Living in Tokyo, all I want to do is laze around.

Now, they are in their 30s, almost 40, and they still work so hard every day until late at night for their family.

This is perhaps the tragedy of living in the city.

......

The next day,

The morning sunlight streamed into the room through the window, and a gentle March breeze brought a touch of coolness.

Kai Uesugi opened his blurry eyes and turned on his phone.

March 25th

8:43

The blanket wrapped tightly around her like an egg roll.

Kai Uesugi really didn't want to get out of his warm bed. He swiped his phone with his right hand to see if there were any new messages or interesting news.

After dawdling for half an hour, Uesugi Kai, bored out of her mind, finally got out of bed.

He went down to the living room and saw the note his mother had left on the table. He then heated up the milk, bread, and eggs in the microwave.

Kai Uesugi sat at the table, eating breakfast and scrolling through his phone.

And so, it was just another ordinary day during the holiday.

###Chapter 10 The First Day of April###

A peaceful day passed, and the remaining days were equally uneventful. In addition to her usual study tasks, Uesugi Kai also added three hours of bottle-throwing time each day.

【Precision Lv3 (0/7)】

April 1st, early morning.

Six days later, on the morning of today, Uesugi Kai got up early. As a good student with excellent grades, he knew he had to prepare for the opening ceremony early.

Although he hated this kind of thing that wasted his reading time.

7:12:32

After washing up, Uesugi Kai put on his school uniform and looked at himself in the mirror, admiring his exceptionally handsome appearance.

It must be said that the school uniform of Shen Gao High School is quite handsome. The stand-up collar uniform, white shirt paired with a black coat, makes the whole person look very upright and energetic.

After stepping down from the living room and greeting her parents with a routine "good morning," and finishing the breakfast they had prepared, Uesugi Kai slung her bag over her shoulder and prepared to head out.

"Be careful on the road."

After changing her shoes in the entryway, Uesugi Kai waved to her mother and walked towards Hanabi's house next door.

She skillfully rang the doorbell, and with a beep, the small speaker by the door broadcast Hanamaru Mieko's voice:

"Please wait a moment, Uesugi-kun. Hanabi is changing her clothes. Of course, you can come in if you can't wait."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a click, and the lock on the door seemed to open, revealing a narrow gap.

"..."

Uesugi Kai didn't go in, but stood quietly at the door waiting.

About ten minutes later, footsteps sounded from inside the door. Hanabi Hanamaru, looking flustered, pushed open the door. She was carrying a handbag and looked at Kai Uesugi waiting at the door, saying apologetically:

"I'm sorry, Uesugi-kun, for keeping you waiting."

"fine."

Kai Uesugi replied, and saw Hanabi Hanabi in her school uniform in front of him.

The girls' uniform at Shin-gao High School is a traditional black sailor uniform with a red ribbon tied below the white collar.

The neckline is wide, revealing the fair collarbone below the neck.

The pleated skirt and stockings are also black, and paired with a pair of shiny little leather shoes, it looks adorable at first glance.

Seeing her school uniform after so long, Uesugi Kai said to her:

"The fireworks are beautiful today."

"Ah, thank you... thank you..."

A blush crept onto Hanabi's face, and her bright eyes became somewhat evasive.

"Fireworks, fireworks, you may have forgotten to take them."

Hanamaru Mieko came out from the inner room and handed the bento box she was carrying to Hanamaru Hanabi.

Seeing her slightly flushed face, and then looking at Uesugi Kai standing outside, he bent down and whispered in her ear in a barely audible voice:

"Remember what I said."

Hanabi Hanamaru gripped the bento box tightly in her hands, pursed her soft lips, and nodded cautiously.

"Good morning, Aunt Mieko," Uesugi Kai greeted politely.

"Good morning," Mrs. Hanamaru replied with a smile, pushing Hanamaru Hanabi out and waving her hand. "Go on, go on, it's getting late, you have your opening ceremony today."

Uesugi Kai glanced at Hanabi Hanamaru, who was keeping her head down, and nodded to Mrs. Hanamaru at the door in reply:

"Then let's set off."

"Okay, be careful on the road!"

Hanamaru Mieko smiled and then closed the door.

After Hanabi Hanabi put the bento she was carrying into her crossbody bag, Kai Uesugi said to her:

"Let's go."

"Ah."

Hanabi Hanabi walked obediently beside Kai Uesugi, glancing at him before quickly lowering her head again.

Kai Uesugi could naturally sense this. Hanabi Hanamaru was unusually shy today, not daring to look at him more than twice. This was never the case when they went to school together. He wondered if she had reverted to her childhood self.

It seems that Aunt Mieko said something to her earlier, which led to this situation.

Uesugi Kai didn't think much of it; if Hanabi didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't interfere too much.

And so, the two of them continued walking towards the high school in this state.

Kanzaki Koshito High School is a private high school located in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its full name is Kanzaki Koshito Private High School.

The student body is of high caliber, and the admission standards are very high, which in turn means that the tuition fees are also high.

The average deviation score of all students is around 59, which is considered to be among the top in the country.

Deviation values ​​are the standard used by island nations to evaluate students. They are a very important way to numerically assess students' learning abilities using a fixed formula.

However, the deviation value does not represent a student's score, but only their approximate position within the entire student population, representing a student's "distance from the average".

This is often the sole criterion for admission to many schools.

Kai Uesugi's deviation score on the entrance exam was 71, but by the end of his first semester of high school, it had dropped to 69.

A deviation value of 70 is in the top 2%, and now he is on the edge of the top 2%.

This doesn't mean he's become less intelligent; rather, it means that those who work hard are working even harder, leading to an overall improvement in the students' academic level, which in turn lowers his deviation score.

Kai Uesugi didn't have many options for this, except to do his best to improve and widen the gap between himself and the average student population.

“Uesugi-kun…”

Hanabi Hanabi, who was walking beside her, suddenly looked up, her bright eyes sparkling, her hands clasped tightly together, her heart filled with unease.

Kai Uesugi knew what Hanabi's expressions and actions meant. She would always act this way when she was embarrassed, and she would change her self-reference to "I" to her own name, "Hanabi".

Although she refers to herself as "fireworks" most of the time.

"Hanabi...Hanabi..."

In the alley, Hanabi Hanabi stopped and looked at Kai Uesugi's face.

It was clear that she had a lot to say and wanted to say something.

"Ok?"

Hanabi Hanabi's inexplicable shyness still left Kai Uesugi unable to understand what she wanted to do, but he still stopped and waited quietly.

That's what he always did.

As time went by, her heart pounded wildly, and her small hands fidgeted restlessly on her black pleated skirt.

"Hanabi..."

The morning spring sunlight shone through the fluffy white clouds onto her shoulders, sparkling and dancing. Bathed in the sunlight, she looked exceptionally pure, her delicate and rosy face as beautiful as flowers in the morning and moonlight at dusk.

"Aha! Found it! Fireworks!!"

A very lively figure came running quickly, and a girl in a black sailor uniform hugged Hanabi from behind, rubbing her face against her neck and giggling:

Good morning, Hanabi-chan! Long time no see!

"Ugh...no...don't do that...Rie-chan...it's so itchy..."

"I want it, I want it! Hmm? Why is your face so red?"

Ayakari touched Hanabi Hanabi's burning face, her golden eyes glaring angrily at Uesugi Kai in front of her:

"Hey! Did you bully our Hanabi again? Don't you have any self-awareness as a boy?!"

Chapter Eleven: The So-Called Road to School

"No," Uesugi Kai replied briefly.

“I don’t believe it,” Ayaka Rie wrapped her arms around Hanabi’s neck, looking at Uesugi Kai with suspicion. “You must have been bullying Hanabi-chan. It’s happened so many times!”

“I’m telling the truth,” Uesugi Kai argued.

"Tch, Hanabi-chan, what do you think?"

Seeing that she couldn't get anything out of Uesugi Kai, Ayaka Rie turned to Hanabi Hanamaru and asked her with a hopeful look on her face.

Hanabi Hanamaru blushed and after a long while said: