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

Uesugi Shio sighed: "You saw it that day too. Those old guys are all club parasites. They're useless except for racking up some credits."

“Yes,” Uesugi Kai agreed, “He can’t even swing his sword properly, he’s really useless.”

"So?" Uesugi Shio looked at him expectantly.

"So please allow me to refuse." Uesugi Kai turned to walk back to the archery club.

"Hey, A-Zhao, can't you help your older sister out?"

Uesugi Kai's face remained indifferent, but he still glanced back at her: "Hasn't Shio-nee already made a name for herself in the kendo club? Everyone will listen to you."

"Tch," Uesugi Shio turned her head away dismissively, a hint of laziness creeping into her light blue earrings. "Most of those guys ran away as soon as they heard about the intensive training, so we can't count on them at all. Besides, it's not easy to find a player like you, Kai, who can be the captain."

"I am not strong."

"Don't joke around, aren't you the Unparalleled Meteor?"

Every time he heard that lousy reporter give him a title, Uesugi Kai couldn't help but raise an eyebrow: "Regardless of its accuracy, that's my title in the world of archery. What does it have to do with kendo?"

"In my opinion, you have that level of skill."

"Don't go."

"Really not going?"

"I'm not going." Uesugi Kai remained unmoved.

Uesugi Shio pulled out a lollipop and ate it. "You're not going because there's a bonus?"

"Not going... how much?"

Uesugi Shio held out a number with her right hand.

"Five million?" Uesugi Kai was tempted. He had been really poor lately, losing two million and having his allowance cut in considerably.

"Fifty."

"That's so little, what kind of competition is so stingy?"

"A sports festival jointly organized by the schools."

"..."

“There are quite a few schools that offer this, but 500,000 yen is really stingy,” said Kai Uesugi.

"That's a lot, enough to buy several truckloads of oranges. Grandpa's eyes will light up when he sees it!"

Uesugi Shio held the lollipop in her hand, twirling it restlessly in her mouth.

"This sports festival is huge. Several universities in the surrounding area will participate, and there's also a long-distance marathon that runs all over the city. If you participate in a few more, you could make millions!"

Such tiring work is impossible for Uesugi, even if there is money involved.

The clock's sharp hand points to eight o'clock.

His father-in-law suddenly asked him to go to Hanamaru's house, and he thought it was because his secret nighttime sleeping with Hanabi had been discovered.

It turns out I just wanted him to help move things.

The box was heavy, but he was still working hard to move it for the sake of his future happy life with Xiaohuahuo.

"Uncle, what's inside?"

Hanamaru Hiroki put down another box and said, "Hanabi's crib."

"You still have this?"

"Such a precious thing can't just be thrown away. Now it's going to be used again."

His words were filled with emotion.

Kai Uesugi doesn't understand what it feels like to be a father, but he must have been thrilled when his daughter was actually born.

My sister-in-law is due in seven months. I wonder how my uncle will feel when he sees her.

For some reason, Hanamaru Yuuki kept staring at the box, muttering things like "twelve years have passed" and "how much longer?"

“Uncle?” Uesugi Kai called out.

"It's nothing." Hanamaru Hiroki waved his hand, turned around and walked out of the nursery that was still being prepared. "Come down and eat first."

Perhaps because he's been busy with work lately, my uncle looked very tired from behind.

After dinner, Mrs. Hanamaru washed the dishes in the kitchen, while Hiroki Hanamaru watched TV on the sofa.

Kai Uesugi and Hanabi Hanabi sat on the veranda extending from the living room.

The girl braced her hands on the wooden planks on either side, her little feet dangling incessantly in the moonlight.

Her hair was longer than before, and she deliberately left two tufts of hair in front of her chest, saying she would tie them with the hairband he gave her.

"Are you feeling alright? You've been so tired lately."

"It's okay, I'm just a little not used to it yet." Hanabi Hanamaru's violet eyes reflected the moon at the end of June, making her look quite beautiful.

"I need Xiaohuahuo's help with something."

Hanabi Hanabi turned her head, her smile captivatingly charming: "Kai-kun, please speak."

"The Kendo Club has started recruiting again, and I would like to ask you to draw a promotional poster."

“No problem,” she replied, her little white-stockinged feet dangling outside. “Sister tide also talked to Hanabi about this.”

Kai Uesugi's gaze followed the swaying of her little feet. He glanced back at his uncle in the living room and instinctively took her little hand, which was resting on the wooden board.

Hanabi Hanabi looked at him, their eyes meeting.

Sometimes, communication doesn't need to be expressed in words.

He couldn't resist reaching out his other hand to pinch her soft, bouncy cheek.

"Kai-kun..."

She would always lower her head shyly, no matter what.

"Want a kiss?"

Hanabi Hanamaru glanced furtively at the living room behind her out of the corner of her eye. "No...this isn't good, what if someone sees us..."

"So...you're not refusing?"

"..."

Hanabi Hanabi's heart pounded with timidity, like a newborn fawn. Looking at his familiar face, she finally managed a weak nod, "Mmm..."

Kai Uesugi wrapped his arms around her back, leaned in, and bit her fragrant lips.

A passionate kiss, filled with the scent of the other.

Fortunately, no one noticed their secret little actions.

On Saturday morning, Uesugi Kai came to her small yard to prune the flowers. The pruning shears kept snipping away the unevenly growing excess branches and leaves, making a leisurely sound.

He has wondered more than once whether he has prematurely entered old age.

Use a rake to clear away the dead branches and fallen leaves, put them in a bag, and take them to the combustible waste recycling bin not far outside the house to throw them away.

When I got home, Xiaohuahuo was already in the kitchen busy making breakfast with her mother.

She's still so virtuous.

The pregnant Mrs. Hanamaru was talking to Uesugi Shio, who looked half-asleep.

Seeing him return, Mrs. Hanamaru quickly waved for him to sit on the sofa in the living room.

"Kai, I heard you used to give Hanabi-chan a private bath?"

Kai Uesugi glanced at Shio Uesugi and nodded, "Mm."

"Let me guess," Mrs. Hanamaru recalled the slightly worn black-and-white images in her mind, "the trip to Ehime Prefecture when Hanabi was five years old?"

Housewives are really something; they guessed it right away.

“Mm.” Uesugi Kai nodded.

Mrs. Hanamaru has long, flowing hair, and her daughter bears a striking resemblance to her, with equally bright and gentle eyes. She smiles and says:

"Xiao Kai and Xiao Hanabi are quite destined for each other. Back then, she was willing to spend time alone with you, or perhaps you hit it off with her the first time you met?"

"..."

Uesugi Kai remained silent for a long time. He was only four years old at the time, and it was impossible for him to fall for a timid little girl.

“Kai has been shrewd since he was a child, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he had feelings for Hanabi back then,” Uesugi Shio said.

Mrs. Hanamaru looked at her and then at Uesugi Kai, feigning surprise as she covered her mouth: "So Kai has been treating Hanabi as his wife all along. His strategy of playing hard to get and then making excuses was really effective."

"..."

Kai Uesugi stood up: "I'll go help carry the plates."

"Wait a minute," Mrs. Hanamaru said calmly, sitting upright.

He still had to listen to his mother-in-law, so he sat back down on the sofa.

"What kind of wedding does Xiaozhao want? We'll help you two plan it."

"Preparing two years in advance?"

"You don't need to worry about that, just tell me, traditional or Western style?"

After thinking for a while, Uesugi Kai said, "It's traditional, and we can also take wedding photos later."

Hanabi must look innocent and shy in her white kimono and wedding dress.

Mrs. Hanamaru smiled kindly, "How about we go to Meiji Shrine next week? We can observe a Shinto wedding ceremony held on an auspicious day."

And so the matter was settled amicably.

During exam week, all club activities are prohibited. Uesugi Kai leans against the window, thinking about how to help her cousin revive the Kamikoshi Kendo Club.

He didn't really want to go, but Xi-jie, who had cared for Xiaohuahuo since they were little, asked him for help, so there was nothing he could do about it.

If you get 50 for winning a single event at the sports festival, wouldn't you get 00 if you do both kendo and archery?

Thinking about it that way, Kanzaki-Eshito Private School is actually quite wealthy.

Those board members really went all out to promote Shingoku's influence in the sports community.