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

"Sorry to bother you."

There was no response from Hanabi Hanabi.

Kai Uesugi changed her shoes in the entryway, and the leather shoes next to her indicated that Yuuki Hanamaru was also home today.

Upon entering the living room, Mrs. Hanamaru was busy preparing lunch, while her father-in-law was watching the news on the sofa.

Recently, at the Hakusui Bank headquarters in Otemachi, Chiyoda Ward, a 36-year-old woman living in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, threatened a female employee at the counter with a toy knife, saying, "Robbery, hand over your money."

The female employee ignored it and pressed the alarm bell on her workstation. Two security guards rushed in and subdued her on the spot.

It is reported that the woman was arrested on suspicion of attempted robbery; fortunately, no one was injured in the incident.

"Uncle, where are the fireworks?" Uesugi Kai placed the dessert from the plastic bag on the table.

Wearing a white shirt, Hanamaru Hiroki held a cup of tea, from which a delicate and elegant aroma of tea slowly rose.

He looked at the television in front of him and said:

"Hanabi just finished taking her medicine and should be sleeping now."

His fingers gently traced the warm rim of the cup, his pupils slightly narrowed, and Hanamaru Hiroki turned to ask:

"The girl hasn't been in a good mood lately, what happened?"

"Previous issues."

Who provoked her?

“I don’t know who he is, but he added Hanabi on Line and sometimes he would stalk me and take pictures that she would misinterpret.”

Hanamaru Hiroki frowned and said in a low voice, "Is that person's target you, or Hanabi?"

"Gender unknown, purpose unclear."

"Since you want the girl to misunderstand you, you're probably after her." Hanamaru Hiroki took a sip of tea, the rising steam dissipating in front of his face.

Uesugi Kai had no idea how much information his father-in-law had gleaned from those few words to arrive at such a conclusion.

Has that person made any moves recently?

"I've been adding Hanabi's Line."

"In order to achieve the goal, but without success, further action is necessary."

The clear teacup reflected Hanamaru Hiroki's eyes, which showed no emotional fluctuation.

"Keep a close eye on Hanabi lately, and don't let her walk alone on the roads outside the school."

"Can I follow behind her?"

"Yes, but I must be there."

Uesugi understood that his father-in-law was worried about something happening to Hanabi.

"I promise..."

“No amount of assurance can compare to seeing it with your own eyes,” Hanamaru Hiroki interrupted him. “Don’t forget, I’m her father, and I’ve known her for three years longer than you have.”

This means my father-in-law is going to take action.

If that person is a student, it's a little better, but if they're someone from the working world...

Hanamaru Hiroki is a police superintendent; he shouldn't do anything like beating up a suspect without authorization.

The aroma of food from the kitchen wafted into the living room, and when Mrs. Hanamaru brought out the dishes, her belly was noticeably larger.

My sister-in-law is about to be born, and I wonder what kind of name my father-in-law plans to give her.

Mrs. Hanamaru smiled at him and told him to go upstairs and call Hanamaru Hanabi down for dinner.

Hanamaru Hiroki saw her walk back to the kitchen and said to Uesugi Kai:

"Hurry up and go up. Hanabi has been talking about you the whole time you weren't here. She even saved one of the dragon fruit I bought last night for you."

“She has been very fragile since she was a child, and she has always secretly liked you, so don’t let her down. I don’t want to lose a daughter I raised from childhood because of this.”

"Will not."

"Uncle, who is Xinyue's mother?"

"Hanamaru Shinzuki? He seems to be studying at Waseda High School, which is not far away. I remember he visited me once two months ago."

Hanamaru Hiroki thought for a moment, then said:

"Nobuzuki's mother is Hanabi's aunt, who is also my younger sister, Hanamaru Hazuki. I remember you've met her before, why are you asking this?"

"nothing."

Kai Uesugi quickly went upstairs.

Sitting on the sofa, Hanamaru Yuuki turned his head to look at Uesugi's footsteps disappearing at the top of the stairs, then turned back to take the last sip of tea.

--------

dong dong...

To avoid encountering the legendary "door-opening bonus" again, Uesugi Kai knocked twice before entering.

Inside, the curtains were drawn, and outside the French windows, the sparse rain continued to wash over the green trees.

Hanabi Hanabu sat in front of the computer, covered with a blanket.

A white tissue was still stuffed in her rosy little nose, and her violet eyes reflected the outline of the character on the screen, stroke by stroke.

Judging from its appearance, it depicts a little white-haired girl.

White hair and white stockings, a Lolita dress, blue eyes, bare feet in white stockings stepping on a watermelon, making a cute but fierce expression.

"How do I draw this?"

Hanabi Hanamaru, who was engrossed in her work, was startled by the sudden sound beside her face and turned her head to look at him in a fluster:

"Ah... Kai-kun?"

Uesugi Kai gently pinched her soft, comforting cheek and said with a smile, "Why are you drawing this?"

Hanabi, who was suffering from a cold, glanced at the screen and said in a muffled voice, "If I draw...draw illustrations, I can earn more money."

Kai Uesugi glanced at the white-haired loli on the screen and asked, "How much is this one?"

"Ten thousand yen," Hanabi Hanamaru said. "I've been drawing for three days, and it's almost finished."

"Isn't 10,000 yen a bit too little?"

"Fireworks is a newbie, it has no fans..."

Hanamaru Hanabi is very meticulous in her drawing; every stroke she makes is a delicate and graceful line.

For example, the white-haired loli's feet stepping on a watermelon are drawn very well. The girl's white-stockinged feet are stepping on the round watermelon, and her little toes are slightly pink.

Who has such a weird taste in food, pairing a loli in white stockings with a watermelon?

Why are we stepping on watermelons?

Because little feet create a smooth, rounded curve when they step on it?

Kai Uesugi pointed at the white-stockinged feet of the loli on the screen and asked, "Did Hanabi draw her own feet?"

Hanabi Hanamaru glanced subconsciously at her bare feet on the chair, her face flushed with an unfading blush.

"no."

“I always feel like I look a lot like you when you wear white stockings,” Uesugi Kai said, looking up from the screen. “Hanabi, do you want to try this?”

"No, no," Hanabi Hanabi refused in a weak voice, "strange movements."

"You think the movements Hanabi drew herself are strange?"

"It's just strange."

Kai Uesugi held up the dessert he had been hiding behind his back and presented it to Hanabi Hanabi:

"I gave Hanabi cake, and Hanabi wore a pretty dress to show me."

Hanabi Hanabi saw the same milk strawberry cake from that day and was stunned for a moment.

Kai Uesugi smiled at her silly, blank face:

"Do you want me to feed you again?"

Upon hearing the word "feed," Hanabi Hanamaru immediately shrank her head to her legs: "No, you can't feed Hanabi."

“We haven’t kissed in a few days.” Uesugi Kai placed the bag of desserts on the computer desk.

"The more Kai kisses Hanabi, the worse he gets..." Hanabi said in a very low voice, her head still down.

"Fireworks are so cute."

"Fireworks aren't cute..."

"A cute girl becomes even cuter when she says she's not cute."

"Look up, okay?" Uesugi Kai said.

Hanabi Hanabi was very obedient to him.

She peeked out and saw that he was far away, so she carefully turned her head and raised her face.

As timid as a newborn animal.

She raised her blushing, pretty little nose, and then someone quickly took the opportunity to lightly touch her lips.

"......Um."

The cold rain falling from the sky still shrouded the sky in a gray haze.

However, the shy Hanabi Hanabi in front of me is so real that she touches my heart.

"Does Hanabi know what it feels like to like someone?"

Hanabi Hanabi looked at him: "I know..."

"I like you, and this liking will always continue, so don't worry at any time."

Hanabi Hanamaru blinked her vibrant purple eyes in the gray rainy weather.

The smell of cold rain made it seem as if the world consisted only of her.