Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard-Chapter 331 - 254 Sanshiro Pond

Uesugi Sakura noticed that a few classmates were looking at him, so he deliberately waved Hanamaru Hanami’s small hand to greet them.

"..."

Todaka Keichiro paused with his chopsticks and said to Seisa Takeshun beside him, "Do you think he’s showing off?"

"Senior... Probably just wants to say hello to us."

*

The two ladies picked their meals, walked through the center of the cafeteria where the white stone pillars were, and found a seat to eat with Hanamaru Hanabi.

Uesugi Sakura, holding Hanamaru Hanami, went over to his classmates to bring his unfinished food back.

The little one was quite behaved at this moment, clinging to his neck, probably feeling a bit shy in the new place.

His three classmates followed Hanamaru Hanami with their eyes as she moved with him.

"Uesugi... Is that your child?"

"My younger sister."

In Japanese, there isn’t a term for little sister-in-law, it’s all general terms, but by relation, Hanamaru Hanami is his younger sister.

"So cute."

Umezu Nana wanted to touch Hanami’s hand, but the shy little one turned her head and pressed her face tightly against Uesugi Sakura’s neck.

Soft and cuddly.

"Her eyes, they’re purple, aren’t they?"

"Quite rare," Todaka Keichiro nodded.

"It’s probably due to melanin," Seisa Takeshun said, "but melanin only comes in red, yellow, brown, or black, so naturally having purple eyes is impossible, but the medical students might know more about it."

"Rayleigh scattering?" Todaka Keichiro suggested.

"Hmm... Indeed possible if some special conditions are met, purple eyes could indeed appear."

"Very beautiful indeed." Umezu Nana still wanted to hold her, but Hanamaru Hanami just stayed glued to Uesugi Sakura, unwilling to leave at all.

Uesugi Sakura picked up the tray with one hand, containing 3 bowls of hardly touched meals, "I’ll head over now; won’t be keeping you company."

"No worries, go ahead."

"Senior, aren’t you coming with us this afternoon to buy ingredients?"

"I have ensemble practice this afternoon," Uesugi Sakura said, "have you guys decided what snacks to sell?"

"Oden dumplings!"

Uesugi Sakura understood immediately; it was probably just dumplings with an oden flavor.

He returned to the two ladies and sat down next to Hanamaru Hanabi.

"Sakura, were those your classmates?" Mrs. Uesugi glanced over at them, curious about what the top students had in common.

"Yeah, all from the same year." Uesugi Sakura responded, glancing at how Hanamaru Hanabi was eating.

Fortunately, she seemed to be enjoying the Red Gate Ramen.

"I have to say, Tokyo University hasn’t changed much in decades; the cafeteria has been renovated a bit, looking new, but the other facilities are quite old." Mrs. Hanamaru commented.

Their father-in-law graduated from Tokyo University, so the mother-in-law must have visited often.

Uesugi Sakura listened to the mother-in-law speak while feeding Hanamaru Hanami in his arms.

A child around one year old can start eating some mashed egg custard, vegetables, and fruits as supplementary food.

The mother-in-law specifically asked the server to make the rice softer so the little one could eat it.

Mrs. Hanamaru saw Hanamaru Hanami eating quietly in his arms and could not help but smile, "It seems both my daughters really like you, little Sakura."

Uesugi Sakura wiped off the rice grains at the corner of his little sister-in-law’s mouth with a tissue, responding to his mother-in-law, "I think Hanabi likes me more."

Hanamaru Hanabi paused while eating ramen, her little face blushing.

"Haha, sometimes, I really think it wouldn’t be bad to make Hanami your child too."

The mother’s personality was too straightforward, while Hanabi’s was too reserved.

Praising her in front of others would make her blush, while the mother could hint without a care that they should have kids soon to hold a grandchild early.

Holding Uesugi Shin, Mrs. Uesugi didn’t mind either and even said if they wanted to, the little sister could be raised as their child.

Surely they were good friends.

Although Uesugi Sakura already felt like a father figure at seventeen years older than his sister, often helping with diaper changes and feeding during his free time.

After lunch, the two ladies, holding the two little ones, planned to sit by the centenary ginkgo in front of the Engineering Department’s No. 1 building.

Uesugi Sakura then took Hanamaru Hanabi to see Sanshiro Pond at the neighboring Yayoi Campus.

Passing by the lecture hall, an old banyan tree at the entrance with intertwined branches caught Uesugi Sakura’s attention.

The lush green canopy swayed gently in the spring breeze.

"Sakura-kun?"

Hanamaru Hanabi stopped and looked at him, then noticed the banyan tree as well, "Sakura-kun... Are you thinking of something?"

Uesugi Sakura shifted his gaze from the canopy to Hanamaru Hanabi’s delicate face; her hair draped over her shoulders, and two strands lay on her chest.

Not only the dappled sunlight danced between the leaves, but her increasingly alluring visage swayed in the breeze.

"Sakura... -kun...?"

"No, it’s nothing, just thinking about the old banyan tree behind Kamigoe High School."

Uesugi Sakura dared not look at her again, "Perhaps it’s because I feel old; always thinking the three years in high school passed by just like that, even further back... junior high, elementary... all just fleeting moments.

The leaves above rustled with the stronger wind.

"Time... passes rather quickly."

"Sakura-kun," Hanamaru Hanabi suddenly smiled at him, "Didn’t you say during graduation that taking a photo with me was the happiest moment? Even though time seemed to pass quickly, every moment with Sakura-kun by my side made all those moments fulfilling.

"Sakura-kun even hugged me for the photo Tsubokawa took for us, and I was so shy being watched by everyone... the whole class would sing the school song together and take pictures under the banyan tree, although brief... those were truly happy days.

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