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

Goals should not be easily abandoned; this is Uesugi Kai's principle in life.

However, getting into the University of Tokyo is not an easy task.

There must be a reason why the University of Tokyo is a world-class university.

When 90% of high school students hear the words "University of Tokyo," they will shake their heads and say definitively: No, no, I absolutely cannot get in.

The remaining 9.5% of high school students who are willing to take the exam will mostly fail at the college entrance examination before graduation.

Only 0.5%

Of the more than 500,000 high school graduates, only 0.5% of the geniuses can actually get into the University of Tokyo.

There was no slacking off, and no extra free time.

This is a true reflection of them.

Kai Uesugi is still some distance from his goal of getting into the University of Tokyo, and he must persevere and continue to work hard in order to earn even a glimmer of hope.

In today's society, you can't live a comfortable, laid-back life without putting in the effort.

Kai Uesugi wants to achieve his goals, but right now he also wants to be a lazy bum who secretly takes shortcuts.

However, these two things are contradictory, which is what is meant by "you can't have your cake and eat it too".

Only a system can enable both to be achieved.

As for...Hanamaru Hanabi...

Kai Uesugi and she have known each other since childhood, and she is his only childhood sweetheart in both his lives.

A pure and lovely young girl is the best description of her.

Shy at heart, she is extremely kind and always puts others first rather than herself when doing things.

Now, under the system's command, how can I confess my feelings to her in this situation?

Would you hurt her for your own mission?

Whether she accepts it or not, this is an extremely disrespectful act. A confession made under the system's requirements rather than from the heart, can that be called a confession?

That was just a tool of the system.

This is something that Uesugi Kai absolutely does not want to do.

Moreover, after more than a decade of getting to know each other, the two are very familiar with each other, and it would not be an exaggeration to call their relationship brother and sister.

To... harm his sister?

For a moment, he was caught in an extremely difficult situation.

......

The lighting is orange-yellow, and the overall decor of the store leans towards warm colors.

The steam, the aroma, the laughter of customers chatting, and the bowing thanks from the waiters all added a lively and warm atmosphere to this small shop.

At this moment, Uesugi Kai also made his own decision.

"Hanabi."

He looked at the girl beside him with a serious expression.

"Ah."

Hanabi Hanabi immediately responded, biting off the noodle in her mouth and turning to look at him.

The girl's bright eyes, like the warm sun in winter, could touch the heart of anyone who dared to look at her.

To her, it was just an ordinary call; after all, she had gotten used to him calling her by her name so often over such a long period of time.

......

A pair of bright eyes stared at Uesugi Kai for a long time, and seeing that he still didn't react, Hanabi Hanamaru couldn't help but ask in a low voice:

"Uesugi...kun?"

Uesugi Kai's sincere gaze was fixed on her face, and a natural smile appeared on his lips:

"I like you."

###Chapter Four: The System###

[Task Completed]

[Version Activation Successful]

[Rewards are being generated, please wait...]

Kai Uesugi ignored the system's voice in her mind and continued to smile at Hanabi Hanamaru.

"..."

A moment of silence

"Uesugi-kun, what does that mean?" Hanabi asked curiously in a low voice.

Kai Uesugi maintained his smile, though it appeared slightly stiff.

"It means Hanabi-chan, you're so cute." He said this in Japanese.

"..."

"Ah...ah...?"

Hanabi Hanamaru's eyes trembled slightly, her weak voice became muffled, and the sudden praise made her dare not look at Kai Uesugi any longer. She quickly turned her head away, her pretty face slightly flushed, her eyes filled with tenderness, and her head was deeply buried.

"..."

"Why...why are you suddenly bringing this up?"

Kai Uesugi turned around naturally and even slurped up a mouthful of noodles:

"I just suddenly thought Hanabi looked cute eating noodles, and I just wanted to tell you that."

"..."

There was a brief silence.

"Um..."

Hanabi Hanabi responded softly, gently stirring the broth in her bowl, occasionally stealing glances at Kai Uesugi, who was nonchalantly continuing to eat his noodles beside her.

Their conversation ended there. Uesugi Kai finished his ramen, quickly drank the broth, and noticed the line of text at the bottom of the bowl:

This drop is the greatest joy.

One good thing about Ichiran Ramen is that there's a tap for drinking water on the upper left of each seat.

Kai Uesugi took the cup off the tap, filled it with cold water, and drank it all in one gulp.

The cool, refreshing water flowed gently through my mouth, chest, and abdomen, bringing a sense of clarity to my whole being.

The system's rewards didn't seem to be fully generated yet, but it didn't matter to Uesugi Kai, since he wasn't in a hurry.

"Uesugi-kun."

"Have you finished eating?"

Upon hearing the sound, Uesugi Kai looked at Hanabi Hanabi beside him and noticed that there was still half a bowl of soup left in her bowl.

"Would you like to stroll around Shinjuku? I can buy you some dessert."

"No,"

Hanabi Hanabi shook her head in refusal. She noticed that Kai Uesugi was being a bit too enthusiastic today; he wasn't usually like this.

"Let's go home first."

"You don't want to? Hmm... okay then."

Both of them lived in the Kandagawa residential area near Waseda Station. This area is famous because of Waseda University, but it is actually just a quiet residential area.

There are so many cherry blossoms, they've filled the streets, and the air is filled with the scent of cherry blossoms. It truly lives up to its reputation as the land of cherry blossoms.

The Hanamaru family lived right next door to the Uesugi family, and they had been neighbors for over ten years, so the two of them were childhood friends who grew up together.

We took the train together from Shinjuku Station and arrived here.

"Uesugi-kun...would you like to come in and sit for a while?" Hanabi Hanabi stood at the doorway, paused on her small feet, and invited Uesugi Kai in front of her.

"No need, Aunt Mieko is probably still doing housework at this time, so I won't disturb you."

Uesugi Kai shook his head and refused. Actually, the system's reward had already been issued, and he wanted to go home and explore it as much as he could.

"Alright then... See you tomorrow, Uesugi-kun."

"See you tomorrow."

After the two said their usual goodbyes, Uesugi Kai walked ahead, turned the corner, and went into his house.

Both houses are standard detached houses, with spacious grounds and a small courtyard.

Since Kai Uesugi's parents are often away, he usually doesn't say "I'm home" when he gets home. He just walks into the entrance hall, takes off his shoes, goes upstairs to the second floor, opens the bedroom door, and lies down on his bed.

Glancing at the bookshelves filled with books in the room, Uesugi Kai began to study the system in his mind.

Although I don't know what principles this system is based on, its interface is very detailed and the layout is very comfortable to look at.

He casually opened the [Task] interface, and three lines of semi-transparent text appeared in his mind.

[Tasks accepted: None]

[Unaccepted Missions: None]

Task completed: 1 (Click here for details)

Uesugi Kai opened the mission details.

[Task Name: System-Initiated Task]

[Task Difficulty: Level 1]

[Mission objective: Confess your feelings to Hanabi Hanamaru]

[Task Time: 10 minutes]