CHAPTER 449: CHAPTER 317: HANAMARU FAMILY, HANAMARU YASUSHIN_2

"Did Second Brother tell you about it?"

"He did." Uesugi Sakura looked straight ahead. The streets of Tokyo City were quite narrow, lined with shops and food stalls, and the roadside was filled with a tangle of wires.

The vehicle stopped at the intersection to wait for the red light.

"It’s not fair, no matter how the profit and loss are theirs to bear, why drag Hanabi into it to pay off a debt? No wonder I never got along with them," Hanamaru Yugetsu said, holding the steering wheel with one hand while the other habitually reached for the cigarettes in his pocket, but halfway through, he withdrew his hand.

"Uncle doesn’t get along with the family?"

The green light came on, and the vehicle continued to move forward, not very fast.

Hanamaru Yugetsu looked out the window, turning the steering wheel to the right with one hand: "Yeah, I don’t get along with them."

Uesugi Sakura didn’t say anything more. He knew there was a story behind it, but it involved his uncle’s personal matters, and he had no interest in prying into others’ secrets.

Hanamaru Yugetsu often drank in Kabuki-cho, though Uesugi Sakura wasn’t sure if his nightlife was as carefree as it seemed, but he seemed to maintain a clean lifestyle, only liking to drown his sorrows in bars.

"Aren’t you going to ask more?"

"If Uncle is willing to talk, I’m certainly willing to listen."

"There’s nothing much...,"

He spoke the sentence lightly, but after a long silence, he continued:

"The Hanamaru family is a rather conservative household, with many rules and a lot to learn. As a somewhat reputable family, this is understandable, but I just don’t like it, don’t like the family. When I was young and rebellious, it was certain. But I did something that was rebellious to the extreme... I pursued my sister, I liked her.

"After a certain day, things went too far, the matter got out, and I lost face. But I also brought shame upon the family, despite no one saying it out loud, they really didn’t like me."

He paused before continuing.

"Anyway, I don’t get along with other family members either, so it doesn’t matter if the relationships are bad. As for what happened later, I won’t go into detail, but in the end, there was no result."

Uesugi Sakura also remained silent for a second before saying to him: "So... Uncle has been single until now?"

"Yes, haha, isn’t that laughable? My third sister has long been married, to a policeman."

It’s hard to judge; such things that go against societal norms will surely be controversial. Some might say true love is all that matters, while others will say it’s an act against human ethics, something that should never happen.

But no matter what, Uncle surely faced immense pressure.

Now... it’s already in the past,

"Uncle is quite open-minded." Uesugi Sakura pondered for a long time before managing to give such an evaluation.

"I’m just the kind of person who does whatever comes to mind, wants to do whatever he wants, and since there’s desire, why not go boldly for it? Some might feel uncomfortable hearing this."

Uesugi Sakura understood that the "those people" Hanamaru Yugetsu referred to were his brothers and sisters.

"What was Grandpa’s attitude towards Uncle’s matter?"

"Father...," Hanamaru Yugetsu sighed, "I thought he would be the one most opposed, after all, my eldest brother’s kind of rigidity was taught by him. But unexpectedly, he said nothing about my matter, his attitude was very ambiguous."

"Ambiguous?"

"Yes, ambiguous, neither opposed nor supported, he said nothing."

That’s very strange. As a father, seeing one’s son pursuing one’s daughter, one would naturally be the first to oppose it.

But Hanamaru Yasushin surprisingly made no comment on the matter, whether his thinking leaned more towards Western values or his personality was very open-minded, he could actually tolerate such a thing.

Uesugi Sakura thought for a while, combined with previous impressions, finding Hanamaru Yasushin’s character even more puzzling.

"What kind of person does Uncle think Hanabi’s grandfather is?"

"You want to know about my father? What a pity, I don’t know how to speak with my father either. In the whole family, he’s more like a father to my second brother than to anyone else, you’d better ask Second Brother than me."

"I feel that Uncle doesn’t want to talk to me about Hanabi’s grandfather."

"Ha, then he’s testing you, it sounds simple but is not, just get Father to speak, although my eldest brother and others manage Hanamaru’s family business, they certainly won’t dare to contradict Father."

Does that seem like a test?

Uesugi Sakura felt more like it was making things difficult.

The vehicle gradually left the Bunkyo District and headed towards the Chiyoda District.

...

The gate of the Hanamaru family didn’t feel particularly special.

It was a typical old-style courtyard, but well-maintained, giving it an air of antiquity without feeling outdated.

In size... it’s even bigger than that of his cheap master’s house with a courtyard and dojo.

The three got out of the car, with Uesugi Sakura and Hanamaru Hanabi following Hanamaru Yugetsu as they stepped onto the doorstep.

"Sakura, it’s not your first time here, is it?" Hanamaru Yugetsu asked as he opened the door.

"No, it’s not. I’ve been here before."

Listening to him, Hanamaru Yugetsu suddenly stopped opening the door: "Ah, I remember, it was Father’s 65th birthday that year. Second Brother brought Second Sister-In-Law and Hanabi back home, but Hanabi kept calling for Brother Sakura for some reason, so Second Brother brought you along."

"Yes." Uesugi Sakura, as an outsider back then, felt quite awkward facing a large group of people in the Hanamaru family.

Although no one paid much attention to him as a little kid.

"What does Hanabi think now?" Hanamaru Yugetsu asked with a smile, looking at his niece.

"Not... not much..." Hanamaru Hanabi replied bashfully.