Chapter 28 Section 19

The next day was Friday. After get off work, I quickly found Guan Gu's house according to the address.Facing the branch road in front of the station, there is a small coffee shop called "Red Brick", with a sign saying "Akio Sekiya" hanging beside the wooden door. Pushing open the door, the bell above his head jingled.I think it's a nostalgic little shop. In addition to the bar, there are only two tables for two in the store.The shop is small, and you have to wipe the backs of customers sitting on bar chairs to get to the table.The walls and the bar counter are all made of original materials, which makes people feel that they have absorbed the aroma of coffee.The walls are randomly decorated with old tableware, a typical coffee shop look.

There were only two guests sitting opposite each other at the small table inside. At the bar was a thin man with white hair and a gray beard.I sat across from him and said "mixed coffee", he only moved his neck slightly, and then worked in silence. The coffee was served, I took a sip, and cut to the chase, are you Tokio Sekiya's father? " He opened his mouth halfway, and his eyes showed suspicion: "You are..." "He's from Donghe University, working under Professor Tang Yuan." This was a premeditated lie. He suddenly opened his eyes wide, then immediately lowered his head and blinked several times: "What's the matter?"

"I want to ask a few things about Tokio." "I have nothing to do with Donghe University." He began to wipe the bar with a rag. "Don't hide it, I know everything, so I came to ask." He raised his head to say something, then lowered his head. "It's important, it's about the life of the person who transplanted Tokio's brain—" When I said this, he lowered his voice and said, "Don't talk about it." He glanced at the guests sitting at the other side of the table, "Don't talk about it here, okay?" I took a sip of coffee: "Then I'll wait a little longer."

He seemed displeased, but he didn't say anything like asking me to go. Looking at Guan Gu who was washing dishes at the bar, I thought that a part of my brain was not unrelated to this person in front of me.Thinking that my current personality might come from this man's inheritance, an inexplicable feeling arises spontaneously, but I am also disappointed that I feel so little from him.Although there is no scientific basis, I think that since some parts of the brain have common factors, there will be some kind of interaction between them.But no matter how I look at this thin man with white hair, I don't feel that way.

After a while, the two guests went out.I make sure the door is closed, look at my coffee cup, take my last sip, and ask for another. "Heard he was involved in a traffic accident and was caught between cars and buildings." He poured another cup of coffee and smacked his lips slightly: "It's too fast. Life has just begun, but I'm obsessed with boring things like cars..." "Is he restless?" "Active? Not at all." He sat on a chair opposite the bar. "He seems to be rambunctious, but he is actually surprisingly timid. There is that kind of person who becomes bold when he gets in the car, he belongs to the which type."

"Is he the type to concentrate on his work?" I asked because of my recent personality change.But his answer was beyond my expectation. "Study? Shixiong?" He shrugged, "Unfortunately, you guessed it wrong. I haven't seen him read books except for exams. He hangs around with his friends all day long. Fortunately, he doesn't do bad things, so I'm pretty relieved, that's all." "What is he obsessed with?" "Speaking of it, everything is easy. His lack of growth is his shortcoming. He has tried everything and has been a volunteer, but he gave up after half a year."

"Oh," I nodded vaguely and picked up the cup.It's different from what I imagined.It's fair to say he's describing the type I hate the most right now. "What do you want to ask?" He looked doubtful, "didn't you say during the operation that Shixiong's supply of brain sources should be kept absolutely confidential? Didn't you say that you would never cause us any trouble and cut off all contact from now on? What's going on?" He seemed to think of something again, "What you said just now was very strange, it was related to the life of the person who transplanted Shixiong's brain... What happened to that patient?"

"What I said just now was a bit exaggerated," I smirked, "it's just that I don't have enough information about Shixiong, so I want to add something. The patient..." I licked my lips, "It's fine, it's normal, there is no problem at present .” The white-haired man still looked suspiciously: "Oh, that's good. Although it's over when a person dies, it's not a pleasant thing for relatives to take away part of the body for others to use." "Have you ever thought of refusing?" "No way, it's his own wish. It seems that he filled in the information when he was a volunteer, such as what he called an organ donor, and provided a part of his body after death. He usually told us that if he died, we would We did what he wanted, and we didn't refute it, but we never dreamed that it would come true."

After my second cup of coffee, I asked him if there was a shrine, and he said no. "My family doesn't believe in parental teaching, only this." He flicked his thumb and pointed to the small frame on the shelf behind, which contained a photo of a young man smiling, like Tokio Sekiya. "Great smile," I said looking at the picture, "he looks lovely." "Well, he is very popular. Although he has a lot of problems, he has always attached great importance to his friends. He doesn't like to conflict with others, and he often hides his thoughts in his heart. It seems that this guy has never quarreled with anyone since he went to school. .”

Listening to him, I felt something was wrong.Sekio Tokio's personality is more like me before the operation.Well, my recent personality change wasn't just from the donor approach. I asked a few more questions about Sekio Tokio's childhood hobbies and so on.Nothing can be associated with who I am now.When asked about the screen, it is also "I don't really like it, nor do I hate it". There is nothing more to ask, I stood up and said, "What you said gave us a lot of reference, thank you." "Nothing to thank, I haven't talked about Tokio for a long time, I'm very happy." He smiled unconsciously and said, "Can I ask a question?" After getting an affirmative answer, he looked at the ceiling thoughtfully Said: "I don't understand complicated things, what happened to Shixiong's brain?"

"What's the matter...you mean..." "That is to say," he seemed unable to express his thoughts accurately, he was a little anxious, frowned and tapped his temple several times, "Is Shixiong's brain alive? It's alive, right?" "This..." This seemingly simple but difficult question is also a question I cannot avoid.What exactly?Is Shixiong's brain alive, or is it not his brain anymore?What about heart transplants, liver transplants.I was at a loss, and finally gave the answer that satisfied the father: "It should be talking. Shixiong lived with that patient." He looked relieved. "Really? He can be considered alive..." Goodbye.This time I really stood up. "Thank you for telling me this, I feel a little relieved. I heard that it was transplanted to a man about the same age as Shixiong, which means that he can have a similar long life." He narrowed his eyes and looked at it as if taken aback. Look at me, "A man of about the same age...you...could you be that patient?" I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should tell the truth, but I immediately came back to my senses and shook my head: "No, it's not. I'm studying at Donghe University, just a student." His eyes were still bright.After a while, as if he had recovered, he looked away and sighed: "That's right, it's not you." His tone made me wonder, and I looked at his face. "Not you." He repeated. "If it was really you, I would know that there would be that... called induction, right, a feeling like an electric shock. There is no basis for it, but I think it will feel that way. I don't feel it at all from you .” "Well, I don't feel it either." "When I see that person, can you greet him for me? Please make good use of Shixiong's brain." "I will convey it." I nodded and walked out of the store.It was raining outside, and neon lights reflected on the wet ground. I said to myself: something is wrong...