Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard
Chapter 78 The Lost Morning

Chapter 78: Chapter 78 The Lost Morning

"Because... last night Hanabi came back so late... Dad clearly told Hanabi..." Hanamaru Hanabi whispered.

"As long as she doesn’t stay overnight, it’s fine."

Hanamaru Hiroki waved his hand indifferently and smiled at his daughter, who was speaking very cautiously in front of him.

"Hanabi... understands..."

Hanamaru Hanabi looked down at the steaming spicy fried rice in front of her, the intense reaction of her father in her dream made her a little worried and scared.

"Dad..."

She hesitated for a moment but cautiously asked, "If... if Hanabi really stayed overnight at Sakura-kun’s place..."

Upon hearing this, Hanamaru Hiroki paused in his action of drinking tea.

Really want to spend the night with that boy?

Is it that his daughter has grown up, or is that boy too charming?

Hanamaru Hiroki’s expression was quite complex, interrupting her words: "Anyway, it’s absolutely not allowed now. Even if little Sakura is relatively mature, you both are still kids and are not prepared for such things."

He put down the hot tea he was holding and placed it next to the plate.

"Dating is fine, this is something both families have agreed on, but remember, you and he are both students, and there are still many things to learn. Any decision should not be made rashly."

"Mm,"

Hanamaru Hanabi nodded, then lightly shook her head, and continued in a barely audible voice, "Hanabi actually wanted to say... if Hanabi really was at Sakura-kun’s home last night... would Dad..."

"Absolutely, definitely would teach that boy a good lesson." Hanamaru Hiroki said languidly.

Hanamaru Hanabi paused upon hearing this, looked up at him: "Dad wouldn’t shoot him, right...?"

Shoot?

Would it really go that far?

Seeing the worried look in his daughter’s eyes, Hanamaru Hiroki couldn’t help but laugh silently, while sighing deeply in his heart.

It turns out what she’s been worried about all along isn’t her little secret being discovered, but rather the consequences after it’s discovered, worried about how he would treat that boy.

Although he knew Hanabi was merely asking out of concern, without any other intention, his heart couldn’t help but ache.

Because this meant that he was no longer as important as he used to be, it meant that the daughter who clung to him since she was young has already grown up.

Such a simple inquiry made him, as a father, suddenly feel distant, suddenly feel unfamiliar.

The mood suddenly became heavy, but in front of his daughter, he still maintained a smile, ready to respond to her inquiry with a calm heart.

"How could Dad do such an out-of-line thing?" Hanamaru’s wife sat down across from Hanabi with her breakfast.

"Right—" Hanamaru Hiroki hadn’t even had the chance to speak.

"Really... won’t...?"

The same simple inquiry, but this one was a distrustful follow-up.

Hanamaru Hiroki’s smile froze for half a second.

Is this how unworthy he already is in his daughter’s heart?

Thinking back to her holding his hand and smiling since she was young, his heart tightened painfully with bitterness.

But he quickly returned to normal, and he wouldn’t show this emotion in front of his daughter.

Just after Hanamaru Hanabi finished speaking, she inexplicably felt that she had said something wrong, and looking at her father’s unchanged expression, an inexplicable sense of guilt rose within her.

Though she didn’t even know what she had said wrong just now.

She opened her mouth but suddenly closed it tightly, as she didn’t know what to say at this moment.

"Of course not." Hanamaru Hiroki replied naturally, without any discomfort.

A phone suddenly rang.

Hanamaru Hiroki snapped out of his daze, took out his phone from his clothes, and smiled at the mother and daughter: "I’ll go take this call."

He walked toward the living room outside.

Hanamaru noticed Hanamaru Hanabi looking down, her hands on her thighs, in a very low mood.

"Eat first, eat first," she quickly said with a smile, "no need to wait for Dad, he’ll be back after the call."

"Mm..."

Hanamaru Hanabi softly responded, facing the food she liked, but remained seated without touching her chopsticks.

Soon, Hanamaru Hiroki returned from outside the living room.

He saw the look his daughter gave him and smiled at her: "Sorry, Hanabi, Daddy needs to rush for work now."

"Won’t... eat breakfast?"

"Sorry, Dad has no time."

Hanamaru stood up, watching the hurriedly dressed Hanamaru Hiroki, and frowned: "Is it from the Police Headquarters?"

"Just some unreliable folks," Hanamaru Hiroki caught the car keys she handed him, his tone suddenly serious, "let the opponent escape three times, now they just left it to me to handle."

"It’s not any dangerous person, right?" Hanamaru was especially worried at times like this.

"Don’t worry," Hanamaru Hiroki quickly walked toward the hallway, waving to Hanamaru following behind, "it’s always been like this every time."

His hurried figure disappeared from the living room, and Hanamaru Hanabi stared at the hallway leading to the entrance for a while, then looked back to her half-cup of hot tea and the fried rice she hadn’t had a chance to eat.

She remembered her father’s always gentle and kind demeanor, his unreserved care since she was a child.

Yet she abandoned trust in her father, who cared for her meticulously, because of a dream.

The painful guilt kept festering in her heart.

"I’m sorry..."

Her head buried low, she apologized dejectedly to the empty chair in front of her.

——————

It was still that morning, the dawn spilling into the spring alley.

Uesugi Sakura had just left with his mother’s smiling farewell, ready to call on Hanabi to go to school.

He slung his school bag, with a faint red mark still on his right cheek.

Although he didn’t know why slapping himself didn’t work, at least he ended the strange dream that was both a beautiful dream and a nightmare.

He was walking to the neighboring Hanamaru home when he suddenly looked at his palm, then clenched his fingers inward.

"No way, no way."

Uesugi Sakura shook his head quickly, tossing aside those random thoughts, and stepped into the small courtyard of Hanamaru’s home.

The two shiromuku-like lilies at the door were still in bloom, their faint elegance fitting well with the morning air, making the surrounding dawn even more fresh and bright.

The mood today was quite good.

Before he could walk over to ring the bell, Kanabi, dressed in her sailor uniform, opened the door and stepped out, holding a shoulder bag in both hands.

"Hanabi?"

She should have been filled with a bright smile every day, but at this moment, her mood was very down.

Why?

"Sakura-kun..."

Hanamaru Hanabi did not look up at him but lowered her head, slowly closing the door behind her.

Uesugi Sakura stepped forward and asked, "Did something happen?"

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