Qingyu watched Minato's panicked expression and felt a sudden urge to laugh. He hadn't expected the future Fourth Hokage to have such an overactive imagination! To think that he actually believed Qingyu was harboring some secret interest in Kushina.
"Minato, don't overthink it..."
Qingyu waved his hand, signaling for him to relax, a faint glint of amusement dancing in his eyes.
"How can I not overthink it?!"
Minato's face had become incredibly strange. He stared at Qingyu with a complex gaze, his mind swirling with questions he didn't even know how to phrase.
What do you mean by that? Delivering a baby?
He remembered their previous meeting when Qingyu had leaned in and whispered that his girlfriend was "pretty good." What was going on? Minato's eyes grew wary. Kushina held a massive place in his heart, and he was absolutely not going to let Qingyu—or anyone—interfere or do anything untoward.
"I didn't mean anything weird..."
Seeing Minato turn so serious, Qingyu quickly tried to explain himself. He didn't have many friends in this world. Only Minato was able to bring a flicker of warmth to his otherwise cold and detached heart. Because of that, he didn't just want to keep their bond—he wanted to cherish it.
"I just want to help you," Qingyu explained.
He had realized his mistake. Some things were better left unsaid. After all, Minato had no idea what the future held, and Qingyu couldn't exactly spill the beans about the impending tragedy. Talking was useless. Action was what mattered!
Qingyu made a silent vow: when the time came for Naruto's birth, he would simply find a way to infiltrate the delivery room in secret.
"Your way of 'helping' is certainly unique," Minato's lip twitched.
To be fair, he and Kushina were still in that ambiguous stage where they hadn't fully made their relationship public, even though he already considered her the love of his life. To have Qingyu suddenly offer "maternal and child safety" services was... baffling.
"Hahaha, alright, pretend I didn't say anything. Let's change the subject," Qingyu laughed, waving it off since he knew he couldn't explain the truth. "I have zero romantic interest in Kushina."
Qingyu felt no burden saying that because it was the absolute truth. However, Minato wasn't so sure. When it came to Kushina, his judgment was easily clouded by concern.
"You really don't?"
Minato asked for confirmation. Usually a carefree and composed ninja, he had been completely thrown off his game by a few sentences from Qingyu.
"None, none, absolutely none! You can rest easy," Qingyu smiled, looking Minato in the eye as he joked, "I'd sooner have feelings for you than for Kushina."
"You want to have feelings for me?!"
Minato's eyelids jumped. Like a startled rabbit, he practically bounced off his stool, blue eyes wide with disbelief. He took two steps back, putting a very deliberate distance between himself and Qingyu.
"..."
Qingyu was speechless. He made it look like he was some kind of predator.
"It's not that serious. I was just giving an example. Come back and sit. Let's finish our noodles."
Qingyu gestured for him to return and went back to stuffing ramen into his mouth.
"You... you... you... dammit!"
Minato pointed at Qingyu, clearly out of his depth. He had never dealt with a conversation like this. He eventually sat back down, though—he couldn't resist the lure of the remaining half-bowl of ramen.
But the second half of the meal felt very different from the first. Before, he was enjoying a delicacy in blissful ignorance. Now, he ate while keeping one eye fixed firmly on Qingyu, his focus so intense he almost forgot what the ramen tasted like.
They finished their bowls in a heavy, awkward silence.
"Are you full?" Qingyu asked as he turned to look at Minato, only to find the blonde already staring at him.
"What are you doing now?" Minato asked, his guard up. He hadn't quite figured out Qingyu's "preferences" yet. A handsome boy had to protect himself in the outside world!
"I said I'm treating you, right? If you're not full, have another bowl."
Qingyu looked at Minato's defensive posture with a half-smile. He found the future hero quite adorable when he was being teased like this.
"I'm full."
Minato kept his eyes on Qingyu as he spoke. He realized he didn't know his old friend as well as he thought—especially regarding his personal hobbies.
"Good. Then I'm heading back."
Qingyu nodded and stood up to leave the shop.
"Wait a second!"
Minato called out. He instinctively reached out to grab Qingyu's arm, then remembered the previous joke and snatched his hand back.
Curse my irresistible charm! Minato thought. Being this handsome is a burden. Not only do the girls like me, but even the guys are getting attracted... I have to keep a safe distance.
He took a deep breath and stared at Qingyu's confused face.
"You haven't paid yet!"
"Oh, you've got it wrong," Qingyu said, waving his hand nonchalantly.
"I'm treating. You're paying. That's the division of labor here."
He said it with such a straight face that Minato was momentarily stunned into silence. He couldn't tell if Qingyu was being serious or just messing with him.
"I'm... paying?"
Minato's lip twitched. This did not align with his understanding of the phrase "my treat."
"Yeah."
Qingyu reached into his pockets and pulled them both out. They were cleaner than his face.
"I changed clothes and forgot my wallet."
He spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness. It wasn't a lie—this casual outfit didn't have a single ryo in the pockets.