Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard
Chapter 177 - 165: An Event That Has Already Been Predetermined

Chapter 177: Chapter 165: An Event That Has Already Been Predetermined

The 0.025mm thick transparent plastic bag was being beaten by the rain, making a clattering sound. The messy edges were all caused by the continuous raindrops hitting it.

With a "bang," Uesugi Sakura quickly rushed out of the police car, drenched in rain, hurriedly pulling apart the shadow illuminated by the red and blue sirens.

—————

The time rewinds to a moment ago.

"Who is he?"

"Just a worthless person."

Beside him, Hanamaru Hiroki’s tone was unfriendly, his hands continuously turning the steering wheel as scenes rapidly flashed by the car window, "Only capable of some disgusting tricks."

The siren above relentlessly pierced his eardrums, and the windshield wipers swept away the raindrops on the front window, but the fine drizzle quickly replenished it, repeating the cycle, making it quite frustrating to watch.

Uesugi Sakura couldn’t help but worry about Hanabi, but his father-in-law asked him to stay by his side and not act rashly.

He glanced at his own phone.

There was nothing he could do but ask Sister Shio to help look after her.

Hanamaru Hiroki grabbed the phone in his pocket with one hand and said into it, "Ishibashi, you go around from the Ookubo road, don’t let that guy break through by car."

The old-fashioned keypad phone was tucked back into his pocket as Hanamaru Hiroki continued driving.

Uesugi Sakura recognized this road; it was the direction to their home.

"That person’s target is Hanabi?" he guessed.

"Judging from the sudden change of direction, it should be," Hanamaru Hiroki said. "Don’t worry too much, someone is watching over Hanabi."

"Understood."

Uesugi Sakura didn’t know why that kind of person would target a girl he had never met.

"Is it a... group?"

"Two people," Hanamaru Hiroki said. "He now has a clear target, which means he knows Hanabi’s location and the time she arrived at Waseda Station. Someone else is secretly helping him."

"Then they..." Uesugi Sakura wasn’t sure of the backstory.

"Just holding a grudge over something from twelve years ago."

Hanamaru Hiroki gripped the steering wheel tightly, his words heavy: "Those two guys set fire to my house before, and Meiko and the then three-year-old Hanabi were inside, trying to blackmail me to stop investigating their robbery case."

The police car swiftly turned a corner, and the water sprayed onto the tail of the car, which was flashing with red light.

Hanamaru Hiroki continued, "Later, I got the evidence and caught those two guys, and they were each sentenced to eight and ten years in prison for robbery and arson."

"From the moment the first guy, Akasaka, was released early, I have kept an eye on him. He spent six stable years working in the service industry peacefully, but did he really think six years would make me drop my guard?"

The scene of the fiery sea came to Hanamaru Hiroki’s mind, and he chuckled coldly.

"After his partner, Kawasaki, was released, the resentment he hid for six years began to sprout."

The police car drove through the south gate of Waseda University, turned a corner, and Uesugi Sakura, who was just about to call his cousin to update her, furrowed his eyebrows, "It seems there’s an accident ahead."

Hanamaru Hiroki took out his phone again, glanced at the words on the screen, and said, "It’s nothing, the guy Akasaka just got caught."

Although he didn’t mention Hanabi’s situation, Uesugi Sakura understood that since his father-in-law didn’t mention it, it meant there was no problem.

The 14th generation Toyota Crown patrol car steadily parked on the left side of the road, its black and white paint swaying people’s minds in the rain.

Even though he felt nothing was wrong, Uesugi Sakura couldn’t help but rush out of the police car and push through the crowd illuminated by red and blue lights.

The fruits and vegetables on the ground were smashed and intermixed with some red liquid.

In front of the crowd, a red vintage car had crashed against the barricade post, its top dented, the car door twisted, and the ground covered in scattered fragments.

Two police officers in light blue uniforms were trying hard to pry open the stuck car door to pull out the unconscious middle-aged man inside.

On the other side, Uesugi Shio stood in the crowd, holding an umbrella, her hand resting on Hanamaru Hanabi, whose small face in the rain looked scared but otherwise unharmed.

Raindrops dripped from the wet hair as Uesugi Sakura walked in front of Hanamaru Hanabi.

"Sakura-kun..."

Seeing him drenched, Hanamaru Hanabi looked up with her small head, still in that weak voice.

Uesugi Sakura looked her up and down several times and asked, "Are you okay?"

Seeing him wet, Hanamaru Hanabi pulled him under the umbrella before saying, "Hanabi is fine... Sakura-kun, didn’t you catch a cold? Why are you standing in the rain..."

"It was dangerous just now... The car suddenly got out of control and rushed toward Hanabi. Fortunately, Sister Shio and Officer Suzuki were there. That person... is he okay?"

She glanced at the almost scrapped car and then at the plastic bag she’d accidentally dropped during her panicked escape, "Hanabi couldn’t make dinner today... The chili sauce and lollipops are gone..."

Uesugi Shio asked, "Sakura, what happened here?"

Uesugi Sakura glanced at the middle-aged man being pulled out of the car and kept it short, "A man seeking revenge after serving a prison sentence."

"As expected, a premeditated guy," Uesugi Shio frowned slightly.

At this moment, Hanamaru Hiroki came in with an even more mature-looking middle-aged man in tow, and officers who came out of nowhere began dispersing the onlookers.

The man’s hands were cuffed in shiny handcuffs, and his swollen face looked quite miserable as the heavy rain washed over it.

"Chief of Police Hanamaru," Ishibashi Kesuke called out, carrying another unconscious man with Suzuki Teppei’s help.

Suzuki Teppei looked at the person brought in by Hanamaru Hiroki and laughed twice, "As expected, he didn’t escape, just as planned."

"It’s nothing," Hanamaru Hiroki said, pointing to the few trailing patrol cars behind, "Without the help of everyone from Ushigome Police Station, this would have been a lot more troublesome."

He looked at the buzz-cut middle-aged man in his hand and asked, "What was worth doing this?"

"Heh heh..."

The hoarse, muffled voice trembled out of his throat, "From the beginning, I never planned to change. Without you... Akasaka and I could’ve lived a peaceful life with that money, wouldn’t all this nonsense be gone long ago?"

"10 years, I was locked up for a full 10 years and came out knowing nothing, doing useless work every day. Every time I think of you standing in the police station basking in glory, I resent that fire didn’t kill your wife and daughter back then."

The fine rain brushed combined with his hoarse and low voice, and Hanamaru Hanabi couldn’t hear what he was saying, only vaguely seeing his resentful lowered head.

"Childish."

Hanamaru Hiroki’s voice was indifferent, clearly not wanting to continue talking with him, directly handing him over to the officers from Ushigome Police Station.

Afterward, he walked toward Uesugi Sakura and the others.

"Dad..." Hanamaru Hanabi called out.

"I’m just glad you’re alright."

Hanamaru Hiroki nodded at her, then looked at Uesugi Sakura, "My work is destined to have potential dangers, which is why I want you to learn swordsmanship."

"This time, these two were fairly stupid, and I caught their slip-up. The entire capture process was planned. I wanted you to be able to protect Hanabi after I’m gone, so remember to learn to be smart."

"This time...it seems like I wasn’t of much use, right..."

"The plan was already closing in. If you’d intervened, you might have disrupted my plan. That’s why I called you over."

"But..." Hanamaru Hiroki’s tone shifted, and he stared at him, "Did you find something? Suddenly leaving school, sneaking around."

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