"Why, I'm so happy to see my old friend that I can't speak?"

The man took a few steps closer, and it became more real in Qing Shui Toru's vision. His silver-gray suit shone brightly in the sun, and the posture of no one in his eyes, coupled with the deliberately smooth tone, made Qing Shui Toru can't help but think of the budgie that reminds him of the master's power.

Dispelled the sudden smile and turned his head to look at Masaaki Kishida.

He didn't know when he let go of his fist, squinted his eyes and touched his chin and stared at the man for a few seconds before revealing a surprised expression of surprise and said, "Who do you think it is, isn't this the famous Watanabe Section Chief?" ”

An ordinary sentence made the man stop, his face turned white and turned red into the color of a parrot feather, and the whole person was like a bright balloon that was suddenly punctured by a needle, and he scolded: "Kishida, you're just a garbage who gets out!" Even after more than ten years, I can..."

"Oh? What can Mr. Watanabe do? Or go find..."

Kishida didn't say what he was looking for, but the mocking look on his face became a little thicker.

"Shut up, don't think..."

As if he had been poked in the spot, the man became more and more excited, and rushed up with a few quick steps.

Kishida stood in place and snorted again.

As soon as Toru Shimizu wanted to step forward, Irie had already stopped the man, but there was another name in his mouth.

"Yamanaka Section Chief, Kishida is the person we invited from the Dictionary Bureau!"

In the mountains? Isn't it Watanabe? This thought flashed through Qing Shui Toru's mind.

"Irie you're not a good thing either, get out of here! Do you feel too comfortable waiting for retirement at the dictionary bureau? Yes? ”

The man's tone became more and more rampant, and he waved his arm violently and knocked off Irie's glasses, and he was about to break free from his pull. Toru Shimizu tilted his head, ready to make a move.

"Chief Yamanaka, aren't you afraid that today's incident will reach the ears of our Director Noma and that person!"

I don't know which name played a role, but the man's movements froze, and finally he hatefully shook off the hand holding Irie's collar.

"Humph! That old man in Noma, it won't be long before he can cover you! ”

He took a few steps backwards, flapping the silver-gray suit that had been distorted by the action, wiping his oily hair and returning to the unseen posture he had seen at the beginning. glanced at Kishida again, then pouted and turned to leave.

Live like a fox and a fake tiger parrot. Thinking so, Toru Shimizu handed the glasses he picked up from the ground to Irie.

"Thank you".

He put his glasses back on the bridge of his nose, and they didn't look damaged.

"So, Kodansha, it's not something that a guy like me who came from a recycling station can set foot in, right?"

Kishida crossed his arms, looked at the building not far away, and suddenly laughed at himself.

Irie stood aside and didn't say anything more to advise.

"Okay, Qing Shui, you go with Irie, I'll go back first, and call directly if you have something."

Toru Shimizu nodded and watched as he walked to the side of the road and hailed a taxi. suddenly wanted to ask something, but saw him hand over a "has nothing to do with you" look when he got into the car.

After walking around the Kodansha building for a long time, I finally found a sign in the corner that read "Japanese Dictionary Lesson".

When I pushed open the door, there was a small room, with four or five tables in the middle, shelves piled high with various books around it, and a few swivel chairs arranged at random, which seemed to be rarely set foot by others.

"Let's just sit down first."

Toru Shimizu glanced at Irie, who was sitting behind the table in the middle, found a chair against the wall, and continued to look at it.

When I saw the "Guangci Yuan" on the bookshelf, there was another voice in my ears.

"How? Is it different from what you imagined? ”

"Well, it looks a little..."

Qing Shui Toru hesitated, considering whether or not to say that word.

"It's too small, isn't it? There's no way around it, after all, there are only three of you in the entire Japanese dictionary class. By the way, the others are out today, and you can see them next time you come. ”

"Can three people make up a dictionary?"

"Of course not," Irie's laughter sounded a little bitter, "It's been more than a decade since Kodansha compiled the last Japanese dictionary. ”

Toru Shimizu took the yellowed book he handed him. I saw that the words "Japanese Dictionary" were written on the cover, and when I opened the title page, it was published in 1995.

"We're mostly tinkering with the omissions, adding new words, and digitizing the dictionary by the way. That's it. ”

Toru Shimizu signaled for understanding, and listened to Irie continue: "I heard the president say in the morning, you came to the internship for the new book, right?" In that case, let's observe it for a while. If you want to experience it, just let me know. Still have questions? ”

"Things at work are probably clear," Shimizu Toru paused for a few seconds, but still asked the question that he had been wondering about, "Regarding the incident just now, did Kishida-san work at Kodansha before?" ”

"He didn't tell you?" Irie's expression was a little strange.

Toru Shimizu nodded.

"No wonder. After all, this kind of thing is usually not actively mentioned," Irie hugged his arms, leaned on the swivel chair as if he was considering something, and leaned forward after a moment, "But if he doesn't say it, it's not appropriate for me to tell you, right?" ”

Faced with the expected rejection, Toru Shimizu only raised his eyebrows, turned his face sideways and glanced at the closed door.

"To this extent, there should be a lot of people outside who have heard of it. It's just—" he dragged his voice, "I don't know whose version I'll hear by then." ”

Looking at it from his point of view, Irie's expression froze in an instant, and some loose skin on his cheeks twitched slightly, as if he was caught in a tangle after surprise.

Without further urging, Qing Shui Toru lowered his head and continued to flip through the dictionary in his hand. Time has imprinted a faint yellow color on the still flat paper, and occasionally you can see the handwriting left by the pencil after correction, which should be part of the results of Irie's work over the years.

"Kishida, and Watanabe, I joined Kodansha in the same year."

The waiting time was not long, and Qing Shui Toru only turned a dozen pages before entering the river and spoke. He lifted his gaze from the dictionary and asked.

"Watanabe or Yamanaka?"

"He was still surnamed Watanabe at the time."

Toru Shimizu nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"After the rookie period, we were assigned to the Literature and Art Bureau as editors together. In those years, it was not bad, the income was very lucrative for a rookie who stepped into the workplace, and there was still a chance to deal with all kinds of people. Speaking of which, I also met Ryotaro Sima at the time. ”

"Is it true?"

Qing Shui Toru was inevitably a little surprised. After all, Ryotaro Sima is to Japanese literature, especially historical novels, what Keigo Higashino is to mystery novels, and Luo Guanzhong is to the history of the Three Kingdoms, and even surpasses.

"What's the point of lying to you?" Irie smiled faintly and continued, "But this kind of day didn't last long. After the collapse of the bubble economy, the publishing industry finally could not survive, and even the pulpit had to reduce the number of published works and the number of prints. However, sales and profits continued to decline. ”

Irie shifted his position in his seat, his eyes staring blankly at the air.

"The Bureau of Arts and Culture is no exception. Speaking of which, in that worried atmosphere, who can read a novel? But even so, there is no such thing as sitting still. Watanabe, who is the Yamanaka section chief today, somewhere to find a third-rate writer, swears that his book will be a big hit. ”

"And then?"

"It's also a rush to the doctor, after all, sales have fallen to the point where everyone doesn't know what readers like to read. Coupled with his repeated assurances, the then director of the Bureau of Literature and Art decided to take a gamble. ”

Speaking of which, Toru Shimizu could already guess the result.

"In order to praise that writer, the Literature and Art Bureau spent a lot of effort to promote him, and also asked famous writers to write introductions to him, and the printing volume of the new book was directly set at 500,000 copies."

Qing Shui Toru listened quietly.

"However," Irie spread out his right hand, "and in the end, only 50,000 copies were sold." The writer didn't know where he had gone after he had made a lot of royalties. ”

"So?"

"So someone within the Bureau of Literature and Art needs to take on this responsibility," Irie sighed, "I thought it was Watanabe's problem, but in the end, it fell to me and Kishida." It was at that time that Watanabe changed his surname to Yamanaka. By the way, the director of the Bureau of Literature and Art at that time was surnamed Yamanaka. ”

"It's... Got into it? ”

"That's right. We later learned that the director's daughter had been pursuing him. Speaking of which, that guy looks good, right? ”

Thinking of the man's bright appearance like a tropical parrot, Qing Shui Toru twitched the corners of his mouth and nodded slightly.

"Plus the director also needs to throw off his own responsibilities, so...."Irie sighed lightly, "but because we are regular employees, it is impossible to be fired." As a result of the punishment, I was transferred here, and Kishida was dispatched to the sales department in Hokkaido. And then... I accepted, and he resigned and left after making a big fuss. That's pretty much it. ”

Toru Shimizu guessed the details he hadn't mentioned, and after a moment he asked, "So what's the situation now?" ”

"Now?" Irie smiled bitterly, "I've been in the Dictionary Bureau for so many years, and we broke off contact not long after Kishida's resignation. Those two people had a smooth journey, the director at that time had become a director, and even Watanabe's kind of goods would succeed him as the next director of the Bureau of Arts and Culture. ”

Seeing that he looked thoughtful, Irie couldn't help but speak: "Qing Shui-kun, I'm telling you this, I just don't want you to get involved in this matter." ”

Toru Shimizu was a little surprised by Irie's attitude, and said, "It's impossible, what can I do as a rookie writer?" ”

"Whatever you think, listen to me first." Irie didn't believe it so simply, "I've read your first book, and it's pretty good in terms of quality alone." But this line of work has never been won by the quality of the book itself. Without fame, without publicity, no one will come to buy it at all! ”

Sensing that his emotions were a little excited, Qing Shui Toru took out a bottle of mineral water from the box at his feet and handed it over.

He unscrewed and drank half of the bottle, and continued to speak: "The standard line for new writers is to participate in awards, rely on awards to enhance fame, and rely on fame to bring sales, so that they can go step by step." If you offend them, with the influence of Kodansha, not to mention the Naoki Prize, the Akutagawa Prize, and the Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Award, you won't be able to rate even some small awards in the corners! ”

"Not really, right?"

"Isn't it? If you look at my current situation, you should understand that this is nothing to them, right? What's more, you're just a newcomer, grabbing a lot of newcomers every year! ”

Toru Shimizu finally collected his expression and fell silent.

Irie is still persuading.

"Kishida doesn't tell you, and he doesn't want to be found out that you are involved with him. Even if it's for him, don't mention him or the early study at Kodansha. ”

Looking at the earnest dark color on Irie Ping's face, Qing Shui shook his head, but he didn't give any verbal promises.