CHAPTER 709: CHAPTER 432_2

He reached out and took a cookie, popping it into his mouth.

It was blueberry flavored, and with one bite, he could tell it was a dessert baked by Hanabi.

The texture was crumbly yet retained that rich milky fragrance.

As Uesugi Sakura was about to reach for another piece, he noticed Towa Rina watching him.

She had been staring at him like this for the past few days.

Could she be the one Hanabi mentioned who had a crush on him at the shop?

"Ahem, avert one’s eyes from improper things."

"What’s wrong, can’t even take a glance at you?"

"Feel free to look, but don’t do it when I’m..." Uesugi Sakura instinctively replied, but suddenly shut his mouth upon seeing Hanamaru Hanabi.

Almost forgot, her current identity is Hanamaru Hanami.

"Why aren’t you continuing?"

"Nothing." Uesugi Sakura lightly pressed his right fist against his lips.

"Hehe, Uesugi-san, I think you’re very, very handsome."

"Thank you."

"But..."

"But what?"

"But I believe you should be a devoted man."

"How am I not devoted!?"

Towa Rina didn’t speak, just adjusted the cat ears on her head and smiled at him:

"Actually, it’s hard for me to say these things, after all, I’m just an outsider. I’m just reminding you as a friend, since some things can’t be kept secret forever."

Watching Towa Rina leave the front desk, Uesugi Sakura roughly understood what she was getting at.

She probably noticed the somewhat close relationship between him and Hanamaru Hanabi.

In her understanding, the Hanamaru Hanabi working in the shop was Hanamaru Hanami.

She thought he had some kind of ambiguous relationship with his sister-in-law.

Forget it.

Let her misunderstand.

Even if she reports to Hanabi, it’ll just turn into an amusing misunderstanding.

Not long after, Kobashi Rikai showed up for work too, wearing a simple coat and long beige boots.

She pushed the door open and immediately bowed her head to greet Uesugi Sakura.

"Good afternoon, Uesugi-kun."

"Mm, good afternoon."

Watching her prepare for work, Uesugi Sakura remembered what Todaka asked him to do that morning.

That guy wanted to have a chat with Kobashi Rikai, his stepsister, by asking him to relay the message.

It was easy for Uesugi Sakura to agree in the morning, but now in this situation, it was challenging to bring it up.

After all, he couldn’t order her to meet with someone.

It wouldn’t be right to pressure this girl using his seniority.

He could only try asking.

Uesugi Sakura looked at the petite Rikai tying her long hair and asked, "Kobashi-san, do you know someone named Todaka?"

Kobashi Rikai’s actions visibly paused. She wasn’t foolish; she understood something. She lowered her hands from her ponytail and looked at Uesugi Sakura, asking:

"Did he ask you to do something for him, Senpai?"

Her words made it easy for Uesugi Sakura to continue:

"Yes, he asked me to pass a message to you: he wants to meet and chat."

"I... I know..." Kobashi Rikai’s tone was hesitant, "He’s always been saying that to me."

"Meeting up shouldn’t be a big deal, right? He seemed quite anxious to see you."

Kobashi Rikai was initially silent, but as no customers were around, she couldn’t find anything else to do, so she felt it was not suitable to remain silent. After a bit of contemplation, she spoke up:

"Senpai... Actually, I haven’t lived with my family for a long time... for half a year now..."

Uesugi Sakura: "Can I ask why?"

"The reason is... well..."

She took a deep breath.

"The reason is that when I first knew my mother remarrying, I had a sense of resistance... Can Senpai understand?"

Before Uesugi Sakura could answer, she continued:

"When my father was alive, my mother loved him deeply. Every day she would tend to his clothes before he left, smile at him as he went out, and when he returned, greet him, help him take off his suit, and ask about his day at work.

"Father was a good man, gentle to me, responsible; he loved my mother greatly, and she loved him too. Even though I was young, I could feel a kind of warmth you could call family through them.

"I had always looked up to them... They often told me stories about how they met, the hardships they went through to be together, the difficulties, it could be said they endured trials to marry, to live happily ever after together...

"When I was young, father often patted my back, gazing at the blue sky, talking about how much he loved mother... and how much mother loved him...

"I understood, from the glimmer in father’s smiling eyes, how much he cherished mother, how intensely they loved each other, and as their daughter, I could feel their love too..."

At this point, Kobashi Rikai’s spirits dampened.

"Later... father suddenly passed away... and the mother who loved him so deeply now was suddenly remarrying. Although that uncle is indeed nice and has known my mother for a long time, when it came to the point of mother remarrying, I... found it hard to accept...

"Stories about father and mother have always lingered in my mind.

"Father and mother, weren’t they deeply in love, having pledged to spend their lives together? Didn’t they always recall their memories in front of me, show me photos, telling me about their simple yet warm love back then?

"Even if father is no longer, the mother who loved him deeply... should be thinking of him, shouldn’t she..."

Maybe picturing her deceased father, tears welled up in Kobashi Rikai’s eyes. She took a deep breath and gently wiped her eyes with her right hand.

Uesugi Sakura understood, comprehending her difficulties.

Putting himself in her shoes, if he left and years later, Hanabi were to remarry and live with another man, he wouldn’t be able to accept it either.

Only, he’s still here, with no need to worry about such things.

Eventually, he, too, like Kobashi Rikai’s parents, loved each other deeply.

What about from the other side?

No choice but to bear this pain.

"Sorry to make you recall sad memories."

"No, it’s okay... I’m used to it." Kobashi Rikai composed herself and soon recovered.

A customer came in just then, and she forced a smile, proceeding to do her job.

After taking the customer’s order, she turned back.

"Uesugi-kun, one Blue Mountain Coffee."

"Sure." Uesugi Sakura didn’t bring up Todaka’s request from this morning again.

Judging from what Kobashi said, she still has a lot of resistance against another family.

It’s not about whether they’re good or bad.

It’s simply not being able to accept it.

"Uesugi-kun."

Kobashi Rikai watched his movements as he brewed the coffee, "I’ll seriously consider his request."

Uesugi Sakura turned his head: "This won’t make you uncomfortable, will it? No need to worry about my face; I was just relaying a message for him."

"It should... be okay, it’s just to have a brief conversation. He probably wants to tell me that mother and uncle hope I go back to see them."

Uesugi Sakura studied her carefully.

These words...

Could it be...

She hasn’t realized that the person about to become her brother has feelings for her?

Uesugi Sakura felt that Todaka’s romantic pursuit was doomed.

...

Todays, as usual, work ended at 7 PM. Due to a significant increase in the number of customers at the café recently, Manager Yanagi decided to raise everyone’s pay.

Naturally, this drew cheers from several of the maids.

Well, it was only Towa Rina who cheered.

Yuuri and Yuno, the twin sisters, usually don’t show much emotion and remained silent.

Hanamaru Hanabi just raised her hand to show her happiness.

Kobashi Rikai did the same.

Although the cheer wasn’t loud, thankfully, everyone was pleased, and Manager Yanagi invited everyone to a barbecue tomorrow on Saturday.

Heading home in the evening.

Sitting sideways on the pink bicycle’s rear saddle, Hanamaru Hanabi looked up at the twilight clouds along the horizon, her lavender eyes reflecting a kind of indescribable charm.

"Sakura-kun, it seems like you talked a lot with a certain woman today."

Uesugi Sakura, riding in front, suddenly felt his heart skip a beat.

"I was just... delivering a message..."

"What kind of message?" Hanamaru Hanabi’s tone was calm, like an emotionless machine.

"A classmate asked me to pass a message to Kobashi, saying he wanted to meet her."

"Why doesn’t Sakura-kun’s classmate go himself?"

"Because Kobashi doesn’t want to see him, so he could only ask me to say it."

"I see... So Sakura-kun wasn’t intentionally talking to another woman..."

"Of course not."

Upon getting an affirmative answer, a smile instantly appeared on Hanamaru Hanabi’s adorable face: "That’s good! Hanabi likes Sakura-kun the most."

Though her words were cute, for some reason, Uesugi Sakura felt she seemed a bit scary a moment ago.