Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard -
Chapter 157 - 148 What Can You Do? What Are You Capable Of?_2
Chapter 157: Chapter 148 What Can You Do? What Are You Capable Of?_2
The fingertips wrapped around the slender waist melted the girl’s heart in a ticklish way.
The deep feelings accumulated over the years filled their minds with each other’s company and smiles.
They only wanted to continue their ordinary days together like this.
The sound of the entrance door lock being opened.
"I’m back."
The two people in the bathroom simultaneously opened their eyes, and in the exchange of glances, their gentle purple eyes sparkled with tension.
Mrs. Uesugi, who had just returned from shopping for groceries, changed out of her shoes and muttered to herself about what happened while shopping:
"Meiko is so energetic even when pregnant. I couldn’t eat anything when I was pregnant with Sakura back then. Why is that, because of our constitution?"
"It seems... she was like this when she was pregnant with Hanabi too?"
Some memories were vague.
She placed the umbrella in the stand, took off her shoes from the shoe cabinet, and paused for a moment at the sight of the work heels inside.
"Sakura’s future is stable now, without much to worry about. Should I become a housewife like Meiko?"
"I could laze around every day and help tend to the flowers in Sakura’s garden."
"But staying at home all the time, with not much to do..."
Uesugi Nobuko had just turned 38 years old and was a college classmate of Mrs. Hanamaru next door.
She remembered the time when they attended prenatal classes together.
Sakura and Hanabi were born only seven months apart, and their families weren’t neighbors when they were first born.
"Or should we... have another one?"
This couldn’t be a hasty decision; she must ask Uesugi Kenichi and Sakura for their opinions.
She placed the bag of dinner ingredients on the nearby cabinet and suddenly noticed another untouched bag above it.
Uesugi Nobuko opened the 0.025mm plastic bag to take a look and found some spicy snacks in addition to the fruits and vegetables.
She glanced back at the round-toe little leather shoes she hadn’t noticed at the entrance earlier.
"Did Hanabi come over? But why weren’t these things taken inside?"
"Sakura, Hanabi, are you at home?" she called out into the house.
...
There was no response.
The lights in the living room were off, and no one was on the sofa. Were they in the rooms upstairs?
Could they be sleeping together again?
Uesugi Nobuko put on slippers and casually brought the two bags of ingredients into the kitchen.
At this moment, she saw the light shining from the bathroom’s little corner.
She casually peeked her head in and found Uesugi Sakura just coming out.
"Taking a bath?" Uesugi Nobuko asked casually, placing the two bags on the see-through kitchen cabinet.
"Yeah, just finished bathing."
"After a whole day of competition, you deserve a good soak to relax," Uesugi Nobuko said as she put the newly-bought ingredients into the fridge. "Your Kyudo Club won first place today; that’s impressive! I heard the prize money is quite high."
"Including what the school gave us, it’s around 2 million yen," Uesugi Sakura said casually, with a towel still around his neck.
Uesugi Nobuko smiled, "I’ve never seen you this motivated before. I didn’t expect you to win first place just after joining the club this year. You’re full of energy."
"Mainly because of the money," Sakura explained while thinking of a way to get his mother to leave.
It was embarrassing to be caught taking a bath with little Hanabi.
"It’s actually for Hanabi, right? You’re dating her, so naturally, you want to show your best," his mother said.
"Sort of," Sakura went along with his mother’s words, wondering if it would have been better to stay in the bathroom.
Uesugi Nobuko smiled, turning to close the fridge, "Your father was just like that back then—"
Bang... The sound of the fridge closing.
Her gaze suddenly landed on the washing machine behind Sakura, particularly drawn to the messily placed white stockings.
"..."
Slowly turning her head, the mother smiled and asked Sakura, "Where’s Hanabi?"
"Just finished bathing and resting upstairs," Sakura tried to explain.
"Oh, is that so."
Uesugi Nobuko glanced at the tightly closed bathroom door, her expression kind and gentle.
"Hanabi, are you in there?"
"It’s nothing," Sakura immediately added.
"Went to take a bath together, huh?" Uesugi Nobuko looked again at the messy white stockings, clearly understanding, and signaled to him with her eyes.
"..."
No explanation could be enough.
"You didn’t bully little Hanabi, did you?"
"No."
Mrs. Uesugi continued smiling, "She’s naturally gentle. Although she’s your fiancée now, you should cherish her more."
Uesugi Nobuko spoke with a heavy heart. She knew that the two had been inseparable lately, even going over to the girl’s house to sleep at night.
Two adolescents sleeping together at night, what could they do? What might they be up to?
It wasn’t hard to guess.
"Nothing happened, right?"
Uesugi Sakura noticed his mother’s eyes suddenly filled with worry.
"Really, nothing happened."
"You kept hiding and sleeping together and nothing happened?" Uesugi Nobuko said, "It’s still a bit early; Hanabi is only 15."
As she spoke, she glanced again at the bathroom door.
"Just be sure to be safe."
"..."
After putting away all the ingredients, Uesugi Nobuko smiled at him again, "I must’ve disturbed you. I’ll go over to Meiko’s and sit for a while. She also has some food. When you’re done, come over and have dinner together."
"..."
Uesugi Sakura’s lips twitched slightly, speechless.
"And, definitely be safe," she emphasized again as she walked toward the entrance.
——————
The door opened.
"Sakura, Sakura-kun." Hanamaru Hanabi’s face was flushed as she curled her little hands on her chest, her pink feet stepping on the smooth tiles.
"We’ve been found out," Uesugi Sakura said.
Referring to being discovered in the bathroom together.
"..."
There was a brief silence.
"Did Aunt Nobuko...misunderstand?" Hanamaru Hanabi asked.
"She insists we were bathing together."
"Then... what should we do?" Hanamaru Hanabi lowered her head.
"It’s not a big deal."
Uesugi Sakura walked over and turned on the shower’s hot water again, "So what if they know?"
"But... when Hanabi sees Aunt Nobuko in the future, won’t she be... very... very..."
Hanamaru Hanabi blushed for a long time, not knowing how to describe the way Mrs. Uesugi and her own mother looked at her.
The heat in the bathroom gradually began to fill the air again.
"With our relationship, there’s no need for much explanation, right?"
Uesugi Sakura gently guided her to sit on the small stool beside the bathtub, holding the showerhead in his right hand.
Seeing the girl wrapped in a towel, her pale skin below smooth and tender with only a few droplets lingering.
Uesugi Sakura inexplicably recalled the swimsuit she wore that day.
—The young girl exuding a youthful vibe, her body outlines faintly visible under the snug swimsuit.
...
There he went again.
His fingertips threaded through her damp hair, the warm water cascading over it, congenial and free-flowing.
"After all, it’s just taking a bath."
——————
The overcast clouds were gloomy, and the not-so-bright sky continued to rain.
Uesugi Sakura liked nothing more than stealing moments of leisure by the window during study time.
"The subject-verb agreement of compound subjects."
The young English teacher’s white chalk dashed and zigzagged across the blackboard, writing "and," "both...and."
"When these two words are used to connect compound subjects, the predicate verb is usually in the plural form."
Uesugi Sakura expressionlessly wrote on white paper with a black marker, the writing bold and vigorous.
Calligraphy skills could also include English script writing.
The effect not only enhanced appearance but also drastically increased writing speed.
Is there any calligraphy competition?
After achieving fame, perhaps a written word could eventually be worth its weight in gold.
After class, Uesugi Sakura gathered his books, ready to buy a drink from the vending machine.
"Uesugi!" he hadn’t stood up when Goto Iwao called him.
"What is it?"
"Sports festival! Isn’t the now school-famous you going to participate?"
"That thing is in late June, no rush."
The main reason for his fame wasn’t winning first place in the regional competition, but the news department gossiping about his engagement in the "Kanzaki Togoshi Monthly News."
Now it’s known all over the school.
—Hanabi was very popular at school, especially these past few days.
After all, who wouldn’t like a girl who’s easy to tease and cute?
As for the sports festival, such troublesome and exhausting activities didn’t suit him.
Accompanying Hanabi for painting at the culture festival was much more interesting than that.
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