People in Tokyo, the world is clear

The next second after Lin Sen opened his mouth slightly, a figure quickly stood up.

"So, Hungry Ghost-kun's stomach is already protesting? I feel so bad for him."

"Uh, this."

"I, I'll go cook."

The next second, the hungry bird pretended not to see the person who was accused of having a rumbling stomach shaking his head behind him.

He lowered his head and rushed out of the room strong and calm.

This weekend I might have one or two days off.

As the title suggests.

Since I started increasing the update frequency at the beginning of this month (September 2023.9.1, ), my sleep time has been squeezed to a certain extent.

Now I can only sleep about three to four hours a day.

My original intention was to try my best to satisfy all the friends who are still following the book.

But the current situation is that after the update volume has increased, the subscription volume and other feedback such as in-posting have generally declined significantly.

I applied for a recommendation spot in the app for two consecutive weeks and was rejected. This means that there will be almost no new readers joining the story of this book.

I've been reflecting on my current problems and trying to figure out the reasons. The answer I have is that if I update faster, people might not have the time to read or be interested enough to subscribe.

I will continue to do my best to make adjustments, to streamline the text while making the story interesting and complete, and to satisfy every subscriber who follows me. This was the goal I set when I started writing this book, and it will never change.

But currently, due to various setbacks, my body and mind have been severely damaged.

When I tried to resume my blog around May of this year, I consulted a doctor and found out that I might have some psychological problems, which caused a series of physical reactions such as arrhythmia and abnormal white blood cells. I received medication for about two months.

Given my current physical and emotional state, I'm somewhat concerned that this phenomenon may recur in the near future. This would place a huge burden on me and my supportive family, and would also cause distress to those of you who are still following my studies. This would be a very bad outcome.

Therefore, I may choose to take a day off this weekend for one or two days. If I need to take a day off, I will post a separate chapter to explain the situation and apologize to everyone.

If I'm lucky and can adjust successfully, I won't miss any updates over the weekend. If all goes well, I'll let you know at the end of the chapter on Friday.

No matter what, I can assure you that I will never let down your support, nor will I let down this story that I love and have put so much effort into.

I sincerely hope that some of my readers will accompany me to the end of this story. If I achieve my goal, it will surely be one of the greatest blessings in my short life.

Thank you all for your continued support, and I sincerely wish you all happiness and joy.

—Old Tokyo, September 2023.9.14,

Chapter 67: Seeking Allies

Today's lunch is sweet and sour poached eggs.

It is not a rare dish. The essence lies in the sauce made from a mixture of various condiments such as balsamic vinegar, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, starch and tomato sauce.

It is also one of the recipes developed by Lin Sen called "Anyone Can Make It".

But this one dish per person was obviously not enough, so instant noodles were placed on top of the egg and sauce, and a rice ball was also placed on the side as part of a discount promotion.

Lin Sen is not a picky person, and the lunch in front of him is not difficult to eat.

It tastes quite delicious.

But in between meals, he noticed that the expression of a flamingo sitting opposite him was strange.

He eats very slowly.

He would always sneak a peek at me while sipping his miso soup.

However, he avoided Lin Sen's response and turned his face away temporarily until Lin Sen no longer looked at him, then he repeated the previous action again.

I was a little confused at first, but then I looked at the lunch in front of me and suddenly realized what was going on.

"Ah, good craftsmanship."

After adding the missing sentence, the strange behavior on the female editor's body disappeared instantly.

She lowered her head and finally started to eat her lunch seriously.

"I think Mr. Hypocrisy should stop going through these pretentious little etiquettes."

"You have to show some appreciation."

This person is really...

His mood was visibly elated by the compliments, and this was reflected in his body movements, but his mouth was always as hard as a rock.

All in all, because of these little incidents, lunch time was not unpleasant at all.

We also took the opportunity at the dinner table to discuss the fourth item of the plan to punish plagiarists, which had just been shelved.

This time, the burden fell on Sasagawa Rimei herself. She would try her best to mobilize her connections within the industry and find out more about the emerging writer, Robin Jiro. In the best case scenario, she could find a way to establish an acquaintance and become a point of contact for infiltrating the enemy.

If necessary, one could even deliberately praise this clever and cunning person. If one could make him lose himself in success and praise, he might even do something that would bring his reputation to a shattering state.

At first glance, it sounds like a good idea.

But Lin Sen was not very hopeful about this.

First of all, whether the industry connections that Riya Sasakawa can mobilize really exist is a proposition worth exploring.

Secondly, given the personality of this female editor, if she really met the plagiarist, she probably wouldn't even give him a good look, let alone hypocritically flatter him.

As she herself said:

“I put it fourth because I can very specifically imagine the possibility that I will do these things.”

"You're quite honest. Well, why not delete it?"

"No."

Sasagawa Rio shook her head seriously. "If it's finally confirmed, there really is no way out. I... will probably force myself to do these things."

Sacrificing one's own emotions for a greater cause is a yes.

Lin Sen probably understood Flamingo's heart. For her, who truly loved literature, plagiarizing the author was probably the greatest blasphemy against literature itself.

While plagiarized works are well known in the streets and alleys, most of the unrecognized writers have already ended their lives or careers accompanied by the pain of loneliness - how ironic.

Granted, there are many injustices in the world. But no matter what, literature itself should be the last pure land—when creativity, emotion, and the hard work of the soul can be taken away and trampled upon without permission, becoming a stepping stone for others' success, there is probably nothing left in the world worth cherishing.

When Lin Sen spoke the theory without concealment, a gleam of recognition flashed in the eyes of the woman listening opposite him.

"So, we must work together for this, Ally-kun."

"Then take action immediately."

Unable to think of any other solution, Lin Sen chose to get up and say goodbye.

Do what you can first.

Sasagawa Rimei has the home phone number of Higashino-sensei, so she can start arranging an alliance with him now.

Lin Sen found a telephone booth and dialed the number.

Higashino was born in Osaka. I don't remember much about his life, but I have a vague impression of him.

I should be just approaching thirty this year.

Winning the Ranpo Prize at such a young age naturally filled him with a lot of ambition. He resigned from his job and came to Tokyo, probably renting an apartment, to build something big.

Due to the limitations of the times, it was probably impossible to foresee the decade of decline that followed.

Higashino will likely be a victim of the lost three decades. Having chosen the wrong day to come to Tokyo, he endured the entire bubble era's decline while toiling away on his creative work, and in doing so, endured a painful decade of neglect.

This was probably influenced by this experience.

Higashino's style gradually shifted from his early, heavily logical, orthodox reasoning to a more satirical approach to social phenomena and human nature. In his later years, he emphasized authenticity, even going so far as to characterize his early orthodox works as "boring, childish, unrealistic, and unnatural."

What made him become like this?

Of course, there are all kinds of reasons, such as the enlightenment he gained during the ten years of being buried in the dark, or the gradual breakdown of his relationship with his wife.

But for Lin Sen, there is a very important reason, that is——

No money!

Poverty is the worst disease in the world. Lin Sen remembers a vivid example. In a previous life, a friend of a relative had a very quiet daughter. I had the good fortune to meet her a few times while I was in school. She always had a sad face, was introverted and closed.

When I saw her again when I had grown up, she had become a cheerful girl who smiled happily all day long and spoke in a lively manner.

I was curious about what kind of magical medicine or other treatment methods could be so effective. After asking around, I found out that—

It turned out that the house was demolished.

It was indeed an impressive thing, so much so that Lin Sen, who was recalling the memory, was distracted for a long time when the phone was connected.

It was not until the female voice on the other end of the phone began to sound impatient that he held the receiver tightly again.

"Hello. Is this Mrs. Higano?"

"...Who are you?"

"It's a long story, but I'll cut to the chase. My name is Xiao Linsen, and I'm a writer. I'm currently a colleague of your husband's. I'd like to visit you and talk to Mr. Higashino about something."

"I understand. I'll go call him."

After this sentence, there was silence on the other end for a few seconds.

There was a faint buzzing sound, probably the person answering the phone covering the mouthpiece and talking to her husband.

A few more seconds.

"Hey?"

A male voice answered the phone.

I'm coming.

Lin Sen had actually been looking forward to meeting this Dong Ye. Although there might be many minor differences in the parallel world, it would generally be the same person, with not much change.

Lin Sen quickly introduced his identity again and mentioned Sasagawa Rimei's name.

There was another groaning sound on the phone.

"I'm free during this time. If possible, let's arrange a location."

Chapter 68: Female Book Fan

Dongye did not agree to Lin Sen's request to visit him.

Instead, try to set the meeting place outside.

Of course, this also conveys the idea that the two are not familiar with each other, and Lin Sen can hear this hidden line.

Not only that, another hidden reason can also be roughly understood.

Mrs. Higashino's last words were "I'll go call him." But in reality, she simply covered the receiver, said a few words, and then called the person over to answer the phone.

Not to mention Dongye himself, he went straight to the point and asked to choose a meeting place with Lin Sen.

Although the other party tried his best to hide it, it can still be seen from this that the current financial situation of this small family is probably not very good.

Or, according to the reference answer of later generations, at that time they should have been squeezed into a shabby small apartment.

Maybe it's only slightly better than when Lin Sen just came here.

Ms. Flamingo told us that after submitting the manuscript to their publishing house, Higashino took the manuscript back on the grounds of dissatisfaction, and is currently making intensive rectifications.

At the moment, he definitely has no income. He must be living off his savings from previous jobs, or even relying on his wife for support.

Japanese people still care about their reputation. Especially Tokyo residents these days, even if their financial conditions are not very good, they will follow the crowd and spend lavishly when they are out and about, just to save their reputation in front of others.

Therefore, although Lin Senti's request was to come to the house for a detailed discussion, the young Dong Ye secretly rejected the proposal and wanted to meet outside.

It's just a matter of saving face.

Of course Lin Sen understood the ins and outs of it, so he didn't insist.

"Sure. I know a really good cafe. Is it close there, Mr. Higashino?"

I gave the address, and then heard silence again, and the sound of a faint conversation over a covered phone.

finally--