Chapter 87
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"Wah, it's Naruto!"
"Naruto, welcome back!"
"Congrats from your recovery!"
A loud cheering sound and noisy greeting quickly smacked his ears the moment Naruto entered the Public Relation's work floor. Left and right filled with beautiful face and delicate appearance of an OL ladies that impatiently offered him their sincere congratulations. Naruto faced it with a slight embarrassment as he rubbed the back of his head and unceasingly returned the courtesy. Some of them even offered their breakfast which he politely rejected since he already ate.
Despite he had only been work for three weeks here, his coworkers behavior on welcoming him is warm and filed with pleasing attitude, such a situation was impossible for him to be remain calm, thus a light redness crept into his face.
After pushed through the crowd of flowers, gently, he arrived at his own desk with a slight relief on his face and soothing breeze came out from his lips.
"Rough morning, handsome?"
The woman who sat across his desk glanced toward him while resting her elbow on the top of her desk, a smirk of playful manner manifested on her smooth face that supported by the back of her palm as her ponytail fell gracefully into her back.
"Morning to you too, sister Hongyan," Naruto rolled his eyes before expressing his cheeky grin toward the lady in her beige suit.
Zhao Hongyan giggled, "You are really something aren't you? Previously came in fine in the morning then suddenly having an accident in the noon..."
"Well, who can guess, it's called 'Accident' for a reason," Naruto forced a smile, "it's not like I am planning on having one."
"I was worried you know..." out of nowhere, her smile faltered and a sad lights filled the tone of her eyes, "when I didn't see your figure return even until the work's time over, I am filled with this fear and creepy feeling of something might happen to you..."
"Sister Hongyan?" Naruto raised his eyebrows, he didn't expect that she will have such an emotion in regard of his welfare.
"I waited, in my desk, for you to return, I sank in my horrendous assumption, predicting that you might never come back," she pasted her forehead on the back of her palm, there is a hurt voice in the midst of her speech.
"Sister Hongyan, I... I don't know you feel that way... I am sorry..." goosebumps reigned over his chest, Naruto is never the person that knew how to comfort a woman from their tearful moment, his best action is usually just let their tears dried out, or he could hug or kiss her in attempt to stop the sadness inside their heart.
But he couldn't possibly do that to her, right? Or he could?
"How cruel for you to do that to me... moreover my heart almost split into two the moment I heard your predicament, it was as if the fate decide to punish me for whatever reason I deserve..." his sensitive ears caught the tone of sobbing, it's faint to anyone but clear as loud as a ringing bell to him.
His expression froze in the spot, along with the numb on his body as he sat on his chair with another silence.
"Naruto, do you want to know what I feel when I see you stroll in from that door with careless expression as if nothing happen?" Her palm no longer idle, they moved and rubbed her eyes.
He didn't answer, merely just stared at his own tight then faced Zhao Hongyan with hopeless expression.
"I... feel... I... feel... relieve... but also hurt and ache... you come in with relaxed face but you don't know what I have been going through to handle with my sorrow..."
"Sister Hongyan, I..." Naruto clenched his hands, he couldn't help but somehow feeling hate for himself. It was because he had exhausted his mental condition along with the depletion of his chakra to its bottom limit that he had no choice but succumbed into a comatose for a few days, it's nothing for him but perhaps that's not easy to deal with other people. Back at the hospital, Ruoxi had tired herself in taking care of him, he noticed it at the first time he opened his eyes and witnessed how she slept in an uncomfortable manner on the chair beside his bed. Her hand still not giving up on holding his. As the CEO, she must have a lot to take care in the company but decided to drop them off in order to stay with him in the hospital. She didn't even show a complexity to such degree when she accompanied her own father.
Jiang Wei also the same, from the fervor she exhibit at their amorous engagement and willingness on letting him do whatever he wanted to her yesterday, she must have a hard time and missed him a lot.
Not to mention Mingyu.
Naruto sighed, but what he unable to comprehend, how the heck Zhao Hongyan also worried about him almost the same as his women, so far the relationship between the two of them just a coworker who happen sharing the same block of the desk. There was no, not a single special moment, that ever occurred among him and her, he understood if she was concerned to him as a friend and coworker. But wasn't her reaction is a bit too much?
Could it be that she has fallen in love with me too?
Oh... is not easy to have handsome face, curse and bless you whoever give me this kind of look.
While Naruto sighed in bitterness of his good-looking fortune, the phoenix like eyes woman in front of him resounded again, "Naruto, do you know... how I feel about you?"
Naruto gulped his throat, it took times for him to come with the term of her confession, there was many to considerate, especially when she already married and he had three women now, he shouldn't carelessly respond to her low mumble tone.
"Sister Hongyan, I don't think this is appropriate, remember that you have a husband..." Naruto spoke out with voice filled with hesitation.
"Naruto... I..." she as if turned deaf toward his suggestion, instead onward on her path of confession, "Naruto..."
"Sister Hongyan..." Naruto's face instantly darkened, he wanted to reject her but struggle with the words that won't hurt her feeling or strain their friendship.
"Naruto, I love..." she snapped her head upward, to Naruto's surprise her expression isn't filled with water poured down from her eyes or face's muscle that winced because of the pain, no sadness or sort, instead, it's bright like a clear sunny day!
"Naruto, I love seeing your expression like that, pfft, ahahaha!" she gaped wide her mouth while pointing her finger at Naruto.
The blonde man widened his eyes for a moment, then the dark on his intensified, it was resembling a bunch of grey clouds that ready to storm down the earth with armies of water. He looked at Zhao Hongyan who tremble in joy and patted her heart through her chest, it didn't cast out the gloomy thought inside his heart. Naruto glanced around his desk, he tore an unused piece of paper, and curled it between his finger.
"Naruto, haha, come on, it just a joke, you don't seriously think I am going to confess at you or something, right?" a spit sounds could be hear from the gap between her lips, it seemed his misunderstanding is a great humor for her like a person who did a stand up comedy.
"Humph," Naruto snorted, he finished curling the paper between his finger, successfully turning it into a ball, then he placed it in front of his nail as the small ball leaned against the body of his thumb.
He snapped his finger and launched the ball forward in the fastest speed it could. Normally, such a toy won't capable to hurt anyone so long it didn't hit human weak spot like their eyes, inside of their nose, or entered their throat.
But the paper ball he launched as if different, as it progress in the air toward Zhao Hongyan, it was covered in a blue pale color. Within less than a second, it arrived on her forehead, and instantly smacked hard against it.
The force wasn't enough to tilt her head backward, but a red mark appeared on it as she yelped at the strange object that stung the part above her eyebrows.
"Yeow!"
Zhao Hongyan closed one eye and abruptly brought up her hand, covering the mark and rubbing them unceasingly. The feeling is similar like got bitten by an ant, it eluded an itchy pain along with a little flavor of soreness.
Naruto didn't pardon her with mercy, he tore up another paper with indifferent face and curled another ball.
"Ah, Naruto, I am sorry, I just playing around..." the woman had felt the fierceness of his paper ball, even cause a bit damage to her smooth skin, thus she couldn't bear another attack.
*Pa!*
"Wu!"
Naruto heartlessly launched the paper and it smacked the back of her palm as she tried to cover her face. He did that on several times more until Zhao Hongyan face filled with bitterness and her hands, along with neck and face had a lot of red mark on them, kinda a hickey, but less amorous.
"Huum..." she had real tears a bit spilled out from the corner of her eyes as it turned moist.
"Do you recognize your mistake?" Naruto squinted his eyes and aimed another paper ball at the poor lady.
"Yes..." Zhao Hongyan cowered under the might of his paper ball.
"What is it?" he pinched the paper ball, ready to commence another assault.
"I won't... I won't joke with you anymore..."
*Pa!*
"Ah!"
Zhao Hongyan brought up her hands and rubbed her forehead. The paper ball somehow accurately hit the same spot over and aver again, thus the red mark started to become really visible to everyone's eyes.
"Wrong answer..." Naruto tore up another paper.
"Hum, how come it's wrong..." she hatefully glare at her blonde colleague, with a hint of fear expressed within the pair of her black iris.
"You can joke all you want, but don't play with a man feeling like that..." Naruto rolled the paper till it became another ball, "remember you are a married woman, you have a status you need to protect, and someone's feeling you need to care about."
"Don't play with things you shouldn't touch."
Zhao Hongyan Widened her eyes, she turned her face downward and stared at her own tight, hiding her expression from Naruto once more.
"What the hell, like you now about me..."
She mumbled with a mosquito tone, but Naruto's ears still picked up what she just say, he didn't startle but merely wrinkled his eyebrows. Naruto dropped the paper on its finger, then he somehow search for something inside his desk.
"Hongyan, do you have a ruler? A metal one would be good," he said while still ransacking his own drawer.
"Do you still want to punish me?" she said without facing him.
"... Yeah, I think you still not receive enough lesson." he said without any care.
There was a brief pause between the couple, then Zhao Hongyan opened one of her drawer and fished a silver colored ruler. It's a standard 30 centimeter's ruler. She offered it to Naruto.
"Here, use it until you satisfied," her voice held with bitterness but no longer any kindness inside.
"Thanks," he grabbed it, turned it up side down for a while, then tapped its head toward his palm. A clear ringing tone entered Zhao Hongyan's ears and she closed her eyes while twitching her face.
The sounds is getting bigger, it was even reached up to the point that her ears started to ring but after some time had passed, no hurt or pain approached her sense.
Yet the sound still created a havoc in the vicinity around their block.
She started fearing other people might hear the sounds and became curious about what occurred in here. Remembering her white skin that smeared with red mark, the other sisters might get a wrong idea of his so called punishment.
She didn't know what he was doing right now. The sounds he made by using the ruler as if someone who sharpened his knife on the grindstone. After a long time of nothing happen beside the sounds of the ruler smacked against a soft meat. She fluttered her eyes open and horrified at the scene she was.
In front of her, Naruto rolled up his sleeve, showing the tanned skin of his forearm. His right hand held the silver colored ruler and it repeatedly hit his arm!
"Naruto, what are you doing?!" Zhao Hongyan unable understood the sudden change in event, how come he was hurting himself like this when he should be angry at her and punished her?
His face remained stoic but it's no longer gloom or dark, it was soft instead, the pair of cerulean eyes stared at her with gentle gaze and faint smile breached the cloudy bitter inside.
"How many times I have hurt you?" he asked gently.
"I... I don't know..." confused at his behavior, she said in stuttering manner.
"Then I won't stop until you remember..." he glanced back at his own arm and unceasingly slapped the metal ruler on it. Unlike her which the mark started with pale color, the one on his arm quickly groomed in red like his blood had rushed into his.
His motion is fast, Zhao Hongyan even saw the ruler went blurry, the smacking sound became horrible at this point that she believe even Chief Mo could hear it from inside her office.
She rose from her seat, glancing turn left and right but found people strangely ignored the thing that just happen inside their block, as if the sound he made is nothing but a breeze air.
Zhao Hongyan frowned but her face quickly changed as she saw Naruto's forearm already blazing red, she bent down and roared, "Stop! Stop! It's fifteen, you shot me fifteen times!"
"OK, then it would be mean that I have to take forty-five times more...." he smiled while closing one eye.
Zhao Hongyan gaped her mouth, then hurriedly spoke, "Why? Why you are doing this? Shouldn't you be punishing me instead?"
"I already punish you..." he lightly said, "this is mine to bear."
Looking at his arm that started to become blue, Zhao Hongyan couldn't hold it anymore, she strode toward his seat and grasped his hand.
"That's enough, I am being stupid and overstep my boundary, I know that I should have act like a married woman more."
"Hongyan, move away, this is got nothing to do with you, it's the punishment I deserve for taking thing too seriously."
Zhao Hongyan shook her head, with an abrupt movement, she placed her own hand atop his bluish mark and she said with strong conviction, "If you continue, then you have to hurt me too!"
Naruto widened his eyes then halted his ruler movement, right few inches away from the back of her palm, he faced her and both stared in intensified gaze.
Time as if froze for them for a while, neither party taking any breath for the occasion, only eyes that remained glue to each other.
After several moment had passed, Naruto took a deep breath and exhaled a mouthful of air, "Why you getting work up over this, my arm just slightly went red."
"Slightly what?! It clearly turned blue like that, we have to take care of it quickly!" her voice filled with an urge.
Naruto shook his head and chuckled, he pushed out two finger and patted her forehead, "I am fine, are you possibly drink too much caffeine last night? You seemed deluded."
"What are you saying, how come you relax like this when I am trying to help you?!" Zhao Hongyan said in a tone full of wrath, this blonde male is a bit hateful didn't he? Here she was worrying about him yet he accused her from speaking non-sense.
"Open your hand and see it for yourself," He laughed a bit.
Zhao Hongyan snorted, her hand abandoned his forearm, she said while glaring at him, "See?! Your wound is-" she paused in the instant as she looked at his arm and it was smooth clean!
She rubbed her eyes and gave it another stare but it stil perfectly clean! She grabbed his arm and turned it upside down while observing it carefully, Yi, how can this be? Did she really see it wrong? But, but, she remembered take nothing strange to eat this morning, also sleep properly last night, how come she imagined thing?
"Hongyan," the male on her left spoke gently, forcing the beige suit woman to glance at him.
"You are beautiful," Naruto said in an alluring tone, making her heart shivered in a great wave, "anyone that become your husband must be truly have a good luck, if your husband fail to see that, then I swear he is worst than a dog."
She almost burst out a chuckle after hearing him dissed her husband, but Naruto quickly cut her reaction, "Even so, even when you have a dog as a husband, he still your life companion, the man of your life, the foothold of your marriage, respect him even if he ignore you, cherish him even if he trash you, there is a treasure at the end of the journey, your suffering will be granted with a fortune."
"All you need to do, is be patient and hold out as much as you can, don't give up till the last drop of your will had gone, no human remain as they are forever, even the hardest diamond can be mold."
She blinked her eyes as she stared at his honest face and his words rebounded inside her consciousness. Their body closed to each other, he sat on his seat and she bent down, holding his arm, Their face only a few inches away from each other. But no lust or a desire flamed on between these two people, only an invisible string of kindness and a group of comfortable atmosphere that colluding both human figure.
"You right..." she smiled and turned her face down, looking at the arm she held, "I guess, I am not making a full effort yet."
She snapped her face toward him, she said while giggling, "You sound like an experience wife you know?"
"Well, with this many beautiful women surrounding me, sooner or later I'll turn into a female..." Naruto bitterly sighed and curled his lips.
"I guess we have started prepare you a pair of skirt and charming trouser then~" she mimicked his motion as she curled her lips.
"It's a joke, right?" he forced a smile and skin turned a little pale.
"Perhaps~" she said, but her eyes stared at him akin to a tiger ready to pounce.
They chatted while still in the same position, until a familiar female voice broke through into the tranquil inside the box.
"What are you guys doing?"
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"Wah, it's Naruto!"
"Naruto, welcome back!"
"Congrats from your recovery!"
A loud cheering sound and noisy greeting quickly smacked his ears the moment Naruto entered the Public Relation's work floor. Left and right filled with beautiful face and delicate appearance of an OL ladies that impatiently offered him their sincere congratulations. Naruto faced it with a slight embarrassment as he rubbed the back of his head and unceasingly returned the courtesy. Some of them even offered their breakfast which he politely rejected since he already ate.
Despite he had only been work for three weeks here, his coworkers behavior on welcoming him is warm and filed with pleasing attitude, such a situation was impossible for him to be remain calm, thus a light redness crept into his face.
After pushed through the crowd of flowers, gently, he arrived at his own desk with a slight relief on his face and soothing breeze came out from his lips.
"Rough morning, handsome?"
The woman who sat across his desk glanced toward him while resting her elbow on the top of her desk, a smirk of playful manner manifested on her smooth face that supported by the back of her palm as her ponytail fell gracefully into her back.
"Morning to you too, sister Hongyan," Naruto rolled his eyes before expressing his cheeky grin toward the lady in her beige suit.
Zhao Hongyan giggled, "You are really something aren't you? Previously came in fine in the morning then suddenly having an accident in the noon..."
"Well, who can guess, it's called 'Accident' for a reason," Naruto forced a smile, "it's not like I am planning on having one."
"I was worried you know..." out of nowhere, her smile faltered and a sad lights filled the tone of her eyes, "when I didn't see your figure return even until the work's time over, I am filled with this fear and creepy feeling of something might happen to you..."
"Sister Hongyan?" Naruto raised his eyebrows, he didn't expect that she will have such an emotion in regard of his welfare.
"I waited, in my desk, for you to return, I sank in my horrendous assumption, predicting that you might never come back," she pasted her forehead on the back of her palm, there is a hurt voice in the midst of her speech.
"Sister Hongyan, I... I don't know you feel that way... I am sorry..." goosebumps reigned over his chest, Naruto is never the person that knew how to comfort a woman from their tearful moment, his best action is usually just let their tears dried out, or he could hug or kiss her in attempt to stop the sadness inside their heart.
But he couldn't possibly do that to her, right? Or he could?
"How cruel for you to do that to me... moreover my heart almost split into two the moment I heard your predicament, it was as if the fate decide to punish me for whatever reason I deserve..." his sensitive ears caught the tone of sobbing, it's faint to anyone but clear as loud as a ringing bell to him.
His expression froze in the spot, along with the numb on his body as he sat on his chair with another silence.
"Naruto, do you want to know what I feel when I see you stroll in from that door with careless expression as if nothing happen?" Her palm no longer idle, they moved and rubbed her eyes.
He didn't answer, merely just stared at his own tight then faced Zhao Hongyan with hopeless expression.
"I... feel... I... feel... relieve... but also hurt and ache... you come in with relaxed face but you don't know what I have been going through to handle with my sorrow..."
"Sister Hongyan, I..." Naruto clenched his hands, he couldn't help but somehow feeling hate for himself. It was because he had exhausted his mental condition along with the depletion of his chakra to its bottom limit that he had no choice but succumbed into a comatose for a few days, it's nothing for him but perhaps that's not easy to deal with other people. Back at the hospital, Ruoxi had tired herself in taking care of him, he noticed it at the first time he opened his eyes and witnessed how she slept in an uncomfortable manner on the chair beside his bed. Her hand still not giving up on holding his. As the CEO, she must have a lot to take care in the company but decided to drop them off in order to stay with him in the hospital. She didn't even show a complexity to such degree when she accompanied her own father.
Jiang Wei also the same, from the fervor she exhibit at their amorous engagement and willingness on letting him do whatever he wanted to her yesterday, she must have a hard time and missed him a lot.
Not to mention Mingyu.
Naruto sighed, but what he unable to comprehend, how the heck Zhao Hongyan also worried about him almost the same as his women, so far the relationship between the two of them just a coworker who happen sharing the same block of the desk. There was no, not a single special moment, that ever occurred among him and her, he understood if she was concerned to him as a friend and coworker. But wasn't her reaction is a bit too much?
Could it be that she has fallen in love with me too?
Oh... is not easy to have handsome face, curse and bless you whoever give me this kind of look.
While Naruto sighed in bitterness of his good-looking fortune, the phoenix like eyes woman in front of him resounded again, "Naruto, do you know... how I feel about you?"
Naruto gulped his throat, it took times for him to come with the term of her confession, there was many to considerate, especially when she already married and he had three women now, he shouldn't carelessly respond to her low mumble tone.
"Sister Hongyan, I don't think this is appropriate, remember that you have a husband..." Naruto spoke out with voice filled with hesitation.
"Naruto... I..." she as if turned deaf toward his suggestion, instead onward on her path of confession, "Naruto..."
"Sister Hongyan..." Naruto's face instantly darkened, he wanted to reject her but struggle with the words that won't hurt her feeling or strain their friendship.
"Naruto, I love..." she snapped her head upward, to Naruto's surprise her expression isn't filled with water poured down from her eyes or face's muscle that winced because of the pain, no sadness or sort, instead, it's bright like a clear sunny day!
"Naruto, I love seeing your expression like that, pfft, ahahaha!" she gaped wide her mouth while pointing her finger at Naruto.
The blonde man widened his eyes for a moment, then the dark on his intensified, it was resembling a bunch of grey clouds that ready to storm down the earth with armies of water. He looked at Zhao Hongyan who tremble in joy and patted her heart through her chest, it didn't cast out the gloomy thought inside his heart. Naruto glanced around his desk, he tore an unused piece of paper, and curled it between his finger.
"Naruto, haha, come on, it just a joke, you don't seriously think I am going to confess at you or something, right?" a spit sounds could be hear from the gap between her lips, it seemed his misunderstanding is a great humor for her like a person who did a stand up comedy.
"Humph," Naruto snorted, he finished curling the paper between his finger, successfully turning it into a ball, then he placed it in front of his nail as the small ball leaned against the body of his thumb.
He snapped his finger and launched the ball forward in the fastest speed it could. Normally, such a toy won't capable to hurt anyone so long it didn't hit human weak spot like their eyes, inside of their nose, or entered their throat.
But the paper ball he launched as if different, as it progress in the air toward Zhao Hongyan, it was covered in a blue pale color. Within less than a second, it arrived on her forehead, and instantly smacked hard against it.
The force wasn't enough to tilt her head backward, but a red mark appeared on it as she yelped at the strange object that stung the part above her eyebrows.
"Yeow!"
Zhao Hongyan closed one eye and abruptly brought up her hand, covering the mark and rubbing them unceasingly. The feeling is similar like got bitten by an ant, it eluded an itchy pain along with a little flavor of soreness.
Naruto didn't pardon her with mercy, he tore up another paper with indifferent face and curled another ball.
"Ah, Naruto, I am sorry, I just playing around..." the woman had felt the fierceness of his paper ball, even cause a bit damage to her smooth skin, thus she couldn't bear another attack.
*Pa!*
"Wu!"
Naruto heartlessly launched the paper and it smacked the back of her palm as she tried to cover her face. He did that on several times more until Zhao Hongyan face filled with bitterness and her hands, along with neck and face had a lot of red mark on them, kinda a hickey, but less amorous.
"Huum..." she had real tears a bit spilled out from the corner of her eyes as it turned moist.
"Do you recognize your mistake?" Naruto squinted his eyes and aimed another paper ball at the poor lady.
"Yes..." Zhao Hongyan cowered under the might of his paper ball.
"What is it?" he pinched the paper ball, ready to commence another assault.
"I won't... I won't joke with you anymore..."
*Pa!*
"Ah!"
Zhao Hongyan brought up her hands and rubbed her forehead. The paper ball somehow accurately hit the same spot over and aver again, thus the red mark started to become really visible to everyone's eyes.
"Wrong answer..." Naruto tore up another paper.
"Hum, how come it's wrong..." she hatefully glare at her blonde colleague, with a hint of fear expressed within the pair of her black iris.
"You can joke all you want, but don't play with a man feeling like that..." Naruto rolled the paper till it became another ball, "remember you are a married woman, you have a status you need to protect, and someone's feeling you need to care about."
"Don't play with things you shouldn't touch."
Zhao Hongyan Widened her eyes, she turned her face downward and stared at her own tight, hiding her expression from Naruto once more.
"What the hell, like you now about me..."
She mumbled with a mosquito tone, but Naruto's ears still picked up what she just say, he didn't startle but merely wrinkled his eyebrows. Naruto dropped the paper on its finger, then he somehow search for something inside his desk.
"Hongyan, do you have a ruler? A metal one would be good," he said while still ransacking his own drawer.
"Do you still want to punish me?" she said without facing him.
"... Yeah, I think you still not receive enough lesson." he said without any care.
There was a brief pause between the couple, then Zhao Hongyan opened one of her drawer and fished a silver colored ruler. It's a standard 30 centimeter's ruler. She offered it to Naruto.
"Here, use it until you satisfied," her voice held with bitterness but no longer any kindness inside.
"Thanks," he grabbed it, turned it up side down for a while, then tapped its head toward his palm. A clear ringing tone entered Zhao Hongyan's ears and she closed her eyes while twitching her face.
The sounds is getting bigger, it was even reached up to the point that her ears started to ring but after some time had passed, no hurt or pain approached her sense.
Yet the sound still created a havoc in the vicinity around their block.
She started fearing other people might hear the sounds and became curious about what occurred in here. Remembering her white skin that smeared with red mark, the other sisters might get a wrong idea of his so called punishment.
She didn't know what he was doing right now. The sounds he made by using the ruler as if someone who sharpened his knife on the grindstone. After a long time of nothing happen beside the sounds of the ruler smacked against a soft meat. She fluttered her eyes open and horrified at the scene she was.
In front of her, Naruto rolled up his sleeve, showing the tanned skin of his forearm. His right hand held the silver colored ruler and it repeatedly hit his arm!
"Naruto, what are you doing?!" Zhao Hongyan unable understood the sudden change in event, how come he was hurting himself like this when he should be angry at her and punished her?
His face remained stoic but it's no longer gloom or dark, it was soft instead, the pair of cerulean eyes stared at her with gentle gaze and faint smile breached the cloudy bitter inside.
"How many times I have hurt you?" he asked gently.
"I... I don't know..." confused at his behavior, she said in stuttering manner.
"Then I won't stop until you remember..." he glanced back at his own arm and unceasingly slapped the metal ruler on it. Unlike her which the mark started with pale color, the one on his arm quickly groomed in red like his blood had rushed into his.
His motion is fast, Zhao Hongyan even saw the ruler went blurry, the smacking sound became horrible at this point that she believe even Chief Mo could hear it from inside her office.
She rose from her seat, glancing turn left and right but found people strangely ignored the thing that just happen inside their block, as if the sound he made is nothing but a breeze air.
Zhao Hongyan frowned but her face quickly changed as she saw Naruto's forearm already blazing red, she bent down and roared, "Stop! Stop! It's fifteen, you shot me fifteen times!"
"OK, then it would be mean that I have to take forty-five times more...." he smiled while closing one eye.
Zhao Hongyan gaped her mouth, then hurriedly spoke, "Why? Why you are doing this? Shouldn't you be punishing me instead?"
"I already punish you..." he lightly said, "this is mine to bear."
Looking at his arm that started to become blue, Zhao Hongyan couldn't hold it anymore, she strode toward his seat and grasped his hand.
"That's enough, I am being stupid and overstep my boundary, I know that I should have act like a married woman more."
"Hongyan, move away, this is got nothing to do with you, it's the punishment I deserve for taking thing too seriously."
Zhao Hongyan shook her head, with an abrupt movement, she placed her own hand atop his bluish mark and she said with strong conviction, "If you continue, then you have to hurt me too!"
Naruto widened his eyes then halted his ruler movement, right few inches away from the back of her palm, he faced her and both stared in intensified gaze.
Time as if froze for them for a while, neither party taking any breath for the occasion, only eyes that remained glue to each other.
After several moment had passed, Naruto took a deep breath and exhaled a mouthful of air, "Why you getting work up over this, my arm just slightly went red."
"Slightly what?! It clearly turned blue like that, we have to take care of it quickly!" her voice filled with an urge.
Naruto shook his head and chuckled, he pushed out two finger and patted her forehead, "I am fine, are you possibly drink too much caffeine last night? You seemed deluded."
"What are you saying, how come you relax like this when I am trying to help you?!" Zhao Hongyan said in a tone full of wrath, this blonde male is a bit hateful didn't he? Here she was worrying about him yet he accused her from speaking non-sense.
"Open your hand and see it for yourself," He laughed a bit.
Zhao Hongyan snorted, her hand abandoned his forearm, she said while glaring at him, "See?! Your wound is-" she paused in the instant as she looked at his arm and it was smooth clean!
She rubbed her eyes and gave it another stare but it stil perfectly clean! She grabbed his arm and turned it upside down while observing it carefully, Yi, how can this be? Did she really see it wrong? But, but, she remembered take nothing strange to eat this morning, also sleep properly last night, how come she imagined thing?
"Hongyan," the male on her left spoke gently, forcing the beige suit woman to glance at him.
"You are beautiful," Naruto said in an alluring tone, making her heart shivered in a great wave, "anyone that become your husband must be truly have a good luck, if your husband fail to see that, then I swear he is worst than a dog."
She almost burst out a chuckle after hearing him dissed her husband, but Naruto quickly cut her reaction, "Even so, even when you have a dog as a husband, he still your life companion, the man of your life, the foothold of your marriage, respect him even if he ignore you, cherish him even if he trash you, there is a treasure at the end of the journey, your suffering will be granted with a fortune."
"All you need to do, is be patient and hold out as much as you can, don't give up till the last drop of your will had gone, no human remain as they are forever, even the hardest diamond can be mold."
She blinked her eyes as she stared at his honest face and his words rebounded inside her consciousness. Their body closed to each other, he sat on his seat and she bent down, holding his arm, Their face only a few inches away from each other. But no lust or a desire flamed on between these two people, only an invisible string of kindness and a group of comfortable atmosphere that colluding both human figure.
"You right..." she smiled and turned her face down, looking at the arm she held, "I guess, I am not making a full effort yet."
She snapped her face toward him, she said while giggling, "You sound like an experience wife you know?"
"Well, with this many beautiful women surrounding me, sooner or later I'll turn into a female..." Naruto bitterly sighed and curled his lips.
"I guess we have started prepare you a pair of skirt and charming trouser then~" she mimicked his motion as she curled her lips.
"It's a joke, right?" he forced a smile and skin turned a little pale.
"Perhaps~" she said, but her eyes stared at him akin to a tiger ready to pounce.
They chatted while still in the same position, until a familiar female voice broke through into the tranquil inside the box.
"What are you guys doing?"
"Wah, it's Naruto!""Naruto, welcome back!""Congrats from your recovery!"A loud cheering sound and noisy greeting quickly smacked his ears the moment Naruto entered the Public Relation's work floor. Left and right filled with beautiful face and delicate appearance of an OL ladies that impatiently offered him their sincere congratulations. Naruto faced it with a slight embarrassment as he rubbed the back of his head and unceasingly returned the courtesy. Some of them even offered their breakfast which he politely rejected since he already ate.Despite he had only been work for three weeks here, his coworkers behavior on welcoming him is warm and filed with pleasing attitude, such a situation was impossible for him to be remain calm, thus a light redness crept into his face.After pushed through the crowd of flowers, gently, he arrived at his own desk with a slight relief on his face and soothing breeze came out from his lips."Rough morning, handsome?"The woman who sat across his desk glanced toward him while resting her elbow on the top of her desk, a smirk of playful manner manifested on her smooth face that supported by the back of her palm as her ponytail fell gracefully into her back."Morning to you too, sister Hongyan," Naruto rolled his eyes before expressing his cheeky grin toward the lady in her beige suit.Zhao Hongyan giggled, "You are really something aren't you? Previously came in fine in the morning then suddenly having an accident in the noon...""Well, who can guess, it's called 'Accident' for a reason," Naruto forced a smile, "it's not like I am planning on having one.""I was worried you know..." out of nowhere, her smile faltered and a sad lights filled the tone of her eyes, "when I didn't see your figure return even until the work's time over, I am filled with this fear and creepy feeling of something might happen to you...""Sister Hongyan?" Naruto raised his eyebrows, he didn't expect that she will have such an emotion in regard of his welfare."I waited, in my desk, for you to return, I sank in my horrendous assumption, predicting that you might never come back," she pasted her forehead on the back of her palm, there is a hurt voice in the midst of her speech."Sister Hongyan, I... I don't know you feel that way... I am sorry..." goosebumps reigned over his chest, Naruto is never the person that knew how to comfort a woman from their tearful moment, his best action is usually just let their tears dried out, or he could hug or kiss her in attempt to stop the sadness inside their heart.But he couldn't possibly do that to her, right? Or he could?"How cruel for you to do that to me... moreover my heart almost split into two the moment I heard your predicament, it was as if the fate decide to punish me for whatever reason I deserve..." his sensitive ears caught the tone of sobbing, it's faint to anyone but clear as loud as a ringing bell to him.His expression froze in the spot, along with the numb on his body as he sat on his chair with another silence."Naruto, do you want to know what I feel when I see you stroll in from that door with careless expression as if nothing happen?" Her palm no longer idle, they moved and rubbed her eyes.He didn't answer, merely just stared at his own tight then faced Zhao Hongyan with hopeless expression."I... feel... I... feel... relieve... but also hurt and ache... you come in with relaxed face but you don't know what I have been going through to handle with my sorrow...""Sister Hongyan, I..." Naruto clenched his hands, he couldn't help but somehow feeling hate for himself. It was because he had exhausted his mental condition along with the depletion of his chakra to its bottom limit that he had no choice but succumbed into a comatose for a few days, it's nothing for him but perhaps that's not easy to deal with other people. Back at the hospital, Ruoxi had tired herself in taking care of him, he noticed it at the first time he opened his eyes and witnessed how she slept in an uncomfortable manner on the chair beside his bed. Her hand still not giving up on holding his. As the CEO, she must have a lot to take care in the company but decided to drop them off in order to stay with him in the hospital. She didn't even show a complexity to such degree when she accompanied her own father.Jiang Wei also the same, from the fervor she exhibit at their amorous engagement and willingness on letting him do whatever he wanted to her yesterday, she must have a hard time and missed him a lot.Not to mention Mingyu.Naruto sighed, but what he unable to comprehend, how the heck Zhao Hongyan also worried about him almost the same as his women, so far the relationship between the two of them just a coworker who happen sharing the same block of the desk. There was no, not a single special moment, that ever occurred among him and her, he understood if she was concerned to him as a friend and coworker. But wasn't her reaction is a bit too much?Could it be that she has fallen in love with me too?Oh... is not easy to have handsome face, curse and bless you whoever give me this kind of look.While Naruto sighed in bitterness of his good-looking fortune, the phoenix like eyes woman in front of him resounded again, "Naruto, do you know... how I feel about you?"Naruto gulped his throat, it took times for him to come with the term of her confession, there was many to considerate, especially when she already married and he had three women now, he shouldn't carelessly respond to her low mumble tone."Sister Hongyan, I don't think this is appropriate, remember that you have a husband..." Naruto spoke out with voice filled with hesitation."Naruto... I..." she as if turned deaf toward his suggestion, instead onward on her path of confession, "Naruto...""Sister Hongyan..." Naruto's face instantly darkened, he wanted to reject her but struggle with the words that won't hurt her feeling or strain their friendship."Naruto, I love..." she snapped her head upward, to Naruto's surprise her expression isn't filled with water poured down from her eyes or face's muscle that winced because of the pain, no sadness or sort, instead, it's bright like a clear sunny day!"Naruto, I love seeing your expression like that, pfft, ahahaha!" she gaped wide her mouth while pointing her finger at Naruto.The blonde man widened his eyes for a moment, then the dark on his intensified, it was resembling a bunch of grey clouds that ready to storm down the earth with armies of water. He looked at Zhao Hongyan who tremble in joy and patted her heart through her chest, it didn't cast out the gloomy thought inside his heart. Naruto glanced around his desk, he tore an unused piece of paper, and curled it between his finger."Naruto, haha, come on, it just a joke, you don't seriously think I am going to confess at you or something, right?" a spit sounds could be hear from the gap between her lips, it seemed his misunderstanding is a great humor for her like a person who did a stand up comedy."Humph," Naruto snorted, he finished curling the paper between his finger, successfully turning it into a ball, then he placed it in front of his nail as the small ball leaned against the body of his thumb.He snapped his finger and launched the ball forward in the fastest speed it could. Normally, such a toy won't capable to hurt anyone so long it didn't hit human weak spot like their eyes, inside of their nose, or entered their throat.But the paper ball he launched as if different, as it progress in the air toward Zhao Hongyan, it was covered in a blue pale color. Within less than a second, it arrived on her forehead, and instantly smacked hard against it.The force wasn't enough to tilt her head backward, but a red mark appeared on it as she yelped at the strange object that stung the part above her eyebrows."Yeow!"Zhao Hongyan closed one eye and abruptly brought up her hand, covering the mark and rubbing them unceasingly. The feeling is similar like got bitten by an ant, it eluded an itchy pain along with a little flavor of soreness.Naruto didn't pardon her with mercy, he tore up another paper with indifferent face and curled another ball."Ah, Naruto, I am sorry, I just playing around..." the woman had felt the fierceness of his paper ball, even cause a bit damage to her smooth skin, thus she couldn't bear another attack.*Pa!*"Wu!"Naruto heartlessly launched the paper and it smacked the back of her palm as she tried to cover her face. He did that on several times more until Zhao Hongyan face filled with bitterness and her hands, along with neck and face had a lot of red mark on them, kinda a hickey, but less amorous."Huum..." she had real tears a bit spilled out from the corner of her eyes as it turned moist."Do you recognize your mistake?" Naruto squinted his eyes and aimed another paper ball at the poor lady."Yes..." Zhao Hongyan cowered under the might of his paper ball."What is it?" he pinched the paper ball, ready to commence another assault."I won't... I won't joke with you anymore..."*Pa!*"Ah!"Zhao Hongyan brought up her hands and rubbed her forehead. The paper ball somehow accurately hit the same spot over and aver again, thus the red mark started to become really visible to everyone's eyes."Wrong answer..." Naruto tore up another paper."Hum, how come it's wrong..." she hatefully glare at her blonde colleague, with a hint of fear expressed within the pair of her black iris."You can joke all you want, but don't play with a man feeling like that..." Naruto rolled the paper till it became another ball, "remember you are a married woman, you have a status you need to protect, and someone's feeling you need to care about.""Don't play with things you shouldn't touch."Zhao Hongyan Widened her eyes, she turned her face downward and stared at her own tight, hiding her expression from Naruto once more."What the hell, like you now about me..."She mumbled with a mosquito tone, but Naruto's ears still picked up what she just say, he didn't startle but merely wrinkled his eyebrows. Naruto dropped the paper on its finger, then he somehow search for something inside his desk."Hongyan, do you have a ruler? A metal one would be good," he said while still ransacking his own drawer."Do you still want to punish me?" she said without facing him."... Yeah, I think you still not receive enough lesson." he said without any care.There was a brief pause between the couple, then Zhao Hongyan opened one of her drawer and fished a silver colored ruler. It's a standard 30 centimeter's ruler. She offered it to Naruto."Here, use it until you satisfied," her voice held with bitterness but no longer any kindness inside."Thanks," he grabbed it, turned it up side down for a while, then tapped its head toward his palm. A clear ringing tone entered Zhao Hongyan's ears and she closed her eyes while twitching her face.The sounds is getting bigger, it was even reached up to the point that her ears started to ring but after some time had passed, no hurt or pain approached her sense.Yet the sound still created a havoc in the vicinity around their block.She started fearing other people might hear the sounds and became curious about what occurred in here. Remembering her white skin that smeared with red mark, the other sisters might get a wrong idea of his so called punishment.She didn't know what he was doing right now. The sounds he made by using the ruler as if someone who sharpened his knife on the grindstone. After a long time of nothing happen beside the sounds of the ruler smacked against a soft meat. She fluttered her eyes open and horrified at the scene she was.In front of her, Naruto rolled up his sleeve, showing the tanned skin of his forearm. His right hand held the silver colored ruler and it repeatedly hit his arm!"Naruto, what are you doing?!" Zhao Hongyan unable understood the sudden change in event, how come he was hurting himself like this when he should be angry at her and punished her?His face remained stoic but it's no longer gloom or dark, it was soft instead, the pair of cerulean eyes stared at her with gentle gaze and faint smile breached the cloudy bitter inside."How many times I have hurt you?" he asked gently."I... I don't know..." confused at his behavior, she said in stuttering manner."Then I won't stop until you remember..." he glanced back at his own arm and unceasingly slapped the metal ruler on it. Unlike her which the mark started with pale color, the one on his arm quickly groomed in red like his blood had rushed into his.His motion is fast, Zhao Hongyan even saw the ruler went blurry, the smacking sound became horrible at this point that she believe even Chief Mo could hear it from inside her office.She rose from her seat, glancing turn left and right but found people strangely ignored the thing that just happen inside their block, as if the sound he made is nothing but a breeze air.Zhao Hongyan frowned but her face quickly changed as she saw Naruto's forearm already blazing red, she bent down and roared, "Stop! Stop! It's fifteen, you shot me fifteen times!""OK, then it would be mean that I have to take forty-five times more...." he smiled while closing one eye.Zhao Hongyan gaped her mouth, then hurriedly spoke, "Why? Why you are doing this? Shouldn't you be punishing me instead?""I already punish you..." he lightly said, "this is mine to bear."Looking at his arm that started to become blue, Zhao Hongyan couldn't hold it anymore, she strode toward his seat and grasped his hand."That's enough, I am being stupid and overstep my boundary, I know that I should have act like a married woman more.""Hongyan, move away, this is got nothing to do with you, it's the punishment I deserve for taking thing too seriously."Zhao Hongyan shook her head, with an abrupt movement, she placed her own hand atop his bluish mark and she said with strong conviction, "If you continue, then you have to hurt me too!"Naruto widened his eyes then halted his ruler movement, right few inches away from the back of her palm, he faced her and both stared in intensified gaze.Time as if froze for them for a while, neither party taking any breath for the occasion, only eyes that remained glue to each other.After several moment had passed, Naruto took a deep breath and exhaled a mouthful of air, "Why you getting work up over this, my arm just slightly went red.""Slightly what?! It clearly turned blue like that, we have to take care of it quickly!" her voice filled with an urge.Naruto shook his head and chuckled, he pushed out two finger and patted her forehead, "I am fine, are you possibly drink too much caffeine last night? You seemed deluded.""What are you saying, how come you relax like this when I am trying to help you?!" Zhao Hongyan said in a tone full of wrath, this blonde male is a bit hateful didn't he? Here she was worrying about him yet he accused her from speaking non-sense."Open your hand and see it for yourself," He laughed a bit.Zhao Hongyan snorted, her hand abandoned his forearm, she said while glaring at him, "See?! Your wound is-" she paused in the instant as she looked at his arm and it was smooth clean!She rubbed her eyes and gave it another stare but it stil perfectly clean! She grabbed his arm and turned it upside down while observing it carefully, Yi, how can this be? Did she really see it wrong? But, but, she remembered take nothing strange to eat this morning, also sleep properly last night, how come she imagined thing?"Hongyan," the male on her left spoke gently, forcing the beige suit woman to glance at him."You are beautiful," Naruto said in an alluring tone, making her heart shivered in a great wave, "anyone that become your husband must be truly have a good luck, if your husband fail to see that, then I swear he is worst than a dog."She almost burst out a chuckle after hearing him dissed her husband, but Naruto quickly cut her reaction, "Even so, even when you have a dog as a husband, he still your life companion, the man of your life, the foothold of your marriage, respect him even if he ignore you, cherish him even if he trash you, there is a treasure at the end of the journey, your suffering will be granted with a fortune.""All you need to do, is be patient and hold out as much as you can, don't give up till the last drop of your will had gone, no human remain as they are forever, even the hardest diamond can be mold."She blinked her eyes as she stared at his honest face and his words rebounded inside her consciousness. Their body closed to each other, he sat on his seat and she bent down, holding his arm, Their face only a few inches away from each other. But no lust or a desire flamed on between these two people, only an invisible string of kindness and a group of comfortable atmosphere that colluding both human figure."You right..." she smiled and turned her face down, looking at the arm she held, "I guess, I am not making a full effort yet."She snapped her face toward him, she said while giggling, "You sound like an experience wife you know?""Well, with this many beautiful women surrounding me, sooner or later I'll turn into a female..." Naruto bitterly sighed and curled his lips."I guess we have started prepare you a pair of skirt and charming trouser then~" she mimicked his motion as she curled her lips."It's a joke, right?" he forced a smile and skin turned a little pale."Perhaps~" she said, but her eyes stared at him akin to a tiger ready to pounce.They chatted while still in the same position, until a familiar female voice broke through into the tranquil inside the box."What are you guys doing?"
