Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard
Chapter 231 - 195: A Calm Ending _2

Chapter 231: Chapter 195: A Calm Ending _2

"If you don’t answer, little Hanabi’s Shasha will be gone."

"Sakura-kun..."

The girl sweetly called out, as if with sugar in her mouth, "Sakura-kun, don’t take back Shasha, it’s so cute."

It seemed because of the sudden disappearance of the orange cat, Hanamaru Hanabi became particularly cherishing of things she loved.

"Today, I’ll help the silly Hanabi catch the stalker, so I won’t take it back," Uesugi Sakura decided to go easy after hearing her timid voice.

Hanamaru Hanabi whispered, turning her head down and staring at the blue sneakers on her feet.

"Not... not silly..."

"..."

After a moment of silence, it seemed like the only sound by the ear was the noisy evening breeze rustling the green leaves.

"Let’s go home first."

"Mm..."

After going home and finishing dinner, Hanabi was very sleepy, perhaps due to completing the cheerleading dance, and she fell asleep as soon as she lay on her bed.

The sunset filtered through the blinds, casting an orange glow on the sleeping girl’s face, even her black sailor uniform seemed to be tinged with a warm blush.

Lately, she frequently dreamt, and they were often not good dreams.

She constantly called his name, curling her little hands like a child.

Uesugi Sakura sat at the bedside watching her for a long time, then got up to draw the curtains and silently closed the door.

When Uesugi Shio saw him coming down the stairs while she was watching TV in the living room.

"Going out?"

"Yeah." Uesugi Sakura responded casually.

"What for?"

"To the police station."

————————

Shinjuku Police Station.

Hanamaru Hiroki, behind his desk, handed a stack of photos to the just-arrived Uesugi Sakura.

Most of them were photos of Hanabi, including her eating, going to school, attending PE class, and recently performing a cheerleading dance.

"These were the findings from searching the high school girl’s house."

Hanamaru Hiroki took a sip of the tea he leisurely picked up and said calmly after putting it down:

"The situation is mostly understood, she’s a member of Hanabi’s cheerleading team."

"From the cheerleading team?" Uesugi Sakura said.

"Yes... She really likes Hanabi, but because the girl got engaged with you, she tried to make the girl leave you on her own, seizing the opportunity to achieve her goal."

Hanamaru Hiroki handed over a neatly organized pile of white paper documents beside him.

"First, she started with Line, which young people like to use."

"She learned Hanabi’s personal information from the cheerleading group chat and used candid photos of you, then synthesized them with computer technology to create an illusion to deceive the girl."

Uesugi Sakura stopped flipping through the materials and frowned, he had only seen the photo of him and Kitagawa, were the previous ones deleted by Hanabi?

"The photo synthesis technology is exceptionally skilled, not something an ordinary high school student could achieve."

Hanamaru Hiroki pointed to the A4 paper that Uesugi Sakura was flipping through, "She found someone online, and the going rate for photo synthesis was generally 3000 yen; she managed to make a total of 13 photos like this."

Uesugi Sakura flipped through the already organized materials, which indeed contained some photos related to him.

The scales varied.

One photo was of himself shirtless, gazing affectionately at a girl in his arms who had her hand on his chest, in an environment of a dimly lit nightclub.

And the photo’s perspective was skewed, as if shot secretly from afar.

How was this accomplished?

Hanamaru Hiroki glanced at him and continued, "Some photos simply superimpose your face, then zoom out the lens to blur the upper body features, emphasizing the interaction and ambiguous relationship between the two figures."

"Not surprising."

"With superior synthesis technology, skillful camera mimicry, and the girl’s first impression when seeing these photos, it’s challenging for her to recognize them as composites."

He actually wanted to say that even he felt a slight shock at first glance of those photos.

So how would little Hanabi, who hadn’t seen much of the world, possibly think?

But Hanamaru Hiroki understood his temperament, having handled cases before where synthetic photos were used to confuse the police, and upon brief examination and analysis, he discerned the spoof.

Sitting in the Chief’s office at the police station, Hanamaru Hiroki spoke with the same calmness:

"The girl’s emotional shifts weren’t sudden but accumulated over time. I believe she wishes to trust you, but the deeper such feelings are buried, the more they leave indelible marks."

"As the marks grow, she becomes more self-doubting, more insecure, commencing to question her value, with a low mood ready to surface at a given chance."

Uesugi Sakura understood the catalyst referred to the negative state induced by the long run.

And the photo of him with Kitagawa was sent just before the race, further exacerbating her mental burden before running.

Adding his absence during the first half of her competition, her feelings of loss and inferiority exploded all at once.

Uesugi Sakura thought so as he looked at the materials in his hand.

"How will that high school girl be handled?"

"On charges of harassment and stalking, given she’s a minor, she’ll be forcibly transferred to another school."

"Do you want to see her again?" Hanamaru Hiroki asked.

"Definitely not." Uesugi Sakura said flatly.

"I thought you’d be very angry."

"I am very angry, I would love to give that person a good beating, but such a scenario isn’t appropriate; catching her is sufficient." Uesugi Sakura returned the documents to his father-in-law.

Hanamaru Hiroki nodded approvingly, "Yes, not acting rashly is best, if you vented your emotions in front of classmates, you might end up staying with me for a few days."

"Those few words you’ve already said are completely enough."

Outside the large office window, under the night sky, vehicles on Ome Street glided by like streams, the neon lights of Tokyo beginning to sparkle and shine brightly.

Hanamaru Hiroki placed the sorted documents beside him, with the aroma of tea wafting in front of him.

He lifted his nearly forty-year-old face and looked at the young man he watched grow up:

"Go back and spend more time with Hanabi, she needs you."

"Mm."

——————————

Close to nine at night.

The sound of a key turning in the door frame.

Kitagawa Sakisa, who was happily chatting with Hanamaru Hanabi on Line, glanced towards the entrance.

She suddenly looked surprised, stood up, and ran over on her thin black stockinged legs.

"Hanpe, what happened to your face?"

"Had a pork cutlet bowl at the police station," Hanpe Suji waved his hand, exuding the weariness of an old man.

"Do you need to get hit in the face to eat pork cutlet?"

Kitagawa Sakisa seemed unable to connect the dots, "And why eat pork cutlet at the police station?"

Hanpe walked into the room lit brightly enough by a single lamp and sat down beside the tea table on a mat:

"I’ll be satisfied as long as I didn’t pay for it!"

"There’s such a thing as this!? Free pork cutlet at the police station!" Kitagawa Sakisa seemed to discover a new world, "Can I go?"

Hanpe looked at the girl in a black dress and laughed, "Miss, you certainly can go, but after one meal, they’d have to return you home."

"In that case, forget about it!" Kitagawa Sakisa saw his bluish swollen face, "Are you okay? Do you have a medical kit at your place?"

Hanpe pointed to a box on the high cabinet, and Kitagawa followed his direction.

"Miss, you care for this societal fringe old man?"

"Uncle Hanpe is quite kind, helping you with medication isn’t a big deal." Kitagawa Sakisa lifted herself on her toes, trying to reach the medicine box above.

But no matter how she strained, her thin black-stockinged feet couldn’t reach high enough.

A pair of hands reached over from above her head, bringing the box down.

Kitagawa Sakisa turned around, received the medical kit he handed over, and nodded slightly, "Ah... thank you."

Hanpe sat back to his original position, "Miss, have you studied such things?"

Taking the alcohol and gauze from the box, Kitagawa Sakisa gently brushed her hair aside and said:

"I’ve helped my brother with injuries before, hum, Hanpe, don’t underestimate Sakisa!"

The alcohol stung his face, but to him, it was just a mere scratch.

Only a six-mat-sized room, quite cramped.

"Miss, you best hurry home."

"Trying to chase me away?"

"Not that I’m chasing you away, but the director would certainly worry about you."

Kitagawa Sakisa pouted, "That sis-con brother! I don’t want to go back."

"..."

Hanpe understood their young master’s indulgence over his sister, though occasionally it went too far.

"How long does Miss plan to stay at my place?"

"For as long as I want," Kitagawa Sakisa applied the gauze for him.

"..."

The phone rang.

Hanpe answered it, "Director."

On the other end, attending a gathering of the Kyujuu Family, Kitagawa Sakihara held a wine glass, his elegant face beaming with smiles:

"Hanpe, hand the phone to Sakisa, she’s ignored my calls again."

Hanpe passed the phone to the girl.

"Brother again?"

Without looking, Kitagawa Sakisa ended the call directly.

Beep... beep...

Beside the banquet table next to the Sky Garden, Kitagawa Sakihara listened to the busy tone for a while.

Then, smiling once more, he gently swirled his glass:

"This child."