Chapter 12 Section 3

The next day, Zhigui didn't go to work.A call came from the company and asked him to go to Machida's office.The office is on the second floor of a small and old three-story building.It is said to be an office, but in fact there are only the president Fukumoto and a middle-aged female office worker wearing glasses with profound myopia. The reason for being called here is clear, he must have known about the fight with Kurata in the dormitory.Yaguang fought well, but even broke the glass door.The people living downstairs notified the administrator, and many people knew about the trouble.

Fukumoto didn't inquire about the reason for the fight. Seeing Naoki, the first thing he said was that next time something like this happens, he will be fired immediately! "I've gone to the Free class of the car company to apologize. The cost of installing the glass is deducted from your salary. Do you have any questions?" "Sorry! I have caused you trouble!" Zhigui lowered his head. "You're amazing! Didn't you look at your face in the mirror?" "Sorry!" The left side of my face is swollen, and I felt it before I looked in the mirror in the morning.There is also a broken place in the mouth, and I don't want to speak.

Fukumoto leaned back on the chair and looked up at Naoki. "Takeshima, what are you going to do from now on?" Not knowing what he wanted to say, Naoki silently looked at the president. "It's not a job to be in a place like ours all the time, although it's weird to say that from my point of view, it's not a job for a good boy." "But, other places don't hire me!" "I'm not telling you that. I'm saying that it won't do you any good to continue living like this. Our place is where people who have nowhere to go and no future gather. Tateno, who collected scrap iron with you, It turned out to be a folk singer who was touring in various places. It is said that he even released a record, but in the end he was unlucky and became that ghost. If he gave up in time when he was young, how many ways of life he could choose! It is just choosing what he likes The result of doing it. You can’t be like this in the future, what can you do if you are always in a place like ours, right?”

Unexpectedly, Fukumoto said these words, Naoki was surprised.I haven't spoken to him seriously since I was first introduced here. what to do?When asked this, Naoki couldn't answer.Now I'm exhausted just trying to survive. Fukumoto saw that he didn't answer, forget it!He waved his hand like chasing flies. "Think about it slowly! It's okay not to go to work today, but you have to be careful in the dormitory, understand?" "I see." "I'm sorry!" Zhigui bowed his head again to apologize and left the office. On the way back to the dormitory, Naoki reflected on what Fukumoto had seen.After graduating from high school, the idea that had been hidden in the corner of his mind was uttered by Fukumoto.He himself didn't think it was a good thing to go on like this.Seeing young people of the same age as me working in the factory made me anxious.But I don't know how to get out of the current state.

When I returned to the dormitory, I saw Kurata's shoes by the door.The shoes he wears to work every day.It seems that he also rested today, or was asked to rest at home. Not wanting to see him again, Zhigui went into his room.Also thought to be careful when going to the toilet. Just as he thought of this, he heard the sound of Kurata's door opening, and then someone knocked on his door. "Hi! It's me." Zhigui's body stiffened a little, and he opened the door about twenty centimeters.Kurata stood there with wound ointment over his eyes. "what?" Kurata looked to the side and exhaled:

"Don't be so sad, can't you? I don't plan to settle accounts with you." "What's the matter?" "How are you doing math?" "Mathematics? What's the matter?" "Score, is it good, or is it bad?" "Nothing..." Zhigui shook his head.Suddenly an unexpected topic came up, and I didn't know what to say. "It can't be considered bad, so I planned to go to a science university." "Really?" Kurata's tongue was rolling in his mouth, and he could tell by the shape of his face.As if thinking about something.

"What does that have to do with you?" "Ah! Yes!" Kurata scratched his bearded chin with his fingers: "Do you have time?" "There is time." "Then, come to my place for a while. I want to trouble you." "What's up?" "Come on, you'll know when you come." Naoki thought about it for a while, and he and Kurata still had to live together, and he also wanted to eliminate the estrangement between them as soon as possible.Kurata probably came to knock on the door with the same idea, as if he had other intentions. "Okay." He opened the door and walked out.

The glass door of Kurata's room was still broken, and it was covered with cardboard. He wanted to say an apology, but he didn't say it. Compared to that, Naoki's eyes immediately fell on the things on the table, a few textbooks that seemed to be used by high school students, and an open notebook.Stationery was also scattered around. Naoki looked at Kurata, he frowned as if embarrassed. "I'm so old, I don't want to do such a thing anymore, but..." He sat down at the table, and Zhigui also sat opposite him. "Are you going to a part-time high school?"

When Naoki asked, Kurata shook his body and smiled: "I don't have that much free time anymore, and now I have to go to high school for three years, and I'm still in my thirties." "That……" "Inspector, you know that?" "Oh." Zhigui nodded.of course I know. "University Entrance Eligibility Test", even if you have not read high school, you can take the college entrance examination after taking this test. Kurata pointed to one of the questions. "I was stumped by this question. After reading the explanation, I still couldn't figure it out."

Zhigui looked at it, and it was a question about trigonometric functions.I feel that learning these questions seems to be a long time ago, but I immediately know how to solve the questions. "How about it?" "Well, I probably will." He asked for a mechanical pencil and started writing in Kurata's notebook.Ben En was good at mathematics, so doing this kind of problem also made him feel nostalgic.It is pleasing that what has been learned has not been forgotten. "It's incredible, that's right!" Kurata exclaimed after reading the answers attached at the end of the question set.

"That's okay!" Zhigui was also relieved, "Did you not go to high school?" "I went to high school, but I hit the head teacher and was expelled." "Then why does it seem like you're thinking about going to college?" "Well, don't talk about that, why don't you tell me how to do this place again." Naoki moved to Kurata's side and explained to her the solution to the problem.It wasn't a very difficult question, but Kurata seemed to have discovered something, and said one after another: "You are amazing!" In this way, after doing a few questions, Kurata said to take a break and lit a cigarette.Naoki flipped through the weekly magazine next to him. "It's a beautiful day today!" Kurata exhaled smoke while looking out the window. "I haven't been idle during the day like this in normal days. I used to have some time to go to work. It feels good to be able to rest while others are working. However, I dare not do things like this time again. " Hearing what he said, Zhigui smiled at him. Kurata put the cigarette butt out in the ashtray, and said, "I have a child." "what?" "I have children. Of course I also have a wife. I can't support them just by working part-time or temporary work!" "Going to college for this?" "At my age, I won't be able to find any good jobs after I graduate from college, but I'm better than I am now." "That's true." "I took a whole detour. If I didn't hit the teacher at that time, I would have graduated from high school. It was already a senior year. You are kidding me. No, even if you drop out and go to another high school right away, it won't be a problem. It's like today. But I'm a fool, hang out with a bunch of boring guys, and join gangs like bosozoku, and I end up doing bad things." Zhigui blinked, as if asking: What? "When I was fighting with someone, I stabbed him. As a result, I was arrested and imprisoned in Chiba Prison." Kurata said with a smile. "What you said yesterday...is that your business?" "I also wrote a letter. To the woman I was dating at the time, I was thinking about what happened when I was not around all day. I really couldn't help it." It was the same as what Goshi said in his letter, Naoki thought. "Is that person the current wife?" When he asked, Kurata waved his hand. "I only met my wife after I got out of prison. She also came out of a juvenile prison. We are a pretty good couple. But after having a child, the couple can't always mess around. The child is so pitiful." Naoki set his eyes on the magazine, but he didn't read it. "You, don't you want to go to college?" Kurata asked. "I want to go! If my brother hadn't become like that, maybe I would have gone in." Zhigui said that he has no parents, and his life was all supported by his elder brother in the past.Kurata smoked his second cigarette and listened in silence. "You're out of luck, too!" said Kurata. "Anyway, I did it to myself. There's nothing wrong with you! But I still don't understand." "what?" "Give up your dreams. Compared with ordinary people, it may be a difficult road, but it's not that there is no road, I think." "Really?" Naoki muttered.But I retorted in my heart: You put it simply. "Let's just talk about me, maybe I will retreat at any time." Kurata took out his wallet from the bag in the corner of the room, and took out a photo from it: "Look! The child is two years old, isn't it cute? When you feel exhausted , just look at this photo." The photo shows a young woman in a Japanese-style short gown, holding a young child. "Your wife?" "Yeah, working in a tavern, it's not enough for me to work alone!" "What a nice lady!" Kurata smiled bitterly shyly. "In the end, you can rely on your relatives. If you have relatives, you will know how to work hard." He put away the photo and looked at Zhigui: "Have you ever visited your brother?" "No……" "Never been there once?" "I haven't been there since I moved to Chiba." "Not good!" Kurata shook his head, "For the people inside, it's the greatest pleasure to have someone visit, especially if you have relatives. Didn't you even write a letter?" Exactly that.Zhigui lowered his head. "Do you hate him? It's about your brother." "Nothing like that." "Well, probably there will be feelings of hatred for him, anyone will. But he didn't abandon him, so he came up to beat me last night, right?" Zhigui shook his head and said, "I don't know either." "If you have the energy to fight for your brother, you might as well write a letter! Don't think I'm long-winded, it's really lonely in there, it's almost crazy." Kurata's eyes were serious. As a result, Zhigui taught him to study, that day was both the first and the last time.Not only that, but he didn't even speak again after that.Kurata works a lot of night shifts, and his hours are always staggered from Naoki's. One day about two weeks later, Naoki returned to the dormitory and saw that Kurata's luggage was gone.When I asked the dormitory administrator, they said that the contract period had expired.Naoki was a little frustrated, and wanted to have time to listen to Kurata's detailed talk about the prison. Back in the room, just about to go to the toilet, I saw a bundle of books outside the door.Looking again, it was a high school reference book, something that seemed to be used by Kurata.I don't know if he forgot it, or was he planning to throw it away?What worries me is, will it be embarrassing without these Kurata? Thinking that Kurata might come back to pick it up, he left it there untouched.But after several days, Kurata did not show up.It's not like I forgot. Soon there were new arrivals, and there were two of them, filling up the empty rooms.Both of them were in their forties and came from Kyushu.One day, one of them knocked on Zhigui, asking if he could deal with the books in front of the toilet?He was about to say that it was not his own, but he swallowed it back and moved the book back to his room.For some reason, I feel that it would be a pity if it was thrown away. He cut the rope binding the books with scissors, and picked up the top one, a reference book on Japanese history.Flicking through the pages of the book, I remembered my study in the second grade of high school.There are lines drawn by Kurata everywhere on the tree. English, mathematics, Chinese, etc., there are reference books for all subjects.Almost all the pages of the book bear traces of Kurata's learning.It can be noticed that he works night shift and is still studying hard during the rest.Naoki suddenly realized that it was much harder than coming to Kurata by himself, and he still had something to protect. However, Zhigui shook his head and threw the book in his hand aside. Kurata is an adult, ten years older than himself, just because of this, he knows how to survive in this world, so he can do so.The current self has exhausted all his energy to survive, and he has no one who supports him like his wife. But it wasn't that there was no way out—Kurata's words sounded in his mind again.As if to drive it away, Zhigui pushed down that stack of books, what do you know! At this time, I saw a thin booklet under the reference book, which didn't look like a reference book or a collection of questions. He picked it up and saw the headline of the "Ministry Newspaper", but he still didn't understand what it was.But printed on the bottom of the cover were these words: Department of Correspondence Education, Imperial University.