Standing downstairs in the Hayami study, Toru Shimizu looked at the customers in the café through the glass window, but his mind couldn't help but think of the barbecue restaurant that day.

Although he decided to refuse at first, in order to block Hasegawa's inquiry, he took the initiative to obtain a lot of information about this script solicitation, so that in the end, the idea of giving it a try really came up.

Anyway, for myself as a college student, the most important thing is the so-called free time.

Looking at the office workers passing by, Qing Shui Toru complained in his heart. The next moment, I inexplicably remembered the girl I met that day.

Is it a part-time job at a barbecue restaurant? It's just a coincidence, but it's a little strange that two people who don't know each other can meet twice in just a few days among the tens of millions of people in Tokyo.

If you write a story with this sense of wonder...

Before the train of thought could unfold, Toru Shimizu's thoughts were interrupted by a yawn behind him.

"It's close to noon, why don't you go up and wait?"

Looking back, Masaaki Kishida had already come down the stairs and was about to drape the crumpled blazer in his hand.

"There is a class in the morning", Toru Shimizu shook his head, "I will definitely be stopped by Sister Cai when I go up, and then there will be a new shooting job." ”

Seeing that Kishida slapped his clothes a few times and sorted them out, he continued to speak, "Then do you want to go now?" To go to Kodansha's route, Kishida-san should know, right? ”

"There's no need for that, I called a taxi."

"Oh?"

As if sensing his thoughts, Kishida Masaaki turned his eyes and patted him on the shoulder, "Since it's work, you should make good use of the transportation expenses." "Even if you consider the publisher's financial expenses, you can find a way to sell a few more books, and the money will come back." ”

Since he said so, Toru Shimizu also shrugged his shoulders and didn't make any more comments.

After rocking in the car for half an hour, when I arrived downstairs at Kodansha, there was already a man in a dark suit waiting there. As soon as Kishida Masaaki leaned out of the car, the man had already noticed it and hurried up to meet him.

"Kishida, I didn't expect you to come this time."

The enthusiastic attitude of the visitor made Kishida Masaaki hesitate, and only after a moment did he raise his eyebrows, with a suddenly realized expression, "Oh, it's Irie, you're still in the dictionary bureau now?" ”

"After that, I had to wait until I retired at the Dictionary Bureau."

"Well, no matter what, this time it's easy to do."

Toru Shimizu stood aside and looked at the man. He wears a pair of thin-rimmed glasses, although the wrinkles on his face are not obvious, but they cannot be ignored, his figure is slightly bent forward, and the cuffs have some signs of wear, obviously he has been engaged in copywriting for a long time. Overall, it is a standard picture of an ordinary middle-aged office worker saddled with various pressures.

I guess it's also an editor. Tentatively concluding in his heart, Toru Shimizu secretly speculated about the relationship between the two again, and didn't notice that the next moment they looked at it at the same time.

"Introduction, this is the rookie writer I'm in charge of now, Toru Shimizu." Kishida turned to the other side again, "This is... By the way, what is your current position? ”

"I'm now the head of the Japanese Dictionary Section at the Dictionary Bureau," he said, taking out his business card from his pocket and handing it over with both hands, "Mr. Shimizu, please take care of you when you meet you for the first time." ”

His gaze only flashed from the words Irijiang Ping, and Qing Shui, who was not used to this title, was stunned and hurriedly bowed in return.

"No, no, I can't be called 'sir' yet, and the next thing is that I want to ask Irie Sando to take care of it."

Kishida grinned, but he didn't forget to help him out of the siege, "You don't have to be like this, this kid only published his first book last month, and when he gets the Naoki award, it's not too late for you to call him 'sir'." ”

After some explanation, he was familiar, and Irie was finally able to calmly shout the title of "Shimizu-kun", and he also remembered today's business.

"The apprenticeship, the president and our director have probably talked about it, and there are some details to talk about in the office together."

"Just let this kid go with you. As for the place to enter Kodansha," Kishida snorted rather contemptuously, "Forget about people like me." ”

"It's been more than ten years, Kishida, you don't have to do this, right?"

Irie Heiyi persuaded a few more words, but seeing that he was still unwilling to let go, he finally changed his strategy.

"It's almost noon, so it's okay to talk to a nearby restaurant, right?"

Toru Shimizu noticed that Kishida glanced at him, and only after turning his head did he agree.

A few minutes away, at a ramen shop called "Mensho", the three of them took their seats in front of the counter. There was still a little time before the lunch break of several nearby companies, and there was no one else in the store except the master who was preparing. Kishida pulled the tie at the neckline, took out the cigarette case from his pocket, saw the mark on the wall and put it back, smacked his mouth, and said, "Since you want to talk about treatment, let's talk about it." ”

Seeing that he was still doing this, the corners of Irijiang's mouth twitched, shook his head, and spoke: "Qing Shui-kun is still a student now?" ”

Toru Shimizu nodded.

"I don't have to ask for that time, you can do it at any time, but it is still recommended to work on weekdays, after all, there is no overtime pay for internships. In terms of salary, the current hourly wage for student apprenticeships is 1,000 yen, which is no problem, right? ”

Originally, I only had the idea of collecting materials, and I didn't have much expectation for this income, but seeing that it reached the average level of a part-time job in Tokyo, Toru Shimizu was going to agree to it. However, before him, Kishida snatched the words away.

"Isn't there a higher standard?"

"That's the treatment of an intern."

"It's not up to you to decide between the apprenticeship and the internship, anyway, as long as you, the section leader, sign it, the financial gang is too lazy to distinguish between them."

Staring at Kishida's expressionless face for a few seconds, Irie looked a little surprised, and after a while, as if he had given up something, he looked back at Toru Shimizu.

"Then 1,500 yen, don't talk about the internship when you go to finance later."

There was no need to refuse the kindness of the two, Qing Shui Toru nodded directly, "It's troublesome to enter Jiang Sang." ”

Steaming ramen noodles were served, and the small store began to be filled with office workers in various white shirts. The topic of Toru Shimizu was also over, and the conversation between Irie and Kishida fell back into the previous rhythm: one asked about the situation over the years, and the other prevaricated from a different angle.

The soup in the bowl finally bottomed out, and the three of them got up to make room for the people in line. On the sidewalk outside the store, Kishida squinted at the brand-new Kodansha building not far away with a toothpick in his mouth, and sighed, "At that time, this building had just started to be built, right?" ”

"That's what the foundation looks like when it's just filled."

"It's a pity."

For their words were unclear, Qing Shui looked at the building and didn't see anything special. When he retracted his gaze, he found that their gaze had fallen in front of him.

There was a man in a silver-gray suit standing there, he stared at Kishida, slowly twitched the muscles on his face, and said, "Yo, I didn't expect that people who have been in the waste recycling station for more than ten years would also be interested in coming to our Tansha to breathe." ”

Toru Shimizu noticed Kishida's fists clenched suddenly.