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

"Then why... did you only take mine?"

As Hanabi Hanabi took off her shark-skin apron that she kept at home, she said, "Hanabi is going back to her mother's house; she won't eat here."

Upon hearing that she was leaving, that empty feeling in my heart surged up again.

Uesugi Kai's expression changed. He put down his chopsticks and looked at her delicate face: "But Hanabi-chan...didn't you promise to stay here tonight?"

"No, Hanabi only promised to cook for Kai-kun, she didn't promise to stay here."

Uesugi Kai lowered her head, gazing at the steaming rice rising from her bowl, and murmured, "I see..."

"Kai-kun, are you sad?"

Hearing the voice, Uesugi Kai looked up and found that Hanabi Hanabi was already sitting opposite him, smiling at him with her hands supporting her face, a beautiful and pure smile like a lily in its first bloom.

“You’re leaving…of course I’m sad…please don’t go?” Uesugi Kai tried to say to her.

Hanabi Hanamaru didn't reply, but maintained her sweet smile. "Kai-kun, Hanabi felt it just now."

"What did you sense?"

"I felt like I was being pursued... When Kai said, 'Please don't go,' Hanabi really felt it, like—'Please be my girlfriend?'"

Kai Uesugi laughed and said, "It's such a simple thing, I can tell you as many times as you want."

"If you actively ask Kai-kun to say it, you lose the feeling! The feeling is the most important thing here."

"Yes, I understand," Uesugi Kai replied softly.

"Aren't you going to eat, Kai-kun? Didn't you say you wanted to eat the dishes Hanabi made for you?" Hanamaru Hanabi looked at his hands, which were not moving.

"I'll eat, of course I'll eat. It's just that I feel a little reluctant to see you go back tonight."

"Just some?"

Kai Uesugi smiled and said, "That's just a euphemism. In my heart, I really want you to stay."

"But if the fireworks remain, will it only leave behind... a bitter taste?"

“How could that be?” Uesugi Kai said. “I won’t force you if you don’t want to.”

"Kai-kun is using the same old excuse... Even if Hanabi doesn't want to, Kai-kun will still subtly hint at it, right?"

"Ahem, doesn't that mean you've thought about it?"

"This is considered enticement or inducement, and from a criminal law perspective, it constitutes a crime."

"How come fireworks are subject to criminal law?"

"That's just a wild guess from Hanabi."

Hanabi Hanabi rested her chin on her hands and smiled at him from across the room.

It was clearly just an ordinary smile, but seeing it made Uesugi Kai's emotions surge uncontrollably.

Yes, who else would patiently watch themselves while they eat and smile at them?

"Kai-kun, let's eat. Hanabi isn't leaving today."

"Really?" Uesugi Kai suddenly looked up.

"Hmm...who told Kai-kun to be so clumsy...I bet his clothes have been piling up for days without being washed."

"No, I still washed the clothes. After you went to stay at your mother's house, I slept on the sofa... When I got dressed in the morning and went through the closet, I would think of how you would tidy up the clothes every morning. The way you carefully folded the clothes, just watching you from behind made me so happy."

Why?

"Because I can feel you are really there beside me, wearing the clothes you draped over me, the tie you tied for me, and even the shirt collar you turned out for me... At times like these, I feel that you really exist, and not that it's a dream."

Hanabi Hanabi listened patiently to his story and asked again, "If... Hanabi says if, Kai-kun's Hanabi is just a dream, what would you do?"

"Then I'd rather be forever immersed in dreams, because at least in dreams I can still see you and hear your voice."

"But this is fake."

"Does it matter? What matters is the experience that things themselves bring to people... Whether it's false or real, it doesn't matter. What matters is which one becomes a haven for one's soul."

"But why do people always say that this is escapism?"

"Because some people, in order to live better in reality, deliberately make those below them satisfy their needs in reality... Of course, with the current technology, falsehood still has to rely on reality, so hard work is essential."

Uesugi Kai took a bite of the hot meal; the food tasted just right, perfectly matching his taste preferences, making him very satisfied.

Hanabi had indeed always kept his preferences in mind.

"Because of this, everyone's standards for dating in real life have become higher. Girlfriends must be beautiful, boyfriends must be handsome, their income must be better than their own, and their family background must be better than their own. But actually, being well-matched in terms of social status is the most important thing."

Kai Uesugi put down his chopsticks and smiled, "Of course, I'm one of them too. Strictly speaking, I'm not a good match for Hanabi-chan."

"Why do you say that, Kai-kun?"

"Hanabi-chan, your family is well-off and well-educated... In Tokyo, you are not only rich, but your status and knowledge are also much higher than mine. Although we were well-matched since childhood, we weren't really that well-matched."

"But Hanabi still chose Kai-kun, didn't she?"

"Yes...and that's why...your love, Hanabi, is so precious."

Suddenly remembering something, Uesugi Kai stood up and said to Hanabi Hanabi, "After talking so much, I realized you haven't eaten yet, Hanabi. I'll go get some for you."

"Mm." Hanabi Hanamaru did not refuse and nodded slightly.

Kai Uesugi found a bowl in the kitchen, filled it with rice, took a pair of chopsticks, and placed them in front of Hanabi Hanamaru.

"Wait a moment."

"what happened?"

Hanabi Hanabi tugged at the hem of Kai Uesugi's clothes.

"Hanabi needs Kai-kun to feed her."

"Shall I feed you?"

"Kai-kun is unwilling?"

"Of course I'm willing."

Kai Uesugi sat down next to her and looked at her after she took off her coat, revealing the wool sweater underneath.

Hanabi Hanamaru is a petite girl, not too young, but her face and voice always evoke certain associations.

Kai Uesugi reached into her bowl and picked up a piece of Mapo Tofu. She gently mixed it with the rice in the bowl a couple of times, then picked up a spoon and held it to her cherry-pink lips.

"Ah... um..."

Seeing her exaggeratedly bite into half a spoon and then make a happy expression as if she was enjoying the delicious food, Uesugi Kai couldn't help but laugh: "You're a wife now, and you're still so childish."

"Kai-kun is complaining about fireworks again."

"You're so disgusted! Why don't you eat more!" Uesugi Kai smiled and agreed, then took another spoonful and fed it to her little mouth. "You're so thin, I'm afraid you won't be able to have a baby in the future."

"A baby...?" Hanabi Hanabi seemed to have made a connection, her face slightly flushed. "Kai-kun... I heard childbirth is very painful..."

"Yes, it hurts a lot, so I don't want you to give birth."

"But we still want the baby, right?"

"You can have it or not; no one will force you."

"Kai-kun too?"

"Ah."

Don't boys usually value children a lot?

"That depends on the person. I'm not like that. I just want Hanabi to have a happy life every day. Like growing flowers, watching movies, going to amusement parks, having barbecues... I'll accompany her as long as she wants to do it."

"Kai-kun," Hanabi called out to him while chewing her food.

"what happened?"

"It's nothing, I just wanted to call out Kai-kun's name, and if I heard Kai-kun respond, Hanabi would feel a little happy."

"Really?" Uesugi Kai put away the spoon he was using to feed her and smiled. "Christmas is coming soon, let's go on a date."

"Christmas... I always feel like a Christmas date is going to be our last..."

"How could that be? After Christmas, there are many, many more Christmases, and many more dates. After one date, there's another, and after that, there's the one after that... I look forward to every single date."

"Feel..."

"What do you feel?"

"It feels like Kai-kun's sweet talk skills have improved, and even fireworks are generating a lot more anticipation."

"Really? But didn't you always love going on dates? Even if it was just going out for a walk or shopping together."

"It's not the date that matters, it's who you're with!"

"Yes, yes, eat quickly." Uesugi Kai chose to shut her up with a rice spoon. "Have we been talking a bit too much today?"

"Is it too much? But Hanabi thinks it's alright."

"So, Fireworks, is there anything else you'd like to talk about? As long as it's just chatting with you and listening to your voice, I'm happy to do it for as long as it takes."

"I'm not talking anymore!"

"Not talking anymore?"

"You always have to have some expectations for life. After eating, the next step is to take a shower, do yoga, watch TV, and then go to sleep."

"pig."

"Oh! Kai-kun called Hanabi a pig again! Kai-kun is the pig! You big idiot!" Hanabi bared her teeth, her weak voice making it impossible for her to get angry.

"That little firework is the wife of the big pig, and she's still a pig."

"Ugh, don't you dare call Hanabi a pig!"

"If I say you're a pig, it's the same as me liking pigs, which isn't much better."

"That's not OK!"

Kai Uesugi noticed that Hanabi, who used to be so cheerful, was gradually becoming more outgoing.

But no matter how she changes, she is still that timid girl who blushes if someone stares at her for too long.

As for why she dares to contradict him now, Uesugi Kai can only say it's all infighting.