Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard-Chapter 906 - 532: Hanamaru Family (Part 2)

Bang...

The rolled-up coffee shop flyer from Uesugi Sakura landed directly on the girl’s head.

"Nonsense."

"Damn, brother-in-law, no one has ever dared to hit me on the head, you’re the first." Hanamaru Yuuki held her head and took two steps back, "Also, who were you on the phone with just now, was it my mom?"

Guess right again?

Is your whole family’s intuition this strong?

"Even if you don’t say it, brother-in-law, I know. My mom just loves to control me, she wants to control everything I do."

"That’s because she cares about you."

"Not at all! She just wants to control me and use me to fulfill the dreams she never accomplished."

Uesugi Sakura thought, this is totally a typical rebellious teenager’s mentality.

Oh Yuuki-chan, when I was ten in my past life, I thought the same way.

When dealing with rebellious kids, cutting off their financial resources is actually the most effective method.

Once you’re hungry, there’s no talk of rebellion—only after you’re full can we discuss further.

Yuuki now... due to her cute looks, has been taken in by Manager Yanagi as a barista apprentice... Now that she has a source of income, it’s really hard to manage her.

Luckily, Yuuki only has a flighty mindset and hasn’t done anything outrageous, for now, she’s just a mischievous energetic girl.

Once she’s tired of playing, she’ll probably settle down, right?

Uesugi Sakura sighed internally; regarding his mother-in-law asking him to stop Yuuki from dating, he will help to keep an eye on things, but outright stopping her is impossible—sometimes blocking is not as good as guiding.

Going too extreme can easily backfire instead.

Yuuki defied her mother’s orders and ran away, probably for this very reason.

————————

Noon, it’s time for lunch break.

Hanamaru Yuuki practically jumped up the moment it hit noon, "Yay! Lunch break!"

Manager Yanagi couldn’t help but smile at her, "So eager for the break, huh?"

"Hehe~ Of course, a break means free time." Hanamaru Yuuki put her hands on her hips, nodding confidently.

"Haha, you guys take a break, I’m going home to check on my kids."

"Eh? Manager Yanagi, you’re not staying for lunch at the shop?"

"No, I have things to do, you guys eat."

Hanamaru Yuuki curiously watched Manager Yanagi’s departing figure until she completely disappeared from sight, then turned to look at Uesugi Sakura, who was tidying up the coffee equipment next to her.

"Brother-in-law, what are we having for lunch?"

"What do you feel like eating?"

"I want to eat... the steak my sister makes!" Hanamaru Yuuki said with a bright smile.

"Then go to the balcony and ask her to make it for you."

"Great!"

Seeing Hanamaru Yuuki’s energetic figure, Uesugi Sakura couldn’t help but hope that in the future, if he and Hanabi had a daughter, she would grow up happily like this too, with the couple watching her from behind as she grows up.

Though as of now, Uesugi Sakura isn’t quite prepared for the title of "dad."

But after getting married, that day will inevitably come.

For lunch, they had steak. Hanamaru Hanabi and Towa Rina were busy for a while and made a portion for everyone.

It’s still noon, excluding Manager Yanagi, there are only four people in the shop now.

Uesugi Sakura was eating from his bowl when he suddenly noticed a small piece of vegetable had been added to it.

It was Hanamaru Hanabi who placed it there.

This simple scene was caught by Hanamaru Yuuki, who said with a smile, "Sister and brother-in-law are so sweet."

Towa Rina was puzzled, "Huh?"

"Then let sister give you a piece too."

"Thank you, sister!"

Today, Hanamaru Yuuki was exceptionally cheerful, maybe because she felt liberated from her mother’s control.

After finishing the meal, she even voluntarily helped Hanamaru Hanabi wash the dishes, something that wasn’t part of her responsibilities as a barista apprentice.

Towa Rina spoke to Uesugi Sakura from the front counter, "Yuuki seems like a very sunny child."

"Only today." Uesugi Sakura shook his head, while Yuuki-chan is indeed cute and lively, her thoughts are so unpredictable, unlike a shy girl.

"Huh?"

"If you don’t understand, just pretend I didn’t say anything."

In the afternoon, Kobashi Rikai and Todaka Keichiro came to the coffee shop and got to know Hanamaru Yuuki. Todaka Keichiro was a bit awkward in front of such a bright and lively girl like Yuuki.

Hey, aren’t you the one who likes your little sister? How do you have no shame?

Speaking of which, it’s unclear what’s going on between him and Kobashi Rikai; it seems like there’s no progress.

The time moved into the afternoon.

Yuuki put away her playfulness and began to learn coffee making from Uesugi Sakura.

Given that she is a complete beginner, Uesugi Sakura thought for a moment and said, "Well, you should have some basic knowledge, right?"

"Mm-hmm!" Hanamaru Yuuki nodded her little head, "I learned a bit before from Miss Anna and the others in England."

"Then I’ll give you the equipment, and you try to do it yourself first, come up with a finished product, and then I’ll point out any issues along the way and help you figure out how to learn better."

"Got it~"

Uesugi Sakura stepped aside to let Hanamaru Yuuki work on it herself.

First, she knew to smell the flavor of the beans, which showed she genuinely had some foundation.

"With so many here, which machine do I use?" But soon she was stumped, unable to identify which tool to use for making coffee.

Uesugi Sakura first asked, "What do you want to make?"

"Cappuccino." Hanamaru Yuuki wasn’t quite sure if she’d picked the right beans and looked at him with questioning eyes.

Uesugi Sakura nodded, confirming she didn’t pick the wrong one, "Since it’s cappuccino, use the traditional hand-brew method."

"Hand-brew method?" Hanamaru Yuuki looked over all the machines on the counter and pointed to the biggest one, saying, "Is it this one?"

Kobashi Rikai, who was watching from the side, covered her mouth with a smile and said, "Wrong, Yuuki-chan, that’s an automatic coffee machine used when we’re busy."

"Oh, got it." Hanamaru Yuuki nodded quickly as if she understood.

Uesugi Sakura explained, "Hand-brew means brewing coffee by hand; first, you need to find the tools you’ll use."

"Which ones?" Hanamaru Yuuki asked curiously.

"Hot water, a filter cup, a pouring kettle, a glass pot, and filter paper."

Hanamaru Yuuki hurriedly found the items mentioned by Uesugi Sakura at the front bar, "Just these?"

"Yes, but you should use a short-spouted filter cup; you can’t control the long-spouted one."

Hanamaru Yuuki was very obedient, "Okay."

Then, following Uesugi Sakura’s instructions step by step, Hanamaru Yuuki completed the process, failing many times on the details, but still managed to make a cup of coffee.

"Master, please." Hanamaru Yuuki handed the cappuccino to Uesugi Sakura with a smile.

"What’s with the ’master’?" Uesugi Sakura took the coffee with the saucer.

"Hehe, because brother-in-law is teaching so seriously, you really have a master’s demeanor."

Uesugi Sakura answered lightly, not saying any more, as he brought the coffee to his lips, took a sip slowly.

At first, it was fine, but halfway through—

"Pfft——!" Uesugi Sakura sprayed it directly toward Hanamaru Yuuki.

Luckily, Hanamaru Yuuki was quick and agile, skillfully dodging to the side.

"That was close, that was close~"

While she wasn’t hit, Todaka Keichiro, who just came over, was unfortunate, getting a face full of cappuccino. His expression immediately collapsed as he looked at Uesugi Sakura with eyes drenched in coffee.

"Hey, Uesugi, that’s too much."

"Sorry, sorry." Uesugi Sakura apologized twice, looking at the strangely flavored cappuccino in his hand.

Goodness, this is way too salty!

He’s never drunk salty coffee in his life.

Uesugi Sakura turned to the shocked Hanamaru Yuuki, "What did you add to this?"

"Sugar."