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

"..."

Before Uesugi Kai could think of an answer, Hanabi Hanamaru added, "Don't worry, Kai-kun. Hanabi wouldn't bother you with such childish questions, like how girls always ask guys to decide whether to save their mother or their wife if they fall into the water."

“But,” she suddenly changed the subject, “Hanabi really feels bad seeing Kai-kun interacting with other girls. My stomach is cramping. Can Kai-kun understand? Can he comprehend that heartbreaking pain of losing something beautiful.”

The phone in my pocket rang again.

Kai Uesugi said to her, "I'll quit this job, so that Hanabi... won't be so upset anymore."

"Kai-kun, Hanabi just said that she dislikes threatening you the most, as it will only make Hanabi hate you."

Uesugi Kai: "So... what do you want to do?"

Hanabi Hanabi looked up at the sign of the Mimi Cafe not far in front of her, "Let Hanabi and Kai work together."

She seemed very happy when she said those words.

"That way, Hanabi will be able to see Kai-kun, and also see what Kai-kun is doing with other girls."

"That's no problem..."

Kai Uesugi breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the coffee shop was short-staffed recently, so agreeing to her request was perfectly reasonable.

Hanabi Hanamaru: "Before that, Hanabi has a few things to explain!"

Uesugi Kai listened attentively.

"First, Hanabi will not address other guests as the host."

No problem, it's definitely uncomfortable for someone else to call their own wife "master".

Just explain the situation to the shop owner.

"Secondly, Kai-kun must leave work at the same time as Hanabi every day."

Kai Uesugi nodded, indicating that he understood.

"Third, we must not let our colleagues know that Hanabi is Kai's wife."

Uesugi Kai was utterly puzzled: "Why is that?"

“Kai-kun probably doesn’t understand his own charm,” Hanabi Hanamaru glanced at the street behind him. “In just over ten minutes, dozens of women have unintentionally turned around and looked at Kai-kun more than once. Does Kai-kun understand what that means?”

"..."

"And one more thing—"

Was it caused by Charm 11?

While Hanabi was talking, Uesugi Kai quickly flipped through the line about charm in her mind.

Then click on the instructions.

【Charm Lv11】

[Effect Description: A unique and distinctive charm. A naturally radiant and likable aura that greatly attracts the opposite sex.]

[Special Effect: Grants immense physical and mental pleasure to those of the opposite sex with whom one gets too close, and boosts mental and physical stamina.]

【】

It seems this thing really was the culprit.

And what exactly does "close contact" mean?

Negative distance?

“Kai-kun, you have no idea how attractive you are to Hanabi, especially when you take off your shirt and come out of the shower at night. At that time, Kai-kun—” Hanabi cupped his face in her hands, looking at him with the eyes of someone who cherishes a treasure.

"..."

"Why don't we all stop working at coffee shops?"

"No, if that's the case, Kai-kun will lose his job because of Hanabi, and Hanabi will feel extremely guilty."

The words, spoken with a chilling intensity, sent shivers down Uesugi Kai's spine.

"Then...why not...just reveal Hanabi's identity as your wife directly? It would be much better to state her identity."

"Because making it clear won't have much effect. The little rat that wants to steal fish will still steal fish. Hanabi wants to see how other women deal with Kai-kun's charm. If the other party doesn't know her place and gets too close, then she is also a potential threat, and Hanabi will eliminate her directly."

"..."

"It's all Kai-kun's fault. Who told Kai-kun to work at the maid café? Hanabi isn't sure how the maids feel about Kai-kun. She's not sure, extremely, extremely, extremely unsure. Maybe she'll suddenly fall for Kai-kun and try to take advantage of him! No, that's absolutely unacceptable."

"..."

Kai Uesugi understood.

...Blackfire aims to uncover all potential landmines at once and detonate them all at once.

If you're too conspicuous, the landmines will be buried deep, and then you won't be able to find them.

Therefore, we must keep a low profile and lure the snake out of its hole.

But the problem is, the landmines haven't even been laid yet! How can we talk about digging them out?

Uesugi Kai thought she was making a big fuss over nothing.

But there's nothing we can do; that's just Kurohanabi's personality!

“Kai-kun doesn’t understand his own charm,” Hanabi Hanabi repeated. “If I weren’t afraid of hurting Kai-kun, I would love to keep him locked up at home, cook for him and give him a bath every day, and serve him until he falls asleep from exhaustion every night with his permission, letting him sleep peacefully under my body. I would hide him away every day so that no other girl could see him again.”

Kai Uesugi carefully pushed away her shoulder, which kept approaching:

"Even so, the maids at the coffee shop have seen your picture and know you're my wife. How can I hide that?"

"Isn't that simple?" Hanabi grabbed Uesugi Kai's hand. "Hanabi and Hanabi-chan are the same person. They don't know Hanabi well. As Hanabi's wife, Hanabi-chan will go to the coffee shop to meet you and introduce you to everyone first. Then Hanabi-chan will go to work at the coffee shop. Just tell me that I'm Hanabi-chan's twin sister."

"Their personalities are completely different, and no one would doubt that, right?"

"..."

"Since Kai-kun hasn't said anything, does that mean he agrees?"

Kai Uesugi was speechless: "Did Hanabi-chan agree...?"

Hanabi Hanabi smiled and said, "I agreed. Hanabi-chan agreed. We are the same person. We are both Hanabi that Kai-kun likes."

The cell phone rang again from my pocket.

This time, Kai Uesugi had the chance to pick up his phone and glance at the screen.

It was the store manager's call.

###Chapter 424 The whole story gradually becomes clear###

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

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, a thick halo of neon lights shimmered, their various colors gleaming on the commercial street below. The glow emanating from those neon lights seemed to carry a layer of warm, hazy mist, and coupled with the constant flow of vehicles and pedestrians below, the area appeared exceptionally bustling.

"Hey."

Kai Uesugi stood by the floor-to-ceiling window and answered the phone.

On the other end of the phone was Nakamura Tsuneko, the psychologist Uesugi Kai had taken Hanabi to see a while ago.

"Mr. Uesugi, how is your wife doing lately?" she asked slowly and deliberately.

"Well... I'm not entirely sure either," Uesugi Kai replied hesitantly, looking at the view outside her window.

"Could you tell me about what has happened recently? Since your wife is unwilling to see me, I can roughly deduce her current situation based on this. I already have some clues about your wife's situation, and now I need your information to verify my thoughts."

“Recently, she mentioned an agreement to me.”

"Agreement?"

"It was a ten-day separation agreement. According to her, it was because we had been together for too long and she wanted to use the ten days of separation to add some novelty."

"Um...could you tell me the details of this matter?"

Uesugi Kai felt that she seemed to understand something, and after thinking for a moment, she replied, "At first... she suddenly said this to me. At first, she said we would be separated for a year, then she hesitated for a moment, then said a month, and finally said ten days. When she was about to leave, she kept saying that ten days would be enough."

"It seems your wife really cares about you." Dr. Nakamura on the other end of the phone seemed to be smiling.

"Is... something wrong?" Uesugi Kai asked, holding her phone as she pushed open the glass sliding door to the balcony.

The noise from outside immediately rushed in: the sound of the wind and the sound of cars driving by.

He stood on the balcony, getting some fresh air while looking down at the street scene.

“Mr. Uesugi, you should know that when people want to achieve a goal, they all start with the words ‘hope to do it’. Because of ‘hope’, they will do it.”

"Generally speaking, this urgency is called 'desire.' With desire, people have the motivation to move forward."

"In that case, Mr. Uesugi, what do you think is the most fundamental reason why your wife suddenly made such a request?"

The most fundamental reason...

Without rushing to answer, Uesugi Kai silently pondered the meaning of those words in his mind.

Hanabi suddenly suggested a ten-day separation and expressed reluctance to part with him... She even turned back to look at him one last time before leaving.

She doesn't seem to want to do that.

Kai Uesugi replied to Dr. Nakamura on the phone, "Is it another aspect of her personality that's guiding her to do this?"

"That's right, but not entirely."

Not entirely correct?

Kai Uesugi had no clue.

"Let's analyze this, Mr. Uesugi."

"Your wife has a second personality. What are the characteristics of this personality?"

Kai Uesugi gazed at the city lights below from the balcony, a chilly breeze making his head spin. After a moment's thought, he slowly uttered a few words into the phone:

"Possession, confidence, control."

"And what about your wife's personality?"

"Weak, considerate, tolerant...?"

At this point, Uesugi Kai suddenly understood.