Chapter 652: Chapter 408: The Gift Floating on the Sea Surface_2
She gazed at him affectionately and said:
"Sakura-kun, you’re really kind to Hanabi."
At this moment, her violet eyes looked somewhat different from their usual appearance.
Uesugi Sakura understood that this was another Hanabi.
Hanamaru Hanabi’s eyes were violet, bright and sparkling.
The other Hanabi’s eyes seemed dimmer, like when Hanabi was sad.
—— Uesugi Sakura still couldn’t quite grasp his feelings towards this Hanabi.
Saying he didn’t have any affection for her would definitely be a lie.
After all, she was also Hanamaru Hanabi before, also this kind-hearted girl, Hanabi-chan.
But for Uesugi Sakura to say something like "you are both my wings," he definitely couldn’t say it.
She had forcefully kissed him.
Strictly speaking, this was a betrayal of Hanabi-chan.
Uesugi Sakura felt awkward, but for some unknown reason... Hanamaru Hanabi wasn’t jealous about it, didn’t she mind?
Didn’t she mind the matters of her other personality?
Or, just as the delusional Hanabi said, were they actually the same person?
Or perhaps... she truly didn’t know?
...
"Excuse me! Are you Uesugi-san?"
Hearing the inquiry, Uesugi Sakura snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the young woman in front of him, who appeared somewhat apologetic.
Hanamaru Hanabi’s eyes had returned to their normal state while looking at Uesugi Sakura.
"That’s me." Uesugi Sakura replied.
"My name is Kobashi Rikai... the one who called this morning..."
Without needing a reminder, Uesugi Sakura already roughly knew that this was the owner who lost the wallet.
He handed the prepared lost item back to Kobashi Rikai, and soon received her repeated thanks.
Uesugi Sakura noticed that she was a young woman who wasn’t very good at socializing, and didn’t intend to say much to avoid any psychological burden in her end.
"That’s a relief... Thank you, Uesugi-san, thank you," Kobashi Rikai held the wallet close to her chest, "the money inside is very important to me. If it weren’t for Uesugi-san, I wouldn’t know how to get through this month..."
"It’s nothing."
"How... should I thank Uesugi-san?"
Uesugi Sakura immediately refused: "No need, it was no burden at all."
"I know it seems abrupt, but I think gratitude is necessary..."
"No need, really."
Uesugi Sakura glanced at Hanamaru Hanabi sitting on a small stool nearby and found her smiling at him gently.
That smile... even he couldn’t tell which Hanabi was smiling at him.
It shouldn’t be, right... he just talked a little more to another girl.
Kobashi Rikai was also conflicted inside at this moment. On one hand she was nervous in front of Uesugi Sakura, on the other hand, she didn’t know how to express her gratitude properly.
Offer coffee? Or give a gift?
If she offered coffee, it would very likely be rejected, she had already foreseen that.
Then her only option left was to give a gift, and if possible... maybe she could get his contact information.
—— Thankfully, she was prepared early.
Recalling these thoughts, Kobashi Rikai forcibly placed a delicate box into Uesugi Sakura’s hand, then quickly bowed and said thank you.
Uesugi Sakura hadn’t expected this girl to be so enthusiastic, all he did was return a lost wallet, and she insisted on giving him a gift.
But he definitely couldn’t accept this gift, because——
Just as Uesugi Sakura was about to decline, Kobashi Rikai turned to leave, even looking back from a distance to bow and shout another thank you.
This...
Holding the gift box, Uesugi Sakura suddenly felt as if it were burning hot like embers in his hand.
Inexplicably receiving a gift from another girl... what if the dark Hanabi found out...
"Sakura-kun."
A voice with a smile suddenly came from behind him.
Turning around, Uesugi Sakura saw the adorably gentle face of [Hanamaru Hanabi] smiling at him, and she asked with her usual sweet and soft voice:
"Sakura-kun, are you planning to accept her gift?"
"No, of course not," Uesugi Sakura immediately replied, "I just helped her find a wallet, why would I take her gift?"
"Sakura-kun, you can’t accept it~ Hanabi would get jealous."
"Weren’t you asleep? I heard from Hanabi that you’ve been sleeping these past few days."
"Sakura-kun, what do you mean by asking this? Are you planning to contact her while Hanabi is asleep? That’s not allowed."
"This... of course, I know."
"Then, hand over the gift you just received, Sakura-kun."
"What is Hanabi planning to do...?"
"Of course, throw it into the sea! Sakura-kun doesn’t think Hanabi would happily keep it, right."
"... I think it would be better to return it."
"How could that be? If Sakura-kun returned it, wouldn’t that mean meeting that girl again."
"Give it to Hanabi-chan to return it? I won’t go meet her." Uesugi Sakura was a bit bewildered.
"Alright then, Sakura-kun, hand it over."
Uesugi Sakura could only hand over the gift he had just received, not expecting Hanamaru Hanabi to turn around and throw it directly into the sea.
"Hanabi, you..." Uesugi Sakura stood at the shore, watching the small gift box drift alone on the sea’s surface, feeling a sense of helplessness.
"Sakura-kun, you won’t be mad at Hanabi for this, right?"
"... No, it’s already thrown, what can I do... " Uesugi Sakura confirmed, the dark Hanabi really couldn’t handle even a little bit of jealousy.
He could only hope that the gift wouldn’t be seen by the girl, causing unnecessary sadness.
"That’s good, Sakura-kun... Hanabi will always love you... she won’t let other girls come near you..."
With these words, [Hanamaru Hanabi] yawned, lowered her face, and closed her eyelids.
After sitting quietly for a while... she reverted to her usual state.
"Sakura-kun, why are you standing here...?"
"It’s nothing."
Sitting back on the small stool, Uesugi Sakura began to contemplate.
Recently, the dark Hanabi seemed a bit unstable... I wonder if something happened.
Moreover, it seemed like Hanabi lost the memories for the period the dark Hanabi used the body.
In the past, she always knew.
What really happened during the time when both of them liked to sleep?
To be honest... Uesugi Sakura felt there was no conflict between him and the delusional Hanabi, it was just that she loved him excessively, to the point of being sickly.
She insisted on eating the food she made, insisted on sleeping together, and wouldn’t let him talk too much with other girls.
However, there was one thing, she always wanted to have a baby with him, which Uesugi Sakura had never agreed to.
Oh, how should he handle his feelings towards the dark Hanabi?
Uesugi Sakura gazed at the sea, momentarily lost in thought.
"Sakura-kun...?"
"It’s nothing, hurry to eat the fish, I’ll catch another one for you later."
"Okay."
...
The small gift box floated and rolled amidst the white waves, following the tide, rolling towards the shore.
It halted on the rocky beach.
As time passed, shadows of people loomed over the rocky shore.
It wasn’t picked up until dusk.
Then the person who picked up the small gift box seemed to stand there in a daze.
...
At night.
After a day fishing, Uesugi Sakura prepared to take a hot bath in the bathroom.
After undressing, he submerged his body into the steamy hot water and breathed a long sigh of relief.
He intended to nap a little and relax his mind.
The partition glass of the bathroom was transparent but had a frosted effect, showing only the vague silhouette of a person inside, unclear in detail.
As Uesugi Sakura emptied his mind, enjoying the leisurely bath time.
Hanamaru Hanabi suddenly opened the bathroom door and walked in.
Uesugi Sakura lazily opened his eyes to glance, almost straightening his eyes in surprise.
"Hanabi, you want to—"
Before he could finish saying what she was going to do, she stepped directly into the bathtub.
The hot water lapped over her small feet, pink ankles, white thighs, and soft navel.
With a splash, the water suddenly overflowed the bathtub’s edge, spilling onto the bathroom floor, rising with a whirling mist.
She had her hair wrapped in a towel, a few strands of hair exposed by her ears, and her delicate face was flushed red from the steam, enticingly beautiful.
She braced her hands on the tub and gradually leaned her upper body towards him, while Uesugi Sakura’s eyes couldn’t help but fixate on her.
"Hanabi... you... what do you want to do?"