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

###Chapter 434 The Brother-in-Law in the Coffee Shop###

Upon arriving at school, Totsuka Katsura saw Uesugi Kai in the elective class classroom and immediately went over to her.

Kaiya Uesugi had only just arrived at the classroom. He casually picked a seat at the back and took it down. When he took out his reference book from his briefcase, there were even a few beads of sweat on his forehead.

"The temperature is less than ten degrees Celsius today, why do you look so hot?"

Kai Uesugi placed her handbag on her lap and replied, "I just finished running."

"Running again... Why are you working so hard lately? You're in great shape."

"I need to maintain my figure, and I'm doing this to exercise."

"How about I try running with you?"

"Welcome, but it would be best if you could stick with it."

What if you can't stick with it?

"It's okay if you can't stick with it, but when it comes to 'giving up,' it's easy to give up the first time, and it's only easier the second time. Do you agree?"

"How far do you set your morning run goal?" Totsuka Katsura asked again, still undecided.

“Ten kilometers,” Uesugi Kai said casually.

"Ten kilometers..."

Although Totsuka Keichi already knew that this guy was an amazing runner, upon hearing this precise number, he completely lost any desire to learn to run with him in the morning.

He gets exhausted after running just one kilometer, let alone running ten kilometers continuously.

A 10-kilometer morning run.

They even got up very early in the morning.

That's a monster!

Totsuka Katsura decided not to say anything more about the matter.

"Uesugi, about that thing I asked you to do yesterday..."

"Yes, she agreed."

"That's great!"

Looking at his elated expression, Uesugi Kai couldn't bear to expose him.

Judging from her interaction with Rikako Kohashi yesterday, she has absolutely no idea what he's thinking.

That makes sense. What normal younger sister would imagine that her older brother would like her?

"Uesugi, do you think I should confess my feelings?" Totsuka Katsura asked in a low voice.

Didn't you say you wouldn't confess your feelings?

"Aside from the one time I saw her by chance at a social gathering, she has been avoiding her parents for the past few months. I tried to talk to her, but she refused. Can you understand the feeling of not seeing her for so long?"

"Would you like me to tell you the story of how we met? It's actually quite funny."

"No, thank you," Uesugi Kai quickly refused.

He felt that the two of them were unlikely to make it work.

There are two reasons.

Firstly, the two are now in a blended family, nominally siblings.

Secondly, the woman didn't perceive his closeness or affection as affection at all.

"Uesugi, did she say where we should meet?" Totsuka Katsura asked. "I called her yesterday, but the number was not in service. I guess she doesn't want her old number anymore. She never replies to my Line messages either, not even reads them."

"She said we should meet at the coffee shop."

"The maid café where she works?"

"Ah."

"That's good too, coffee shops are really a good place to meet up," Totsuka Katsura murmured, unable to suppress the excitement in her heart.

Kai Uesugi didn't know how he would use this opportunity to meet, but judging from Rika Kohashi's attitude, she was still thinking about her deceased father and probably wouldn't care much about what he said.

Kai Uesugi could understand Rimi Kohashi's feelings; after all, having a good father has a significant impact on a person's character.

It was noon, and the two hurriedly finished lunch at the central cafeteria before heading to Mimi Coffee Shop.

The two came out of the cafeteria exit.

Uesugi Kai suddenly stopped him and said, "Go to the right."

"?"

Totsuka Katsura pointed ahead, looking puzzled. "This way is closer to the bicycle shed."

Uesugi Kai looked at the golden ginkgo trees in front of him and said, "If you're not afraid of the smell, go there. I'll ride my bike out from the side and wait for you."

Totsuka Katsura followed his gaze and looked at the two rows of ginkgo trees.

He hasn't come in from that place in the past two days; he's always used the side entrance.

"Does it really smell bad?"

"The stench was unbearable."

We arrived at the bicycle shed.

Kai Uesugi pushed out his pink bicycle.

"Your bicycle is the most eye-catching among the boys."

“Pink, not good?” Uesugi Kai looked at Totsuka Katsura standing in front of her.

"No, it's great, it's very girly!"

To take care of his best friend, Kai Uesugi pushed his bicycle all the way to the coffee shop.

Fortunately, it wasn't far, just across the street, only a few minutes' walk away.

The two arrived at the shopping street, downstairs from the Mimi Coffee Shop.

"Huh? I remember there were maids standing here every day trying to attract customers, but they've stopped recently?"

Kai Uesugi explained to him point by point: "First, it's not working hours yet. Second, now that there are more customers, we don't need to rely on attracting customers to maintain the business."

"Oh, I see." Totsuka Katsura nodded, then asked him, "Is there anything I should be careful about at the maid café? Maybe I should just use those weird, chuunibyou-ish things to order food and the maid magic 'chu~' that comes with the omelet rice?"

“No, just treat yourself like a normal customer,” Uesugi Kai said. “You seem to know a lot about this.”

"I only saw videos of maid cafes online, and honestly... I felt like it was a scene of absolute horror. I got goosebumps just watching it on screen."

Uesugi Kai suddenly remembered something: "Didn't you come here for coffee once before? Why are you asking this?"

“Last time I came here, I covered myself up with a mask and a coat. The maids didn’t dare to greet me. If they hadn’t seen that I didn’t do anything strange, they would have called the police.”

When he said that, Uesugi Kai remembered.

After get off work, Akane Rina complained to him that a strange man wearing a mask had come to the coffee shop.

The maids were caught in a dilemma: whether to serve them or not.

I want to call the police, but I'm afraid of wrongly accusing the other party.

Fortunately, the strange man didn't have any demands; he just ordered a coffee and sat down.

There were a lot of customers at that time, and I was so busy that I didn't notice and the strange man disappeared.

Because everyone was too busy, no one really paid attention to the strange man's existence.

He only had a vague impression of Akane Rina, who was in charge of entertaining him at the beginning.

After parking their bicycles, Uesugi Kai led Totsuka Keichi up the stairs to the second floor, to the entrance of the café.

The sliding door is made of wood in the middle and uses glass for a large area. In front of the door panel, there is a small wooden sign that says "Open for Business" with vines wrapped around it.

There were still some chalk shadows under the three chalk characters "Open for Business" above.

You can tell that the words were written on this small wooden sign many times.

Ding-a-ling~

As you push open the door and enter, the clear sound of wind chimes rings out.

Aside from some green plants and tables, only Yuri Tashiro, the younger of the twins, was busy wiping the tables inside the shop.

"Ah, Uesugi-san," she noticed Uesugi Kai and immediately stopped what she was doing, clasping her hands together on her maid's skirt and bowing slightly to greet him, "Good afternoon."

The voice seemed emotionless, yet strangely tinged with a hint of surprise.

"Good afternoon," Uesugi Kai replied. "Are you the only one on duty today?"

“No,” she shook her head, “my sister is here too.”

Tashiro Yuri tilted her head slightly, asking with some confusion, "Is the person next to Uesugi-san a guest?"

“Half a guest,” Uesugi Kai answered for Totsuka Keichi. “He is Kohashi-san’s older brother.”

"Brother? Oh, I see. But you can't tell from their appearance that they're siblings at all."

It doesn't really look like it.

Because they weren't blood-related siblings.

But this kind of thing is hard to explain, and explaining too much will only cause trouble.

Kai Uesugi changed the subject: "It's alright, you go ahead with your work, I won't bother you any longer, I'll take care of him."

"Oh, I see." Tashiro Yuri was the kind of obedient girl who wouldn't ask too many questions. After realizing that Uesugi Kai didn't want her to ask any more questions, she continued with her work.

Tidying up potted plants, wiping tables, and carrying plates into the kitchen.

The twin maid sisters are practically the signature of Mimi Cafe. The cafe used to rely entirely on them to get by. I don't know where Manager Liu Mu found them.

The manager now says she wants to transform the business. She plans to abandon the weird anime-style maid café and instead use real maids to embellish the soul of the café.

This coffee shop had that kind of vibe from the very beginning.

Kai Uesugi led Katsura Totsuka to the front desk, and after putting on her work apron, asked him: