Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard
Chapter 115: People Who Seem Lazy But Are Actually Very Busy

Chapter 115: Chapter 115: People Who Seem Lazy But Are Actually Very Busy

"Are we really going?" Uesugi Sakura still felt inexplicably strange.

"Why not go?" Mrs. Hanamaru replied with a smile.

"All our high school classmates will be there. I would be bringing..."

Uesugi Sakura thought about it carefully and found nothing wrong, "Forget it, pretend I didn’t say anything."

"Where are we going... exactly?" Hanamaru Hanabi asked, actually having been curious since yesterday.

"To check out the venue for Sakura’s competition, so we can cheer for him when the time comes."

Hanamaru Hanabi swallowed a mouthful of rice and softly asked, "Mom, and Aunt Nobuko are both going?"

Mrs. Uesugi teased, "Sakura said he’s aiming for first place this time. If he makes the finals, we’ll all go to watch."

Mrs. Hanamaru added, "Of course, if Sakura doesn’t even pass the preliminaries, we’ll be disappointed."

"Hey, should we buy a sign with Sakura’s name on it?"

"And add some encouraging slogans," Mrs. Uesugi agreed with the idea, "Sounds great, everyone will see Sakura’s archery then."

"No, absolutely not!" Uesugi Sakura quickly stopped the formation of a "Mom’s Support Team."

"Why not?"

"It’s too embarrassing."

"It’s quite normal. Back when your mom and I were chasing Takuya, we raised the signs high. Everyone did it."

At the mention of Takuya, Mrs. Uesugi became nostalgic about those university days:

"Every time we held them high, squeezing into the crowd, but unfortunately, never got close even once."

Mrs. Hanamaru also reminisced, suddenly sighed, "Later, Takuya suddenly got married. Your mom and I went to the bar and drowned our sorrows, crying our hearts out."

Thinking of the image of the college friends chasing stars together, Uesugi Sakura had a vivid picture in his mind: "Did both of your dads know?"

"What good would it do if they knew? Who knew them back then."

"Such a pity, Takuya, why did he have to get married then?"

"That’s why it’s so annoying."

"Even if it’s annoying, as long as Takuya divorced back then, everyone would forgive him."

"But he didn’t."

"Ah, what a pity."

Both mothers sighed together like young girls.

Uesugi Sakura couldn’t comprehend chasing stars to such an extent. Is it necessary to be so obsessed?

"What do you think, Hanabi?"

Hanamaru Hanabi, quietly eating breakfast, thought Uesugi Sakura was asking if she would become a star chaser.

"I won’t, in Hanabi’s heart, Sakura will always be the coolest."

Hanamaru Hanabi flashed a very beautiful smile.

——————

A cloudless azure sky occasionally has flocks of birds skimming through it.

The green grass below had been trimmed neatly, with archery ranges lined up, making the place seem very spacious.

"Uh... Uesugi, who are these two?" Seisuke Yooya saw two adult women behind Uesugi Sakura besides Hanabi.

Unexpectedly, it seemed like only the club leader came today.

"Hello, I am Sakura’s mother." Even before Uesugi Sakura could speak, Uesugi Nobuko naturally introduced herself.

"Hello, I am also Sakura’s mother," Mrs. Hanamaru half-jokingly said.

"...?"

Uesugi Sakura covered his forehead, "Hanabi’s mom."

Seeing the unmistakably similar eyes of Mrs. Hanamaru and Hanamaru Hanabi, Seisuke Yooya came to his senses, "Hello, both aunties. I’m the Kyudo Club’s head, Seisuke Yooya."

"Thank you for looking after our Sakura."

"It’s not really about looking after, Auntie, Uesugi is a very important member of our Kyudo Club. He’s our main general in this team tournament."

"Being the captain must be difficult. A simple thank you isn’t enough," Mrs. Uesugi said a few courteous words.

Seisuke Yooya smiled awkwardly, "As the captain, I’m not that important, the main work is done by Sugita."

Uesugi Sakura knew his mother was trying to help bridge the gap with the captain, but it was unnecessary.

"Both aunties can follow us for now. Today is mainly for registration, touring and getting familiar with the venue, nothing too important."

"Then we’ll trouble you, Seisuke," Mrs. Hanamaru chuckled softly.

This event organized by the Shinjuku District Kyudo Association uses a short-range shooting format, which involves a 28-meter distance target.

The preliminary competition uses a hit-based system, with five people standing and shooting. The shooting method involves four arrows per person, two rounds in total, making it a 40-arrow elimination match.

In Kyudo competitions, whether individual or team, the shooting order always starts from the first major position, proceeding sequentially.

Thus, a team’s size and the positions of its members must be submitted to the competition supervisors beforehand.

A wide wooden umbrella blocked out a large portion of the sunlight. Ahead and behind were four dazzling green lawns facing the morning sun, shining brightly.

"Speaking of which, this archery range is really big," Mrs. Hanamaru, looking around with curiosity, noticed many young people nearby for registration.

"Sakura, what are those few piles of earth for?"

While observing Seisuke Yooya submitting the registration form to the organizers, Uesugi Sakura turned back to explain:

"Azuchi, used to set up the targets. It’s not yet leveled with a spade, so it looks messy."

"This distance looks really far," Mrs. Uesugi said.

"28 meters, for short-range shooting, it’s not that far," Uesugi Sakura noticed Hanabi looking at him, smiled, and winked at her, "Actually, there are also 60-meter long-range targets."

Seeing his smile, Hanamaru Hanabi was reminded of yesterday’s scenes, shyly ducked her head, and her eyes darted to the bow on her chest.

Her small face, in the bright sunlight slanting in, looked radiant.

Most of those who had come for registration were captivated by her exquisite and cute appearance.

The small actions of the two were clearly seen by Mrs. Hanamaru, but she just smiled at it:

"Speaking of Sakura, how are your skills? I heard you’ve only been practicing Kyudo for a little over a month, and often train Sword Dao with your father at night, is everything alright?"

"It’s fine," Uesugi Sakura replied without any burden.

Although learning Kyudo and Sword Dao is indeed exhausting as both require physical strength and muscle, he saw achieving his goals and then coasting as an option, so it wasn’t too tiring.

With Lv7 reading and 8 intelligence, he can greatly reduce the time spent on studying.

"Kyudo, Sword Dao, and the goal of entering the University of Tokyo, can you manage it all?" Uesugi Nobuko couldn’t help but worry, "You don’t actually need to learn so much."

"Seeing you review every day in middle school, compared to these things, your health is more important."

"It’s not that tiring, Mom, don’t worry too much. Haven’t I been looking quite well recently?"

Mrs. Hanamaru laughed happily, "Anyway, every day spent in love with Hanabi, you’re looking bright and shiny. I can’t tell what’s wrong."

"..."

Uesugi Sakura didn’t know if the smile on Mrs. Hanamaru’s face meant she was being sarcastic or sincere.