People in Tokyo, the world is clear

The person next to me is probably a younger version of Sasagawa Rimei. However, judging by her words and actions, she is probably a real rich girl, not just a caged pet that is fed and pampered.

Apart from anything else, the flavor of his speech was a little different.

The second daughter of the Sasagawa clan did have a venomous tongue, but her conversation always gave people a sense of equality. If she could even crack a joke, regardless of her mild sarcasm, one could even discern a hint of playful humour from her deliberately concocted adjectives and nicknames.

This girl who called herself Yukiko was clearly different. Even though she looked young, she could sense a faint sense of alienation and indifference as she spoke, as if deliberately separating the two worlds.

She looked down on everyone except herself, or so it seemed.

One example is that he is unwilling to reveal his real name.

However, it's not a big problem.

No matter which one, there is actually a very popular way to get closer to others -

You may offend the other person in subtle ways, but in the end remain obedient overall.

It sounds like a very advanced operation, but it is not difficult to do in practice.

For example, now.

"That's what I say. But Yukiko, who was moved to tears just now, is more childish than I am."

This sentence obviously broke the girl's defense accurately.

Lin Sen vaguely caught the red flush on the other person's face when he spoke from the corner of his eye;

"Being enchanted by a moving story is the nature of a thoughtful and intelligent person. And, given my age, I won't deny this fact."

"Anyway, thanks. You're probably the first person I've met today who actually bought one of my books."

Lin Sen pointed at the book in Yukiko's arms, greatly satisfying the child's vanity. "Also, it seems you bought a few extra books?"

“I usually buy multiple copies of these works that don’t conform to market trends and don’t sell well.”

"Thank you for your support then."

"Mr. Itsuki probably misunderstood what I meant."

"how?"

With Lin Sen's questioning expression, the girl took out one of the books.

"At any given time, I always buy more than one copy of a book. One for notes, one for collection."

"What if there are others?"

"Save, hoard rare items. The less popular the work, the more I buy."

"?"

Lin Sen opened his eyes wide.

The girl calmly pushed her eyes again and gave a detailed explanation:

"In fact, it's not uncommon for unknown authors to write good books. In the market, there will always be gems that are missed and remain unknown. Such books will be discontinued due to poor sales and die out."

She took off the small shoulder bag, unzipped it, and put the books in it one by one.

"But according to the theory of normal distribution, there are always a few people who have eyes that can appreciate beauty. In this case, the extra books I bought become commodities of higher value. I will sell them at a high price, or use them to exchange for something I am interested in from the book seekers."

Is this perhaps a speculative act?

"I don't think Yukiko is short of money."

Lin Sen's tone sounded questioning, but Yukiko didn't care at all.

Just shook his head calmly.

"I don't lack it. However, in order to find these worthy works among the vast amount of rubbish, I have spent time and emotional costs. In exchange, I deserve higher returns. Regardless of whether I need this profit or not, I should create this rule for others to follow."

What a domineering way to play.

Obviously, he doesn't want to suffer any loss.

At this point, new questions arise.

"Generally speaking, when you come across a work you like, shouldn't you try to promote it to more people? Why doesn't Yukiko do that?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Sen noticed that the girl with glasses beside him curled up the corner of her mouth.

However, the posture of moving skin but not flesh made the smile seem a bit contemptuous.

She turned her head again and looked up.

"Why?"

"what?"

Lin Sen didn't expect that she would give such an answer.

I didn't react for a moment, only to hear her long voice continue to ring.

"I spent a lot of effort to find this masterpiece. Why should I let others enjoy it for free? Should my efforts be wasted?"

"."

"Mr. Itsuki may have made a mistake."

Finally, facing Lin Sen's dazed expression, the girl who called herself Yukiko zipped up her bag again and said, "I admire your work. However, this may not be a good thing for you."

"Because, I wouldn't be happy if you became so famous that you printed more books. On the contrary, I would rather you and your works slowly fade away. That way, I can keep this excellence to myself, and not let my efforts to find gold in the ocean of books go to waste."

"strong."

Lin Sen's calm response probably aroused the girl's curiosity.

Her indifferent face finally revealed a hint of interest and she glanced over.

"Is that the only reaction?"

"What kind of emotion does Yukiko want to see me in?"

"I said this openly. However, contrary to my expectations, Mr. Itsuki doesn't seem angry about it."

Yukiko narrowed her eyes and looked carefully at Lin Sen's expression.

But in the next second, he showed a look of surprise and stared at the young man's face which turned around with a relaxed expression.

Wait for him to speak:

"It's not a particularly bad thing, so I don't need to be angry with you. Besides, right now, I have something more worthy of indignation on my mind."

Chapter 72: Allies and Nobles

In fact, at the beginning, Lin Sen was wary and suspicious of the girl who named herself Yukiko.

He has the aesthetic ability to discover unpopular and brilliant passages, secretly flipping through his niche books and refusing to talk to them.

At first glance, I even thought that she was the mysterious thief.

But after she took off the mask she used to deal with everyone and took the initiative to talk to him for a while, he gradually got a confirmed answer.

Basically not.

First of all, it wouldn't be such a coincidence. Not everyone has the mysterious power of Qingshan girl that allows them to encounter each other by chance all the time.

Secondly, if the author was really a thief who wanted to imitate the psychopath in the novel who enjoys returning to the crime scene in person, he would not use this method of jumping in the face.

He should have pretended to be innocent and full of admiration, and then admired his own flattered reaction while smiling shyly and secretly mocking him in his heart - Lin Sen understood this kind of mentality very well.

But this one was obviously different. She didn't laugh at herself in her heart as a failed writer.

She said it directly and to my face.

In other words, it was highly likely that this person was just another rare fan of less popular works. The eccentric personality she displayed in her previous speech also confirmed this point.

Perhaps, it is a new ally that can be won over?

So, twenty minutes later, at a certain afternoon tea place, Lin Sen saw the new expression behind the thick lenses for the first time.

He threw away the stolen work that Lin Sen handed over to him.

She held on to the table to steady her body, which was almost falling. Her face was flushed and her breathing was rapid.

"Yes, no, I can't hold it in anymore. Something is coming out."

"what?"

"Anger."

The girl pushed her glasses up again and clenched her fists on the table.

"Do you, like me, feel grief for those writers whose works were stolen?"

Lin Sen tried to find common ground.

but--

"No, the suffering of others has nothing to do with me. I just feel that the fruits of my labor in finding excellent works have been trampled upon."

The girl pushed up her glasses and said, "I suddenly felt that my pure sense of superiority had been severely polluted and desecrated, and turned into a mess. It seemed that there was no going back. I was dirty."

"It's not that serious."

"Most importantly, the aloof attitude I cultivated among literary enthusiasts through hoarding was easily destroyed by this person. Having lost my purity, even a niche writer like you, whose achievements I just ridiculed, could do whatever he wants to me."

"what?"

"It means ridicule."

He is indeed a very strange child.

However, although he felt that this person's values ​​might be different, Lin Sen still felt that she might be able to help in some way.

After all, their current goal is the same, which is to severely punish the person who plagiarized the work. And according to Yukiko -

"My family has some background."

"I've been waiting for you to say that."

"Although I'm disgusted by your smug expression as if you've finally met someone great, I guess you saw it from the beginning, right?"

The girl curled her lips and tugged at the collar of her shirt. "I don't know where you got your knowledge from, but I do know whether others can recognize what I'm wearing or not."

"I'm acquainted with a friend who used to be rich. By the way, she and Yukiko share some similar interests."

"Sasakawa Rie?"

The name that came out of his mouth without much thought made Lin Sen gasp.

"...Yukiko kind of scared me."

"Tokyo isn't big. My level of social interaction consists of just those people, especially the younger generation. If you exclude the majority of good-for-nothings who don't understand literature, the answer isn't that hard to come by."

Yukiko took the coffee Lin Sen handed over from the waiter's tray and said, "This guy is indeed quite accomplished in literature and art, about 70% of what I am. But, I guess, he doesn't have a good father."

"I think we should stop talking about other people's sad stories and get back to the point."

"Let's talk. Speaking of which, someone as eccentric as her father is quite enlightening. Usually, someone of that level, after a lifetime of cruelty towards outsiders, has a softer side to compensate, like family. But her father only cares about the son he couldn't have and money."

"."

Lin Sen turned his head and looked out the window, not responding to this sentence.

This made the girl sitting opposite her feel annoyed, so she picked up her coffee and took a sip.

Looking at Lin Sen again, he seemed to have a new understanding.

"Mr. Itsuki is quite principled. It's not bad for the poor woman to have such a friend."

"I'm more concerned about how to punish Robin Jiro who's hiding in the dark."

"Then let's get down to business."

Yukiko shook her head and raised a finger.

"In fact, this thief is as clever as Mr. Goki said. He barely touches any of the masterpieces of mainstream literature. Those people are so lazy that they naturally won't speak up for these unrelated minions."

"Fair."

"But it seems I'll have to read those bestsellers occasionally..." The girl with thick glasses sighed, "I'm surprised I only just found out about this now."

She pursed her lips to adjust her mood and organize her thoughts.

Fucai opened his mouth: