Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard
Chapter 176 - 164 "Daily Life"_2

Chapter 176: Chapter 164 "Daily Life"_2

Hanamaru Hanabi saw his smile and returned it with a sweet smile: "Sakura, what do you want to eat tonight? I can make anything."

"Let’s have something spicy." Uesugi Sakura zipped up his backpack.

"Sakura, don’t you avoid spicy food? And with your stomach not feeling well... you shouldn’t eat spicy."

"I can handle a little. The important thing is that Hanabi is happy." Uesugi Sakura said as he slung his backpack over his shoulder.

Hanamaru Hanabi’s smile was still so pure and moving: "Then please wait for me at home, Sakura. I’ll be back soon."

"Yes, I will." Uesugi Sakura nodded.

...

Before leaving, he asked if she had encountered anything suspicious recently.

No signs whatsoever.

What is the crisis, really?

Uesugi Sakura kept pondering this question.

Just as he stepped out of the school gate, the phone in his bag rang. He took out his phone and looked at the word "Father-in-law" on the screen.

He answered the call: "Hello."

——————

In the afternoon, Hanamaru Hanabi finished a busy day of classes and packed up her backpack to head home.

"Hanabi-chan, are you heading back together today?" Ayaka Rie asked with a shoulder bag hanging off her shoulder.

"No, no." Hanamaru Hanabi waved her hand with a smile, "I have to go to the supermarket this afternoon to buy some cooking ingredients."

"Oh no, lately we can’t go home together, only during school time we can hang out." Ayaka Rie sighed.

"Is this the outcome of falling in love? Now it feels like Hanabi-chan is always thinking about that Uesugi guy."

"Sorry... Rie-chan..."

"Don’t apologize, I’m not blaming you. You two seem pretty enviable right now, anyway..."

Ayaka Rie couldn’t quite finish her thought, "Forget it, I’ll head back alone first, see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." Hanamaru Hanabi waved to her back.

During exam week, the school ends neither early nor late, and Hanamaru Hanabi took out her phone to check the time.

5:41:13

The wallpaper was a selfie of her and him, with Uesugi Sakura holding the phone while Hanamaru Hanabi pouted, making a peace sign, her cheeks blushing pink and cute.

Every time Hanamaru Hanabi saw this photo, she felt her heart warm, like being tightly embraced.

Whenever she felt down or sad, she would hold her phone to her chest with small hands, encouraging herself, as if Sakura was right by her side.

People in the classroom continuously waved goodbye to her, and Hanamaru Hanabi sat back at her desk, opened LINE, and sent him a message.

"Sakura, feeling better? Is there any medicine left at home? I can bring some back on my way."

She rested her face on her hand and waited for a response for a long time, but there was none.

"Sakura, might be sleeping and resting..."

The dusk sunlight felt heavy, as if rain was about to fall.

Hanamaru Hanabi quickly shouldered her bag and walked out of the classroom.

The small shark pendant on her bag swayed as she lightly trotted down the stairs, changing her shoes and kicking them softly on the ground to make them more comfortable.

Exiting the pristine academic building, Hanamaru Hanabi stepped down the marble steps, planning to first visit the supermarket on Shinjuku Street to buy groceries.

"Hanabi!"

Hanamaru Hanabi turned around, pulling on her shoulder bag, and smiled at the figure above, "Shio, didn’t you go home first?"

Uesugi Shio, carrying a white bamboo sword bag, came to her side, sucking on a lollipop.

Shio looked Hanabi up and down: "I was planning to go back first."

"You should go home first, Shio. I still need to go to the supermarket on Shinjuku Street."

Uesugi Shio twirled the stick of the lollipop in her right hand, saying, "Since Sakura isn’t around, I’ll accompany you back."

She pulled out her pleated skirt pocket, "I’ve finished my lollipops too, we’ll restock at the supermarket."

Hanamaru Hanabi nodded and said, "Then let’s go together, Shio."

The route to Shinjuku Street was quite ordinary, with a mix of suited-up businesspeople and casually dressed passersby, while the row of beech trees on either side of the road had soft hairy leaves.

"Shio, what have you been looking at since just now?" Hanamaru Hanabi noticed Uesugi Shio gripping the white sword bag tightly.

"Checking if you’re in danger."

Hanamaru Hanabi looked puzzled: "What danger could I be in?"

"You asking me, I have no idea either."

Uesugi Shio’s eyes swept over several middle-aged men, glancing back and forth for any sign of a clue, "Maybe some pervert was following you because you’re cute."

Per... pervert...

Hanamaru Hanabi clutched her shoulder bag tightly and whispered, "P-probably not..."

Uesugi Shio shook her head, smiling at her slightly frightened expression: "It’s hard to say. I’ve been followed before, and girls as adorable as Hanabi are more likely to be targeted."

"It... shouldn’t happen..." Hanamaru Hanabi looked around nervously like a startled deer.

With bags of groceries bought at the supermarket, the two boarded a train.

The broadcast announced: "Thank you for riding this train. The next station is Otemachi; the next stop, Otemachi. Please exit from the left car doors. Passengers, please mind your belongings. Thank you."

"Want one?" Uesugi Shio offered Hanamaru Hanabi a spicy weird-flavored lollipop seeing her still a bit tense.

Hanamaru Hanabi curiously accepted: "Lollipops with this flavor exist?"

Uesugi Shio placed her deflated backpack on her pleated skirt-covered lap: "YumEarth, I specifically brought you a bag when I saw them."

Hanamaru Hanabi blushed as she accepted the large bag of lollipops: "Thank you, Shio."

"No worries, as long as you like them."

Scenes outside the train moved farther away one by one.

At 7 PM, the sky over Tokyo had not completely darkened, but the clouds above were dense and black.

Tonight it indeed seems like it will rain.

At the intersection, the traffic lights cast a striking red, and most pedestrians waiting used these brief seconds to check their phones for messages.

If there were any, they replied. If not, they pointlessly scrolled through, reading a few words to pass the time.

Uesugi Shio stood beside Hanamaru Hanabi, who was carrying vegetables and fruits.

Having stayed with her all afternoon, she found no signs of the danger that Uesugi Sakura had mentioned.

’Perhaps it was just a possibility. Nothing happening is also a good thing.’

Though she comforted herself with this thought, the tone of Sakura’s phone call made her feel something was bound to occur.

——Her intuition told her so.

As tiny raindrops began falling, colorful neon lights fermented in the air, filling the place with a city vibe.

Amid the surrounding pedestrians, a man suddenly appeared holding a fruit knife—such an anime-like scene could realistically occur.

Thus, Uesugi Shio started scanning around, trying to pinpoint any suspicious individuals.

The green light appeared, and a dozen pedestrians put down their phones and crossed the crosswalk.

Uesugi Shio lazily kept her eyes on their phone-held hands, checking for a knife in disguise.

Faintly, there seemed to be a distant siren, blending reality and illusion.

"Shio, Shio."

"Huh? What is it?"

"It’s time to go; everyone else has crossed." Hanamaru Hanabi held shopping bags in both hands.

The rain intensified a bit, and the traffic light’s subdued green illuminated her face, outlining her beautiful contour.

"Let’s go home first. By now, there shouldn’t be any issues."

The countdown for the green light ticked away steadily.

Suddenly, the siren’s volume seemed to increase.

Uesugi Shio swiftly turned around; it was where the siren was coming from: "Not an illusion."

"What... not an illusion?"

"The sound of sirens."

"The siren... it’s far from us. Is there something wrong?"

Uesugi Shio grabbed her hand, her always sleepy blue eyes sharpened.

"Wha-what’s wrong?" Hanamaru Hanabi’s hand felt sore from carrying the shopping bags.

——————

The rain intensified once more.

Traffic lights flickered red and green repeatedly as the untimely rain pelted down, soaking the transparent plastic bags on the ground.

Thick red liquid seeped through the smashed vegetables and fruits. New passersby in the area opened their umbrellas, silently observing the scene before them.