Chapter 2 Suruga Nao no.1

The moment I saw the woman standing there, I suddenly felt short of breath, as if my heart had been kicked from the inside. The woman in a white flowing dress with a face like a ghost was none other than Junko Namioka. Although Junzi is facing all of us, she is actually only in one of them, her expression is emptied, but her eyes are fixed on one point - Hodaka's body. It took me two seconds to understand what happened, and then I thought about countermeasures in the next two seconds. Hotaka just froze there with a hopeless expression, and the two people behind him didn't make a sound.Yukisa Kaori probably doesn't know who this woman is, let alone Shen Lin Guihong. In this regard, it's lucky.But the luckiest thing is that Shenbayashi Miwako is not here at this moment.

"Hey, Zhunzi, why did you appear here all of a sudden?" I got up and opened the glass door, but her gaze was still not on me.I went on to say, "Have you finished your work today?" Her lips moved slightly, as if she was speaking in a low voice, but what she said was completely inaudible. I put on the men's slippers I put outside to block Namioka Junko's eyes "What happened?" I whispered to her. Junzi's pale cheeks gradually flushed, and at the same time, his eyes began to become bloodshot.His voice sounded like he was about to cry to me. "Hey, Suruga, are you okay?" A voice came from behind, and looking back, Hotaka poked his head out of the glass door.

"Well, it doesn't matter." I replied, asking myself while answering: What does it mean that it doesn't matter? "Suruga!" Hodaka whispered again, "You find a way to solve it, I don't want her to see it." "I see." I replied without looking at him. "She" refers to Kamibayashi Miwako, of course.The glass door slammed shut.Presumably Hotaka didn't want to explain the situation of this scene to the two guests in the room. "Let's talk over there." I gently pushed Namioka Junko's shoulder. Zhunzi shook his head slightly, his eyes were full of stubbornness, and he slowly lay down with tears.

"Let's go there and have a chat, it's useless for you to stay here! Well, let's go!" I pushed her body a little harder.She finally took a step, and only then did I realize that he was carrying a bag in his hand, but I couldn't see what was in it. I took her where I couldn't see it from the living room.There happened to be a small stool over there, so she sat down.Judging from the golf practice net hanging next to it, this should be the chair that Hotaka sat on when taking a break in the middle of golf practice.Next to the chairs were several potted plants with yellow and purple pansies.I remembered that Hotaka said that this was bought by Kamibayashi Miwako.

"Hey, Zhuangzi, why did you come here? And you suddenly appeared in the yard without ringing the doorbell. This is not your usual style." I asked her in the tone of accosting a little girl. "...that person?" She finally muttered, but she still couldn't hear the content clearly. "Huh? What did you say?" I put my ear to her mouth. "Is that the person?" "That person? Who are you talking about?" "The person in the room, a woman in a white suit with short hair... Is that person Cheng's marriage partner?" "Oh~" I finally understood what Junzi was trying to say, and also realized that although she looked like she was staring at Hotaka alone, she was not.

"No," I replied, "she's an editor, just here to talk about work." "Then who is going to marry Hotaka?" "What..." "Is Hodaka going to get married? That's what I heard. Is she here today?" Zhunzi asked, as if she had said all the words she had endured until now, with tears streaming down her face.Looking at the edges and corners of that face, I couldn't help but recall when she became so thin.She used to have a beautiful round face like a goose egg. "She's not here," I said. "Where is that?" "This... I don't know either. Why are you asking this?"

"I want to meet with that person." Zhunzi turned his face to the direction of the living room, about to stand up, "I want to ask Cheng face to face." "Hey, hey, wait! Wait a minute!" I held her down with both hands and asked her to sit down again. "Did you see his attitude just now? Although I don't want to say that, in fact, that guy doesn't want to see you now. I also know that you have a lot of dissatisfaction that needs to be vented, but can you bear it for a while today, go back first and then talk about it Woolen cloth?" Unexpectedly, Zhunzi turned his face back to me, his eyes seemed to be looking at something strange.

"I haven't heard anything about Cheng's marriage, and I'm not the one to marry...I just heard about it until recently. And it didn't come from him, it was told to me by a guest who came to the hospital... So I I wanted to call him to make sure, but I hung up as soon as he heard it was me. Do you think he did too much in this matter?" "That guy is indeed a very excessive man, so I will definitely let him apologize to you. And it will be a formal apology, I promise." I knelt on the lawn and put my hands on her shoulders and said.It is extremely sad that she should make such various entreaties.

"When?" Zhunzi asked. "When is he coming?" "Soon, I won't keep you waiting." "Bring him here now," Zhunzi opened his almond-like eyes, "bring him here quickly!" "Please stop messing around like this." "Then I still have to go by myself." She stood up as soon as she finished speaking, with such strength that I didn't hold it down. "Wait a minute!" I was kneeling on the ground and couldn't get up immediately, so I grabbed her ankle. She screamed and fell, a paper bag falling from her hand. "Ah, I'm sorry!" I was about to hug her up, and at that moment, I caught a glimpse of something falling out of the paper bag, and my whole body froze immediately.

It was a bouquet, the kind a bride gets at a wedding. "Zhunzi..." I looked at her profile. She maintained a prostrate posture, staring at the bouquet thoughtfully.After a while, she suddenly realized, and put the things back in the bag in a panic. "Zhunzi, what are you going to do?" "It's nothing." Zhunzi stood up, the knees of his white pants were a little dirty.She dusted it lightly with her hand, immediately turned back and walked forward. "Where are you going?" I asked her. "I'm going back." "Then I'll give you a ride." I also stood up.

"No, I can go back by myself." "But……" "Please leave me alone." She picked up the paper bag and walked towards the gate with robot-like staggering steps. I could only watch her back. After her figure disappeared, the glass door outside my living room was locked.Because of the lace curtains, I couldn't see if anyone was inside, so I tapped on the door several times with my hand. It seemed that someone came over, and after the curtain was drawn, Shen Lin Guihong revealed his slightly nervous face.I smiled at him and pointed to the crescent lock on the glass door. Shen Lin Guihong opened the lock expressionlessly, this man's thinking is really unfathomable. After I opened the door and walked into the room, I found that Hotaka, Kamibayashi Miwako, and Yukisa Kaori were all gone. "Hey, what about Hodaka and the others?" I asked God Lin Guihong. "In the study on the second floor," he replied, "discussing work matters." "Oh, that's it," Hodaka adopted this tactic in order not to let Miwako Kamibayashi hear my conversation with Namioka Junko. "how about you?" "I don't know anything about literature, so I immediately came down again." "Then what are you doing here?" "I didn't do anything." Shen Lin Guihong replied lightly, and then sat down on the sofa.Then he spread out the newspaper that was lying aside and read it. Did he overhear my conversation with Zhunzi?If he heard it, this man should have already noticed what kind of woman Zhunzi was.However, I have no way of verifying this.If Shen Lin Guihong asked first: Who was that woman just now, I could take the opportunity to find out the truth, but Shen Lin had an indifferent expression, and his eyes kept falling on the newspaper. "Then I'll go to the second floor first." I said proactively, but Shenlin remained silent as if he didn't hear.What an unlovable eccentric. I went upstairs and knocked on the door of the study.Come in, Hotaka said. Opening the door, I saw Hotaka sitting by the window with his legs crossed on the desk, and Kamibayashi Miwako sitting opposite the desk.Yukisa Kaori stood with her wrists crossed in front of the bookshelf. "You came just in time." Hotaka said after seeing me, "Hurry up and play the role of your agent, and help me persuade these two ladies." "What's up?" "We were just discussing the filming of Meihezi's poems. This matter is beneficial to Meihezi no matter how you look at it, but they just don't understand." "About this point, I can't accept it either. Didn't we agree not to mention the movie for the time being?" Hotaka immediately furrowed his eyebrows. "I didn't say to do it right now, I just got ready. Just sign the contract first. After signing, you don't have to worry about such boring guys coming, and Miwako can concentrate on the creative work. "The second half of the sentence was directed towards Mei Hezi, and the face that had been stern all the time suddenly opened up. "Miwako's opinion is: at the current point of time, there is no consideration for the filming of a fixed image. Mr. Hodaka, as her lover, please understand this." Yukisa Kaori said very bluntly. "Of course I understand. It's because I'm her husband that I consider her from his standpoint." Then Hotaka said to his fiancée in a very soft voice: "Right, Miwako, I'll leave this matter to you. how am I?" Miwako looked a little embarrassed, but the most extraordinary thing about this girl was that even if the atmosphere made her stubborn, she would never bow her head easily. "I appreciate your kindness. But to be honest, I don't know what to do now. Cheng, don't you need to be so anxious? Can you allow me to think about it slowly?" Hearing what Kamibayashi Miwako said, Hotaka showed a complicated smile on his face.I know, this is his habit when he is anxious. Hodaka raised his hands in surrender and looked back at me. "Hey, is this endless entanglement going to continue? I also need help!" "I understand the general situation." "It's up to you from now on. This is your job." Hotaka moved his foot off the table.Then he reached for a tissue and blew his nose loudly. "Oops, the medicine seems to have lost its effect. I just took it." "Is there any more medicine?" Kamibayashi Miwako asked. "Well, it shouldn't be a big problem." Hotaka walked around to the opposite side of the desk, opened the top drawer, and took out a small box with the lid open, and there was a bottle inside.He unscrewed the bottle cap, took out a white pill, and put it in his mouth without thinking.Picking up the half-drunk coffee can on the table, he drank it all in one go.This is just rhinitis medicine.For Hodaka, who considers himself a handsome man, the old problem of allergic rhinitis has always been the source of his distress. "Isn't it good to drink it with coffee?" Miwako Kanbayashi said. "It's okay, I've always been like this." Hotaka closed the lid, took out the suitcase and handed it to her, then threw the medicine box into the trash can next to it. "You put it in our suitcase, I don't have to eat any more today." "Don't you still want to eat before the wedding tomorrow?" "There's a medicine jar downstairs, put two pills in it later, and just take it with you." After speaking, Hodaka blew his nose again, "Um... where did I just say that?" "About making a movie, let's talk about it after you come back from your wedding trip?" I suggested, "Miwako doesn't have the heart to talk about it today, does she? Anyway, tomorrow is your big day." Kamibayashi Miwako glanced at me and smiled sweetly. Hotaka sighed, pointed at me and said. "That's fine, then we can decide on the details during the trip, right?" "Well, yes." "Okay, that's all for now." Hodaka stood up abruptly, "Let's go eat together, I know a very good Italian restaurant." "Before that, I have one more important matter." I said to Hotaka, "It's about Kikuchi Animal Hospital." Hotaka slightly tilted his right eyebrow and the corner of his mouth. "They want to interview you," I looked at Shenlin Meihezi and the others and said, "I want to discuss this matter with you." "Then let's avoid it for a while." Yukisa Kaori said. "Well, okay." Kamibayashi Miwako also stood up, "We'll wait for you in the next room." "We'll be fine in five minutes." Hotaka said to the two of them, and Miwako nodded with a smile. "Didn't you explain anything to her?" I cut to the chase after hearing the door close in the next room.No matter how unresponsive Ren Suigao is, he also knows that the "she" I mean refers to Namioka Junko. Hotaka scratched his head and sat back on the office chair again. "Is it necessary to explain?" Hodaka sneered. "Why do I have to report to her specifically about my being with other women?" "But then she won't understand." "So, did she understand? If I said, 'Because I'm going to marry Miwako', would she say 'Oh, that's it' and give up? The result must be the same. No matter what I say, that Women will definitely not accept it, they will just nagging endlessly. It is better to let that kind of woman go. If you keep ignoring it, she will always give up in the end. It is better not to apologize or care about her inexplicably. " I crossed my fingers in front of my chest and grasped it with all my strength so as not to tremble. "If she asks for mental damages, you have nothing to say!" I said, trying to lower my tone and pretend to be calm. "Why? I don't remember having a marriage contract with her!" "Didn't you let her have an abortion? Don't you forget that? I persuaded her and took her to the hospital." "Doesn't that mean she agreed to the abortion?" "That's because she firmly believes that she can marry you in the future. I just made sense of her by saying that." "This is a promise you made without authorization and has nothing to do with me." "Hodaka!!" "Don't shout loudly, you can hear it in the next room." Hotaka frowned, "Okay, that's fine, I'll pay, so it's okay?" I nodded and took the notepad out of my jacket pocket. "As for the amount, I'll discuss it with Teacher Guqiao before deciding." I mentioned the name of a lawyer we both know well, "And, you must hand over the money to her yourself." "Just let me go! Is this necessary?" Hotaka got up from the chair and walked towards the door. "She just wants to hear you say sorry, just once, even just once, you can meet and talk to her once!" However, Hotaka shook his head and pointed at my chest. "Negotiation is your duty, you help me find a way." "Hodaka..." "That's the end of this matter, let's go eat." Hotaka opened the door and looked down at his watch. "It didn't even take five minutes to keep them waiting." I had the urge to stab Hotaka's neck with the tip of the ballpoint pen in my hand, but I resisted it. After everyone came to the first floor, Shenlin Guihong still sat on the sofa in the same posture as before and read the newspaper.After Miwako conveyed to him that everyone would go to dinner together later, he stood up without showing a particularly happy expression. "Eh?" Hodaka couldn't help calling after opening the drawer of the built-in closet on the wall.In his hand was a silver pocket watch.But it was not a pocket watch, but his beloved medicine jar.I heard Hotaka say that it was bought for him by his ex-wife when he got married last time. "What's wrong?" Miwako asked. "It's nothing, but I opened the medicine jar just now and found two capsules inside." "What's wrong?" "I remember it should be empty, that's weird, did I remember wrongly?" Hotaka tilted his neck. "But it's okay, just eat these two pills tomorrow." "I don't know when this medicine was taken, so you'd better not take it." Hearing the words that she was going to be her bride tomorrow, Hotaka stopped the hand that was about to unscrew the lid of the medicine jar. "You're right, then I'll throw this away." He said and threw the two capsules in the medicine jar into the trash can.Then he gave the pot of medicine to Miwako Shenlin. "Wait a minute and help me put some medicine in it." "Okay." She put the medicine jar into her bag. "Okay, let's go then!" Hotaka clapped his hands lightly and said. That restaurant was a ten-minute drive from Hotaka's house.Because it is located in a residential area, if you didn't notice the sign, you would think it was a western-style house. Hotaka, me, the Kamibayashi brothers and sisters, and Yukisa Kaori, the five of us sat around the inner dining table.The hands of the clock have passed three o'clock.Since it was the time zone between lunch and dinner, there were hardly any other guests. "That is to say, no matter how similar the appearance is, the essence is completely different." Hodaka said while fiddling with the fork in his hand. "The United States and Japan have different complexes for baseball, the history of baseball itself is also different, and the degree of attention is very different. It's not that I don't understand these contents, but the extent is beyond our imagination. The failure of the previous work is mainly due to this reason. Bar?" "Not only movies, but even novels about baseball won't sell well. Ms. Yukisa said that too, right?" Kamibayashi Miwako said while looking at Yukisa Kaori. Yukissa nodded while eating sea urchin spaghetti. “Even though it looks like everyone is playing baseball, it doesn’t turn out to be professional. It’s weird to imagine that there are fans who don’t watch the game and just cheer on it. I’m Lesson learned." "You mean, stop dabbling in baseball?" "Well, I'm already scared." After speaking, Hotaka took a sip of Italian beer. Speaking of Hotaka's film last year, the script he wrote himself is about the world of professional baseball.The original idea was not only to use the world of professional baseball as a material, but to describe the real world as much as possible.The idea hit the bullseye and was well received by some film buffs and pundits.However, after the film was released, it encountered Waterloo.It just blindly increased the debt of Hotaka Planning Company. Hodaka believes that if a baseball movie is popular in the United States, as long as it is done well, it will definitely make money in Japan, which is different from my expectations.Japanese movie fans have no hope for their own productions.Hearing something about baseball, you can easily make a movie on the popularity of professional baseball, it's just a given.It will not be easy to wash away this stigma.It was dangerous for me to insist on this plan from the beginning, but Hotaka didn't listen to it at all. The reasons why novels about baseball fail to sell are different from movies.Although American movies like 'Majoring' are popular in Japan, I have never heard of a baseball novel translated into Japanese as the top seller. Since I don't understand such fundamental things, I plan to persuade Hotaka not to get involved in the film industry.Although everyone recognizes the talent of this man, the water in the world does not always flow from high to low. I rolled up the macaroni with a fork and glanced at Hotaka out of the corner of my eye.He can't help but talk to himself when there are more than three people, and he has been talking to himself since the beginning. I can't help but admire him, he can talk for so long on this topic alone.He hadn't changed at all in that regard, I think back. Hotaka and I belonged to the same club at university—the Film Studies Club.Since then, he has aspired to be a film director.Although there are dozens of club members including those in name, he should be the only one who really wants to develop towards the film industry. However, Hotaka realized his dream in a way that we didn't expect at all.He first started to write novels, and not only wrote, but also submitted manuscripts for the Newcomer Award, and won the first prize in one fell swoop. He had made some achievements as a novelist, and he got involved in screenplay writing soon after.The reason is that when my work was remade into a movie, I wrote the script myself.The sales volume of novels ranked first, and the movies became popular accordingly. In this way, he broadened his future development path. Seven years ago, he opened his own firm, not only for tax countermeasures, but also to pave the way for the film industry. At that time, Hotaka contacted me and said that he would like me to help him manage the office. To be honest, this proposal is tantamount to helping me in a timely manner.For some reason, I'm literally a vagrant right now.But I can't agree to him immediately.In short, at that time, I was almost cornered. I used to be the manager of a tire manufacturing company.Working every day is very boring, not interesting at all, and I accidentally fell in love with betting on horses.At the beginning, I just bought a small amount, and after I tasted the sweetness, I developed to buy horse racing tickets every week.But I don't have the knowledge and skills of horse racing at all.No, even with those so-called tricks, it's impossible to win all the time.I was broke in an instant. Although it is the best policy to stop at this point, what I thought at the time was: Can I not make money?So he borrowed usury. "I filled this big hole in one go" is really stupid in retrospect, but at the time it was really a dream come true.I put all my loans on horse races. The next thing is the old cliché.To pay off my growing debt, I reached out to public funds.I made up a fictitious company, made up some bogus transactions, and sent money from my company's account.The superior will verify which parts I have memorized by heart, as long as there are no contradictions in the numbers in those places, it will not be exposed for the time being. But this was indeed "for the time being". At that time, the head of the section who was checking another file found out what I was doing, and he immediately called me over to question me.I confessed truthfully, because I had already prepared myself mentally. "You will try to settle the accounts for me within this month," said the section chief, "so that I won't make this public and keep it in my heart forever. Then you can write your resignation letter and get your severance pay. " Maybe the section chief was also worried about being scolded by his superiors because of negligent management, so he said that.But as far as I'm concerned, I can't thank him enough for his generosity.The question is how to fill the gap in the account.And the total amount shocked even me, it was more than 10 million yuan. When I met Hotaka, I told him the truth.If at that time he thought my hands were not clean and didn't entrust me to take care of the office, nothing would happen afterwards. But Hodaka didn't show the slightest surprise at what I said, not only that, he also said that he would help me advance the money. "This kind of small money, you and I can make it back in one go. My gambling here is much more interesting than horse racing." After flushing out the loopholes in the ledger, the embezzlement of public funds will not be reported, and the next job will still be available——I felt as if I was suddenly patronized by the goddess of luck, and I immediately agreed to Hodaka's invitation. At that time, Hotaka's schedule was packed.Not only as a popular king in the novel world, but also as a script writer, he was scrambled here and there.In addition, he also wanted to get involved in film production, so it was indeed necessary to build an office to manage it.And one of the first things I did was hire temporary workers. After a while, I learned why Hotaka chose me as a partner.One day he said this to me: "Can you come up with two or three stories for me? Give it to me next week for a fall TV show." My eyes widened involuntarily after listening. "Isn't it your job to come up with stories?" "Of course, but I'm too busy to move my hands. You can think of whatever you want, as long as it looks like that on the surface. Didn't you write a few plays when you were a student? Choose from among them. How many can solve it?" "That kind of content doesn't work in the adult world." "It doesn't matter, as long as I can cope with it temporarily. I will slowly consider better works later." "If so, I'll give it a try." I compiled a report on the three scripts I had written before and handed it to Hotaka.The results were all published by Hotaka as his own works, and one of them was published as a novel. After that I made several ideas for him.Originally, I didn't have the will to become a creator, and I also knew that it would be better to commercialize the created things under his name, so I didn't have any dissatisfaction.Most importantly, Hotaka is my big creditor. After the Hodaka Planning Company had been going smoothly for a while, the situation ahead began to be dangerous.Thus, Hodaka began to engage in the production of Benge movies. In addition to the original work and script, Hodaka himself also took on the role of producing and directing.And my main responsibilities became sponsorship and bank dealings.Hotaka used the money I raised with peace of mind. The first two films we started on only added to our liabilities, and it would have been much worse if I hadn't shoehorned movie tickets into corporate sponsors. I firmly oppose "Hodaka Project" involving the field of film production in the future.I like movies myself, but those are two different things.It's not just because the movie doesn't make money, I'm also worried that if he gets caught in the movie production, it will hinder his original novel and script creation career.In fact, he has hardly carried out any creative activities in the past year.If people who used to write manuscripts as their main income now stop writing, of course they will not receive any income. The money in the account of "Hodaka Project" is decreasing bit by bit However, Hotaka and I have very different ideas.He is convinced that success in the media industry is necessary to regain the top spot on the rich list.And the secret of success is to make yourself a talking point. At this time, the name of Kamibayashi Miwako appeared. The reason Hodaka is interested in her is nothing more than because she is a very popular poetess recently.So he asked his co-editor Yuki Sasa Kaori to arrange for him to meet her. What happened after that, I don't really know.By the time I realized it, the two had already started dating.Not only a relationship, but also a marriage contract. I don't know that woman named Kamibayashi Miwako very well, it should be said that I know almost nothing.But in my opinion, she doesn't have enough femininity for Hodaka to decide to remarry.On the contrary, I feel that she still lacks something necessary to be a woman.True, she had a pretty face, but that was a little different from the original charm of a woman.If I insist on the difference, I think her beauty is that of a beautiful boy.Although it is a bit strange to describe women with words like "beautiful boy", in short, I guess ordinary men should not have any sexual desire to see her.Usually when I see a young woman, I imagine what she looks like under her clothes, but I don't have such thoughts about her at all.Because there was something in her that dissuaded me from this desire. Of course, it would be fine if he was really attracted by this kind of beauty, but as far as I know, Hotaka is not the man who pursues this.So after learning that the two of them were dating, I suddenly had an unpleasant premonition. And found that this premonition came true was the moment Hodaka said that she wanted to make her poetry into a film. "I'm going to make an animation, so I won't lose any money." I recalled Hodaka standing in front of the study window and waving his fist. "I've already found a production company, and the last thing left is to implement it. In this way, we can quickly Make a comeback!" When I first heard these words, I couldn't help but get goosebumps all over my body. "Does she know about this?" I asked him. "I'll convince her, I'm going to be his husband's man!" Hodaka shook his nose. His expression reminded me of something, and I asked him in a joking tone. "You make it sound like you married for that purpose." To this, Hotaka said "How is that possible?" and smiled wryly.The smile reassured me a little, but then he said: "But the trend may change in the future." "trend?" "That woman is very special," he said. "In this day and age, there must be a certain quality in someone who can become famous by writing poetry. Her popularity is not a flash in the pan. There is no harm in keeping this treasure for yourself, and I certainly will." Times come and go." "It sounds like your motives for getting married are quite impure..." "Of course it's not the only reason, but I can say that if she was just an ordinary white-collar worker named Shenbayashi Miwako, I would never marry her." Maybe it was because I showed disgust, Hodaka added with a low laugh. "Don't look at me with that look. When I remarry at this age, besides liking, I will definitely pursue some added value, right?" "Then do you really like her?" "I like it, compared to other women." Hotaka said nonchalantly with a serious face. As unpleasant as the conversation was at the time, it was what happened next that made me feel all the more desolate.After saying a few words, I warned him that after getting married, he must never get divorced again, because the news of breaking up with God Lin Miwako will only spoil the image. "I don't have such a plan now, and I don't want to keep doing thankless and useless work all the time." After Hodaka said this, he had a slightly hesitant expression on his face, and then continued, "It's just that there is one thing that has always been Let me grieve." "What's up?" "It's Miwako's older brother." Hodaka replied, with his mouth twisted. "What happened to her brother?" After I finished asking, Hotaka sneered, his eyes were like those of reptiles. "Her brother likes her, it can't be wrong." "Ah?" I opened my mouth wide, "Is that my brother?" "They seem to live separately all year round. Although Miwako didn't say it explicitly, there is a very strange feeling in her words. Her brother treats her as a woman. After I really got in touch with him, I was convinced of this again." "How is it possible? Are you thinking too much?" "You'll understand when you see it yourself. The older brother wouldn't stare at the younger sister like that. Maybe Miwako also sees him as the opposite sex." "You've been very frank about it." "Maybe that's where her mystery lies. And before she married me, she never thought of falling in love with anyone, including her brother who is related by blood. Anyway, I can only pray that they haven't happened yet." Physical relationships always feel a little disgusting." "I'm going to throw up." When I said that, Hotaka smiled silently. "No one can say for sure what will happen with men and women in the future, so maybe Miwako and I will be separated in the future. At that time, I will use this as an excuse. I will say something like this: 'For some reason, I am very concerned about that matter, I can't figure it out...'This will definitely cause a sensation in the society, and it will definitely attract the attention of the world." Hearing Hodaka's words, I was terrified all of a sudden. I couldn't tell what I was afraid of.Anyhow, I was preoccupied with the idea that this marriage was absolutely extraordinary. The phone in my breast pocket rang, as if I had forgotten to turn it off.At this time, several people present were tasting the main course, and there were three tiger prawns on the plate in front of me.Hodaka showed a visibly unhappy expression. "Excuse me." I got up from my seat and walked to the bathroom.After finding a place that customers can't see, I pressed the call button, "Hello" There was a murmur first, and then a small voice came into my ears, "...Hello" I immediately realized who it was. "Is it accurate?" I tried to keep a calm tone and said, "What's wrong?" "Please tell Cheng..." "Ok?" "Please tell Cheng, I'll wait for him here." Namioka Junko's voice was choked with sobs, and I heard her nose twitch. "Where are you now?" I asked, but she didn't answer.I suddenly felt anxious for a while, accompanied by an ominous premonition. "Hey, Junzi! Are you listening?" What did she say, "Huh? What did you say?" I asked. "... Sumire, you're beautiful." "? What's beautiful?" When I asked this sentence, the other party had already hung up the phone. I put the phone back in my pocket and thought: where on earth did Junko Namioka call?Why did you call again?What did she say she was beautiful? On the way back to his seat, a flash of light suddenly appeared in his head, and the pure noise passed through the filter and became clear words. She was talking about pansies, pansies are beautiful— Yellow and purple petals appeared in front of my eyes, and I strode forward with great strides. "Hodaka, come here a little bit..." I stood and whispered in his ear. Hotaka immediately frowned. "What's the matter, let's talk about it here!" "It's not convenient to say here, it will be fine in a while." "You are so troublesome, who is calling?" Hotaka wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and stood up. "I'm sorry, please don't mind, let's continue eating." These words were said to God Lin Guihong. I brought Hotaka to the place I spoke to just now. "You go home immediately!" I said. "why?" "Nangoka Junko is waiting for you!" “准子？”穗高咂着嘴，“你别太过分了！这事不是已经结束了吗？” “她的样子有点异常。而且还在你家的庭院里，说她一直在那里等你。” “等我干什么？！真麻烦，那个女人……”穗高挠挠下巴。 “总之还是快回去一趟为妙，你也不希望让她被别人看到吧？” “糟糕！”穗高咬着嘴唇，目光不断地扫视周围。随即露出一副做下决定的表情，对我说，“你帮我去看看情况吧。” “她等的是你啊！” “我这不是有客人在嘛，你要我丢下他们不管吗？” "guest?" 我的表情在旁人看起来一定很莫名其妙，他竟然把神林贵弘说成是客人，而且还能一本正经地说出口，我甚至怀疑他的神经是不是出了问题。 “拜托你了，”穗高把手往我肩上一搭，并笑脸相迎。“你想法子把她打发走，你比我更了解准子，不是吗？” “穗高……” “否则美和子会觉得很奇怪。我回到座位上，你到我家去看看，我替你向他们说明。”穗高说完，不等我作答就往座位走去。我连叹气的心思都没有了。 出了餐厅，我走到大路上拦了一辆出租车。一想到浪冈准子是以怎样的心情等候着穗高，我的胸口就一阵剧痛。事态会发展到这个地步，我自己也有责任。 我是在穗高之前认识准子的。虽同住一幢公寓，但认识她的契机是有一次她在电梯上主动跟我搭话。当然她不会对我这种30多岁的男人产生兴趣，使她感兴趣的，是我手上提着的笼子，那里面装着一只雌性的俄罗斯波斯猫。这只猫现在还养在我家里面。我家的公寓允许养宠物。 这只猫好像感冒了呢——这是她主动跟我说的第一句话。 “你看得出来吗？”我问。 “嗯，去兽医站看过没？” “还没有。” “还是早点去治疗一下为好，如果你愿意，请到我这里来。”说着她递给我一张名片。上面写着一个兽医站名字，她在那边担任助手。 次日，我带着小猫去了准子工作的兽医站，她还记得我，一见到我就露出了笑容，那张笑脸真是灿烂。 因为我的猫是当天最后一个去看病的，检查完之后我们聊了一会儿。她是一个天真烂漫而且很喜欢笑的女孩儿，那种开朗着实安抚了我的心。不过聊到动物的话题时，她的目光变得严肃起来。说到不好好对待宠物的主人，她更是紧握放在腿上的双拳。对我而言，这个话题很是新鲜。 当我提到穗高诚的名字时，准子的目光一下子变了。 “我可是他的忠实粉丝啊！骏河先生竟然在穗高诚的事务所工作，真是没想到呢，太了不起了！”她在胸前紧攥着的双拳激动得直哆嗦。 “你这么迷他的话，下次我向你引见一下好了。”我说，完全没当回事。 “啊？真的吗？要是麻烦的话就不用了……” “不麻烦。不管怎么说，他的日程都是我安排的呢。”我故意拿出记事本，当着她的面查了行程表。想起来当时真傻，要是有那个闲工夫做这事儿，还不如多考虑一下把她骗到宾馆去的伎俩呢。 几天后，我就把浪冈准子带到了穗高家。'准子很漂亮，穗高一定不会给脸色看的'，我猜得完全没错。那天晚上三人一起到外面吃了晚餐，准子的表情仿佛身处梦境中。 饭后，我要送她回家时，穗高在我耳畔低语：“真是个好女孩儿呢。” 我转头望着穗高，而此时他已经将目光注视到了准子的背影上。 意识到自己闯下大祸，已然过了两个月。有次我来到穗高家后，发现准子在卧室里。非但如此，她还为我和穗高泡了咖啡。望着她站在厨房里的身影，我立即明白了一切。 即便如此，我并未表现得很震惊，而是用嘲讽的表情问穗高：“什么时候开始的？” “大概一个月前吧。”他回答。我这才回想起来，准子恰好就是从那时开始拒绝我邀请的。 尽管不知道穗高的情况如何，准子绝对是知道我心意的，她一定满心歉意吧。某一天，当只剩我们俩人的时候，她对我小声说了一声'对不起'。 没关系的，我回答。我不可能责怪她什么，本来就是我自己不好，过于迟钝了。 然而过了几个月，我对带她去见穗高一事的悔意又进了一步——她怀孕了。穗高找到我来商量这件事。 “你快帮我想个法子，她硬说要生下来，不肯听我的话。”穗高躺在客厅的沙发上，脸色极度疲惫。可能是头很痛，他不断揉着眼角。 “让她生下来不是也挺好么？”我依然站着，俯视着他。 “别开玩笑了！孩子是绝对不能要的！喂，你一定要想想办法。” “你没有要结婚的打算吗？” “这我还没考虑。当然，我和她交往也不是玩玩的。”这后半句话纯粹是因为看穿我的心思而补充上去的。“反正我不喜欢奉子成婚。” “那你就借此机会考虑一下结婚的事又有何妨？要是这样她说不定也就同意堕胎了。” “好吧，这样好，那就这么定了。”穗高从沙发上站起来，“你跟她心平气和谈一下，千万别做惹怒她的事。” “你真的要认真考虑一番哦！” “嗯，知道啦。”穗高用力点了点头。 当晚我就去了准子的住处，而她也知道我的来意，一见到我就说：“我绝对不会把孩子拿掉的。” 我开始了费时费力的劝导工作，真是一份讨厌的差事。不过我还是硬着头皮做了，因为我也打心底里感到把孩子堕掉的确是为了她自己考虑，并认为还是不要和穗高有任何的瓜葛会比较好。但却又为了让她同意堕胎，不得不承诺自己会劝说穗高和她的婚事。 流了大约两公升泪水之后，准子终于答应堕胎了，我自己也筋疲力竭。几天后，我随同她一起进了妇科医院。过了几个小时，又开车送做完手术的她回家。她如同死人一般面无表情，直直地盯着窗外。那张侧脸已经没有了刚见面时的那份开朗。 “我一定会让穗高履行诺言的！”我说，她什么也没回答。 不用说，穗高食言了。几个月过后，他和神林美和子定下了婚约。知道这事儿时，我便追问穗高如何对准子交待。 “我自己来解释吧，这也是没办法的，又不能同时和两个女人结婚。”穗高说。 “你会好好劝她吗？” “嗯，我就是这么打算的。”他回答，脸上带着不厌烦的神情。 但是，他却什么也没对准子说。直到最近，她还一直蒙在鼓里，以为自己能成为穗高夫人。 我又回想起白天看到的她那双空洞无神的眼睛。 当出租车驶到穗高家门前时，我把一张五千元大钞递给司机，找零也没要就飞身下了车。然后迅速跑上大门的楼梯，发现门依然锁着。穗高并没有把家里的备用钥匙留给准子。 我直接往庭院走，“三色堇——”我重新想起她的话。 而看到院子的那一刹那，我呆住了。 在修剪整洁的草坪上，铺着一块白色的布。定睛一看，那正是浪冈准子。她还穿着刚才那件白衣。 不同之处在于，她头戴面纱，右手拿着花束。面纱略微掀起，露出她那张瘦得凹陷下去的脸庞。