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

【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. 】

[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?]

###Chapter 267 The Street in the Rain###

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

As dusk fell, yellow clouds obscured the sun, while undulating twilight clouds illuminated the Tokyo sky.

Kai Uesugi, holding the 5 yen tuition fee he received from Uncle Sakakibara, encountered Hanabi Hanabusa, who had just arrived, by the pond in the courtyard.

Nanagihara stayed by her side.

"Is this food?" Uesugi Kai took the small package from Hanamaru Hanabi's hand and looked at the transparent box from left to right.

The individual pastries inside are colorful and exquisitely decorated.

Ms. Sakakibara placed her hands in front of her and said, "These are wagashi (Japanese sweets) that Hanabi learned to make with me this afternoon."

"Thank you for your help, Ms. Sakakibara. These wagashi are so exquisite that they have an artistic feel to them."

Sakakibara Nanagi smiled and said, "You should save those compliments for Hanabi; she made this especially for you."

Kai Uesugi glanced at Hanabi Hanabi; her eyes always held a lively light.

Unexpectedly, I received such care again.

I'm always prone to loneliness and rarely try to truly please anyone. But ever since she entered my heart, life has become warmer without me even realizing it.

Uesugi Kai clutched the box of sweets tightly in her hand and said to Hanabi Hanabi, "Thank you."

"Kai-kun...you don't need to thank Hanabi..." the girl replied in a weak and soft voice.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Sakakibara Nanako saw the deep affection between the two and thanked them with words full of love and concern.

“No, no need,” Uesugi Kai said, turning his head away. “My mother is preparing the meal at home; we’ll eat at home.”

Ms. Sakakibara spoke gently and tried to persuade him to stay a few more times, but Uesugi Kai felt it was getting late and that he needed to go back to his place to sleep after having dinner at his mother's. So he politely declined.

As she walked towards the station to go home, the twilight stretched her shadow long on the street, making her, bathed in the twilight, appear golden and beautiful.

"Kai-kun...aren't you going to eat?" Hanabi Hanamaru asked softly as she walked beside him.

"Want to eat it now?" Uesugi Kai looked at the box in his hand. "I think it would be better to eat it at home, but did you only make one?"

"Kai-kun...do you think it's a bit too little?"

“That’s not what I meant.” Uesugi Kai noticed that something was wrong with her mental state.

"Actually, we made a lot more fireworks, but we accidentally knocked them over, so this is the only one left."

Seeing her slightly disappointed look, Uesugi Kai didn't joke that she was sometimes just careless like that. Instead, he took her hand and walked along the Tokyo streets at sunset towards the subway station.

After returning home, my cousin soon came back from opening the door, and the time spent waiting for dinner was always pleasant and harmonious.

Hanamaru Hanayu, that little guy, treated Uesugi Kaii like a tree root, climbing up and down on him, which was both annoying and cute.

Her bright purple eyes always reminded Uesugi Kai of the fireworks from his childhood.

She was a poor little thing, quiet and reserved, unlike her lively younger sister.

She was always waiting, just like when she was a child, she would quietly squat in a corner, holding a ball, without saying a word.

It's as if they've been forgotten, becoming unknown to everyone.

Kai Uesugi sat on the sofa, next to his cousin who was watching TV with her legs crossed, and on top of him was Hanayu, who was babbling and begging for his glasses.

Hanabi Hanabi was busy preparing dinner at the kitchen counter, while her mother and mother-in-law chatted with her from time to time.

If I hadn't gone up and talked to her back then, would she still be as beautiful as she is now?

Will she be forgotten, until the ball in her hand falls to the grass, bounces and stops, and no two little hands can pick it up again?

On the coffee table are the wagashi (Japanese sweets) that Hanahisa made for him this afternoon.

He couldn't bear to eat it, because the exquisite lines and patterns revealed the girl's sincere feelings.

Ms. Sakakibara just messaged me saying that Hanabi's box of sweets was knocked over, and the other person didn't apologize or say anything, just walked away.

Perhaps in the eyes of some men, what girls make are just little trinkets, and even if they make a mistake, it's not worth losing face and apologizing.

But anyone who has spent time with Hanabi will understand how dedicated she is.

This is a sentiment, a sentiment I have for myself.

Kai Uesugi could even picture Hanabi Hanamaru silently picking up the dusty pastries all by herself.

More than ten years ago she was weak, and more than ten years later she is still a delicate girl.

But no one can take advantage of her tolerance and cuteness to bully her.

--------

The next day was Monday. After finishing her classes at the University of Tokyo, Uesugi Kai returned home in the afternoon.

The May Festival event was quite successful. Many students from the same school got to know him, and some even offered to be his friend. However, most of them were boys, and they mostly came to ask about the fireworks.

As Hanabi Hanamaru's fiancé, Kai Uesugi naturally showed off his engagement ring, subtly discouraging them from the relationship.

In short, it was a very troublesome but ordinary day.

When she got home, Kai Uesugi called out "I'm home" from the entrance. The expected running sound from inside the house didn't come. Hanabi probably hadn't come home yet at this time; she was probably still in class.

Not seeing the girl come out to greet him with a smile filled Uesugi Kai with a deep sense of loss.

Or rather, it's emptiness.

There was a time when I got used to this kind of life, thinking that as long as I could survive on food every day, that was enough.

Looking back now... I can no longer live without Hanabi's smiling face.

Kai Uesugi changed into the shoes that her friend had prepared for her in the entryway, stared blankly into the inner room for a while, and muttered to herself inexplicably, "If she really is gone, what... will I do?"

No, that won't happen.

Kai Uesugi banished these chaotic thoughts, walked into the kitchen, spent sixteen minutes preparing a slightly bitter cup of black coffee, went to the bedroom, sat on the edge of the bed, and looked at the computer desk next to the study desk.

This is where Hanabi usually draws. She takes good care of it. She covers her computer with a cloth to prevent dust, and keeps her graphics tablet and brushes in a drawer under her desk.

Most of her belongings were moved into the room and piled up with her personal items.

The self-portrait that Hanabi Hanabi drew for him stands in the most conspicuous place. In the painting, she smiles brightly, and everything about the summer festival seems to be frozen behind her, embellishing her beauty in the world.

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Uesugi Kai looked at her portrait repeatedly and still felt that her loveliness was irreplaceable. So much so that even when the black coffee next to him got cold and the sun outside the window hid behind the clouds, he couldn't bear to put it down.

Until the first drop of rain fell from the sky and landed by the window, followed by a torrential downpour that washed over the Tokyo city before it could react.

"It's raining?" Only when the cool raindrops splashed on her neck did Kai Uesugi quickly put down her drawing, sit up from Hanabi's computer desk, and close the window.

The rain is refreshing, and watching everything move in the rain is quite picturesque.

But when Uesugi Kai saw the rain, and the dome filled with swirling, gray and dark clouds, he always thought of her leaving him and going to England alone.

He suddenly realized something and checked his phone.

The weather forecast didn't say it would rain today, so Hanabi Hanabi probably didn't bring an umbrella.

Thinking of this, Uesugi Kai didn't even care about the black coffee she hadn't had yet, and hurriedly grabbed two umbrellas and rushed out the door.

The heavy rain was impatient, mixed with wind, and crashed against the umbrellas overhead like waves.

Vehicles constantly sped past on the roadside, splashing water droplets that hit Uesugi Kai's running legs.

It's not far from the tram stop; it's only a ten-minute walk.

Kai Uesugi ran all the way, not for any particular reason, but simply because he didn't want her to wait any longer in the rain.

He just sent a message to Hanabi via Line, but there was no response.

There are two possibilities: either her phone is muted and she can't hear it, or she got soaked in the rain on the way and was in a hurry to find shelter, so she didn't have time to check her phone.

As evening approached on a rainy day, the streetlights came on early, one after another, extending into the view of the street.

The middle-aged man in a suit, carrying a briefcase on his head, ran quickly with exaggerated expressions, repeatedly saying "Oh no, oh no."

High school girls, their hair still wet, twirling the ends with their fingers, chatted and laughed happily under the eaves of a roadside house.

The child hid under his mother's clothes, while the mother looked left and right by the roadside, trying to find a place to shelter from the rain.

The owner of the izakaya (Japanese pub) invited passersby who were taking shelter from the rain at the door, urging them to come into his small house to wash themselves and have a drink.

Kai Uesugi ran through the rain, splashing water with his heels, passing by one person after another and one neon sign after another beneath the tall buildings.

His heart was pounding rapidly with the movement, and he was breathing heavily.

He wanted to get to the tram platform as soon as possible to pick up Hanamaru Hanabi, who might be waiting for the rain there.

The rain grew heavier, relentlessly assaulting the senses.

The phone in his pocket vibrated at that moment, and Uesugi Kai's steps gradually came to a stop. He seemed to sense something, and stood still, looking across the street at the girl who was soaking wet in front of the croquette shop.

At the crossroads, a flashing red light, cars crossing the street, and heavy rain pattering against umbrellas.

Hanabi Hanamaru stood on the opposite side of the street, holding her phone in both hands, her hair wet, her clothes soaked, and her face covered in glistening water droplets.

Kai Uesugi smiled and took out his phone to look at the message she had just sent him.