are today without its help.

No matter how clever Kabuto is, he can't guess what you're thinking right now. You say, "I don't believe what you're saying."

This caused him some distress. What had he done to make you have such a bad impression of him?

Is it too late to make amends now?

You walk past Yakushi Kabuto, brushing past him. A strand of hair, lifted by the breeze, brushes against his cheek. He pauses for a few seconds before hurrying to catch up with you.

"Once this batch of vaccines is put into use, I need complete vaccination data, not just the vaccination list, but also the individual conditions after vaccination." As you say this, after going around in circles, you find that they can actually meet all the conditions that were considered very strict in the original contract.

As expected, the exploitation was too lenient. When the contract is renewed next time, you'll have to squeeze even more out of them, otherwise you'll be letting yourself down after investing all that money.

Kabuto said, "Can you sit down and rest for a bit now?"

Is he that weak? You glanced at him and said, "Okay, what snacks have you prepared?"

Kabuto laughed. His smile was always reserved and proper, except for the one when you slapped him last time.

"Aren't you tired of always faking a smile?" You said to Kabuto Yakushi on your way to the break room.

The labs you're in now were all rebuilt by you with a lot of money. Orochimaru's previous lab was underground, and the lighting was incredibly dim, and the humidity was incredibly high. Doing scientific research in such an environment would be affected. So you just waved your hand and built a new experimental building. Of course, you took Orochimaru's habits into account, so you built the underground floors as his exclusive labs.

The result is that although you lost money, you are very satisfied with the outcome, Orochimaru is also very satisfied, and the other recruited researchers are also very satisfied with the salary and benefits here. This is a win-win situation, no, it is a win-win situation in many ways.

Kabuto said, "How can you be so sure I'm faking a smile?"

You said, "Your canine teeth aren't showing yet, but they will be when you really smile."

A casual remark reveals your keen observation of him.

Did you say that on purpose? You certainly achieved your goal; his mood fluctuated wildly because of your words.

So it's true that some people can see their true selves through a mask... He suddenly remembered what the former headmaster had told him: "Kabuto is a smart kid, but sometimes being too smart can cause you to miss out on some precious feelings."

He didn't quite understand at first: could one obtain precious feelings only by pretending to be stupid?

But after meeting you, he is certain that even if he wears a mask, you can still see through his heart.

"Is that so..." Kabuto Yakushi walked to the tea room first, but someone was already waiting for you there. It turned out to be Shiro. When he saw you, he said, "The tea here is not the kind that you like, Mingxi. Luckily, I brought some with me."

Thank goodness that storage scrolls exist in this world, allowing you to carry many things with you, including the tea you often drink.

Unaware of the subtle change in Kabuto's expression, you happily sat to the side waiting for Shiro to pour you tea. Shiro then said, "And the snacks too, um... I understand that you prepared them specially, but how should I put it, they're not Aki's type."

Was he really talking about desserts? Or was he using desserts to refer to something else?

Kabuto leaned more towards the latter, as could be seen from Haku's expression, but he wouldn't get angry over such a provocation. He wouldn't even consider such a petty trick a threat.

You took a sip of tea, and Kabuto sat down in front of you again, asking considerately, "It's getting late, Aki, are you going to stay here overnight? I've already had your private room cleaned."

Another major reason you chose to build another experimental building was that the guest rooms in Orochimaru's original laboratory were too rudimentary; people who didn't know better would think you were in jail.

The newly rebuilt experimental building has much better guest rooms, with far superior lighting and other basic facilities compared to the original guest rooms.

You hummed in agreement, put down your teacup, and rested for a while in the tea room. You waited until it got dark outside the window before going to your room. Kabuto was still by your side. You reasonably suspected that he was taking this opportunity to slack off openly. Otherwise, he should have left after showing you the progress of the laboratory work. Why was he still following you?

Then there's only one possibility: he's slacking off.

Alright, you can understand that working alongside Orochimaru is physically demanding. It's only natural that he occasionally slacks off. So, he followed you all the way to the guest room door and said, "By the way, Mr. Haku's room is on the other side."

You said, puzzled, "There's no need. Bai can just share a room with me."

Yakushi Kabuto belatedly exclaimed "Ah!" and said, "It seems I've gone to unnecessary trouble. Well then, please rest well, and if you need anything, just let me know."

It felt like being at the front desk of a hotel. You watched Yakushi Kabuto leave, then turned around and opened the door to your room. It was a suite, complete with a living room, study, and bedroom. It was spacious. You walked into the room, stretched, and thought, "Today was another very hard-working day." You collapsed onto the soft bed in the bedroom.

The bed is soft and springy, and it bounces up and down a few times when you lean against it.

Bai said, "Mingxi, what would you like to eat for dinner?"

Bai was busy running around, and you were lying flat, letting your mind wander and staring at the ceiling. Suddenly, Bai's figure appeared in your field of vision. He stood by the bed and asked, looking down, "Mingxi, you still haven't told me what you want for dinner."

"Hmm...anything is fine." You rolled over, feeling exhausted. You said to Bai, "I need a massage from Bai. I'm so tired today."

Bai seemed to chuckle softly, his hand stroking your long hair as he said, "You've had a hard day."

You buried your head in his chest, took a deep breath—it still smelled sweet—and your tired nerves relaxed. You said, "Actually, I'm not that hungry."

"Okay, then let's have dinner later." He agreed as usual.

You said you were going to take a nap, but when you actually woke up it was already eight or nine o'clock in the evening. It seemed like you had overslept. You sat up against the headboard, and after a while, maybe a few minutes, you finally felt hungry. There was no white figure beside you, so you turned on the bedside lamp.

The bedside lamp had just been turned on a second ago when Bai came in from outside the door and said, "Awake? Perfect timing for dinner, or rather, midnight snack."

You get out of bed, slip on your slippers, and walk to the bedroom table. Bai brings you a still-warm dinner. You drink a couple of sips of sparkling water, feeling finally awake, before starting to eat the other dishes.

Bai would occasionally pour you some water, and he would get up to run a bath when you were halfway through your meal. Everything was arranged perfectly.

After having a late-night snack and washing up, you changed into a loose set of pajamas. You vaguely heard a knock at the door. You went to open it and saw Yakushi Kabuto. Your half-dry hair was still loose over your shoulders. You asked curiously, "Is there anything else?"

"It's nothing, I just noticed you didn't come for dinner and I was worried you might not be feeling well," Kabuto said earnestly. You replied, "It's nothing."

Did he come all this way specifically for this? That seems a bit unnecessary, or was Orochimaru acting on his behalf? You could ask him, "Did Orochimaru send you?"

After escorting you back to your room, Kabuto did indeed return to Orochimaru's side, who then asked, "What did she say? Is she satisfied with the results of this inspection?"

"She should be satisfied, right?" Kabuto wasn't entirely sure either. Orochimaru smiled knowingly. How could he not see through Kabuto's thoughts? Otherwise, he wouldn't have specifically asked Kabuto to show you around the lab. He said, "What, does she still hate you as much as before? How pitiful. You admire her so much, but all you get in return is her dislike."

Even when speaking to his trusted assistant Orochimaru, he would occasionally say some sharp and blunt things, and the truth was often hurtful.

Kabuto Yakushi said, "Lord Orochimaru, this doesn't seem to have much to do with work."

"Really? Hmm... Sometimes we don't have to talk about work. I'm actually quite interested in your relationship with her." Rather than being interested, it's more like I'm watching this as a bystander with a "let's have a good show" mentality.

When you chose to help the orphans at the orphanage, did that touch Kabuto's heart from that moment? What does he think when he looks at the orphans you've helped? Does he resent that he didn't meet you sooner?

"It's rare to see Lord Orochimaru interested in something like this, but she's still wary of me." Kabuto sighed as he said this. No matter how he tried, she would only look at him with suspicion. The gentle gaze she gave Haku was something he could never have.

Kabuto Yakushi wouldn't deny his envy of Haku, and that envy was gradually turning into hatred.

Getting back to the point, Kabuto Yakushi found an opportunity to come see you, saying it was because you didn't have dinner, but actually he just wanted to see you.

Judging from your appearance, you must have just washed up; he could still smell the faint, hazy scent of shower gel on you.

You lean lazily against the door frame with your arms crossed, raising one eyebrow as if to ask silently: Did you come here just to talk about these boring things?

Kabuto Yakushi remembers how you used to help up fallen children when you visited the orphanage, holding them in your arms and gently comforting them. But as soon as he arrived, the gentleness on your face disappeared, replaced by an expression mixed with impatience.

Before meeting Orochimaru, Kabuto Yakushi often disguised himself as other people to carry out missions. He knew how to gain the trust of others and how to please them. But all these skills and experience are useless against you.

You don't seem to buy into that at all.

"It seems I've caused you trouble," said Yakushi Kabuto.

Does he really know he's causing you trouble? Obviously not, you can tell from his expression. You say, "Well then, shouldn't you go too?"

He gave a very direct order to leave, his tone not exactly tactful. Kabuto chuckled, hummed in response, and said, "Sorry to have disturbed your rest."

After saying this, he turned and left. When you were talking to Kabuto, Haku was standing not far away. He did not rush up to interrupt your conversation with Kabuto. Instead, he waited until you left before approaching you and saying, "That's strange. Did he only come here because of dinner?"

You shrug. There are too many abnormal people in this world. Their thought processes are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, and you're too lazy to bother trying to understand them. Anyway, he and Orochimaru are still useful to you, so there's no need for you to break ties with them. Just maintain a seemingly peaceful facade for now.

Bai closed the door and said, "Dry your hair before you go to sleep, or you'll have a headache again."

Bai cares about your health even more than you do. When he was in the orphanage, he heard that you had a weak constitution and would catch a cold every time the seasons changed. So he took the initiative to learn about herbal medicine and acupuncture as well. Therefore, Bai is not only your assistant, but also your personal doctor.

He is a true multi-skilled talent. Generally speaking, such a talent would require a high salary to hire in the job market, but he works for you without asking for a salary. He is simply the kind of employee that bosses love most.

You replied, "I know."

After drying your hair, your drowsiness surges, and you fall asleep the moment your head hits the pillow. You sleep soundly, but the others have no desire to sleep, especially Kabuto Yakushi, who was kicked out of your place. When he returned to Orochimaru's side, his expression was somewhat gloomy.

"Did she say anything again?" Orochimaru asked with a tone of anticipation. Kabuto Yakushi said nothing, and Orochimaru smiled meaningfully. "I see... By the way, there's a cultural performance at the orphanage tomorrow. You can take her to see it."

The so-called cultural performances were also your idea. After inspecting the orphanage, you felt that there were too few cultural and recreational activities there, so you added several cultural performances at specific times.

The orphanage, originally intended for cultivating experimental subjects, has gradually come to resemble a vibrant and lively place.

"This is all thanks to Mingxi," Orochimaru said, though it was unclear whether he was genuinely thanking you or just being sarcastic.

"Should I take her to the arts festival?" Kabuto asked Orochimaru again, and the latter replied, "Yes, don't you want to spend more time with her? When I asked you to deliver messages to her before, you would linger there for quite a while, didn't you?"

Orochimaru had already seen through everything, but Kabuto Yakushi stubbornly refused to admit it, saying, "This is all to better gather information about her."

"Well, going to the cultural performance with her can also help me gather information. That's all for now, you don't need to thank me too much." After saying that, Orochimaru waved to Kabuto Yakushi, indicating that he could leave first, as the laboratory didn't really need him to help out right now.

The pharmacist nodded and left the laboratory with mixed feelings.

*

You wake up feeling refreshed and energized. It feels so good to sleep until you naturally wake up. Good sleep quality determines that your mood will be good all day. You brush your teeth while standing by the floor-to-ceiling window to admire the beautiful morning scenery, and then open the closet to find the clothes you want to wear today.

You mentioned to Bai yesterday that you might stay here for a few days, so he ironed the clothes in your suitcase and hung them in the closet. You chose a loose apricot-colored shirt and a pair of light-colored jeans. The loose shirt is suitable as an outer layer, and you can wear a white work vest underneath.

You casually tie your long hair into a listless bun, then slip on a pair of sneakers and walk out the door.

Breakfast is served in the restaurant on this floor, similar to a hotel's buffet.

You had just sat down with your bowl of lean meat porridge when Yakushi Kabuto suddenly appeared out of nowhere and sat down in front of you. His clothes were the same as always, the kind that had no taste whatsoever. He asked, "Where's your assistant?"

"I went to the laundry room." The lean meat porridge was freshly ladled out of the pot and was still steaming hot. You knew it must be very hot. You chatted with the pharmacist while stirring the porridge with a spoon.

He said there was a cultural performance at the orphanage today, and you said "Oh," and he added, "Aren't you going to go and watch?"

Oh? You still want to go see it? I don't think that was included in your itinerary, was it?

However, it's not impossible to add a last-minute activity. You're just a little conflicted. As if sensing your hesitation, Kabuto said, "It's okay if you don't want to go. They just keep talking about you during rehearsals, so I think they're probably hoping you'll come to the show."

"Ugh, so annoying," you muttered, pouting. If it weren't for Kabuto saying it to you, you might have readily agreed. But hearing it from him only fueled your rebellious spirit. You said, "I can go by myself. You don't need to come with me."

"Mingxi...do you hate me?" He suddenly changed the subject.

I wouldn't say I hate you. You're a mature adult, not some naive child. You don't usually put your likes and dislikes first when making decisions; your interests come first.

"Do you really need my approval?" you countered.

"Hmm..." he drawled, resting his chin on his hand. Actually, he had a baby face, but because his eyes always revealed an unfathomable look, he seemed even more like a sinister bespectacled guy. He continued, "Yes, I really need it. Mingxi's affection is a very precious thing. You probably don't know that, do you?"

I really don't know.

"Many people are begging for your favor."

Doesn't he feel embarrassed saying that? You're so embarrassed you get goosebumps. But given that most people in this world have a bit of a chuunibyou (delusional) streak, even their casual remarks are incredibly chuunibyou-ish, you've gradually come to accept it.

Acceptance is one thing, but complete understanding is quite another.

You twitched the corner of your mouth, and Kabuto Yakushi continued, "So Aki doesn't dislike me, right?"

"If I really hated you, I would never allow you to sit in front of me."

Yakushi Kabuto exclaimed in surprise, "Then it is truly my honor."

Enough, stop saying things that are so embarrassing they make your toes tremble.

In the end, you agreed to go to the orphanage with Kabuto, and of course, Haku will accompany you.

When you set off, you saw Haku by your side and Kabuto said cryptically, "Sometimes I really envy Haku. He's always able to stay by your side. Not everyone can have such an honor."

"Can you be quiet?" You seem to be negotiating with Kabuto, but you're actually telling him to shut up, or you'll throw him out if he keeps talking nonsense.

Kabuto was very sensible and obedient. He didn't say a word for the rest of the journey. His mouth didn't speak, but his eyes still spoke volumes. He blinked and looked at you, silently conveying a lot of meaning.

When you arrived at the orphanage, you entered through the side gate. There was a special concert hall inside the orphanage, which was prepared for cultural performances. Although you had been to the orphanage several times, it had been renovated several times since then, so some buildings and routes had changed. You still had to rely on the pharmacist's directions to find the concert hall smoothly.

When you arrived, the cultural performance had already started. It was basically a choral performance, a poetry recitation, and a dance program, just like when you were in kindergarten. The only difference was that the songs performed and the poems recited on stage were all praising you.

Comparing you to the stars and the moon is one thing, but comparing you to the sun is a bit inappropriate. You stand with your arms crossed in a secluded corner of the concert hall, watching the children on stage jumping and skipping to the rhythm of the music. You have to declare that you didn't like children in your past life, especially those bratty kids from your relatives' families who would go to extremes and start yelling and screaming if things didn't go their way.

But the children in the orphanage are different from the unruly children you encountered in your previous life. Perhaps it's because most of them experienced tragedies like war, the destruction of their homes, and the loss of their families. Therefore, they cherish their current lives and are as sensible as little adults.

You wouldn't dislike a child like that; you might even feel a little sorry for them.

While you're watching the children perform in the stands, Kabuto is watching you. The stage lights illuminate your profile, and he instinctively reaches out to touch your cheek, but is stopped by Shiro's gaze. It turns out he's been secretly watching Kabuto the whole time, just to prevent this from happening.

Kabuto smiled, just to appease Haku. He shrugged, indicating he wouldn't do anything, but Haku didn't believe him. He moved to a different spot, isolating Kabuto from Haku.

"Damn it!" Yakushi Kabuto smiled on the surface, but in his heart he had been cursing more than once.

As you were about to leave after the cultural performance, the lights in the concert hall came on, and someone spotted you first, exclaiming, "It's that person—"

...Why do children in this world speak with such a lisp?

"It really is him, it really is that person."

"Did that esteemed person come specifically to see our performance? How wonderful..."

It's too late to leave now. You're surrounded by a bunch of little kids, chattering away, each saying something in turn. It's so noisy that you can't hear a single one of them.

You said helplessly, "Quiet down, everyone."

Upon hearing this, none of the children spoke again; they all obediently shut their mouths and quietly watched you.

You seem too obedient. You said, "I just watched your performance, and I really liked it. Keep up the good work!"

You really can't give them a long, detailed compliment; you can only offer a brief few words of praise.

Even a brief compliment is enough to excite them, and soon the atmosphere becomes noisy again. Helpless, you can only bring in Yakushi Kabuto to distract the children.

This tactic worked, and they started asking Yakushi Kabuto all sorts of questions again.

"Mr. Kabuto, when I grow up, can I become as amazing as you and serve Lord Akihime?"

Uh-huh? ?

Is something amiss? You sensed something strange when you heard the second half of the sentence. What does "serve you" mean? According to the training plan you recently formulated, children with bloodline limits will join your bodyguard team, while relatively ordinary children without bloodline limits will study hard and eventually become employees in your company.

It seems that the training program you devised didn't include the part about serving you at all.

Did Kabuto Yakushi say something to them? You have a reasonable suspicion that it's Kabuto's fault.

Kabuto patted the child's hair and said, "Well... it's very difficult. You have to work very, very hard."

What nonsense is he spouting? You should come out and clarify this: "This has nothing to do with the level of effort. Whether you become employees or join the bodyguard team in the future, serving me is not one of the options available to you."

"What... But this is my lifelong dream."

Seriously? He's only a few years old, and he's already talking about his lifelong dream. Isn't that a bit too early?

"This is my dream too!"

"Me too……"

You quickly asked the teacher in charge to control the situation, and you took Bai and left the scene.

A while after leaving the concert hall, Kabuto Yakushi came out and said, "Aki, why did you leave so suddenly? They were really looking forward to talking to you a little longer."

No, you're genuinely worried that your casual remarks will be over-interpreted by them. You say, "Now that I've seen the cultural performance and done everything I needed to do, it's time to go back."

"Actually, Aki, you're happy too, aren't you?" Kabuto Yakushi said.

Why do I always have to predict your future? You say, "It's alright." You don't deny that doing these things does bring you a sense of accomplishment, which is only natural. But you don't think you can become a savior. It's just that the world is so terrible that these actions, which seemed so ordinary in your past life, now seem like acts of kindness.

This only shows how utterly awful this world is.

During the few days you stayed in Orochimaru's lab, Zabuza was also dealing with those who had offended you in the meeting. He was swift and decisive, often not listening to a word the other person said, because these guys all said pretty much the same thing before they died: "Who sent you?" "I can pay double, no, ten times the money, just please don't kill me!"

No matter how high one's position or how wealthy one is, they are all the same when facing death.

"Who is it? Who are you loyal to?!" As the assassination list reached its final point, the target clutched the wound in his chest—a fatal cut that pierced his heart. He was nearing death, but with his last ounce of strength, he asked, "Did that person give you a lot of money? Or some other reward?"

Zabuza didn't answer. He just narrowed his eyes and watched the man fall into a pool of blood and stop breathing. His bloodshot eyes were still staring at him, as if accusing him of something.

Only after his death did Zabuza slowly speak, "She didn't give me much money either. She was even a stingy person with a terrible personality, but..."

He recalled the time he escorted you to Kirigakure. You fell from a branch and landed directly in his arms. You didn't mind the blood on his body and asked him earnestly, "How many people can you kill in a minute?"

You're such a strange person; you always focus on things that others wouldn't expect.

He might choose to follow you simply because you're the only person in this terrible world who doesn't seem so terrible.

“But I will follow her,” he added.

He wiped the blood off his machete with a handkerchief. Halfway through wiping, he suddenly sensed something. He stood up abruptly and turned around. There was a figure standing by the window. Zabuza immediately noticed the Konoha headband on the other person's forehead.

Tsk, is he a ninja from Konoha? Upon closer inspection, the eyes seen through the mask gave Zabuza a familiar feeling.

The answer was obvious: it was Uchiha Itachi, whom he had met once before. He didn't believe it was a coincidence; coincidences were rare in the ninja world, and the possibility of it being deliberate was much higher.

“It’s you.” Zabuza said, his eyes filled with contempt and mockery. Yes, so what if I could stand by your side back then? In the end, didn’t you still abandon me? You left Konoha without hesitation, abandoning him without a trace of regret.

So he said you're a terrible person, especially prone to getting bored easily.

Uchiha Itachi said, "What a coincidence, to meet you here."

“Unfortunately, I would rather not meet you if I could.” Zabuza spoke bluntly. “Let’s skip the unnecessary preamble. I know what your purpose is, and I can tell you very clearly: give up on that idea.”

Faced with Zabuza's resolute words, Itachi Uchiha responded calmly, saying, "I'm sorry, but there's only one thing I can't do."

Zabuza had been curious about Itachi's strength for a while and thought this would be a good opportunity to spar with him. However, Itachi clearly had no intention of fighting him. He said, "I think there might have been some misunderstanding between Aki and me. Please deliver this letter to her. As for the rest, I have no ill intentions and will not fight you, so please rest assured."

As soon as he finished speaking, the letter in Itachi's hand fell into Zabuza's hands. Without saying another word, Itachi turned around and disappeared from Zabuza's sight.

Did it just disappear like that? Zabuza held the letter, somewhat surprised. He had originally thought there would be another fierce battle, but in the end, the other party simply left a letter and a sentence, imploring him to deliver the letter to him.

Zabuza glanced down at the letter addressed to "To Akihito," his expression inscrutable.

That's incredibly naive of him. Why would he think that he would definitely deliver that letter for him?

At that moment, you suddenly felt a chill. You rubbed your arms and thought to yourself, "This lab's air conditioning is way too strong."

"Aki, are you cold?" Shiro said, about to put his coat on you, but Kabuto said at that moment, "There are a few clean lab coats in the lab, Aki, you can wear them too."

Forget it, who knows what else might have been on those white coats? Even though Kabuto Yakushi said they were very clean lab coats, you still don't really believe him.

You, wearing a white coat, asked him, "Aren't you cold wearing all white?"

He takes your hand and says, "No, you won't."

Kabuto Yakushi watched your interaction with a polite smile on his face, but his heart was already churning with turmoil.

A few days later, you received a letter from Zabuza, and not only his letter but also the one from Itachi Uchiha. When you saw the familiar handwriting, you were stunned for a moment, wondering if you were imagining things. Haku also saw the signature and said, "This is Itachi Uchiha's letter? But why is it mixed up with Zabuza's letter?"

Yes, you're curious too. It's probably because Itachi found Zabuza. I wonder what they talked about, maybe they even had a fight. After all, ninjas really like to fight at the drop of a hat.

You should open Zabuza's letters first. His letters are very businesslike. Both the format and the tone of the words are like mission reports. Sometimes, if a mission is too troublesome, he will complain in his letters, saying that you always give him difficult missions and that he will refuse the mission if it happens again. In reality, he is just pretending to be angry. The next time you give him such a troublesome mission, he will still accept it without hesitation.

You've figured out the other person's personality; they're a typical tsundere who's all talk and no action, and easy to control. After reading this letter, you turn your attention to Itachi's letter.

This is a bit tricky; you hesitated for a few seconds before opening the letter.

“I think there might be some misunderstanding between us. Is it because I rushed into discussing marriage? Does that make you feel uneasy? I'm sorry... I really didn't think things through enough in this matter, and I even neglected your feelings, Mingxi. I understand that this mistake is hard to forgive. But I think that having progressed to this point, marriage is an unspoken agreement, isn't it? These past few days I've been reflecting on my mistakes, wondering if I can be a qualified or even excellent husband. After thinking it over for a long time, I still want to ask for your forgiveness first.”

You unfold the letter, and the page is densely covered with words. You feel the heavy emotion even after reading only the beginning.