"Sorry to trouble you," Mrs. Yamanaka said, looking at Xia Li, who was breathing lightly yet showed no sign of fatigue. She was a little surprised—his physical condition was remarkably good.
"It's no trouble at all. I should be thanking Mr. Yamanaka for his guidance," Xia Li replied.
"That's right, Mom. See? Xia Li said so," Ino added immediately. Hearing this, she somehow felt that Xia Li looked even better than before.
Mrs. Yamanaka shot Ino an annoyed look and said, "Don't be so blunt. Just call her Ino. That's fine. Wait here for a moment—I'll help you arrange things. Don't refuse."
Xia Li fell silent for a moment, then nodded. Since she had already said so much, he had little reason to refuse.
Soon, Mrs. Yamanaka came out holding a carefully decorated bundle of carnations.
Xia Li froze slightly. He clearly remembered buying only one.
"Alright, here you go," Mrs. Yamanaka said when she saw him hesitate. "Consider the rest a birthday gift from Ino and me to your mother."
"Yes, Xia Li—take them," Ino said beside him.
"Thank you," Xia Li said as he accepted the flowers. "Then I'll be heading off."
"See you at school tomorrow, Xia Li," Ino waved to him.
"See you at school."
Mrs. Yamanaka held Ino's hand and watched Xia Li's departing figure, letting out a soft sigh. What a good child.Still, her expression was a little strange—he didn't really feel like a child at all.
The next moment, Mrs. Yamanaka laughed at her own thoughts. What was she thinking? Were all of Ino's classmates adults instead of children?
Shaking her head, she led Ino back into the shop. Even if Xia Li didn't mind, she still needed to scold Ino a bit—wasting someone else's time was impolite and could cause trouble for others.
That evening, Mrs. Yamanaka told her husband, Haiichi, about what had happened during the day when he finally returned home from work.
After hearing it, Yamanaka Haiichi said thoughtfully, "I think I know him. He should be the son of one of my classmates."
Mrs. Yamanaka's interest was piqued at once.
Haiichi thought for a moment and said, "Both of his parents were my classmates. His father passed away before he was born, and his mother works at Choza's barbecue restaurant. Since I know him, I think he'll be fine. I've also heard she works very hard and hasn't caused Choza any trouble."
"So that's how it is," Mrs. Yamanaka sighed. "No wonder he's so sensible."
"It seems you really like that kid," Haiichi said, noticing her expression.
"Of course. Who wouldn't like a well-behaved child?"
Xia Li's Home
The cake was already set out, the room neatly cleaned—everything was ready, just waiting for his mother to come home.
Thinking of this, Xia Li formed another hand seal.
"Shadow Clone Technique."
The shadow clone exchanged a glance with Xia Li, then left the house. Its job was to keep watch on his mother's return. Once Xia Li received the signal, he would light the candles.
Waiting until midnight was out of the question.
After a while, information suddenly flowed into Xia Li's mind. He understood—the clone had spotted Sinai on her way back and dispelled itself.
Xia Li opened the box. The cake was intact. He lit the candles.
Looking around, he felt the room was still a little too bright. After a moment's thought, he pulled the curtains closed. The room instantly took on a mysterious air, illuminated only by flickering candlelight.
Sinai walked home as usual, thinking about what to cook for dinner. She didn't even realize today was special.
After all, it had been so many years since anyone celebrated this day with her. She herself had long since forgotten it.
Xia Li was now attending the Ninja Academy—his appetite would surely grow. She decided to prepare a hearty meal.
Lost in thought, Sinai reached the front door. Seeing it closed, she didn't think much of it—Xia Li was probably still out playing.
She took out her key, unlocked the door, and stepped inside.
The next instant, she froze.
In the dim room, candlelight flickered. Beneath it stood a birthday cake she hadn't seen in years. And beside it—
"Mom, happy birthday."
Xia Li smiled as he handed the flowers to her.
Sinai took the bouquet in a daze, standing there motionless.
"Mom, come make a wish and blow out the candles," Xia Li said softly, glancing at the still-burning flames.
The next moment, he was pulled into a tight embrace. Warm tears soaked his shoulder, and his body stiffened.
Though he had lived over twenty years in his previous life, he still didn't fully understand why this moment made him want to cry. He knew it was joy—but was a birthday really supposed to be this overwhelming?
Still, Xia Li understood one thing clearly: now was not the time to speak. All he needed to do was wait quietly and let Sinai release her emotions.
Looking at his mother, Xia Li made a silent vow. Every year from now on, he would come back to celebrate this day with her.
Sinai wasn't overwhelmed because of the simple cake. What moved her was Xia Li's blessing—and the flowers. In that instant, the pressure and persistence of carrying the family alone for so many years finally received the most perfect answer.
Her effort hadn't been in vain.
Thankfully, she hadn't given up back then. Thankfully, she hadn't followed him away and left Xia Li behind. And thankfully, Xia Li had always been so sensible. If he had been a troublesome child, she might truly have collapsed under the weight.
These tears were tears of release, accumulated over many years—and tears of joy at finally finding meaning in her perseverance.
The past was over. Now, all she wanted was to watch her child grow up safely.
After a long while, Xia Li remained still, waiting quietly. Finally, he glanced at the candles and spoke softly.
"Mom… the candles are almost burned out."
"Yes," Sinai said gently as she let go of him. "Mom already made a wish. And it's come true."
"Then… how about making another wish? One that hasn't come true yet," Xia Li suggested after a moment's thought.
Sinai smiled at once. "Alright."
She walked up to the cake and closed her eyes. After a short while, she opened them again and blew out the nearly burned-out candles.
I wish Xia Li can live safely and peacefully all his life—and one day find a kind, beautiful girlfriend. It would be even better if I could have a chubby little grandchild someday.
Chapter 15: Shadow Clone Technique
The next day, after the weekend ended, Xia Li's shadow clone arrived at school as usual. It walked toward its seat, blending in as one of the class's "invisible" students, sitting beside Uzumaki Naruto. Someone was probably looking for him.
Xia Li himself was in good spirits. Every day, he quietly absorbed knowledge. He hadn't even finished all the academy textbooks yet. After that, he planned to borrow additional books from Iruka-sensei.
As a ninja instructor, Iruka surely knew many books useful to shinobi—even if they weren't part of the official curriculum.
"Good morning, Xia Li!"
Just then, he heard a voice. He stopped and turned his head, seeing Ino waving at him with a bright smile.
"Good morning, Ino," Xia Li replied with a nod and a smile. He felt genuinely happy—being cared about felt good.
The surrounding students were a little surprised. Since when had these two gotten so close? Still, no one made a fuss about it.
Xia Li sat down at his seat and glanced at the empty chair beside him, sighing lightly. Naruto would probably greet him too—eventually.
But for someone who was always late, could Xia Li really expect Naruto to arrive before him?
As expected, Naruto arrived late again today, panting heavily—he had probably overslept.
"Good morning," Xia Li said without looking up, flipping a page once Naruto sat down.
"Good morning!" Naruto looked delighted. After all, few people greeted him like this. He wanted to be closer to Xia Li too, but seeing how seriously Xia Li studied every day, he didn't want to interrupt him with trivial matters.
Class began quickly. Although Xia Li already understood the material, he listened attentively.
Whenever he heard a different perspective, he would set aside his book and focus. If the insight was particularly sharp, he would carefully write it down.
These were all unavoidable steps on the path to becoming stronger. Even though he knew the original story and many high-level techniques, for Xia Li, they were still castles in the air.
What he was doing now was laying the foundation. One day, when that foundation was fully solid, the returns would be unimaginable.
Soon, class ended and extracurricular training began. Iruka usually observed these sessions. Xia Li closed his book and stood up.
Naruto followed him—but this time, Xia Li's path was different.
"Xia Li, where are you going? Training's over there," Naruto asked, confused.
"I'm going to the bathroom. You go ahead," Xia Li replied, rubbing his temple slightly. If Naruto kept following him, how was he supposed to coordinate with his real body? He needed somewhere private to dispel the clone.
"Oh… okay." Naruto scratched his head and agreed.
Finally, Xia Li entered the bathroom, confirmed no one was around, and dispelled the shadow clone in a puff of white smoke.
Meanwhile, the real Xia Li smoothly slipped into the school grounds, finding a hidden spot. He felt at ease.
Practice really was everything—the clone's remaining duration had been short anyway. He had wanted to come earlier, but after smelling the sweat on himself, he'd rushed home to clean up first.
Now, all the day's gains from the shadow clone flowed back to him. He had also seen Ino and felt the clone's emotions when greeting her. Shadow clones were like that—the main body was no different. At their core, they were independent yet identical.
In good spirits, Xia Li headed toward the training grounds. His experiment with shadow clones had been a great success.
He wasn't thinking anything inappropriate about Ino—at least, not now. After all, he was a soul in his twenties. To him, six-year-old Ino was just a child.
Besides, in his previous life he was a BLHX player—he had nothing to do with lolicon tendencies.
As for whether his trained body could handle extracurricular activities?
To Xia Li, the intensity of academy training counted as rest.
"Xia Li, you're finally back! What took you so long?" Naruto complained when he saw him.
"…I wasn't feeling well," Xia Li said, turning his head away. He couldn't exactly tell the truth. Once he got better at switching, things would be faster.
"If you're not feeling well, you should rest more," Ino suddenly said from nearby.
"Mm. I know," Xia Li nodded.
"As long as you know," Ino said with satisfaction before running off when her group called her.
Naruto looked at Xia Li with obvious envy.
"Don't envy me," Xia Li said, glancing at several other so-called 'background' students. "There are actually a lot of people in class who don't mean you any harm. You just haven't had the chance to connect with them yet."
"Really?" Naruto scratched his head, looking around uncertainly.
Xia Li sighed. In truth, it wasn't malice—more likely their parents had warned them not to get too close to Naruto. After all, they knew the truth.
If Xia Li were a parent who didn't know the full story, would he let his child approach Naruto?
The answer was obvious.
Then Xia Li noticed a lazy figure nearby. After a moment's thought, he said:
"For example… that guy."
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