Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard-Chapter 892 - 525: Light Novel Release Day (Part 2)

Chapter 892: Chapter 525: Light Novel Release Day (Part 2)

"Hanabi hasn’t changed much, compared to a few years ago."

Uesugi Sakura held her small hand, resting his head on her shoulder, as they looked at their reflections in the mirror together:

"But now, we’re married, and the image in the mirror will change ever more noticeably with the passing of time. I’ll grow wrinkles and have a beard that’s harder to shave."

"Is this what it means to grow old together?"

"Hmm... growing old together."

Hanamaru Hanabi tilted her face up and smiled at him: "By that time... Hanabi would surely feel that life is so fleeting... it just passes in the blink of an eye."

"Yes, life is fleeting, and a happy life is even more fleeting, so we have to cherish our time now!" Uesugi Sakura smiled and rubbed his face against hers, enjoying the softness and the fragrance that drifted from her.

"It tickles!"

Hanamaru Hanabi giggled as he nudged her cheek, "But, Sakura."

"Hmm?" Uesugi Sakura responded against her cheek.

"If there’s a next life, Hanabi really wants to find Sakura again."

"I know, but why suddenly bring up such a melancholic topic?"

"It doesn’t matter, Sakura doesn’t need to worry about it, but... would Sakura wait for Hanabi...? Until the day Hanabi finds Sakura?"

"I’ll always wait for you."

Uesugi Sakura didn’t know why, but he spoke those words from the heart.

In a previous life, he experienced the loneliness of being alone and was determined never to fall in love.

But in this life, he met the little girl who happened to move next door.

The girl who always followed him around from a young age, calling him Brother Sakura.

"Alright... Hanabi knows."

Maybe it was because she received his promise, Hanamaru Hanabi’s face in the mirror showed a warm and familiar smile.

"Even if Sakura is a heartbreaker! Hanabi would find him because of those words!"

"Haha, don’t make me sound so awful."

"He only made Hanabi angry, so Hanabi made him sound so awful!"

"I know, I’m wrong, suimasen~~ Is that an acceptable apology?"

"Sakura, you’re so perfunctory!"

Hanamaru Hanabi gently punched him twice on the chest, but didn’t dare use too much force, afraid of hurting him.

"Alright, alright, we should go out now, let’s wash our faces first."

"Sakura can help Hanabi wash."

"Do I have to help you with that too?"

"Can’t you...?"

"I’ll help! I’ll even help you bathe!"

"That’s not necessary!"

Using the same way he cared for his sister, Uesugi Sakura helped Hanamaru Hanabi wash her face. Holding a handkerchief, he glanced at the reflection of little Hanabi with slightly ruffled hair in the mirror; her face was still so bright.

"What does Hanabi plan to wear out today? It’s a bit cold outside."

"Of course, thick stockings and a winter coat!"

"Do you want me to help you put on the stockings?"

"No." Hanamaru Hanabi refused decisively, her face turning a bit red at the thought of being barefoot, "Sakura is such a pervert, always thinking lewd thoughts!"

"I honestly wasn’t."

... 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

...

Uesugi Sakura sat in the living room, waiting a long time until Hanamaru Hanabi came out wearing her winter skirt and little coat, wrapped in a scarf she knitted herself and holding another scarf of a similar color.

"Sakura, stand up."

Uesugi Sakura saw her appear in front of him and strangely stood at attention.

"Great!"

Hanamaru Hanabi smiled and praised him, then stood on tiptoe, reaching her hands behind him to wrap a scarf around his neck.

"This is a reward for Sakura."

During this time, Hanamaru Hanabi kept her gaze on him, with eyes that shone with a clarity more poignant than tears welling in a person’s eyes.

Her movements as she tied the scarf were so gentle that Uesugi Sakura could see the warmth she conveyed from her eyes.

It was a kind of warmth that enveloped the whole body.

"Is it done?"

"Hmm..." Hanamaru Hanabi finally tied a knot in the scarf in front of him, smoothed his clothes, and then looked up and nodded at him.

This touching beauty pierced his heart.

Just watching her, his mind was filled only with her image.

"Shall we head out?"

"Okay." Hanamaru Hanabi answered softly.

Uesugi Sakura took the initiative to hold her small hand, and the moment he led her out, the cold wind outside rushed onto his face, but he didn’t feel cold at all.

Once down the stairs, Uesugi Sakura looked up again and realized.

In Tokyo, it had started to snow.

"So beautiful!"

Hanamaru Hanabi said happily beside him, looking up, gazing at the snowflakes in the sky.

The leaves, the vending machines, the trash bins, the fences, the awnings of the shops along the street were all covered in white snow.

"Didn’t you have enough snow in Hokkaido?" Uesugi Sakura smiled as he spoke to her profile.

"The snow in Tokyo is different from Hokkaido."

"The skyscrapers, the shopping streets, the narrow streets here, and this is where Sakura and Hanabi grew up together... the feeling is completely different."

Hanamaru Hanabi extended her gloved hand, catching a snowflake, watching it slowly melt away in her palm.

Uesugi Sakura stood dumbly, watching her in the light snow, and instinctively held her tighter.

"Let’s not take the train today, I’ll ride my bike and take you to the bookstore."

"But won’t it be cold riding a bicycle, Sakura? And it’s snowing."

"The snow isn’t heavy yet, the road is still passable, and Hanabi, don’t you think riding a bike with your girlfriend through the snow on the streets is a romantic thing to do?"

Hanamaru Hanabi laughed: "It is romantic, but in Tokyo, giving someone a ride on a bicycle is illegal, Sakura need to watch out for the police."

"So, you’re agreeing?"

"Of course!"

Uesugi Sakura immediately led her to the place where the bike was parked beside the apartment building, found the pink bicycle that had been collecting dust for almost a month, unlocked it, and pushed it out.

He climbed onto it and tilted his head toward the girl beside: "Hop on."

Hanamaru Hanabi held up her skirt, sitting sideways beside him, resting her face against his back, arms wrapped around his waist.

So warm...

Uesugi Sakura looked ahead, asking the girl holding onto him from behind: "Are you sitting securely?"

"Hmm..." The girl closed her eyes behind him, nodding gently.

"Then, let’s go!"

Uesugi Sakura pedaled energetically, holding the handlebars as he looked towards the exit ahead, shouting with a smile.

Hanamaru Hanabi closed her eyes, not needing to think about anything, breathing the cold scent of snowflakes, holding onto the warmth in front of her, leaning her head against the back that gently swayed with the bike, listening to the sound of the revolving bike wheels over and over again.

She really liked this reassuring feeling.

She liked the feeling of being behind him, holding his waist, leaning against his sturdy back.

The girl’s hair and skirt flew with the wind at the back seat of the bike, and the cold wind swept gently across, with the snowflakes falling around them.

Uesugi Sakura fixated on the streets of Tokyo ahead, crossing each quirky uphill and downhill path.

Feeling the dependence from the girl behind him, a surge of enthusiasm ignited within him, driving him to pedal harder, wanting to feel the cold wind even more.

Because he believed that, at this moment, in this world, in this bustling city filled with snowflakes, no one could stop their progress.

Uesugi Sakura looked ahead with excitement; he felt it from the support behind him.

He felt a simple yet profoundly fulfilling warmth that everyone seeks throughout their lives.

That is—happiness.