Chapter 545: Chapter 362: We Are Each Other’s Gifts_2
Uesugi Sakura’s emotions at this moment were indescribable, perhaps due to being deeply moved, so much so that even icebergs could melt.
Hanabi... it’s truly wonderful...
Thank you for being here, thank you to my past self for reaching out to that little girl.
Uesugi Sakura turned around and took out his gift from his backpack.
"It’s Sharky!" Hanamaru Hanabi immediately recognized it, "But it’s so ugly..."
Uesugi Sakura was momentarily taken aback and asked:
"Don’t... like it..? I made it by hand... and put a lot of thought into it."
Due to the loud fireworks, Aei had to shout loudly beside them:
"Aei made one together with sister and brother as well!"
"It’s great!"
Hanamaru Hanabi praised Aei with a smile, then held the Sharky pouch to her chest, gently smiled, and said to Uesugi Sakura in front of her, "It’s adorably ugly, Hanabi likes it."
"Really don’t dislike it?"
"Don’t dislike it, I still have the chocolates you gave me before, kept safely."
"That... let’s not bring it up."
Uesugi Sakura continued:
"There’s also a necklace inside. I know you like blue... so I specially bought a crystal pendant, picked it together with Aei and the others, don’t worry, it’s not too expensive. I just wanted to give this dreamlike crystal to the dreamlike you."
Hanamaru Hanabi suddenly laughed, "Sakura-kun, the way you talk is so strange."
"It’s not strange. Sometimes I feel like I’m dreaming, and you’re the leading lady in my dream. Take a look at the necklace first...."
Hanamaru Hanabi opened the Sharky pouch and took out the simple necklace from inside.
—— The chain was made of silver, with only a deep blue crystal at the front, smooth and radiant, splendidly cool.
Hanamaru Hanabi admired it for a long time, then finally handed it over to Uesugi Sakura:
"Sakura-kun, help me put it on."
"Okay."
Hanamaru Hanabi sat obediently as Uesugi Sakura held the necklace with both hands, gently fastening it around her collarbone.
As he approached her, her fragrance, her breath, Uesugi Sakura could distinctly feel it all.
—— It wasn’t dreamlike, but real.
"All done."
Hanamaru Hanabi lowered her head, holding the cobalt blue gem in her small hands:
"I will keep both of these gifts safe too..."
"In that little box?" Uesugi Sakura asked.
"Yes."
"Isn’t your little box filled with a bunch of random things by now?"
"It’s not random at all, those are all gifts from Sakura-kun. How can you say that about your own gifts!"
"That box..." Uesugi Sakura remembered she had organized everything he gave her into a little treasure box.
Little pieces of jewelry, hand-woven bands, Divine Blessings from the shrine, even elementary school crafts, she kept them all in there.
"What about the box?"
"Nothing... I was just thinking... if we grow old, and Hanabi leaves this world before me, as I organize your belongings and come across that box full of gifts, will I remember your expressions and smiles when receiving those gifts and be sad enough to cry?"
"Sakura-kun, you’re hopeless! Thinking about such random things all day!"
"I’m a humanities student, sometimes I need to be a bit sentimental. Partings are common and often depicted in literature."
"Sakura-kun, you mustn’t think like that in the future."
"It’s difficult."
"No! Every time you think like that, I’ll bite your hand."
"A little tiger?"
"Yes! A little tiger! Very fierce!"
"Caught you, let’s see how fierce you are."
Uesugi Sakura laughed, pulling her into a hug, causing Hanamaru Hanabi to laugh while struggling in his arms.
"Ticklish, haha, ticklish~"
"Sakura-kun, that’s enough..." Hanamaru Hanabi pushed him away, "Now it’s my turn to give a gift!"
"Alright, what have you prepared?" Uesugi Sakura had long noticed the small box she put in her shoulder bag, but had no idea what was inside.
"Ta-da~"
Hanamaru Hanabi took out a very large book.
To be precise, it was a photo album.
"Here, Sakura-kun, take a look."
"Your photos?"
"Um... not exactly..." Hanamaru Hanabi said ambiguously, "You’ll know once you open it, Sakura-kun."
Uesugi Sakura took the album wrapped in hard paper from her hands and opened the first page.
Inside were her watercolor paintings, exquisitely colorful, boldly contrasted, and clearly composed.
No need to mention the craftsmanship; it was the content that mattered.
Uesugi Sakura noticed it.
The painting depicted Uesugi Sakura and Hanamaru Hanabi standing on a sky bridge, the city’s lights reflecting on their backs, and the izakaya below the bridge emitting a warm glow.
The two were gazing at each other, and he seemed to say something to her, making Hanamaru Hanabi laugh.
"What is this?"
Uesugi Sakura remembered this place; it was a path they frequently took when going to high school.
That evening street was a mandatory path for commuters, filled with many izakayas where middle-aged men would come to drink at night.
Hanamaru Hanabi smiled and said:
"It’s where I became your girlfriend, Sakura-kun!"
Uesugi Sakura continued looking through it.
The next page showed Hanamaru Hanabi alone, blushing and burying her face in the covers, her little feet swinging up and down.
This must have been how she looked when hiding under the covers at night after being confessed to.
The page after that showed the weekend when Uesugi Sakura went to wake her up.
She lazily sat on the bed, looking sleepy.
He started poking her cheek out of boredom.
Then came their first hand-hold as a couple, first time wearing an engagement ring, first kiss, first time sleeping together...
The following pages captured the sports festival, Ehime Prefecture...
Her trip to the UK, her forlorn look on the plane...
Uesugi Sakura finding her, coincidentally meeting her while she was waiting at the airport...
In London, celebrating her birthday with Mr. Blaise, Miss Anna, and Hanamaru Yuuki at a party...
Page after page, there were so many, so many.
Each scene was condensed into meticulously crafted watercolor paintings.
Uesugi Sakura flipped through them, the smiles and actions in the paintings, transporting him back in time, back to the past.
The final watercolor froze on the recent days when he rode a bicycle with her, evading the police while shouting his love for Hanabi excitedly.
At the end of the album was a note written in Hanabi’s own hand with the cutest smiley face she had drawn.
[For the most beloved Sakura-kun from the most loved Hanabi, recorded on August 15, Reiwa Year 3]
"So wonderful..."
"What are you saying, Sakura-kun?"
"I said it’s wonderful, truly amazing, absolutely amazing."
Hanamaru Hanabi couldn’t help but laugh, "Sakura-kun is really happy!"
"Super happy. I’ve never received such a great gift in my life." Uesugi Sakura carefully closed the album, "Thinking back to the past is like dreaming. Thank you... thank you so much!"
"As long as Sakura-kun likes it."
"Hey! Did Hanabi’s sister’s gift appear? Aei wants to see it!"
Chiaei: "I want to see it too..."
"Go ahead and look." Uesugi Sakura said to them with a smile, "Don’t damage it."
Handing the memories over to the two little girls to admire, Uesugi Sakura looked back at the captivating young girl in front of him.
The second round of fireworks at the festival began.
They burst into the sky, lighting up the night.
Among the dazzling fireworks, her somewhat naive face shone so brightly.
"Hanabi, Hanabi," Uesugi Sakura softly called her name.
"I’m here, Sakura-kun," Hanamaru Hanabi smiled as always.
"You’re a gift from heaven to me, aren’t you?"
"Not exactly, Sakura-kun. We should say we’re gifts to each other," Hanamaru Hanabi adorably tilted her head, her smile as beautiful as the fireworks in the sky, "isn’t that right?"
Hanabi bloomed.
Watching from the shore, the people marveled just at the right moment.
"Gifts for each other, gifts for each other," Uesugi Sakura murmured under the radiant fireworks, "Yes, we are gifts for each other. We were childhood friends, we both like each other, we are the best gifts for each other."
The wind blew across the river, ruffling Hanamaru Hanabi’s beautiful hair, making her smile, and she shouted:
"Sakura-kun."