Chapter 8 Section 1

In the end, Dongzi stayed at my house overnight. The next morning, she called me to Shansen Sports Square to apply for interview permission.Because she felt that using the name of the publishing house would make the other party feel more at ease. The application for an interview seemed to be approved smoothly, but the other party seemed a little hesitant about the request to meet the president. "Is there no way to talk to the president? The writer said that no matter what, he hopes to meet the president directly and have a good chat." That writer is me. After a while, I heard Dongzi announce my name.It must be because the other party asked the author's name.The sales volume of my work is not good, so the other party probably won’t know the name, right?Will it be because we have never heard of this writer that we will reject our request?I feel a little uneasy.

However, as if trying to eliminate my uneasiness, Toko's expression suddenly brightened. "Is it like this? Yes, please wait a moment." She covered the microphone with her palm and said to me in a low voice: "The other party said that it's okay to go today. Can you?" "no problem." So, Dongzi decided to meet with the other party on the phone - at the counter at one o'clock this afternoon. "It seems that President Yamamori knows your name!" Putting down the phone, Toko said while making a V-shaped victory gesture. "Who knows? The president probably has never heard of my name, but he may think that he can promote the sports plaza by the way!"

"It's not like that!" "You care too much." The corners of my mouth rose slightly. Only one hour should be more than enough from my house to the sports square. I calculated the time and decided to go out before noon.But, just as I was putting one foot in the shoe, the doorbell rang. When I opened the door, I saw a man standing at the door wearing a dark blue T-shirt soaked in sweat. What was given to me was delivered quickly.I took off the shoe that was only on one foot, and went back to the room to get the seal. There were two boxes of things delivered, and the size of the boxes was twice as large as the orange cartons I saw that day.It is not difficult to see Xingshiro's meticulous character from the way the tape is pasted.

"It seems heavy!" I stared at the two boxes and said, "It's very heavy, because it contains documents and materials! This type is quite heavy." "Do you want me to move it for you?" "Okay!" I asked the man who delivered the courier to help me move the things into the house.It was really heavy enough, and I even wondered if there was lead in it. As I was about to move the second carton, something moved within my line of sight. --what? I reflexively turned my face to look in that direction, only to see a person sticking his head out to peek, and then immediately retracted his head.All I know is that the man wears glasses.

"Hey." I lightly touched the wrist of the man delivering the courier, "There seems to be a person standing in the shadow over there. Was that person already there when you came here just now?" "Huh?" He stared round his eyes and looked in the direction I said, then nodded as if remembering something. "Ah, oh! There's a weird old man standing over there. He's been staring at the boxes while I've been carting them over. But when I give him a look, he turns his face away." opened." "Old man?" I looked towards the corner again, then put on the flip flops at my feet, and walked quickly in that direction.It's just that when I turned the corner, there was no one in sight.I looked at the elevator and saw that it was going down.

After returning home, I was greeted by Fuyuko with a disturbed face. "How about it?" "People are gone." So, I asked the man who delivered the courier what the old man looked like.You could tell he was trying hard to remember. "The old man is nothing special. He has white hair and average height! He is wearing a light brown top, and he is well-dressed. As for his appearance, I just glanced at it briefly, so I don't quite remember it!" I thanked him, watched him leave, and quickly closed the door. "Dongzi, you don't have any friends from your grandparents, do you?"

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I felt like I had told a silly joke.Dongzi didn't answer either, but asked her own question seriously. "What could he be looking at?" "If he is spying on my house, he should come to me for something!" To put it bluntly, I don't know if the old man is really spying on my house.Maybe it was just halfway through the walk and happened to pass by.Still, there's something wrong with walking down narrow apartment hallways. "By the way, what is this large package?" Toko asked me, pointing to the two cardboard boxes, so I explained to her what was in the box, and by the way, told her that Miyuki Shinsato would come today.Since Miyuki is coming to my house tonight, I have to come back before that time.

"In other words, Chuanjin's past is sealed here." Dongzi said in a deeply emotional tone.As soon as she said that, I had the urge to open the carton immediately, but because of the agreement with Miyuki, I endured it.And most importantly, now is the time when I have to go out. Walking out of the house, I took the elevator. At this moment, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind: Could the old man be peeking at the package delivered by the courier instead of peeking at people? On the way to the Sports Plaza, Toko told me about the president Takuya Yamamori.She felt that it might not be good if she didn't do any homework beforehand, so she hurriedly looked up some information for me this morning.

"Mr. Takuya's father-in-law is Hidetaka Yamamori, who belongs to the family of the Yamamori Group. That is to say, Mr. Takuya is married." The main enterprise of Shansen Group is the railway company, and it has recently extended its tentacles to real estate. "Mr. Takuya used to be a swimmer when he was a student. It seems that for a while he aimed to participate in the Olympics! When he was in college and graduate school, he majored in exercise physiology. After graduation, he entered the Yamamori Department Store. As for the reason why Yamamori Department Store hired him , because the sports center had just opened at that time, so employees with professional knowledge were needed. His performance at work did not seem to disappoint the company, and the ideas and plans he proposed were successful, making the sports center, which was originally planning to lose money, profitable. Big money."

Although as a swimmer, he failed to become a big player, but as an entrepreneur, he is first-rate. "When he was 30 years old, he met the daughter of Vice President Hidetaka Yamamori for the first time, and the two got married. The following year, the sports center was upgraded to an independent enterprise, which is now Yamamori Sports Plaza. Eight years later In 2010, Mr. Takuya got the actual management right, which means he was promoted to president. This happened the year before last.” "It's really like a success story in a serial drama!" I said the most direct impression in my heart.

"After becoming the president, he is still working very hard! He went to give speeches everywhere, and promoted by the way. Recently, he was also called a sports critic, education critic and other titles. There are even rumors that he is almost the same It's time to start preparing to enter the political world!" "That's a lot of ambition," I said. "But it seems that I have made a lot of enemies!" When Dongzi showed worried eyes, the subway arrived. Shansen Sports Plaza is a fairly complete comprehensive sports center. In addition to the sports center and gymnasium, there are also indoor swimming pools and tennis courts.There is even a golf driving range on the top floor of the building. After explaining our purpose at the counter on the first floor, a long-haired counter lady asked us to go directly to the second floor.The second floor is where the sports center is located, and the office seems to be inside. "This kind of business is the most profitable now." When we took the elevator, Dongzi said to me: "In this era of material excess, you can get almost anything you want, and the only thing left is health. You have a beautiful body. In addition, Japanese people are not good at spending their holidays, so if you come to this kind of place, you can use your time effectively, and everyone will feel more at ease!" "I see." I nodded in admiration. As the counter lady said, the second floor is the sports center.The floor is very wide, but there are so many people exercising in it that I don't feel it at all.The closest to us is a fat middle-aged man who is struggling with chest training equipment. Opposite him is an old woman running.With a towel hanging around her neck, the old woman tried to move, but her body didn't move forward at all.After a closer look, I realized that she was running on a wide conveyor belt. Because the conveyor belt kept turning around, the old lady's body would stay in place. There was also a fat woman riding a bicycle.Of course, this is not an ordinary bicycle, but a substitute that is fixed on the floor and only the metal plate in front keeps turning.She was like an all-around show jumper, moving her fat feet with a look on her face as if she was going to fight someone.If a generator is connected nearby, I think she should be able to provide electricity for an entire floor! After we passed through this large group of people wriggling like caterpillars, sweating hotly and exhaling warm breath, we came to the front of the aerobic classroom.A large expanse of glass windows provides a clear view of the classroom.I saw thirty or forty women in gorgeous leotards dancing with the movements of the dance teacher. "I found something interesting." I said as I walked, "It's just like the classroom at school! The closer to the teacher, the better the performance." While looking at the classroom on the left, we continued to walk forward, and there was a door at the end.After opening the door, there are two rows of desks, each row has ten desks, and there are almost the same number of people standing or sitting next to the desks.There are also complete sets of computer equipment on the table. At first glance, it is not clear what kind of office this is. Since everyone seemed to be very busy, Fuyuko explained our purpose to a woman who was seated closest to the door and felt quite stable.She was about twenty-five years old, wearing a light blue short blouse, and her hair was slightly curly.After listening to Dongzi's words, she nodded with a smile, then picked up the microphone at hand and pressed a button.The call seemed to be picked up quickly, so she announced our visit to the person on the other end of the phone. However, the other party did not meet us immediately. She, who specializes in these matters, looked at us apologetically. "I'm very sorry, because the president suddenly has urgent work at hand, so there is no way to meet with the two right now, it will take about an hour." The two of us glanced at each other. "That...so," the lady in charge said more cautiously: "The president said, during this waiting time, please both of you must experience our company's sports facilities. Then, he hopes to hear about it later. Listen to what you two think." "Ah? But we are not prepared for anything." I said in a flustered tone. She nodded as if she understood completely. "Training suits or swimsuits, we have all prepared here. Of course, if you run out of them, it's okay for the two of you to take them back." I looked at Dongzi with a helpless expression. Ten minutes later, the two of us were already swimming in the indoor swimming pool.Getting free shapewear put us in a good mood.Moreover, the member-only system here also allows us to swim leisurely.Although we couldn't touch the water because we were worried about the problem of makeup removal, the two of us temporarily forgot the heat of midsummer and stretched our limbs in the swimming pool to our heart's content. After changing our clothes and touching up our makeup, we headed to the office.The woman from earlier greeted us with a smile. "How about the swimming pool?" "Very comfortable." I said, "Where's Mr. Yamamori?" "Yes. Please go in through that door over there." She pointed to the innermost door.We thanked her and headed for the door. After knocking on the door, a man's voice echoed: "Please come in." Dongzi went in first, and I followed behind her. "Welcome." Oncoming was a large table that felt very high-class, and the man sitting behind the table stood up.He is not tall, but his shoulders are broad, and the blue and black suit on his body fits him well.Natural bangs and well-tanned skin make him feel very young, but in fact he should be over forty years old.Thick eyebrows and resolute lips give people a strong impression of not admitting defeat. "I'm so sorry to suddenly run into something that must be solved." He said in a clear voice. "Where." We both nodded at the same time. There is also a table on the left facing us, where there is a young woman in a white suit, probably a secretary!A pair of eyes that hang up like a cat make people feel that she is very competitive. After we reported our names, he also gave us a business card with "Takuya Yamamori, President of Yamamori Sports Plaza" printed on it. "This is the latest work." Dongzi took out my recently published book from the briefcase and gave it to President Yamamori. "Oh——" He looked at my book from various angles as if appreciating a tea set, and finally he stopped his gaze on the cover of the book and my face for comparison. "I haven't read a mystery novel for a long time! I read Sherlock Holmes a long time ago, and I haven't touched it since then." I couldn't find anything to answer, so I kept silent.This is not a work worthy of saying "please read it", but it would be strange if it said "you'd better not read it". In the center of the room there is a set of sofas for receiving guests. At the invitation of President Yamamori, Fuyuko and I sat down side by side.This is a comfortable leather sofa to sit on. "So, what do you two want to know?" President Yamamori asked us with a steady expression and tone.I said that because I want to put the sports center in the subject matter of the next novel, I want to know about its operation method and membership system and other related information.This answer is the same as what I discussed with Dongzi before.If you ask about Kawazu Masayuki abruptly, it will only make the other party suspicious. I began to ask questions about the sports center's personnel structure and business direction, basically asking whatever came to mind.President Yamamori also answered my questions in detail, occasionally interspersed with some jokes.On the way, the secretary brought us coffee and came in, but maybe the president told her not to stay in the room, so she went out immediately. I took a sip of coffee for the opportunity, and got into the subject as quietly as possible. "By the way, you seem to have met Mr. Kawazu Masayuki recently, right?" Personally, I think this question was cut too suddenly, but President Yamamori's expression didn't change at all.With a smile still on his lips, he asked me, "Mr. Kawazu Masayuki?" "Yes." After I answered, I felt that the way he looked at me seemed to have changed. "Are you friends with Mr. Kawazu?" he asked me. "Yeah, sort of. Because he has a meeting with Mr. Yamamori written on his itinerary, so..." "I see." President Yamamori nodded slowly. "I met him! Last week. He also said he would come for an interview." As expected, Yazhi has been here. "What kind of interview is he here for?" "It's related to sports-related industries." After he finished speaking, a thoughtful smile appeared on his face. "To put it bluntly, I came to investigate how much money this kind of business can make now. My answer is: it's not as big as everyone imagines." many." After finishing speaking as if he thought it was very interesting, Shansen took out a KENT cigarette from the cigarette case on the table and put it in his mouth, then picked up the lighter decorated with crystals on the same table, and lit the cigarette. "Have you met Mr. Chuanjin before?" After I finished asking, he tilted his head and scratched the top of his eyebrows with the little finger of his right hand holding the cigarette. "I've seen it before. I also go to the gym once in a while to work out, so I run into him a lot. He's a nice guy!" "So during that interview, did the conversation between the two of you stop at small talk?" "It's really just chatting!" "Excuse me, do you still remember the content of the conversation at that time?" "It's all little boring things. About my family, and his marriage, and so on. He's still a bachelor! Do you know that?" "I know." I replied. "Really? At that time, I advised him that it would be better to quickly find a good woman and settle down." After he finished speaking, he took a deep breath of the cigarette, and then smiled while exhaling milky white smoke.But when that smile disappeared, he turned to me and asked me: "By the way, what happened to that person? I don't think the material of the novel should ask about these things!" Although the calm expression on his face has not changed, the gaze from his eyes makes people feel a strong sense of oppression.In order to avoid his gaze, I lowered my eyes for a moment, and raised my head after finishing my thoughts. "Actually he... died." President Yamamori's mouth remained in the shape of saying "ah". "He's still young...is it because of his illness?" Then he asked. "No. He was killed." "How come..." He frowned, "When did it happen?" "These days." "Why..." "I don't know." I said, "One day, the criminal police came to my house and told me. After being poisoned, the head was broken and thrown into the port like garbage." It seems that he has no way to answer immediately.After a while, he said, "Really? It's so pitiful! What happened in the past few days... I don't know anything about it!" "The correct statement is that he was killed two days after meeting President Yamamori." "what……" "Did he say anything when you met him?" "What? You mean..." "For example, content that seems to imply that he himself will be killed." "That's not the case!" His voice suddenly rose. "If I really heard him say that, I wouldn't let him go without asking anything. Did he say something like that somewhere else? ?" "No, that's not why I asked." President Yamamori's eyes radiated suspicion. "I'm just a little concerned..." After I finished speaking, a smile appeared on my lips.If you linger on this topic for too long, it will make the other party feel more suspicious! Afterwards, I asked the president if he could let us visit the sports center again.So President Shanmori dialed the internal number and told the secretary outside of our request.After a while, the beautiful secretary came into the room with a woman.It's the female clerk who we bothered her many times just now, she seems to be responsible for the tour guide. When we followed the female clerk out of the room, President Yamamori said behind us: "Please take your time." The female clerk in charge of the tour gave us business cards with "Shitsuko Harumura" printed on it.Dongzi and I followed her and started to visit the sports center. When Chuncun took us to the gym, he introduced us to Ishikura, the main trainer there.Ishikura is a man in his thirties who looks like a bodybuilder—in fact, maybe he is—muscular all over his body, and he wears a thin T-shirt as if to show off his muscles.The face is the type that middle-aged women will definitely like, and the short shaved hair makes him look clean.Judging from all the conditions, he feels like a successful person. "The subject matter of mystery novels? Oh——" Ishikura showed me a very obvious look as if he was appraising, "Then I must let you read it next time! But I think it is similar to the story of the murder of the fitness trainer in the gym. , if possible, try not to be better!" These words sounded extremely embarrassing to me, but Ishikura himself laughed carelessly as if he had told an unimportant joke. "Mr. Ishikura is the younger brother of the president." After leaving the floor where the gym is located, Ms. Shizuko told us, "I heard that he also graduated from a sports university." In other words, is Takuya Yamamori's old surname Ishikura?The two brothers of the Shicang family hid under the wings of the Shansen clan smoothly. On the way to the indoor tennis court, two women came towards us, and Ms. Shizuko bowed her head to them.One of them was a middle-aged woman, and the other was a small girl who looked like a junior high school student.These two may be mother and daughter!The middle-aged woman was wearing a black dress, she was a very elegant woman, and she was wearing a pair of sunglasses with lavender lenses that were bigger than her face.The girl's skin is very fair, with big clear eyes, looking at the back of the middle-aged woman. The woman pushed up her sunglasses and asked Shizuko, "Is Yamamori in the office?" "Yes." Shizuko replied. "Yeah." The woman nodded slightly, then turned her gaze to us.Fuyuko and I also lowered our heads slightly, but the woman didn't say anything, and turned her gaze back to Miss Shizuko. "Well, these two are..." Miss Shizuko hurriedly introduced us to the middle-aged woman.But she didn't mean to express her kindness to us in particular, she just said "Thanks for your hard work" in an emotionless voice. "This is the president's wife." Then Ms. Shizuko also introduced the middle-aged woman in front of us.I don't know why, but I've already guessed so, so I'm not too surprised. "Thanks to President Yamamori for taking good care of me." I did my best to be the representative. The president's wife didn't reply to my thanks, she just reconfirmed to Ms. Shizuko: "Is it inside?" Then she grabbed the girl's right hand, placed it near her left elbow, and said softly to the girl: "Then let's go!" The girl nodded after listening. When the president's wife stepped out slowly, the girl followed behind.The two began to walk forward. We watched their backs leave from behind, and then started to move forward. "That girl's name is Yumi." Miss Shizuko said in a voice that seemed to be deliberately lowered. "Is it President Yamamori's daughter?" After I finished asking, she nodded. "I was born with very poor eyesight... Although I am not completely blind, it seems that no matter how I correct it, my eyesight has not improved." I didn't know how to answer, so I didn't say anything.Dongzi also kept her mouth shut. "But because the president thinks that she can't stay at home all the time, she is asked to come to this center to exercise several times a month." "Because of her congenital defects, President Yamamori loves her even more!" Dongzi said. "Of course." Ms. Shizuko answered with strength in her voice. Not long after, we arrived at the tennis court.The tennis court has two sides, and grannies in shorts are practicing returning shots from their coaches.The coach not only hits the ball, but also shouts "good shot" or "use more knee strength", feeling very busy. "Ah... please wait a moment." Miss Shizuko finished talking to us and walked towards the corridor.I turned around and saw a man in work clothes leaning on the trolley waiting for her.The man was tall and tall, with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his dark face.Beard under the nose, people have to pay attention.When she walked over, the man's face was still facing us, and he said a few words to her.As she answered, she cast a flickering look at us. After a while, she came back. "I'm really sorry." "If you have a job, then we are here..." Dongzi finished and waved his hand. "it's nothing." I looked at the man in the work clothes.He pushed the trolley and continued down the corridor.Then when he looked back here, he happened to meet my eyes.So he looked away in a panic, and the speed of pushing the trolley seemed to speed up. Afterwards, Ms. Shizuko took us to visit the golf driving range. We walked out of the sports center when there were too many briefing materials in our hands.Miss Shizuko escorted us to the door. The interview schedule of the Sports Center will come to an end here.