CHAPTER 716: CHAPTER 436: JUST FALLING IN LOVE WITH AN IDENTITY

The store wasn’t too busy at the moment. Uesugi Sakura handed over the work to Kobashi Rikai and sat down next to Todaka Keichiro, who was still sitting in the corner.

"How did it go?"

"Well... not too bad, not too good either. At least she’s willing to stop avoiding me."

"Have you confessed or anything like that?"

"I didn’t dare to say it..." Todaka Keichiro said, "Uesugi, after talking to her just now, I’ve come to understand more about the things she’s always been worried about."

"Her father’s matters?" Uesugi Sakura asked.

"Yes, I always feel she’s stuck in a quagmire, a quagmire that follows her, binding her, preventing her from moving. Human emotions are remarkable, yet they can also become shackles that make one voluntarily put their leg into it, worrying whether lifting the leg would cause the mud in the quagmire to disappear."

Uesugi Sakura could understand what Todaka Keichiro was talking about: the good memories of her father were limiting the path forward for Kobashi, keeping her indulged in the beautiful memories of her deceased relatives.

After uttering these words, Todaka Keichiro seemed to have realized something and became a bit dejected.

"I’d really like to help her come out of it. After all, my father is a good man too, and wouldn’t hold any prejudice against her. This blended family could become very happy in the future... but honestly, I don’t know if what Aunty is doing is right... especially abandoning the ones she once loved dearly..."

"I’ll come more often. If possible, I’d like to stay and work in this coffee shop... About this, Uesugi, could you ask the manager for me?"

Uesugi Sakura nodded, "No problem, I’ll ask her when she returns."

"Thank you. I’m always troubling you." Todaka Keichiro said with an apologetic tone.

"It’s okay. You often help me deal with professor calls at school and such." Uesugi Sakura replied with a smile, brightening up the conversation.

"Haha, speaking of which, you actually skipped quite a few classes for a top student."

"That’s called utilizing time rationally when necessary."

"Alright, after meeting Rikai, I’m ready to leave. But suddenly I have a question that I’m curious about, Uesugi, what’s your dream?"

"Dream?" Uesugi Sakura hesitated for a moment, "Dreams are the motivation to move forward, right? My dream is simply to have a small coffee shop, where I can make sweets and have coffee with Hanabi, living the most peaceful life."

"It doesn’t sound like something a top student from Tokyo University, a double champion in Kyudo and Sword Dao, would say."

Uesugi Sakura shook his head, "I’m a very simple person. I have no big ambitions, no pursuits. I never expected anyone to love me; I had planned to live my life alone."

"That sounds lonely, like when I gave up on everything else in life, desperately wanting to get into Tokyo University."

"Yes, it’s lonely..."

For some reason, a vision of Hanamaru standing in the sun and smiling at him suddenly arose in Uesugi Sakura’s mind. He unconsciously looked up and saw the girl standing by the window, watering the plants inside the shop.

She was wearing a maid outfit, and her silhouette was clearly outlined by the sunlight from outside the window.

Todaka Keichiro gazed out of the window, tilting his head, and said:

"In the beginning, I always wanted to get into Tokyo University to make my life seem more meaningful, so that when people saw me, they couldn’t help but say ’impressive’ from the bottom of their hearts. Getting into Tokyo University, the ’impressive’ part is there, but it was just a casual compliment from others. They have their own lives, unrelated to mine, and I can’t gain anything from them."

"Do you remember the girlfriend I was seeing a while ago?"

"Yes." Uesugi Sakura remembered she was a quiet-looking girl.

"The reason she left me was simple, she just lost her feelings... what do you mean by lost feelings? We couldn’t have suddenly lost contact. I went to see her; she was walking down the street chatting with her friends. Out of curiosity, I secretly followed and overheard bits of their conversation... They talked about many things for ten-odd minutes before finally getting to me. At that time, I hoped they might mention some difficulty before we broke up."

"In the end, I was still disappointed. I don’t want to remember her exact words now... It was basically that she wasn’t dating me but dating my identity as a Tokyo University student. She was just curious to see what distinguished me, rumored to be extraordinary, from ordinary people... Once she realized I was just another normal person, she naturally left after the novelty wore off..."

"Strange, isn’t it, that someone could fall in love with someone’s identity!? That was my first thought. But after thinking about it, I realized that if people can rent themselves out and fall in love with money, why can’t they fall in love with another person’s identity? Isn’t it all a form of self-benefitting process?"

"Thinking this way, what she did really isn’t a big deal. It’s quite ordinary..."

"This strange feeling has been with me all along, I... never mind... I won’t say anymore..."

Todaka Keichiro shook his head and stood up from his seat.

"Thanks, Uesugi, for listening to my grievances."

"It’s nothing."

"See you tomorrow, I’m heading back."

"Alright."

Ding-ling~

With the crisp sound of the bell, Todaka Keichiro’s silhouette disappeared around the corner behind the glass door.

The Tokyo University classmate left, and Uesugi Sakura was still savoring the grievances he had poured out.