Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard-Chapter 29: Confused Thoughts

Kamigoe High School, club building,

Uesugi Sakura, following his memory from yesterday, went to the second floor and turned right.

As he turned the corner into the corridor, he saw students from the Painting Department coming out. They had already packed their bags, heading towards the school gate, ready to end another day of school life.

Girls in black sailor uniforms passed by Uesugi Sakura, laughter escaping as they talked among themselves.

Uesugi Sakura turned his head to glance at the sunset that painted the sky a fiery red, then looked back at the watch on his wrist.

17:54:23

The previous club training had made his body ache, and he still had a study meeting. Even someone like him couldn't help but feel a bit of weariness from his heart.

But for some reason, Hanamaru Hanabi's familiar smile, as radiant as fireworks, came to mind.

She seemed to only smile at him...

Just then, a sudden voice from ahead caught everyone's attention in the corridor.

They all turned to look.

Uesugi Sakura furrowed his brow, his mood inexplicably sour.

"I... I'm sorry...classmate, I really can't accept this..."

"Hanamaru! Please, you must consider this. I'm, I'm serious!"

A boy in a black school uniform held a pink letter with both hands, bowing his head sincerely.

"Since I saw you by chance in the courtyard last year, I, I have liked you! Every day at school, I think of your smile and your face... I know I'm humble... I'm timid... I only dared to look at you secretly every day."

He raised his head, seeing Hanamaru Hanabi's delicate face and took a step forward in excitement.

"Don't..." Hanabi instinctively took a step back in fear.

"But please believe me! I'm one hundred percent sincere! I will definitely, definitely, definitely be good to you!"

"Please! Please, Hanamaru, take this seriously! I'm begging you! This is my life's request!"

Having said that, the boy's face flushed, his heart pounding, and his head bowed deeply, showing the picture of a pure boy mustering up the courage to confess.

Hanamaru Hanabi was quite flustered, unsure of how to handle the situation. The focused gazes from other students made her tiny hands tightly grip her shoulder bag, her eyes involuntarily avoiding eye contact.

The boy's words were sincere, full of genuine emotion, with the tension and anticipation clear between the lines.

Faced with such a situation, any girl, unless she particularly dislikes the person, would be somewhat moved.

Especially since Hanamaru Hanabi was someone who didn't know how to refuse.

The expectant looks from classmates, the eyes watching a scene unfold, and the encouraging gazes for the boy all focused on her.

This only added to her pressure, and her already chaotic heart grew more restless and tense.

The air fell silent.

There wasn't a sound to interrupt the development between the two.

The feelings were genuine.

The love letter was conspicuous.

Hanamaru Hanabi looked at the boy deeply bowing, remaining silent for a long time, her pupils slightly trembling, and she pursed her lips.

After a while, she seemed to have made a decision, turning her gaze away, and a soft, weak voice slowly emerged:

"I... I'm sorry..."

"Why... why..."

The soft words felt like a bolt from the blue for the boy in front, his face turning grey, his heart throbbing with his trembling hands.

He lifted his head, unwilling to accept this result, and once again extended the pink envelope forward.

But at this moment, the beautifully packaged envelope in the boy's hand, rich with emotion, had already become dull and lackluster.

"Please... don't do this..."

Hanamaru Hanabi was pressed to take another step back, her hands gripping the unfriendly Ayaka Rie beside her.

Unwilling to accept this result, the boy faced her delicate, cute face, cautiously continuing to try:

"Hanamaru, please consider again! I—"

"You can leave now."

Ayaka Rie's rising anger was apparent, but a plain voice appeared before the boy.

Hanabi looked up, seeing the familiar figure, her voice still timid and small: "U... Uesugi-kun..."

Terai Hidekazu's expression was now filled with unease and doubt. Facing the man suddenly blocking his way, he tentatively asked:

"You are—"

"I know you want to ask who I am, but I don't need to tell you who I am," Uesugi Sakura glanced at the envelope in his hand, "What's important now is that you can leave."

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Terai Hidekazu swallowed, wanting to glimpse Hanamaru Hanabi behind him, but was immediately blocked by Uesugi Sakura.

He glanced at him imploringly, politely saying:

"Classmate... please let me through. As far as I know, Hanamaru doesn't have a boyfriend. Why are you blocking my way?"

"Didn't even do your homework properly?"

Uesugi Sakura thought his expression was fake, "You think I wouldn't know since I go to school with her every day?"

The classmates watching the scene started talking, their eyes focused directly on Hanamaru Hanabi behind.

Already weak-hearted, she couldn't help but lower her head under everyone's gaze.

Seeing Hanabi like this, Ayaka Rie's anger rose uncontrollably, and while supporting her, she immediately shouted to Uesugi Sakura:

"Uesugi, make him get lost, he's not a good person."

Going to school together...

Terai Hidekazu paused, realized something, and looked up at Uesugi Sakura, struggling to maintain a smile, "But... you're not Hanamaru's boyfriend now... I just thought... I just wanted..."

"Now, immediately, leave." An unquestionable voice.

Terai Hidekazu swallowed, his throat rolling, trying to open his stiff jaw:

"You can't—"

"Do you think Hanabi is easy to talk to, so she'd casually accept your confession?" Uesugi Sakura interrupted him directly, "Do you think being part of the baseball team makes you charming?"

Terai Hidekazu looked surprised, "How did you—"

"Do you think a pure-hearted look is enough to win sympathy?"

The words kept pressing down.

"Do you think the pressure from the classmates' gaze will make Hanabi accept your request?"

Terai Hidekazu's pupils shrank, anxious, looking around, trying to defend himself: "No! I just—"

"Is this your confession? Is this what you call your life's request?" Uesugi Sakura looked at him with disgust, "Using a girl's weak nature, confessing before everyone leaves, trying to force her to accept your request under the pressure of classmates' gaze."

The voice grew much louder.

"Don't you think it's very disgraceful to do this, classmate?"

Hearing the whispers around and feeling the gaze of the surrounding classmates on him, Terai Hidekazu shrank his neck, tightly gripped the letter, and muttered through clenched teeth:

"I just... I just wanted to..."

"Leave."

"But..."

Uesugi Sakura said no more, just giving him a cold look.

"I..."

Terai Hidekazu looked at the delicately featured Hanamaru Hanabi hiding behind Uesugi Sakura, unwilling to give up.

But the chaotic discussions continued to fill his ears, and the cold gaze of Uesugi Sakura relentlessly pressed on his remaining self-esteem.

He had no choice but to leave.

Turning around dispiritedly with the envelope from his confession in his right hand.

At that moment, his whole world seemed to dim.

The watching classmates obligingly made way for him, accompanied by some unpleasant remarks.

The next second, Ayaka Rie loudly dispersed the students gathered in the corridor watching the scene:

"Alright! Alright! Time to head home, there's nothing to see!"

After all the onlookers had left, Hanamaru Hanabi dared to lift her head to look at Uesugi Sakura, and quietly said, a bit timidly: "Thank you... Uesugi-kun..."

Her timid appearance reminded Uesugi Sakura of the past, of the shy little girl who used to hold onto the hem of his clothes, following closely behind him.

"It's nothing."

"Still somewhat of a man," Ayaka Rie's tone was calm as she commented to him, "it's worth it for Hanabi-chan who always..."

A head-down Hanamaru Hanabi tugged at her hand.

"Forget it," Ayaka Rie sighed, examining Uesugi Sakura again, "Why are you such a blockhead in this area? Don't you get along pretty well with that annoying Goto guy?"

"Get along well, what do you mean?"

"Turns out you're just like Murakoshi," Ayaka Rie gave him a contemptuous look, without explaining further, "Let's go, it's time for the study meeting."

With that, she led Hanamaru Hanabi, holding her small hand, towards the staircase, leaving Uesugi Sakura alone in the vast corridor.

The sunset roasted the sky, the fiery color making the air even more stuffy.

"Murakoshi? Like him? Is that possible?"

Uesugi Sakura muttered, staying in place, unconsciously looking up at the darkening distant sky.

The breeze ruffled his ears, a feeling that should have been fresh and vibrant.

But for some reason, he couldn't enjoy the sunset view before him.

The way Hanabi was when confessed to just now made him inexplicably uncomfortable.

Wanting to protect her like the past only intensified the feeling that his treasure was about to be taken away by someone else.

He couldn't help but remember Ayaka Rie's words about him being a blockhead, and Hanabi's sneaky glances when she held her hand.

He was very familiar with her, even knowing her little habits when she slept.

They were childhood friends.

She was the little girl sitting on a bench in the park, enjoying the floral scent, the figure following behind on the street, the smile as she handed him flowers with her small hands.

Uesugi Sakura asked himself, as a flood of memories raced through his mind.

In those flashes of smiling faces, he paused at the moment from a few days ago, when they held hands in the Imperial Garden, her bashful, wonderful expression.

And just then, the way she pressed her lips while refusing the confession was etched in his mind, her vivid silhouette marked on his heart, exuding a strange sting.

Should I initiate a little change?

The sunset, it melted everything.