Chapter 4 fourth quarter

fourth quarter Father was wearing a checkered shirt, a sweater over his jacket, and corduroy trousers. "I've had excellent grades in college, too." What a weird question. "Not great at all." Tou replied.He used disposable chopsticks to separate the radish, and immediately there was a hot air with the smell of wooden fish soup. "But it will definitely not repeat the grade." Toh and Dad rarely see each other.Even when we met, Toh did not talk to him about his future development direction, nor did he talk about personal issues—such as whether he has a lover or whether he has made friends again.Toh never asked his father for money, nor did he drink late at night with him.Even so, as long as Dad said he wanted to see him, Tohru would meet him at the place he said. "Let's go eat chowder," was how my father called himself this time.

"Is your mother okay?" The old question that must be asked at every meeting. "pretty good." The same answer. "She seems to be very busy. She often travels on business..." Tou added that her mother was still the same, and she was drunk just two days ago.Dad smiled wryly. Does Dad's new wife drink alcohol?Tou thought in his heart.I heard that she works in the library and is the same age as Dad.Maybe a good wife. In fact, these have nothing to do with themselves.Tou thought in his heart.Also, he didn't want anything to do with it.I have just found my own life - this thought suddenly flashed through Tou's mind.Yes, the self at this time is neither the self when he was with his father, nor the self when he was with his mother, and certainly not the self when he was with Geng Er.Perhaps it was because of the discovery of a new time.It is different from the time at home and at school, it is the time when I am with Shishi.

Tohru finally found himself completely independent without relying on anyone, and he was quite satisfied that he had found his true self.It is natural, free and happy.Moreover, such a self exists entirely because of the history of poetry. Last week, I went to a concert with Shishi.The epic friend's daughter wore a sky-blue evening dress and played piano pieces by Chopin, Schumann and Liszt on stage. Tou wore a suit that day, and met Shi Shi at the porch of the concert hall.Shi Shi praised his clothes as a perfect fit.When listening to the performance, Tou was always intoxicated in the warm happiness, and the poetry history sitting beside him occupied his whole body and mind.

After the concert, Tou and Shi Shi went to the bar together.Walking side by side with Shishi on the bustling street, Tou still hears the sound of the piano at the concert.Although Tou didn't know the name of the music at all, every note of the piano music he just heard permeated his whole body truly and clearly.So graceful, so charming. It's like this every time I'm with Poetry. Like eating Italian food.Tou will feel that there is no part of his body, including every hair, that is not soaked in Italian cuisine.It's not a matter of quantity, it's definitely a matter of purity.

Another example is listening to music.Tou will feel that the music has infiltrated his whole body and mind, and he has no time to think about any other issues. "It was played really well." Said the history of poetry.At this moment, it became transparent and white.It turned out that what made me so intoxicated was not the power of the pianist at all, but the history of poetry beside me.When you are with her, you are lost. "How is Koji doing now?" Dad asked.Among Tou's friends, Dad can remember only two people.The other is the "little wife" who lived in the same apartment as Tou when he was in elementary school.In fact, about "Xiaotai", Tou can remember no more than his father.

"pretty good." Tou's answer was the same as when his father asked his mother just now. "He worked a lot of jobs and got by just fine." "It's okay." Dad repeated with great interest, drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, and then filled it up with the wine jug. "Is he in the Faculty of Medicine?" "Department of Economics." "Oh, it's the Department of Economics." Koji's father was a doctor and opened a clinic.The eldest son of the family - Bi Geng Er is eight years older - has graduated from the university's medical department.

"Do you see each other often?" "No, see you occasionally." After speaking, he put the egg in his mouth.He knew Dad was a guy who liked to make friends.Friends from school days, partners from fishing, etc., are still in touch.Moreover, his current company is opened with friends.Dad is a man who values ​​friendship. If it was in the past, Tou would have been impatient by now.He swallowed the eggs carelessly and drank his beer slowly.Tou doesn't have many friends, and since he was a child, he has hated his father's oblique attempts to make himself understand the importance of friends.

However, Tou tonight is not impatient at all.Of course, he didn't intend to tell his father about the relationship between himself and Shishi, but the existence of Shishi did make him much more magnanimous.He can now calmly face his father on an equal footing. After coming out of the bar, Tou and Shishi went to Shishi's house together. "Are you still thinking about piano music?" asked the history of poetry.After listening to the answer, the history of poetry said, "Then there will be no music today." The room was very quiet, and outside the window was the boundless night.Countless shadows of lights on the streets of Tokyo flicker in the night sky.

Tou knows that poetry history generally does not draw the curtains at night.Of course, the bedroom is another matter. "Just say so when you want a taxi." Before the poem history finished, Tou had already blocked her lips. After paying the bill, Dad and Tou came out together. "What should I do? Are you going home directly?" "Ok." On the way to the station, Dad bought cigarettes from the vending machine.Ginza in December. "Say hello to your mother for me." "Well, I will." Toh and Dad parted ways at the ticket gate. When Tou and Shi Shi started dating alone, his mother asked him one day,

"Are you dating Shi Shi?" Mom knows all about their "dating" process.Where did we meet, where did we eat, and where did we get a taxi. "Shi Shi praised you for your gentle manners and politeness. She is also quite interesting, right?" Only that time, Tou got angry with Shishi for what he did. "Sorry." When they met for the second time, Shi Shi apologized to Tou.She seemed troubled. "But it's not good to hide it from your mother, right?" Tou was speechless.He couldn't think of a reason to blame Shi Shi, and Shi Shi didn't seem to be very willing to tell his mother.

"If you don't tell your mother, it always feels like we've done something bad." Indeed.However, the more Shi Shi explained, the more she felt that she told her mother out of necessity. "You should still tell Yoko that we see each other from time to time or something." Tou had no reason to refute. After getting off the subway in Kamiyacho, Toru walked along the slow slope while thinking in his heart, if it is now... . If it were now, Shi Shi wouldn't have told his mother everything.Could she say that your son and I often meet and sleep together? It was cold at night.Breathe out bursts of white air.When walking on this slow slope, you can see the Tokyo Tower standing in the distance as soon as you look back.It can be seen at any time, and it stands right in front of it.Under the decoration of colored lights, the Tokyo Tower in the night has soft lines, as if it can shine by itself, standing straight in the vast night. When Tou returned home, her mother hadn't come back yet.He took a shower and drank a glass of milk.Tou likes to drink milk, and he likes the unique sweetness of milk that can be tasted even without sugar. When I was young, both at home and at school, children were encouraged to drink more milk, saying that drinking more milk would help them grow taller.When I grew up, maybe because I looked tall enough, no one urged me to drink milk anymore.Therefore, milk has become a dispensable thing for oneself.Tou felt that this change seemed a little unbelievable. The clock struck eleven thirty.Tou decided to finish writing a course paper during the winter vacation.He went into his room and closed the door. On New Year's Eve, Tou waited for her mother to make preparations to go out.He was lounging around the house, flipping through a photobook while listening to Suzanne Vega.The name of the photobook is "The Turbid Earth", and it is about the streets and people in China. There are four photobooks in total.One was given by Shishi, and the other three were bought by myself.Two of them were in Shishi's store, and the remaining one was found in the Western Clothing Bookstore together with Shishi. Tou's four photobooks are all on the bookshelf of the history of poetry.Toru also knew where they were placed on the bookshelf. Epic loves photos.She says photographs are more realistic than paintings. Tou was once invited by the history of poetry to visit a photographer's solo exhibition.In a small gallery in the building, apart from him and Shishi, there was only one visitor who came to visit.It seemed Shi Shi knew the photographer very well, she put her hand on the photographer's shoulder, then leaned over and kissed him on the cheek like a Westerner.The photographer hesitated for a moment, and then skillfully put his hand on Shishi's shoulder to respond. Tohru clearly remembers that at that moment, his heart was filled with jealousy towards the photographer.It's not that I'm jealous of the photographer's close contact with the history of poetry, but I'm jealous of his age.This man knew the epic that he could not know—may never know.Thinking of this made him angry. It was a man with dark skin, thin face, and gray hair. "through." The mother's hurried shout came from the corridor. "It's time to go, or it will be too late!" Four days ago, Tou received a call from Poetry, asking him to go to a party held at her home on New Year's Eve and stay up late with everyone. "I sent an invitation to Yangzi, and she has agreed to come. I asked her to bring you here, don't you know?" Tou was very dissatisfied with Shishi's invitation.But considering the objective situation, he also knew that this was a last resort.After all, being able to see the history of poetry is more important than anything else. "New Year's Eve?" "That's right. I called fifteen close friends. It was a very relaxing party. It used to be held once a year. Recently, Asano and I have been busy, and we haven't held such a party for a long time." The history of poetry said happily. Asano.That was Shishi's husband's surname, of course, it was also Shishi's surname. "Shall I go?" Tou asked with concern. "I called yours." Shi Shi answered quietly. "How can I tell my mother?" Mom didn't tell herself anything. "Just say you listened to me. Say I invited you." Tou agrees to do as the history of poetry said. After getting off the taxi, Tou walked behind her mother.Holding a heavy bouquet of crimson flowers in her hand. "I might have to leave early." After getting on the elevator, my mother said, "Don't be too late." The two got off the elevator on the top floor. "I have to go back to Suginami tomorrow." "Suginami" refers to Toru's grandmother's house. "understood." The "very light party" has begun.Shi Shi likes indirect lighting, so the light in the room is very dark, and with the large number of people, the room is a little stuffy. "Yangzi!" Shi Shi first let his mother into the house, then smiled at Tou, "Welcome." It was just a very short greeting, and Shi Shi's smile was so flat that it was almost cold.Tou felt that the person in front of him was simply too far away from the history of poetry he knew.Shi Shi took the flowers and chatted with other guests. The living room was originally very large, but perhaps because of the large number of people, it seemed a bit crowded.On the bar—the epic never used a table—there were bottles of red wine, cheese, sandwiches, smoked salmon, and some fruit.Tou couldn't help but smile.The history of poetry does not like to eat.Besides, it's already past dinner time. The only people in the crowd who knew were the two girls who worked in the Shishi store.Mom was already holding red wine in her hand, chatting and laughing with someone she didn't know. Tou tried hard to distinguish the original smell of this room.But it has long been dissolved in the crowd, alcohol, and the scent of the huge lilies in the vase. Toru soon recognized Asano.Because he had seen him in the photo before, and Shishi's attitude towards him was obviously different from others.Whispering with him for a while, and letting him hold the wine glass for me for a while. "Please." Someone raised a glass to himself. "thanks." Toru politely responded.Wan Er, the woman toasting Tou, smiled and said, "Yangzi is your mother, right?" At this moment, Tou saw the statue of Avalokitesvara.Usually she is very conspicuous, but today she is submerged in the crowd.Her gorgeous arms and dark brown figure made Toru feel very familiar. Tou walked towards the bar while thinking about something. "Are you through?" Someone stopped Tou.Looking back, it turned out to be Asano.Tou was startled, but he didn't panic, instead he was surprisingly calm. "Ok." he echoed. "I'm Asano." Asano gave his name and went on to say, "The history of poetry often talks about you. It seems that you have come here to play before?" He is of medium height, wearing a blue shirt, a navy blue jacket, and jeans. His whole outfit looks very elegant.I heard that he is engaged in advertising planning. "Still a student?" Tou said yes, and then drank the red wine. "In this case, don't you think it's boring?" Judging by his appearance, it seemed that he didn't need to answer, so Tou didn't say anything. "Okay, you can eat whatever you want." Asano's voice was thick. The history of poetry is still in the distance, as if Tou is not there at all. To be honest, it feels a bit awkward here.Half an hour later, Tou had already eaten and drank enough, and he lazily leaned against the somewhat cold glass window.He wasn't bored, and he didn't have the time either. The history of poetry looked very happy. "I'm very satisfied with my life," I can't remember when, the history of poetry said, "Although I can't say I'm particularly happy, what if I'm happy or not?" So what if you are happy or not?At that time, Tou didn't understand the meaning of this sentence at all, but now, he felt that he seemed to understand a little bit.As long as it is given by the history of poetry, even misfortune is more valuable than any other happiness. Eleven fifty-five.Everyone has a glass of champagne in their hands.The bell of the new year is about to ring.Someone turns off the music and turns on the radio telling the time.People are already drunk.Through the eyes wandering in the crowd looking for the mother's figure.Hope she's not drunk. "Are you ok?" A familiar voice rang in Toru's ear.Familiar yet with a sense of mystery - the countdown begins. "Happy New Year!" The sound of New Year's greetings and the clinking of wine glasses resounded from the crowd.The music started again, and everyone screamed in excitement. Shi Shi had a drink with Tou for the first time tonight.Although it was only a very short moment, it was undeniable.In this sudden happiness Tou forgot to drink champagne.There is another secret between the two.Small, sweet secrets. Asano was talking to everyone, perhaps expressing his gratitude to everyone. At some point, Shi Shi stood beside Asano again.It was as if she had never left there. "Happy New Year!" Mother came over and raised her glass to Tou, and Tou also toasted to her mother.The moment of happiness just now has gone away from him.