Chapter 7 Seven, green awn

There are water lilies on the partition of the decorative cabinet on the right, and iris on the table on the left. The water lily is inserted on the sword mountain of the square flower vessel, and a flower of seven or eight centimeters is blooming, and a flower bud and a rush are inserted behind it.The flowers float as if soaked in the water of the vase, decorating the space harmoniously with the rushes that draw soft curves, and a quiet elegance floats around. On the other side, the calamus placed in a glass vase has dozens of flowers in clusters, looking bright, vigorous and full of youthful breath.

"Added another flower arrangement!" The maid Tomiko said casually, almost guessing who brought these flowers.Needless to say, the water lily belongs to Xia, and the calamus belongs to Shengzi. Three days ago, Xia Lai planted water lilies, and yesterday Sheng Zi came here and put down calamus.At that time, the space on the decorative cabinet had been taken up by water lilies, so she put the iris in the center of the table as if nothing had happened.However, now it seems that they have their own place, one left and one right, contrasting with each other. Although they are both summer flowers, the water lilies seem to suppress the elegance and luxury of the flowers, appearing humble and cautious, just like the clouds.

"I have always wanted to bring you these flowers, but I have never been able to. Today I finally bought them from the flower shop that I told you in advance." Xia said so, and then asked: "SHUI-LIAN's SHUI is not water but sleep." "Of course sleeping is right." "Water lotus is written in the flower shop." As soon as dusk comes, the water lilies will naturally close their buds, and only wake up again when the sun rises.Hence its name, so of course it should be written "Water Lily". "It is said that this kind of flower is also called Weicao. I heard that it is because it closes its buds and sleeps at Weike, that is, at two o'clock in the afternoon."

Water lilies are so slender even in writing, and compared with this, the color and shape of irises are extraordinarily bright and eye-catching just because iris is native to Africa.In addition, it seems to be also called Dutch iris and gladiolus, but its image as a flower is slightly simpler than that of water lilies. Shengzi put the flowers into a glass vase and said: "I heard that calamus means sword." Indeed, now the calamus is pointing straight at the silent water lily on the opposite side like a sword. When Shengzi came to the room last night, Iori thought about whether to move the water lilies that Kasumi planted to an inconspicuous place.Just like the last time when the pineapple was planted, Sheng Zi felt unhappy from the scent of other women from the flower arrangement, and that was not easy to handle.However, even if he wanted to hide it, he couldn't find a suitable place for a while, and the flowers were inserted with great difficulty. Now he wanted to hide it, but he felt that doing so would be narrow-minded and timid, so Iori dismissed the idea.

There is no fault in itself, except that the flowers adorn here, and there is no need to hide the beautiful things.What's more, Shengzi won't be as ignorant as last time, she will be unhappy because of it.Iori's guess is basically correct.Shengzi didn't show any expression when he saw the water lily.So far it's still as he guessed, but Iori didn't expect Shengzi to bring flowers.If it is a miscalculation, it is a miscalculation. "As always, you always have beautiful flower arrangements here." Shengzi only said this, and put the calamus he brought into the glass vase.

"It may be in the way, but please also put my flowers in your room. The decoration cabinet seems to be someone else's designated seat, so let me put it here." There was sarcasm in Sheng Zi's tone. It is said that calamus has the meaning of "sword" after this.Calamus leaves are indeed sword-shaped.The flower color is a mixture of light peach and light yellow, and the crimson flowers are especially conspicuous.The metaphor of the flower seems to be "cautious and strong", but the vermilion calamus is slightly different from this image.It gives people a stronger sense of love and hate.

Iori said nothing about the water lilies.If you say it vaguely, it will become an excuse, and once you say it, Xia's affairs will be exposed.Perhaps Shengzi had already noticed this, so he didn't ask any more questions. Sandwiched between water lilies and calamus, Shengzi and Iori are drinking coffee and talking in whispers.It's all about innocuous things like the company or a recent movie you've seen.During this period, Shengzi never looked directly at the water lily, but this also seemed to show that she cared about this water lily very much. Iori looked at Iori, recalling these things, Tomiko stretched out her hand to the vase.

"This, is it in the way? I'll take it to the balcony!" The stems and flowers of calamus are very long, which is really in the way when placed on the table. However, despite this, it always feels a little pitiful to put it on the balcony.When Shengzi brought the flower, he said "it's very troublesome", and then put it on the current table.But Tomiko has quickly moved the vase to the balcony. Of course, Fuzi met Shengzi a few times, and at first she might think that she came to talk about work, but she seemed to be aware of her relationship with Yizhi very quickly.From then on, the relationship between the two became inexplicably cold.

Even so, regarding Iori's family affairs, Shengzi would give Fuko a step, and Fuzi also respected Shengzi to a certain extent.But this is only a superficial phenomenon after all. In fact, the two parties may have always held mutual antipathy. No matter who it is, Tomiko is indifferent to women who approach Iori.She was curt, even to the women in the firm who had no ties.Among women, the only one Tomiko can tolerate is Iori's wife.And the strange thing is that Fuzi seems to only have good feelings for his wife. Occasionally, when an urgent mail comes in and she is asked to pick it up, she will drop in to chat.

"What a lovely lady!" After coming back, Tomiko once said so.Tomiko probably sympathizes with his wife and Iori for separating and living alone.From the point of view of Iori's casual life, she may think that his wife is very unfortunate. "The flowers here were planted by the person who brought the pineapple last time, right?" After moving the calamus outside, Tomiko saw the water lily this time.During the period of time when I was away recently, it seemed that women often came and went in and out of this apartment.She seemed to be an older and calmer woman than Shengzi.Tomiko seemed curious and slightly jealous of this woman she hadn't met yet.

"It seems that the weather is getting hot again!" Iori looked at the balcony and ignored Tomiko.The iris on the balcony seems to add a bit of love and hate under the sunshine in midsummer. The weather forecast said that this year will be a cool summer, but when the plum blossoms come out, the scorching heat will come immediately.For several days in a row, the daytime temperature has exceeded 30 degrees, and the night has continued to be tropical night weather, with the temperature always above 25 degrees.There was some rain in mid-July, which was relatively bearable, but from the end of the month it was hot summer again. It's the same thing again this morning, with the sun pouring down through cirrocumulus clouds, it looks like it's going to be hot.As long as the weather is hot, people's appetite will naturally decrease.And thinking of the scorching heat, the breakfast porridge I was eating made people feel a little bored.But because Fuzi is very confident in porridge, she will definitely be unhappy if she doesn't eat it, but she really doesn't want to eat it today. "I'm going to have dinner with a client near the office." Iori found an excuse, left the apartment at twelve o'clock, and stopped by the street noodle shop to eat a piece of Zari soba noodles.Then he walked along Omotesando to the office in the shade of the trees, and it was past one o'clock. At one o'clock, the design of Setagaya's new building began to be discussed, and the staff had already gathered in the conference room. This time the building was commissioned by a major client, Concord Department Store.It is planned to target women in the residential area in the south of the city, and build a store dealing in higher-end goods, and at the same time build it into a public place in this area.Because it is located in a residential area, the building cannot be built too high, and for the convenience of people who come by car, there must be a parking lot with enough space.At the same time, in order to make it have the function of a modern public place, it must be both modern and unrestrained. The final decision on the design rests with Iori, but he wants to hear the thoughts of the staff involved in the design for the time being.Since it was the first time to build a department store of this kind in a residential area, everyone enthusiastically put forward their ideas. Director Uraga's opinion is that in order to set off its high-end image, it should be in European style as a whole, and as a symbol, a tower house was built in the center of the roof, with silver as the keynote.Another person, Jin Zi, said that the European style should not be generalized, and the roof should be matched with a gentle slope to make it into the shape of a peacock spreading its tail.Matsumoto said that the building itself will be built into a double circle, and a garden will be built between the double circles, so that people can enjoy the garden while shopping. Each opinion is unique, and it seems that none of them deviate from the purpose of attracting female customers with a high-end image. Iori believes that architecture is also a kind of media, and all architecture is telling people who see it, and people also get information from architecture.Even without speech, buildings speak endless words.Among the buildings, the one that Iori finds the most unpleasant is the one that is too talkative.Some buildings ignore the surrounding conditions just to stand out.For example, the yellow building that is often seen recently is one of them.Yellow is indeed a conspicuous color and is often used to prevent accidents.But if the whole body of the huge building is painted yellow, it is no longer simply conspicuous, but becomes weird.Especially when the surrounding environment is very peaceful, it seems to make a dissonant noise. When the Japanese built buildings, they did not consider the surroundings too much.Although everyone pays attention to the state of the world and the faces of others, when they arrive at the building, they suddenly show their selfish side, unlike Europe and the United States, who pay attention to maintaining harmony with the surrounding atmosphere.This may have something to do with the lack of awareness of public morality of the Japanese. The reason why Iori is interested in buildings such as art galleries and museums is that they are isolated from the surroundings and are rarely disturbed by surrounding buildings.In a dense mass of buildings, a superb building is constructed, which loses its luster by being negated by the vulgar ones around it.No matter how novel its design is, it will lose its meaning if it does not blend with the surroundings and keep consistent.This design is to pursue elegance and uniqueness without causing damage. Everyone's design is still in the conception stage, just to disclose their own ideas.Iori himself thinks that it is interesting to build a garden in the middle and build a circular or hexagonal building, but it seems to take up a little more space. In addition, the built-up tower house and the curved roof also have their corresponding charm.In response to these assumptions, Iori expressed his opinions, and decided to further discuss the space and budget in detail before next week, ending the talks. He went straight back to his room and just started reading the letter when Sheng Zi came in with tea.Holding a note in one hand, he reported the content of the phone calls he received during the meeting, and then suddenly said solemnly: "From next week I want to ask for leave..." I just met Shengzi last night, and I didn't hear her mention the vacation.Iori looked up at Shengzi standing in front of the table. Every year from the end of July to the Obon Festival in August, everyone in the office can enjoy about a week of summer vacation. However, since it is a small company with only about ten employees, only three or four people can work together without hindering the work. Only after a call and mutual accommodation can the date be decided. During this period, Iori especially cannot take vacations.For Iori, who is equivalent to being single, there is actually no need to take a vacation to reunite with her family.Since I often go to other places to negotiate business with local people or conduct on-the-spot investigations, Iori hopes to stay honestly in the company for a few days around the summer.He really wanted to spend a leisurely time in Tokyo, where the number of people during the Obon Festival decreased, and spend two or three days from the end of August to the beginning of September to play golf. Shengzi originally planned to take a week off from August 10th, but if she starts her vacation from next week, it will suddenly be a week earlier. "Is there a problem?" "There's a place I want to go no matter what." "where?" "The Songjiang area in San'in." She thought she was going back to her hometown of Nagano for this week's vacation, but that didn't seem to be the case. "Is this too sudden? Why didn't you say it yesterday?" "It was decided this morning." Iori was a little unhappy.Although I have a week's vacation, I suddenly decided to ask for leave this morning, which is not easy.And from this week onwards, some people have also rested, which is the time when there is a shortage of manpower. "Is there anyone who can take your place?" "There is Sakai. I discussed with her this morning, and she said yes." There are three women in the firm besides architects.When Shengzi is resting, the other two work instead of her.The female employee named Sakai seems to have agreed to replace Shengzi. "But it's not easy to change the plan casually!" "Sorry……" Iori felt a little angry about entrusting work to a friend to take a vacation without getting his own permission. "What if I don't agree?" "However, we have paid time off." Although Shengzi lowered her eyes slightly, her expression was unexpectedly gloomy. "What are you going to San'in for?" "Go on a trip with Mochizuki and Miyazu." Upon hearing Miyazu, Iori turned his eyes slightly to the window. "That means you suddenly decided to go on a trip with Miyazu and the others, right?" "It was a previous appointment." If it's just a trip, Iori intends to reprimand her a little bit.Even with paid time off, it would be too casual to suddenly announce that the next week's vacation will start.Today is Friday, which is actually tantamount to saying that you will be on vacation starting tomorrow.However, Iori was a little at a loss when he heard that he was going with Miyazu. No matter who listened to it, they would feel that Shengzi's statement was too impatient and presumptuous.Even if an ordinary employee brings it up, he will definitely scold him, but if he travels with Miyazu, things will be different. Yizhi has long known that Miyazu has a crush on Shengzi.He had heard it not only from the other staff, but also from Miyazu's attitude. These are another matter, he just doesn't know how Shengzi thinks of Miyazu.At least in front of Iori, Shengzi never showed any closeness to Miyazu.However, even if there is no special relationship, she will not hate the man who likes her.Also, although Miyazu has a bit of a son-in-law temper, he does a good job, and besides, I heard that he was born in Tottori Prefecture, the son of an inn owner, so maybe this trip was mainly planned by him. This time Shengzi proposed to travel, if he objected, he always felt a little unreasonable.It's easy to think that he interfered because he was jealous.Iori doesn't want to reprimand others, hinder young people's actions, let alone interfere with the staff's love or actions.Detachment from these things is also Iori's reserve as the director and elder. "That's it..." After saying Miyazu's name, Iori's attitude became more forgiving. "Then... that's the best thing to do." Shengzi's cheeks twitched suddenly, showing a dubious expression. "That's it?" "Yes." Sheng Zi nodded and said "I'm sorry", and walked out of the room after saluting. Iori was alone in the room.Looking at the sunny window, he thought of the vermillion iris that he saw when he stepped out of the apartment. To be honest, when Shengzi asked for leave, Yizhi thought she was acting like a baby.He thought, maybe she thinks she has a close relationship with the director, so she can be more laissez-faire, but this is a wrong calculation. However, this thinking seems wrong.Because behind the reason of going on a trip suddenly with Miyazu and his group, there seems to be an obvious resistance to Iori.Otherwise, the meticulous Shengzi would have no reason to raise it so presumptuously all of a sudden. Then, why did Sheng Zi suddenly bring up this matter... When the two met last night, she did not show any resistance.When she opened the door and entered the room, she held flowers in her hand and even smiled, and later placed the iris she brought on the table.Even when she saw the water lilies on the decorative cabinet, she didn't show displeasure or look suspicious. Later, when the two went to eat at a restaurant near the apartment, she happily chatted about noodles in Nagano, and that her friend planned to go swimming in New Caledonia, but it was winter there, and so on. Iori is pleased to see Shengzi's attitude as a result of growth.I think she has been able to restrain the anger of jealousy towards the strange woman after seeing the flower arrangement. But Iori seemed to be wrong.On the surface, Shengzi is very cheerful, but the fire of jealousy is still burning in his heart.The evidence is that after eating, Iori suggested to go back to his room, but she said, "A friend came from my hometown today, I'll go back", so she went home.She seemed to know that once she returned to his room, she would be lured into love, so she avoided it in advance. Iori may be too simple-minded and has always been optimistic.Judging from Shengzi's attitude, he was convinced that it was true as she said, and he went back because of a friend.However, this more cheerful attitude than before seems a little suspicious.The trip with Miyazu was probably decided immediately after going back last night. After all, I decided to go because I saw water lilies... Yizhi once again thought of Shengzi's words "calamus means sword".Does this sword refer to Shengzi's trip with Miyazu this weekend, or does it refer to the punishment for her relationship with Xia? "have no idea……" Iori stroked his hair lightly.He thinks he can understand women's psychology, but in fact he is far from understanding their sincerity. All day long, Iori tried her best to pretend to be calm.Even if you hear that Shengzi is going on a trip with other men, never show a flustered look.Iori comforted himself like this, and tried to do so. Sheng Zi's attitude was the same as usual.Still turn on the phone as usual, and bring tea when a guest comes.In the meantime, when the Iraqi Organization Committee handled affairs, she always answered honestly and complied with them.From the look on his face, he couldn't see the suddenly serious attitude when he asked for leave.However, his expression was stiffer than usual.It may be a psychological effect, Iori always felt that when she answered or nodded, she wanted to pry into his heart. In the evening, when it was time for Shengzi to go back, when she left, Yizhi just nodded silently.If you want to go with Miyazu, just listen to it!Although this is a bit childish, Iori is very stubborn now. Shengzi went back, Miyazu remained in the office, but Iori didn't say anything. During the period, Miyazu came to discuss the interior decoration of the newly designed museum, and he only gave necessary instructions.Perhaps because he realized that he was going on a trip with Shengzi, Miyazu's attitude seemed a little unnatural.After talking about work, he seemed to want to say something, but in the end he left just like that. However, it was Iori who wanted to talk more.How do you plan your trip to San'in?Who else is going?Where else are you going?How much will it cost? "I heard that you are going to San'in", Yi Zhi finally restrained the words that almost came out of her throat. In the Yotsuya hotel in the evening, there was a commemorative meeting for the publication of an architect friend. Iori only made a slight appearance, and immediately invited Muraoka out.As usual, they went to the bar in Ginza where they had been together before.There, Yizhi was going to talk about Shengzi, but he restrained himself. Muraoka hasn't noticed his and Kasumi's affairs yet.Even if he talked about Shengzi to such an object, he might not be able to understand the subtle differences that occurred this time.Moreover, now I really don't want to reluctantly talk about Shengzi. Maybe it was the wine he drank with his heart full of thoughts. At that time, he was already a little drunk. When he arrived at the second underground bar, he suddenly became drunk. "What's the matter? You drank so hard today!" "Water lilies fought with calamus and stabbed calamus in the chest." Iori drank another glass of wine while speaking words that only he could understand. It was one o'clock in the morning when he returned to the apartment drunk.Iori took off his suit and shirt and threw them on a chair in the dining room. At this time, if someone helps him hang his suit vest and fold his trousers on a hanger, that would be really convenient.However, since you enjoy the freedom of celibacy, you cannot have this luxury.Iori took out her nightgown from the bedroom, put it on, and fell on the sofa. I didn't feel anything when I was drinking, but now I am alone, but I know that I am very drunk.Looking up at the ceiling, the plastic cover of the lamp looks like it's shaking. "no……" Iori thumped his head, and unconsciously pulled the phone over.He suddenly thought of Shengzi, then shook his head as if wanting to shake off these thoughts, and remembered Xia's phone number. Although I don't think it's good to call so late, I want to hear her voice tonight no matter what. Still, he glanced at the clock and thought about it.It shouldn't matter if you only let the bell ring for a while, right? The phone rings three times, and if no one answers, hang up. This kind of thing is absolutely impossible to do while awake.Because of this, he took the opportunity of being drunk to call now.Xia's phone number can be clearly displayed no matter how drunk she is. He pressed the number, the buzzer rang twice, and a woman's voice came. "Hey……" With a slow tone, one could tell it was Xia. "Ah, it's me." "That's right, I think it's you." "I think you're already asleep, so you're going to hang up after three rings and no answer." "Did you drink? I drank a little too." "one person……" "My daughter is not at home tonight, so I am alone. I went to bed at twelve o'clock, but for some reason, it is difficult to fall asleep, until now..." "So you're in your pajamas?" "What..." Xia smiled in a low voice and said: "It's simply covered with a short coat." "I miss you so much, I really miss you tonight." "Really?" "I'm not lying. I've been thinking about you all day today." Yizhi felt that it was a little too much, and gradually Shengzi disappeared from his mind. Talking with Kasumi like this, and making an appointment to meet, Iori's mood temporarily calmed down.Xia is very gentle to himself, so much so that he feels that Shengzi, who went on a trip with Miyazu, has nothing to do with him. Although I don't know the exact schedule, it seems that Shengzi and the others are leaving today.Since we are talking about going to Songjiang in San'in, then we should go by plane, or maybe by train or car.In addition to Miyazu, it is said that Mochizuki will also go, so maybe three or four people will travel together. Anyway, since he missed her so much, he should have asked in more detail when Shengzi asked for leave, or simply said "no". Even though it wasn't just the two of them traveling, Iori shouldn't let Shengzi travel with a man who likes her.While Iori felt regretful, he didn't understand why he should regret such a thing. Shengzi and Xia, which one do I love more?Leaving aside the past, recently he has been thinking that he must love Xia more.It doesn't matter if you don't meet Shengzi once or twice, but if you date Xia once, you will feel uneasy.In order to meet Kasumi, she would not hesitate to delay work. But now, whenever she thinks of Shengzi and Miyazu going on a trip, she will only miss Shengzi.Without saying anything, I let her go, feeling like I made a big mistake in my heart.Before that, the reason why Shengzi was not cherished very much was because they were so close that they could meet each other anytime.But once she was gone, she suddenly realized the importance of her existence.It is too negligent to realize this until now, but this may also be a man's selfishness.In any case, it seems to be a rule that in love, the person who leaves him is always more attached to him than the person who follows him. Perhaps Shengzi was aware of this and went on a trip with Miyazu... In fact, if that wasn't the case, she didn't need to specifically state that she was going with Miyazu.If she doesn't want to hurt Iori, she just needs to say that she is going on a trip, and there is no need to mention the name of the man who went with her.Deliberately pointing this out is a kind of challenge, right? In the mind of last night's drunkenness, Iori couldn't forget Shengzi's blunt expression when she asked for leave. On Monday morning after the weekend ended, Iori came to the office and had the illusion of coming to another place for a moment.This is indeed an office in Harajuku, and the interior decoration, tables, and chairs have not changed.The reason why I feel that there is a change seems to be because of the lack of Shengzi. Normally whenever Yizhi arrives at the office, Shengzi will always appear before him first, and greet him, "Good morning." Even after morning, whenever she sees Shengzi for the first time, she will always say "Good morning".And when he entered the director's room with a slight nod, she would immediately make tea and bring it over.Then, while drinking tea, he listened to the work schedule for the day. Today, the girl named Kazuko Sakai brought tea instead of Shengzi and reported on today's work arrangements.These should be the same, but Iori always felt something was different.If it was Shengzi, she could safely hand over the work to her, but for other women, she had to worry about it.At work, as long as it is Shengzi, even if it is to formulate new instructions or conduct various investigations, she can understand it immediately, and other women always feel that they do not have a tacit understanding when doing these things. Maybe there are more reasons than that.At the end of the day, Iori felt a little restless. In the past, whenever Shengzi had a break or went out, other women would take over the secretary's work, but it was usually one day, and the longest was no more than two days.However, this time it was a week, and it was a gap created by a trip with a young male.Perhaps the reason for the irritability was that he was dissatisfied with this matter. In the evening, after Iori had dinner with Fujii, who worked in a publishing house, and there was only one person left, he thought of Shengzi again. Where is she now?Although it is going to Matsue in San'in, I will go to Izumo from there, and then from Tsuwano to the Ke area.While thinking this way, Iori became angry at himself for worrying about Shengzi. From August to August, probably because the middle ten days of the month is close to the Obon Festival, all kinds of gatherings are concentrated in the first ten days of the month. In the first few days of this week, there is the construction review meeting first, followed by five meetings including the construction technology development meeting and the environmental protection technology development meeting.Because he often went out to do errands, at this time, Yizhi had temporarily forgotten Shengzi. But when I went back to the apartment on Wednesday, I saw a letter from Shengzi lying in the mailbox.It was written on a postcard, with the sunset scenery of Daohu Lake on the front and Shengzi's neat handwriting on the back. "I was too casual when I came out, please forgive me. Now I am in Songjiang. I saw the sunset exactly like the one on the front of the postcard, and I was very moved. The trip was very pleasant. I haven't been in contact with nature for a long time, and this time I feel that my soul has been purified." After reading it, Iori put the letter on the table, took out the whiskey bottle, poured the wine into a glass, and drank it all in one go.Then he looked at the postcard again. Shengzi would write letters whenever he was traveling, but he didn't expect to write letters this time.Going to foreign countries or places such as Hokkaido is another matter, but just going to San'in, the journey is not far away.And before leaving, the way of parting was also somewhat unpleasant.That is why the letter came as a surprise.However, when he saw the words "Please forgive me", he felt that Shengzi was still thinking about him when he was traveling. It's not a bad mood to read here, but the content after that is a bit wrong. First of all, what does "very nice trip" say?Perhaps the sunset at Daohu Lake and the quiet Songjiang City are really beautiful, but the content of the letter does not seem to be just talking about the scenery.Maybe he was too picky, but this sentence seemed to say that she and Miyazu had a good time traveling together.Also, "I haven't been in touch with nature for a long time, and this time I feel my soul is purified", which sounds like irony.Could it be that the mood in Tokyo is very heavy? Iori drank another glass of whiskey and looked at the postcard again.It was probably taken from the bridgehead of Songjiang Bridge and other places. You can see the pine trees of Marriage Island nearby. The wide lake surface in front of the trees is dyed golden yellow, and the setting sun is about to sink in the west.Seven or eight years ago, Iori also went to Songjiang and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Shengzi is watching the sunset with Miyazu... Thinking of this, Iori felt that this postcard was like a letter of challenge from Shengzi to herself. The day after receiving Shoko's letter, Iori met Kasumi in the hotel lobby near Yurakucho. That day, Iori had been free since the evening, and when she called, Xia said she couldn't come out because of something.So he begged her forcefully, and agreed that he could only come out for two hours. At first we had planned to meet next Monday, but Iori seemed impatient, so he begged her to come out like a spoiled child.The reason for this is that there is another factor in my heart, which is stimulated by Shengzi's letter.It would be an exaggeration to say tit for tat, but it's not like I have the same mentality as the other party. Besides, men are selfish animals.He took it for granted that he was dating two women, but once this woman went on a trip with another man, the fire of jealousy immediately ignited.It's reasonable to be indifferent to one's own feelings, but it is not allowed for others to do so.What's more, there is no conclusive evidence to explain that Shengzi is flirtatious.Just because she goes on a trip with a guy who likes her, Iori becomes restless. "bored……" Iori also felt a little annoyed by his selfishness.He is over forty and a half, and if he thinks about it calmly, he is also very clear that he is very stubborn.Now that he has already fallen in love with Xia, there is nothing wrong with Shengzi even if he gets close to Miyazu.However, while thinking this way, I always feel that there must be something wrong. It is difficult for him to explain this mood, he just thinks it is a biological difference between men and women.When a man likes a woman, most of them will also be tempted by another woman, and it will often develop from liking to physical relationship. Even so, men are also very sober at certain times. Although they are physically combined, their hearts will not sink so deeply. "Seeing differences and thinking about changing" may refer to erratic thoughts, right?It does not mean that the mind is separated from the wife or a specific woman, but it should probably be interpreted as that the mind is still floating in the air even after the physical relationship occurs.Although the flesh cannot be controlled, but because the mind will not sink into it, most men who change their minds will soon turn their prodigal sons back. Women, however, cannot.Not only does she give her body to the other party, but she also sinks her heart into it.I can't do it no matter what, even if there is a relationship, my mind is elsewhere.In other words, women are more likely to be sincere than those who are not emotionally specific.Because women's minds are more specific, men are instinctively afraid of women's fickleness. Although it is said that "women will be moved sincerely once they see different things and change their minds", not all women are like this.Even men, once they fall in love with a woman, some will be single-minded and only have this woman in their eyes.Perhaps it should be said that this kind of thing is different for everyone. But no matter what, because Sheng Zi went on a trip with a man, he went on a date with Xia, which was somewhat childish, as if the date was to vent anger on Sheng Zi. However, not all love is pure and beautiful. Some kind of jealousy or hatred forms a kind of energy. Once it is ignited, it will sometimes lead to unexpected results.Vivid and vigorous things seem to be the detonating force of love more than beautiful things. While he was thinking wildly like this, Xia came over from the other end of the hall.Seeing her, Iori let out a sigh of relief.If he couldn't see Xia, he really didn't know what to do.So the restless mood immediately returned to calm. "thanks." Kasumi was puzzled by Iori's sudden and strange greeting. "Because you were forced to come, I thought you wouldn't come. It's a pleasure to see you." "Hurry up, this outfit is here." It was rare for Xia to put on a suit.She was wearing a rose dress with a blue background, and a thin platinum necklace was exposed at the open chest.She looked four or five years younger than when she was wearing a kimono. "I'm a little nondescript in a suit, right?" "Where, it fits well." Xia used to wear kimonos all the time, although she hadn't seen her wearing a suit much, but Xia had a pretty good figure.Tall, slender legs, full curves of breasts and hips, pleasing to the eye. "However, I usually wear kimonos, so when I put on a suit, I feel uneasy. After all, suits belong to young people, and I always think that old women should wear kimonos." "Do you often wear a suit at home?" "Half and half. Maybe more suits." Iori nodded and started walking towards the elevator. "Have you booked a room at this hotel?" It was still a little time before evening, so the lobby of the hotel was empty.The waiters at the entrance stood idly, there were usually four or five people at the front desk, but at this time there were only two.Passing through the front desk, Iori and Kasumi boarded the elevator at the corner of the front desk. In the eyes of uninformed people, it might be thought that the middle-aged couple went to the restaurant on the second floor to have a light meal in the afternoon.No one would have thought that the two of them were going to the hotel room for a brief moment of fun. Iori originally wanted to meet at Aoyama's apartment today if possible.Not only is he familiar with the environment, but he will not attract the attention of others. Xia, however, only had a little free time between four and six o'clock, and didn't have much time.It takes nearly an hour to go back and forth from Tokyo Station to Aoyama.In this two-hour tryst, an hour is precious.而且白天富子在公寓，虽然可以事先让她早些回去，但由此遭致猜疑，自己的心情也好不了。 说实话，伊织正在考虑今天和霞一起去鸳鸯宾馆。这种宾馆最适宜短时间内两人的幽会。但是，在阳光明媚的大白天出入这里需要相当的勇气，霞也一定会退缩。而且最近伊织自己也没去过，对那儿的情况也并不很清楚。 以前和笙子交往时，曾经去过几次，但由于深感这种宾馆像专为情事而设，对此总是有些抵触。而且虽然外观上看起来很漂亮，一进到里面，却感到出乎意料地脏，被褥等物品如同前面的旅客用过似的，让人心里无法坦然。 不过，鸳鸯宾馆也煞费了心思。为了烘托出情调，房间的照明用红色或浅粉色装饰，有的还在床边装上了大镜子。而且从房间可以窥视到浴缸，乃至有的还备置了拍摄自己做爱镜头的录像机。没有比看录像更低级趣味的事了，不过在镜子中看一看白嫩的霞那迷乱的姿态倒并不坏。 当步下电梯来到走廊，只剩下两个人时，霞问道： “你定了房间吗？” “我觉得没时间。偶尔换换气氛也不错。” 最初和霞约会也是在这家宾馆的大厅。见面后邀她去了酒吧，可一边聊着天，伊织却一边尽在想两个人在一起的事。这次见面只有两个人，双方都深信这是在谋求肉体的媾合。因此他说出订了房间时，霞也没有流露出慌乱的样子。 “我也曾想过去鸳鸯宾馆之类的地方，可是……” “光天化日之下，多不好意思啊！” “那下次到晚上再去吧？” “你也知道，我没去过这种地方。” “没去过也没关系，杂志上经常登载。床的周围有各种各样的设备，最近似乎连夫妇俩也一起去。” “今天你怎么了，尽说些没头没脑的话。” 霞巧妙地转移了话题，但也并不是说绝对不去了。强烈要求的话，她可能也会听从的。 虽然是缓慢地，然而最近霞对情爱的话题也显示出兴趣来。当然自己不会说出口，可即使他讲这种话，她脸上也不大露出厌恶的神色。 刚和霞约会时，觉得她防卫坚固，怎么也想不到她会接着这样的话说下去，而现在却似乎柔和多了。 “是特意为今天的约会订的房间吗？” “是的，在这里我能充分地独占你两个小时。” 打开门，右手边有张双人床，左手边摆着沙发和桌子。两扇窗户上挂着厚厚的窗帘，午后的阳光从网眼窗帘中间的微缝中透射进来。 “到这边……” “来”字还未说出口，伊织便抱住正转身的霞，吻住了她的唇。 “真想你……” 或许是因为以前只看惯了身着和服的霞，他感到穿着西服的霞很新鲜。和服的领口即使敞开着，倘若只是轻轻地将指尖伸进去，很难尽情爱抚，而且即使紧紧拥抱，衣带的阻隔也妨碍两人紧紧相贴。然而如果穿着西服，胸口是袒露的，拥抱时，手能够直接感触到由腰至臀部的隆起。就这样纹丝不动地吸吮着霞的唇，她便似无法忍耐一样，滑溜溜地蹲下，倒在床上。 午后淡淡的阳光从窗帘中透射进来，在这片明亮中，伊织用舌头嬉弄着霞的乳头，空着的右手由裙子下边侵入。 瞬间，霞“啊”地喃喃着，摇了摇头，“别……”。 但伊织置之不理地继续用手探伸着，轻轻地将手指放在霞的秘处，感觉到那柔软的里面微微渗着汗。夏季的薄衫对伊织来说有利，相反对霞却很不利。 这几个月，霞的躯体好像突然变得敏锐起来。霞表现出大胆的反应，这从刚才那拘谨的态度中是无法想象得出的。现在她正处在攀登的过程中，霞痛苦地呻吟着。 “停下来……” 这声音那么可爱，伊织又一次左右晃动手指，霞犹如突然弹跳起来似的弓缩着躯体。 “不行，停下来。” 霞拉拢领口，慌忙拉直卷曲的裙边。 “我不停，不，我不能停。” “那我现在脱衣服，你等着。” “就在这儿脱给我看。” “你真坏……” 霞轻睨了一眼伊织，拢了拢蓬乱的头发从床上爬下来。虽然有些败了伊织的兴致，但他相信霞说的，由她自己来脱衣。 “关上窗帘！” “关上了就看不到你那美丽的身躯了。” 伊织说道，但霞没有理会他，自己关上了窗帘。 “我进去淋浴一下行吗？” “那一起进去吧。” "no." 霞拿起沙发上的手袋，进入浴室锁上了门。 午后的阳光从窗帘缝隙间透射进来，依然还很灿烂。伊织一人仰卧在床上，看了看床头柜上的时钟。四点四十分。离霞必须回去的时间六点还只剩下一个多小时。 为晌午时间所追迫的情事虽有些忙乱，但可以说正因为如此才让人感到充实。倘若在约会这么短的时间内燃不起欲火的话……受到这种想法的刺激，伊织更加亢奋起来。 这事情最重要的是，两个人相互索要的心情必须非常合拍。无论是哪一个，只要一旦为这紧迫而焦躁，平静不下来，就只会更易导致不满足。在这一点上，或许可以说伊织与霞是最般配的一对情侣。 原本男女约会的目的大半都是为了做爱。途中吃饭交谈，抑或是看电影、听戏，全都不过是通往做爱的一个过程。温柔地抚慰女性，归根结底也是因为抱着要和这位女性发生关系的愿望。 剩下的只是如何表达这种心情的差别。既然约会，男人就要索求女人的躯体。只要能得到她，就会认为约会的目的达到了一大半，这样，即使之后的交谈或气氛多少有些不畅快，也大抵能够接受。 说实话，伊织现在就接近这种心情。暂且不管男女之间复杂的程序，只想在有限的时间里切实地与霞结合。 今天霞本说不能见面的，可他却强硬地叫她出来了，伊织因此感到很自卑。一边觉得这样不好，一边却放任着欲望。霞也一定会因为不顾一切来到东京而感到羞耻。身为有夫之妇，白天为了和男人幽会，坐了一个多小时的电车出来，这事非同小可。而且约会后要做的事就只是在宾馆里做爱，犹如动物似的，仅仅是为了满足肉体的欢悦。 但是，如果爱欲高涨，无论男人还是女人，最终都与动物没有两样。 “动物性”说起来不好听，但只有这才是生物本来的姿态。只要这样想，就不觉得有什么抵触的心理。正是考虑到这些，伊织为了不让霞感到羞耻，一见面便立即带她来到宾馆安静的房间里，接着再自然地诱导她寻求欢悦。 今天是霞限定两个小时的。虽然嘴里没有说出来，但在两小时内畅快地云雨一番，这在决定见面时，两人之间就已达成默契。两个人现在已经十分亲密，能够默契地享乐欢悦。 今天也是伊织更早从性的愉乐中苏醒过来。 尽管如此，伊织并没有起身。他仰卧着，左手搂着霞的背呆呆地望着天花板。霞闭着眼睛俯卧着，肌肤上还残留着欢悦后的痕迹，微微地渗着汗。 霞虽然也追求欢悦，但她似乎更喜欢欢悦后那段慵怠的时间。得到满足后，她便闭着眼睛轻柔地躺在男人的臂弯里，大概是在这片静谧中体会着爱的幸福。 伊织静静地搂着霞。现在要将陶醉于性爱余韵中的霞拉回到现实中是残忍的。 大约因为是下午吧，宾馆虽地处市中心，屋内却鸦雀无声。左手窗边架上的百合和石竹轻轻地摇曳着。然而房门却是紧闭的，这真有些不可思议。好像是对面换气孔中流动的冷气吹的。 伊织看着花，想起了时间。已过五点了吧？若六点回去，现在就必须起来了。然而这似乎不是自己考虑的事。现在起来后，霞只是回堂的家。不知道她有什么事，总之与伊织无关。 若要起来，自己起来就行了…… 伊织使了个坏心眼，将视线转向花，闭上了眼睛，迷迷糊糊地想要睡去，但却塌不下心来。这时霞依旧俯卧着，身子一动不动。 说是六点钟回去的，没关系吧？或许现在起来穿衣服都来不及了。“必须早点回去”，这话是霞说的，可…… 就这样又过了好几分钟。伊织才缓缓地侧过身，用指尖轻轻地敲了敲紧偎在胸口趴伏着的霞的头。 “你猜现在几点了？” 感觉到伊织的动作，霞似不高兴地摇了摇头，问道： "what time is it?" “已经六点多了。” "Really……" 霞慌忙欠起身，或许是觉察到脸睡得惺松不整，立即用手遮住脸，看了看床头柜上的时钟。 “这钟慢了吗？” "No……" “那还不到五点半呀！” 霞盯着时钟看，圆润的肩头暴露在伊织的眼前。于是伊织从背后吻住了她的唇。 "what……" 霞立即缩起脑袋，可伊织没管这些，从背后紧紧地搂住了她。 “不行，该起来了……” “还说什么该起来，可你却一直睡着。” “不是，我一直在想是不是该起来了。” 伊织追上正欲起床的霞，突然掀掉了被单。 "what……" 整个裸体暴露无遗，霞立即像海虾似的蜷成一团，拉住了毛毯的另一端。 “停下来，别这样。” “不行，我受不了。” 尽管已欢悦数次，但伊织还从未见过霞全裸的模样。 霞想将床单拉过来遮住身体，而伊织却想把床单夺过去，可是霞负隅顽抗。一看达不到目的，伊织这次便瞄准腿突然将她提了起来。瞬间，霞那雪白的四肢在空中挥舞着，她惊慌失措地尖叫起来。于是伊织从上面盖住她，隔着被单，裸体的男女相互抓挠扑打。这是犹如争斗似的嬉戏，同时也可以说彼此已很亲密。 几分钟后，两个人才喘着粗气，精疲力竭地归于平静。霞又用被单紧紧地遮盖着躯体，伊织则紧挨着她横卧成一个“大”字。 “你真坏……” 霞裹着床单，只露出一张脸，这样呢喃道。 “下次趁你睡着了，看个遍。” “不，我不会睡着了。” “呆会儿你肯定就会睡着的。” 最初霞在欢悦后即使紧偎着伊织，似乎心里也不踏实，总有些犹豫不决。然而现在，却由胸部到腹部，直至脚尖，都几乎不遗一丝缝隙地紧贴着，纹丝不动地躺在床上。即使刚才还在上演着的裸体嬉戏，这在以前也是绝不可能的。 “啊，该起来了，你先去洗澡吧。” "No, I'm not going." 霞再次满脸迷惑地看了看钟表。这张脸似乎真的很困惑，伊织顿生怜意，便进了浴室。 他仅在热水里稍稍泡了泡，便擦干了身子走出来。这时霞已经穿上衣服，正在收拾床。 “就穿好了？” “西服很简单，非常方便。” 若是和服，从归整头发到穿好衣服至少得一个小时，而西服只需十分钟就能穿好。 “时间来不及时，西服还是挺好的。” 霞这样说过之后，许是觉得有些放荡，说了一声“对不起”便进了浴室。 伊织穿上放在衣橱里的裤子和衬衫，在沙发上坐下来。 刚才还乱糟糟的床，现在已被收拾得整整齐齐，床头并排放着两个枕头。 四点见面，然后聊天，不久便进入房间，耽溺于床上。情爱结束，再整理行装，准备着回去。虽说是因为没有时间才不得已这样，但他们还是觉得双方在贪婪地寻求欢悦。或许有人将此称之为动物性，但是急切地渴求她的躯体，正是爱着这个人的证明。伊织相信，他们不用说特别的话，可以用躯体通过身体语言进行交谈。 和以前一样，身着西服、头发齐整的霞没有留下任何情爱的痕迹。然而仔细一看，耳朵周围却带着模模糊糊的红色，舒坦的胸口有些润湿，散发着女人的气息。 “不能慢慢地来，真对不起。” “不，是我硬要你来的。” 今天她本说不来的，是伊织强硬地邀了她出来。 “那么，下次是星期一啊。” “还见面吗？” “以前就这样约定的，今天只是临时插进来的。” “但是，这样见面你会感到厌烦的吧？” “不，我不会厌烦，因为这里实在太妙了。” 伊织偷偷摸了一下站在对面的霞的下腹部。 "oops……" 霞犹如训斥淘气包似的，微微瞪了他一眼，说道： “下周可能不行。” "no?" “嗯……，身体方面……” 看霞面露困惑，伊织意识到这是指月经。 如果只是单纯的见面，不会因月经而中断，可见了面一定会相互追求欢悦，这确实有些伤脑筋。 “到什么时候完？” “我想大概周末就没事了吧？” 霞羞涩地用双手遮住了脸颊。 “好吧，星期六行吧？” 霞点了点头，随即又慌忙嘟囔着：“可是，很可笑吧？” 霞以前从未自己说过月经的事，而只是说不行，然后找一个适当的理由搪塞过去。但现在却明确地说明理由，因此或许可以说，两个人增进了亲密关系，彼此已经很亲昵了。 “走吗？” 伊织没心思再挽留霞。 开初她说不行时，他还想强硬约她出来，而现在却非常感谢她。实际上，霞连自己月经的事都袒露给他，这使伊织感到亲切。露骨点说，霞吐露此事那困惑的风韵，弥补了月经的不洁。 “那么，下周六。” 伊织走上前一步，贴近了她的脸，为了不把刚抹的口红擦掉，双唇只是轻轻地碰了碰，舌尖相互缠绕在一起。或许是恍恍惚惚只用舌尖碰触的感觉很折磨人吧，吻到一半霞微微地呻吟了一声，将唇缩了回去。 “不行，我得走了。” "Then let's go." "Wait a minute." 霞责备似地拿出小化妆盒，照了照唇后迈出房门，来到走廊上。 “这之前，我送睡莲时曾问过你，你不是说之所以叫未草，是因为下午两点，它就会闭拢花朵吗？” “我觉得这名字很迷人。” “但是我看了别的书，上面写的是下午两点开始开花。” “那正好相反。” 走廊上不见人影，两人来到左手边的电梯间。 “后来，我特意查找了一番，结果说法各不相同。” “我有一位朋友是植物学家，去问问他吧！” “不过，我觉得睡莲是上午开花，两点钟闭花，从睡莲的字面意思来看，它的睡眠时间一定很重要。” “这样说起来，好像这之前那支睡莲也是那样。我去事务所时，睡莲刚刚绽开花苞，而回到家里，却总是闭合着。” “这是因为你回家时已是半夜了。”霞低声笑了笑，“我在花里面放了一些沙子。” “在花里面吗？” “这样花就能一直开着，我想沙子很重，花就闭不拢了。” “这是从哪儿看来的？” “我自己瞎琢磨的。虽然花有些可怜，但始终睡着也一定很寂寞吧？” 虽然是微不足道的小事，伊织却觉得想出这种方法的霞愈加可爱了。 “真是长了不少见识。” 尽管时间很有限，然而由于见到了霞，伊织的心里感到很充实。于是这令人满足的浓情蜜意的约会，使他对笙子的记忆飘远了。 现在笙子正从松江动身到出云去旅行吧？出云以结缘的神而闻名，因此她也许正在和宫津合掌膜拜吧？若是平时，每一个想象都会在内心掀起狂澜，然而现在却并没什么大不了的。 他们两人如果想结合，那也无所谓。笙子若真的这样想，就由她去吧！现在笙子即使离去，身边也有霞，或许这次笙子和宫津出去旅行也是神的昭示吧？笙子和霞要哪一个，必须做出抉择，或许这正提供了一个时机吧？ 如果和笙子分手，就只剩下霞一个人，这样反而更干脆。 这样想着，伊织便觉得这是长久以来的愿望，而现在正朝着这个方向演变。 周末，伊织心情很舒畅，于是和建筑师的同行们一起去黑矶打高尔夫球，在那儿住了一晚，玩得很痛快。得分虽然没有预想的高，但感觉很畅快。 星期天绕了一圈后抵达上野，决定从这儿搭车回去。一位姓竹内的同行住在惠比寿，于是伊织和他一起乘上了车。 “找个地儿吃晚饭吧？” 途中大家都到餐车去就餐了，可只喝了些啤酒和威士忌，没有好好地吃饭。 “谢谢你的好意，但今天我得直接回家。” 竹内很抱歉地说道，接着又问： “星期天也在外面吃吗？” “我自己不会做呀！” 其他的日子里，由于工作的关系，几乎都是在外面吃饭，而星期天却独身一人。吃饭只有三种方式，要么溜达着去附近的店里吃，要么让外卖店将食品送到房间里来，抑或是和笙子一起吃。 “那么对不起，我先告辞了。” 车在高树镇下了高速公路，竹内在惠比寿附近下了车。 星期天晚上一个人吃饭有点儿孤单，伊织便径直回到公寓，从附近的寿司店要了外卖食品，晚餐就这样对付过去了。 尽管世田谷现代公共场所的建筑设计期限已经临近，还有许多书想看，可伊织并不想立即坐到桌前。于是，自己泡上茶，一边喝着一边从信箱中取出信件来翻检，发现有一封荷兰来信，是一个叫东野的朋友写来的。 他最初是去学绘画的，可半途中却喜欢上陶瓷，于是在北部一个名叫莱瓦登的镇上开了一家陶窑，自己烧制起陶瓷来。烧制的大多是与日本青花瓷相似的浅蓝色陶瓷，只是在荷兰土特产的形式上配搭了日本的色调，好像在当地相当受欢迎。在日本也曾举办过两次个人展览，并以具有独特风格的陶艺家受到关注。东野比伊织小三岁，是四十二岁，由于与荷兰的女性结婚生子，似乎并没有回日本的打算。 十年前，巴黎的相遇成为他俩相识的机缘，从那以后，两人脾性相投，他来日本时两人会过面，伊织也在欧洲见过他一次。 然而伊织还不曾涉足过烧窑所在的北部荷兰。每每来信，都邀他去玩，这次来信中又写着：“今年秋天请务必来玩。” “秋季的欧洲……” 伊织看着印有梵高素描作品的黑白明信片，这样喃喃道。 欧洲一共去过六次。第一次是由巴黎到西班牙，在那儿悠闲地逗留了将近一个月。那时还年轻，当见到各色各样的建筑时，曾为之惊讶和赞叹，然而现在对欧式建筑却早已失去兴致。西洋建筑再怎么卓越，也终究是西洋人的，它与日本人的感觉并不一样。而且，若专注于观赏对方的事物，就会潜移默化地受其影响，这样就有失去独创力的危险。与欧洲建筑相比，最近伊织对美国或加拿大的建筑更感兴趣。 在读着来信时，伊织觉得很久没去欧洲了，可以再去一趟。上一次去是三年前，已经隔了相当长的时间。 “若能和她一起去就好了……” 伊织的头脑中浮现出霞玉立于秋季欧洲的婷婷身姿。 一个人光喝茶不够味，于是伊织从餐具柜中拿出白兰地，一边喝着，一边思索着和霞去国外的事。 六月份去奈良旅行时两人曾住过一宿，但若去欧洲就得十天，至少也得要一周，霞真能抽出这么多时间来吗？ 倘若是独身也罢，但已身为人妻，要去国外呆十天几乎是不可能的。即使以和朋友一起去观光为理由，也不知道她丈