Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard-Chapter 819 - 486: Coffee, Coffee Shop (Part 2)

"Well, that depends on how hard Sakura works... But after two lifetimes, wouldn’t Sakura get tired of Hanabi?"

Hanamaru Hanabi winked at Uesugi Sakura.

The question seemed playful, spoken as casually as an ordinary inquiry.

Just as Uesugi Sakura was about to respond as he always did, Hanamaru Hanabi suddenly giggled adorably:

"But even if Sakura ends up like that, Hanabi will firmly hold onto him in the next life. Hanabi will reincarnate first and become his big sister! Then, I’ll make little brother Sakura fall in love with sister Hanabi!"

Uesugi Sakura couldn’t help but laugh: "You sure dare to say that. Don’t forget who was chased by a Shiba Inu when we were little, hiding behind me for protection."

"But! It will be different in the next life! It will be Sakura hiding behind Hanabi, and when he cries with a smudged face, Hanabi will hold him and soothe him."

Uesugi Sakura really couldn’t picture that scene, "Are you sure?"

"Hanabi is sure. Didn’t Sakura just the day before yesterday act all cutesy on Hanabi’s lap?"

"Well, that’s true... But then you ended up acting cutesy in my arms, and on me, and..."

Hanamaru Hanabi knew what he was referring to, blushed slightly, and pouted, "Don’t talk about that!"

"But it’s true." Uesugi Sakura smiled.

"Don’t, don’t! Did Sakura forget the promise to Hanabi? I don’t care, you have to say it again!"

Uesugi Sakura stood up a bit straighter: "For the next three days, everything will be as little Hanabi says."

"That’s right!"

"Alright, then I’ll keep quiet."

"Here," Hanamaru Hanabi handed him the empty paper box of barley tea, "Sakura, take this and throw it away for me."

"Yes! My wife!" Uesugi Sakura saw a few passersby ahead and decisively raised his voice, standing up straight and shouted to the girl.

A few passersby turned to look, even a fifty-year-old woman walking her dog across the street glanced over.

The gazes of the passersby made Hanamaru Hanabi quite shy; she clenched her little hands, brought her shoulder bag in front of her, blushed, lowered her head, and while avoiding the stares, pouted and said:

"Hanabi is... not Sakura’s wife yet..."

——————

Actions speak louder than words, especially when a girl blurts out something out of embarrassment.

Around two-thirty in the afternoon, they arrived at the café, and after Hanamaru Hanabi greeted everyone, she dashed into the employee room to change into a maid outfit.

Uesugi Sakura leisurely walked over to the counter, greeted Kobashi Rikai, who arrived a bit earlier than him, and put on a suit vest to prepare for opening.

He was already wearing a white shirt underneath, so he just needed to tie a black bow tie and put on a suit vest, without having to change in the employee room.

"Uesugi, you look really dashing in a suit."

"Huh?" Uesugi Sakura looked down at himself and then asked Kobashi Rikai in front of him, "In this?"

Kobashi Rikai nodded: "Yes, it seems like Uesugi can naturally pull off any outfit."

"Isn’t that an exaggeration?"

"It’s true. I clearly remember when Uesugi stood on the national podium, wearing the Kyudo Hakama and Kendo Clothes." Kobashi Rikai realized she had said too much and immediately covered her mouth.

Uesugi Sakura was a bit surprised, not expecting that someone outside of his circle was paying such close attention to him.

Sword Dao and Kyudo are actually small circles, and without buying newspapers, it would be hard to keep track of his dual championship title in both.

"Sorry, Uesugi, I didn’t mean to." Kobashi Rikai said carefully.

"Why apologize?" Uesugi Sakura was a bit puzzled.

"Because... isn’t it like I was peeking into your privacy, Uesugi?" Kobashi Rikai asked cautiously.

"How is that private? It’s all publicly available online."

"Ah~" Uesugi Sakura yawned. Although the outside air was quite chilly, the air conditioning in the café was a bit too warm, and along with the not-so-dim sun outside, it naturally induced sleepiness.

As the café had just opened, he decided to make himself a cup of coffee.

At the same time, he turned his head and asked Kobashi Rikai, "Do you want something to drink?"

"Can I?" Kobashi Rikai knew that Uesugi Sakura’s coffee-making skills were significantly better than hers.

"Don’t be shy."

"Then I’ll have a cup of Rose Love."

Rose Love?

Uesugi Sakura remembered the special meaning of this coffee; isn’t it more suited for lovers as a double milk coffee?

Recalling the gift Kobashi Rikai once gave him, Uesugi Sakura secretly glanced at her.

Her expression was normal, indicating there wasn’t any strange implication.

She probably just wanted a cup of Rose Love with a slightly sweet flavor.

Spent ten minutes making two cups of coffee, one Rose Love, one classic espresso.

Kobashi Rikai held the coffee with both hands, took a gentle sip, a look of curiosity in her eyes: "It feels like the same brewing method and recipe, but the coffee from Uesugi-kun’s hands and mine are like two different species."

"Everyone has their own style, so naturally, there will be different flavors, and no one can preserve a particular flavor in their hands forever."

Kobashi Rikai obediently stood aside, looking at Uesugi Sakura:

"But, I feel every cup of coffee from Uesugi-kun has a consistent flavor; many customers say after drinking Uesugi-kun’s coffee, they’re familiar with his unique taste."

That must be something the female customers said.

Uesugi Sakura already knew that there were always a few women in the store who talked about him incessantly, even though they saw his wedding ring and knew he was married, they still persistently asked for his contact information.

Line, ins, or whatever.

Uesugi Sakura refused countless times, yet they never seemed discouraged.

Since they were genuinely polite and said nothing more when rejected, Uesugi Sakura found it hard to drive those female customers away.

Kobashi Rikai, holding her coffee cup, said: "Uesugi-kun, it seems you never really liked posting statuses, right?"

"What statuses?"

"Like daily photos shared by friends on ins, such as what movie they watched today, what they ate for dinner, woke up and posted a cheering picture, stuff like that."

Oh, it’s something like a social feed.

Uesugi Sakura knew about that stuff, though he hadn’t used it for ages.

But he knew Hanabi used it, and whenever they went out, she’d always drag him along to take a picture or two.

Under every group photo, Kitagawa Sakisa’s comment would be found.

"How do you use it?" Uesugi Sakura asked.

"Uesugi-kun."

"Hmm?" Uesugi Sakura felt Kobashi’s gaze was a bit strange.

"Uesugi-kun, could it be that you’ve time-traveled from an ancient society?" Kobashi Rikai looked surprised, even taking a step or two back.

"Huh? Is it strange not to be able to use it?"

"Super strange."

Just then, Towa Rina passed by the counter holding a tray, and Uesugi Sakura called out to her, asking: "Is it weird not to know how to use ins?"

Unexpectedly, Towa Rina also looked at him as if looking at a rare ancient creature:

"You... have used Twitter, right?"

"Never tweeted."

"Facebook?"

"Also no."

"You must have used Line!"

"That I have used."

"Uesugi-san, I realize you are a rare species in the realm of Japanese social networking."

Feeling quite speechless, Towa Rina went back to her work.

What’s so strange about that?

Although Uesugi Sakura indeed didn’t like socializing much, it shouldn’t be to the extent of being labeled as a primitive man for not using social software.

He used to play with Twitter, but only liked Hanabi’s posts.

When Hanamaru Hanabi’s artist account wasn’t popular yet, he would use a small account to encourage her under her posts.

He kept doing this for months!

He thought she would be touched, but unexpectedly she never even looked at the comments on that account...

Kobashi Rikai: "How about I help Uesugi-kun register a Twitter? Or ins? We can follow each other?"

"I can register... just following each other will do."