Night had deepened, and Shenghua's small courtyard was quieter than the rest.
Most of the plum blossoms by the wall had already fallen. The few remaining on the branches glimmered faintly beneath the moonlight, and when the wind passed through the corridor, it carried the slight chill of early spring.
Shenghua sat on the edge of the bed, one hand braced against the mattress and the other resting casually on her knee. She naturally pulled the corner of the blanket over her legs without deliberately concealing anything.
"No need to rush to sleep tonight. Sit for a while first."
She shifted the pillow behind her and leaned against the wall at the head of the bed, turning to look at Xiao Yun. Her gaze was more relaxed than it had been during the day.
Xiao Yun sat beside her, leaned closer, and naturally let her settle into his embrace.
She found a comfortable position before speaking after a long while. "You still haven't finished that story from last time... What happened afterward?"
Xiao Yun did not answer right away, as if recalling where he had left off. "Where did I stop last time? Let's start from when he graduated from the ninja academy."
Shenghua nodded. "What did Naruto look like? Why was he called the Demon Fox's son?"
Xiao Yun did not answer directly. "Just listen. You'll understand as the story goes on."
Shenghua did not press him further and quietly waited for him to begin.
The story began with that golden-haired child: how the villagers avoided him, how he failed his graduation examination, and how, at the final moment, he unexpectedly mastered a Clone Technique.
When Shenghua heard "Transformation Technique, Substitution Technique, Clone Technique," she could not help shifting in his arms.
"What are these three techniques? And what