Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard-Chapter 914 - 536: Christmas Eve Approaches (4)

"That..."

Hanamaru Hanabi glanced at Uesugi Sakura beside her.

"Let me speak," Uesugi Sakura took the phone from Hanamaru Hanabi’s hand. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Hello."

"Hello... Is that Sakura?"

"It’s me," Uesugi Sakura looked at the street lights across the road; this area was quite bustling, "Do you know your sister has been living at my place recently?"

"Oh, yeah, I know, Sakura. I’m aware those are definitely jokes by my sister... She just returned from the UK and probably isn’t used to the home environment yet."

"And do you also know about her recent talks about wanting to fall in love?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line.

"Yeah... I know."

After a brief silence, Uesugi Sakura could sense a hint of Hanamaru Shinetsu’s longing for his sister. This longing... he thought might be similar to a younger sister seeing an older brother fall in love with that kind of subtle psychology.

Of course, it’s the kind of sibling relationship that’s particularly close.

"Do you know where Yuuki usually likes to go?"

"Places she likes to go? My sister loves shopping on commercial streets... She’s especially fond of pretty shoes, and she likes going to places like Ginza and Shinjuku, as well as parks for walks."

"Hmm, anything else?" Uesugi Sakura was mentally checking off potential places Hanamaru Yuuki might go.

"Besides that... nothing else, apart from enjoying teasing the fish in the garden at home."

Commercial streets, parks, the garden at home.

None of these seem like places Hanamaru Yuuki would go now.

When she spoke with him in the morning, she was still smiling, and both her tone and expression showed no discernible differences.

She suddenly left... It’s really hard to guess where she could have gone.

Perhaps, she only went out for a walk?

No, she wouldn’t, Yuuki is very conscientious; if she went out, she would at least say something to either him or Hanabi, and there’s no way all five calls wouldn’t go through.

"If your sister is upset, where would she go?"

"Upset? My sister... seems... seldom to be upset, she’s always been cheerful, the only times she’s been upset are when she argues with mom." The phone went silent again for several seconds, "Sakura, did something happen to my sister?"

Hanamaru Shinetsu’s intuition was quite sharp.

Uesugi Sakura quickly reassured, "Shinetsu, don’t worry; your sister might have just gone out for a walk or shopping..."

"Sakura, what’s exactly happening?"

Shinetsu’s tone finally showed some fluctuation.

Uesugi Sakura glanced at Hanamaru Hanabi, then responded, "This afternoon, I was working at home with your sister Hanabi; Yuuki was initially watching TV in the living room, but when I went out to use the restroom, I found she suddenly disappeared."

"And the phone, what about the phone? Sakura, did you try to reach her? My sister shouldn’t just leave without saying a word!"

"I tried, I called five times, and it all showed as unanswered."

"Then, then—wait a minute, Sakura, I think of a place!"

"What place?"

"Shinjuku! Kabuki-cho! Uncle is there too!"

...

...

Kabuki-cho First Street, Kado Bar.

The sky started to drizzle, rain like silk threads, distinctly illuminated by the red neon lights.

Hanamaru Yugetsu, dressed in brightly floral shirts, half-closed his eyes, his face flushed red, hands resting on the bar counter; in front of him was a freshly mixed blue Mount Fuji.

The bar’s urgent neon lights continuously flickered upon Hanamaru Yugetsu’s flushed face, while the bustling and lively dance floor next to it was already packed with men and women dancing with bottles. They raised their bottles high, twisting their waists along with the intense rock music, their faces smiling in a crazed revelry.

The old bartender wiped the glass, looked at him, and said, "You’ve drunk quite a lot these days, what’s bothering you again?"

"My niece returned from the UK... Hiccup~~~"

A woman holding a glass next to him changed her seat with a look of disdain.

The old bartender glanced at the leaving woman and then turned his gaze back to Hanamaru Yugetsu’s face, "Isn’t that supposed to be good news?"

"It’s good news... I was so happy I wanted to pick her up, but... but..."

Hanamaru Yugetsu said this and then took a big gulp of cocktail, "I didn’t expect to run into Yuzuki... she even, even refused to look me in the eye... I feel like the past decade is a joke... The old man despises me, my eldest brother despises me, my second brother... my second brother is okay, my fourth sister laughs at me."

He said this, took a deep breath, and then got choked by the alcohol, coughing and almost vomiting everything he ate today.

"Cough... cough cough..."

Seeing him like this, the old bartender quickly stepped off the bar to support him, gently patting his back.

"Are you alright?"

"No, no problem." Hanamaru Yugetsu waved his hands while leaning over, putting his hands back on the bar counter.

Seeing his condition really improved, the old bartender returned inside.

"Give me... another glass, just, just the same thing!"

"You better not drink; I’m afraid you’ll drink yourself to death here."

"Death? Death would be fine... Death would be fine... Death would be fine... Anyway, there’s nothing to be attached to, right? People live in this world for a purpose, some live just to survive, living is their meaning, but not me, I live to find something... rather than living like a zombie, it’s better to end it all... direct."

The old bartender looked at him with his head down, couldn’t help but sigh, "People like you, I’ve seen quite a few, too, but most of them return to their lives; don’t overthink it."

"Them... I’m different from them, they at least have family, right? But I never felt a family since I was young, everything, everything is fake, giving me a sense of ambiguity between true and false, letting me live with the ethereal illusion."