Chapter 9 third quarter

As soon as the door was opened, there was a "clack clack" bell. You can have a panoramic view of the not-so-large storefront. The interior is as old as the exterior, with wooden tables and chairs side by side, and the yellow light from the light bulb behind the stained glass illuminates the store.Since there were only windows on one wall, the store was so dark that the lights had to be turned on even though it was daytime.If there is jazz playing, the overall atmosphere is completely old coffee shop, but there is no background music in the shop.Instead, the large ceiling-mounted fan made an unsettling hum and its blades turned erratically, presumably malfunctioning.

There is only one person in the store. The back of a woman can be seen on the seat in the back of the store, and it seems to be her.I made my way to the deep seat. "Is it... Miss Zi?" As soon as I opened my mouth, the woman turned around and stood up. I heard that the other party is twenty years old, but he looks more stable than his actual age. This may be caused by the appropriate attire of a light jacket and a skirt.The brown hair is neatly cut to shoulder length, although it is not long, but it has a lot of volume, so that the ears are completely covered by the hair, and the appearance is quite cute.

She looked straight into my face with very strong eyes. "Are you a physical teacher?" "Ah, yes. When we met for the first time, I am Wushi." "I'm Murasaki Idai." She introduced herself after a subtle gap. What happened to that gap? "Please come and sit here." Miss Zi said again after a strange gap. Although I didn't want to sit down at first, I sat on the seat according to what the other person said.The other party followed suit, and we looked at each other across the table. Then the two fell silent together. Miss Zi didn't say anything.Although in this way, I only need to speak first, but it is really difficult.For example, if two people are very nervous, it is good to start the blind date with a fixed pattern of "Hahaha, I always feel nervous", but the woman opposite is obviously not nervous at all.To put it bluntly, she looked very dignified, with her back straight, her hands naturally on her thighs, and her eyes looking straight at me.It's not because she's nervous that she doesn't speak, it feels more like she keeps silent with a definite will.This atmosphere engulfed me, giving me a strange pressure that I couldn't speak casually, or take any action.

At this time, someone extended a helping hand, and it should be the old man of the store manager who came over with water.Freed from the shackles, I hurriedly picked up the menu and ordered coffee, and there was already black tea in front of Miss Zi. The old store manager slowly wrote down what I ordered and walked back to the bar. I regrouped and faced Miss Zi again. Looking at her face again, as said before, this girl is quite cute.No, "pretty cute" is not enough to describe it. When you observe her face to face like this, you will find that she is very beautiful.Skin like silk, hair that reflects like a mirror—she has to be the cutest woman I've ever met in my life.

However, I kind of want to avoid describing her directly as "cute" because her expression has a very strong will.Those pair of neat eyebrows and eyes have an awe-inspiring look that cools down the surrounding atmosphere.Is she angry?Although I didn't do anything to make her angry... "Today, today..." Miss Zi suddenly said. "Thank you very much for taking the time to see me, teacher." "Ah, no, I just want to thank you for sending me the fan letter." "I'm really sorry for sending a letter to the teacher so abruptly." Miss Zi replied after an unbelievable gap again.

"Well, can I ask a question?" "yes." "Miss Zi...will slow down when answering, is that intentional?" I couldn't resist asking this question. Then, she took a gap three times longer than before before answering me: "Mr. Wushi, my thinking speed seems to be slower than ordinary people; and when talking to people, I must first decide what to say in my heart before opening my mouth. It is also common for people to say that they should act faster when answering. Although I really want to get rid of this bad habit, but... it may be difficult for Teacher Wushi to have a conversation, but can you forgive me? I will try my best to speak as soon as possible..."

"Ah, no, I don't mind... just want to ask why, just be yourself." Miss Zi said thank you to me after a gap. It seems that whether she speaks on her own initiative or when she wants to answer others, she has to think twice about her choice of words before she speaks.How should I put it, where did she come from, the eldest lady?This is a rhythm where people don't know whether it's their turn or the other person's turn to speak, which makes the conversation stop suddenly.Although I wanted to continue the conversation, I felt hesitant as if she was about to say something.It's not a blind date, it's mutual courtship.

If a character like her appeared in my own novel, and I wanted to reproduce this way of speaking, the best way would be to leave a line or so between the lines.However, if you keep doing this kind of thing when describing the dialogue, whether you are dealing with the editor or the readers, you are just flooding the pages, so add a note stating "Although this person always talks like this, but continues The blank line will be omitted later", and then it will be more appropriate to return to the normal format of writing.Having said that, such a troublesome character shouldn't be allowed to appear at all.

"I've read all of the teacher's works." Miss Zi suddenly changed the subject. "You wrote it in the letter, thank you, I mean it." "The teacher's work is really good, full of wonder, wonder, supernatural and fantastic!" Miss Zi spoke passionate words with a very serious expression.Having said that, fantasy is a matter of course in fantasy fiction, but I know best that I haven't written anything that can be described as amazing or miraculous.The reason is that my works only have a print run of about 10,000 copies, and a truly miraculous work should have a miraculous print run.

"But what is it about my book that you like so much?" "Role." Miss Zi asserted clearly. "The characters appearing in Mr. Wu Shi's works are very real, and each character has a sense of reality that seems to exist there. I can imagine their lives so far in just a few dozen pages of articles, and feel The depth of the world of the work. The most attractive thing in the novels of Mr. Monoshi is the characters." Miss Zi said as if carefully considering every word. Honestly I am very happy.Because characterization is what I care most about when I write, and getting credit for it gives me a feeling that my hard work has paid off.When I was writing, I often felt uneasy that "the reader would not notice such a subtle point even if I edited it", but once I was praised in person like this, I felt that my persistence was indeed right.I said "That's great" in my heart, and calmly took a sip of coffee while saying "That's right".

However, after all, my character is quite awkward, so I can't help but wonder if there is another meaning in what she said. When she says that the characters are attractive, it doesn't necessarily mean that the plot, structure, and story arrangement are ordinary, or that they are bad at all. Of course, this is also my conscious weakness, and Ms. Fu Bai often said "too ordinary". "Because the opportunity is rare, I would like to ask you about various aspects..." I asked tremblingly, "Although you are full of praise for the characters, what do you think of other aspects? For example, the story." "very common." Miss Zi answered directly. "Mr. Wu Shi's novels are very ordinary. Plain stories, super casual foreshadowing, lack of ups and downs in the plot, from the plain structure, it even makes people feel a sense of abstinence, and sometimes people see fast sleep The place where it was written, and all four books have such a part. Whenever I see these places, I feel strongly that this book is indeed a novel written by Teacher Wushi.” I put the coffee cup down softly. The weather outside the window is so nice. too much... What kind of exaggerated things did this girl say... If it's too much to say, what she said is all the truth.I can't justify it, and I can't escape it.I was stabbed several times by this correct comment, even to the point of suing, but unfortunately the prisoner in this case was me who wrote the novel that made readers want to sleep, and the woman opposite me was the one who read the verdict Judge.My heart is crying.Although reluctantly, his eyes were still wet. "That...Miss Zi..." I tried my best to speak. "yes." "If you want to talk about the reason why you asked me out today, or what you asked me to do, it is indeed... that..." "Yes, Teacher Wushi, can you please teach me how to write a novel?" "..." I don't know how to react. To the novelist whom I have just pointed out all the shortcomings, I hope that he can guide me in the method of writing novels. What is going on?At least she's definitely not being sarcastic.If you want to be sarcastic, you don't need to spend days exchanging letters with each other until you find someone out.The most important thing is her pair of beautiful eyes, still looking straight at me. "Well, I hope you can answer me, why are you looking for me instead of other writers? Writers with better writing skills than me, how many writers are there?" I directly ask questions. After a long gap of about three lines, she leaned out. "Master Wushi." "yes." "All fiction has strengths and weaknesses." Miss Zi expressed it with a touch of emotion. "All the works of all writers are the same, whether it is Akutagawa Ryunosuke, Kawabata Yasunari, Saito Midoru, Tanizaki Junichiro, Natsume Soseki, Suhara Sakutaro, Masaoka Shiki, Yamamoto Goro, Koizumi Yakumo, or Washington. Owen, as long as it is a novel written by a novelist, it must have advantages and disadvantages. There is no novel without shortcomings in this world. In other words, the so-called "disadvantages" are only one side of the thing after all. If you improve this Partly, it may be progress from a certain point of view; but from another point of view, it may also be regressed. Sometimes shortcomings become strengths, and weaknesses become advantages, right? A certain part is not good And on the whole, whether to correct it is the two colleagues, or there are readers who like the ordinary, too plain, too casual and lack of ups and downs in the works of Mr. Wu Shi." It's really hard to tell whether it's comforting me or something else.She went on to say: "However, there is something more important than shortcomings, and that is strengths. Just like the meaning of the saying 'one white covers three ugliness', if there is a strong advantage, people will not pay attention to small shortcomings. As As I said just now, the greatest charm of Teacher Wushi’s works are the characters. In terms of character creation, the teacher completely surpasses every active writer at present; Although not many people have noticed the teacher's book at present, the readers of Teacher Wushi will definitely increase in the future. Just because the characters described by the teacher have unshakable existence value, they will naturally get the evaluation they deserve in the future. Teacher Wushi Will become a famous writer in the history of literature. I can say that there is absolutely no mistake." She took the time to think while speaking this long sentence.During the time she was talking, she kept looking directly into my eyes, but I looked away several times because of shyness. It seems that she really loves the characters in my novel from the bottom of her heart.For that alone, I'm really happy.It's nice though... "Can I ask the teacher to teach me how to write novels?" Miss Zi once again made a request. "If there is any problem, please let me know?" "Is there a problem..." I replied while thinking.There are indeed several problems. "First, I'm still a newcomer writer after all, and I really don't have the skills to teach people how to write novels... For example, the character creation you just praised, I mostly describe the characters not by theory but by feeling, so I have to say whether it will be smooth or not. Instruct others to write..." "As long as the teacher can guide me, it is enough, please." "One more thing..." "Please say." "I'm not sure I'll be able to spare the time..." Although I went around in circles, it means that I am very busy. In fact, the part-time job schedule in the cram school is very full recently, which makes it very difficult for me to spare time for writing.After all, I was in a state where my novels were still not selling very well, so I couldn't reduce my working hours, and I had to go to the student cafeteria to eat Japanese-style braised radish and chicken. In this case, if you want to free up the time to instruct her how to write novels, since you can't reduce the number of working hours, you can only reduce your own writing time.I really want to avoid this kind of thing. "Because I'm a part-time writer, and I also have part-time jobs." After I shared my difficulties, Miss Zi still thought briefly before answering: "So, can you entrust a teacher to guide me in the form of a part-time job?" "what?" "I will pay teachers regularly." "Remuneration...Miss Zi is still a student, right? Do you have any money you can use?" After careful questioning, she seemed to have. Her grandfather passed away a few years ago, and it seems that part of the inheritance from the sale of the country land was given to Miss Zi, who was a granddaughter.She said that because it exceeded the amount that students should use, she did not use it and kept it in the bank.It seems that she is really a good lady, she said that she will use this deposit to pay me. "However, spending such an important amount of money in such a place is really..." "There is nothing more important than letting the material teacher guide me in writing novels." Miss Zi asserted again. Then she mentioned a very moderate amount in terms of remuneration.It's neither too much to make me hesitate to accept the amount, but it's not so small that I don't want to accept the commission.If I can get this money, even if I reduce the number of working hours in the cram school to accompany her, I can still increase my own writing time-that is the amount that is so clever that I think so.At this point in time, in fact, my inner scale has been greatly tilted. "I……" She lowered her head slightly. There was a hint of haze in those awe-inspiring eyes. "I wanted to learn how to write a novel. When I first wanted to write a novel, the first thing that stood in my way was the wall of 'how ignorant I am'. This was the first time I knew I had 'want to write' ’ impulse wasn’t enough, and I simply wasn’t prepared for any of the things I needed to write a novel.” Miss Zi raised her head. "But I still want to write it, I have to. If I can't write this story and just keep it in my head, I will definitely go crazy." Miss Zi showed a painful expression, and looked at me with half-closed eyes. but me-- I know how she feels right now. That feeling was exactly the same as when I first started writing a novel in high school, and it was the same feeling when I really wanted to write, wanted to write but couldn’t write as I wanted. I superimposed her in front of me with my past self. If it's me now, it should be able to save me back then, right? How much have I improved since that day? "Master Wushi." "Ah... yes." "Can I ask the teacher to teach me how to write a novel?" She looked at me with eyes that shone like glass. "that……" The pointer of the scale no longer wavered. "Well, can I ask you something?" "What's the matter?" "Can you stop calling me 'teacher'? It's very embarrassing and it will make it difficult for me to do things..." "Will you guide me?" "If you can stop calling me 'teacher'." At that moment, Miss Zi's expression suddenly bloomed, and I saw a very beautiful smile.I even thought that expression was so beautiful that it was a bit mean.But two seconds later, she returned to the awe-inspiring expression that would make the surrounding temperature drop. "Then what should I call you?" "It's fine to use a common address. It doesn't matter if you want to call me by my first or last name." "Real." "..." It's not a common name. "Is not it good?" "Well, it would be better to add 'sir'..." "I think it would be more intimate to omit the title." "Did Miss Zi grow up overseas?" I always feel that her tone and tone of voice are a bit strange when she speaks.Her blunt and awe-inspiring words are similar to foreigners who learn Japanese from textbooks, and there are subtle errors, so I wonder if she grew up overseas. "No, I've lived in Japan since I was born." "Ah, that's right..." "However, I have also been told that my Japanese is poor..." I don't know who said it, but I agree with it.It's not that the pronunciation is weird or the grammar is wrong, but there are some places that make people feel wrong. "Then is it okay to call you 'Mr. Wushi'?" "Okay, that's it, please." "Mr. Reality." "yes." "Mr. Reality." "Yes, it is." After calling my name twice in a row, she smiled again. At that time, I suddenly felt that I had to pay more attention. Although I didn't know what to pay attention to, I just felt that my nerves were tense.For some reason, I was reminded of climbing Mt. Takao last year.It is a narrow hiking trail without handrails on the edge of the valley. If you don't pay attention to your feet, you will fall to the bottom of the valley.I don't know why I'm thinking about it now, but I'm afraid of heights and just thinking about it is enough to make me shudder. All in all, in this way, my contract with her is established. Miss Zi Yidai officially became my student. "Speaking of which, Miss Zi." "What's up?" "I have also asked several times in letters, what is the idea that Miss Zi thought of..." "The 'world's funniest novel' idea, right?" "Yes, it is." Miss Zi said such heavy words without fear: "About that idea... I asked the same thing in my letter, can't you say it anyway at this stage?" I also kept asking repeatedly in my letters what the idea of ​​"the funniest novel in the world" was, but she refused to answer. Miss Zi paused as usual before speaking. "It's not impossible to say." "so it is?" "It's not that I can't say it, it's just that I can't express it smoothly. I have been thinking about where to start when conveying the content of 'the most interesting novel in the world' in words, and I am desperately thinking about it ...But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get an answer. I didn't know where to start. When Mr. Wushi asked me in the letter, I wanted to answer, and I was going to answer. Then, I kept on Thinking about how to answer. However, I spent two days thinking about it and still couldn’t find the answer, so I feel that if this continues, no matter how long it takes, I will not be able to reply, so I have no choice but to give up answering.” "Ha ha……" In other words, although she had an incredible idea, she couldn't organize it smoothly and speak it out.I can understand that feeling, there's definitely a period when you're thinking about the plot.Although it is the novelist's job to convert this situation into concrete words, it seems that she, who is not a novelist, can't do it yet. "In fact, I once insisted on writing that idea into a note and showing it to people around me." "Oh? How is the other party's reaction?" "Although I did get a response...but it was completely different from what I wanted to write. Of course. The note I forced myself to write was completely different from what I imagined..." "Can I see that note?" Miss Zi shook her head vigorously.She frowned and told me with her eyes that she couldn't do it. "Well, after all, I can't force you. However, if there is something that can be used as a starting point, it doesn't matter what it is. It doesn't need to be too specific. It doesn't matter if it's just an impression or idea... For example, if the genre is fantasy or Science fiction, really only has one sentence." "If you want to describe it in one sentence..." But I found out before she answered—that's right, I can't ask her to describe it in one sentence. Miss Zi maintained a dignified expression, and what she said was not specific at all, and it was too fleeting as an impression or thought, but it was more absolute and unshakable than anything else, exactly as I expected a sentence. "That's 'the funniest novel in the world.'"

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