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

"Hanabi will go and cheer for Kai-kun. It's so comfortable and cool to watch him shoot arrows."

"Thank you."

Looking at the girl's shy cheeks, pale lips, and fair collarbone against the backdrop of the great white shark pattern, Uesugi Kai moved closer to her.

I pulled the blanket up to just past my shoulders and gently inhaled the fragrance of my neck.

The air was filled with the scent of a young girl.

"棣...棣君..."

He grasped her snow-white shoulder with his hand.

"Don't worry, I just want to hug you for a while."

The feeling of being held was reassuring and familiar, and her petite body couldn't help but lean into his arms.

Her mind began to clear, and Hanamaru Hanabi closed her warm, bright eyes again, slowly drifting off to sleep.

------

In the evening, Hanabi Hanabu got up with a blush on her face.

I carefully tiptoed into the living room and found Uesugi Kai talking to her mother.

"How about taking Hanabi to Mount Takao tomorrow?" Mrs. Hanamaru glanced at the rain outside the living room. "Of course, if it doesn't rain."

"A family dinner?" Uesugi Kai said.

I used to occasionally go to places like parks and hot spring hotels to relax.

Mrs. Hanamaru's willow-like hair cascaded down her back, and she possessed bright, violet eyes just like her daughter's.

"It's not a dinner party, it's just going for a walk together, and I'll invite Noriko along."

Kai Uesugi knew that her mother and she were college classmates, and the two wives would go for walks whenever they had free time.

"I really want to go, but I have things to do tomorrow."

Mrs. Hanamaru suddenly laughed, a beautiful laugh: "When Kai goes to do this, will she bring Hanabi with her?"

Upon hearing this, Uesugi Kai thought about it seriously for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes, it is indeed possible to bring it along."

Hanabi Hanabi, who was eavesdropping against the corner of the wall, looked on with curiosity. She didn't know what Uesugi Kai had to do the next morning and why he would take her along.

"Why don't you bring me and Noriko along too? We're so bored at home on weekends, and the community tea party is so uninteresting."

"..."

Uesugi Kai was silent for a moment, then said, "Is that alright?"

Mrs. Hanamaru caught a glimpse of the little head peeking out from the corner of her eye, smiled calmly, and continued, "Why can't we? Didn't we take you two out to play when you were little? If Hanabi can go, why can't we?"

Mrs. Hanamaru raised her hand and smiled:

"Speaking of which, Xiaokai and Hanabi-chan have to thank us for the friendship they have now."

"..."

Kai Uesugi was having some trouble dealing with this mature woman. Should he say thank you now?

Putting all that aside, there's one thing he's always been curious about.

"Hanabi and I were betrothed since childhood."

"No," Mrs. Hanamaru replied quickly, maintaining her smile.

"Really?"

When they were children, the two ladies would often joke about these things.

"real."

When Mrs. Hanamaru answered, she waved to Hanamaru Hanabi behind the corner of the wall, scaring her away.

Uesugi Kai glanced back at her following her gesture, recognized it as Hanabi, and then looked away.

Mrs. Hanamaru continued, "You two got along quite well after you met. She doesn't like to talk, and neither do you. Most of the time, she just follows you around blankly."

At this point, she sighed helplessly again.

"I always felt that it was you, Xiaokai, who was naughty when you were little and kidnapped Xiaohuabi. After all, you were so smart back then."

“Really? I think I’m pretty normal,” Uesugi Kai said.

“If it’s too normal, then it’s not normal. Anyway, I’ve never seen a child as smart as you.”

Mrs. Hanamaru squinted and said slowly:

"Hasn't Xiao Kai been eyeing our Hanabi since she was little?"

"How could that be? If I had such thoughts, wouldn't I have already agreed to Auntie's hint?"

"Desire to indulge, yet feigning indifference."

Mrs. Hanamaru maintained her smile and did not continue the conversation: "When are you getting married?"

"...?"

"Don't be surprised, it's perfectly normal. Think carefully, are there any obstacles between the two of you?"

"The law...?" Uesugi Kai thought for a long time and that was the only thing that came to mind.

Mrs. Hanamaru covered her face and chuckled twice: "Haha, that's true, they're not even 18 yet."

"Let's not talk about that for now."

"Row."

After a while.

Where are you planning to get married? Traditional or Western style?

“Auntie, didn’t we say we wouldn’t talk about this?” Uesugi Kai said with a rather helpless tone.

"Haha~" Mrs. Hanamaru seemed to be in a good mood. "If you had told me sooner, I would have been able to make some preparations with Noriko. Actually, we have already discussed when you two should have children after you get married."

"?"

Kai Uesugi was having trouble keeping up with his mother-in-law's pace.

"Is this timing still controllable?"

"Roughly, roughly, I can calculate a range."

Mrs. Hanamaru was persistent in discussing this topic. "After your walk tomorrow, would you like to go to the shrine to draw a fortune stick for you? To choose an auspicious day?"

"..."

"Actually, I think it's also important to ask you for two amulets, and writing an ema (votive plaque) would be nice too. Which shrine do you think would be better?"

"..."

"Give me some response, Xiaozhao. If you don't chat with me, Xiaohuahuo won't be able to go out this weekend."

"it is good......"

Then, Uesugi Kai spent the afternoon chatting with his future mother-in-law about auspicious days.

------

The next morning, the rain that had fallen overnight finally stopped.

Sunlight streamed through the clouds, shimmering on the damp leaves of the trees.

The temperature was neither cold nor hot.

Kai Uesugi casually changed into some casual clothes and went to the living room.

Kenichi Uesugi was sitting at the table, eating breakfast and scrolling through his phone. When he saw Kai Uesugi sitting opposite him, he looked up and asked, "Are you short of money lately?"

"That's it."

“Why don’t you ask me? As your father, I’d be happy to give it to you.” Kenichi Uesugi said this without any airs of a middle-aged man.

Kai Uesugi felt his father's tone was strange: "Do you have 100 million yen?"

"Um...no." He answered quickly.

"So I'll earn it myself."

"Do you have a way to earn a million?"

"There's a Kyudo Federation competition in Shinjuku Ward."

Kenichi Uesugi knew about his recent joining of the archery club and thought the kid had finally figured things out.

"But it's only been a little over a month since school started, how good can your archery be?"

He spoke to himself.

"However, my energy level has improved a lot, and I'm not as lazy as before."

Kai Uesugi took the breakfast his mother brought him and said as he ate, "My listlessness isn't because I'm lazy, it's because I'm tired from studying."

"You seemed quite tired during that time," Uesugi Kenichi nodded.

"Dad, how are you? You've been working overtime a lot lately." Uesugi Kai didn't want to hear his father keep talking about him.

“Me?” Kenichi Uesugi couldn’t help but purse his lips. “Clients come up with all sorts of weird requests every day. If there’s a request, I have to change the code. If I change the code, there will be bugs. I drink coffee like water. I’m the one who stays up all night every day fixing this stuff.”

"If it weren't for the fact that the section chief bows and apologizes every day, I really would have thought—"

"..."

"Forget it, I've worked for so many years, I'll just wait for my retirement pension."

###Chapter 114 Before heading out, a meaningless daily routine###

After finishing the vegetable salad, I listened to my father's complaints.

While her mother was still getting ready to go out, Uesugi Kai went to the neighbor Hanamaru's house.

Use the key to open the front door.

—The key given by Mrs. Hanamaru.