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

[Yeah, yeah! I can't believe you actually got in, A-Zhao! This past year must have been tough, right? What do you want to eat tonight?]

Kai Uesugi glanced sideways at the two packs of Nissin Cup Noodles in his plastic bag.

The pattering raindrops continued to fill my ears.

I've already bought some instant noodles.

[Instant noodles? No way! That's unhealthy. When you get home, just wait for me to go grocery shopping; it'll be ready in a minute.]

【Um. 】

Kai Uesugi hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket.

Unexpectedly, it rang again.

It's Goto.

【Hello.】

[Haha, Uesugi, I passed! I passed!]

【Congratulations.】

Hey, you have no idea how tough it's been for me lately. Every night I wait for the envelope to arrive at home.

【Um. 】

Kai Uesugi, phone in hand, gazed at the passersby under their umbrellas as they brushed past him.

[Hey, Uesugi, are you alright? You don't sound very happy. Could it be that you...]

You've passed; don't worry.

[You passed? Haha, that's great! The University of Tokyo... I can't even dream of it. There's a class reunion on Friday, everyone's coming. Are you coming?]

【never mind.】

Hey, no way! The class reunion wouldn't be complete without you! You're a celebrity at our school! Do you know how many girls have asked me for your phone number?

[It wouldn't be much different without me.]

【How can you say that! Every classmate is important! If you don't come, Tsubokawa and I will drag you here!】

There's no need.

"Uesugi, this is necessary. We're worried about you." Goto's tone suddenly became serious.

What do I have to worry about?

[Anyway, it's settled then. 2-6-12 Ginza. Remember to come on time Friday noon, you absolutely have to!]

Kai Uesugi put the phone he had just hung up back into his pocket.

On the way home, the sound of the plastic bag swaying and the rain hitting the umbrella were clearly mingled together.

The words Goto had invited me to the class reunion kept echoing in my mind.

To say it's perfect is an understatement; it's been imperfect for a long time now.

Uesugi Kai continued walking, the sky overcast with rain, filled with an unyielding chill.

......

open the door.

"I am back."

Kai Uesugi spoke loudly because he secretly hoped that a soft, warm voice would reach his ears.

###Chapter 261 The People Who Returned from Kyoto###

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

Hanabi Hanabi came down from upstairs.

Today I'm wearing a French-style short-sleeved dress, a sky-blue gradient, cinched at the waist with a white belt, and tied in a bow at the back.

Pure white pantyhose, black leather shoes.

The overall style is fresh and clean.

According to Kai Uesugi, the girl really knows how to dress up; her outfits are beautiful and pleasing to the eye, and she moves with a clear and light grace.

Her pace was always slow, and at least when she walked over, she rarely stirred up a breeze.

Hanabi Hanabi sat next to Kai Uesugi and picked up the little one who looked up and called her "older sister."

When she leaned closer to him, she could smell a hint of illicit sex.

She looked at him with a slightly puzzled expression and asked:

"Why does Kai-kun smell like baby powder?"

"It tastes good, I'll just have a little." Uesugi Kai glanced at Uesugi's wife, who was preparing to make milk powder for her younger sister again.

Hanamaru Hanabi knows what milk powder tastes like: a light sweetness with a slightly fishy smell.

He glanced at Mrs. Uesugi, then at Uesugi Kokoro sitting in his lap.

I roughly understood that he must have been secretly drinking his sister's milk.

If you get closer, you can still taste the lingering milky flavor!

"Does Kai-kun like drinking milk powder?"

"How could that be? It was just a moment of curiosity." After making sure that her mother wasn't paying attention, Uesugi Kai picked up her younger sister, who was about to shrink away, and put her back on her lap.

"But Kai-kun smells really strong..."

"Heavy?"

The bottle contains 225 ml, and he only drank about 170 ml at most. The rest was completely finished by Xiaohuayu.

It's likely that Mrs. Uesugi had long ago realized that her son had been secretly drinking her daughter's milk.

Oh well, it's heavy, it's just from drinking a bottle of milk.

After finishing my milk powder—no, I mean after finishing breakfast—it was time to leave.

It doesn't take long to get from the University of Tokyo to Shinjuku Ward; it only takes about ten minutes by train.

But Kai Uesugi always felt that instead of taking the train every day, he should buy a car.

As for getting a driver's license, you can ask your father-in-law for help.

You can study on your own and then take the exam at the police station.

The number of people on the tram on Sundays is much smaller than on weekdays. Most office workers just want a peaceful rest on their days off, rather than a leisurely vacation.

As the tram doors reopened, Uesugi Kai saw a man and a woman carrying kendo bags walk in.

She has a good temperament, stands upright, and is dressed in casual clothes. The bag on her back is a small Qinghai-style wooden knife storage bag with a special print.

Three cherry blossoms, it looks like a family crest.

Are they siblings or cousins?

Uesugi Kai knew that large Japanese clans still had family crests, but he had lived here for so many years.

I only knew the Emperor's large chrysanthemum and the Genji's gentian crest.

After Yushima, you'll reach Shin-Ochanomizu, and then Otemachi, where you can transfer to the Tozai Line.

Kai Uesugi, along with Hanabi Hanabi and her two mothers, got off the train.

This is Chiyoda Ward, which is also the largest subway station in Tokyo. The Imperial Palace is right outside the station.

As soon as you get off the bus, you're greeted by several vending machines selling drinks.

Vending machines are truly ubiquitous in Japan; even along fishing rivers, you can find vending machines specifically for fresh fish bait.

One thing you can clearly see while walking through the subway station is that most of the middle-aged people are balding.

A balding middle-aged man in a suit and tie, carrying a briefcase, anxiously checking his watch—this is a sight to behold everywhere.

Correspondingly, the subway screens also displayed advertisements for hair growth products.

For middle-aged people with elderly parents and young children to care for, coupled with the high work pressure in Japan, baldness further damages their self-confidence.

I can't even afford a traditional shaved head hairstyle.

Perhaps your wife and children at home will also find it unpleasant.

When I got home, everyone looked at my bald hairline with a strange kind of gaze.

Kai Uesugi couldn't help but worry about his father, who was very busy with work.

"Hanabi, what will I do if I go bald in the future?"

Hanabi Hanabi turned her head to look at him, her gleaming eyes seemingly mimicking his balding appearance:

"Actually, you could cut it all off."

That's one possible solution.

If you have thick hair on the sides but only a few strands in the middle, you look too old.

It would be more satisfying to just go bald and wear a wig.

By the way, don't casually say "bald head" in Japan.

One of the reasons why middle-aged men still keep their hair on the sides is that they don't want to go bald.

Old-fashioned civil servants usually have slicked-back hair because it allows their hair to be styled forward, and the use of hair wax makes it less noticeable that they are balding.

Kai Uesugi: "If I lose my hair and become ugly, you won't dislike me, will you?"

Hanabi Hanamaru: "It's okay. Hanabi will become ugly along with Kai-kun back then. It's not that Kai-kun shouldn't dislike Hanabi for being ugly..."

Kai Uesugi: "Looks are secondary. We weren't very good-looking when we were kids."

Hanabi Hanamaru: "You're lying, Kai-kun has always been handsome."

Kai Uesugi: "That's only in your eyes."

Hanabi Hanamaru: "Girls would secretly say that Kai-kun is very handsome, and they even asked Hanabi if she had ever confessed to Kai-kun."