Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard
Chapter 296 - 232: What is Hanabi’s Dream?_2

Chapter 296: Chapter 232: What is Hanabi’s Dream?_2

Let’s see how long they can gaze into each other’s eyes.

A customer inside the café finishes a cup of coffee and a macaron.

Hanamaru Yuuki estimates it’s been about five or six minutes.

She knows her sister really likes this brother-in-law; she was always looking at his photos on her phone back in the studio.

One thing’s for sure, her brother-in-law is really handsome, quite like the main character of a girls’ comic.

He has a good-looking face, a tall stature, and I’ve heard his grades are excellent, plus he can make coffee!

Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem very good at sweet-talking or saying things to make a girl feel special.

Hanamaru Yuuki covers her mouth with her right hand and coughs twice: "Ahem! I’d like an Irish Coffee, please."

"..."

"..."

Sakura Uesugi slowly turns his head: "No, kids can’t have alcohol."

————————————

It was night, and the moonless sky was dark.

But for London’s Shirojyo District, it was still brightly lit.

An orange tabby cat stepped lightly onto the rooftop of a villa with British architecture.

Below was the fountain square connecting three streets, where a saxophonist, who came every night, was still lost in the magical music he wove.

In front of him was an upturned black top hat, inside it lay layers of British Pounds and pennies.

Gracefully, the cat jumped down from the eaves of the villa, allowing it to move freely through the moonlit city streets.

The appearance of the Uesugi cat was not without reason; he wanted to accompany Hanabi for a nap.

Of course, as Sakura.

Hanabi and Yuuki lived in a house across the street, close to the Soho café.

The Uesugi cat climbed the wall, circled half the house, and stepped into Hanabi’s room through the small window.

The moon hid behind the clouds, and even with city lights shining behind the Uesugi cat, the light in the girl’s room remained dim.

The cat’s nose was sharp, at least the Uesugi cat sniffed out the scent of ginger tea.

The ginger tea remedy was something he had told her about; although Hanamaru Hanabi was too shy to speak about it, Sakura Uesugi knew it worked for her.

The Uesugi cat shook his head and looked at the girl sleeping peacefully on the bed, realizing she was on her period.

Not to mention, Sakura Uesugi knew her stomach would hurt during her period, though she seldom mentioned it.

Partly out of shyness, partly out of embarrassment.

What’s there to be embarrassed about? The first time she had her period, she was so scared she cried her way to him?

The weather in London is quite cold.

The girl wrapped herself tightly in her blanket; at least the Uesugi cat struggled quite a bit to squeeze in.

Inside it was warm, filled with the faint, sweet fragrance of lilies.

The Uesugi cat nudged the girl’s thin pink nightgown with his head, using his paw pads on her smooth little belly.

The soft, bouncy feeling fed back to his paws, allowing the Uesugi cat to feel the touch of the girl’s skin while also noticing... she had gained weight...

Sakura Uesugi thought it was probably because she’d been eating too much lately.

British food is quite sweet, nearly everything is centered around sweetness.

Cream, butter, sugar, jam... they’re all regular visitors.

Not to mention things like baked bread, fries, and roasted potatoes are high in carbs.

The chili peppers in England are not spicy at all; Hanabi doesn’t like them one bit.

As compensation, she can only eat more sweets and dairy to satisfy her little head’s sense of happiness.

The result of doing so, however, is the fact that—there’s more flesh on her belly.

...

The Uesugi cat voluntarily transformed back into Sakura Uesugi.

He lifted the blanket and lay in the girl’s bed.

He let her body press closely against him, radiating softness and warmth.

Sakura Uesugi pulled her delicate arm over, so she could hold onto him and it was easier to be under the same quilt.

This temperature, this feeling, this subtlety, this sweetness.

Sleeping with a soft girl in his arms was completely incomparable to the big shark he had in Tokyo a few days ago.

Sakura Uesugi snuggled close, even moving his nose to the girl’s neck to subtly inhale the scent.

Filling his nose and connecting to his brain’s dopamine secretion was Hanabi’s sweet and tender fragrance.

And she was still asleep, completely unguarded against his presence.

She even tightened her hold on his back with her small hands.

Sakura Uesugi held her, his right hand sliding along her waist, feeling the pink skin through his palm.

"Sakura... Sakura-kun...?" But at some point, Hanamaru Hanabi woke up from being held, gazing through the scattered moonlight that slipped through the clouds at the closed door.

"Sakura, why are you here...?"

"Not welcome?"

"N-no..." the shy girl replied, perhaps from the habit developed since childhood, as she really liked the feeling of being held by him.

"If that’s so, then just sleep peacefully."

"But... how did Sakura-kun get in...?"

"The window."

"The window?"

Hanabi’s room was on the second floor, with a balcony for afternoon tea outside, and if the doors and windows weren’t locked properly, it was indeed possible to sneak in.

"Yes," Sakura Uesugi said while lying in the girl’s bed, "so remember to close the windows at night."

Hanamaru Hanabi felt a bit embarrassed to look at the face of the person beside her.

"If Sakura-kun wants to stay with Hanabi, he can..."

"Aren’t you afraid your sister will see?"

"Yuuki... probably won’t say anything..."

Sakura Uesugi: "It’s okay, being together like this occasionally is nice too. Perhaps absence makes the heart grow fonder. When you weren’t around, I often found myself staring at the ceiling while thinking of you."

"Does messaging Sakura-kun bother you, Hanabi...?"

"Not at all," Sakura Uesugi chuckled, "I actually miss the old days when you’d message me every few minutes."

"Wasn’t it annoying...? Hanabi just wants to talk to Sakura-kun because I always feel uneasy, but I’m afraid of disturbing Sakura-kun too."

"So, you started messaging me less frequently?" Sakura Uesugi followed her words.

"Yes..."

"Every message is an expression of Hanabi’s love. I always smile when you ask me where I am."

Hanamaru Hanabi buried her face into his chest, listening to his heartbeat:

"But recently, Hanabi feels like... Sakura-kun has become somewhat distant... did Hanabi do something wrong? If Sakura-kun tells her, she’s willing to change."

"No, I was just pondering some things,"

Sakura Uesugi embraced the small head buried in his chest, saying, "I didn’t know how to face you before deciding. To ask you to come and then suddenly ask you to leave is extremely selfish."

Hanamaru Hanabi moved away from his chest, sitting up on the bed.

The girl’s pink strap slid off her sweet-smelling shoulder, elegantly outlined by the moonlight from outside the window.

"Hanabi?" Sakura Uesugi looked at her small face; the light was dim, but her distinctly outlined collarbones were still visible.

"In Hanabi’s eyes... Sakura-kun is already more important than Hanabi herself..."

Sakura Uesugi propped himself up with his hand, "That’s unnecessary, and don’t say that Sakura-kun is more important than you, Hanabi. It’s better for Hanabi to be Hanabi."

Hanamaru Hanabi said: "Hanabi understands, and I know what Sakura-kun means, but in Hanabi’s eyes, Sakura-kun is a very, very, very important person."

The cold moonlight spoke of gentleness, lightly sprinkled like silver dust beside the girl.

Sakura Uesugi didn’t know how to describe this feeling, but it seemed there was a layer of captivating light on the girl’s body that attracted him.

Prompting him to unconsciously speak:

"What is Hanabi’s dream?"

Hanamaru Hanabi smiled faintly: "Before the age of three, I hadn’t encountered a dream, nor did I understand what a dream was."

"After turning three, I encountered a dream, but still didn’t understand what a dream was."

"However, upon leaving Sakura-nii and being in the park three months later, I handed over the dream I had worked so hard to build to Sakura-nii."

"That very bad, bad painting was Hanabi’s most anticipated dream."