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

After leaving the convenience store, Uesugi Kai, whose chin was now covered in stubble, walked home alone, holding an umbrella.

The whispers of raindrops hitting the umbrella's surface filled my entire body with a chill.

###Chapter 254 Sanshirochi###

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

Kai Uesugi noticed that his classmates were looking at him, and he even raised Hanamaru Hanayu's little hand to greet them.

"..."

Totsuka Katsura put down her chopsticks and said to Kiyosaki Takeshi, who was standing next to her, "Don't you think he's showing off?"

"Senior... probably just wanted to say hello to us."

*

After the two ladies had chosen their food, they walked through the white stone pillar in the center of the dining hall and found a seat to sit down and eat with Hanamaru Hanabi.

Uesugi Kai, carrying Hanamaru Hanayu, went to her classmate's place to bring over the food she hadn't finished eating.

The little guy is being quite well-behaved right now, clinging to his neck the whole time. He must be a bit shy in this new place.

"Uesugi...is this your child?"

"younger sister."

There is no term for "little sister-in-law" in Japanese; it's a general term. In terms of seniority, Hanamaru Hanayu is the younger sister.

Nana Umezu wanted to touch Hana's hand, but the shy little girl turned her head away and pressed her face tightly against Kai Uesugi's neck.

Soft.

"Her eyes are purple."

"Very rare."

“It’s probably because of melanin,” Kiyosaki Takeshi said. “But there are only four types of melanin: red, yellow, brown, and black. Logically, it’s impossible for a person’s eyes to be born purple. The students in the medical school should know more about this.”

"Rayleigh scattering?" Totsuka Katsura mentioned.

"Hmm... that's certainly possible. If we add some special conditions... it's indeed possible for them to have purple eyes."

"It's so beautiful." Umezu Nana wanted to hug her, but Hanamaru Hanayu clung tightly to Uesugi Kai, refusing to budge.

Kai Uesugi picked up the plate with one hand; it contained three bowls of food that hadn't been eaten much. "I'll head over now; I won't stay with you."

"Hmm, it's nothing, go ahead."

"Aren't you coming out to buy groceries with us this afternoon, senior?"

“I’m going to ensemble practice this afternoon,” Uesugi Kai said. “Have you decided what snacks to sell?”

"Kanto-style boiled dumplings!"

Upon hearing this, Uesugi Kai immediately understood what it was—it was just oden-flavored dumplings.

He returned to the two ladies and sat down next to Hanabi Hanamoto.

"Xiaozhao, is that your classmate?"

“Yes, we’re all from the same year,” Uesugi Kai replied, glancing at Hanamaru Hanabi to see how she was eating.

Fortunately, I enjoyed the food.

"If you ask me, the University of Tokyo hasn't changed much in the last few decades. The cafeteria has been renovated and looks new, but the other facilities are all very old," Mrs. Hanamaru commented.

My father-in-law graduated from the University of Tokyo, and my mother-in-law must have been here quite a few times.

While listening to his mother-in-law speak, Uesugi Kai fed Hanamaru Hanayu, who was in his arms.

A child around one year old can start eating some chopped egg custard, vegetables, and fruits as complementary foods. My mother-in-law specifically asked the catering staff to cook a portion of rice until it was very soft so that the little one could eat it.

Mrs. Hanamaru smiled knowingly as she watched Hanamaru eat quietly in his arms. "It seems my two daughters really like you, Kai."

Uesugi Kai wiped the rice grains from his sister-in-law's mouth with a tissue and continued his mother-in-law's words, "I think Hanabi likes me a little more."

Hanabi, who was eating ramen, paused for a moment, her little face turning red.

"Haha, sometimes I really think it would be nice to have Huayu be your daughter."

The mother is too proactive, while Hanabi is too introverted.

Normally, she would blush if someone praised her in front of others, but her mother could casually hint that the two of them should have a son soon so that she could hold her grandson.

Mrs. Uesugi, who cherishes Uesugi's heart, doesn't care about these things and even said that if you're willing, your sister can be raised as your daughter.

Although Kai Uesugi felt that his older brother, who was 17 years older than him, was almost like a father, he often helped his sister change diapers and feed her in his spare time.

After lunch, the two ladies, carrying their two little ones, prepared to sit under the century-old ginkgo tree in front of Building 1 of the Faculty of Engineering.

Uesugi Kai took Hanabi Hanamaru to visit the Sanshiro Pond in the neighboring Yayoi campus.

As she passed through the lecture hall, a banyan tree with its old, gnarled branches caught Uesugi Kai's eye.

The lush green canopy of the trees swayed gently in the spring breeze.

"Kai-kun?" Hanabi Hanabi stopped and turned to look at him, then immediately noticed the banyan tree. "Kai-kun, is something on your mind?"

Kai Uesugi shifted her gaze from the treetop to Hanabi Hanamaru's delicate face, her hair falling over her shoulders with two strands resting on her chest.

What swayed in the wind was not only the rustling sunlight through the leaves, but also her ever-growing beauty.

"棣...kun...?"

"No, it's nothing. I just remembered the old banyan tree behind Shen Gao High School."

Kai Uesugi was a little afraid to look at her again. "Maybe it's because I'm old-fashioned. I always think that my three years of high school life have passed by just like that, and before that... junior high school, elementary school... all passed in the blink of an eye."

"Time... flies by a bit."

“Kai-kun,” Hanabi Hanamaru suddenly smiled at him, “Didn’t Kai-kun tell Hanabi that taking graduation photos with her was the happiest moment? Hanabi feels that time has passed a little too quickly, but with Kai-kun by her side every period of time, every period of time has been very fulfilling.”

"Kai-kun even held the fireworks and asked Tsubokawa-kun to take a picture for him. The whole class sang the school song and took pictures together under the banyan tree. Although the time was short... it was a very happy day."

Everyone said goodbye with a smile.

Kai Uesugi felt he had a problem; he was always afraid that she would suddenly leave him when he recalled the past, and afraid that when he looked back in his old age, he would find that it was just a lonely journey alone.

Looking at the empty house, all that remained in my heart was a thousand sorrows.

He was afraid that time would pass too quickly and he wouldn't have had enough time to get to know her properly.

Three years have passed in the blink of an eye...

"Fireworks, can we... hold hands?"

"Of course you can," the girl said, extending her hand and smiling brightly.

Palm to palm, fingers intertwined tightly, still soft and delicate, it seemed as if her entire being was held in the palm of his hand.

Beyond the edge of the Hongo campus, there is a skybridge connecting it to the Yayoi campus.

They climbed the moss-covered stone steps in silence.

The ten fingers are connected to the heart; Hanabi could feel him gripping her tightly and could also sense his feelings at that moment:

"Kai-kun... seems a little uneasy..."

"Fireworks...would you believe me if I said I'm a very fragile person?"

"Believe."

To her matter-of-fact answer, Uesugi Kai smiled. "What if I lied to you?"

"Kai-kun...wouldn't lie to Hanabi...this is Kai-kun's promise to Hanabi."

"Agreements are also very fragile things."

"Fireworks will strive to follow this."

"I really did lie to you."

"Hanabi will still try her best to keep her promise. Even if Kai-kun fails to keep his promise to go to the fireworks festival every year, Hanabi will still go every year."

"I will lie to you and secretly go to see another girlfriend."

"No way!"

Upon arriving at the Yayoi campus, after walking for a short while, I saw statues of Hachiko and Dr. Hidesaburo Ueno.

Kai Uesugi stopped in front of the statue and saw how happy Hachiko was as he welcomed the professor home.

"I left suddenly."

"No way!"

Uesugi Kai turned his head to look at her face. "Are you really that sure? Maybe I'll suddenly get into a car accident tomorrow and die uncontrollably—"

Hanabi Hanabi raised her finger to his lips, the girl's fragrance wafting towards him. "Don't say such things, Kai-kun. We're not married yet, we don't have children, and we haven't lived together until we're old."

The girl stared into her deep purple eyes, her gaze still so sincere.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and Uesugi Kai wanted to speak, but didn't know how to express his feelings. "I'm sorry... I might have suddenly become strange..."

Unexpectedly, she said this:

"Hanabi knows about Kai's situation. He has always been a very reassuring older brother since he was a child, but he can also become very vulnerable and lonely at times... Hanabi understands that Kai wants someone to care about him... to care about his feelings. Hanabi is willing to stay with him and will not leave him all day today."

"Hanabi's foot hasn't fully healed yet, so she can't walk very fast, but she'll try her best to stay by his side."

Kai Uesugi suddenly wanted to tell her face to face, "Hanabi, the one I can't live without in these two lifetimes."

He tried to suppress the emotions welling up in his chest, then looked at the Akita dog interacting happily with the professor on the statue. "Do you know what Hachiko's final fate was?"

Hanabi Hanamaru followed his gaze and looked over.

"He died after waiting for nine years at Shibuya Station..."

"It seemed to know that its master might not be alive, yet it still waited silently in the place where it used to welcome the doctor. I think it was willing to continue waiting until the last moment of its life."

Kai Uesugi looked at her again:

"Even if Hanabi hadn't come back with me back then, I would have kept waiting."

"Fireworks... are the same."