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

Hanabi Hanamaru placed a towel on the carpet and gently laid the crying Uesugi Kokoro on it: "I'll change, you go and look after Hana."

Hanamaru Hanayu, that little rascal, is running around everywhere.

Kai Uesugi glanced around the customer area and finally spotted her crawling under the dining table and chairs.

He strode over, grabbed the back of her short neck, and hugged her tightly.

Hanamaru Hanayu was very familiar with Uesugi Kai, and even opened her arms to hug him:

"Sister~"

“It’s my brother,” Uesugi Kai said. When Hana hugged him, he felt a warm sensation, and her cheek against his neck was also warm.

He really likes this little guy; it makes people feel very warm and fuzzy.

Take another look at Hanabi Hanamoto, who is patiently changing her younger sister's diaper across from her.

Her earnestness evoked a feeling of home within me.

Her presence made even the mundane details of daily life meaningful.

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

Saturday is family day, at least the two wives, two fathers, and two sisters are all together.

It's currently the time when the cherry blossoms haven't yet fallen, and many families choose to come and enjoy them.

On the vast lawn of Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Hanamaru Hanayu crawled around on the tablecloth, only lifting her head after bumping into someone, and calling out indistinctly:

"Dad~"

Hanamaru Hiroki patted her head and asked Uesugi Kai, who was sitting opposite him:

"Did your father ask you to become a policeman again?"

"No."

"Yes, that's fine." Hanamaru Hiroki held his youngest daughter on his lap. "Sometimes forcing things isn't a good thing, and he probably understands that too."

"Let's talk about you. Do you have any goals for yourself lately?"

"I want to open a coffee shop."

"Open a shop? Hmm... Do you know Hanabi?"

"I haven't told her yet, but she knows I have this idea."

"Have you prepared a specific plan?"

"Not yet, it's just a thought."

"If you don't have enough funds, you can get them from me. As long as Hanabi knows you have ideas, she will definitely support you unconditionally."

Hanamaru Hiroki let go of his restless youngest daughter, who soon crawled up to Uesugi Kai and stood up, asking for a hug.

Kai Uesugi grabbed her small upper body with both hands and lifted her into the air, and the little one immediately giggled.

Hanamaru Hiroki felt a pang of nostalgia upon seeing this scene. More than ten years ago, when Hanabi was one year old, she smiled at him in the same way. In the blink of an eye, she was about to get married.

As a father, although I had been preparing for it for a long time, I was still very reluctant when the time was really approaching.

He turned around, pulled two beer cans from his bag, and reached out to hand one to Uesugi Kai:

"...I forgot, you're still a minor."

Kenichi Uesugi sat down next to Kai Uesugi, took the beer can from Hiroki Hanamaru's hand, and grinned, "I'll drink with you."

Hanamaru Hiroki glanced at the two ladies admiring the cherry blossoms not far from the lawn before clinking glasses with his future in-laws.

"When was the last time we had a drink together?"

Kenichi Uesugi took a sip of beer and waved his hand: "Ha, who would remember something like that?"

"Have you been very busy lately?"

"Very busy, especially for the senior technical staff who have even more to deal with."

Hanamaru Hiroki seemed to want to say something, but shook his head and said, "Never mind, let's drink."

Kenichi Uesugi held up the can: "Drink."

Kai Uesugi couldn't join in the drinking between the two fathers, so he picked up Hanamaru Hanayu and went to the ladies under the cherry tree.

"Kai, are you looking for fireworks?" Mrs. Hanamaru took Hanamaru Hanayu from his hands.

"Ah."

Mrs. Uesugi pointed in a direction and smiled, saying, "She's over there."

Uesugi Kai looked in the direction her mother pointed.

One by one, cherry blossoms swayed gently in the wind, their petals fluttering in the air, each one a lifespan of 5 centimeters per second, proclaiming their beauty to the fullest.

The beautiful girl wearing a straw hat under the tree was adorned with cherry blossom petals.

Her temperament was ethereal and dreamlike, and her slightly swaying white dress was as flawless as drifting clouds.

Just like back then, when she came to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden to invite me to see the cherry blossoms during cherry blossom season.

Kai Uesugi still remembers treating her to a 1140 yen Ichiran Ramen meal; the red broth reflected her shy and adorable appearance.

For some reason, looking at the beautiful figures in the crowd under the cherry blossom tree, my eyes welled up with tears.

He stepped forward, weaving through the crowd, and called out her name:

"Hanabi."

###Chapter 243 The Cherry Blossom Girl###

Cherry blossoms covered both banks of the road, with pink petals extending from the branches all the way to the river surface. The ripples brought by the wind startled the fish swimming underwater.

Kai Uesugi held onto the little hand beside him the whole time, unwilling to let go.

"How about we move in together?"

Hanabi Hanabi turned to look at him, then suddenly stopped and reached out her other hand to touch his face. "Kai-kun... are you alright...?"

Why do you ask that?

"Kai-kun... is crying."

"cry?"

Kai Uesugi touched the corner of her eye with her index finger, and a single, glistening tear, filled with sorrow, slid down her fingertip.

Hanabi Hanabi could sense the sadness that had suddenly welled up in him for some reason. "Kai-kun, are you alright?"

Kai Uesugi looked at the girl's concerned face as she gazed at him, still under the swaying cherry blossom tree; her appearance was beautiful and profound.

"I...don't know...why..."

Hanabi Hanamaru took out a scented towel from her pouch, wrapped it around her hand, and gently wiped away the tears that were sliding down his cheeks.

Her face was reflected in his eyes as she looked up and reached out her hand. The more he looked at her, the more tears involuntarily streamed down his face.

"Fireworks, I—"

"This is the first time I've ever seen Kai cry." Hanabi Hanamaru suddenly laughed. "I've heard that tears are formed from emotions—sadness, grief, pain, joy... When these emotions arise in your heart, tears will quietly flow down."

"Tears are always shed at the end of the story, when everything is over. I think... Kai-kun must be shedding tears of joy right now, happy to be here with Hanabi to enjoy the cherry blossoms."

The girl's gentle and radiant smile seemed to make the fluttering petals even brighter.

Uesugi Kai gazed at her for a long time, then turned his face away, smiled, shook his head, and continued to lead her on a stroll through the imperial garden:

"Can fireworks really be that confident?"

Hanabi Hanabi took his hand and pressed her cheek against his shoulder, saying, "I would do it for Kai-kun."

The more she said that, the happier and more fulfilled Uesugi Kai felt. Her gentle presence close to him made it clear that this girl was truly there for him.

I want to see her smile, I want her by my side.

Under the cherry blossom trees on the riverbank, you can see Hanamaru Kaori happily riding on her father's shoulders. Under Mrs. Hanamaru's smiling gaze, her father-in-law also smiles, a happy smile rarely seen on his face.

"Let's...move together."

"Kai-kun is going to do something bad again."

"I promise--"

Hanabi Hanabi suddenly reached out and pressed her finger to his lips, then lowered her head shyly and whispered, "It's okay, it's okay."

"So that means we can live together?"

"can."

"What if I...can't resist doing something bad?"

"That, that's also a kind of liking..." Hanabi Hanamaru spoke slower and slower, her weak voice stammering, "And...and...Kai-kun hasn't...hasn't asked Hanabi for help in a long time."

Her voice grew softer and softer until even Uesugi Kai, who had been listening to her speak in hushed tones for over a decade, couldn't make out what she was saying.

"Could you... say it again...?"

"Say it again... say it again..."

Hanabi Hanamaru was too shy to say it again. She followed him under the cherry blossom tree for a long time, and finally, avoiding the gaze of the surrounding tourists, she secretly pulled out his finger with her small hand and gently slid it between her thumb and forefinger.

Then she slowly pulled her little hands back together, lowered her head, and said nothing more.

Kai Uesugi understood, and realized that he had corrupted her, who used to be such a pure girl.

They clearly don't understand anything.

"Hanabi feels uncomfortable when she sees boys online, so she often does bad things."

Kai Uesugi suddenly felt ashamed to look at her.

......

After we finished walking through the Imperial Garden and were sitting quietly on the lawn eating rice balls, Hanamaru Hanayu crawled over from the other side and called out in her childish voice:

"Sister~"

"It's my older brother."