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

"dislike?"

"Um..."

"Then I'll change her hobbies a little. Everything else can be changed, but the short hair and purple eyes are a must, okay?" Uesugi Kai tried to get her to agree.

"Barely... let's leave it at that..."

"Okay, let's decide on that."

Next, Kai Uesugi slowly recounted some details, allowing Hanabi to gradually revise them based on her memory.

Hanabi's drawing skills are excellent; even in her sketches, her overall style is clearly visible.

In the end, the two of them finalized a cover illustration for the first volume of the novel, which was a picture of Hanabi Chiwa jumping in the air, making a peace sign and smiling happily at the camera.

Her body swayed, and she wore a high school girl's sailor uniform. Her navel was just visible through the gap between the sailor uniform and the pleated skirt, and her smile was very sunny and bright.

"Is that roughly how it works?"

"Ah."

Hanabi Hanamaru nodded after making the revisions.

Kai Uesugi really liked this energetic pose, and this was just a draft. If it were to be completed, with Hanabi Hanamaru's control over color, she could even make the painting look like it was full of birdsong and flowers, brimming with vitality.

Kai Uesugi couldn't help but hug Hanabi Hanabi's neck, saying, "Wife, you're so good to me..."

"Kai... Kai-kun..." Hanabi Hanabira tried her best to push him away, "Quick... let go..."

"I won't let go, I won't let go."

"Kai-kun...don't act like a child."

###Chapter 476 Light Novel, Visiting Family###

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

The next day, when she got up, Uesugi Kai picked up the silver watch that was on the coffee table next to her and glanced at the time.

8:52:59

For a moment, Uesugi Kai felt a little anxious because she still had class, but then she remembered that there weren't any important classes today, so she might as well sleep and draw those headache-inducing sketches tomorrow.

He rolled over, cradling Shark, whom he hugged every day, between his legs, and rubbed Shark's head against his wife's cheek.

He started imagining the softness of his wife's cheeks.

Morning runs, heating up breakfast, and washing up seem to have nothing to do with him anymore.

Just as he closed his eyes again, he suddenly remembered something—could he really be so dejected?

No, my wife's affection level hasn't been raised again yet.

Besides... he even said he would take her back to see her...

Kai Uesugi sat up from the sofa, resting his elbows on his knees and looking at his hands.

How should I tell her about the afterlife?

......

Time slowly slips away, bit by bit.

He propped himself up from the sofa, went to Hanabi's room, and knocked on the door.

"Fireworks, are you awake?"

Thump thump... thump thump...

He knocked twice more, and only after confirming that Hanamaru did not respond did he push the door open and go in.

What you see is the back of a girl sitting in front of a computer.

I didn't hear a knock because she was wearing headphones and was probably listening to music.

As Uesugi Kai approached, he realized she was drawing. She was drawing the character design for Akizuki Katayama that they had discussed yesterday, and her expression and movements were quite serious.

Only by getting closer can you see that there are many photos on her desk.

Photos of them dating, a picture of her back that I took at a fireworks display, travel photos, date photos, and... most notably, a wedding photo...

Each photo is like a cluster of wedding pictures, facing the girl sitting in front of the computer.

Kai Uesugi looked at himself in his wedding photo, where Hanabi Hanamoto's eyes were faintly filled with tears, but her face was full of joy.

He thought to himself, "That must be the happiest moment."

Kai Uesugi stood silently beside her, secretly watching her profile and observing her constantly moving paintbrush for a long time.

It wasn't until Hanabi Hanabi got tired of drawing, took off her headphones, and got off her chair to go to the restroom that she noticed Kai Uesugi standing behind her.

"Kai-kun?" She was clearly startled. "When did Kai-kun start standing here?"

"Just now," Uesugi Kai said with a smile, "I actually just discovered something."

"What is it?"

"Just seeing you happy from afar gives me a feeling of joy."

"Kai-kun... seems to be saying some strange things lately."

Kai Uesugi smiled faintly: "You find it strange because we didn't hug today."

Although the reaction was very faint, if you looked closely, you could see a faint blush rising on Hanabi's face: "You can't hug me... Kai-kun, there won't be a second exception."

"Kai-kun! Instead of trying to improve your affection level, you keep asking Hanabi to make exceptions for you!"

Uesugi Kai suddenly sensed that she was a little angry, and immediately dropped his joking tone: "What's wrong?"

"I've lowered Kai-kun's favorability..."

"No, no!"

......

In life, there are times when you suddenly understand what it means to learn from your mistakes.

Kai Uesugi realized that in this dating game he had set up, simply asking his girlfriend for a hug was useless, because if he wasn't careful, he would lose a lot of affection points.

What were the rules of dating games again?

"Ugh......"

As soon as Uesugi Kai stepped out the door with his briefcase, he felt an unusual heaviness in his head, because now a large number was hovering above it:

-10

Damn it, we're stuck in the same place again.

Singing, playing the piano, making coffee, giving shoulder massages, giving gifts... these seem like things I've already done, and they no longer have any effect on Hanabi.

Second relationships seem even harder. Before, when I was in love, I could just take my sweetheart to a place and pet her as much as I wanted.

As you gently stroke her, she'll blush and her voice will soften...

I got off the bus, walked to a vending machine, and took out a few coins from my pocket.

Kai Uesugi ordered a bottle of Ramune soda, bent down to pick it up, and drank it as he walked.

It was quite a while after I finished drinking that I finally saw a trash can.

That's how it is in Japan; there are so few trash cans that it's almost as if there are none.

I really don't know what environmental benefits this can achieve. If you want to throw trash on the ground, it'll just result in a pile of garbage.

Especially in Shinjuku and Ikebukuro, the ground is littered with aluminum cans.

Continue on your way.

Meeting room of the Kadokawa Bunko Light Novel Club.

To be honest, when I arrived, it had been a long time since I had experienced this kind of company atmosphere.

The office area has a workstation that is less than two meters wide, but it is equipped with a computer, keyboard, various documents, as well as all kinds of flowers, plants and snacks.

That's not so bad, at least the boss allows us to eat snacks.

If Sugiyama were in her past life, that wouldn't be called work, that would be called prison. She would be a cog in the machine for the boss to make money, and if she got a little tired and went to the toilet, she would be considered absent without leave if it went on for too long.

"Uesugi-sensei".

Morisaki's voice pulled Uesugi Kai back from his memories.

"Ah."

Editor Morisaki flipped through the manuscript that Uesugi Kai had revised a second time: "Uesugi-sensei's writing is quite good, even among the best-written works I've ever submitted, since he's a student at the University of Tokyo... What does Uesugi-sensei think are the highlights of this book?"

"Growth and resonance—I hope readers can empathize with the male protagonist's emotions, experience the feeling of being abruptly abandoned by the metropolis, and see hope and love emerge as they gradually descend into despair."

This is obviously just polite talk, although there is indeed that meaning in it. Uesugi Kai mainly wanted to write about Hanabi.

Editor Morisaki flipped through the manuscript, paused at a particular scene, carefully considered it for a moment, and pointed to a passage, saying:

"Yes, this part is well written. The male lead and the female lead meet, and at the same time, the female lead and the male lead help the second female lead. The relationship between them also shows the male lead's unimaginable longing for the second female lead, who is from a wealthy family, and indirectly adds to the male lead's feelings of closeness to the female lead, who is of equal status..."

"How do you plan to develop the story next?"

After thinking for a moment, Uesugi Kai said, "Although the second female lead has a high status and is highly educated, there are some things that she can't accomplish on her own and needs the male lead's help."

Editor Morisaki immediately chimed in: "No problem, but we also need to write about the friendship between the female lead and the second female lead. Only when friendship and love clash will the emotions erupt intensely."

"The male protagonist's emotional support for his deceased childhood sweetheart is the main storyline for now. When you are working towards this goal, you should also create some obstacles to make things seem difficult but also reveal the way to a solution."

Editor Morisaki continued to carefully review the manuscript.

Kai Uesugi waited patiently to the side.

"..."

Another ten minutes or so passed.

Editor Morisaki closed the manuscript and looked at Kai Uesugi sitting opposite him: "Sorry to keep you waiting. That's all. I'll go back and take another look, make some changes, and then email it to you. Take another look, and if you think it's okay, you can submit it to me for official publication."

Kai Uesugi nodded: "Okay."

He hadn't realized it would be published so easily.