Chapter 57, Chapter Fifty-Six
The land of hot springs is renowned for its hot springs, and the hot spring industry is one of the country's important economic pillars for earning foreign exchange.
Since there were no tasks scheduled for the next day, Lin Xue decided to experience the local specialty – hot spring resorts.
When she saw Itachi following closely behind her as they walked into the reception area of the hot spring resort, she was taken aback.
"Two rooms."
The sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy's voice had already passed puberty, and was deep and magnetic.
After settling the bill and checking the rooms, the owner glanced over and saw two people of similar height, dressed in identical clothes and wearing straw hats, making it difficult to tell their gender. He could only vaguely discern from their height that the slightly taller one was male and the shorter one female; both appeared quite young. It was peak tourist season, and rooms were scarce; only the room closest to the hot spring was available. The room rate was per person, and even with two or three tatami mats, it would be more than enough.
The owner looked apologetic but still smiled and said, "Young man, I'm really sorry, there's only one room left. If you don't mind, you and your girlfriend could squeeze in together~" The plump woman winked with a smile, her words carrying a hint of teasing.
Upon hearing this, Lin Xue frowned and turned to leave. However, Uchiha Itachi grabbed her wrist.
His hands were large and strong, easily grasping her entire wrist.
Itachi said calmly, "Okay."
The woman took the coins from Itachi, counted them carefully, and immediately presented the keys with both hands, beaming with joy.
"Our shop also offers a special body scrubbing service. Please press the bell anytime if you need it."
Lin Xue let Itachi hold her hand, and the two followed the maid who led the way to the room.
The room features a natural beige and wood color scheme, accented with dark brown decorations, creating a tranquil and elegant atmosphere. Since it's springtime, the room's decor is mostly cherry blossom-themed, with early cherry blossom branches displayed in alcoves, adding to the springtime feel.
The maid gently closed the door at the entrance. Itachi took off his straw hat, placed it in a bamboo frame, lowered his eyes, and locked the door behind him.
Only he and Lin Xue remained in the room.
Lin Xue frowned slightly and casually sat down on the futon in the Japanese-style room.
Itachi spoke up, "Have you forgotten what you promised me, Uchiha Yuki?"
That was what Uchiha Yuki agreed to, what business is it of hers?
However, Iris had told her that it was best to put on a little disguise in front of Itachi Uchiha.
Seeing that Lin Xue remained silent, Itachi reached out and opened the door connecting the Japanese-style room to the courtyard. Below the corridor was the private hot spring bath inside. The bath was nestled into a small hillside, forming a separate and highly private space. A small stone table was placed beside the bath, with a container filled with ice and chilled sake on it, and pink sakura mochi placed next to it.
The smoke rose in wisps, seemingly merging with the twilight sky, creating a dreamlike scene.
"I didn't come here to experience hot springs." Itachi took off his Akatsuki robe, revealing his clothes underneath—a short chainmail jacket and long trousers for easy movement. He removed his headband and ninja shoes.
Lin Xue sat on the futon, staring blankly at the scene. She felt that things were developing in a strange way.
The boy before her was about sixteen or seventeen years old, with long black hair loosely tied back. His handsome features were complemented by deep-set eyes, and the tear troughs under his eyes added a touch of maturity and worry. He gazed at Lin Xue, his dark eyes with long, raven-feather-like eyelashes, much like a girl's eyes.
It seems... there was a time when the two of them interacted like this.
The wind chimes under the eaves swayed gently in the breeze, making a crisp sound. Lin Xue felt as if she had been pricked by a needle, and her head throbbed with pain.
She turned her head away, no longer looking at the ferret, and instead turned her gaze to the scenery outside the corridor.
"Oh, right, this headband."
Itachi handed over the headband that belonged to Lin Xue, which he had kept safe all along. Whether it was to keep it as a memento or something, Itachi didn't know.
It just fell from her body on the day she left. In the dead of night, would he take it out as if reminiscing about her, Itachi himself didn't know. He carried too much on his shoulders, and occasionally he would entrust his worries to this inanimate object.
Lin Xue frowned slightly, her gaze falling on the headband in Itachi's hand.
She doesn't have any so-called Will of Fire...
However, her gaze moved upwards and landed on Itachi's smooth forehead.
It seems that when traveling, most rogue ninjas from the ninja village wear this headband.
Lin Xue took the headband and gently placed it on the table.
The itachi's fair, slender, and well-defined fingertips trembled slightly the moment Lin Xue took the headband and their fingertips touched, but he quickly withdrew his hand.
-
The open-air hot spring pool is made of cypress wood, with rounded edges and non-slip pebbles paving the bottom.
Lin Xue slowly removed her clothes and stepped into the hot spring pool. She sat at the bottom of the pool, just enough for her head to emerge. The hot spring water covered her neck, leaving only her head exposed. The slightly hot spring water soaked her body, which was very pleasant.
Behind me came the sound of the tatami room door being opened, and unhurried footsteps.
As the boy sank to the bottom of the pool, Lin Xue's eyes met his.
Lin Xue: ......
"Isn't there a men's bath outside?" After saying this, Xue submerged half of her head at the bottom of the pool, leaving only her nose above the surface.
Itachi Uchiha's beautiful, moon-like eyes were so calm that they seemed utterly unmoved.
"Before..." Itachi paused slightly, his face shrouded in mist, making it impossible for Lin Xue to guess his expression. He continued, "I don't mind soaking with Xue."
Lin Xue roughly guessed what he was going to say in the first half, so she looked away and looked at something else.
"I still mind."
She stood up with her back to Itachi, picking up a towel from the side and wrapping it around her chest. Itachi had always known that Yuki had a slender figure. Her fair skin, having adjusted to the water temperature, gradually turned a pale pink, like a peach steamed by the water vapor—thin and translucent, with faint blue veins visible beneath. Her low bun, piled at the back of her head, sparkled like it was sprinkled with diamonds when wet. As she stood up, water droplets rolled down her back, lingering for a moment at her tailbone before finally falling into the pool.
After she wrapped herself in a towel, only her long limbs were visible. Itachi frowned slightly. Just as Yuki was about to step onto the shore, she suddenly slipped and fell backward uncontrollably. She instinctively closed her eyes, but the expected splash did not occur. Instead, she landed steadily in a thin but strong embrace.
She opened her eyes, and what came into view was Itachi's sharp jawline and that strikingly handsome face, likely inherited from the excellent genes of the Uchiha clan. He lowered his head slightly and gently kissed her forehead. It was a very light kiss; Xue didn't know how to describe it, as if it carried a hint of apology. The atmosphere became somewhat subtle; the two were almost touching, and the towel she had just wrapped around her chest was now completely soaked.
"Get up," Itachi said softly.
Xue's face was slightly flushed. She felt something hard pressing against her underwater.
"Oh, oh oh."
Xue quickly got up, stepped out of the hot spring, took another dry towel from the shelf, and covered herself with it.
She stepped into the cubicle and her gaze fell on herself in the mirror.
The person in the mirror had a face as beautiful as a peach blossom, so delicate and lovely that it seemed to be silently inviting someone to pick her.
Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she quickly covered her face, feeling a little shy.
After drying herself off, she lay lazily on the wooden bed in the cubicle.
She raised her hand and gently tugged at the bell hanging by the bedside.
Inside the cubicle, a thick white fog, carrying a faint smell of sulfur, wafted over, like a damp towel.
The ceiling exhaust system hummed, creating a soothing white noise-like sound.
The mist was swirled into fine vortices, flowing slowly through the air.
Suddenly, the door on the other side was gently pushed open, and a woman walked in.
Through the mirror on the wall, you can see that she has a low black ponytail.
"There are coarse sandpaper and fine velvet..." The woman's voice was low and deep, with a hint of hoarseness.
Xue was slightly taken aback, feeling a little strange, but didn't think much of it.
"Fine velvet is fine," she said in a gentle voice.
Itachi felt a secret pleasure from being mistaken for a bathhouse attendant by her.
The ninjas had very keen hearing, and after hearing the bell, no one came in for a long time.
That's when the idea came to him.
The masseur's hands, wrapped in a fine-textured bath towel, began to move down her shoulder blades. Her skin flushed slightly from the friction. When he reached the area from her armpits to her ribs, she instinctively hunched her shoulders, her muscles tensing. The masseur's hands covered her back, gently pressing: "Relax a little."
Itachi was sweating as he looked at the snow, which was completely exposed to his back.
I had to take a deep breath to suppress the urge.
His hands didn't stop moving, from her cervical spine to her tailbone, and then to her lower back. She let out a soft groan, her back trembling slightly, like the surface of a lake rippling in the wind. Fine beads of sweat appeared on Itachi's forehead, and he bit his lower lip to suppress the throbbing in his heart.
Xue felt that the master's technique was really good. Slowly, the slight pain transformed into a tingling and pleasant sensation, as if all the pores on her body had been opened up.
"Master, are you a local?"
Xue rarely spoke to people working in this field, but she felt that this man was too shy, so she couldn't help but ask him a question.
"Um."
Does this job pay well?
"It's alright, it's usually okay during peak season."
"How many customers does that chef typically serve in a day?"
"...I only picked you up today."
Xue was slightly taken aback and subconsciously wanted to look up.
At this moment, the woman gently pressed her large hand against her back and softly asked, "Do you want me to rub the front?"
Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she said shyly, "No need."
After rinsing and drying her with lukewarm water, the bath attendant quietly left the room.
Yuki put on the yukata provided by the hotel; the indigo fabric was soft and comfortable.
Back inside the Japanese-style room, a carefully prepared meal had already been laid out.
The food has a strong flavor of the land of hot springs, including onsen egg beef udon noodles, served with pickled cherry tomatoes, and refreshing yuzu vinegar pudding.
Even more thoughtfully, several unopened condoms were placed in the small drawer below the lunchbox.
Xue fell silent, watching Uchiha Itachi, who was eating his meal with a normal expression and wearing a yukata of the same color as hers.
I don't know why, but I felt that the other person's earlobes were so red that they looked like they were about to bleed.
However, on the surface, there was still no significant emotional fluctuation.
Inside the room, neither of them spoke again. Xue ate a couple of bites of noodles, then lost her appetite.
Unexpectedly, Itachi naturally took the noodles she hadn't finished and started eating them.
Lin Xue:......
After finishing the salted cherry tomatoes, Itachi conscientiously handed over his own portion.
Xue frowned slightly, thinking that their relationship shouldn't have reached the point where he needed to take care of them like this.
"Anyway, I'm not eating it." His voice was gentle, as if giving her a way out.
In the end, Xue still ate two servings of cherry tomatoes.
The leftover food was taken away by the maid.
Yuki lay with her eyes open on the tatami mat that Itachi had already laid out.
The soft, sun-kissed blanket made me not dislike the snow.
"Staring at the light for too long is bad for your eyes."
Itachi gently pulled the rope, turning off the tatami room light. The entire room instantly plunged into darkness, and Yuki closed her eyes. But when a human heat source suddenly appeared beside her, she couldn't help but ask, "...Aren't there two blankets?"
"We used to sleep together when we were little, Xue, have you forgotten?" His voice was very flat and without any inflection, but Xue could hear a hint of accusation in it.
Xue: ...You know it was when we were kids!
Unable to get a reply from Yuki, the boy shared a pillow with her, one hand gently around the gap in her neck, the other resting on her waist. Itachi's body temperature was low, giving him a warm feel. His smooth hair carried a faint scent of lilacs, a scent also found on Tobi. They were very close, yet Yuki didn't feel physically averse to his proximity. Yuki usually slept on her back, while Itachi always lay on his side facing her. In the dimly lit Japanese-style room, he held her waist tightly, pulling her as close to him as possible.
Xue was a little sleepy, and in her drowsy state, she seemed to hear him ask something.
I just don't know if their relationship will return to normal tomorrow.
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