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

Kai Uesugi originally wanted to dodge, but then he suddenly realized that the person who was slapping him was Hanabi Uehanamaru, and that he had been owing her these past few days, so he didn't want to dodge at all, and his right cheek took a solid slap.

"Snap!" A crisp sound rang out.

After realizing who she had hit, Hanabi hurriedly withdrew her two small hands, cupped them around her mouth, and covered the look of surprise on her face.

"Kai-kun...?" Hanabi Hanamaru asked tentatively, looking at the pink shark head in front of her.

"It's me." Uesugi Kai forced a smile and looked at her, despite the burning pain on his face.

It was less of a smile and more of a forced smile.

After all, that slap really hurt.

"Kai-kun, is your face... alright?"

Out of concern, Hanabi Hanabi reached out a finger and poked his cheek, but quickly withdrew it after he hissed.

Kai Uesugi: "It's alright."

"They've all turned red, and you still say they're okay!"

Hanabi Hanamaru sat on the bed, instinctively reaching down to grab her skirt, but when she stretched her hands down, she realized her clothes were gone.

Her face flushed instantly, and she quickly pulled the blanket next to her to cover her petite body.

"What did Kai-kun secretly do to Hanabi?"

Kai Uesugi laughed and said, "What if I said I took advantage of you while you were asleep and then secretly groped you?"

"How much did you touch?"

"He even touched her breasts."

"Hanabi will never forgive Kai-kun!" Hanabi, who had her arms crossed, suddenly panicked and took back her words. "She won't forgive Kai-kun for a whole week!"

Kai Uesugi sat down on the edge of her bed, her hand still covering her right cheek, which had been slapped earlier: "You're exaggerating when you say these things... You still have to think about me when you say these things... I'm the one who's really upset."

"Hanabi wasn't thinking about Kai-kun..." Hanabi said, then lowered her head, burying her face in the blankets. "Hanabi did all this for herself..."

"Firework Sauce..."

Kai Uesugi called her by her affectionate nickname softly.

"Kai-kun...do you think Hanabi is being too stingy... that you're feeling sad about something like this..."

"Don't think like that," Uesugi Kai said gently in her ear. "It's just that they don't understand you, Hanabi."

"Are fireworks really not something people like?"

"I've already said it... it's just that they didn't understand. It's like when you were a child and you were ostracized. You were so kind, but no one cared about you. It's not their fault that they didn't understand you, it's their loss."

Kai Uesugi slowly approached her and then gently embraced her.

"It's like I have such a beautiful childhood sweetheart wife, while they don't."

Is it really that good-looking?

"Have confidence! I dare say, grab any random person on the street and they'll say the fireworks are beautiful! If someone says the fireworks aren't beautiful, I'll grab them, lift them up, and make them say they are!"

Hanabi Hanabi chuckled at his words: "More of those corny pick-up lines... Kai-kun has absolutely no idea how to win a girl's heart..."

Kai Uesugi quickly chimed in with a comment:

"Yeah, if Hanabi-chan hadn't dated me, I probably would have broken up with several people by now."

"Kai-kun is not allowed to go out and date other girls!"

"What about hookups?"

"What are you saying!" Hanabi Hanabi slapped him. "You're even more forbidden!!"

"Also, shouldn't Kai-kun just be taking Hanabi home? Why hasn't he gone back yet?"

"Well... I have to help you sleep. I'll wash your face, wash your feet, wipe your body, and change you into your pajamas so you can sleep comfortably."

Kai Uesugi tried his best to explain to the girl who was sitting on the bed hugging her legs.

"For example, if you fall asleep in the car, you can't trouble the driver, right? So of course I have to take care of you."

"So, Kai-kun, what do you think of this kind of caregiving experience?"

"To be honest, it was a lot of trouble. I had to run up and down several times just to bring you water."

"Does Kai-kun find this troublesome?"

“No trouble at all, not at all.” Uesugi Kai repeated twice.

Hanabi Hanabi covered her mouth and chuckled softly, "Hanabi didn't mean to blame Kai-kun, and besides, the way Kai-kun was wearing Hanabi's pajamas and saying those things...it's so funny..."

"is it?"

Uesugi Kai wasn't amused by what he saw, but rather by Hanamaru Hanabi's happiness, which involuntarily brought a smile to his face.

###Chapter 516 The Warmth Bathed in Moonlight###

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

In order not to wake his sleeping father-in-law, Kai Uesugi kept the sound of running hot water in the bathroom to a minimum.

He stared blankly at his reflection in the water, replaying the words his mother-in-law had just spoken to him.

Perhaps, I really wasn't proactive enough?

Should I be more assertive...? Sometimes being assertive can actually lead to better results?

Because Hanabi is a delicate girl, if you don't take the initiative, she will be in an even more difficult position.

Kai Uesugi washed her face with hot water and remained quiet for a short while.

"Here, take this."

Kai Uesugi was startled by his mother-in-law's sudden appearance.

"Were you scared?"

Mrs. Hanamaru, wearing her pajamas, smiled slightly and handed him a freshly opened towel. "I don't keep Hanabi's old towels anymore. She took them with her when she moved to your house. Now you can use this to help her wash her face... No need to remove makeup. Hanabi doesn't like makeup. She usually just applies some powder or something. You can just wipe her face."

“Okay…” Uesugi Kai replied, holding the towel.

"Okay," Mrs. Hanamaru patted her lips and yawned a long time. "I'm really going to fall asleep now. I'm so sleepy that I won't hear anything if there's any noise upstairs."

"As for your father-in-law, he won't be home tonight either. If you have the chance, remember to bring Hanabi-chan along... cough cough, as her mother, I know she sometimes really needs that comfort."

Mrs. Hanamaru gave me a knowing look, then smiled and winked at Kai Uesugi before turning and disappearing through the door of the washroom.

Is my mother-in-law making another blatant suggestion to me?

Uesugi Kai calmed down again and continued to wait for the hot water to fill half of the basin.

"Oh, right, don't make it too long, Hanabi can't take your abuse."

“Auntie…” Uesugi Kai was startled again by Mrs. Hanamaru suddenly peeking out.

"Haha, now you're really asleep, remember what I said."

Kai Uesugi stared at the empty doorway until the footsteps faded away and the door clicked shut, confirming that Mrs. Hanamaru had indeed returned to her room.

So...did she suddenly come to see me tonight because she missed me?

Or is it because of worry?

With this question in mind, Uesugi Kai brought a basin of hot water to Hanabi's room on the second floor.

The moonlight was hazy, and the gauze curtains beside the bed were tinged with a light white.

Uesugi Kai pulled a stool to the bedside and placed the hot water basin that had been on the floor on the stool.

He was worried that the lights would disturb the fireworks, so instead of turning them on, he walked to the window and pulled open the curtain that was half-closed.

Above them was a crescent moon, half-hidden by gray clouds.

Below is my old room.

Childhood sweethearts whose windows face each other.

That's quite rare, isn't it?

In a daze, Uesugi Kai recalled the eve of the wedding, when Hanabi Hanabi smiled at him from the window.

She was clearly smiling happily and blissfully at that time.

But when Uesugi Kai recalled that scene, recalled that cute little face shrouded in moonlight, it was as if something had touched her heart.

My emotions, like ripples on water, lingered in my chest, unable to find peace.

Kai Uesugi put aside his thoughts, turned around, and looked at Hanabi Hanabu, who was sleeping by the bedside.

In fact, just being quietly by her side gives you a sense of peace and reassurance.

Your gaze will involuntarily drift to her sweet sleeping face.

Her nose, her eyebrows, her breath, her full, moist lips that seemed to be half-open, and the innate fragility and petiteness about her all seemed to linger on her small face.

Kai Uesugi wrung out a hot towel from the basin of hot water, came to the bedside, turned her over so she was sleeping on her side, and gently wiped her cheeks.

The towel was steaming, and some of the hair around her face was damp and stuck to her round and cute little face. Uesugi Kai helped her smooth her hair while gently wiping her face.

His fingers accidentally touched her skin, and the softness and warmth immediately spread from his fingertips. During this time, Hanabi lazily hummed in agreement, and Uesugi Kai thought she was about to wake up, but it turned out she just wanted to turn over and hug the blanket.

"I can't even sleep peacefully."

Uesugi Kai deliberately turned on the air conditioner, and only when the machine started humming did he approach the girl sleeping on the bed again.

Seemingly having heard her shout something, Uesugi Kai brought his ear close to her pink lips.

It's not very clear, but if you pay attention, you can still piece together each string.

"Kai-kun... um... you big pervert... you don't... care at all... don't... um... you bad guy..."

The girl's face was slightly flushed, and she murmured almost inaudibly in her sleep.

Towards the end, she even started to feel a little shy.

What did you dream about?

Kai Uesugi was curious, but he didn't dare to wake her up like that.