CHAPTER 403: CHAPTER 293: WALKING IN THE RAIN (2)_2

Tokyo Kasai Seaside Park, with a Ferris wheel, aquarium, and a seaside bird-watching area.

The aquarium tickets for four people are a total of 1000 yen, quite a bargain for the price.

The entrance to the aquarium is located at a higher point in the park, and walking up the small bridge path lined with flowerpots in the middle, you can see the glass dome building in front made with glass curtain wall design.

The path is for people to pass through, and the sky blue glass on the distant buildings reflects the color of rain on rainy days.

Crossing the small bridge path, stepping over the stairs, the two large pools on either side of the glass dome building align seamlessly with Tokyo Bay in the background.

The city skyscrapers on the opposite shore become miniatures, like they are standing on the sea surface, forming a shimmering reflection in the water with the blue sky.

The sea breeze on a rainy day blows in, feeling even fresher and livelier.

Seeing this scenery, Aei urged her sister Chiaei, who was holding the umbrella, to walk to the poolside, wanting to stand there and overlook the vast sea.

"Want to take a photo?" Uesugi Sakura asked Hanamaru Hanabi beside her.

Hanamaru Hanabi’s hair was fluttering in the breeze coming from the sea. "Sure."

Taking photos is something that almost every girl loves.

Hanamaru Hanabi was different; she didn’t particularly like being in front of the camera, but today she was exceptionally willing.

She probably thought that her outfit looked nice today and wanted to commemorate it.

She stood in the middle, with the little girls Aei and Chiaei in school uniforms on either side of her, holding an umbrella, backed by Tokyo Bay, and the stretch of skyscraper miniatures.

Uesugi Sakura captured this scene using his phone, and after this shot, he took some individual ones.

When it was his turn to take a photo with Hanabi, Uesugi Sakura asked Chiaei to help take the picture.

"Can you hold me?"

"No way..." Hanamaru Hanabi would become especially shy outside, only daring to hold hands, public displays of affection were absolutely out of the question.

"If you hold me, I’ll give little Hanabi a reward when we go home tonight." Uesugi Sakura whispered temptingly in her ear.

"What reward...?" Hanamaru Hanabi asked softly, her weak voice tinged with curiosity.

"Music, coffee... or something very comfortable."

"..."

"Just holding hands is fine... no need to hug..." Hanamaru Hanabi blushed, carefully pulling his hand over.

"Is this a refusal?" Uesugi Sakura directly grabbed her small hand, which was soft and warm, making one want to warm it further in a pocket.

"You’re always thinking of these weird things, Kaikun... Aei-chan heard everything...."

Uesugi Sakura smiled, her occasional minor complaints wouldn’t make him feel uneasy, rather, it would make him feel even sweeter and more joyful.

Interactions between couples roughly go like this, always speaking comfortably with each other without needing to be cautious.

Even friendly teasing becomes a talking point for displaying affection.

"Hanabi sister! Look here."

Chiaei raised the phone with both hands, tried hard to adjust the camera to a good angle, then snapped several photos in quick succession.

"Let me see, let me see."

After taking the photos, Aei, who was helping with the umbrella, quickly leaned her head close to see how the photos turned out, even tilting her hat off her fluffy hair in eagerness.

"Don’t rush." Chiaei had to hand over the phone to her, then took the umbrella herself.

Aei took Uesugi Sakura’s phone from her sister, flipping it left and right, earnestly admiring the photos.

"This photo is nice~"

"This one, brother, and Aei look silly~"

"Hehe, this one, sister also looks silly."

"Where!?" Chiaei looked very unconvinced.

The two little girls happily discussed while holding the phone, Hanamaru Hanabi was also drawn over to watch, and the three of them gathered to pick the best photo.

Uesugi Sakura waited nearby with the umbrella, watching people come and go into the aquarium in waves.

Really, just for one photo, is it necessary to discuss for so long?

They weren’t the only ones taking pictures; Uesugi Sakura noticed the boyfriend’s sympathetic expression from the couple ahead.

Clearly, they came to visit the aquarium but started off by taking pictures at the entrance.

However, the scenery was indeed beautiful, with nothing but the sea and sky-colored pools around, and only that glass dome structure standing in the center, simple and expansive, with an occasional seabird call coming from the horizon.

Even though the slight rain noise made the calls rather faint.

"Aren’t you done yet?" Uesugi Sakura walked over to ask closely, feeling chilled by the wind, thinking it would have been better to take just one picture each, saving them the effort of selecting.

"It’s done, it’s done," Aei told him, "Brother, look at this photo, how is it?"

How is it?

Hanabi looked indescribably cute at that moment, her slender legs in sheer white stockings would attract countless stares.

Uesugi Sakura couldn’t help but look several more times, then compared her white stockings in reality to those in the picture.

Have to say, white stockings are truly a wonderful thing.

Silky touch, pure and elegant, they neatly wrap around a girl’s slender legs, sculpting exquisite and graceful lines.

"Brother! Brother!" Aei constantly reminded him.

"Ahem," Uesugi Sakura came back to his senses, thinking how he, usually so serious, often thought about such things, "Beautiful, beautiful."

But after thinking seriously, he felt relieved.

Beautiful is beautiful, and there is nothing wrong with appreciating beauty.

Whether in ancient times or modern times, people always liked young girls.

Li Qingzhao’s early lines "The dew thickens, the flowers thin, the light sweat soaks through the fine clothes. Seeing guests as they come, the socks slip the golden hairpin" have conjured up the image of a naive, pure, and talented young girl in many people’s minds.

Beauty is universal, he didn’t find anything undignified in liking white stockings.

"Brother, your expression looks strange." Aei looked at him, then at the photo on the phone screen.

Hanamaru Hanabi also glanced at him lightly, signaling with her eyes not to behave like that.

Standing under the umbrella, Uesugi Sakura earnestly said to Aei, "This is called love, have you forgotten that Hanabi sister and I are engaged?"

"Liar, brother, you’re clearly looking at Hanabi sister’s legs."

Aei was otherwise perfect, just too smart sometimes, noticing even the smallest details.

"Love doesn’t differentiate by part; I also like your Hanabi sister’s hair and face, just focusing more on her legs today."

Hearing him speak strange things to the child, Hanamaru Hanabi blushed so much that she didn’t know what to say.

Even Chiaei listened intently to Uesugi Sakura’s nonsense.

Apparently, he has liked to fool children from a very young age.

Entering the glass building, they took an elevator down, the lights started to dim, and in front of the entrance was a vast underwater world of colorful fish.

In this part of the aquarium, many school teachers bring elementary students on field trips, wearing yellow caps in groups, with small water bottles and student IDs indicating their school hung around their necks.

The teacher acts as a guide, responsible for answering the many "whys" from the children.

Uesugi Sakura watched the teacher’s forced smile and genuinely felt worried about her work.

It was already exhausting enough dealing with Aei’s many questions.

Chiaei was better, very well-behaved and sensible.

To make the aqua blue scenery more dreamlike, the aquarium often doesn’t use very bright lights, allowing the lighting to be dim so visitors can feel the experience of descending into the depths.

Even the bottom reflects the transparent ripples of the sea water.

"Shark! Shark!"

Hearing Aei’s voice, Uesugi Sakura glanced specifically at Hanamaru Hanabi, noticing she was indeed fixated on the sharp-nosed mackerel shark swimming over there.

With a mature body length of over 3 meters, so large that one cannot help but pay attention to it, and reputedly the fastest swimming shark in the world.

"Hanabi, Hanabi."

Hanamaru Hanabi turned back to look at him.

"Such a large shark, it surely isn’t doing well in an aquarium, is it?"

"Yes, gray mako sharks, like great white sharks, are pelagic sharks, they love to swim fast and purposelessly forward. An aquarium isn’t as large as the ocean, they might end up constantly crashing into the glass and die."

Uesugi Sakura continued watching the sharp-nosed mackerel shark as it swam directly. There weren’t many fish around it, probably fearing its predator status.

Although it’s known for being quite aggressive, this one seemed quite calm.