The lights of Minami Aoyama are no different from the rest of Tokyo, but they hide the city's nighttime socialization and appetite.

The chef here never disappoints the great writer Murakami, and the ordinary-looking and clean-looking teenager in front of him does not disappoint his curiosity.

He didn't expect that he would chat with a high school student for one and a half hours.

The boy naturally started with jazz and American second-hand record stores, and talked to him about his favorite director Kaurismäki and "Once Upon a Time in the Clouds", about the Irish scenery of "The Door of the Bunga, Now for the King", about writers Kafka, Faulkner, Dostoevsky, and Murakami Ryu, about Fitzgerald's "The Last Tycoon", about home designer Hans Wagner's The Chair, and costume designer Rei Kawakubo's COMME des GARONS (like a boy), They talked about drinking, listening to songs, cooking, jogging and walking.

It just so happens that he has a lot of information about it.

Familiar information flooded from the bottom of his heart, and ran out of his stomach, which was even more soothing than when he ran.

How long has it been since we've talked this long?

And all this came from the request of three friends within 2 days.

Obviously, these guys know that they don't like to socialize at dinner and dinner.

Friends from the editorial club who have known each other for many years, friends who are good friends with the hand painter of the new book, friends who have opened a nice restaurant, and they are accompanied by gifts - jazz records that have long been out of print, Beatles T-shirts, Kafka's manuscripts.

These are naturally his hobbies.

But it was not given by a friend, but by the kindness of the dinner inviter.

There are always times when people can't help themselves, and when they see their three friends involuntarily, Murakami also thinks that he is being hated and is targeted by a self-righteous big man.

He has long been accustomed to loneliness, and he does not have many friends, which means that when he is faced with the request of a friend, he cannot help but face it.

Let's meet.

See what kind of monster it is, interested in an old man in his 70s.

Compared with being inexplicably asked by a friend to eat with someone I don't know,

He was even more angry about eating at 8 o'clock.

After all, as a biological clock robot who claims to go to bed at 9 o'clock, he hasn't eaten dinner so late for a long time, and he has a sense of disappointment that his rhythm has been disrupted.

But the instructions in the three invitations quickly relieved him.

- Won't ask about your income tax, ex-girlfriend/ex-wife, Nobel and other things.

- The weather is hot, and the dinner is mainly vegetables and unicorn beer; If formal attire is not necessary, T-shirts, shorts, and flip-flops are recommended.

- I'm sorry to let you go to bed late, but here are things I want to ask you for anyway and don't require too much effort on your part.

Although Murakami himself never felt that it was rude to wear flip-flops to a banquet in Minami Aoyama, he had never done it once.

What kind of person is this person?

Before going out, carrying a bag containing the three gifts he had received, Murakami glanced at the flip-flops and became curious about the inviter.

"So, you spent so much effort, and the result is that you want me and this beautiful female classmate of yours to hold a literary salon?"

Murakami and Asama confirmed this information, a little surprised, he always thought that people who are willing to spend a lot of energy and money on you must want to get more out of you.

Very few people will take the initiative to do a loss-making business.

But if the teenager in front of him, or the girl, is his fan, this can explain a thing or two.

No, this teenager must be his own fan!

Asama nodded,

"Well, to be exact, an invitation to help you attend a business event that is not very commercial, but always a business that you hate.

After all, it is an event that is a matter of life and death in a bookstore, although I am not interested in the life and death of this bookstore.

I think she needs a great home to help her, but I don't want it to be anything other than you.

Because, I think Mr. Murakami has that strength. ”

Listening to Asama's intention to save the bookstore or something like that, and boasting about himself in an awkward way, Murakami put down his coffee cup and asked,

"What power?"

"Mr. Murakami once said, 'I didn't like teachers and schools, and I didn't like being forced to study and follow the rules. I don't like to go to work in a company, I don't like an organization like the literary world, I don't like to be taught a lesson from self-righteousness, looking back on my life, I feel that I have always been resisting the coercive orders from above. 'That's the kind of thing you say, right?'

It just so happens that she is the kind of person who hates the three, six, nine, etc., the conventional sacrifice of freedom, the disregard for dignity and fairness in the details of life, the standards of painting and music, and the nougat cut too neatly.

Free literary and artistic creation is a confrontational force that dilutes the absolute right of interpretation, and I hope that Mr. Murakami will give her a word or two of encouragement in this regard. ”

Asama quoted the words, and Murakami felt as if he had really said it, but he hadn't said it.

After all, he's the kind of person who looks at his previous paragraphs and will also produce [Is this really what I wrote?] This strangeness to people.

However, the girl Asama and the girl he introduced is really interesting - it makes people feel like a beautiful girl with milk and sugar in refreshing coffee.

"You take a record and ask me to write two sentences on the sleeve, and I'll just write it. I don't really like to be at these events, and if you say that at the beginning, I'm probably going to just leave. ”

"Mr. Murakami, it's not for you to join any group, genre, or literary circle, nor for you to make a statement that you don't like it. The fact that you met her in person was important to me, no, necessary. ”

Mr. Murakami looked at the bookstore opposite the restaurant, where the lights were not turned off in the night, and looked up at Asama.

"If you don't agree, don't mention it first. I'm curious, are you using me to please that girl? ”

"Do you think there is a person in this world who can use an old man in his 70s to please a girl?"

"Does that girl adore me?"

"No, it's you I chose, her favorite writer is Camus."

Then it is not a wise decision for you to force your hobby on others."

"You're not my hobby, you're just the one I think is the best."

"It's such a sad truth, and I don't want to be a part of it."

The topic stopped, and through the identity of the rock singer of the Immortal River, the two men talked about music again, jazz, rock music, classical music, although Asama preferred the small symphony composed by Janáček at the beginning of "1Q84", but it was obvious that Murakami preferred to talk about Billie Hallotte's jazz "I Can't Get Started".

Chatting and chatting, Murakami turned the topic to women.

"The girl called Chiyo Konoe is what you hate, and the girl called Riyo Immortal River is what you like, and you obviously invited me to participate in the event, but in fact it is the girl you hate who gets more benefits, why do you still do it? Could it be that you actually care more about her? ”

"To correct me, Mr. Murakami, the immortal river is something I admire, not like. I will only focus on whether the people who need help can get it. If you think too much, you will lose the urge to help people. ”

Murakami looked at Asama with a [I like her, but I won't admit it] expression, and he remembered the male protagonists in his pen who didn't want to express their sincerity. He laughed,

"Libido, like solar electricity, is also a kind of energy, and it's a pity to throw it away in vain."

"I'm not the male protagonist in Mr. Murakami's book who can't control the lower half of his body, and they can't control the consequences of the lower body, so they can only be more sure that they are lonely.

In addition, by the way, Mr. Murakami, like those famous writers, always writes about sex is not sexy at all, and the food you write about is just a necessity with a light taste, but in fact, there are only a few people in this world who adapt to lightness.

The description of the girl's carcass is as cold as a surgeon looking at a tumor and a forensic autopsy. I always write about passively bearing the girl's sexual desire, and it's clear that Mr. Murakami, you don't seem to really enjoy [sex] in real life. ”

Hearing Asama's sharp comments, Murakami, who had long been accustomed to being criticized, didn't pay much attention to it, and the first sentence that came out of his heart was-

Asama, you still say you're not a fan of my books!?

"There's nothing wrong with passively accepting, just like being their listener, being willing to carry their desire to talk and sexuality, whether it is true love or not, is a manifestation of love. In my opinion, the rejection of lust is the rejection of humanity. ”

"Mr. Murakami, you still have a very strong Huaichun mentality for 40 years, and it's hard to imagine that you are a married person who has not had an affair."

“.”

The dinner between the two ended just in time when the second jazz album was played in the restaurant.

Asama didn't go back to [whether Murakami participated in the [Daigo Books] Minami Aoyama store].

Do your best, let it be the fate of heaven.

"By the way, why do you want to give three gifts in one go."

"The first one is a greeting gift, but the last two are compensation for letting Mr. Murakami sleep late and participating in activities he doesn't like."

"If it's compensation, let's make amends."

Asama showed a surprised look, although he had snapped his fingers more than 100 times beforehand, but an hour ago, he had judged that this time would be in vain, and he was thinking about the second round of plans in his heart - anyway, Murakami has a new book "The City and Its Uncertain Wall" published this year, and through the publishing house, he can still be invited to [Daigo Books].

"What does Mr. Murakami mean?"

"I'll see you the day after tomorrow, I'll accept the gift!"

Murakami and Asama say goodbye at the door of the restaurant.

While Asama lamented his luck, Murakami also lamented his ghostly obsession.

actually agreed to this, and if you are 40 years old, 50 years old, 60 years old, or even yesterday's self, you will refuse the invitation.

Asama still water, compared to the characteristics of being too precocious, gentle and sharp, his lonely temperament makes him care more.

The connections in the academic, publishing, and music circles are definitely not his, what kind of father has cultivated such a special person?

Skills can be gained by practicing deliberately, and friends can be gained by deliberately making friends.

But the process is not necessarily happy.

Tonight is mainly to have fun with others.,But I've learned something.,Asama's mood is actually pretty good.。

When a person spends a long time preparing, researching all of the other person's preferences, studying every interview with the person for more than 20 years, just to talk to the person, they are bound to be able to talk.

This time, he used the relationship between Konoe Takuma, the relationship with the Goxingin family, and the relationship with the Sixteen Nights family, and found three friends who had crossed paths with Murakami as lobbyists and asked him to dinner.

A home whose life is too monotonous (none) tone (chat) rules (thorough) and law (top) will definitely be interested in this kind of thing.

The gifts, meals, songs to listen to, and topics to talk about are all customized for him. Seeing these preparations, any writer who has a basic sensitivity to life (except for online writers) will not speak ill of Asama.

In short, one more thing has been accomplished, which is gratifying.

Sexual desire is also a kind of energy, so don't you have to waste it?

Manfred Freese, a professor at Harvard Business School, in "Sex, Money, Happiness and Death", gives numerous examples of the correlation between sexuality and creativity.

Byron could have sex with anything that was moving; When Hugo was older, he loved to visit brothels; Klimt and his studio models have 15 illegitimate children; Wagner, who always fell in love with other people's wives; George Simenon, who slept with at least 1,200 women; And Balzac, Rodin, Picasso, Liszt

Robin Williams once said, "God gave people a brain and a lower body, but did not give enough blood for people to use them at the same time." 】

Asama prefers his ordinary brain, but has little interest in the second use of his extraordinary things.

Today's class culture show is also being discussed in the school forum.

On the roof of the building where the third-year show was held, [Elon Musk Research] did a big thing in a muffled voice - the self-made rocket was launched to an altitude of 30 km, and all their technologies about chemical fuels, engines, aerodynamic design, numerical control, data transmission, and mechanical structures were made public.

Because there was no report, they were taken away by a group of police officers in a harmonious and friendly interaction.

The battle between the stage play of Class H and Class B of the third year has come to an end, and the male version of the magical girl has won the love of more people, but the pet of the week selected by Class H of Class H from the loser class is really a pet - the pet turtle of Class B of Class 3.

This disappointed many people who wanted to watch a good show.

Regarding the extremely abstract stage play of Class A in one year, the highest number of replies to a single post on the school forum is more than 1,000, and the average number of replies to each related post is 100, which confirms the status of the only true god on the first day of this cultural festival.

"The Eye of the Storm of Postmodern Fairy Tales Sweeping the Cultural Festival: On the Conflict and Tension of the Stage Play of Class A in One Year"

Class A of the year carried out a drastic postmodernist adaptation of "Little Red Riding Hood", a regular guest of the cultural festival stage play, and integrated relatively meticulous psychomechanics and social theories, not only reinterpreting the main characters in the original work, but also creating new characters with distinctive personalities, as well as the conflict between the demon world and the present world, injecting new vitality into this classic work with modern attributes.

As a result, the characters of the Brothers Grimm travel through time and space to become one of us, to become part of contemporary society.

"I Decided to Popularize 996 and Defeat the Demon King Through Vicious Economic Competition" describes the twists and turns of the plot from the perspective that we can understand, the characters' positions are reversed to the limit, and a large number of words that are persuaded, controlled, and baptized are intertwined with the historical grand narrative of social centralized production, and deduce a magnificent picture.

Whether it is the arrogant demon king and the strong Little Red Riding Hood, or the heroic white dog and the collectivist gray wolf, the infectious performances of everyone in Class A for a year, as well as the core of love and ideals, all make the dramatic tension break through the shackles and erupt.

A large number of metaphors in the whole play enrich the connotation of the work, the Demon City built with blood-stained bricks and stones, and the Little Red Riding Hood Tower built with steel bars made of 996 social animals, are all pavilions of desire that are worshiped by people in the world, and also take the audience into a very shocking soul storm."

This comment that Asama thinks is outrageous and straightforward, signed by the Minister of Classical Literature, and there are few replies at the bottom.

"Movie and stage drama double kill cultural festival! The stars of Class A shine in one year! Genius screenwriter Mai Majima VS Huang Yamon, genius oversees the contest between Riyo Immortal Kawa and Miss Konoe"

"The once-in-a-millennium Ying and Yan class! The goddess you love is here!"

"Magic? Ninjutsu? Multi-picture analysis of the last moments of the great teacher Asama still water!"

These exclamation point blessed posts are basically 300+ replies.

Superficial world!

When he got home, Poki was lying on the couch watching TV.

"Ah Shui is back~!!"

Seeing Asama's figure, Pochi's barefoot girl rushed to the entrance, and his head was held against Asama's hand.

"What are you doing so close?"

Pochi wrinkled his nose,

"Playing missing after the show, isn't it dating a woman?"

"Did you have a good dinner?"

Hearing Asama's concern, a wave of warmth flowed through Pochi's heart.

Sure enough, Ah Shui likes dogs!

"Eat with Xiao Lishi!"

"Yes, let's start the next review questions."

Ah Shui is a big idiot!

Turn off the TV, Asama reads, and Pochi reviews his homework, and so on until midnight.

After checking his progress, Asama urged Poki to go to bed.

The blonde girl collapsed on the bed, thinking that this review would continue for a long time, and she felt that she might have a nightmare tonight.

After Asama finished taking a bath in the bathroom, he picked up his mobile phone and replied to Futami, Immortal River, Majima, and a few people's messages one by one.

Everyone decided to go for the afternight festival together after all the events were over tomorrow.

On Saturday afternoon, I accompanied Fujikawa to the art museum, and on Sunday morning, I accompanied Futami to Zushi Beach.

Although the island had cashed out the reward in advance, he didn't want to admit that it was a reward, and it was not justified, but what should he reward her?

Debt relief is a good idea.

A true Cheng sent a paragraph about the after-viewing feelings of "Falling in Love with Him Who Doesn't Exist", and sent a lot of life photos, and also sent a small poem-

"Cherry blossoms in spring, dandelions in summer,

Autumn leaves, winter snow,

Most of the feelings, like this,

Fluttering, spinning, swaying with the wind,

Finally fell into the dust.

But think of your mood, like the stars of the sky,

Fly along a fixed trajectory,

No wind can stop my heart.

I believe that moving forward along the track,

We'll shine."

Asama couldn't reply to this poem, so he told her about Ying and Musk fans doing rockets and satellites.

One did not press step by step, but asked for a photo of Asama's life.

Asama slapped the book on the desk, barely coping.

The piano girl made a [not enough] emoji.

Asama exited the chat interface and replied to several more sons' messages.

The message from the Romance Counseling Department rang out again.

It's so late, don't you sleep?

Immortal River initiated [Binding BAND Performance, everyone is required to wear a headscarf with an interesting word written on it].

Then, they gave their own answers.

Immortal River Riyo: [Stacked Mountains and Rivers].

Mai Majima: [Cloth with water].

Futami Moon Sea: [Water Moon Kannon].

"Jingshui-kun, your turban slogan, we have thought of it for you~"

“.”

Asama puts down the phone.

Why is there two days for the festival?

Thanks for your support!

(End of chapter)