Chapter 2: The Start of a New Life
"Young Master, it's time to wake up."
Accompanied by the Old Butler's voice, the curtains in the bedroom were pulled open, and a beam of sunlight immediately shone into the slightly dim room. Naruto, lying on the bed with sleepy eyes, also opened his eyes.
"Are you calling me?!" Naruto sat up from the bed, pointing a hand at himself in a bit of a panic. "Old man, have you mistaken me for someone else...?"
"I have not mistaken you, my Young Master."
The Old Butler's tone was flat. Although he was a bit puzzled by Naruto's behavior, his excellent professional conduct kept him calm, and his demeanor showed no sign of impropriety.
"Alright then..." Naruto responded, throwing back the silk quilt and climbing out of bed. He walked curiously to the huge floor-to-ceiling mirror in the bedroom.
"This... this... this..."
Naruto looked at the figure reflected in the mirror, his panic from earlier intensifying. The figure reflected before him wasn't him at all!
The whiskers on his face had completely vanished, replaced by skin as smooth as an egg white. The yellow hair atop his head was also gone without a trace, replaced by thick, smooth black hair. Even the luxurious pajamas he wore were grandly draped over him.
"Did the Young Master have a nightmare last night?"
Seeing Naruto like this, the dutiful Old Butlerapproached with concern to ask. After seeing Naruto shake his head, he smiled, nodded, and clapped his hands.
"Young Master, the Master and the Mistress are both home today. If you're going to have breakfast, please change your clothes before heading out."
Just as the Old Butler finished speaking, the bedroom door was pushed open, and three young women carrying clothes entered in single file.
Naruto, with the mental age of only three, was even more scatterbrained than he would be in his teenage years. After a brief moment of bewilderment, he naturally took all of this as a beautiful dream.
Everything before him was truly a bit too surreal.
Previously, in Konoha Village, he was the unwelcome Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. To say he was loathed by everyone was an understatement; going hungry and cold was a common occurrence.
But looking at things now, the Old Butleraddressed him as "Young Master" at every turn. Not only was he woken up, but he even had young women waiting on him to get dressed. Where else could such a life exist but in a dream?
Although this "dream" was wonderful, being stripped naked and dressed in front of the opposite sex still made Naruto flush with embarrassment and feel quite uneasy.
Fortunately, the Old Butler and the girls serving Naruto were all professionally trained. The strict concept of hierarchy was deeply ingrained in their hearts. No matter how absurdly Naruto behaved, they didn't commit the slightest impropriety.
Everything went on as usual, everything was normal.
"Young Master, this way please!"
The Old Butler noticed his young master's abnormality today. After confirming Naruto was physically fine, he carefully guided Naruto to the dining area.
Naruto naturally complied, his eyes filled with inquiry and curiosity. Following behind the Old Butler, he soon arrived in the spacious dining room to enjoy breakfast.
"Yier is here! Come quickly and sit by Mama!"
As soon as Naruto appeared, the beautiful woman sitting in the secondary seat greeted him with a smile, inviting him to sit. The doting look in her eyes seemed almost tangible, making Naruto's eyes well up with tears.
Where had the three-year-old Naruto ever experienced such treatment? A childhood spent in hardship made Naruto's mind more sensitive. He was far better than his peers at discerning who held goodwill or malice toward him.
Even though there were many doubts—like how this dream felt too real, or how he didn't know this beautiful woman calling herself "Mama," or how the warmth of her hand felt so intense...
"Why is Yier crying?" The beautiful woman, who had pulled Naruto to sit in front of her, noticed the glint in the corners of his eyes. She reached out to wipe them for him, feeling distressed. "Did you not sleep well, or did you have a nightmare just now?"
"Neither..." Naruto lowered his head and sniffled. "I just feel so happy, it feels like all of this is a dream."
"Yier, be good!"
The beautiful woman pulled Naruto into her arms. The tangible doting in her eyes could no longer be restrained. What mother could refuse the "sweet talk" spoken by her own child?
"Ahem, that's enough from you two. It's only been three days!" The middle-aged man sitting in the main seat, who looked seventy percent like the current Naruto, interrupted this touching scene of motherly love and filial piety. "Eat quickly. After finishing, I'll take Yier to meet the new teacher I found for him!"
"Yes, yes, the Master is right!" The beautiful woman nodded repeatedly upon hearing this and smilingly picked up her chopsticks to serve Naruto a piece of food. "This time, your father and I were away for so long just to hire this teacher for you. It won't happen again!"
Naruto nodded, but looking at the food on his plate, he was stumped.
"I haven't learned how to use chopsticks yet..."
"It's okay, Mama will feed you." After saying that, the beautiful woman picked up another piece of food and held it to Naruto's mouth.
"Smack!" The man in the main seat suddenly became unhappy. He dropped his chopsticks and slammed the table. "Look at how you're spoiling him!" The man pointed at the two of them, somewhat angry. "Even if Sun Jiakang's child cannot become a dragon, I won't let him develop the foul habits of being pampered!"
"Oh, stop it!" The beautiful woman reached out and slapped Sun Jiakang's shoulder. "Master, what are you saying? Yier is still small; he hasn't even had his third birthday yet!"
"I'm telling you, Li Jingjing, do you really think the ancestors were joking when they said 'the child is father to the man'?" Sun Jiakang had no intention of stopping. "Let him use the chopsticks himself. If he can't pick it up, then he goes hungry. Skipping a meal or two won't kill him!"
"Sun Jiakang! You...!"
Li Jingjing was so angry she couldn't speak. But in this era, the ideology of male superiority was deeply ingrained. Despite her heartache and reluctance, Li Jingjing gave up on the idea of feeding Naruto.
"I can do it myself!" Naruto's shout startled them both. "I'm going to start now!"
With that, Naruto picked up the plate in front of him and used both hands to grip the chopsticks, shoveling food into his mouth...
But after just two mouthfuls, Sun Jiakang hit Naruto's hand with his chopsticks. It hurt so much that Naruto almost failed to hold onto the plate and nearly dropped it on the floor.
"What are you doing now?!"
"I am disciplining him!" Li Jingjing asked righteously, and Sun Jiakang naturally answered even more firmly. "There is a proper way to sit and a proper way to stand, and naturally, there are rules for eating!"
"Sun Yi, look at yourself now. Is this any way to eat, huh?!" Sun Jiakang grew angrier as he spoke and only stopped after hitting Naruto again. "Hold the chopsticks like your mother does, and pick up the food to put in your mouth! If you can't pick it up, don't eat!"
Naruto pursed his lips, thinking to himself: How can I still feel pain in a dream...
But the food he just ate was truly delicious, much better than braised beef flavored instant noodles...
To eat more delicious food, Naruto endured the grievance in his heart and followed Li Jingjing's example, learning to use chopsticks step by step.
The start of Naruto's new life began dramatically with learning how to use chopsticks.
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