Chapter 2 1

23:56 What the eyes see is a city. Through the eyes of the high-flying night birds, we capture the city from above.In a wide field of view, the city looks like a huge living thing, or like an aggregate formed by the intertwining of several living organisms.Numerous blood vessels extend to the end of the body where there is no way to catch, so blood can circulate and cells can be constantly renewed.Send out new information and collect old information.Send out new consumption and recycle old consumption.Send out new contradictions and take back old ones.The body flickers around, heats up, and wriggles with the rhythm of the pulse.It was nearly midnight, and the climax of activity had finally passed, but the basic metabolism that sustained life continued indomitably.The urban whine is there as a continuo.There is no ups and downs, monotonous, but there is a kind of foreboding whine.

Our line of sight specifically selects a corner where the light is concentrated to focus, and slides quietly towards that point.A sea of ​​colorful neon lights.Known as the lot of the bustling neighborhood.Several giant digital screens installed on the building's exterior wall fell silent at midnight, but the store's loudspeakers continued to blast hip-hop music with exaggerated bass.A large entertainment center packed with young people.Screeching electronic sounds.It seems that a group of college students who just returned from drinking together.Teenage girls with brightly dyed blonde hair and toned legs peeking out from under miniskirts.A company employee rushing across an intersection to catch the last train②.Although it is this time, karaoke parlors are still attracting customers with great fanfare.A black van with a striking appearance slowly passed by as if appreciating the cityscape. The black film was pasted on the window glass, reminiscent of creatures with special skin and organs that inhabit the deep sea.Two young policemen patrol the same street with nervous expressions, but little attention is drawn to them.The streets at this moment are working on their own principles.The season is late autumn.There was no wind, but the air was chill.In a little more time, the date will change.

We are located in the "Deniz" trattoria. The lighting is dull but sufficient, the furnishings and tableware are dull and indifferent, the layout has been carefully calculated by the experts in business engineering, the background music that plays at a low volume is harmless, and the staff are well-trained. "Welcome to Deniz".No matter how you look at it, the shop is made up of exchangeable anonymous transactions.The store is almost full. After we eclipse once, our eyes fell on a girl sitting by the window.Why her?Why not someone else?The reason for this is unknown.But somehow, this girl caught our eye—very naturally.She sits at a table for four and reads a book.A gray trench coat with a hood, a pair of blue jeans, and faded yellow sneakers that looked like they had been washed many times.A blazer draped over the back of a nearby chair also looked anything but new.Age like a college freshman.Not a high school student, but still has a high school legacy somewhere.The hair is black, short and straight.There is almost no makeup, and no jewelry-like items are worn.With a slender and small face, a pair of black-rimmed glasses.From time to time, serious wrinkles gathered between the eyebrows.

She was so engrossed in reading that she barely took her eyes off the pages.It is a thick hardcover book, but because it is covered with a book cover given by the bookstore, I don't know the title of the book.Judging from the serious look on her reading book, it might be a difficult book.It's not like skipping and reading, but like chewing line by line. There was a coffee cup on the dining table, and an ashtray, and next to the ashtray was a dark blue baseball cap with a Boston Red Sox B on it.It might be a little too big for her head.On the adjacent seat was a brown leather satchel, which was bulging, and it was estimated that a lot of things had been stuffed in it in a short period of time.She brought the coffee cup to her mouth regularly, but she didn't seem to be drinking it with relish, it was just drinking as a task because there was coffee in front of her.She put the cigarette in her mouth as if remembering suddenly, lit it with a plastic lighter, narrowed her eyes, and casually blew a puff of cigarette upwards, and immediately put it on the ashtray.Then stroke your temples with your fingertips, as if dispelling the premonition of a headache.

The music playing in the store is "Don't Be Stupid, Girl!" by the Percy Faith Orchestra. (Go Away Little Girl).Of course no one listens to this stuff.All kinds of people eat and drink coffee at "Deniz" late at night, and she is the only single female guest.From time to time she looked up from her book to glance at her watch.But the progress of time does not seem to be satisfactory.It didn't look like he was waiting for anyone.She didn't look around, and didn't pay attention to the door. She just read a book alone, lit a cigarette from time to time, and mechanically picked up the coffee cup, hoping that the time would advance more or less.Needless to say, however, there was still plenty of time until dawn.

She stopped reading and looked out the window.From the window on the second floor, you can overlook the lively street.At this moment, the sky is still brightly lit, and people come and go.People with nowhere to go, people with nowhere to go.People with a purpose, people without a purpose.Those who want to keep time, those who want to advance time.She looked at such a chaotic street scene for a while, then adjusted her breathing, her eyes fell back to the pages of the book, and she reached out to the coffee cup.The cigarette took only a few puffs, and it was reduced to ashes on the ashtray in good shape.

The automatic door at the entrance opened, and a tall, slender young man entered.A black leather jacket, a pair of wrinkled olive-green denim trousers, and a pair of tan work boots.His hair is quite long and disheveled. He probably hasn’t had the opportunity to wash his hair these days, or he just got out of a thick bush, or this kind of messy hairstyle is a natural and comfortable state for him. It can be seen.Thin, but more like malnutrition than fashion.A large black musical instrument case was slung over his shoulder.wind instruments.In addition, mention a dirty Kun bag, which is estimated to be stuffed with music scores and other odds and ends.On the right cheek is a striking deep gash—a short scar that seems to have been gouged out with a sharp weapon.Apart from this point, there is nothing particularly conspicuous.Very ordinary youth.Seems like a lost, mild-mannered but not very clever mutt.

The waitress in charge of guiding the seat came over and led him to the seat inside.Walk past the dining table of the girl reading.After passing by, the young man stopped as if he suddenly remembered something, backed away slowly like rewinding a film, returned to the girl's table, tilted his neck, and stared at the girl's face with interest.He searches his head for memories, and it takes time.Whatever this person does seems to take time. The girl noticed the movement, raised her face from the book, narrowed her eyes, and looked at the young man standing there.The other party is tall and must look up.The eyes of the two met, and the man smiled slightly.A smile that expresses no malice.

He started to say hello: "Hey, don't take offense if I'm wrong—are you Asai Eri's sister?" She remained silent, looking at the other person's face, her eyes were like looking at an overgrown shrub in a corner of the yard. "I've seen it once before," the man continued, "Well, I remember that your name is Yuli, which is a letter difference from your sister." Carefully maintaining her gaze, she corrected the mistake succinctly: "Mary." The man raised his index finger upwards: "Yes, yes, it's Mary. There is a one-letter difference between Ellie and Mary. You must not remember me, right?"

Mary tilted her neck slightly.I don't know whether it is Yes or No.She took off her eyes and put them next to the coffee mug. The waitress turned back and asked, "Are you two together?" "Well, yes," he replied. The waitress put the recipe on the table.The man bowed and sat opposite Mary, put the musical instrument box on the adjacent seat, and then asked suddenly as if thinking of it: "Can I sit for a while? I'll leave right away after eating. There are people waiting for me elsewhere." Mary frowned slightly: "Shouldn't this kind of words come out first?"

The man pondered the meaning of the phrase. "Are you waiting for someone?" "That's not what it means," said Mary. "Is that a matter of etiquette?" "good." The man nodded: "Yes, I should really ask if I can sit with you first, sorry. However, the store is very crowded, and I won't disturb you for a long time. Okay?" Mary shrugged slightly, as if to say please.The man opens the cookbook and looks at it. "Have you eaten?" "I'm not hungry." The man glanced at the recipe with a bitter face, closed it with a "snap", and placed it on the table. "There's no need to actually open the cookbook, it's just for show." Mary said nothing. "I only eat chicken salad here, it has already been decided. If you let me say, the only thing worth eating in 'Deniz' is chicken salad. I have roughly tried everything in the recipe. Have you ever eaten chicken here? Salad?" Mary shook her head. "Not bad! Chicken salad with crispy toasted bread, that's the only thing you eat at 'Deniz'." "Then why read the recipes one by one?" He pressed his fingers into the creases at the corners of his eyes. "Well, think about it—walking into 'Dennis', asking for chicken salad without looking at the recipe, wouldn't it be so monotonous? In that case, it doesn't mean that it's only once for the sake of greedy chicken salad Coming to 'Dennis' again? So I pretended to roughly open the menu, as if I decided on this and that after thinking about it." The waitress brought water, and he ordered chicken salad and crunchy croutons. "It's going to be really boom-boom," he emphasizes, "almost burnt." And ordered an after-dinner coffee.The waitress typed it into the electronic device in her hand and read it for confirmation. "Give him another cup of coffee," he said, pointing to Mary's coffee cup. "Understood, the coffee will be delivered right away." The man watched the waitress leave. "Don't like chicken?" he asked. "It's not that I don't like it," said Mary, "it's just that I try not to eat chicken outside." "Then why?" "Because the chickens served in chain stores are often fed with inexplicable drugs, such as oxytocin. The chickens are kept in narrow and dark cages, given many injections, fed with chemical ingredients to grow up, and then Put it on the conveyor belt, use the machine to "click" to break the neck, and use the machine to pluck the hair." "Oh—!" he said.Then he smiled, and the wrinkles around his eyes deepened when he smiled. "George Orwell style chicken salad." Mary narrowed her eyes and watched him.She couldn't tell exactly if she was being laughed at. "That aside, the chicken salad here is not bad! I won't lie to you." Having said that, he suddenly took off his fur coat, folded it and put it on the next seat, and then rubbed his hands on the table.Under the coat was a rough green crew-neck sweater, the wool of which was as disheveled as the hair.Seems like he's the unkempt type. "The last time I saw you was at the swimming pool of that hotel in Shinagawa, right? Two summers ago. Remember?" "More or less." "There are my friends, your sister, you, and me by the way. There are four people in total. We just started college, and you seem to be a sophomore in high school, right?" Mary nodded uninterestedly. "My good friend had a little relationship with your sister at the time, so I added it as a double date⑤. Where did I get four tickets for the hotel swimming pool, and your sister brought you here. But you didn't say anything If it's decent, stay in the swimming pool and swim around like a well-developed dolphin. After that, everyone walks into the tea room of the hotel to eat ice cream, and you want peach ice cream." Mary frowned: "Why do you remember all the details so clearly?" "Because I've never dated a girl who eats peach ice cream, and besides, you're so cute." Mary looked at the other person's face indifferently: "Nonsense! Aren't you staring at my sister?" "Is that so?" Mary responded with silence. "That might happen," he admitted. "For some reason, I distinctly remember that she was wearing a very small bathing suit." Mary took a cigarette to her mouth and lit it with a lighter. "Tell you," he said. "Not that I'm taking a stand for 'Deniz,' but I feel like smoking a pack of cigarettes is more harmful to your body than maybe some questionable chicken salad. Don't you think so?" Mary ignored it. "At that time, another girl was supposed to go, but unfortunately she was not feeling well at the last moment, so I was dragged away, just to make up for it," she said. "So I'm not in a good mood." "I remember it for you." "real?" Mary touched her right cheek with her finger. The man touched the deep scar on his cheek: "Ah, you mean this. When I was a child, I rode my bicycle too fast. I didn't turn the corner on the slope, and I lost my right eye two centimeters away. The earlobe was also deformed. I think Look?" Mary frowned and shook her head. The waitress brings the chicken salad and toast to the table, fills Mary's coffee cup with fresh coffee, and checks to make sure everything is in order.The man picks up the knife and fork and begins to eat the chicken salad with a skilled gesture.Then he picked up the toast and stared at it, frowning. "No matter how much I told you to make it, I didn't bake that kind of bread once. It's inexplicable! Based on the Japanese's hard work, high-tech culture, and the market principles pursued by the Deniz chain store, toast the bread It shouldn't be too hard to get a pop-boom-boom, right? And yet somehow it just can't be done. What's the value of a civilization that can't bake a slice of bread to the satisfaction of its customers?" Mary paid little attention. "However, your sister was once a beauty." The man said as if talking to himself. Mary raised her face: "Oh, why use the past tense⑥?" "Why... It's just because it's talking about the past, so the past tense is used. It doesn't mean that the present is not beautiful or anything." "It's beautiful now too." "That would be great. But, to be honest, I don't know Eri Asai very well. I was in the same class for a year in high school, but I didn't talk seriously at that time, or it's better to say that I didn't catch up." "But you're concerned, right?" The man stopped the knife and fork in the air and thought for a while. "This concern is similar to intellectual curiosity." "Intellectual curiosity?" "I thought to myself: If I could have a tryst with a beautiful woman like Eri Asai, how would I feel? This is what I mean. After all, she is the kind of girl who can be a magazine model." "Is this intellectual curiosity?" "A sort of." "But it was your friend who was dating Ai Li at that time, so you are considered to be accompanying?" The man stuffed his mouth full and nodded.He takes his time chewing without rushing. "In general, I'm a low-key person. I'm not used to flashing lights. I'm more suitable to accompany such roles—cold lettuce, potato chips, and small roles in the Whammed Band⑦." "So you have to pay attention to me." "However, you were once very cute." "Hey, you are born to like to use the past tense?" The man smiled and said: "Where, that's not what it means, it's just a frank expression of the mood at that time from this moment. It's very cute, really, even though you hardly talked to me." He put the knife and fork on the plate, drank from the glass, wiped the corners of his mouth with a paper towel. "So, during your swimming time, I asked Eri Asai: Why doesn't your sister talk to me? Could it be that there is something wrong with me?" "How to answer you?" "She said that you usually don't take the initiative to talk to anyone. She also said that you are a bit different. As a Japanese, you speak more Chinese than Japanese. Please don't mind me. It's not that I have any special problems." Mary silently extinguished the cigarette butt in the ashtray. "Is there anything wrong with me?" Mary hesitated for a moment. "Can't remember exactly, but I don't think there's anything wrong with you." "Great! It's quite brooding. Of course I have a few problems, but after all, they are my own internal problems. It would be troublesome if it was so easy for others to see. Especially by the pool in summer vacation .” Mary looked at the other person's face again as if confirming: "I don't think I can see much of your inner problems." "I'm relieved." "I can't remember the name..." Mary said. "my name?" "Ok." He shook his head and said: "It doesn't matter if you forget it. I want to forget the extremely mediocre name from time to time. But my own name is really not easy to forget. Other people's names, even if they must be remembered, they will be forgotten in a blink of an eye. .” He glanced out of the window as if looking for something he had accidentally lost, then looked back at Mary. "I've always been puzzled. Why didn't your sister go into the water once? Even though the weather was hot, she managed to go to a beautiful swimming pool once." Mary put on the look that she didn't know about that kind of thing. "Because I don't want to take off my makeup, needless to say! Besides, how can I actually swim in the water in such a swimsuit!" "Really." He said, "Sisters and brothers, the way of life is quite different!" "After all, everyone has their own life." The man thought about what she said, and then said: "Why do we have to take different paths in life? That is to say, take the situation of the two of you as an example, born to the same mother, raised in the same family, and the same girl , but why are the tones of the characters so different? Where did the fork appear? One is wearing a bikini the size of a semaphore flag, just lying glamorously by the pool, and the other is wearing a high school swimsuit like Swimming in the water like a dolphin..." Mary looked at his face. "Want me to explain it to you here and now in less than two hundred words while you're eating chicken salad?" The man shook his head: "No, it's not like that. It's just that the thing that suddenly came to mind—probably curiosity—is appealing to the voice. You don't need to answer, I'm just asking myself." He was about to eat chicken salad, After thinking about it, he continued: "I don't have brothers and sisters. I just want to know how similar brothers and sisters are, and where they differ from." Mary was silent.Still holding the knife and fork, the man looked thoughtfully at the space above the table for a while. He said: "I have read a story about three brothers drifting to an island in Hawaii. It is a myth, in the past. I read it when I was a child, but I forgot the exact plot. It goes like this—the three young brothers went fishing in the sea. , encountered a storm, drifted on the sea for a long time, and drifted to the shore of an uninhabited island. The island is very beautiful, with coconut trees and the like, and the fruit bends the branches. In the middle of the island stands a very tall That night, the man of God appeared in the dreams of the three of them and said: On the coast not far ahead, you will find three round boulders. You can push the boulders wherever you want. The place where the boulders stop is where you parted. The place to live, the higher the place, the farther the world you can see. As for where to go, it is your freedom." The man stopped drinking water.Mary's expression seemed indifferent, but her ears were clear. "Did you understand it here?" Mary nodded. "Want to listen? If you're not interested, forget it." "If not long." "It's not long, the story is simple." He took another sip of water and continued. "The man of God is right. The three brothers found three big rocks on the coast and rolled the stones according to the command of the man of God. The stones were very big and heavy, and it was difficult to roll them. It was even harder to push them on the slope. The youngest brother He was the first to say: "Brothers, I'm here. It's close to the sea, and I can catch fish. I can live on. It doesn't matter if I don't travel so far to see the world." The older two continued to move forward. But when he came to the mountainside, the second child said: "Brother, I am here. There are fruits everywhere, life is completely fine, and it is not a problem if you don't run so far to see the world." The eldest continued to climb on the slope. It will soon become narrow and steep, but he is not discouraged. Firstly, he has a tenacious personality, and secondly, he wants to see the world as far away as possible. He continues to push the stone with all his strength. He hardly eats or drinks for several months , and finally pushed the stone to the top of the mountain. He stopped there and looked at the world. At this moment, he can survey the world farther than anyone else. It is the place where he lives. There is no grass, no birds. Speaking of water, only Licking frost; speaking of food, he can only chew moss. But he has no regrets, because he can see the whole world... And so, the top of that island in Hawaii still has a solitary boulder to this day. That's it a story." silence. Mary asked, "Is there anything like a lesson in the story?" "There are probably two lessons. One," he held up a finger. "People are different, even brothers. Another thing," he held up a second finger. "If you really want to know something, you have to pay the price." "I think the way of life chosen by the following two people is more authentic." Mary stated her opinion. "That is." He admitted. "No one wants to go to Hawaii to lick frost and eat moss to survive, indeed. But the boss wants to see the world as far as possible, and he can't suppress this curiosity, no matter how much it costs." "Intellectual curiosity." "Exactly." Mary was thinking about something, with one hand on the thick book. "Even if I asked politely what books to read, you wouldn't answer me, would you?" he said. "possible." "The book looks so heavy." Mary was silent. "The size of the book doesn't seem to be the kind that girls usually carry in their bags." Mary remained silent.He stopped asking and went on eating, this time concentrating on the chicken salad without a word, taking time to chew and drinking a lot of water, asking the waitress for refills a few times.The last piece of bread was swallowed. "Your family seems to live in Riji's side?" he said.The plate after eating has been removed. Mary nodded. "Well, the last train is late. It's fine to take a taxi, but the tram won't be available until tomorrow morning." "You know that," said Mary. "It's good to know." "I don't know where I live, but I'm afraid you don't have the last bus?" "Koenji. But I live alone, and besides, I have to practice until the morning anyway, and if needed, my partner has a car." He patted the musical instrument box next to him with a "dong dong", like patting the head of a pet dog. "The band is practicing in the basement of a nearby building," he said. "Nobody complains about how loud it is. The heating barely works, and it's cold enough for the season, but since it's free, you can't fault it." Mary's eyes fell on the musical instrument box: "Then, is it a trombone?" "Exactly. You're quite knowledgeable!" He was a little surprised. "The shape of the trombone is known." "Hmm. But, there are quite a few girls who don't even know that there is an instrument like the trombone in the world. Ah, it's no wonder. Whether it's Mick Jagger or Eric Clapton, they don't rely on playing The trombone is the star. If you ask Jimi Hendrix and Pete Townsend if they ever broke a trombone on stage, no. The ones that break must be electric guitars. Breaking a trombone can only invite laugh at." The man added cream to the coffee served by the waitress and took a sip. "When I was in junior high school, I accidentally bought a jazz record called "The Blues Woman" in an old record store. It was a very old, very old LP. Why bother to buy such a thing? I can't remember. Because that I've never heard any jazz before. Anyway, the first song on the A side is "Five Spot Afterdark" (Five Spot Afterdark), which is so good that you can't breathe. The trombone is Kadith Fowler. La. When I first listened to it, I felt a sense of enlightenment, and I thought, yes, this is my instrument. The trombone and I have a fateful appointment.” The man hummed the first eight bars of "The Five O'Clock Club After Dark". "Yes, that," said Mary. He was puzzled: "Know?" Mary hummed the next eight bars. "How do you know?" he asked. "Understood?" The man put down his coffee cup and shook his head lightly: "What's wrong with it... But, it's hard to believe that there are girls who know "Five O'Clock Club after Dark"... Ah, whatever, anyway, to Katie Si Fla was so obsessed with it that he started to practice on the trombone. Borrowed money from his parents to buy a second-hand instrument, joined the wind club at school, and started a band like thing since high school. It's like the accompaniment of a rock band, similar to the role of the 'Magic Power Plant'⑧ (Tower of Power) in the past. 'Magic Power Plant' knows?" Mary shook her head. He said, "It doesn't matter. It used to be about that stuff, now it's all about solid jazz. The college I went to wasn't a big deal, but the band wasn't bad." The waitress came to add water, but he declined, then glanced at his watch: "It's time, we have to go." Mary was speechless, her expression seemed to say that it wasn't that someone would keep you. "But nobody's ever on time," he said. Mary didn't say a word about that either. "Hey, is it okay to say hello to your sister for me?" "Well, can't you just call yourself? Don't you know our home phone number? Besides, whether you want to say hello or anything, I don't even know your name!" He pondered for a moment. "The question is, when you call your home and your sister picks up, what should you say?" "We're talking about having a high school reunion...you can think of anything, right?" "Not very good at talking, originally." "Talk to me quite a bit." "Somehow, and you can talk." "Somehow you can talk to me." Mary repeated the other party's words, "But you can't talk to my sister?" "I'm afraid it is." "But because intellectual curiosity is too strong?" Isn't it? Such an ambiguous expression emerged from his face.Just as he was about to say something, he changed his mind and gave up. He sighed deeply, then picked up the bill on the table and calculated the amount in his head. "I let go of this, and it doesn't matter if I pay for it later?" Mary nodded. The man's eyes fell on her book, he hesitated and said: "Tell me—maybe I'm nosy—what happened? For example, I had a fight with my boyfriend and a quarrel with my family...I mean Why stay alone on the street until morning." Mary put on her glasses and looked steadily up into the other's face.The silence that lies there is tight, cold.The man held up his hands and spread them out to her, apologizing for his talkativeness. "It's five o'clock in the morning, I think I'll come here to eat something." He said, "Anyway, to fill my stomach, I hope I can meet you again." "why?" "This—, why?" "worried?" "There are also." "Want me to greet my sister for you?" "Maybe there is." "My sister definitely can't tell the difference between a trombone and a bread oven. The difference between GUCCI and PRADA⑨ can be seen at a glance." "Everyone has his own battlefield." He smiled faintly, then took out the manual from his coat pocket, wrote something with a ballpoint pen, tore off the page and handed it to her. "My cell phone number. Call here for something. Uh-, do you have a cell phone?" Mary shook her head. "That's the feeling." He said admiringly, "My intuition whispered to me: this girl definitely doesn't like mobile phones." The man picked up the trombone case and stood up, put on his fur coat, with a smile still on his face. "goodbye!" Mary nodded expressionlessly, and placed the slip of paper next to the bill without looking at it seriously.Then adjust your breathing, put your chin on your hand, and return to the book.Bart Bacharak's "April Fool" was humming from the store. (Note: ①The novel culture that emerged among black people in New York in the early 1980s, such as rock music, break dancing, etc.——Translator’s Note, the same below. ② Refers to electric trains ③Boshon Red Sox, the name of the American baseball team, with its headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. ④George Orwell, British novelist and critic (1903-1950).Author of "Animal Kingdom" and other fables and prophetic novels that satirize the totalitarian system. ⑤Two pairs of men and women date together, a double tryst. ⑥Japanese has three tenses: past, present, and future. ⑦Wham! The band was the most successful British pop band in the 1980s, with main members including George Michael and Andrew Ridgely ⑧The famous funk band in the 1970s. ⑨ Both are brand names of popular products such as high-end handbags and clothes made in Italy. ⑩Burt Bacharach, American popular song composer, lyricist, conductor (1929-). )