Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard
Chapter 357 - 268 Love and Duty

Chapter 357: Chapter 268 Love and Duty

(Recently my work state has been really bad... Although I really want to keep writing, the feedback is getting less and less, and many people have given up... Maybe... I should end it next week...)

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The rain falls on the street, the pattering clearly audible.

Hanamaru Hanabi looks even more pitiable when soaked by the rain.

The rainwater falling from the eaves slides down the half-open umbrella, hitting the slick ground, splashing into droplets and quickly gathering into a stream, reflecting his image holding the umbrella in its folds.

Facing the girl ahead, Uesugi Sakura inexplicably gave rise to a feeling of cherishing in his heart upon seeing her wet face.

He really wanted to just hug her like this, and feel her warmth nestled in his embrace.

"Sir! Your two croquettes."

From the small shop window, the female clerk poked her head out, a bit curious if this little couple had fought, standing there drenched in the pouring rain instead of going home.

"Yeah, thank you."

Uesugi Sakura took the two packed croquettes from the shop owner, composed his emotions, and turned back to Hanamaru Hanabi, saying:

"Shall we share an umbrella or...?"

He offered the unopened umbrella in his hand.

Hanamaru Hanabi didn’t speak, her small hands grasped the umbrella he offered, holding it horizontally in front of her, stepping closer to his side.

Uesugi Sakura watched her carefully move closer by his side, and he understood in his heart that she truly needed him, and he truly needed her too.

Mutually filling the loneliness inside each of them, the thing called love exists in every moment they spend together.

Even any random thing she says to him on a daily basis is invaluable.

Hanamaru Hanabi grabbed the croquettes he gave her with her small hands, cautiously eating under his umbrella.

"Let’s go home and change clothes first."

"Mhm..." Hanamaru Hanabi, with her wet hair, hugged the croquettes, softly responded.

The neon lights in the rain-soaked Tokyo sky were veiled with a thin mist, the flowing water on the ground reflecting the shop’s lights, and people on the city streets constantly moved towards their respective destinations.

The croquette shop’s female clerk watched them under the shared umbrella, tall and short figures leaving together when the green light came on, walking towards the other end of the street.

"All made up?"

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The time came to the morning of the second day, and the sudden downpour gradually stopped.

Lying in bed asleep, Uesugi Sakura suddenly felt chilly, struggling to open his eyes, only to find that the quilt covering him had been entirely snatched away by the girl beside him.

He sat up, turned his head, and watched her sleep.

Stealing the quilt every day, one day you’ll never know how your husband ended up frozen to death.

By then, you’ll be crying while holding a memorial photo!

Uesugi Sakura gazed blankly at Hanamaru Hanabi, inwardly complaining for a couple of sentences, then forcibly lifted the quilt she held tightly and burrowed relentlessly into her bedding.

He stopped only after burrowing into her embrace, the fragrance of the girl wafting into his nose.

At this time, Hanamaru Hanabi was still asleep, and leaning on the weak light from outside the curtain, Uesugi Sakura found she slept rather sweetly.

Slept sweetly?

Uesugi Sakura’s hands under the quilt dawdled on her slender waist, occasionally drifting up and down her stomach.

Even though Hanamaru Hanabi was a very sound sleeper, his restless touching managed to wake her.

"Sakura-kun."

"Don’t move around, just want to feel this properly."

"Feel what...?"

Hanamaru Hanabi’s face turned very red, suddenly flustered by his actions, pushing with her small hands, "Sakura-kun, stop...."

Uesugi Sakura automatically ignored her weak protests, hugged her with one arm, and said softly by her ear: "Yesterday... Hanabi helped me in the bathroom, today I’ll help you, mutual aid, right?"

"But... Sakura-kun already helped once yesterday in the bathroom...." Hanamaru Hanabi grew more and more embarrassed as she spoke.

"This is called repayment."

...

"Hanabi, are you having a fever?"

"No, I don’t think so..."

"Try sniffing..... You have a stuffy nose and still claim you don’t have a fever, looks like it was from last night’s rain."

"We came back and showered immediately though...."

"Silly girl, you caught a cold before that, it just hadn’t flared up yet... Quickly get up, let’s go to the hospital and check it out, I’ll help you dress."

"Sakura-kun, Hanabi prefers to dress herself...."

"Do you want me to leave?"

"Mhm..."

"Alright."

Sakuragi Sakura got up, casually threw on some clothes, took his phone under Hanamaru Hanabi’s watchful eyes on the bed, and left the room, closing the door.

He leaned against the door, just about to check his phone messages, when he heard the sound of the door being locked from the inside.

"Sakura-kun, wait a moment, I’ll be ready soon."

Sakuragi Sakura smiled at his phone, "Is there still a need to be so shy? Like a little girl."

As he finished speaking, he suddenly realized that she was indeed still a 17-year-old little girl.

Unconsciously... It’s all starting to feel like an old married couple.

Sakuragi Sakura fell into silence outside the door, realizing they had been childhood friends for almost 15 years, and time really flies by quickly.

Clearly, her smile in the park when she was little still seemed like it happened yesterday.

For some reason, there’s always a feeling of reluctance.

He picked up his phone again, opened the album and scrolled all the way to the bottom, seeing pictures of the two of them eating, walking, visiting parks, and eating ice cream along the way.

Her smiling face fixed in those moments, warm and brilliant.

The further down he scrolled, the younger her face looked, each one... so beautiful.

Emotions stirred uncontrollably, and the corners of his eyes couldn’t help but moisten.

Every time she called his name all these years, she would always add ’kun’ at the end.

And ’kun’ is a term of respect for males....

Sakuragi Sakura could feel that her love for him was always precious, fearing the increasing distance between them.