Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard
Chapter 308 - 239 Sister and Sister_2

Chapter 308: Chapter 239 Sister and Sister_2

The label that JK uniforms represent is high school girls, and you won’t find many college girls or adult women wearing JK uniforms around.

"Hanabi, do you want to go to the pool after our shrine visit?"

"Why do you suddenly want to go there?" Hanamaru Hanabi asked Uesugi Sakura, who was sitting next to her.

In the flickering sunlight inside the carriage, the girl’s face looked radiant, her eyes shining brightly.

The sound of the train’s "clack clack" complemented her gentle beauty.

"I just think you’re getting more and more beautiful, and we haven’t had much time together recently, so I want to spend more time with you now."

"But... we don’t have to go to the pool... It’s kind of dirty..." Hanamaru Hanabi said, feeling a bit shy about the compliment.

"A love hotel?" Uesugi Sakura suggested casually.

"That’s even worse!"

"How about a hot spring inn?"

"Sakura, why do you always want to take me out..."

With his glasses on, Uesugi Sakura appeared gentle and elegant, exuding an aura of refinement.

He leaned close to the girl’s ear and whispered softly and slowly:

"I want... to eat you up."

After saying this, Uesugi Sakura glanced at the blush spreading across her cheeks, then moved away from her ear and resumed his upright demeanor.

————————

After getting off at Yoyogi, Uesugi Sakura bought a croquette for Hanabi from a roadside specialty shop.

It was freshly fried, and there was still a long line behind them.

"Are you mad?" Uesugi Sakura asked when he noticed she didn’t seem inclined to accept it.

"No, but..." Hanamaru Hanabi, eyeing the golden croquette with longing, fiddled with her skirt hem nervously, "eating too much of this will make me gain weight..."

"Oh, then I’ll eat it myself."

Then, Uesugi Sakura took a bite from the croquette that was meant for her right in front of Hanabi.

"Sakura..."

"Alright, little glutton," Uesugi Sakura laughed as he saw how much more she wanted to eat, pulling out a fresh one from behind his back, "here, I haven’t touched my portion yet."

Hanamaru Hanabi held it in both hands, hesitating a little, "But... what if I gain weight?"

"I’ll love you even if you get fat, and besides, it’s just one croquette, it won’t make you fat."

Under his reassuring smile, little Hanabi reluctantly started nibbling on the golden, crispy croquette.

Men always say things like that.

While Hanabi’s grandfather wasn’t around, Uesugi Sakura also took her to enjoy takoyaki, taiyaki, Osaka-style pancake, Japanese dumplings, sweet cakes, pearl milk tea...

It was like a date as they visited the nearby delicious snack shops.

"I’m so full, can’t eat anymore..."

Sitting by a flowerbed on the pedestrian street, Uesugi Sakura looked at her bright eyes under her straw hat, "This is our date after a week apart, how can we not eat more?"

Hanamaru Hanabi held an unfinished ice cream in both hands, "But really, I can’t eat anymore..."

"Then give it to me."

Uesugi Sakura didn’t mind, taking the unfinished ice cream from her and continuing to eat it.

"By the way, Hanabi, do you want to have children after marriage?"

"Sakura... why are you bringing up this topic again..." Hanamaru Hanabi put her hand on her stomach, feeling very full, "But if you want kids, Sakura... it can be considered..."

"Five, perhaps?"

"Five...?"

Hanamaru Hanabi felt that raising just one younger sister was already troublesome; she glanced down at her own stomach slightly, "Maybe, maybe it could be done...?"

She seemed a little unsure.

Having and raising children is a very challenging task, with hassles accompanying their birth and growth.

Uesugi Sakura knew what it felt like to raise children, as even occasionally caring for his sister involved a lot of busy tasks.

He didn’t want Hanamaru Hanabi to be overly burdened by children.

Just then, his phone rang.

He answered it briefly and then put it away.

Hanamaru Hanabi: "Has Grandpa arrived?"

Uesugi Sakura: "Yes, he’s outside the Imperial Garden at Meiji Shrine."

"Then let’s hurry... it looks like Dad and Aunt are all there..."

"Okay."

——————————————

Meiji Shrine.

Ancient trees stand tall, their dense green shade covering the stone paths.

Uesugi Sakura and Hanamaru Hanabi met Hanamaru Hiroki, waiting under the tens of meters tall Torii gate.

The father-in-law was dressed very formally today, in a Japanese kimono.

"Uncle."

"Dad."

Hanamaru Hiroki smelled the lingering scent of food on them, "Did you two go out to play?"

"Yes," Uesugi Sakura replied.

The father-in-law didn’t say much more and instead reminded them:

"This is your first time here, Sakura. The old man may want to talk to you about something later. If you’re not comfortable, you don’t need to agree."

The old man was Hanabi’s grandfather, father to the father-in-law, and the current head of the Hanamaru family.

Hanamaru Hiroki: "Understand?"

Uesugi Sakura: "Understood."

Hanamaru Hanabi, curious, asked, "What does Grandpa want to talk about?"

Hanamaru Hiroki smiled at his daughter, "You don’t need to know, Hanabi."

"Follow me first."

...

Meiji Shrine is always a popular spot, as one of the important foundations of Shintoism, it draws many tourists every day.

Although there are many shrines and divine palaces in Japan, those with the name "palace" are associated with the royal family.

Thanks to the annual Green Day reforestation activities, the area is always lush with vegetation.

Past the great Torii, there is the north gate of the Imperial Garden.

Uesugi Sakura could already see members of the Hanamaru family ahead.

Hanabi’s grandfather, Hanamaru Yasushin, stood with hands clasped behind his back, wearing a chestnut-colored kimono, his hair was white, and his posture was upright.

Even in his seventies, just one look at him and you could feel his commanding aura.

Aunt Hanamaru Yuzuki was also there.

After greeting each other politely, Uesugi Sakura and Hanamaru Hanabi prepared to follow.

"Alright, let’s move," Hanamaru Yasushin responded, glancing at Uesugi Sakura before leading the way.

...

"Uncle, why did you come here?"

"To plant trees," Hanamaru Hiroki said, "The Hanamaru family has a tradition of planting a tree in the Imperial Garden at Meiji Shrine for any new family member born on Green Day each year.

"This year, Hanami was born, so the family head personally came to plant one for her."

"You’ll have yours too," he added at the end.

"I will?" Uesugi Sakura asked.

"Once you and Hanabi get married, you’ll have one too, though not a main-line camphor tree, but a side-line cedar."

Uesugi Sakura found this quite interesting.

Meanwhile, Hanamaru Hanabi and her aunt chatted and laughed nearby.

Hanabi was likely asking about Yuuki; she had heard Yuuki might be returning, although she wasn’t sure if it was true.

The Imperial Garden of the Divine Palace is a separately ticketed area, charging 500 yen, but on Green Day it is free to enter.

There were many visitors, but the Hanamaru family also had a spot to plant trees in the garden, indicating perhaps some special status?

Passing the Geyun Pavilion, the Southern Pond, the five continued onward.

"Uncle, is the Hanamaru family considered nobility?"

"No," Hanamaru Hiroki said, "There has been no nobility for many years."

His father-in-law didn’t elaborate any further.

However, based on what his father-in-law had said, Uesugi Sakura speculated that they might have once had ties with the royal family.

The Hanamaru family was a family of police officers; Hanabi’s uncles, father, aunt, and younger uncle were all police officers.

Passing through another tranquil grove, they approached an area marked "Private Property" with a "No Entry" sign where people were gathered.

Uesugi Sakura could see many tall camphor and cedar trees behind the house, the entrance of the Japanese-style mansion had "Hanamaru" inscribed on it.

The three elder members of the Hanamaru family were dressed in kimonos, adding to the sense of ritual.

Was it not necessary for the younger generation?

Or perhaps this was a special invitation from Hanamaru Yasushin, and he hadn’t originally been part of this visit’s plans.