Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard-Chapter 898 - 528: A Tender and Fleeting Date (Part 2)

Chapter 898: Chapter 528: A Tender and Fleeting Date (Part 2)

The words sounded like a child pouting, but Uesugi Sakura said it with such seriousness, using a completely ordinary tone.

Hanamaru Hanabi froze for several seconds and then said hesitantly, "This... on the street, it’s not good..."

"There are people kissing on the street, what’s wrong with you feeding me a takoyaki."

Hanamaru Hanabi struggled for a while and thought he made sense.

Then she leisurely pierced a toothpick into the sticky takoyaki.

"Then Hanabi will feed you, ah~"

"Ah~"

Uesugi Sakura awaited her feeding him the takoyaki, but even though he was prepared, he was still choked by the spiciness of the ball and sneezed.

"Achoo!"

Luckily, he held the last line of defense, preventing the takoyaki from escaping outside.

Once he calmed down a bit, Hanamaru Hanabi reached into her small bag, took out a wet wipe, and wiped his mouth, "Sakura-kun, really... Hanabi did mention it’s spicy."

"Sakura-kun, are you pretending to be tough?" Hanamaru Hanabi squeezed the wet wipe and asked him.

"No, I just wanted you to feed me; getting choked by the chili was an accident." Uesugi Sakura pinched his nose, feeling as if the chili had entered his nasal passage, causing it to be both spicy and itchy.

"Achoo!"

Not just one sneeze, Uesugi Sakura sneezed several times in a row, his face suddenly blushing.

Hanamaru Hanabi giggled, "Sakura-kun, hold on a bit, it’ll be over soon."

"I know... ah... ah..." Uesugi Sakura’s pitch kept rising and then suddenly fell, unable to sneeze, "But, it’s just... ah... ah, my nose, itchy."

"Achoo!"

He finally sneezed.

The situation alleviated after five minutes, fortunately, since it’s winter, the cold air entering his nose felt comfortable.

Uesugi Sakura looked again, Hanamaru Hanabi had already finished all twenty times the spicy takoyaki.

And she remained unfazed.

"Sakura-kun, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, better, at least it’s not spicy anymore, still a bit itchy, but I can manage."

"Earlier, it was only fifteen though."

"I get it, shall we buy another one? How spicy do you want it this time?"

Hanamaru Hanabi smiled, "Not spicy."

"Not spicy?"

"Come on, Sakura-kun, go buy it." Hanamaru Hanabi pushed him towards the small street window with both hands.

When Uesugi Sakura bought another one and returned, Hanamaru Hanabi held the takoyaki in her hand, glanced at him, and stretched her hand between them, "Here, Sakura-kun, let’s eat together."

"Aren’t you afraid I’ll steal your delicacies?"

"Hanabi isn’t stingy... and also, Sakura-kun used to give Hanabi so much delicious food, giving a bit back isn’t bad, right?"

Uesugi Sakura met her lively blinking eyes with his gaze, using a toothpick to pick up the steaming takoyaki in her hand and placing it into his mouth. In the below-zero winter, her figure seemed to reflect the falling snowflakes from the sky, drifting in the city’s midair.

Looking at her tightly wrapped knitted scarf, glancing at her face... Uesugi Sakura realized even more clearly, who his novel was written for.

"Do you want Hanabi to feed you, Sakura-kun?"

"Yes."

"Then... open your mouth!" Hanamaru Hanabi deliberately prolonged her voice and then suddenly said happily.

Uesugi Sakura couldn’t help but smile, opening his mouth with a grin to eat the hot ball she fed him.

"Sakura-kun is awesome!" Hanamaru Hanabi gently clapped her hands, laughing and encouraging.

"Feels like Hanabi is treating me like a child." Uesugi Sakura paused after finishing eating.

Hanamaru Hanabi inserted a non-spicy, regular takoyaki into her mouth with her right hand and after finishing, said, "Hanabi has actually been practicing how to be a mom according to online methods."

"...What do you mean?"

"It’s literally what it means, Sakura-kun, do you feel motherly love from Hanabi?" Hanamaru Hanabi asked curiously.

"..."

Uesugi Sakura was left speechless.

"No?"

"More like a supportive little girlfriend. So where do we go next?"

Hanamaru Hanabi seriously thought for a while and then told him, "Since it’s Sakura-kun’s date proposal, let’s go to the jewelry store to browse, come on."

Again, Hanamaru Hanabi proactively held his hand and walked ahead.

Uesugi Sakura watched from behind and could sense a light, joyful, carefree vibe from her.

She really loves going on dates... even if it’s just the simplest things.

"Sakura, those earrings look so pretty! Hanabi wants to take a look."

"Then let’s go."

This snack street was bustling with people, travelers from different countries, of various ages and different outfits, moving together, and the falling snow added a sense of coldness yet liveliness to the atmosphere here.

It seemed as if people subconsciously gathered on this lively and bustling snack street just to find a sense of warmth amidst the snow.

"Sakura."

Uesugi Sakura looked at Hanamaru Hanabi, who was holding a crystal earring against her earlobe, asking for his opinion.

Every time she spoke, a faint white mist would escape her lips. Seeing her warm, faintly flushed face and hearing her voice, he could entirely understand that she was truly by his side.

"Does it look good?"

"You need to pierce your ears to wear these, maybe you shouldn’t."

"It’s okay to pierce ears, Hanabi still wants Sakura to do it for her."

"What’s the point of that?"

"Of course it has meaning!" Hanamaru Hanabi rebutted with a soft voice, "Just like the first time Sakura wrapped a scarf around me, the first time he gave me chocolates, the first time he put an engagement ring on me... all very, very, very meaningful things."

Uesugi Sakura smiled and took out a crystal earring from the shop which didn’t require piercing; he reached over and placed it beside Hanamaru Hanabi’s right cheek.

As he put it on her, he said:

"Piercing can be quite painful, there’s really no need. If you want to remember me putting accessories on you, just keep it in your heart, it’s not necessary to purposely hurt your body."

As he put the earring on her, Hanamaru Hanabi’s blinking deep purple eyes kept looking at him.

"Sakura."

"Hmm."

"I... really like you."

Uesugi Sakura smiled, his hand caressing her beautiful and soft cheek: "Why suddenly so affectionate?"

"I don’t know... Hanabi doesn’t know either... But, it’s just this feeling, seeing Sakura in front of me, seeing how he’s taller than me, seeing him smiling while putting the earring on me, and hearing him speak, and the way he responds when I call him."

"In short, just like, right?"

Hanamaru Hanabi was dazed for a while, then decisively nodded: "Mm!"

"Since that’s the case, this date is considered successful. Where else do you want to go next?"

"I want to eat, watch a movie, go to the amusement park to ride the Ferris wheel, and see the snow in Tokyo."

"So much more to do? Didn’t Hanabi say we could only have a short date?" Uesugi Sakura smiled.

"Yes, just a short while, in Hanabi’s heart, only that little while... Being with Sakura like this, Hanabi feels time flies so fast..."

"Yes, indeed it’s fast. In a blink of an eye, little Hanabi has grown so much."

"Sakura." Hanamaru Hanabi raised her head again, her earrings twinkling as she moved.

"Hmm?"

"After the date today, can you watch the sunset with me?"

"Winter sunsets aren’t that pretty, are they?"

"Hanabi saw a quote online, ’The person watching the sunset with you is even more gentle than the sunset itself.’"

"So little Hanabi thought of me?"

"Yes."

"Haha, then let’s go, we’ll go stroll around the street again, and I’ll eat through the entire street with you!"

"Great!"

They paid the bill and left the small shop.

The snow was still falling, and the steam from the nearby snacks was rising upward.

The hustle and bustle of the street and the smell of worldly fireworks constantly filled their minds.

Uesugi Sakura looked up towards the clear sky, recalling what little Hanabi had just said to him.

The person watching the sunset with you is more gentle than the sunset itself.

Uesugi Sakura turned back, smiling at the girl who was holding his hand.

And the girl, with her exquisite, beautiful face, returned his smile warmly.

Her gaze was tender, her new earrings sparkled, and her face, half-hidden in the scarf, was cute and rosy.

In truth... what is gentle isn’t the sunset, it’s always been her.

"Let’s go, let’s continue the date."

"Mm!"