In Konoha, Naruto lies down

There were several crashing sounds on the street, like some iron frame falling to the ground. She looked at Naruto, whose hair was half soaked, pursed her lips, and made way.

"come in."

"This is the first time I get up so early. You have to give me some compensation, right?" He shook the black umbrella violently and then leaned it against the corner.

"It was you who insisted on coming here." Ino muttered, pulling out a towel from under the counter, "Dry your hair first."

"Thank you." Naruto reached out to take it, and after wiping it for a while, he realized something was wrong. He looked at the towel carefully for a while, with a strange look in his eyes.

"So you like rabbits?"

"Huh?" Ino was stunned.

It wasn't until Naruto completely unfolded the white towel, revealing the purple bunny embroidery, that Ino's pupils dilated slightly, and she snatched the towel away with a cry of "Ah".

"You got the wrong one!" Her face flushed instantly, and she clutched the towel tightly. "This is the one I use. I...I'll get you a new one."

As she said that, she hurried back to the counter, pulled out a dry white towel from underneath and handed it to Naruto.

He didn't answer, but shrugged his nose.

"Personal use?"

"Go to hell! Pervert! It's just for wiping sweat!" Ino angrily threw the new towel on Naruto's face.

Chapter 197 His Soul is Always Burning

"Where's uncle?" Naruto asked after drying his hair.

"Work." Ino put her elbows on the counter and looked up at Naruto and said, "You ask even though you already know the answer."

"Just asking." He said with a wry smile, "Is it not good for me to stay here like this?"

"Yeah." Ino nodded solemnly.

"Okay, but it's no use if it's not good." Naruto said with a fearless look, spreading his hands, "Anyway, I'm here."

Ino couldn't do anything about him, so she stopped talking. From her angle at the counter, she could see Naruto's clear facial features and Adam's apple, and suddenly she felt the atmosphere suddenly became weird.

Outside, rain lashed against the window. Ino reached out and grabbed her thigh. She was wearing a cotton skirt, and the red mark sank into her skin, turning pale after a moment.

"Can you open the window? It's a bit hot."

She was just lost in thought when she was startled by her own trembling voice. When did she become so nervous?

"The rain is getting pretty heavy, it might blow in." Naruto glanced out the window, then turned to look at Ino in confusion, "Are you sure you want to open it?"

"Yeah." She pretended to be calm, but stood up again.

"I'll just go and open it," he said.

"Ah?" Ino suddenly realized when she stood up.

But she had already stood up due to excessive nervousness, and if she sat down again, she would feel a little embarrassed, so she spoke first.

"No, I can open it myself." She stood up hurriedly.

The rain intensified, the wind picked up, and the windows trembled in the cold wind, as if about to fall apart. Ino walked over with her shoulders hunched.

It wasn't high enough. The window was about one meter higher than her.

Below are neatly arranged flowers and soft soil on the shelves. If you just open the window, some raindrops coming in will really have no effect.

Ino wanted to jump up and close the window, but when she remembered that she was wearing a skirt, she immediately gave up this absurd idea. That guy was standing there watching. If he saw her, she would be laughed at for the rest of her life.

Thinking of this, her anger towards Naruto increased even more.

She pulled over a high stool, took off her shoes and was about to step on it, but suddenly she seemed to remember something, retracted her feet, and turned to look in Naruto's direction.

The latter had already walked over and held onto the stool.

"You'll fall like this."

She originally wanted to say it was none of her business, but then she thought that he had done nothing wrong, and if he could just take his eyes off her feet, he would be considered a gentleman.

"Don't look around." Ino complained.

"it is good."

Ino felt somewhat helpless, but fortunately her cotton skirt did not extend past her knees, so it was not so easy to expose herself. She gritted her teeth, stood up slightly, and stretched out her pale arm to open the window.

Her delicate fingers, like scallions, fiddled with the air before easily grasping the window knob. She twisted it with great force, and with a clatter, the window opened.

Strong winds mixed with rain rushed in, and Ino's mind cleared up for a moment. She lowered her head and wanted to get down.

Their eyes met, and Naruto stared at the girl in the cotton skirt. Seeing her hair messed up by the wind, his heart suddenly felt itchy.

I wanted to reach out and touch her hair, the sour feeling was almost turning into an impulse.

"Are you okay?" His voice was unusual, with a hint of indescribable emotion.

Ino felt her heartbeat quicken considerably, her body felt strangely off, and her legs felt inexplicably weak. She glanced at Naruto and her mouth suddenly went dry.

Something is wrong, very wrong.

Ino couldn't understand why. She had been alone with him before, even sleeping in the same bed. But she was just shy. The two of them had always been innocent.

But now she felt that not only was there something wrong with Naruto, but she seemed to be wrong too.

Is it because we haven’t seen each other for a long time?

"Yeah." Her voice was very soft. She slowly squatted down on the high stool and prepared to get down, one foot tentatively stepping on the ground with her shoe.

Naruto suddenly grabbed her hand and held her waist.

"You..." Ino's heart was beating fast, and she turned her head to look at him in surprise.

He was completely speechless, his feet softening for a moment as he stepped on the ground, then he regained his balance. His cheeks burned, and his breathing became rapid.

The sore and numb feeling extends from the spine to the back of the head and spreads throughout the body.

"What's wrong?" Naruto naturally let go of her hand and looked at her with clear eyes, "I was afraid you would fall."

"Nothing...nothing." She put on her shoes and returned to the counter with a red face.

She muttered something indistinctly. Naruto sat across from Ino, a counter between them. Rainy days meant few customers, and those who did come only took shelter under the eaves.

I almost subconsciously glanced into the store, my eyes passing over the flower stands and finally fixed on the young man and girl in front of the counter.

The boy sat casually, his expression lazy, almost slumped over the table. The girl seemed to be sulking, her face turned away, not looking at him.

The rain was pouring down, and Naruto turned his palm over and spoke out.

"My waist is so soft."

These words seemed to ignite a powder keg. Ino stood up instantly, stretched out half of her body and twisted Naruto's arm.

"If you keep saying that, you pervert! Do you enjoy taking advantage of me so much?"

"I like it." Naruto grimaced in pain.

"What do you like?"

"I like everything."

"There's nothing I can do about you." Ino looked away and withdrew her hand. She didn't know where to look, and she finally felt a little relieved.

It’s not because of the ambiguous word “like”, but because of revenge.

She also wanted to say that she liked him, but she didn't want him to push her too far, so she didn't say anything. But she felt bad in her heart, so she asked, "Does it hurt?"

"It's okay." Naruto replied.

He vaguely understood that Ino wasn't asking if the pinch hurt, but was responding with a comforting response. It was like hugging a tree, but the tree couldn't hug you back, so a few leaves fell on its shoulders.

Gentle people always find it difficult to be truly happy. They always have to consider other people's feelings and know when to stop. If you think too much, you will not be happy.

Whether you hurt others or are hurt, you will feel sick in your heart.

Ino had never known before that liking someone could be a two-way thing, without having to embarrass herself or give up her dignity, and without having to reveal her past in front of the person she liked.

She raised her hand to shade him, and he would hold an umbrella for her when it rained. He cared about her feelings and did not hide his love for her.

Even if she subconsciously wanted to wrong herself, that person would definitely drag her out of the darkness and ask, "Are you sick?"

Naruto is that kind of person, his soul is always burning. His personality is extremely gloomy, but he always tells others not to be afraid, there is light ahead.

The rain was drizzling, and the flower shop fell silent again.

Ino shifted her sitting position and coughed lightly to hide her uneasiness. Even though the person opposite her hadn't said anything special, she felt the part of her body that was being looked at directly was burning hot.

Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore and couldn't help but ask him.

"you......"

Just as I was about to say this, I heard him say it first.

"I'm a little thirsty. Don't guests even have water to drink?"

"What kind of guest are you? You have hands and feet, why don't you pour it yourself!" Ino said unhappily, and swallowed the words she was about to ask.

Forget it, don’t ask anymore.

Despite saying that, Ino still got up and went upstairs to make him a cup of hot cocoa, pushing it in front of him as if to settle a personal vendetta.

"drink."

Naruto looked at the cup of steaming cocoa, and a feeling of cloying sweetness welled up in his heart, and his stomach subconsciously rejected this sweet food.

"I don't want to drink this."

Ino glanced at him and asked, "Do you want to drink?"

He thought about it, then moved the cup closer to him, pinching his nose and taking a sip. It was clearly cloyingly sweet, but it felt like bitter medicine.

"This is sweet." Ino said standing at the counter.

"It's the same feeling when something is too sweet and bitter," Naruto said.

"Trouble." Ino said, and stood up and poured him a glass of water, "Drink this."

"Okay." Naruto responded, then pushed the hot cocoa to her. Ino was stunned for a moment, then took it calmly and held it in her palm.

With a ding, the door of the flower shop opened.

They both turned their heads and looked towards the door. Yamanaka Rino was about to call Ino when she saw Naruto sitting there and froze for a second.

She was used to seeing her daughter leaning over the counter, reading or dozing off. She had always been so sensible and would sit there quietly since she was little.

Even before Yamanaka Rino even entered the room, she could already guess where her daughter would be sitting. Either wearing an apron, or with her blonde hair tied up, revealing her fair neck, she would just sit there.

During a thunderstorm, the shop's overhead lights were not on, making the light seem dim. Only the bright yellow sidelights beside the counter were on, illuminating a corner of the counter with warm light.

Like a lighthouse in the ocean, bright and lonely.

In the past, at this time, only Ino would sit there alone, looking up and calling out "Mom." She had called her that from the age of six or seven until she was a teenager, and in the blink of an eye, she discovered that her daughter had grown into a graceful young woman.

Yamanaka Rino looked at the yin-yang line where the light and dark areas of the counter intersected, and looked at the familiar young man in a white short-sleeved shirt, and suddenly found that she seemed to have grown old.

Ino saw Yamanaka Rino and looked a little embarrassed, but she still called out.

"Mother is back?"

"Yeah." Yamanaka Rino walked in and put down the bag in her hand. She felt restrained for the first time in the store she had run for more than ten years.

"Naruto is here?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes, Auntie." Naruto also stood up and said politely, "We are both on vacation."

"Oh, I'll go upstairs first. I'm a little sleepy." Yamanaka Rino was not sleepy, she just wanted to go upstairs to calm down.

Perhaps it was the rainy day that made her sentimental, and she even felt the melancholy of being a parent for the second time. She seemed to be really old.

Chapter 198 I like...

"What happened?" Naruto asked Ino.

"I don't know. I'll go up and take a look."

Ino stood up and walked away from the counter. Halfway up the stairs, she turned back to look at Naruto, pointed at the cocoa on the table and said unhappily.

"Drink it all."

Naruto didn't know what he had offended her with. He glanced at the steaming sweet drink on the table and remained indifferent.