Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard-Chapter 847 - 500: The Cedar Forest in the Snow (Part 2)

Chapter 847: Chapter 500: The Cedar Forest in the Snow (Part 2)

Hanamaru Hanabi’s breath, like perfumed air, dreamily lingered before him.

She gazed intently at him, catching sight of his lips. Then, holding onto his shoulders, she slowly stood on tiptoe and pressed her cherry-colored mouth against his lips.

Uesugi Sakura was almost passively welcomed, watching her gently nibble at him.

The wind swayed the branches of the withered trees, tiny snowflakes falling behind them.

Her movements were light and soft, as if she was deliberately taking care of his feelings, slowly devouring his lips, until his heart, mouth, and nose were filled with the scent of the fragrant girl.

Even the slight breeze from the snowy mountain forest brushed his face, yet Uesugi Sakura did not feel cold at all.

Hanamaru Hanabi tiptoed and slowly lowered her heels. She lowered her head before Uesugi Sakura’s chest, her cherry-colored lips gleaming with a smooth luster:

"Everything Hanabi does is to love Sakura-kun more. Sometimes she worries about what to do if she can’t love him the way she used to. But every time she thinks this, she ends up liking him even more... I hope this kiss can help Sakura-kun remember the feel of Hanabi’s lips."

Uesugi Sakura watched the delicate face of the girl buried in his chest, and smiled knowingly:

"So proactive this time?"

"How else can Sakura-kun remember!" Hanamaru Hanabi puffed her rosy cheeks and said, then gently lifted her brows, almost pressing her lips together as she spoke, "Want to... kiss again?"

"Another kiss to deepen the impression?"

"Sakura-kun doesn’t want to?"

"Why wouldn’t I want to, but you always say we should keep our distance, yet we often proactively breach it."

"That’s mainly Sakura-kun’s fault."

"Shouldn’t it be Hanabi’s fault for being too cute?" Uesugi Sakura stretched out his hand, wrapped it around her body, slightly lowered his head, and touched her little forehead.

The two stared at each other, eyes meeting.

"Hana-chan."

"Mm..."

Although he only called her name once, the girl seemed to understand deeply, and she proactively stood on tiptoes, closing her sparkling fall-like eyes.

Uesugi Sakura caressed her pleated skirt beneath black silk slender legs, swapped their positions, letting her lean against the cold cedar.

In her gaze, Uesugi Sakura deciphered her meaning.

"Want to play hide-and-seek here?"

"Can’t we?"

"Not that we can’t, it’s just I’m afraid you’ll get cold."

"We’re not touching snow, we won’t get cold."

"Then who lost last time?"

"Hanabi lost."

"So this time I start, right?"

"Mm..." a light hum.

Hide-and-seek in the snow-covered forest is naturally easy; Hanamaru Hanabi slightly bowed her youthful proud figure, holding onto the rough, cold tree trunk. Moments later, his counting voice sounded on the other side.

One, two, three, four... Each count echoed in the forest, as if striking her heart.

The cedar before her shook off white snow, much of it landing on her slender figure.

The thick snow underfoot was too soft, causing her legs to weaken numerous times during her escape.

Uesugi Sakura counted fifty times, searching as he did, but he still couldn’t find her, already sweating from the exertion in the snowy woods.

"Almost."

"Sakura-kun didn’t find Hanabi, so next... it’s Hanabi’s turn." Hanamaru Hanabi’s purple eyes trembling, "Sakura-kun, hurry and prepare."

Uesugi Sakura found a spot to stand straight.

"Ready?" the girl asked softly.

"Ready."

"Sakura-kun’s ready... Hanabi... will start counting..." Hanamaru Hanabi held onto the tree trunk, glancing back at his position.

"One." Her voice was gentle, ringing out in a melodious ethereal tone.

Uesugi Sakura grinned, thinking he couldn’t be found with such simplicity.

"Two." The girl smiled.

It seemed... a bit precarious.

Hanamaru Hanabi glanced at him, knowing he thought she hadn’t spotted his hiding place, her cheeks blushed with laughter.

"Three."

Uesugi Sakura closed his eyes.

"Four."

Hanamaru Hanabi smiled adorably again, she shuffled slightly, accurately locating his position, then suddenly bumped into him.

"Five."

Uesugi Sakura opened his eyes.

"Sakura-kun has lost."

Hanamaru Hanabi slowly got up, raised her slender graceful waist, and dusted off the white snow that fell onto the pleats of her skirt from the branches.

Uesugi Sakura didn’t know how it happened, but it seemed as if she had pinpointed his weakness.

She found him in just a few steps.

Hanamaru Hanabi laughed lightly, tidying up her skirt that had become messy from playing hide-and-seek: "Sakura-kun has gotten weaker."

Uesugi Sakura was a bit unconvinced, yet he had a thought to take care of her, trying to ask: "It’s not over yet, right?"

Hanamaru Hanabi lowered her hand from the hem of her skirt, looking at him with eyes filled with laughter: "But Sakura-kun has already been found by Hanabi."

"But Hanabi, you haven’t been found yet, have you? Isn’t the game over only when both of us are found?"

Hanamaru Hanabi moved two steps closer to him, guided his hand toward the pleated skirt, and looked up with a playful smile:

"Well, that depends on whether Sakura-kun is capable."

These words, nearly a provocation, sparked a competitive spirit in Uesugi Sakura.

The two looked into each other’s eyes, unmoving.

Uesugi Sakura reached out one hand, simultaneously focusing his gaze on her delicate little face, watching her face gradually turn red, gradually becoming flushed and teary-eyed.

Until the girl leaned back against the cold cedar branches once again.

Hanamaru Hanabi still didn’t give up, even though her cheeks were flushed, she continued gazing fixedly at his smiling face.

"Is Hanabi feeling shy?"

"... Not at all."

This reply carried an indescribable charm.

Despite the snowy weather, it wasn’t too cold, the sun hung in the sky, and even the stream in the cedar forest flowed with a gentle babbling sound.

On Hanamaru Hanabi’s adorable face, a pride never seen before appeared, sixty percent blush, forty percent determination, her resolute gaze made her look uniquely cute.

.....

Mrs. Uesugi put down her phone, having seen the two walking side by side on the snowy path in the distance.

As the two slowly approached, Mrs. Hanamaru, who had been taking pictures of Aei and Chiaei, asked them:

"Where did you two run off to? Just turned around and you disappeared again."

Uesugi Sakura replied with a smile: "Followed the little stream over there to check out the forest."

Mrs. Uesugi complained: "Why go there? It’s always you leading Hanabi astray, be careful not to slip and fall down the mountain."

Mrs. Hanamaru, however, carefully gauged the appearance of the two.

Hanamaru Hanabi hurriedly hid her still rosy face behind Uesugi Sakura, tugging at his clothes.

Uesugi Sakura also noticed his mother-in-law’s rather sharp eyes, and laughed awkwardly in concealment.

"Little Sakura." Mrs. Hanamaru called out, suddenly smiling.

"Ah?"

"There’s no need to hide certain things from me and your mom, it’s only a little kiss between a young couple. You’re already married, even if you kiss in front of us, we won’t say anything."

"Well... but if Aei and Chiaei see it, it wouldn’t be good, right?" Of course, Uesugi Sakura wouldn’t mention that Hanabi was almost ready to have children.

"It’s alright! Aei was at her brother’s house and saw her brother and Hanabi-sister kissing intimately."

Little Aei hugged the large camera across her chest, speaking to Uesugi Sakura.

"But it will affect Chiaei."

"What?" Chiaei withdrew her gaze from watching the stream on the wooden bridge and turned around.

"Brother and Hanabi-sister secretly kissed in the woods behind Aunt Uesugi and Aunt Hanamaru." Aei explained to her sister.

Compared to Aei, Chiaei was simpler, her face immediately turning red.

The two mothers, holding the two little ones who had no clue, kept laughing on the side.