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

"I joined the archery club, and there are study sessions with Mr. Haneda in the evenings."

"So, what is the idea you're talking about?" Kenichi Uesugi was more concerned about this question.

Uesugi Kai paused, then said two words seriously:

"Confessing my feelings."

Upon hearing those two words, Kenichi and Noriko Uesugi exchanged a glance and revealed a very happy expression.

"Haha, good lad, you've finally figured it out. I thought you wanted to be a blockhead your whole life."

"Did it work?" Noriko Uesugi asked, her eyes filled with anticipation and satisfaction as she looked at Kai Uesugi.

Kai Uesugi nodded.

"Haha, that's good."

Looking extremely pleased, Kenichi Uesugi leaned back in his chair.

"But let me make this clear: young people don't know how to cherish what they have. They always like one person while thinking about another. I hope you'll treat Hanabi better in the future and not do anything out of line. After all, you're still young and can't afford the consequences of your impulsiveness."

It was a typical fatherly tone, but Uesugi Kai didn't dislike it and listened attentively.

Noriko Uesugi continued with a smile:

"You've known Hanabi for over ten years, and our two families have known each other for over ten years as well. We've had countless interactions during that time, and our two families know you two very well. With over ten years of accumulated friendship, I believe you can get along very well. Good luck."

"I know."

Kai Uesugi responded in his usual tone and began eating the remaining potato curry on his plate.

After listening to her parents' instructions and finishing breakfast, Uesugi Kai slung her schoolbag over her shoulder and left home. With her mother's words of "Be careful on the road," she headed towards the Hanamaru family's house next door.

The sun had just risen, adding a touch of warmth to Tokyo's chilly air.

Kai Uesugi strongly agreed with his father's words: young people don't know how to cherish things. His past experiences taught him that things that are easily obtained, no matter how dazzling they may be, will be taken for granted because they are held in one's hands for too long.

Once a person gets something, they forget the feeling of standing on tiptoe, peering through the shop window to see it.

###Chapter Thirty-Three: Everyday Life, Everyday Life, and More Everyday Life###

Arriving at the familiar spot with practiced ease, Uesugi Kai stood in front of the door and rang the doorbell.

With a "ding-dong" sound, the expected beeping sound did not come from the small speaker, but Uesugi Kai was in no hurry to press it again. This situation indicated that Hanamaru Hanabi had packed her things and was ready to leave.

This is the experience that Kai Uesugi has accumulated over many years.

About a minute later, he heard scattered footsteps and voices coming from inside the door.

With a "click," Hanamaru Mieko opened the door, looked at Uesugi Kai standing in the doorway, and pushed Hanamaru Hanabi, who was wearing a black sailor uniform, out, patting her small shoulder with a smile.

“Kai, Hanabi told us about you two during dinner last night, although her father was still a little unhappy about it.”

"But don't worry, he definitely can't stop you. Auntie supports you, keep it up!"

Hanamaru Mieko emphasized the word "certainly" with extra seriousness.

"..."

The air fell silent for a moment.

Kai Uesugi felt that the atmosphere was a bit strange, like going home for a holiday to meet his mother-in-law. Even though the two of them were not even eighteen years old, was it too early to say that?

He glanced at Hanabi Hanabu, who looked rather timid in front of him. Under her mother's words, she seemed a little shy, her bright purple eyes sparkling with a lively light, yet she looked away somewhat.

A small red scarf was tied under the white collar of her black sailor uniform. She held a blue handbag in front of her slender legs, and a pair of black leather shoes were worn under her black pleated skirt.

Her adorable and well-behaved figure is quite eye-catching.

Hanamaru Mieko also noticed Uesugi Kai's gaze lingering on Hanabi, and with a smile, she pushed her forward, saying:

"Alright, you guys go to school now. I made a special bento for you today, Hanabi will give it to you later."

"..."

After saying goodbye to Hanamaru Mieko, Uesugi Kai took Hanamaru Hanabi on their usual way to school.

......

"Uesugi-kun...your bento..."

On a street that could only accommodate three people at a time, Hanabi Hanabi took out a blue bento from her bag and handed it to Kai Uesugi with her small hand.

"Thank you."

Looking at the simple blue bento box in his hand, Uesugi Kai was somewhat tempted, simply because Aunt Mieko's cooking was delicious.

This kind of treatment is only available now.

The two people walking together fell silent for a moment, mainly because they didn't know what to say.

After meeting Ayaka Rie, the three of them went to the station to take the train as usual.

Inside the tram, the two girls were lucky enough to find two seats, while Uesugi Kai could only stand in front of them, holding onto the handrail, silently feeling the tram swaying and the crowded bodies of the middle-aged office workers.

As the tram moved forward, the tall buildings outside the window flashed by one after another, and the occasional dappled sunlight shining through the gaps onto her face gave Uesugi Kai a slight feeling of the morning sun's warmth.

After getting off the tram, the three walked the last stretch of the road to school. At this time, there were more and more students, all wearing the same black school uniform of Shin-gao High School.

Perhaps it was because he was entering puberty, but Uesugi Kai's gaze kept sweeping over the hems of the high school students' sailor uniforms. After scanning around, his eyes returned to Hanabi and Riei in front of him.

The two, who seemed to have very different personalities, got along very well, and their calves, walking side by side, exuded the unique aura of youthful girls.

Entering school, changing shoes, waiting for class—and just like that, an ordinary morning passed by.

At lunchtime, in the school cafeteria, Goto Iwakatsu and Tsubokawa Takahiro sat opposite Uesugi Kai, each carrying their own pork cutlet rice bowl and udon noodles.

"Uesugi, why are you suddenly eating bento today?" Goto Iwakatsu looked at his own scattered pork cutlet rice, then at the exquisite food in Uesugi's box, and his resentment compelled him to ask curiously.

"Hmm, something's strange." Takahiro Tsubokawa pushed up his glasses.

“What’s so strange about it?” Uesugi Kai said casually, eating a small sausage from his bento box. “I’ve brought bento boxes before.”

"Come on, can you call that a bento box? What you buy at the supermarket can't compare to this!"

"Haha, I remember," Goto Iwakatsu suddenly laughed loudly, with a few grains of rice still in his mouth. "Those days were when the supermarket had a half-price sale after 8 o'clock, and there were a lot of bento boxes waiting to be processed every day."

"I knew Uesugi would be interested, so I quickly called him over. For the next few days, he ate nothing but eel rice, omelet rice, fried chicken cutlet and the like."

Kai Uesugi didn't care about their teasing and continued eating his exquisitely delicious bento. "Things that save money and time are naturally worth buying. Bento boxes from the supermarket are also bento boxes."

"So? What's the deal with this bento box?"

"Hanabi's mother made an extra one; I gave it to her when I went to her house."

"..."

"Damn it! I shouldn't have asked."

Takahiro Tsubokawa shook his head helplessly. "Why didn't I have that experience? Why don't I have a lovely childhood friend? I also want to eat the bento box her mother makes for me!"

The two men's gazes toward Kai Uesugi gradually turned toward disgust.

Although Goto Iwakatsu and Tsubokawa Takahiro had known about the relationship between Uesugi Kai and Hanamaru Hanabi for a long time, their jealousy as men couldn't help but burn every time they saw this handsome guy taking Tenten to school with a particularly beautiful girl.

Guys like Uesugi Kai should be the targets of their attacks.

"Uesugi, you wouldn't happen to be the protagonist of a light novel, would you?" Tsubokawa Takahiro pushed up his glasses, giving him a sharp, all-knowing look.

Kai Uesugi remained completely unfazed and replied calmly, "If that's the case, I really have to thank that guy for making me sound so handsome that it changed your expressions."

"Huh—" The two of them let out a mocking sigh in unison.

"Although you are handsome, you are not quite the type to appeal to both men and women. You are still a bit inferior to Takuya Kimura."

Takuya Kimura is a veteran entertainer in Tokyo, working as an actor, singer, and voice actor. Now approaching 50 years old, his influence remains at the top.

Because of their sudden announcement of marriage at the peak of their careers, the couple was ranked as the "most hated male/female celebrity" by the entire nation.

However, these are all stars from the previous era, and Uesugi Kai didn't expect that Goto Iwakatsu would like such veteran stars.

"Don't worry," he said nonchalantly, "I may not become Takuya Kimura, but I will become the next Yuzuru Hanyu."

Upon hearing this, the two of them once again gave him a look of utter contempt.

This guy is really arrogant.

Chapter Thirty-Four: A New Goal, the National Championship!

"Yuzuru Hanyu, the master of archery?" Takahiro Tsubokawa stopped eating his noodles.

"Oh! Not bad! I'm already looking forward to seeing you in your hakama at the national tournament."

Goto Iwakatsu began to get excited.

"Haha, you must invite me to take some photos of you then."

"National Competition?"

Uesugi Kai looked at the two of them and asked, "Is there a bonus for this?"

"Yes, there are definitely some, but I don't know the exact number. It should be quite a lot, and there's also a pure silver trophy," Goto Iwakatsu said.

Takahiro Tsubokawa pushed up his glasses with his middle finger: "Hmph, the national competition awards the Emperor himself, and it's broadcast live on TV. If you can become famous on that stage at this age, you're guaranteed to succeed."

Kai Uesugi found it quite interesting. He didn't care about the specific award, but reaching the top of the national competition would surely bring a substantial prize.

"What about swordsmanship?" Uesugi Kai suddenly thought of his swordsmanship skills, as well as his unused "Legend of Miyamoto Musashi".

"As for kendo, you can't participate in the National Championships. The rules for that recently changed to require participants to be at least 20 years old. You're a year younger than us, only 16. Let's talk about it after you go to university." Goto Iwakatsu took another bite of his pork cutlet rice.

“There are actually high school competitions for kendo, which are mainly for high school and university students across the country. You can try participating in these competitions; they are highly prestigious,” Tsubokawa Takahiro said, looking at Uesugi Kai. “But why are you asking this? Do you really want to learn kendo?”

With a bite of sweet sushi in his mouth, Uesugi Kai swallowed it and said calmly:

"Don't you find it very interesting that high school students are at the top of both kendo and archery?"

"Is that possible?" The two exchanged a glance and said in unison.

"Why is it impossible?" Uesugi Kai asked calmly.

"Haha," Goto Iwakatsu laughed and waved his hand, "How could such a thing be possible? Kyudo alone is enough for you to study for a lifetime."

“Take our school’s so-called ‘genius high school student’ senior, Sohei, who is a sixth-dan archer, he only made it to the top ten in the country. Not to mention that he also practices kendo. Anyway, I’ve never heard of such a person.”