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

"..."

"Let me put it another way, what should you do if a girl dislikes you?" Uesugi Kai suddenly regretted calling Hanabi a yandere.

"Well..."

After pondering for a long time, Takahiro Tsubokawa finally came to the conclusion: "You should ask Goto about this kind of thing."

###Chapter 80 The Daily Routine of Searching for a Target###

Uesugi Kai shook his head without even lifting his eyelids and said:

"He's too busy with his own problems to think about how to respond to Ogata-kun right now."

Yesterday afternoon at the archery club, Uesugi Kai simply relayed Goto's message to Ogata Asaka. Although she said she wouldn't interfere too much in her sister's love life, if her sister was still rejected, she would have no choice but to personally confront Goto.

In her view, her younger sister's ideas far outweighed Goto's.

“That’s true,” Takahiro Tsubokawa said, then continued, “But are you really going to ask me that question?”

Having never been in a relationship, he was surprised when Uesugi Kai asked him this question.

"I myself think I'm unreliable."

“Consider this a suggestion,” Uesugi Kai said. “If the method is good, we will naturally adopt it.”

"Then take this as a reference, don't blame me if it's wrong." Takahiro Tsubokawa gently stirred his coffee with the spoon in his cup.

"no problem."

Contrary to what Uesugi Kai had imagined, Tsubokawa Takahiro didn't make any thoughtful moves and quickly said casually, "Girls, if you're disliked, just apologize with a gift she likes. As long as she still cares about you, a little coaxing will make it go away."

“You and Hanamaru are so close, childhood friends. I think as long as you’re careful, you can completely get out of danger.”

He seemed very knowledgeable, a stark contrast to his earlier insecure demeanor.

"..."

Uesugi Kai's gaze turned strange. "Why do I feel like you have an unusually wealth of experience in this area?"

Takahiro Tsubokawa glanced at him, then raised his glass:

"What new ideas can an apology possibly offer? It's nothing more than explaining the reasons, exaggerating one's own mistakes, understanding her preferences, and finally taking sincere actions."

Taking a sip of his coffee, he realized he hadn't added any sugar. The coffee was bitter and astringent, and he couldn't help but smack his lips.

"We should give her a gift." Uesugi Kai looked down at the dark brown coffee.

These past few days she's been applying medicine and massaging my shoulders, making me lunchboxes and such, but I haven't done anything for myself.

"But you know," Takahiro Tsubokawa said quietly, putting down his annoying instant coffee, "you really have to be careful. This morning I noticed she seemed to be in a bad mood; she didn't talk much to the class president and the others."

"Could it be because of you that your condition has worsened?"

"..."

Kai Uesugi said quietly, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

------

In the afternoon, it was English class. The weather was ordinary, with light clouds in the sky obscuring the sun.

Their English teacher is the kind of teacher that high school students all aspire to be.

Young and beautiful, Kai Uesugi often hears boys discussing what color underwear she's wearing that day.

Compared to Nozomi Haneda, who exudes a more professional woman's aura, she seems more approachable.

Her classes are naturally very popular.

The vast majority of people are working hard for this month's monthly test. Those who want to get into prestigious universities must work even harder in these key subjects.

When hard work and aspirations intertwine, the atmosphere of learning becomes even more intense.

However, Uesugi Kai's gaze fell on the locust tree swaying gently in the wind outside the window, staring blankly at the tender buds full of the vitality of spring.

They ignored the lessons taught by young English teachers.

He was pondering what kind of apology gift to give Hanabi, and where he should give it to her.

The eight intelligence points that make it easy to acquire knowledge seem to be of no use at this time.

The afternoon English class ended quickly while he was distracted.

After school, the students packed their bags and went to their clubs or home.

Kai Uesugi, sitting by the window in the classroom, looked towards the door.

Hanabi Hanamaru was following the class representative and the others to the club building when her figure disappeared from sight.

She seemed much better than in the morning, but Uesugi Kai could detect a subtle sense of loss in her beautiful eyes.

Something's on your mind.

Shaking his head, Uesugi Kai realized that there were only three people left in the classroom—himself, Tsubokawa, and Goto.

Takahiro Tsubokawa, with a bag slung over his shoulder, placed his hand on Kai Uesugi's shoulder and gave him an encouraging look.

"Go for it, our protagonist, Uesugi!"

Goto Iwakatsu didn't understand the meaning behind their conversation: "What do you mean? Isn't it me who really needs encouragement?"

"You? Forget it," Takahiro Tsubokawa waved his hand dismissively. "If you've made this up, you have to take responsibility for it."

"I already said it was a misunderstanding. I didn't mean it this way. It was just a normal chat," Goto Iwakatsu tried his best to defend himself.

Tsubokawa remained noncommittal about his words: "Judging from that Asaka-senpai's reaction, things are clearly not that simple."

"You don't believe me?" Goto Iwakatsu said.

"Who knows?" Takahiro Tsubokawa spread his hands and shrugged slightly. "But my opinion isn't important. What's important is how you're handling it now."

“You must believe me,” Goto Iwakatsu said with unwavering conviction.

"Why? I think you're already lucky enough if two girls are willing to date you. I've never even had my first love, so I don't deserve it."

"Because no one believes me now. Everyone says I'm a scumbag for dating two girls at the same time."

“Especially in the photography department,” Goto Iwakatsu immediately added.

“It’s spreading very quickly,” Takahiro Tsubokawa nodded with his arms crossed. “I think they’re right.”

"Hey, are we still brothers?" Goto put his right arm around Tsubokawa's neck, then bent Tsubokawa's gaze to look at Uesugi Kai, who had been silent all along. "You see, Uesugi has never doubted me."

Kai Uesugi zipped up his backpack: "There's suspicion, but it's still within acceptable limits."

Then, he slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked out the door, waving to the two people behind him:

"Thanks for the suggestion, see you next week."

Kai Uesugi's figure quickly disappeared through the doorway.

"Who is he thanking?" Goto Iwakatsu asked.

"Me," Takahiro Tsubokawa replied.

------

The archery dojo is filled with the gentle sound of the wind.

Several boys and girls, each holding a bow and arrow, stood side by side in the open shooting position.

Her slender fingers trembled slightly as the graceful longbow was slowly drawn back.

Kai Uesugi, dressed in a white archery uniform, looked calmly ahead.

Click...!

Suddenly, he pulled back with his fingers—an arrow flew into the air and disappeared from the longbow.

With a loud "bang," the air seemed to tremble in shock, and the arrow that had vanished silently suddenly reappeared on the target 28 meters away.

Okay.

After mentally evaluating himself, Uesugi Kai let out a sigh of relief, then drew an arrow from the quiver beside him and nocked it onto his longbow once more.

He drew the bowstring taut with his right hand and released another arrow.

But this time, it unexpectedly missed the target.

“That’s quite rare.” Sugita Sohei glanced at Uesugi Kai, who had put down his longbow, then raised both hands and shot one of his arrows.

As expected, it hit the bullseye of the target on the distant Antu.

My heart is in turmoil.

Asaka Ogata faced the target, her tone indifferent, her figure tall and elegant at the shooting position.

Chapter 81 Archery: Let Nature Take Its Course.

Asaka Ogata was cold and aloof, her eyes as sharp as the arrows she shot.

The sound of strings beneath the sky was crisp and resonant.

She was second only to Sugita Sohei in skill level in the archery club.

Fridays are not mandatory for archery club training, so the archery range, located in a quiet corner of the campus, is even more peaceful.

"It's normal for seniors to miss once in a while, right?" Chitose Mai said with a smile from behind the group. She was observing and learning from the body coordination and shooting patterns of the seniors.

This was also advice given to her by Aoyuya, but the minister was not present today.

Sakurai Fuko, who was right in front of her, put down her longbow and turned to say to her, "While it's normal to miss the target, Uesugi-san's arrow has already flown onto the lawn."

Sugita Sohei looked straight ahead, nocked an arrow, and strummed the bowstring. The small groove on the thumb of his right hand hooked the fully drawn bowstring: "Kyudo emphasizes momentum, accumulating power without revealing it. Uesugi's level has far surpassed that of a beginner, and he has the demeanor of a master archer. This level of miss already speaks volumes."

He fired another arrow, and dozens of arrows were already stuck into the target 28 meters away.

"Archery should resemble that of a gentleman; if he misses the target, he should examine himself for the cause."

When Uesugi Kai saw the character "鹄" (swan) hanging above the shooting target, he suddenly thought of this sentence: "It really is my problem."

Even without the [Precision] attribute, his basic skills shouldn't have resulted in such an absurd arrow shot.

Sugita Sohei nodded slightly: "A straight shot is always a winner; mindset is very important."