CHAPTER 410: CHAPTER 297 FRIENDS

Smooth breathing, fresh air.

Sticking to it, jogging in the morning sunlight is a pleasure.

The incoming wind billowed Uesugi Sakura’s clothes, fluttering as he jogged along the small paths of the city, the beams of light passing through Hachiko, illuminating the grass by the roadside, like a lighthouse on the sea, guiding him forward.

"Sakura!"

With sweat beading on his forehead, Uesugi Sakura heard the voice, turned around, and found it was an old lady who had come out early to buy groceries.

Her hair was gray, her body still pretty robust, and perhaps due to her age, her voice sounded strange.

"Grandma Watanabe."

"Here, take this for you and that Hanabi child." Grandma Watanabe took out two big bottles of fresh milk from her hand-woven basket, gesturing for him to take them, "The weather cleared up today, didn’t she come jogging with you?"

"No, she was quite tired last night, so I let her sleep a bit longer today."

Grandma Watanabe laughed, "Yes, men should be more considerate of women. Making them jog after a tiring night isn’t good."

Uesugi Sakura was momentarily taken aback by the old lady’s direct words.

"Ah, there aren’t many young people like you who still care for their health. They rely on their youth, never heed warnings until they’re sick and in the hospital, then they think about exercising."

With that, she shook her head and slowly walked away, leaving Uesugi Sakura no chance to refuse the milk.

The old lady was a local resident. Ever since he and Hanabi moved here and started jogging every morning, they would occasionally run into her.

She would start up a conversation, and after becoming familiar, she would give them things when they met.

Uesugi Sakura looked at the two bottles of milk in his hands and turned to walk home.

"I’m back."

Uesugi Sakura said lazily, turning back to close the door.

Pat pat pat...

Footsteps came from the inner room.

"Welcome home, Sakura-kun."

"Oh!"

"What’s wrong?" Hanamaru Hanabi stood at the entrance, looking at him with confusion.

Uesugi Sakura handed her the two bottles of fresh milk, then laughed and said, "I thought I’d see a big white pig lying on the bed when I got home, but it turned out to be a cute girl."

Hanamaru Hanabi grabbed the two bottles of milk with both hands, glaring at him fiercely.

"Little milk cat." Uesugi Sakura laughed and reached out to pinch her cheek.

Hanamaru Hanabi shook her head to avoid his touch, stepping back simultaneously.

"I’m not a big white pig!"

Uesugi Sakura switched to slippers at the entrance, then looked up at her: "Alright, you’re not a big white pig, you’re a little milk cat."

"Did you go buy milk, Sakura-kun?" Hanamaru Hanabi intended to retort, but after thinking ’little milk cat’ sounded cute, she gave up, "Or did you go to that Kodo place a few kilometers away?"

"No, Grandma Watanabe gave them to us."

"Oh~"

Hanamaru Hanabi looked at the two milk bottles in her hands and nodded, "What do you want for breakfast, Sakura-kun?"

"Anything, as long as you make it."

"Alright then."

In the morning, after taking the train to Tokyo University, Uesugi Sakura met his classmate, Todaka Keichiro, right out of the station.

"Hey, Uesugi, what a coincidence?"

"Yeah, what a coincidence," Uesugi Sakura responded to Keichiro’s slightly exaggerated greeting.

Todaka Keichiro, carrying his laptop bag, moved closer, walking towards the school together.

"Don’t you usually take a taxi? Why have you switched to the train these days?"

Uesugi Sakura looked at the flow of people at the station ahead and replied in a casual tone:

"Conscience is determined by one’s knowledge and entire lifestyle. Taking taxis too often would make me an obnoxious capitalist."

"Ha ha, that’s an interesting way to put it. How would you change?" Todaka Keichiro couldn’t help but laugh.

"From frugality to luxury, taxis let me experience convenience and comfort, contrasted by the crowding and hassle of trains, at the cost of spending more money."

"But desires can inflate. Who knows, someday I might find taxis boring and switch to driving myself. Then I’d feel self-driving isn’t as comfortable as hiring a driver, and afterwards feel a driver is incomplete without a luxury car, until finally, I ended up with a top-tier limited edition supercar."

"In this period, the money I spent would grow infinitely, leading to unnecessary extravagance, turning transportation from trains to supercars."

"To curb my desires, I choose to take the train."

Todaka Keichiro gave him a thumbs-up, impressed by his eloquent monologue about commuting.

The two walked out of Hongo San-chome station together.

"Uesugi, I’ve finished reading that light novel you lent me."

"Any thoughts?"

"Hmm..." Todaka Keichiro put his right hand on his chin, "How should I say... the foundation is there... but for me, it still has too much of a light novel flavor, you know what I mean?"

"I get it."

Todaka Keichiro turned and took another book from his bag, "On the contrary, I prefer his debut work ’Chasing the Stars.’ Though it’s a first work and somewhat raw, its exploration of the unknown felt similar to when I first read Sherlock Holmes as a child."

"Yeah, unfortunately, this book doesn’t fit the light novel market, so the second book is more of a shift to cater to the market," Uesugi Sakura commented, glancing at the brand-new book in his hand.

"So it naturally became a niche work, and I had to go through a lot to get it," Todaka Keichiro said, "Much like how people nowadays know Ryunosuke Akutagawa, yet only rely on his fame, boasting after reading a few of his works without understanding his thoughts."