CHAPTER 335: CHAPTER 256 TOKYO UNIVERSITY MAY FESTIVAL (2)

This year’s May Festival features a total of 285 simulated shops.

The most common ones are bubble tea shops and grilled beef skewer stalls, almost occupying half of them.

Opening a store is naturally about making money!

With such fierce competition among peers, why should people come to your grilled beef skewer shop?

"Reincarnated into the Otherworld as a Beef Skewer?"

Walking around the campus, Uesugi Sakura was taken aback when she saw the handwritten sign on this little tent, it had an unmistakable light novel vibe.

Turning her head again for a few more looks, ’May is Your Cow,’ ’Cow Work!’ ’About how I inadvertently discovered my family’s bubble tea is super delicious,’ ’Bubble Tea Starting From Zero.’

These fragmented handwriting conveys an intention to deliberately emphasize memes.

The campus festival at Tokyo University is also very competitive.

Madam Hanamaru asked Uesugi Sakura: "How do these shops taste?"

Uesugi Sakura shook her head: "I don’t know, but I’ve heard from a few classmates that they all buy their ingredients from the same place."

"That would mean industrial production, all tastes are the same." Madam Hanamaru glanced around the noisy crowd, "There seems to be a lot of people over there, want to check it out?"

Holding two younger sisters in her arms, Uesugi Sakura replied, "Yeah, sure."

Holding these two little ones for a long time, they do get heavy.

As they continued to walk inside, besides these bubble tea and beef skewer shops, there were also specialty snack shops opened by international students, like Pakistani cuisine, Indian pancakes, Chinese soup dumplings, Italian pasta, and so on.

By the way, the things sold here are much more expensive than outside.

Mrs. Uesugi: "Hey, Sakura, didn’t your class open a little booth like this?"

Uesugi Sakura remembered they bought oden dumplings, "Yes, we did."

"How is it?"

"How is it..." Uesugi Sakura wanted to take a look at Hanabi, only to find she had run over to another stall selling spicy tornado potatoes, "Should be okay... I’m not sure, the ingredients were bought from the Ikebukuro side."

Ikebukuro is a place with a large Chinese community, with many Chinese restaurants and a specialized underground market for groceries.

Specifically going there to buy ingredients probably means they put a lot of effort into it.

They arrived at their liberal arts third group—Class 7’s little kiosk, where a mango mascot was swaying to attract customers.

Umezu Nana and a few rare female classmates were busy with their oden dumplings in the hot steam, full of sweat.

Judging by the number of people in line, it seemed quite lively.

But as Uesugi Sakura approached, many people’s eyes were drawn to him—not only because of his looks but also because of the strangely humorous sight of him holding two kids.

Fortunately, the two little ones were quite cute and very endearing.

The two madams wanted to eat oden-flavored dumplings, and they went to line up at the back of the crowd.

"Senpai?"

Uesugi Sakura glanced around at the people nearby, only to realize the voice came from inside the mascot suit.

He looked over the giant mango in front of him and glanced up at the approaching June sun, worriedly asking, "Seisa, are you not hot? Today’s weather must be 30 degrees."

"It’s hot... but Todaka-kun said this way we might sell better." The voice was muffled inside the headpiece.

"Then why a mango?" Uesugi Sakura couldn’t figure out the connection between dumplings and mangos, perhaps simply because they are both oval?

"Time was tight, couldn’t rent a better costume, and everyone learned to wrap the dumplings overnight through YouTube."

Uesugi Sakura took a look inside the oden small drawer, dumplings... The appearance wasn’t pleasant, but thankfully not one was overcooked.

This temporary idea seems to be thought through with heart.

"Senpai, you..." Seisa Takeshun also noticed him holding two children.

Uesugi Shin seemed a bit scared of this yellow fellow, while Hanamaru Hanami reached out her little hand to touch.

"All sisters." Uesugi Sakura adjusted her arms to better hold the two little ones comfortably.

"..."

"Sometimes... I really envy senpai..."

"I’m just an ordinary person without very high aspirations." Uesugi Sakura said.

"Senpai is already famous in the Kyudo World, I think it’s a fulfilling life, nothing more to pursue, only enjoyment of life left."

"Senpai, I want to ask, won’t an ordinary life really be boring?"

"Maybe, some say they like plainness, but few truly enjoy it, seeking thrills is innate, just as you read so many literary stories, the word conflict is pervasive."

"Sakura-kun." Hanamaru Hanabi ran over holding two skewers of tornado potato slices, one all spicy, the other mild.

Seeing Uesugi Sakura conversing with the person in the mango mascot, she guessed it must be his classmate and greeted politely:

"Hello."

"Hello." Seisa Takeshun, who had never spoken to a girl before, stiffly nodded, encountering such a beautiful girl so intimately for the first time.

If it were a private meeting... he would not even dare to talk to her.

Hanamaru Hanabi just greeted him, her attention always on Uesugi Sakura:

"Sakura-kun, let me hold Hanami, you take this skewer of potatoes."

"Mhm, okay."

Thus, Uesugi Sakura exchanged 200 yen worth of tornado potato slices with Hanamaru Hanabi for Hanamaru Hanami.

The little one, suddenly hugged by her sister, blinked her purple eyes in a daze.

Seeing that he couldn’t join the conversation, Seisa Takeshun politely excused himself to continue attracting more customers.

After he left, Hanamaru Hanabi asked, "Was that Sakura-kun’s classmate just now?"

"Yeah, he’s from the same class, also in the Kyudo Club."

Hanamaru Hanabi saw the two madams were still in line, so Uesugi Sakura asked her: "Haven’t Kyujuu and the others arrived yet?"

"They should be at the school by now." Hanamaru Hanabi checked her phone and found a message from Kitagawa Sakisa, saying that they were already at the school gate and asking where the two of them were.

"Eeya eeya~"

Sister Uesugi Shin wanted the potato slices in Uesugi Sakura’s hand that had chili on them, looking eagerly at his arm but not daring to reach out.

Uesugi Sakura felt she was a bit like Hanabi when she was little, and the sibling affection unexpectedly drew him closer to this little one. He broke off a bit of potato slice without chili to feed her.

Watching her savor the small bite in his arms, Uesugi Sakura hoped she wouldn’t become what people call a bro-con in the future, as he was just a slightly older brother.

But siblings, they always have a good relationship when they are little.

By the time they reach junior high or elementary school, not having a falling out is already considered a good sibling relationship.

Uesugi Sakura also hoped Uesugi Shin would be nicer to him as her brother in the future, and not call him any absurd names.

"Sakura-kun, do you want to go find Rika and the others now?" Hanamaru Hanabi asked, holding her phone.

"No need," Uesugi Sakura said, "It’s not afternoon yet; let’s enjoy ourselves first this morning."

So where should they go to have fun?

Uesugi Sakura decided to return the two little ones to the two mothers and take Hanabi to the Love Research Society.

He was genuinely curious about the lecture they were hosting.

*

"Ticket, 1500 yen."

Quite expensive, but Uesugi Sakura could afford it.

After paying for two tickets, he took Hanabi inside.

The Love Research Society used their club classroom, not too big but filled with various classic couple photos and hand-drawn headers.

"Come... what’s this for?" The rush earlier had made Hanamaru Hanabi miss seeing the main event posted outside.

Besides... saying it’s the Love Research Society, it didn’t seem like many couples were attending either.

Uesugi Sakura scanned the surroundings, saying, "This society invited an actress to interview her past."

Hanamaru Hanabi thought it was an actress, "Is she a celebrity?"

Uesugi Sakura pulled her to sit in the back row; quite a few people were seated, mostly girls.

He whispered to her ear, "It’s that kind of adult film star."

"..."

"Sakura-kun! How could you..." Hanamaru Hanabi mumbled, looking a bit angry.

"Don’t worry," seeing her suddenly uneasy, Uesugi Sakura continued, "Nothing strange will happen, it was written outside that they’re just sharing experiences and why they chose this path."

"Sakura-kun... I dislike it." Hanamaru Hanabi murmured, keeping her head down.

"Doesn’t Hanabi want to stay here?" Uesugi Sakura asked softly, noticing her discomfort.

"I don’t want to... and Hanabi can’t understand them..."

People gradually filled the classroom, and it seemed today’s Love Research Society tickets were selling well.

The theme was said to be exploring and understanding the thoughts of adult film actresses, but realistically it had a certain amount of curiosity as well.

Seeing that Hanamaru Hanabi truly didn’t want to stay, Uesugi Sakura proposed:

"We haven’t started yet, let’s leave now."

"What about the money Sakura-kun paid?"

"Forget about it."

After leaving the clubroom of the Love Research Society, the two wandered around the bustling May Festival campus.

The atmosphere was lively, with people continuously coming and going.

"Sakura-kun... I really dislike it..." Hanamaru Hanabi muttered, almost to herself.

It was the first time Uesugi Sakura ever heard her say that about him, "Sorry, I didn’t realize you would react this way."

"Why did Sakura-kun take Hanabi there... was it because of something?"

"That interview session was somewhat educational in nature, intended to recount first-hand accounts of how they ended up on that path, perhaps as a cautionary tale for others."

Hanamaru Hanabi refused to accept this reasoning:

"Sakura-kun is strange, even if they were initially deceived, they didn’t leave, and they even came as that identity to the Love Research Society seminar. It must be voluntary... Hanabi can’t understand those kinds of girls..."

"What if she’s just sharing her experience?" Uesugi Sakura pondered aloud, realizing the absurdity of taking his fiancée to listen to an AV actress’s seminar.

Certainly strange, exceptionally strange.

And by listening to her story, what insights could really be gathered? It would only satisfy a voyeuristic curiosity at best.

Hanabi... must deeply disapprove of such curious mindsets...

She had always been a serious and beautiful girl, like a lily.

"Still not okay," Hanamaru Hanabi answered earnestly, "As long as it’s voluntary, there certainly are peculiar thoughts, which Hanabi can’t comprehend or wants to hear about... Sitting there would be incredibly uncomfortable."

Uesugi Sakura, who only intended to listen to her account, was surprised by her strong reaction and realized it was indeed his oversight, failing to think it through:

"I was wrong, I’m sorry."

"Sakura-kun... it’s not that Hanabi looks down on them... but I really can’t understand and cannot agree," Hanamaru Hanabi looked up at him under the ginkgo trees, "To Hanabi, one person in a lifetime is worthy of trust..."