Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard-Chapter 767 - 459: Hanabi Neko_2

"Does it... hurt?"

"It hurts, deeply, but such a cute fist, why isn’t it hitting straight to my heart?"

"Sakura, haha, Sakura, you’re so funny..."

Uesugi Sakura joined the girl in laughter: "That’s more like it, stay happy, we’re still together, every day is a happy and blissful life."

"Yeah!"

"Even though we’ve been together for a long time, there are still many things we haven’t done yet. We are a couple, not just in life, but in everything we will always face together."

"Yeah!"

"So," Uesugi Sakura smiled as he extended his hand to her, "change your clothes, we’ll go out to wash our face, and then take a walk by the lake."

"Okay."

...

They stepped out of the tent, welcomed by the morning and the bright sun.

The gentle rays shined on their faces, and after washing, they walked by the lake with the girl.

She was curious about everything. Upon encountering a white swan wandering by the lake, she couldn’t help but watch, squat down to touch it, and the swan, as if guided by some divine sense, quietly aligned itself with her stroking hand.

Uesugi Sakura stood by, watching the girl squat by the river, stroking the swan, and felt everything was blissful and perfect.

"Goodbye!"

The girl, wearing a scarf, waved farewell to the swan drifting into the lake’s center, standing there gazing into the distance.

She wore a smile, brimming with energy and sunlight.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Uesugi Sakura asked.

"Hmm... let’s eat at the town across the lake, it’s more convenient."

"Shopping at the market again? If that’s the case, isn’t Hanabi literally going on a date with me again?"

"Sakura... do you not want to?"

"Of course—I do." Uesugi Sakura paused deliberately and reached out to hold her hand.

"Nope."

Hanamaru Hanabi stepped back with a smile, avoiding him, "Yesterday Sakura used up today’s hand-holding quota."

"Huh? What is this, what kind of wife doesn’t let her husband hold her hand?"

"Hanabi doesn’t care."

"Not willing? Then I’ll force you to be willing!" Uesugi Sakura lunged toward her.

"Yaha!" Hanamaru Hanabi dodged panically, starting to run along the riverbank towards the town.

"I’m coming! Don’t run!!"

They ran all the way to the town before Hanamaru Hanabi was caught by Uesugi Sakura.

She stood with her hands on her knees, panting heavily.

Uesugi Sakura bent over, smiling broadly at the girl beside him: "Can’t run anymore, now are you willing to hold my hand?"

"Sakura~~ Ha~~ Sakura... Sakura isn’t... ha... ha..."

"Slow down, slow down." Uesugi Sakura supported her waist, saying, "No need to rush."

Hanamaru Hanabi rested for a while before catching her breath, speaking to him:

"Sakura... wasn’t it said... you could turn Hanabi into a kitty?"

"Suddenly bringing this up?"

"Hanabi... wants to become a kitty... then lie in Sakura’s arms..."

"Really?"

"Yeah..." Hanamaru Hanabi looked at him with sincere eyes, "Hanabi... is all Sakura’s... Hanabi... also really likes Sakura."

In fact, Hanamaru Hanabi had grown quite a bit by now, able to bravely say "like" and maintain unwavering eye contact.

"Since little Hanabi said so, I have no choice but to agree, let’s find a different corner, there are too many people here."

——————

A tourist town by Sagami Lake.

A clean, white little cat trotted on the cobblestones, her eyes a dazzling purple, filled with light and beauty.

Uesugi Sakura squatted in front of her, surprised that it actually worked.

Hanabi the cat had lively eyes, and her sleek, shiny form certainly made her the belle of the cats.

And exceptionally cute.

Uesugi Sakura extended his hand to her, smiling: "Hanabi the cat, give me a handshake."

Hanabi the cat naturally lifted her foreleg, placing her small paw on his hand.

"So cute, should I pick you up?"

"Meow~" Her tiny voice chimed, carrying a unique and delicate sense of fragility.

Uesugi Sakura picked her up, cradling her in his arms: "Actually, I still prefer little Hanabi’s form, though Hanabi the cat is also beautiful."

"Meow..."

"Good girl."

Uesugi Sakura stroked her fur, from her head down to her gently swaying tail.

And Hanabi the cat stayed docile, quietly curling up in his arms.

Uesugi Sakura slowly flipped her over, lightly scratching her fluffy belly, and then, while she was unguarded, he suddenly pulled one of her hind legs.

"Meow!!"

——————

A tourist town by Sagami Lake.

Everything remained sunny and breezy as Uesugi Sakura sat in a dumpling shop, quietly awaiting breakfast.

The only change from a few minutes ago was the addition of a few red scratch marks on his face.

"Actually, I didn’t do it on purpose."

The girl sitting across from him said nothing.

But her cute face held a faint, persistent blush, a tint which drew the eyes and hearts of many passersby.

"I was curious, it was curiosity," Uesugi Sakura continued, laying his hands flat on the table, "truly just curious, after all, people and cats have some differences, I wanted to see what it looked like..."

"Naughty..."

The girl opposite interrupted him with a soft voice.

Seeing her still lowering her head, unwilling to look at him, Uesugi Sakura quickly apologized: "I’m sorry, Hanabi-chan, I was wrong, will you forgive me?"

"Okay, yeah!"

The girl suddenly lifted her head, almost catching Uesugi Sakura off guard, and he froze.

Hanamaru Hanabi propped her elbow on the table, covering her face with her hand while giggling: "Sakura, don’t you recognize Hanabi anymore?"

This tone...

Uesugi Sakura felt he frightened little Hanabi away.

"I recognize you, I do." He quickly replied.

The elder shopkeeper brought over two bowls of Chinese dumplings and in clumsy Japanese told Uesugi Sakura: "Apologize well, I’ll give you extra dumplings, chat a while longer."

"Ah, thank you." Uesugi Sakura responded to the shopkeeper.

Hanamaru Hanabi propped her face with one hand, puffing her cheeks as she stirred the dumplings in her bowl while speaking in a slightly complaining tone: "Sakura, if you wanted to see, just say so directly, there’s no need to make little Hanabi turn into a kitty to view it."

"..." Uesugi Sakura for a while didn’t know how to respond.

Little Hanabi would get angry, while the dark side of Hanabi would probably relish him doing so.

Weird, clearly the dark Hanabi was supposed to be little Hanabi’s deeper thoughts, why were they so different?

Could it be that everything turns into its opposite?

No, there’s no scientific basis for that.

"The spoon isn’t quite working for me."

Hanamaru Hanabi said as she reached for a pair of chopsticks, but in the act, she accidentally dropped them onto the ground, bouncing toward Uesugi Sakura’s position.

"Ah, sorry, Sakura, Hanabi didn’t hold them steady, can you help Hanabi pick them up?"

"Sure."

Uesugi Sakura didn’t think much of it, his mind still occupied with how to properly apologize to little Hanabi.

He shifted back in his seat, moved the stool back, and upon seeing the chopsticks on the floor, bent down to pick them up.

...

As he raised his head, suddenly, his head accidentally bumped into the table, prompting Uesugi Sakura to cover the back of his head in pain.

"Sakura, are you alright?"

"Ow~ it hurts a bit, but I’m—"

As he lifted his gaze, glancing across, Uesugi Sakura was suddenly dumbstruck.

A petite white hand was lifting half of her skirt to show something, the inner thigh skin of the girl was particularly fair, and there, with a marker, an inward-pointing arrow was drawn with words reading: "Sakura’s."

Most importantly, little Hanabi actually...

"Ahem."

Uesugi Sakura raised his head with a serious expression, handing back the chopsticks he’d picked up, "Here, your chopsticks."

Hanamaru Hanabi was still resting her face in her hands, looking irresistibly cute:

"Hanabi’s been feeling a bit chilly all around, shall we go back to the tent or head to the car later?"

"Ahem."

Uesugi Sakura suggested seriously, "As we were coming in, I saw on the town’s bulletin board that there’s an open all-day hot spring inn, and I haven’t bathed in a day either, let’s head there and freshen up a bit."