Chapter 42 chapter 2

The next day, due to discussions and interviews, Zhe Lang had been running around the busy green space in Tokyo since the afternoon.By the time everything was finally dealt with, the sun had already set.Even so, he went to Chidi.Where is Saga Zhengdao's home? When Zhelang went out, Risako didn't say a word to him.She probably thought she couldn't stop him, and he had no intention of changing his mind. At that time, a strange thing happened.He searched all over the house but couldn't find the brochure of the Golden Boy Troupe. When he asked Lisazi if he had seen it, she just replied angrily, "I didn't." Disappeared, really incredible.

Zhe Lang walked towards the apartment where Saga lived along the way last time.But when he saw the cave-like dark door, he immediately hid behind the vehicle beside him.Because there was a familiar face at the door. Two men were about to enter the apartment, and one of them was the detective Mochizuki who he had seen in "Cat's Eye". Why did that guy appear here...? This can't be a coincidence, they probably also came to visit Saga.But how did they find the Golden Boy Troupe? What does Mochizuki want to ask Saga?How would Saga answer his question?Zhe Lang thought about it worriedly.The reason why he stomped in place was not just because of the cold weather.

After more than ten minutes, Mochizuki and the others came out of the apartment.Their expressions were hard to see because of the dark sky.But from a distance, it doesn't feel like they have any major clues.It seems that it can be determined that they are simply here to listen to the case.But this is Zherang's own optimistic observation. Zhe Lang didn't approach the apartment until he was sure that Mochizuki was gone.At this point, he had a strategy in mind. He climbed the old stairs to the third floor and rang the doorbell for room 305.Immediately there was a sound in the room, and the door was opened roughly.

"What are you doing, it's you again." Saga twisted the corner of his mouth angrily.He pulled a sweater over his tracksuit. "Sorry, I have something to tell you." "I have nothing to say to you." Saga was about to open the door, but Zhe Lang pressed the door with his left hand. "I'll pinch off your fingers." "The police came here just now, right?" Hearing what he said, Saga showed an unexpected expression, and then wrote displeasure on his face. "Since you know that the criminal police have been here, you should understand that my mood has become very bad because of the successive unexpected guests."

"I know very well. But, I think you'd better listen to me. It has something to do with the criminal police just now." Saga stared at Zhe Lang with suspicion and confusion in his eyes.He frowned, rubbed his face with his thick palms, and let go of the doorknob with a click.Zhe Lang thought not to let him change his mind, so he opened the door and entered the house. The interior of the house has not changed much from the previous visit, and there is still a hill of folders and documents on the conference table. "Sorry, I can't make coffee or tea for you." Saga folded his arms and sat on the chair. "What are you going to say to me?"

"Basically the same as before, I would like you to give me the name and contact information of the person who provided the silver Christmas tree." "You have to stop being annoying. As I said, I don't know, and even if I know, I can't tell you." "Then," Zhe Lang continued after taking a breath, "can you please tell me about Mr. Li Shizhuo?" Saga's expression became visibly serious.His original sitting posture with his legs spread wide open also changed because of this sentence.He even straightened his upper body. "Standing stone? Who is he?"

"Please don't pretend, the person who provided the Christmas tree is Mr. Tateishi, right?" Saga scratched his crew cut head, then stared at Zhe Lang. "Sure enough, you shouldn't be allowed in the house. Get out!" "Unless you tell me Mr. Lishi's contact information. Otherwise, I won't leave." "I said, I don't have that kind of thing." Saga stood up. Zhe Lang is confident that even if he resorts to force, he will not lose.He used to keep fighting tacklers who were twice the size of Saga.Although Saga is difficult to deal with, biologically speaking, he is a woman.

"I'm friends with the criminal policeman just now." Zhe Lang said, "What did the criminal policeman do here? What did he ask you?" "Do I need to tell you?" "Let me talk about my reasoning. They are probably looking for someone named Saeki Kari. Did they also ask you if you know where she is?" "I don't know." Saga shook his head. "Anyway, get out." "I can tell that detective," Zhe Lang pointed behind him with his thumb. "Tell him, the Saeki Kaori you are looking for, whose real name is Tachishi Takuo, is male on household registration."

Sculpted lips complete the figure of eight.You could tell by the movement of his jaw that he was clenching his teeth. It's a big bet for Zhelang.If Saga said "please say it", there is nothing I can do. Saga let out a breath, and Zhe Lang knew his shoulders had relaxed. "I see. I don't want to be searched by the criminal police at home again. It took me three months to sort it out last time." "Will you tell me?" "I can't tell you. Because protecting the personal privacy of the staff is my most important job." "But……" "I can't tell you, but there's nothing I can do if you peek at me. It's my fault." Saga glanced at the clock, then walked towards the entrance. "I'm going to buy a pack of cigarettes, fifteen minutes... I'll be back in about twenty minutes."

"Wait a minute, where is the staff information?" When Zhe Lang asked, Saga's face was displeased, as if to say: Why are you so stupid! "Do you think anyone still writes their address book in a notebook these days? Use your brain." "what!" "Bye." Saga raised a hand and left the room. Zhe Lang turned around and carefully avoided the objects lying on the ground, and stood in front of the computer.He pressed the key and sat down. Soon, a picture appeared on the screen.He looked at the screen and operated the mouse, looking for folders related to the troupe one by one.He found it right away.There is also a folder named "Members".

The folder lists the names, addresses and phone numbers of about thirty members.At the top is Saga, counting from top to bottom to the sixteenth, I found Tateishi Zhuo's name.He seems to live in the Nagasawa apartment in Nishi-Shinjuku 8-chome. Zhelang took out the notepad used for the interview, copied Tateishi Taku's address and phone number, and looked at the names of the members again, but he couldn't find Saeki Kari or Kanzaki Mitsuru.Of course, there is no Mizuki's name either. He closed that folder first, and then tried to find another folder.There is a folder named "Originals".He tried to open it, and there was such an article inside. "Many people believe in blood type fortune-telling. Those people think that human beings can be classified into four types: A, B, O, and AB. But in their daily life, they don't treat others differently according to their blood." This is an article published in the pamphlet called "Golden Boy Sun and Moon".The title is "What color schoolbag should we carry?" " Zhe Lang browsed the content subconsciously, and he also found the summary of "Aunt Christmas". Saga seems to have given this folder to a printing company to print it into a booklet... He operated the mouse and saw that in the article on the screen, there was a sentence that read "I can't see it with the left eye", so he stopped his fingers.He read the article from the beginning.It seems that, like "Aunt Christmas", it is a play performed by the Golden Boy Troupe; the title of the play is "A Man's World". The main character is an outfielder for a college baseball team whose strengths are high batting averages and accurate passing with a strong arm.This player makes a serious mistake in a game. In a dangerous situation with one out and men on first and third bases, the hostile hitter hits a flat hit, and the protagonist goes forward to defend.Before this, the protagonist performed quite well, but after that, his performance was greatly out of shape.He throws the ball back to home plate in order to prevent the third base runner from scoring.However, the runner on first base was out of the bag at that time, and if the ball was thrown to first base, it would be a double play to end the game.His team lost because of his mistakes and couldn't make it to the finals.His mistakes in this game have become the topic of people's gossip. He was determined to enter a professional team, but instead of entering a professional team, he went to work in a general company. At the same time, he also stayed away from baseball.It was also at this time that he married his girlfriend from college. But as time passed, the relationship between his wife and him became estranged for some reason.She was no longer completely open to him as she had been before.Although he felt that something was wrong, he continued his married life. Thirty years later, he was lying on a hospital bed with his wife by his side.Knowing that he was going to die soon, he took her hand and thanked her.In the end, his wife said something unexpected to him: "Besides thanking you, you should have something to say to me, right? Or are you refusing to let me enter that world until you die?" He asked, "What world?" She told him, "A man's world." He said, "I don't know what you're talking about." So she couldn't help but yelled, "Why didn't you tell me you couldn't see in your left eye? That's why you couldn't see first base runners. You gave up on your dream." Zhe Lang read this and stood up.He peered through the corrugated box on the display case. Inside was a booklet of The Golden Boy Sun and Moon.He took out a book from it and turned the pages, and there was indeed a work called "A Man's World".He didn't pay special attention. The gate opened and Saga returned. "finished?" "Mr. Saga, this...this work is," Zhe Lang pointed to the opened page of the booklet. "Who wrote this?" Saga snatched the booklet, glanced at it, and said, "I wrote it." Then he threw the booklet on the conference table. "you're lying!" "Why should I lie to you?" "Even if you wrote it, the basic plot is not what you thought. Who is the one who proposed the outline of the plot?" "You're annoying. I say it's me. What else do you mean? Can't I write something like that?" You didn't write it, Zhe Lang said with his eyes, staring at Saga. "Even if you look at me with that look, I can't say a word. Come on, get out when you're free!" He waved his hand, as if trying to chase away flies. "Mr. Saga, you..." "I can't say any more, you're not allowed to ask any more! I won't answer any more of your questions." Zhe Lang seemed to be kicked out of the porch.When he opened the door, Saga said behind him, "You are not allowed to come again! You are not allowed to come again." When Zhe Lang turned his head, Saga silently nodded.Zhe Lang also nodded in response, and then closed the door. His mind was in turmoil.Li Shizhuo's address and phone number was finally obtained, but now he doesn't care at all.All I can think about is the drama "A Man's World". He didn't know how he got home.When I opened the door, I saw Risako's shoes. She sat on the couch in the living room, eating a sandwich and listening to blues and rock.There are two cans of beer on the coffee table. "You're back." She said without stammering. Zhe Lang took off his coat, sat down on the empty sofa, and reached for her cigarette. "You want to smoke? How strange." Zhe Lang ignored her, picked up a cigarette and lit it.Taking a deep breath, the lung cavity instantly became hot. "Take that out." "Which one?" "That one, it's called "Golden Boy Sun and Moon". The brochure of the Golden Boy Troupe." "Didn't I say I didn't know?" Risako picked up the TV remote and turned on the TV.The TV and stereo speakers make different sounds. Zhe Lang operated two remote controls to turn off the TV and stereo. "You don't have to hide it from me, I already know." "what do you know?" "The "Man's World" incident..." Zhelang felt Risako hold his breath.She stared into his eyes, let out her choked breath, and blinked slowly. "yes?" "Did you suddenly decide not to go to Saga's place after seeing that?" "Well, that's right." "why?" "Because," she looked down. "I'm terrified of getting any closer to the truth." "That's it." Zhe Lang also looked away from her. Risako got up and left the living room, seemingly entering the bedroom.Presently she was back in the living room with the pamphlet in her hand.She put the booklet in front of Zhe Lang. He picked up the booklet, opened the page of "A Man's World", and read it from the beginning. "Scared?" she asked Zhe Lang. "That's right. After you saw this, did you understand right away?" "Of course, it's about me after all." Zhe Lang raised his head and met Risako's eyes."The poor woman in the story who can't get into the man's world is me," she said, pointing her slender finger at the pamphlet. "And that arrogant ex-baseball player is you," she continued. In Risako's voice, there was a tone that made Zhe Lang feel cold.But at the same time, her own anxiety and sadness are also implied in her voice. "Did you know?" he asked. "Knew it a long time ago. I've been waiting for the day you told me, and I decided to pretend I didn't know until then." "So this is ah." Zhe Lang brushed his hair back with both hands, and gently pressed his right eyelid.The world in front of me was suddenly covered with a thick fog, and the outlines of all things became blurred, overlapping each other, and the shapes and shadows were scattered.Even the wife next to him has become a hazy image, unable to distinguish eyes and nose. "What is the vision of your left eye...?" Risako asked Zhelang. "Less than 0.1?" "I don't know if there is 0.01." "So bad..." Zhe Lang moved his hand away from his right eye, and the world in front of him gradually became clearer. "Fortunately, the vision in my right eye is maintained at 1.2. Thanks to it, I can live a normal life." "Isn't it inconvenient for you to see things like this?" "It was inconvenient at first. But I got used to it right away." Risako shook his head. "Since when?" "do not you know?" "I don't know the exact time, but I can guess the approximate period. I think you have no problem passing the ball before your junior year." As expected of the team manager, Zhe Lang admires her meticulous observation. "Shortly after entering senior year. Due to a small incident, the visual acuity of the left eye dropped from 1.5 to 0.1. After that, the visual acuity continued to decline." "Because of something trivial?" Risako asked, but Tetsura didn't answer.He took a puff of a short cigarette, exhaled it, and stubbed it out in the ashtray. "It really was because of that accident?" "Don't say it," Zhe Lang shook his head. "I don't want to bring that up." She let out a sigh. "Because of friendship?" "It's not what you think, I just don't want to hate anyone." "Aren't you self-satisfied and superior by not hating others?" "It's disgusting what you say." "I think you should speak up." "I don't think so." Zhe Lang picked up the second cigarette. It happened on a rainy day in the gym— Why did you have to do such a childish thing that day?It would be nice if he did weight training honestly, but Zhe Lang participated in the mini-competition.If you wear a helmet, you should be able to prevent accidents.However, it was too late to regret. "When you were in a coma in the hospital, I was scared out of my wits." Hearing her words, Zhelang remembered Mizuki once said: "Risako cried in the waiting room of the hospital. That was the first and last time I saw her cry." "I'm relieved to hear that you regained consciousness safely." Risako said, staring at Zhelang. "But even when you regain consciousness, you still lose your precious sight." "I didn't think it was a big deal at first. I thought that the yuan would be restored soon, so I kept it from everyone." The doctor asked him to report to the hospital immediately if there was any abnormality.At that time, Zhe Lang had already noticed the abnormality of the left eye, but he couldn't say it.In fact, besides worrying about the feelings of his golfers, what scares him even more is losing the throne of the ace quarterback.He wants to use his right arm to participate in the last college game. "From what I can see, you were fine before the championship. The way you played did change, though." "There's been less passing." "That's right." Risako nodded. "The condition of the middle tail is also one of the reasons, but the number of your passes has decreased too much compared to the previous season. Especially the long pass, you almost didn't throw it. Your arm strength is obviously in the top three, it's so strange gone." "I discussed with the coach and put the strategic focus on Nakao, focusing on the attack mode that makes use of his speed. Of course, if I can see clearly with my left eye, I should propose other combat strategies." "Because this attack mode works, it may be said to be a blessing in disguise. However, it didn't work in the finals." "Because the hostile running backs are invulnerable. When the leader gives the order to be pass-oriented, I honestly feel a black eye." "But in that game, you passed the ball successfully several times. Wasn't there a long pass that brought life back to life?" "That was based on my many years of passing experience, I managed to cast to the passing target that entered the right field of vision. But in the end, I lost the sense of distance and made a lot of mistakes. Fortunately, the wide receiver Matsuzaki made up for my mistakes." "At the end of that match..." Risako raised her legs and squinted upwards. "Did you see Hayata?" "I knew he was running to my left. I also thought he might be unguarded, and a shot for him might work." "But you didn't vote for him." "My vision on the left side is blurry, and I can't grasp the correct position of Hayata. I hesitated for a moment to try my luck to shoot him, or to shoot the pass target. I ended up shooting Matsuzaki. There is only one reason : My practice over the years has not been about random throwing. Throwing with a clear mind — that's what my coach taught me. I can't throw the ball to someone who can't see it." Zhe Lang told himself that even if he won the game because of random shots, it was not because of his own strength, it was purely a fluke.However, this may just be self-consolation. "After college, everyone was sure you were going to keep playing, and I was one of them. But you didn't go back to the American football world. Is it because of your left eye?" "Because you can't be a quarterback if you can't find a pass target on the left." Smoke curled from cigarettes in the ashtray.Zhe Lang stared at the smoke, remembering that he had visited several hospitals after graduation.However, the cause of the vision loss was not found out after all.As soon as he mentioned the accident, several doctors said that this might be the reason, but they couldn't find a cure for it. Risako put her hand on her forehead. "I asked you several times, right? I asked you why you gave up football, and you never told me the real reason. You kept making unacceptable excuses, like being bored, or lost. Enthusiasm. If I pester you to ask, you will finally say: This is a man's world, women don't talk too much! Do you remember?" "then……" "Thinking about it now, I shouldn't have married you at the time. Why would I think that I could spend my whole life hand in hand with someone who didn't even tell me why he gave up his dream?" "I just don't want you to worry about unnecessary things." Risako closed her eyes, shook her head slowly, and said, "If you tell me everything, I don't know how relieved it will be. It is because you don't tell me the most important thing that our life will be full of anxiety. To put it bluntly , you don't want me to be a heart-to-heart partner, nor a lifelong partner. You already have a fixed idea of ​​the role of wife and mother in your heart, and you want me to meet your ideals. In order to do this, you even don't hesitate to use stakes Hold on to my heart." "pile?" "It's the child." The cigarettes on the ashtray fell to the floor with a clatter.Zhe Lang picked up the cigarette and extinguished it in the ashtray. He could not refute it.It was true that he wanted to use the pregnancy to tie her into the family. "Sorry." She lowered her voice. "I didn't mean to say that too much." "No, it's not too much." "The baseball player's wife is my portrayal in this play. I want to ask you, do you refuse to let me into your world until you die? That place called the man's world is so sacred A place? Is it a sanctuary? Is it so serious for a man to let a woman in?" Zhe Lang crossed his arms and stared at the wall.When we moved here, the wall should have been pure white, but now it is yellowing.Probably smoked by cigarettes.In this way, since Risako got married, she has smoked more fiercely.She probably smokes continuously to suppress all kinds of emotions.Her insides must have been as yellowed as the wall.Zhe Lang thought to himself that the person who made his heart turn yellow was himself. "Since you know about my eyes, it would be better if you told me earlier." "That's pointless. Do you understand? I want you to take the initiative to confess to me. I'm like the wife in this play, waiting for you to do it. But this wife has to take the initiative when her husband is dying. Ask." As soon as she finished speaking, Zhe Lang felt her smile slightly.Looking up, there was indeed a smile on the corner of her mouth. "If we hadn't said that today, maybe I would have done the same thing, asking you when you were dying. However, maybe I would have gone one step ahead of you." Zhe Lang has never seen such a lonely smile on Risako.His heart hurts so much, it's like being stabbed with a thin needle. "I'm really sorry for you." "Forget it, I don't want you to apologize. Besides, it's over." Zhe Lang thought to herself, she probably hoped that the matter could be resolved under ideal conditions.This form of solution tonight must be far from her expectations.But if it weren't for this form of solution, I would have probably met the fate of being questioned by her before I died, just like the former baseball player. "Speaking of which, don't you have something to ask me?" Risako lowered his head and asked. "What's up?" "Why would I know about your eyes, why would I know that you gave up American football for this reason." "Oh," Zhe Lang nodded. "I wanted to ask clearly. But I already guessed." "You should just tell him?" "I just told the guy." "Well, that's what happened." "Did you hear what that guy said?" "Ok." "when?" "A long time ago, not long after we got married... He brought you a wedding gift when you were away from work. He told me then." "It's been so long." Zhe Lang was once again surprised that a woman's lies can persist for so long.No, maybe a few years is not a long time for her.After all, she planned not to mention it before her husband died. "Why are you telling him?" "I didn't take the initiative to tell him. He asked me. He asked me before the finals, is there something wrong with your eyes? I denied it at first, but he didn't believe my words. He also said that he would let me Get an eye exam, so I did." "Why would he know?" "Because of eye contact. Players will exchange eye contact. The guy and I have to pass the ball to each other, so we exchange eye contact at the shortest distance, so he found out that my eyes are different." "After all, you're... quarterbacks and running backs." "That's right." Zhe Lang thought of the smell of the dusty club office.Kosuke Nakao advocated telling everyone that Zhelang's eyes were injured by accident, but Zhelang insisted on objecting.The golfers who caused the accident will probably become demoralized if they hear about it.An important battle is at hand, and this must be avoided. "Even if this is the case, at least tell the team leader and the coach. You can't pass the ball with one eye. We need to ask them to re-draw their strategies." "It's no longer possible to do that. What's more, the only way to defeat tomorrow's opponent is to pass the ball. The hostile defensive camp is gearing up and wants to concentrate the attacking firepower on you. Don't worry, I will definitely pass the ball tomorrow Here you go. I've been playing the game for years. Even if my left eye can't see well, I'll pass the ball to you successfully." Perhaps because he understood that Zhe Lang had made up his mind, Nakao didn't say any more.However, he murmured, "Don't be brave." After the finals, Nakao didn't seem to tell others about Zhe Lang's eyes.The evidence is that former golfers still laugh at Zhe Lang, saying that he made the worst mistake ever on that ball. "Why did Nakao tell you?" "Because I complained about you not telling me why I quit playing. I also lost my temper, saying that the man's world is that important? I thought I said it in a joking tone, but he seemed to take me seriously. Now In retrospect, he probably got the inspiration for this play from it." Risako picked up the booklet of "Golden Boy Sun and Moon". "This play was written by Nakao, right?" "That's what you think, so you rush back with a bloodless face, don't you?" "yes……" If Nakao hadn't disappeared, perhaps Zhe Lang would not have thought of it.However, his disappearance could not have been unrelated to this chain of events.Risako also read the plot of "A Man's World", and realized that Nakao was behind the scenes of the incident, so she lost the will to get closer to the truth. "Could it be a coincidence?" Zhe Lang asked tentatively. "Unfortunately, it can't be a coincidence." Risako concluded. "Didn't I just say that too? The wife's line in this play is exactly my heart. That's what I said to Nakao. I told him that I won't bring you up unless you say it to me. If you want to talk about it, before you die, I will press you at your bedside."