Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard
Chapter 33 Everyday, Everyday, and More Everyday

Chapter 33: Chapter 33 Everyday, Everyday, and More Everyday

With practiced ease, Uesugi Sakura arrived at the familiar spot and stood in front of the door, pressing the doorbell.

With a "ding dong" sound, the expected beep didn’t come from the small speaker, but Uesugi Sakura wasn’t in a hurry to press again. This situation meant Hanamaru Hanabi had already packed and was ready to leave.

This was a hard-earned experience compiled by Uesugi Sakura over the years.

About a minute later, he heard some scattered footsteps mixed with voices coming from inside the door.

With a "click," Hanamaru Meiko opened the door and looked at Uesugi Sakura standing there, then playfully pushed Hanamaru Hanabi, in her black sailor uniform, forward, smiling as she patted her on the small shoulder.

"Sakura, Hanabi mentioned about you two during dinner last night. Although her dad isn’t too happy about it,

"don’t worry. He can’t stop you two. Auntie is rooting for you. Good luck!"

Hanamaru Meiko bit down on the word "certainly" with extra emphasis.

"..."

The air fell silent for a moment.

Uesugi Sakura couldn’t shake the feeling that the current atmosphere was odd, a bit like meeting the mother-in-law for a holiday dinner. Neither of them was even eighteen yet—isn’t it too early for this?

He glanced at the shy Hanamaru Hanabi standing beside him. Her mother’s words made her blush, her purple eyes darting away bashfully yet shining vibrantly.

Beneath the white collar of her black sailor uniform was a red tie, and her small hands clutched a blue satchel in front of her slender legs, under the black pleated skirt, were a pair of black loafers.

Her well-behaved and cute appearance was quite eye-catching.

Hanamaru Meiko noticed Uesugi Sakura’s gaze lingering on Hanabi and smiled as she pushed her further, saying:

"Alright, you two need to head to school. I specially made a bento for you today. Hanabi will give it to you later."

"..."

After bidding farewell to Hanamaru Meiko, Uesugi Sakura, along with Hanamaru Hanabi, embarked on their usual route to school.

...

"Uesugi-kun... your bento..."

On a street wide enough for three to walk side by side, Hanamaru Hanabi took out a blue bento from her satchel and reached out her small hand to hand it over to Uesugi Sakura.

"Thank you."

Uesugi Sakura looked at the simple blue bento in his hand, feeling slightly moved. He couldn’t help it—Auntie’s cooking was just that good.

It was a privilege he only got to enjoy now.

They went on walking in silence for a while, mainly not knowing what to say.

After encountering Ayaka Rie, the three continued as usual towards the train station.

Inside the train, the two girls luckily found seats, while Uesugi Sakura could only stand in front of them, holding onto the strap, silently enduring the train’s swaying and the crowded salarymen.

The passing skyscrapers outside the window continuously blurred past as the train moved, and occasionally, sunlight peeked through gaps, casting patches of light on Uesugi Sakura’s face, with a touch of morning warmth.

After getting off the train, the three started the final stretch to school. More students appeared, all in Kamigoe High School’s uniform black attire.

Perhaps due to adolescence, Uesugi Sakura’s eyes kept fleeting towards the skirts of the high school girls in sailor uniforms. After letting his gaze wander, it returned to the two girls, Hanabi and Rie, in front.

Despite their vastly different personalities, the two gelled well, moving with a spring in their step that was filled with the energy of youth.

By entering the school, changing shoes, and waiting for classes, such an ordinary morning went by just like that.

Come lunchtime, in the school cafeteria, Goto Iwao and Tsubokawa Takahiro sat across from Uesugi Sakura with their respective pork cutlet rice and udon noodles.

"Uesugi, why are you suddenly eating a bento today?" Goto Iwao looked at his own scattered pork cutlet rice, then at Uesugi Sakura’s beautifully packed bento, feeling his unfairness drove his curiosity to ask.

"Yeah, it’s suspicious," Tsubokawa Takahiro pushed his glasses up.

"What’s suspicious about it?" Uesugi Sakura said nonchalantly, eating a small sausage from his bento, "It’s not like I haven’t brought a bento before."

"Come on, who are you kidding? The stuff you brought from the supermarket can’t compare with this," Goto retorted.

"Haha, I remember," Goto Iwao suddenly burst into laughter, bits of rice caught in his teeth, "those few days after 8 PM at the supermarket, there was always a half-price sale, and a big pile of bentos waiting to be snatched up.

"I knew Uesugi would be interested, immediately called him over, and for the next few days, all he ate was eel rice, omurice, fried chicken and such."

Uesugi Sakura wasn’t bothered by their teasing, continuing to eat his meticulously prepared bento, "Saving money and convenience makes it worthwhile to me; a bento from the supermarket is still a bento."

"So? What’s the deal with this bento?"

"Hanabi’s mom made an extra one. I got it when I went to her house to find her."

"..."

"Gosh! I shouldn’t have asked."

Tsubokawa Takahiro shook his head helplessly, "Why have I never had an experience like that? Why don’t I have a cute childhood friend? I want to eat a bento her mom made for me too!"

The two cast increasingly irritated glances at Uesugi Sakura.

Even though Goto Iwao and Tsubokawa Takahiro had long known about the relationship between Uesugi Sakura and Hanamaru Hanabi, seeing this handsome guy always attending school with a particularly pretty girl set their male jealousy aflame.

Individuals like Uesugi Sakura were exactly the kind of people they wanted to rally against.

"Uesugi, you must be the protagonist of a light novel, right?" Tsubokawa Takahiro pushed his glasses up again, gazing with a piercing look as if he’d seen through everything.

Uesugi Sakura, unfazed, calmly replied, "If that’s the case, I really should thank him for writing me as so handsome that your expressions change."

"Ugh——" The two groaned in unison, in a tone of sarcastic disdain.

"Sure, you’re quite handsome, but you’re not at that level where everyone falls for you yet. You’re still a bit below Kimura Takuya."

Kimura Takuya was a veteran Tokyo idol, combining roles of actor, singer, and voice actor, nearing 50 but his influence remained at the top.

Because of announcing marriage abruptly at the peak of his career, he and his wife were crowned as the least favorite male/female idols nationwide.

But that was an idol of the past era, and Uesugi Sakura hadn’t expected Goto Iwao to admire such an old-time star.

"Don’t worry," he said indifferently, "If I can’t become Kimura Takuya, I’ll be the next Yuzuru Hanyu."

With that, the two again cast him a grand look of disdain.

This guy, is just too full of himself.

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