On the way back from Dreamweave Resort, the atmosphere was completely different from the trip there.
Inside the sky train, Lin You sat by the window, holding Little Shukaku, who had fallen asleep after wearing himself out playing, while her Two-Tomoe Sharingan stole sly glances at the two people across from her.
Yuzuha sat beside Lin Shuo, her long red hair still a little damp, its ends occasionally brushing his shoulder.
She seemed tired too, resting with her eyes closed, but a faint smile remained on her lips.
Lin Shuo sat ramrod straight, looking ahead like a soldier standing guard.
But a closer look would reveal that he occasionally glanced toward Yuzuha out of the corner of his eye, and a faint redness still lingered at the tips of his ears, untouched by the sea breeze.
"Uncle."
Lin You suddenly spoke, her voice neither loud nor soft.
"Hmm?"
"Did you hold hands when you and Yuzuha took that walk by the sea?"
Lin Shuo said, "...No."
"Aww-what a shame."
Lin You drew out her words. "The sunset, the beach, two people walking side by side... what a romantic scene! You should've naturally taken her hand, and then-"
"Shut up."
"Okay, okay, I'll stop~"
Grinning, Lin You turned back to look out the window.
But she muttered so quietly that only she could hear, "I saw Mom's fingers touch Dad's arm anyway... round it up, and that counts as holding hands!"
Yuzuha's eyelashes fluttered, but she didn't open her eyes.
The corners of her lips merely curved a little higher.
By the time they returned to Lumina Square, it was nearly dusk.
"I had so much fun today!"
Yuzuha stopped outside Kaidan House and turned to smile at Lin Shuo.
"...Yeah."
"Next week... want to have ramen again?"
Yuzuha tilted her head. "I kind of want to try the new limited-edition flavor."
"It launches Monday," Lin Shuo said. "Curry broth."
"Then see you Monday evening~"
Yuzuha waved and went inside.
As the door closed, Lin Shuo heard Li Baorong's voice from inside. "You're back? Did you have fun?"
"Yeah! So much fun!"
Then the conversation between father and daughter gradually grew indistinct.
Lin Shuo stood there, watching the Kaidan House sign glow a warm yellow in the twilight.
"Dad." Lin You tugged at his clothes. "Let's go home. I'm hungry."
"...Okay."
Dinner was simple fried rice-made by Lin Shuo, with shrimp and green peas. It tasted good.
Lin You wolfed it down. After all, playing at the beach all day had taken a lot out of her.
After dinner, Lin You volunteered to wash the dishes.
Lin Shuo sat in the living room and turned on the television-not really watching it, just giving the room some sound.
His thoughts were still at the beach.
The look in Yuzuha's eyes when she said, "We're alike."
The feeling of her fingertips gently touching his arm.
That smile, full of both tenderness and concern.
"Dad."
Having finished the dishes, Lin You came over drying her hands and sat beside him on the couch. "You were... really happy today, weren't you?"
Lin Shuo didn't deny it. "...Yeah."
"Hehe, I knew it."
Lin You hugged a cushion, her Two-Tomoe Sharingan curving into crescents. "Mom was too. She kept smiling all the way home-even though she pretended to be asleep, I could feel it."
Lin Shuo glanced at her. "You certainly pay close attention."
"Of course! I'm going to be the best wingman Mom and Dad could have!"
Lin You leaned closer and lowered her voice. "Dad, want me to tell you more about the future? Like... how you and Mom officially got together?"
Lin Shuo's fingers twitched slightly.
He really did... kind of want to know.
But he said, "No need."
"Really? This is valuable intel!" Lin You blinked. "Like where you went on your first date, when you first held hands, your first-"
"Lin You."
"Okay, okay, I won't." Lin You pouted. "But you know, Dad, you and Mom are really close in the future! Though you do argue sometimes..."
She paused, then suddenly laughed as though remembering something funny. "Oh, right! You and Mom got along so well after you got married."
She tilted her head as she recalled it. "Sometimes when I got up for water at night, I could hear noises from your room... and the bed creaking."
Lin Shuo shot to his feet.
His face reddened visibly, his ears turning so red they looked ready to bleed.
"You... you..."
"Huh? What's wrong, Dad?" Lin You looked completely innocent. "Did I say something wrong?"
Lin Shuo took a deep breath, then another.
"Lin You." His voice came through gritted teeth. "Were you... peeking?"
"I wasn't peeking!" Lin You raised a hand and swore.
Lin Shuo closed his eyes.
His mind raced:
First, my future self married Yuzuha.
Second, married life was... very harmonious.
Third, that little brat Lin You actually...
Lin You edged closer cautiously. "Are you mad?"
Lin Shuo opened his eyes, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly spinning in his pupils.
"Starting tomorrow." His voice was calm, frighteningly so. "Double training."
"Huh-?!"
"Why?!" Lin You wailed.
"Because you lack a basic sense of privacy and morality." Lin Shuo's face was expressionless. "Also, you are not to say another word about the 'future' without my permission."
"B-but-"
"Keep talking, and I'll double it again."
Lin You wilted.
Hugging the cushion, she muttered, "Why are you being so mean... I was only trying to help..."
"Help?" Lin Shuo raised an eyebrow. "Like that?"
"Then... there was another time!" Lin You suddenly looked up, as though remembering something important. "Once, I found a box of little balloons in a drawer in your room! Pink ones. I thought they looked fun, so I took one to blow up-but no matter what I did, it wouldn't get big, so I popped it..."
Her voice grew quieter and quieter, because Lin Shuo's face had already turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
"You... popped what?"
"That balloon that wouldn't blow up." Lin You shrank back.
Lin Shuo felt his temples throbbing.
He suddenly felt very sorry for his future self-not only did he have to deal with that little devil Yuzuha every day, he also had to watch out for all his daughter's "god-tier plays."
How did I live like that?
"Lin You." He spoke with unprecedented seriousness. "Listen carefully."
"O-okay..."
"First, no more eavesdropping or peeking into your parents' private lives."
"Got it..."
"Second, no more messing with things in your parents' room."
"Got it..."
"Third." Lin Shuo drew a deep breath. "As for me and Yuzuha... and the future, this ends here. No more bringing it up, no more asking questions, and certainly no more... 'wingman' efforts of any kind."
Lin You blinked. "But Dad, don't you really like Mom?"
"...That's my business."
"But Mom really likes you too!"
Lin You stood up, looking straight at Lin Shuo with her Two-Tomoe Sharingan. "At the beach today, when Mom looked at you, her eyes shone so, so brightly! Like... like she was looking at the most precious treasure in the whole world!"
Lin Shuo froze.
"And Dad, you kept looking at Mom today too."
Lin You continued, "Even though you pretended to be looking at the sea, the sky, or something else... Sharingan can sense each other. I could feel that your gaze was focused on Mom the whole time."
She walked up to Lin Shuo and looked up, her expression unusually serious. "Dad, you never tell other people about your past, right? But you told Mom. What does that mean? It means Mom is already someone very, very important to you."
Lin Shuo looked at her silently.
This eight-year-old girl was sometimes as innocent as a little kid, and sometimes frighteningly perceptive.
"Lin You." At last, he spoke, his voice soft. "I know you mean well. But..."
He crouched to meet her eyes. "Feelings need to take their natural course. Pushing too deliberately can make people pull back instead. Do you understand?"
Lin You thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah... like cooking ramen? If the heat's too high, the noodles turn mushy. If it's too low, they turn gummy. It has to be just right."
"...Not a bad analogy."
"So you mean I should stop being the 'high heat,' right, Dad?"
"Right."
"Then..." Lin You's eyes shifted. "Can I be the 'low heat'? A slow simmer, letting the flavor come out naturally~"
The corner of Lin Shuo's mouth twitched. "...Suit yourself."
"I promise!" Lin You raised three fingers.
"I'll never do that sort of thing again."
Lin Shuo said, "...You're missing the point."
"Hehe~"
Lin You flung herself into Lin Shuo's arms and buried her face against his chest. "Dad, I actually know I was wrong. Mom taught me about it afterward in the future too. She said privacy was important, and I shouldn't interfere in grown-ups' business... I just... wanted so badly to see you together."
Her voice was muffled. "Because Mom and Dad really are happy in the future.
"You open the shop together every morning and come home together at night. Sometimes you argue, but you make up quickly... Mom secretly gives Dad double chashu in his ramen, and Dad helps Mom sort out Kaidan House's accounts... Watching you like that, I thought, 'Oh, so this is home.'"
Lin Shuo's hand froze in midair, then slowly lowered to pat her back gently.
"So I thought, if I could help the Dad of now understand his feelings sooner and win Mom over sooner... wouldn't you get so many more happy years together?"
Lin You lifted her head, tears glistening in her green eyes. "Dad, I wasn't trying to cause trouble. I just... wanted you to take fewer detours."
Lin Shuo looked at her for a long time, then sighed.
"Silly girl."
He picked Lin You up-an eight-year-old child, so light.
"The road ahead only means something if you walk it yourself."
He carried her toward the bedroom. "Besides... who said the me of now doesn't understand his own feelings?"
Lin You's eyes lit up. "Dad, you-"
"Go to sleep." Lin Shuo set her on the bed and tucked her in. "Tomorrow's training is still doubled."
"Hey-no fair!"
"Because your punishment for saying the wrong things hasn't been canceled."
"Stingy Dad!"
"Say whatever you like."
Lin Shuo switched off the main light, leaving only the night-light on.
At the door, he paused.
"...Lin You."
"Hmm?"
"Thank you."
Lin You stared for a moment.
Then she smiled, like a cat that had stolen a fish.
"You're welcome, Dad~ Good night!"
"Good night."
The door closed softly.
Lin Shuo returned to the living room, sat on the couch, and turned on the television-still not watching it.
Lin You's words echoed in his mind.
"When Mom looked at you, her eyes shone so, so brightly."
"Like she was looking at the most precious treasure in the whole world."
He raised his hand and looked at his palm.
The place Yuzuha's fingertips had touched at the beach that day.
It seemed... some warmth still lingered.
[System notification: Key conversation "The truth of the future" completed. Lin You's emotional understanding of the host has deepened. A substantial increase in the host's emotional certainty toward Ukinami Yuzuha has been detected. Main quest "Win over Ukinami Yuzuha" current progress: 38.7%. Reward: Ōtsutsuki Fragment (partial) issued. Additional reward: Memory Recall ability (limited time)-allows brief viewing of future memory fragments related to Ukinami Yuzuha (requires Lin You's cooperation).]
Without him noticing, the progress bar had already passed the one-third mark.
And as Lin Shuo looked at the system interface, for the first time, he did not find it a hassle.
He switched off the television and walked to the window.
Outside, the second-floor window of Kaidan House was still lit.
He could vaguely make out the red-haired girl's figure moving by the window-she was tidying things up, or writing in her diary.
Lin Shuo watched for a while, then drew the curtains.
He washed up and went to bed.
When he closed his eyes, the image that surfaced in his mind was Yuzuha in a red swimsuit, smiling and waving to him by the sea.
"What a hassle..."
He murmured to himself.
But a smile lingered at the corners of his mouth, one he had not even noticed.
In the next room.
Hugging Little Shukaku, Lin You "saw" the smile on Lin Shuo's face through the wall with her Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
She smiled too.
"Little Shukaku, Daddy finally gets it~"
"Pooji~"
"But double training is so tiring... I'll have to beg Daddy to go easy on me tomorrow..."
"Pooji, pooji!" Little Shukaku patted her cheek with his paw, as though comforting her.
"Hehe, but it's worth it!" Lin You closed her eyes. "For Mommy and Daddy's happiness, what's a little hardship~"
She soon fell asleep.
In her dream, she saw a day in the future-
The wall between Kaidan House and the ramen stall had been knocked through.
Daddy was cooking ramen in the kitchen, and Mommy was selling gray porcelain crafts at the counter.
And her? She seemed to have grown up and was helping take customers' orders.
The sunshine was lovely.
Everyone was smiling.
It was a very ordinary, very happy dream.
And in the master bedroom, Lin Shuo had a dream too.
In his dream, Yuzuha wore white-not a wedding dress, just a simple white dress.
She stood in front of the ramen stall and said with a smile, "Lin Shuo, starting today, I'm the lady boss here~ Please take good care of me."
Then she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
The touch felt so real.
So real that... Lin Shuo woke up.
Three in the morning.
Outside the window, moonlight flowed like water.
He sat up and touched his cheek.
"...Damn it."
I must have caught it from that girl Lin You.
He lay back down, but tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Finally, he took out his phone and opened a shopping app.
He searched for certain keywords-then immediately deleted his search history.
...What am I doing?
He tossed his phone aside and covered his face with his pillow.
But his ears were burning red.
That night, many people in Lumina Square did not sleep well.
On the second floor of Kaidan House, the red-haired girl wrote and doodled in her diary, occasionally resting her chin in her hand and staring into space.
The ramen stall owner tossed and turned in bed, his mind filled with swimsuits and white dresses.
A certain brat who called herself his daughter from the future grinned foolishly in her dreams, drooling all over Little Shukaku.
And on the system interface, in a corner no one saw, the progress bar quietly crept forward a little more.
[Current progress: 39.1%.]
There was still a long way to go before 100%.
(PS: Boohoo, just as I expected, this chapter got taken down, and lots of the good stuff had to be cut...)