CHAPTER 431: CHAPTER 308: PREPARING FOR A TRIP

The sunshine was fairly bright, and the green leaves above swayed, reflecting a luminous green glow.

[What would you like for dinner? I’ll head home early today to go grocery shopping.]

Uesugi Sakura tapped the period at the end on the phone screen and clicked the send bubble on the right.

He sat on the bench, lifted his head, stretched his legs forward, and held his phone with both hands, hanging it between his legs.

The translucent green leaves let the light peek through the gaps.

Just a glance upward, and his eyes squinted reflexively from the brightness.

The phone vibrated, and Hanamaru Hanabi replied just then, so he lowered his head back to check the screen.

[Sakura-kun, buy some chili peppers. The fresh ones at home are gone, but we still have some other ingredients.]

[Okay.]

After chatting with Hanabi for a while, Uesugi Sakura saw her last message, which contained a happy shark emoji, and he put away his phone.

Though his mood was a bit gloomy before, he felt much better now.

With a smile, Uesugi Sakura got up from the bench, picked up his briefcase, and headed out of the school.

After buying chili peppers and bell peppers from Don Quijote, Uesugi Sakura thought about how the girls at home all liked cakes and sweets, so he went to the dessert shop to buy some strawberry cake and cookies.

He returned home with hands full of bags.

"I’m back."

"I’m back."

Uesugi Sakura thought no one would be home, but Aei pitter-pattered out from inside.

"Didn’t go to school?"

"I did go." Aei was still in her elementary school uniform.

"Then why are you home?"

"We got off early today."

"Where’s your sister?" Uesugi Sakura was slightly skeptical about this little mischievous girl.

"Sis is doing her homework at home."

If her sister was home, it would prove Aei didn’t sneak out.

Besides, Chiaei was moving to middle school soon, so she had more homework than Aei.

"Big brother."

Aei noticed the cake in his hand, her eyes full of greed.

"I bought it for you guys." Uesugi Sakura handed the bag over, and Aei happily took it, saying thanks to her brother before quickly scampering back to her room.

Having them stay at home brought quite a bit of liveliness.

Uesugi Sakura looked around the clean house, feeling a bit guilty towards Hanabi.

Since he couldn’t bring himself to lounge around at home today, he decided to wash the clothes from yesterday.

There were three girls in the house, so Uesugi Sakura’s clothes took up the least space.

When washing clothes, inevitably, some embarrassing clothes had to be washed.

Uesugi Sakura didn’t mind these things, but if Hanamaru Hanabi saw him holding his intimate apparel, she would definitely rush over to snatch everything from his hands and continuously push him away from the ’scene of crime.’

It’s funny how, despite being so close, she still acted shy like a little girl.

Helplessly.

The phone rang suddenly, and Uesugi Sakura washed his soapy hands clean and answered the call with wet hands.

"Hello."

"Uesugi."

He recognized it was Kitagawa Sakisa’s voice.

"What’s up?"

"Cough, cough, this morning, your beloved Hanabi-chan received a gift from someone again."

Received a gift?

Uesugi Sakura immediately guessed who it might be.

"Is it that guy named Sekine Sagara?"

Kitagawa Sakisa was a bit surprised: "You know?"

Leaning against the washing machine, Uesugi Sakura lifted the phone with his right hand: "Yes."

Kitagawa Sakisa: "So how about we team up and teach that guy a lesson?"

"Oh? How do you plan to handle it?"

"Of course, drag him into a little black room."

"Beat him up?"

"Exactly! Rika won’t let me do it myself, but surely I can let you do it, right?"

"I can’t exactly block him at school; I’m not Yakuza, I’m a civilized Tokyo University humanities student."

"What about Hanabi-chan then? You are her fiancé, you know."

Uesugi Sakura wasn’t in a hurry: "What did he give her?"

"A set of paints."

"A set of paints?"

"During class, Hanabi-chan’s expensive watercolor set ran out, and the quality in the classroom wasn’t as good, so Sekine offered his for Hanabi-chan to use together."

"..." Uesugi Sakura said into the phone, "Is that considered a gift? Why do I feel like you’re more sensitive than I am."

"Because that guy’s smile looks off!"

From Kitagawa Sakisa’s tone, Uesugi Sakura could tell that she really disliked Sekine, which was why she called him to deal with that guy.

"How was the situation handled?"

"Of course, I gave my set to Hanabi-chan, sneaking over to her side when the teacher wasn’t looking. Sekine just wants to get close to Hanabi."

Kitagawa Sakisa is indeed quite clueless in some areas, like not recognizing roads.

But as a wingman, she’s quite decent.

With her beside Hanabi, one could rest much easier.

"Thanks for the heads up."

"What’s there to thank for? I need Uesugi to take action! How are you planning to deal with him?"

"Don’t worry about that."

"It’s a deal then; you have to help teach him a lesson."

"I already know."

Uesugi Sakura was somewhat speechless; Kitagawa, this best friend, was even more proactive than him.

No, it should be called aggressive; any guy getting close to Hanabi would make her bristle.

But she didn’t mind if he got close to Hanabi.

Perhaps she really hated that Sekine Sagara guy?

He hung up the call.

Uesugi Sakura continued to finish washing the clothes; although he felt sorry for Hanabi for pretending to be her boyfriend, he still wanted to be a good man at home.

Though he couldn’t cook, he could at least handle some chores.

Washing clothes, wringing clothes, and hanging clothes to dry.

Some clothes had to be hand-washed, taking about an hour to finish the process.

Holding the laundry basin, Uesugi Sakura walked out onto the balcony, and just as he stepped down, the front door opened.