"Uh..." Ye Yuexin froze.
He felt awkward, but didn't know what to say.
He'd never felt this way before. He couldn't tell whether his resistance had weakened or Kurenai Yuhi had changed too much.
Seeing Ye Yuexin's embarrassed expression, Kurenai Yuhi slowly straightened up.
"Never mind. You can answer that another time." In an instant, she was back to her mature, big-sisterly self.
As if nothing had happened, she continued, "I was going to look for you anyway, and now we've run into each other. Come on, I'll treat you to something."
With that, Kurenai Yuhi started walking ahead.
Ye Yuexin was left feeling even more awkward.
Come to think of it, he really had said he would marry Kurenai Yuhi.
But she'd been little back then, and he'd only said it to humor her.
He'd never imagined she would never forget it.
She even brought it up almost every time they met.
But this time, Kurenai Yuhi had suddenly dressed up and put on makeup, and she really had taken Ye Yuexin by surprise.
Eight-year-old Kurenai Yuhi looked stunning all dressed up.
'This little girl has changed a lot,' he muttered, then followed after her.
As for how he and Kurenai Yuhi had met, he had Anko to thank for that.
There was no need to explain what Anko's personality had been like back then. Even after Ye Yuexin took her in, she was still quite a handful.
She was always fighting and even formed sworn-brother bonds with some boys.
Then one day, a few brats cornered her.
She ran for a long time, but they still caught her.
At the time, Kurenai Yuhi had only just started school.
On her way home from school, she ran into Anko and rescued her.
Then she helped Anko back to Ye Yuexin's house.
It had been so long that Ye Yuexin couldn't remember the details of their first meeting.
They'd both been little brats then, so there wasn't much worth remembering.
Besides, Ye Yuexin hadn't known the name of the little girl who brought Anko home.
He only found out later when Anko mentioned it.
Anyway, once Anko's injuries had healed, Ye Yuexin had given her a hard spanking.
He'd only discovered by chance that Anko had been playing gang boss in an alley and had even taken on underlings.
At the time, he thought he'd spoiled Anko rotten.
If she kept this up, who knew what would happen? Anko changed a little after that, but she was still true to her nature.
Still, that was when Anko and Kurenai Yuhi became close friends.
It was around then, from Anko, that Ye Yuexin first learned Kurenai Yuhi's name.
Since Kurenai Yuhi was a positive character, Ye Yuexin had encouraged Anko to spend time with her.
Back in his previous life, when Ye Yuexin watched the anime, he'd always felt Kurenai Yuhi's story was a bit of a shame.
With Ye Yuexin's support, their friendship grew even closer.
Kurenai Yuhi often came over to Ye Yuexin's house to play games with Anko.
Ye Yuexin had never understood how Anko, who never played with dolls, had managed to get along with Kurenai Yuhi, who loved flowers.
Then, one day, an accident happened.
It had just rained, and for some reason, the two girls were playing in the woods beside Ye Yuexin's house.
Kurenai Yuhi accidentally fell into a mud pit.
Anko brought her home to wash her clothes.
It was already noon.
Ye Yuexin had planned to go home and make Anko some lunch.
When he got home and went to the bathroom, he saw Kurenai Yuhi bathing, completely naked.
Amid the earth-shaking screams, Ye Yuexin was left in a complete mess.
Anko, who clearly thought the situation wasn't chaotic enough, finally got the chance to teach him a lesson.
But Kurenai Yuhi just kept crying.
Ye Yuexin spent the whole day trying to comfort Kurenai Yuhi, to no avail.
He hadn't expected such a little brat to care so much about the traditional notion of chastity.
Then again, she came from a clan, after all. Though it had fallen on hard times, she'd still been raised with proper values.
In the end, Ye Yuexin had no choice but to say he would take responsibility for her.
A five-year-old brat telling a seven-year-old brat he'd take responsibility for her. It was ridiculous no matter how you looked at it.
So Ye Yuexin hadn't taken it seriously at the time. He'd just wanted to smooth things over as quickly as possible.
That was how he finally managed to calm Kurenai Yuhi down. But in the days that followed, he never imagined she'd take it seriously.
Almost every time they met, she asked Ye Yuexin when he was going to marry her.
You couldn't imagine how strange it felt when a little brat asked when you were going to marry her.
In his previous life, that kind of thing was grounds for life imprisonment at best, and the death penalty more often than not.
Left with no choice, Ye Yuexin had made up another lie and said he'd marry her once he became a Kage Level strongman.
That was why Kurenai Yuhi had said that just now.
Watching Kurenai Yuhi walk ahead with a spring in her step, Ye Yuexin felt a little awkward, but he still followed.
Kurenai Yuhi kept walking ahead, but she was always sneaking glances back at him.
She'd actually been curious about Ye Yuexin ever since they first met.
Of course, at first, her curiosity had all come from Anko.
From Anko, Kurenai Yuhi had learned that she was being looked after by someone a year younger than her.
And he looked after her with such patience and kindness.
This boy, who was a year younger than Anko, was privately described by her best friend as something like a father.
Indeed, in Anko's eyes, Ye Yuexin was practically perfect.
He didn't seem to have any of the traits of a child. Instead, he seemed more like a mature, dependable adult.
So, little by little, Kurenai Yuhi had started paying attention to Ye Yuexin.
Even Kurenai Yuhi didn't know what she'd thought about that accident.
She had always adhered to her family's traditional values.
That night, when Ye Yuexue said he would take responsibility for her, she'd been stunned. But over time, she had agreed and made up her mind.
She couldn't quite explain it. Back then, Ye Yuexin had simply made her feel safe.
"Let's go get dango." At some point, Ye Yuexin had come up beside Kurenai Yuhi and pointed toward a shop ahead.
Interrupted from her reverie, Kurenai Yuhi's lips curled into a small smile. "All right, Ye Yuexin. But since you picked the place this time, does that mean you asked me out, or did I ask you?"
It was yet another question that left Ye Yuexin speechless, but Kurenai Yuhi never seemed to tire of asking.
She sounded just like an ordinary girl acting coy with her boyfriend. But when Kurenai Yuhi, with her mature air, did it, it was even more charming.
Ye Yuexin smiled. "Of course I was the one who asked the beautiful Miss Kurenai out." Getting the answer she wanted, Kurenai Yuhi seemed delighted by his compliment.
With a giggle, she went into the shop with Ye Yuexin.
Before you continue