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

Hanabi Hanabi, with her even and ethereal steps, stood obediently beside Kai Uesugi and whispered to him:

"...Kai-kun has spent money again."

Kai Uesugi turned away from Yuuki Hanamaru, who had been queuing, and smiled at Hanabi Hanabi, saying:

“I now work at a coffee shop in Soho and I earn £3000 a month, so this little bit of money is no problem at all.”

"By the way, Hanabi, is there anything you particularly like right now?"

"Why is Kai-kun asking this?" Hanamaru Hanabi held the painting tube up with her two little hands under her skirt and tilted her head cutely.

With the park's green shade behind her and the bright sunlight shining through, her young face revealed the purity and beauty of a young girl.

###Chapter 232 What is Hanabi's Dream?###

The surface of the Nine-Bend Lake is as still as a blue mirror, and when a gentle breeze ripples, it creates shimmering patterns under the sunlight.

Uesugi Kai sat on the green lawn by the shore, with lush trees overhead, gazing at a flock of white swans swimming on the lake.

The scenery is nice, but it's located in London, England, which is quite far from Tokyo.

It wasn't that he particularly loved Tokyo, but rather that his parents lived there, and he had probably gotten used to living there.

"Hanabi."

The girl who was sketching by the lake turned to look at him.

"If I hadn't come here, would you have stayed here to study?"

"Yes," Hanabi Hanabi replied, "but I will definitely go back to visit during summer vacation."

Kai Uesugi felt that the impact of the previous incident on her had faded, and at least she was no longer as sensitive as before.

"Actually, I really want to come to England and study with you."

Hanamaru Hanabi sketched the lake's surface on the canvas with a paintbrush, but shook her head. "Kai-kun has already done enough for Hanabi."

"In my opinion, that's not enough."

Hanamaru Yuuki, who was sketching by the fireworks, secretly glanced at the two people chatting. She was always very interested in conversations between couples.

But the two of them seemed to be talking about something unsweet, and neither of them had a smile on their faces.

Why? Since it's Saturday, shouldn't couples enjoy life to the fullest?

Hanamaru Yuuki was a little confused about her brother-in-law. Even though he had come all the way to London to chase after her sister, he still didn't seem very happy.

----------

September 29th, 93 days until the end of the year, and 11 days until Hanabi's birthday.

"Hmm—today's coffee is a bit too bitter," Mr. Bryce said, taking a sip of the coffee brewed by Kai Uesugi, while his chubby British Shorthair blue cat rested on the bar.

It has a bit of a lucky cat vibe.

"Is it a problem with the baking?" Kai Uesugi asked.

“No, not at all,” Mr. Bryce replied, putting down his cup. “Although many people disagree, I think the mind has a very significant influence on coffee.”

"I'd like to ask you, what is your reason for coming to London?"

“Mr. Bryce knows that he wants to get his fiancée back.”

Bryce smiled. "Love is certainly something to be praised! But I don't think there's much of a romantic vibe between you and Miss Fireworks lately."

"is it?"

“Of course!” Bryce picked up the blue cat on the bar again. “You know, love makes the other person smile, but even though Miss Fireworks comes here for a coffee every day after class, you rarely smile at her.”

Following Mr. Bryce's advice, Uesugi Kai recalled the situation over the past few weeks.

Indeed, he almost never smiled at her in the coffee shop.

Just add more milk and some of her favorite things when she orders coffee.

"Mr. Bryce, what do you think love is?"

"Life and romance!"

Kai Uesugi, dressed in a Western-style tuxedo, looked at him, expecting him to continue.

Bryce stroked the head of the lucky cat at the Soho coffee shop: "But life isn't romantic. It has a lot of pain and troubles. Someone in your country once said, 'Ugliness is life itself.' It's precisely because of dissatisfaction with life that we pursue romance and comfort."

"Romance always returns to life and settles into tranquility, just like the coffee shop Anna opened. She initially loved coffee out of idealism, but had to love money because her husband was disabled in both legs."

Bryce glanced back at the idyllic Soho coffee shop.

"Forced by life's hardships, she used the money she earned from her coffee shop to take care of her husband who had difficulty walking, never abandoning him. This is the cruelty of life, but strangely enough, isn't it also a very romantic thing?"

Kai Uesugi was unaware that his boss, Anna, had such a past; he simply assumed she was a British woman who loved money.

"Mr. Bryce means to seek romance in life? Is that what love is?"

“No, no, no,” Bryce said with a smile, shaking his head as he held the cat. “Staying true to life is romance, it is love.”

Mr. Bryce soon took his dried fish for a walk.

Even as evening fell and Kai Uesugi served coffee to customers, he was thinking about his life with her.

A very simple young couple.

Thinking about how shy and tender she looked when I fed her, I couldn't help but smile.

The sight of her watching him eat in the cafeteria, worrying about whether the bento she made would suit his taste, was heartwarming.

Perhaps, a sweet smile is what the two of them really need right now.

Ding-a-ling~

The doorbell rang.

Around this time, two girls carrying painting tubes pushed open the door and walked in.

"Uesugi, an Irish coffee, please." Hanamaru Yuuki immediately ran over, put her hands on the bar counter, and grinned at him.

Hanabi Hanamaru gently closed the door and walked slowly in, her lightly gathered hair falling over her shoulders, exuding gentleness and grace.

“Children shouldn’t drink alcohol,” Uesugi Kai said with a smile, then turned to Hanabi Hanabi with an even more attractive smile and asked, “Hanabi, is it a latte today too?”

Perhaps it was because of his charm level 8, perhaps it was because of his appearance, or perhaps it was because she liked him.

The girl, who had been calm, responded somewhat blankly under his smiling gaze:

"Um......"

Hanamaru Yuuki, a girl who is very obsessed with shoujo manga, was instantly interested. Without disturbing them, she quietly watched the two of them exchanging glances.

Let's see how long they can keep staring at each other.

A customer in a coffee shop finishes a cup of coffee and a macaron.

Hanamaru Yuuki estimated that it would probably take five or six minutes.

She knew her sister really liked this brother-in-law; she had been looking at his photos on her phone the whole time they were in the art studio.

One thing is for sure: my brother-in-law is really handsome; he looks like a protagonist from a shoujo manga.

He's handsome, tall, and I heard he gets excellent grades and can even make coffee!

Unfortunately, he's not very good at sweet-talking people and doesn't know how to say things that make girls feel sweet.

Hanamaru Yuuki covered her mouth with her right hand and coughed twice: "Ahem! I'd like an Irish coffee."

"..."

"..."

Kai Uesugi slowly turned his head: "No, children shouldn't drink alcohol."

------------

That night, the moon was dark and the wind was high.

But the White Quarter of London remained brightly lit.

An orange cat stepped lightly onto the roof of a villa with an English-style architecture.

Below is a fountain square that runs through three streets. The saxophonist who comes every night is still immersed in the beautiful music he has woven. In front of him is an upside-down black top hat, inside which are stacks of pounds and pennies.

The orange cat leaped down from the eaves of the villa, its lithe body allowing it to move freely through the city streets under the moonlight.

Uesugi Neko's appearance wasn't without reason; he wanted to go and sleep with Hanabi.

Of course, this is in the identity of Kai.

Hanabi and Yuuki live in a house across the street, very close to the Soho Cafe.

Uesugi Cat climbed up the eaves, circled half the house, and stepped into the small window of Hanabi's room.

The moon hid behind the clouds, and even though the city lights were shining behind Uesugi Neko, the light in the girl's room remained dim.

Cats have a keen sense of smell; at least Uesugi Cat smelled the ginger soup.

The ginger soup was the method he told her. Although Hanamaru Hanabi was always too shy to say it, Uesugi Kai knew it should work on her.

Uesugi Neko shook its cat head, glanced at the girl lying asleep on the bed, and knew that she had started her period.

Putting everything else aside, Uesugi Kai knows that she experiences menstrual cramps, but she almost never says anything.

On one hand, I was shy, and on the other hand, I was embarrassed.

What's there to be embarrassed about? When you get your period for the first time, aren't you scared and come to me crying?

The weather in London is rather cold.

The girl wrapped herself tightly in the blanket; it must have taken a lot of effort for Uesugi Neko to squeeze in.

It was warm inside and filled with a faint, sweet scent of lilies.

Uesugi Neko used his head to push open the girl's thin pink pajamas and used his paw pads on her smooth little belly.

The soft, bouncy sensation returned to his paws, allowing Uesugi Neko to feel the touch of a young girl's skin, and at the same time, he noticed... he'd gotten fatter...

Kai Uesugi thought it was because she had been eating too much lately; British food is inherently sweet, and everything is predominantly sweet.

Cream, butter, sugar, jam... those are all regular ingredients.