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

What did he experience this summer?

"When the time is right, that day will naturally come."

"What do you mean by 'when the time is right, it will come naturally'... Uesugi, what kind of face do you give us?" Totsuka Katsura accepted the invitation.

"Don't you have a girlfriend you like?" After handing two more invitations to Kiyosaki Takeshi and Umezu Nana, Uesugi Kai ate the salad he had ordered.

"This invitation is so beautiful." Nana Umezu really liked the invitation designed and colored by Hanamaru Hanabi.

"We broke up," Totsuka Katsura replied to Uesugi Kai's question, with a slight sigh.

"They broke up?"

Kai Uesugi remembered that when he went to Matsukawa Restaurant before, Totsuka brought his girlfriend with him. She was a very innocent-looking girl with glasses. Totsuka had secretly told him that he was dating with marriage in mind.

“Yeah…” Totsuka Katsura replied, subconsciously poking at the white rice on her plate with her chopsticks, “We broke up… and even… he only sent me one text message when we broke up.”

"senior!"

Kiyosuke Takeshi shouted.

Totsuka Katsura looked up, thinking he was going to comfort her.

Unexpectedly, he only said one sentence: "Please accept my condolences."

"Is this supposed to be consolation!?"

"I suppose so," Kiyosaki Takeshi said.

“You’re really putting him down,” Nana Umezu said with a laugh, then turned to Kai Uesugi and asked, “Can I keep this invitation as a souvenir? I absolutely love the colors on it!”

"Whatever," Uesugi Kai replied with a smile.

"never mind."

Totsuka Katsura stopped dwelling on his ex-girlfriend, shook his head, and looked at the invitation card beside him.

Ah, Uesugi is still the happiest...

Kai Uesugi: "The address is written in the invitation. It's at Meiji Shrine. Please make sure you come!"

Totsuka Katsura immediately laughed and said, "Of course."

"Of course!"

"No problem, senior."

------

the other side.

Art studio at Tokyo University of the Arts.

Each student had a drawing board placed diagonally in front of them.

"Hanabi-chan, you're getting married soon. You won't be staying home taking care of the kids all the time, will you?" Kitagawa Sakakisa asked, leaning closer to Hanamaru Hanabi.

Hanabi Hanabi glanced at her, her face slightly flushed, and whispered, "W-How could that be..."

Kitagawa Sakaki lowered her voice and quietly asked, "Are you planning to have a baby?"

Hanabi Hanamaru hid her face behind her half-finished landscape painting: "I haven't decided yet..."

Rika Kyushu overheard the two girls' whispers from the other side. After putting her brush into the bucket, she leaned over and said, "Hanabi-chan won't be eighteen for a few days, right? It's too early for her to have a baby at that age."

Kitagawa Sakakisa thought about it carefully and agreed with Kyuuji Rika's point of view.

"Yeah, yeah, getting married at eighteen is considered early, let alone planning to have a baby at eighteen!"

"Let's not talk about that. What gift do you want, Hanabi-chan? I promise I'll give you the best and most special one!" Kitagawa Sakakisa continued.

"No need for gifts, just come, Sakaki-chan. There aren't many people attending the wedding anyway..."

"Where is it?" Kitagawa Sakakisa asked.

Rika Kyushu said to her, "Didn't the invitation I gave you this morning say Meiji Shrine? There was also a folded card inside the invitation with instructions on how to get to Meiji Shrine, but you... you don't need to worry about it since you have a car to pick you up."

"oh oh!"

Kitagawa Sakaki nodded quickly, then said to Hanabi Hanabi, "Don't worry, Hanabi-chan, I'll definitely come!"

......

The Uesugi and Hanamaru families have already sent out the remaining dozens of invitations.

Number six, number seven, number eight, number nine.

In the blink of an eye, there's only one day left until the wedding.

That evening, Hanamaru Hiroki invited Uesugi Kai to dinner at Hanamaru's house.

We were supposed to have a meal, but we hadn't actually eaten yet. My father-in-law had already pulled me into the courtyard.

Hanamaru Hiroki held two bamboo swords and said that the two of them hadn't sparred in a long time.

After saying that, he threw one of the bamboo knives over.

Before Uesugi Kai could even prepare, Hanamaru Hiroki launched a preemptive attack, appearing in front of Uesugi Kai in a flash.

With a snap.

A fierce vertical slash.

Uesugi Kai almost dropped the bamboo sword he was using for defense.

"Seriously? Is this all a kendo champion is capable of?"

Next, Hanamaru Hiroki kept chopping down on Uesugi Kai's face.

"noodle!"

"noodle!"

"noodle!"

......

Kai Uesugi was already able to parry his father-in-law's moves, but although he could parry, he dared not retaliate.

The sparring session continued until both of them were drenched in sweat.

"I used to train you like this, remember? When you first came to my house, Hanabi sat on that wooden board watching you. I hope you won't forget the way she looked at you!"

After saying that, Hanamaru Hiroki seemed to grip the bamboo sword tighter again and shouted to Uesugi Kai:

"Come on! Again!"

......

After the meal, Mrs. Hanamaru pulled Uesugi Kai and Hanamaru Hanabi aside and spoke to them for a while.

It all stemmed from a mother's care and expectations.

Kai Uesugi agreed to all of them.

We will sleep separately on the last night before the wedding.

Hanabi Hanamaru sleeps at her own home.

Hanabi Hanabi stood outside the entrance hall, her violet eyes gazing at Kai Uesugi standing at the door.

Her eyes shone with moonlight, bright and clear.

She seemed to have so much to say to him, but after thinking it over carefully, she put those words aside, smiled simply, and said:

"Kai-kun, see you tomorrow."

Kai Uesugi looked at her face and nodded: "Okay, see you tomorrow."

The house lights shone behind him as Hanabi Hanabi, standing at the doorway, watched his figure disappear around the corner.

Moon stars are rare.

The only light from the lampposts on the narrow street stretched his shadow long.

Uesugi Kai looked at the familiar road and at the wall next to it with the words "Hanamaru" written on it.

On this night, so close to his wedding day, he seemed to see all sorts of past memories on this road.

In the past, when school ended in the afternoon, Hanabi Hanamaru would wear a black sailor uniform, black leather shoes, and carry a shoulder bag in both hands. She would smile and say to him in the sunset:

"See you tomorrow, Uesugi-kun!"

He would reply to her then, "Okay, see you tomorrow."

He turned and went into his house, while Hanamaru Hanabi would wait until his figure had completely disappeared from sight before turning and going home.

Looking back on everything now, it all evokes such deep emotions.

Returning to the present, standing on a familiar street, Uesugi Kai touched the silver watch on his wrist, glanced at the spot where Hanabi used to often stop, and turned to go home.

Noriko Uesugi opened the door and saw Kai Uesugi returning in the entryway. After inviting him into the living room, she smiled and asked, "How was it? Your uncle didn't give you any trouble, did he?"

“No,” Uesugi Kai said.

Kenichi Uesugi, sitting on the sofa, laughed and said, "He has no choice but to acknowledge you, kid. In the past, he would definitely have given you a good beating!"

“Akai is pretty amazing now,” said Uesugi Shio, who was sitting on the other sofa.

“Yes, they’ve all won championships.” Noriko Uesugi looked at her son, appearing very happy.

"Alright, alright, the hot water's ready. A-Zhao, go take a shower. It's your wedding tomorrow, so go to bed early tonight. If you stay up late, it'll be so awkward if Hanabi-chan is left waiting alone at the wedding tomorrow!"

Taking a shower, going to sleep—everything was done in an orderly fashion.

Kai Uesugi lay on his old bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Can't sleep.

Can't sleep.

He turned his head and glanced at the faint moonlight blocked by the gauze curtain. Wanting some fresh air, he lifted the covers, got up, and got out of bed.

He put on his slippers and went to the bedside. When he drew back the curtains, he found Hanabi Hanamoto lying by the window facing the door.

The windows in Hanabi Hanabi's room are higher than those in Kai Uesugi's room.

She spotted Uesugi Kai, smiled at him, then put her hands to her mouth and whispered to him: