CHAPTER 751: CHAPTER 451 BUYING A KITTY_2

Uesugi Sakura gently parted her slender fingers and slipped his slightly larger hand through the gaps, enveloping her hand.

"Holding hands like this, do you feel anything special?"

"We... we’re just about to leave... Sakura, what special feeling could there be?"

Uesugi Sakura gazed at the shy girl in front of him, bringing her hand to his lips and gently kissing her fair and beautiful hand.

"How about now?"

Hanamaru Hanabi blushed and quickly withdrew her hand, intertwining her fingers in front of her skirt while covering the spot he had kissed with her other hand.

"Sakura... we should hurry and leave... we’ll be late otherwise..."

Her soft, girlish charm echoed in every syllable she spoke, gently touching his heart and sending waves of warmth through his body.

Uesugi Sakura thought to himself, she is still so cute, just as she was after marriage.

"Would you like to hold hands while we go out?"

"No..." Hanamaru Hanabi shyly refused, "it’s... not necessary."

—————

Towa Rina invited Hanamaru Hanabi to visit the cat café today.

Of course, the aim was to add a touch of vitality to the newly renovated coffee shop.

Cats, these creatures.

Uesugi Sakura doesn’t particularly like or dislike them, but Hanamaru Hanabi is different; she likes all cute creatures, although her fascination with sharks is something Uesugi Sakura has yet to understand.

Is it the rows of shark teeth?

Or the massive jaws of the shark?

"Are you thinking about novel settings, Sakura?"

"No, I need a computer to record those inspirations," Uesugi Sakura said as he turned to the girl next to him on the subway escalator, "I was just wondering why you like sharks."

"Because they’re cute!"

Hanamaru Hanabi answered immediately, looking puzzled, "Sakura, after all this time, can’t you see how cute sharks are?"

Stepping out of the elevator, the sunlight just happened to spill in front of them through the gaps between tall buildings.

After the rain, the skies were clear, the clouds were light, and the sun was shining brightly, perfectly describing today’s weather.

Disregarding the bustling crowd before them, Uesugi Sakura said to Hanamaru Hanabi:

"If that’s the case, would you want to touch a great white shark’s head?"

"Yes, yes!"

To his surprise, Hanamaru Hanabi nodded eagerly with a beaming expression.

Uesugi Sakura was speechless, "What if it gobbles you up?"

"It won’t!"

"How do you know it won’t?"

"It won’t!"

"Really?"

"It won’t!"

"..."

Uesugi Sakura realized Hanamaru Hanabi’s persistence had a childlike innocence to it.

Oh well... there’s no point asking her for the real reason.

To like something is to like it, without needing a reason.

"Want to bet your husband could knock out a great white shark with one punch?"

As they strolled down the street, Hanamaru Hanabi gently laughed, then clasped her hands behind her back and said, walking in small steps beside him:

"Of course Hanabi believes."

"It’s true," Uesugi Sakura said earnestly.

"Mhm," Hanamaru Hanabi nodded, "Hanabi believes in Sakura."

"I feel like you don’t believe me at all."

Uesugi Sakura flagged down a taxi in front of a vending machine, and Hanamaru Hanabi got in too, the car drove past downtown while scenes of street views and pedestrians flickered by the window.

These days, Blackfire hadn’t shown up at all, and Uesugi Sakura worried about her exposure.

If people thought she was sick, she would feel really uncomfortable.

Blackfire hated being labeled as an illness.

"What will we do when we see Towa later?"

"Just... go with it..." Hanamaru Hanabi said.

"Aren’t you afraid of being exposed?"

"It doesn’t matter..." Hanamaru Hanabi placed her hand on Uesugi Sakura’s, her hand not sweaty but soft and delicate.

Uesugi Sakura naturally held hers back, not knowing why she suddenly grabbed his hand.

Hanamaru Hanabi didn’t say anything more, closing her eyes and soon leaning on his shoulder.

...

When they got out of the car, Uesugi Sakura saw the smile on Hanamaru Hanabi’s face.

It was sudden, yet perfectly fitting.

She stood by the roadside, turned halfway around, her little skirt swaying gently, she glanced at her white knee-high stockings: "Hmm, Hanabi still likes black ones."

"Aren’t the white ones nice?" Uesugi Sakura remarked, and suddenly Hanamaru Hanabi stumbled, as if about to fall, he hurried to catch her, only for her to deliberately fall into his arms.

Hanamaru Hanabi curled up in his chest, looking up at him with gentle eyes:

"Sakura, do you like white or black?"

"Well... I like them both," Uesugi Sakura held her, on the city streets, some people inevitably saw their affectionate gesture.

"You like both? Then... Hanabi can wear them both for you~~ Of course, if Sakura suddenly wants to feel Hanabi’s soft legs, it’s okay too," Hanamaru Hanabi said, pulling his right hand toward her skirt.

"No," Uesugi Sakura quickly pulled back, "we are on the street."

"Alright then." Hanamaru Hanabi laughed and left his embrace, hands behind her back, "Sakura, hurry up."

Arriving at a cat café in the Bunkyo District.

Towa Rina was sitting on a public bench near the entrance, dressed in casual autumn wear with a scarf today.

Previously she always appeared in a maid outfit at the café, now in proper autumn attire, she gave off a different vibe.

"Uesugi! Hanami-chan!"

"Good morning."

"Morning."

"Wow, Hanami-chan, you look so cute in that outfit! Feels like... you’re almost like your sister."

"Thank you." Hanamaru Hanabi smiled back politely at the compliment.

After their greetings, the three entered a cat café named "Bunkyo."

The adorable decorations included toys, cages, cat trees, and a few patrons visiting.

Uesugi Sakura didn’t really understand cats, only having seen some breeds online.

As he stepped in, all the cats in the store suddenly turned their heads toward the entrance.

The staff feeding the cats were drawn to them by their synchronous head movements, looking puzzled toward the three at the door.

Cats dozing in cat trees, on tables, in cages, and those having breakfast all turned to look at them, without exception.

Towa Rina was startled, "What’s going on?"

Cats are naturally lazy creatures; only when toys are brought to them do they roll over and play with all fours.

To all look at the same spot in unison suggested something unusual.

Not only the cats, but the store staff, the manager, and other customers sensed the anomaly and looked at the trio.

"Uesugi, Uesugi."

"..."

Uesugi Sakura felt as though the cats were all looking at him.

He tried stepping to the right, and the cats’ heads followed.

Are they really watching me?

Uesugi Sakura moved left, and the cats’ gaze followed him leftward.

"..."

Forward, backward, diagonally; it was the same, no exceptions!

"This..."

As Uesugi Sakura felt increasingly bewildered, all the cats trotted over to him, curling up at his feet.

The manager adjusted her glasses, having never witnessed this before, rapidly rose from her desk, approaching them: "You are...?"

Towa Rina explained, "Manager Zewan, I made an appointment yesterday to see the cats."

The manager, named Zewan, remembered indeed having such an arrangement, "Miss Towa, yes, you did make a reservation with us yesterday, no problem at all, but..."

Manager Zewan looked at the cats clustered around Uesugi Sakura, "What’s going on? Catnip?"

Uesugi Sakura shrugged helplessly, "I have no idea."

"Meow~"

"Meow~"

The occasional soft meowing could be heard, some squatting, some curling up, some yawning lazily, reminding Uesugi Sakura of a group of unfed kittens.

Hanamaru Hanabi laughed from the side, "It seems like Sakura is very popular with the cats."

The manager was dumbfounded by the scene, "But this is just... too..."

Uesugi Sakura was even more astonished because a phrase suddenly flashed in his mind, a phrase the cats seemed to be chanting:

[King]