CHAPTER 697: CHAPTER 426 WARMTH IN THE NIGHT_2

"Sakura... stop tickling... Hanabi... I can’t hold the knife steady..."

"Don’t cut your hand," Uesugi Sakura gently advised her, squatting down.

Hanamaru Hanabi’s knife skills were excellent, usually slicing a few bell peppers in under half a minute.

But today, she was dawdling for ages and still couldn’t get one done.

"Is your cooking level going down...?"

"No, it’s not..."

"Then what’s the reason?"

Hanamaru Hanabi was very upset because he was asking knowingly, but suddenly her hand went soft, and her cheeks adorably flushed.

After a faint gasp, Uesugi Sakura stood up and moved behind her.

"Hanabi-chan... where have you been these few days away?" The yukata robe swayed gently.

"You bad guy, I don’t want to tell you at all, but... I stayed at a nearby hotel for a few days."

"I thought you’d moved to another district." Uesugi Sakura laughed as he looked at her profile.

"Hanabi, Hanabi, Hanabi, I don’t want... to be too far... from Sakura..." Hanamaru Hanabi’s voice was mixed with weak breaths, and she worked hard to slice the remaining half of the bell pepper into strips, the knife making a crisp sound on the cutting board.

"Honestly, when you proposed one year, I was really surprised. A year is really too long!"

"That’s why Hanabi changed it to ten days." There was a hint of spoiled coquettishness in Hanamaru Hanabi’s weak voice.

"Awesome, Hanabi-chan."

"Sakura... you’re amazing too, always thinking about Hanabi..."

Uesugi Sakura paused, the pot on the other side, boiling white tofu soup, suddenly bubbled over, with hot white bubbles gurgling up from the middle.

He listened to the sound of boiling water, closed his eyes for a long time, then opened them again, helping Hanamaru Hanabi smooth the back of her skirt and reached over to turn off the gas.

"Is Sakura good to Hanabi-chan?"

"Mm... very good..." Hanamaru Hanabi was breathless from cutting vegetables, a bit unsteady.

"Do you like Sakura?"

"I love him the most..." Hanamaru Hanabi didn’t refuse when he leaned over for a kiss.

Uesugi Sakura lingered on her little lips for a while before separating, his handsome face reflected in her affectionate pupils.

"Where are we going on a date tomorrow?"

"I don’t know..."

Uesugi Sakura felt her little head was a bit adrift. "Hanabi-chan, where do you want to go?"

"As long as... I’m with Sakura."

The girl’s figure was small and delicate, standing beautifully at the edge of the kitchen.

Hanamaru Hanabi was a bit shy to look back at him untying the top of his yukata because seeing those abs would make her blush, but the more she tried not to think about it, the more curious she became. When the girl couldn’t resist taking a peek, he seemed even more handsome, and she had a sweet feeling of wanting to be pampered by him.

"Sakura... actually, we can date right now... be together..."

"What? It’s so late now, where can we go?"

At first, Uesugi Sakura didn’t understand what she meant, but he quickly caught on.

"What about cooking?"

"It’s okay... Hanabi will do her best."

Hanamaru Hanabi shyly turned around, facing the cutting board with bell pepper and the living room, her little feet lightly on tiptoe... soon, the blue-black butterfly decors danced gracefully on her slender ankle.

After dinner, it was already past midnight.

Everything else was fine, except that the white tofu soup became unpalatable because it was reheated too many times.

"Why don’t we... go to sleep?"

"No way..." the girl said shyly, placing his hand on her soft belly.

...

The next day, Uesugi Sakura woke up feeling sore all over, thinking that Hanamaru Hanabi missed him even more.

He opened his eyes, and the girl was peacefully sleeping in his arms.

The feeling of sleeping together was really different, like when it rained last night, she snuggled tightly into his arms, and Uesugi Sakura could feel her small, soft body pressed against him, her skin imparted warmth to him, and he genuinely felt her delicate waist and arms.

If it were a few nights ago, he’d still be staring blankly at the ceiling, only picking up his phone to see if anyone had contacted him out of sheer boredom.

The sunshine after the rain spilled into the room, lighting up the girl’s face, and Hanamaru Hanabi frowned slightly, waking up soon.

Uesugi Sakura leaned over to give her a light kiss, and they giggled together in bed with their foreheads touching.

"Are you excited about our date?"

"Yes, excited!"

"Since you’re excited, can you give me a morning reward?"

"Sakura... are you thinking about this in the morning already? Bad guy..."

"Can I?"

"Hanabi can agree... but Sakura must take Hanabi out for fun..."

"Okay." Uesugi Sakura readily agreed.

"Mm."

Seeing Hanamaru Hanabi nod, Uesugi Sakura found a pillow to prop up his back, then waited for her to shuffle into the right position under the blanket.

"Do you want the heater on? I’m afraid the blanket might slip off your back later," Uesugi Sakura asked, looking at the girl in front of him.

"Mm..."

Hanamaru Hanabi sat down with her hands on his chest, her expressive purple eyes meeting his, her cheeks flooded with a delicate, soft blush, "Turn it on..."

"It’s on."

"Hanabi..." Uesugi Sakura clasped her offering hands tightly, intertwining their fingers together.

"Sakura... remember to cherish Hanabi more..."

"Mm... I definitely will, definitely will, don’t worry."

Once the heater was on, everything in the room became heated under the morning light.

...

The girl really cared about this date.

Standing in front of the wardrobe, comparing dresses for ages, she finally chose the one she was most satisfied with, then sat at the dressing table for light makeup and wore the royal blue necklace Uesugi Sakura gave her.

Uesugi Sakura had deliberately skipped his morning class to accompany her.

As they went out, she carried a small blue bag in her arms, her steps practically flying.

"Hum~ Hum hum~ Hum hum...."

"What song are you singing?" Uesugi Sakura saw happiness in her, jubilantly joyful.

"A song about how much I like Sakura, hehe," she turned around, the sunshine filtering through the trees, her smile bright below.

"It’s just a date, is there a need to be so happy? We should be an old married couple by now."

"Sakura promised to take Hanabi on a date." Hanamaru Hanabi thought he was about to back out, and quickly came over, holding his hands and shaking them while pouting.

"I’m teasing you, your excitement was just too cute to resist."

"Sakura always plays like that..." Hanamaru Hanabi mumbled, "Just bullying girls."

She wasn’t wrong, but Uesugi Sakura didn’t want to admit it.

"It’s not that I like it, it’s because Hanabi-chan likes being teased, that’s why I do it."

"Hate it, which girl likes being bullied?"

"How is that possible? Last night—"

Uesugi Sakura was stopped by her hand covering his mouth, and she said angrily, "Don’t talk nonsense."

"But what I’m saying is true." Uesugi Sakura looked at her and deliberately coughed twice, narrating in a monotone, "Last night, Hanabi-chan, in front of Sakura, calling Sakura, ah, Sakura, Sakura do it again—"

"Bad Sakura! Bad Sakura!! Bad Sakura!!!"

Hanamaru Hanabi’s face flushed red like a steam engine at his words.

"Alright, alright, I won’t say it, I won’t say it."

Hanamaru Hanabi glared at him, then buried her face: "Sakura, really... it’s about going on a date... yet saying things like that."

"I just thought you seemed so full of happiness at that time."

"Still talking!"

"I won’t say it! I won’t say it!" Uesugi Sakura raised both hands in front of her.

"That’s more like it..." Hanamaru Hanabi showed a little victorious expression.

The two walked side by side under the shade of the trees in the park, the air fresh, sunlight bright, flowers swaying, filled with birdsong and floral fragrance.

Hanamaru Hanabi occasionally peeked at him, then said, "Hanabi thinks... in the future, I can’t promise Sakura so easily..."

"How can that be?" Uesugi Sakura almost panicked.

"Because... a girl shouldn’t promise a boy so easily..."

"Hanabi-chan, no, wife! Where did you learn this nonsense, you must never use it."

"Hanabi thinks it’s very right."

"Right? It’s not right at all." Uesugi Sakura wanted to argue against this viewpoint.

Hanamaru Hanabi stuck out her right index finger, poking Uesugi Sakura’s lower lip: "In the future, when Sakura gets tired, he won’t cherish Hanabi at all, before... before... Sakura used to ask for a long time to even get a kiss, now it’s random."

"Falling in love then and now, is it the same?"