Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard
Chapter 130: Nighttime, the Quiet Moments

Chapter 130: Chapter 130: Nighttime, the Quiet Moments

The sunset ignited the clouds drifting across the sky, making everything under its glow a fiery red during the evening twilight.

The pedestrians on the street wiped the sweat off their foreheads, carrying briefcases, lucky to have finished another day as corporate slaves ahead of time.

The evening glow reddened the cheeks of the young girl, who stood still on a small hill, her gaze passing through the treetops, quietly waiting for the figure walking slowly towards her on the street.

"Sakura-kun."

A gentle breeze swept away the heaviness of dusk, bringing a refreshing coolness to the face.

Uesugi Sakura put down the suitcase in his hand and, seeing the girl’s bright smile like summer fireworks, couldn’t help but smile slightly.

"You could have just waited at home."

"Hanabi wanted to come and meet you," the girl said, her milky white dress fluttering in the wind, with pale flesh-colored white stockings underneath.

"You’ve been standing here for a while; it must be hot, right? Your forehead is all sweaty, and your clothes are soaked."

Uesugi Sakura looked at Hanamaru Hanabi, whose face was gently glowing with sweat, and handed her a small bag, "I brought you some food."

Hanamaru Hanabi carefully took it, holding the bag in front of her skirt with both hands, her voice very soft as she faintly thanked him:

"Thank you, Sakura-kun..."

Every time he heard this soft thanks, Uesugi Sakura would recall her pitiful young self, the way she looked enviously at others playing together all by herself.

Why did no one like her back then?

He adjusted the position of the bow bag on his shoulder, extended his right hand, and gently wiped the sweat from her delicate face:

"Little Hanabi should smile more often."

"Okay."

Having the sweat wiped off her cheeks, Hanamaru Hanabi smiled warmly again.

"Let me take the suitcase, Sakura-kun."

"It’s heavy, you know, there’s a lot of clothes and books in it."

"It’s fine, Sakura-kun, you’ve had a tiring week, let Hanabi share the load with you."

She gazed at his handsome face, motionless, then suddenly looked shy, "Hanabi missed Sakura-kun very much."

Uesugi Sakura handed over the suitcase to her knotted little hand and said with a smile, "Missing me already in less than a week? Aren’t you afraid I’ll sneakily tickle your waist?"

"Sakura-kun... as long as you don’t go overboard..."

——————

Once home, Uesugi Sakura lay directly on his bed, closing his eyes to sleep.

But he suddenly frowned, the sweaty body was too uncomfortable to sleep, so he decided to take a bath first.

The Uesugi Family wasn’t exactly rich, but definitely not poor either.

You could see that from the bathtub that could fit two people.

Uesugi Sakura liked the bathwater to be quite hot, starting with a half-bath to let his body gradually adapt to the water temperature, and then submerging himself completely into the bathtub.

The feeling of the hot water soaking his body made it easy to let out a relaxed sigh.

Uesugi Sakura leaned his head against the bathtub, the incandescent light from the bath heater mingling with the misty steam.

The swirling steam combined with the white light easily stimulated the imagination.

White, hazy.

He already started imagining Hanamaru Hanabi standing shyly at the bathroom door, gently knocking and saying: ’Sakura-kun... can Hanabi come in?’

Then followed by some indescribable shoulder massages and accidental slips and falls.

But fantasies were fantasies after all, and Uesugi Sakura waited for a while but couldn’t make them come true.

With his head soaked in hot water, he suddenly felt a little dizzy, and he remembered the day when they both got drenched in the rain on their way home.

That day, little Hanabi was soaking wet, and the rain-soaked white dress clung to her young body’s curves.

Her hair was in chaos, standing at the doorway under the eaves; his little hand held hers tightly.

If he remembered correctly, that day after she bathed and wore her clothes back home, she didn’t take her intimate apparel back with her.

A moment of silence.

Uesugi Sakura glanced at the basket above and then looked away, shaking his head.

Given Hanabi’s slightly careless personality, she most likely wouldn’t take it back; his mother probably helped wash it.

Coming out of the bathroom, it was already past 8 o’clock.

Uesugi Sakura, wrapped in a gray-blue bathrobe, took a cup of instant noodles from the fridge for dinner.

Why not let Hanabi help with cooking?

Firstly, because they weren’t married yet, Hanabi wasn’t in the role of a wife.

And even if they got married, Uesugi Sakura wouldn’t want to force her to work for him.

He always believed in mutual respect.

—Even in intimate relationships like lovers or spouses, both should still say "thank you" or "sorry" to each other.

Little Hanabi indeed did just that; she never hesitated to express gratitude in front of him.

He turned on the TV, sat on the sofa, silently waiting for the kettle to boil water.

Time slipped away bit by bit, and night had already engulfed this quiet residential area.

The colorful glow from the show illuminated his face, and the kettle neared boiling.

The doorbell rang at this moment.

Uesugi Sakura turned his head, looking towards the entrance, "Hanabi?"

He got up, ready to open the door.

The lights weren’t turned on, so the entire living room was lit only by the light from the TV.

The whole house was rather quietly dark.

Wearing slippers, he walked to the door, just as his hand touched the door handle, feeling its coldness for a split second.

The kettle in the kitchen suddenly made a sharp whistling sound.

The water was boiling.

Uesugi Sakura looked back, only to see the gloomy darkness occupying the majority of the house, the only faint light flickered from the living room.

The cold door handle mixed with the kettle’s noise pierced chillingly into his heart, the noise spreading to his eardrums as if continuously seeping from the dim interior.

Suddenly feeling a wave of cold piercing through his body, Uesugi Sakura instinctively felt a tightness in his chest.

[Miyamoto Musashi’s Legend]

Status: Opening (Remaining time 9:59:59)

Instead of opening the door first, Uesugi Sakura coldly asked through the door.

"Who?"

"It’s... it’s Hanabi... Sakura-kun..."

It seemed his voice frightened her, as a weak voice answered from outside.

"Phew~"

Uesugi Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, pressed down on the door handle, and opened the door.

In the faint shadow of the moon, Hanamaru Hanabi held a food container, looking fearfully at Uesugi Sakura standing in the dark.

"Sakura, Sakura-kun, did something happen?"

Her little hand was tightly clenched.

Uesugi Sakura casually turned on the lights, brightening the entrance instantly.

"Sakura, Sakura-kun, the water’s boiling."

Hanamaru Hanabi cautiously mentioned, upon hearing the kettle’s sound from inside.

"I know."

Uesugi Sakura let her into the house.

She seemed very concerned about his earlier icy tone, her amethyst-colored eyes looked at him, questioning softly, "Sakura-kun... what happened before?"

"Watching TV."

Sakura Uesugi smiled at the girl to reassure her, "School Day, have you watched it?"

"No," Hanamaru Hanabi shook her head.

"It’s a horror film. I just reached a scary part when you rang the doorbell. I was about to open the door when the water boiled."

He nodded to himself.

"Hmm~ It’s quite an atmosphere, too bad Hanabi didn’t bring a knife."

She asked puzzledly, "Hanabi, why bring a knife? Hanabi came to deliver dinner to Sakura-kun, mom made an extra portion for you."

"It’s nothing,"

Sakura Uesugi gestured for her not to mind, then pointed at the living room, smiling, "Would you like to watch a horror movie together?"

Hanamaru Hanabi’s pupils shrank, she shook her little head vigorously.