Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard
Chapter 96: I Just Have a Little Bit of a Kink

Chapter 96: Chapter 96: I Just Have a Little Bit of a Kink

At noon, in the cafeteria, Goto Iwao walked over looking dejected.

Tsubokawa Takahiro adjusted his glasses, glanced at him sideways: "Yo, isn’t this Goto? What made you want to have lunch with us today?"

Goto Iwao didn’t answer, he plopped down beside him looking miffed.

Uesugi Sakura quietly ate the omurice prepared by Hanabi, not looking at him.

"I got dumped." Goto Iwao succinctly said.

"Pff!"

Tsubokawa Takahiro almost spat out the soba noodles he just put in his mouth.

He quickly took a sip of oolong tea to calm down, then asked:

"One week, and it’s over?"

"One week and half a day."

Goto Iwao mocked himself, "And to think I even took her to have a 4999 yen eel rice on Saturday."

Uesugi Sakura paused in eating the omurice, then continued without a care.

Tsubokawa Takahiro reached out, patted Goto’s shoulder affectionately, and comforted him: "Relax~ Love will come back eventually."

"Pointless."

"What?" Tsubokawa Takahiro didn’t quite catch that.

"I said, pointless." Goto Iwao raised his voice slightly.

His eyes lacked luster, like a marinated dead fish: "Clearly... it was my first love... and I was reluctant to let go."

"Is it just over like that?" he was asking himself.

"You need to learn to let go~" Tsubokawa Takahiro said earnestly, patting his back gently, "So, can you tell me how you got dumped?"

Goto Iwao slumped his shoulders, spoke weakly:

"Date, shopping, eel rice, and then while eating the eel rice, I told her about being falsely accused of being a jerk."

"Then what?" Tsubokawa Takahiro stopped eating his noodles, continued to ask.

"I thought couples should be honest with each other, so I showed her my chat history with classmate Ogata."

"Was that the problem?"

Goto Iwao shook his head like a dead fish: "She didn’t say anything after looking at it, but she casually clicked on the return button..."

Uesugi Sakura, who had been listening all along, instantly understood what happened.

"She saw my 563 friends and five whole pages of ’good morning’ messages."

Tsubokawa Takahiro could barely hold back his laughter: "You even have the girls’ measurements in your contacts, who else but you wouldn’t get dumped?"

Goto Iwao pushed Tsubokawa’s mocking face away, "Now I’m very restrained, recently when they asked why I stopped chatting, I didn’t even reply."

"Then why don’t you delete them?" Tsubokawa asked, while Uesugi silently ate his omurice.

Goto Iwao sighed heavily: "I’m reluctant, you know how hard it is for me to get a set of measurements? Photos, updates, TikTok, chat records, indirect questions, every set of measurements was the result of my tremendous effort."

"Interesting?"

"You don’t understand."

Tsubokawa Takahiro gave him a disdainful look: "I understand why Senior Sister Ogata said you’re scum."

"I’m not scum, I just have a ’little bit’ of a hobby like you joining the Uniform Research Department."

The last three words, Goto Iwao emphasized heavily.

Uesugi Sakura finished Hanabi’s omurice, silently shaking his head.

——————

Besides receiving a love letter this morning, today was otherwise uneventful for Uesugi Sakura.

While taking a break after shooting, Uesugi Sakura sat in the rest area, exchanging messages with Hanamaru Hanabi on his phone.

Effortlessly Drawing Hanabi-chan (Hanamaru Hanabi): Kai-kun, what do you want to eat tonight? We can go shopping together.

Paddle on the Water (Uesugi Sakura): You (serious expression)

After a long while.

Effortlessly Drawing Hanabi-chan: Hanabi... doesn’t want to come to Kai-kun’s house today...

Paddle on the Water: Then I’ll crash at Hanabi’s place for dinner.

Effortlessly Drawing Hanabi-chan: No way. (A big red X)

Paddle on the Water: (sad little cat) If Hanabi-chan doesn’t agree, then I’ll have instant noodles for dinner...

Sitting in front of the drawing board, Hanamaru Hanabi saw that sad emoji and softened up, her small hands typing quickly on her phone.

Effortlessly Drawing Hanabi-chan: Hanabi will make something delicious for Kai-kun.

Uesugi Sakura smiled at the screen, his fingers tapping quickly.

Paddle on the Water: So, are you coming to my place tonight?

A silent moment passed.

Effortlessly Drawing Hanabi-chan: Why does Kai-kun always want Hanabi to come over and play...

Paddle on the Water: I just want to be with you.

"Kai-kun..."

Hanamaru Hanabi held onto her phone blankly, her cheeks turning red.

Uesugi Sakura waited a long time for her message.

『Always...?』

『Always, Kai-kun really likes Hanabi.』

After that, Uesugi Sakura didn’t receive any more replies from her.

He stared intently at the cartoon avatar, his pupils dilating and contracting.

Did he go a bit overboard with the teasing?

But it felt really good.

With a smile that faded into a more usual expression, Uesugi Sakura’s face returned to its normal calmness.

He picked up the bamboo bow on the stand, put on the kake from the Kyudo Field, and walked towards the shooting spot.

In the Kyudo Field, the sound of the bowstring resonated as Sugita Shuhei put down his longbow, and said to the returning Uesugi Sakura beside him:

"You didn’t even shoot ten arrows today, aren’t you slacking a bit."

"Not really."

Uesugi Sakura looked at the target 28 meters ahead on the zandana, drew an arrow from the quiver, held the lightweight bamboo bow up over his shoulder.

The right hand’s kake grip tightened on the bowstring, the left hand held the bow, and his shoulder muscles exerted backwards.

Slowly, steadily, like basking in a spring breeze, naturally and securely.

In the moment the bow was fully drawn, maintaining the stance, the sixth step "kai" of the Shooting Technique Eight Steps was complete.

Uesugi Sakura looked ahead, aimed the arrowhead at the target center, and released his slightly trembling fingers.

Snick—!

The sharp yet low string sound resonated, signaling the arrow to pierce through the green space, hitting the target.

[Accuracy Lv7(12/40)]

[Constitution Lv6(5/20)]

Uesugi Sakura shook his hand; the force from the 21kg bow was still a bit much to adjust to.

Seisuke Yooya, next to him, smiled and said: "You finished kai, but forgot to do the eighth step, zanshin."

"Sigh," Uesugi Sakura shook his head, "Encountered a troublesome matter during Kyudo practice."

"Technical problems?"

Seisuke Yooya said, "But I think you don’t have any issues basically, except for occasionally messing up the posture, you hardly ever miss the target."

Uesugi Sakura holding the bamboo bow, said pointing at his hakama: "The Kyudo uniform is too cool, while I was practicing with the bow, a female classmate saw me, and today she sent me a love letter."

"A love letter!?"

Chitose Mai, who was laughing and chatting with Sakurai Fumiko at the back, came over and asked him: "Senior, you got confessed to by a female classmate?"

"Yes."

Uesugi Sakura spoke in a calm tone, "After the club activity, I’m planning to reject her."

His calm tone sounded ruthless to Chitose Mai, who couldn’t help but silently lament: "Why fall for the senior, hence another heartbroken girl in this school."

"Kyudo doesn’t need romance."

Ogata Asaka’s cold voice, intertwined with her bowstring sound, echoed faintly.

"That’s right." Sugita Shuhei was the only one in this Kyudo Field who agreed with her viewpoint.

On the outermost shooting spot, Hirata Masanobu, who usually had little presence, touched his head and laughed: "I think, it can’t be so absolute."

Yuusaki Mutta and other members who had no presence nodded in agreement.