In the end, Fugaku still couldn't win against his wife and obediently paid the bill.
What made it even worse for him was this—
Ryan didn't even say thank you to him.
Every word of gratitude went straight to Mikoto.
So not only had he been angered, injured, and lectured…
He'd also had to foot the bill.
Fugaku was furious.
For the next few days, he decided he absolutely would not see that damn brat again.
The disgruntled father turned and headed back into the house in a huff. Even Mikoto found him a little funny.
A grown man, getting jealous of his own child.
She watched her husband leave, then turned her gaze back to the courtyard, where three people were transplanting sunflowers.
She barely paid attention to Sasuke.
Instead, her eyes kept drifting toward the Yamanaka girl and Ryan, and before she knew it, she was wearing a full-blown auntie smile.
"Did you remember everything I said?"
Ino held a small gardening trowel, explaining transplanting techniques to Ryan as she worked.
When she talked about something she was good at, she became visibly more confident. Her voice was no longer as soft and hesitant as before.
Still, she didn't dare meet Ryan's eyes.
"I remember," Ryan nodded seriously.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed sweat-dampened strands of hair clinging to Ino's forehead. He suddenly remembered that he hadn't returned her handkerchief earlier.
Reaching into his pocket, he took it out and held it in front of her.
"Want to take a break?"
There was still plenty of time before sunset, and with Ino's help they were already halfway done. It wasn't urgent.
He wasn't some heartless employer.
"Okay!"
Ino froze for a moment when she saw the handkerchief, then accepted it and held it to her chest like a treasure.
She set down the trowel. Mikoto immediately stepped forward, led her inside, and brought out tea and snacks.
The moment the blond woman left, Sasuke casually tossed the trowel aside and plopped down on the ground.
He'd already used Shadow Clones earlier, and his chakra reserves were heavily drained. On top of that, he'd only just learned the technique.
Not wanting to lose face in front of that blond girl, he'd forcibly maintained the clones to their limit.
After the clones dispersed, the exhaustion hit him harder than training at the kennels ever had.
Ryan kept working. When he noticed Sasuke resting, he immediately spoke up.
"Sasuke, hurry up. You're too slow."
Uchiha Sasuke: ?
Sasuke was completely stunned.
He didn't say a word—just raised his arm and angrily pointed toward the house.
His expression screamed injustice.
That woman gets to rest—
Why don't I?!
"If you're this tired just from using Shadow Clones," Ryan said seriously,
"how are you supposed to get stronger in the future?"
Ryan meant it sincerely.
Sasuke, however, felt personally targeted.
That's enough already…
It's just planting flowers with Shadow Clones. Why make it sound like real training?
He could just train properly tomorrow.
Normally, Sasuke would've argued back a bit, then begrudgingly lowered his head and kept working.
But today, for some reason, the sight of that blond woman filled him with inexplicable irritation.
"I'm done!"
Sasuke's face turned cold. He brushed the dirt off himself, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and walked off toward the training grounds.
He didn't want to waste time here.
Inside the house, Ino had been paying close attention to what was happening outside. Even while chatting with Mikoto, she was clearly distracted.
She kept glancing down at her handkerchief.
When she noticed Sasuke throwing a tantrum again, she immediately stood up and bowed to Mikoto.
"Auntie, I should go help outside after all," she said quickly.
"If my mom finds out I was slacking off, she'll definitely scold me."
Mikoto smiled without saying anything, looking Ino up and down.
Ino's cheeks burned.
"T-then… I'll go back out now!"
She fled in a panic, finally letting out a long sigh of relief once she reached the courtyard.
"Ryan, I'll help instead!"
Sasuke, who had only walked a few steps away, froze the moment he heard that blond voice again.
His brows knitted together in annoyance.
Ryan was busy transplanting sunflowers and hadn't stopped Sasuke earlier—letting the kid cool off a bit wasn't a big deal.
With Ino joining again, their speed increased noticeably.
"Sasuke? Why are you back?"
Ryan turned around in surprise and found Sasuke behind them, wearing a grim expression and working hard.
Not a trace remained of his earlier "I quit" attitude.
Sasuke ignored him and kept his head down.
Though his eyes kept drifting—again and again—toward the blond girl.
Ryan just smiled.
Sometimes, this innocent little brother of his was far cuter than the Sasuke he remembered.
By dusk, with the combined effort of the three of them—and Ryan's Shadow Clones—the sunflower planting was finally complete.
[Congratulations, Host. Task completed!]
[Reward: Special Sunflower ×2]
As the system notification sounded, Ryan looked over the golden courtyard and finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"So beautiful…"
Ino stood among the sunflowers, tiptoeing through the golden sea.
Her golden ponytail swayed as she moved, like a fish swimming freely through water.
After running around for a bit, she suddenly turned to face Ryan.
"Nice to meet you properly!"
"My name is Yamanaka Ino. I'm really happy to have met you today!"
Seeing her bright smile and earnest introduction, Ryan couldn't help but smile too.
"My name is Uchiha Ryan."
"Nice to meet you."
Sasuke: "..."
The two smiled at each other amid the sea of flowers.
Leaving Sasuke alone in the shadows, baring his teeth in frustration.
Are these two sick or something?!
What are you even happy about?!
After an exhausting day, Sasuke felt no joy at all.
He only found that blond girl even more annoying.
With a darkened face, hands in pockets, he lowered his head and walked back to his room.
At that moment, he had absolutely no desire to speak to Ryan.
Not today.
Not tomorrow either.
Ryan didn't notice his brother's mood.
After escorting Ino home, he immediately returned to the courtyard to check the system reward.
Opening the system interface, he saw a sunflower icon in his inventory, with the number 2 in the corner.
It looked… normal enough.
After making sure no one was around, Ryan tapped the sunflower icon.
The instant he did, golden light enveloped him.
A few seconds later, the light faded.
Ryan, now crouching on the ground, suddenly felt his shoulders grow heavy.
On his left and right shoulders—
Two sunflowers had sprouted.
What made his brain short-circuit was this—
Each sunflower had a face.
They were exactly the sunflowers from Plants vs. Zombies!!!
"…But why are they growing on my shoulders?!"
What is this, a Jiraiya cosplay?!
Ryan turned his head and locked eyes with one of the sunflowers.
The next moment, two deep, masculine voices echoed in his ears—
"🎵 Jiangnan Leather Factory! Jiangnan Leather Factory has gone bankrupt!"
"🎵 Crazy Thursday! V50 and let me see your strength!"
"..."
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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