CHAPTER 710: CHAPTER 433: SUDDENLY, SHE DREW ME IN

Back home.

Uesugi Sakura suddenly recalled what Kobashi Rikai had told her about her parents that afternoon.

Even though they were a couple deeply in love, after one of them passed away, the other eventually found someone else to marry and live with.

Hanamaru Hanabi was just behind her, and since hearing about Kobashi Rikai’s story this afternoon, Uesugi Sakura had been wanting to ask her something.

"Hanabi."

"Yes, Sakura-kun." Hanamaru Hanabi tiptoed in front of him, hands behind her back, smiling sweetly.

"If I were suddenly gone... would you remarry?"

Hanamaru Hanabi’s purplish eyes narrowed tightly, the highlight suddenly disappearing, her eyes seemed to enlarge, "What is Sakura-kun saying? Is Sakura-kun questioning Hanabi’s love for him? Sakura-kun, Sakura-kun, Sakura-kun should know how important he is in Hanabi’s heart."

"..."

"Even if everyone else in the world were gone, Hanabi couldn’t be without Sakura-kun. Can Sakura-kun understand that kind of liking? Understand the loneliness of not being liked by everyone as a child? It was only Sakura-kun who reached out his hand, only Sakura-kun who opened a window in Hanabi’s heart."

Her incessant chatter made Uesugi Sakura feel a sense of oppression.

"...I was wrong, I shouldn’t have asked that."

Hanamaru Hanabi’s expression quickly shifted to a cute smile: "Hanabi is not blaming Sakura-kun, oh."

Uesugi Sakura explained: "Mainly because, this afternoon, I heard about Kobashi’s parents. They loved each other very much, but after the father passed away, the mother, who loved him dearly, eventually remarried. Kobashi repeated some details, which made me quite emotional."

Hanamaru Hanabi gazed into his eyes:

"This only shows that her love for her husband wasn’t as deep as Hanabi’s love for Sakura-kun. Does Sakura-kun know what Hanabi would do if he were gone?"

Uesugi Sakura looked at her small face, not daring to ask, not daring to think.

Leaving aside Hanabi’s own loneliness, the ’Dark Hanabi’ that stems from her personality would amplify some negative emotions indefinitely.

"No, you don’t have to say it..." Uesugi Sakura quickly shook his head.

"It seems Sakura-kun knows clearly in his heart."

Uesugi Sakura knew, but couldn’t help but say: "If it really came to the point where I was gone, actually, I would still hope that you remain in this world."

"If Hanabi stays in the world, would she be happy? If it was Hanabi who left, Sakura-kun wouldn’t be happy either, right?"

"..."

Indeed.

Uesugi Sakura couldn’t think of any point that would make him happy.

If Hanabi were gone, could he find someone to marry again?

Impossible, really impossible.

"Being able to go to work with Sakura-kun every day makes Hanabi very happy."

"Happy?"

"Very happy."

For some reason, Hanamaru Hanabi suddenly felt a bit sleepy, and Uesugi Sakura knew this was a sign of her personality switching; whenever she felt sleepy, about ten minutes later, another personality would emerge.

Holding the girl who collapsed into his arms, he laid her on the bed, with Sakura keeping watch beside her.

He couldn’t count how many times he’d watched her sleep from childhood to now.

But every time, just being quietly with her as she slept, Uesugi Sakura could feel a sense of peace from her.

Her side profile was illuminated a translucent red by the setting sun outside the window, and Uesugi Sakura watched her light breaths over her thin lips, unable to resist reaching out to move her hair away from her ear, then slipping his hand in to trace the contours of her cheek.

The girl’s plump and soft cheeks pressed closely into his palm as he caressed.

Uesugi Sakura could feel warmth on them, feel her cuteness, and her fragrance.

His gaze slid downward, and he could feel her fair neck.

The girl’s neck was slender, white, with distinct lines, as delicate as her petite shoulders.

Uesugi Sakura looked to the right, seeing her clothing slip off her shoulder, revealing the alabaster-like half of her collarbone, with a light strap above it lending her delicate shoulder an even more girlish feeling.

At this moment, the girl was dozing, her chest rising and falling with steady breaths, the movement also visible at her collarbone, the setting sun from afar perfectly illuminating the delicate curves from her neck to her shoulder.

The longer Uesugi Sakura watched, the more moved he felt by her beauty, and in the quiet time, his breath unconsciously filled with the scent of lilies.

...

"Mm..."

Hanamaru Hanabi opened her eyes in the warm tickling sensation, her nose twitching slightly, suddenly feeling an itch spreading on her neck, and the garment on her shoulder seemed to be hanging on her arm, chillingly so.

She woke up, hurriedly pushing with both hands.

"Sakura-kun..."

"Don’t move."

"No, it won’t do."

Despite hearing his voice, Hanamaru Hanabi still earnestly pushed him away.

Uesugi Sakura seeing her resistance, propped himself up with both hands, "What’s wrong?"

The half-bared shoulder of Hanamaru Hanabi was also having some heated breaths, her voice shy: "Just got home... haven’t bathed yet... this can’t..."

"It’s alright, pretty girls are fragrant all the time, even without bathing." Uesugi Sakura remarked, burying his face back down.

"No, I must bathe..." Hanamaru Hanabi used her small hands to push his face away again.

"Not bathing is also alright." Uesugi Sakura pressed his face against her hand.

"I must bathe!" Hanamaru Hanabi used all her strength with both hands to push his face away.

"Alright then," seeing her that resolved, Uesugi Sakura immediately got off the bed, then leaned down, one hand slid under her back, the other hand under her slender legs, picking her up, "let’s go take a bath then."