People in Tokyo, the world is clear

He shoved the guitar in his hand to the person in front of him, then stood up and staggered into the kitchen.

With the fishy smell still in the air, I turned on the faucet, scooped up some water with my hands, and cooled my cheeks.

A good while.

He chewed the sweet candy in his mouth, swallowed it, and breathed a sigh of relief.

He turned his head and gave a displeased look at someone who was rushing over with a guitar.

"what's going on?"

"So, the first time is gone just like that!"

"what?"

"First time singing with... a male vocalist! So, don't just add in the harmony without thinking!"

"Wow. So, can you please not finish your sentences halfway? Aoyama, that's really annoying. And, this is the standard harmony for the second line."

The girl didn't respond, but just pursed her lips and glared at someone.

Really... Is this what he means by having zero dating experience?

Obviously, she is so good at showing her charm...

Or maybe I'm too... because...

Although he was secretly complaining in his heart, he gradually appeared to be back to normal on the surface.

He breathed a sigh of relief and glanced sideways.

Finally, I couldn't help but speak:

"Try again. About the harmony..."

About singing together.

Chapter 19 I am the Sucker

Panasonic, the hardworking salesman, has not been very happy lately.

It is a kind of misfortune in many aspects, such as life and work.

He hadn't gotten more than eight hours of sleep this entire week.

Including last night, he has worked overtime for three consecutive days.

Friday, added to the weekend.

Everyone is going to die.

I was exhausted from working on several orders. In addition to preparing paper reports, I also had to deal with various suppliers.

It wasn't until after lunch today that I was able to relax a little. I left the business department office building under the pretext of external affairs and went to the Shinjuku district to relax.

Although, coincidentally, his last name is exactly the same as the brand name of his workplace, in reality, even if he goes back three generations, he has no connection with the legendary "business god" Matsushita family that founded his company.

He was just an ordinary clerk, born in the suburbs of Tokyo, attended an ordinary middle school, and was admitted to a second-tier university.

If I had to pick out something special from my resume, which is barely enough to fill five characters, it would probably be that six years ago, as a college student, I joined the Takenoko Clan, an ancient street urchin organization with a complex composition and mostly biker gangs.

The whole process goes through this cultural phenomenon that flourished in the early 1980s and lasted for more than a year at its peak.

But this is clearly not a story that can be told with pride.

Especially when colleagues pretend to talk about the past during the routine social chats after get off work.

"Oh, my college class was like a miracle! Even though I was majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Automation, the proportion of female students was higher than that of male students! That's when I met my wife."

"Speaking of this, it reminds me of the many science and technology competitions that many universities co-hosted back then. As long as you had some achievements and chose a less competitive competition, you could win a ton of awards! I'm not very talented, but I only managed to get a couple of mediocre awards by cheating... Oh, oh, oh, it's not even worth mentioning!"

"College really broadens my horizons. My economics professor told me back then that families with extra property should be cautious. The economic boom will arrive in a few years! I ended up putting the brakes on my parents' plans to sell their Tokyo property. Now... haha, I have a brand new wedding house waiting for its bride!"

In topics like this, Panasonic always seems a bit out of place.

He will be the one who raises his glass and puts on a smile to change the subject.

no way.

"Back in college, he was a leader among the spirited young men. Every day, he'd lead a group of 17- and 18-year-olds in avant-garde square dances, holding his head high in the face of the older generation's talk of the 'Beat Generation'! Who would have thought that, right?"

If such words were spoken in such a serious atmosphere, there would always be a strange sense of humor in them.

That's it, that's it.

The former hero Zhu Zi was forced to hide his identity and disappear in the world, and he lived in seclusion in the city.

But to be honest, Panasonic doesn't regret that period of his life.

Everyone has their own way of spending their youth. For colleagues, this period is a period of accumulation before achieving success and fame, and is something to brag about.

But for Panasonic, that was his unique youth.

He missed those days: frivolous, fearless, not caring about what others thought, and following his own rules.

That might be a kind of courage that he, who has learned to follow the rules, can never get back.

However, that's enough for now.

People eventually grow up and learn to recognize themselves. It is indeed a sensible choice to abandon your younger self like a corpse under the bed.

But, in fact, there has always been a fire hidden in Panasonic's heart.

He relaxed and never gave up his dream of becoming a great composer and dancer.

Although this matter is no longer realistic, it does not prevent a small person from still leading his imaginary band members to play to their heart's content in his dreams every night.

But he was a working man, not some immortal who copied songs from a dream. The concert in his dream, of course, used music from real life.

However, the man who was once the son of bamboo has long since lost his taste for high-brow things and is not interested in highbrow things.

It was a rare opportunity to go out and slack off, so I didn't take a taxi to reduce the personal time I had rented out to the company. Instead, I leisurely strolled towards the street that had once been my exclusive territory.

There have always been rules on the main streets of Akihabara in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

From the time the sun is high in the sky on Sunday until sunset, motorcycles and cars cannot pass.

During the period when traffic restrictions are in place, it is definitely a paradise for pedestrians.

People gave it an appropriate name, calling it Walker's Paradise.

As we all know, a country has its own citizens.

A piece of land that maintains a stable environment at a fixed time will inevitably breed stable forces.

Six years ago, when Matsushita was a university student, this place was undeniably the domain of the Bamboo Children. They would gather in groups, carrying speakers and dancing arm in arm, accepting the laughter and curses of other pedestrians and responding with joy.

But there is a saying that goes, royal power is not eternal.

Today, the once-popular Bamboo Son has been eclipsed by the new wave. The new Lich Kings here are mostly retro-conscious fifties. Focusing on the innocent rebellion of someone who couldn't finish compulsory education, Tokyo Coast Real Rock—just kidding.

But in general, the cultural phenomenon focused on this place has evolved from the self-entertainment of the bamboo children to street performances that gather groups of people to perform.

It is no longer the self-indulgent performance of the heyday of Bamboo Son, but has gradually become a performance based on self-recommendation.

To put it simply, the activists here began to daydream about Tokyo. They imagined that in this dreamlike era, they would be picked up by a company, debut as a band, release an album, make a fortune, sell well both domestically and internationally, and become a well-deserved superstar.

However, Panasonic is disdainful of this.

Look at those young guys fiddling with electric guitars and basses in front of the clothing store - do they think that just fiddling with a few notes at a beginner's level is an original song?

And then there's that eager-to-sell-it-out look—he even puts a hat in front of the drums, demanding payment. How dare he call himself a street singer at this level?

Scumbag!

The stench of haste and greed for quick results is almost overflowing.

Matsushita felt strangely heartbroken. Back then, the Bamboo Children, burdened with the prejudices of the "Beat Generation" and "local punks," relied on the enthusiasm of their gatherings to transform discussions and criticisms into a dance and song troupe culture.

Free skirt ㈨㈤○1⑧09⑨

Even a talented person named Okita was spotted and, using his bamboo shoot tribe identity, debuted with the film "3rd Year D Group Kinpachi-san" and became a household name nationwide. After that, talent scouts began to appear in the Pacers' Paradise, discovering many talented seeds.

As a result, the trees planted by our predecessors are being destroyed by these guys who have taken over the trees?

Matsushita admitted that there were indeed potential gems among the underground bands currently operating on Akihabara's main street. However, most of them were just joining in the fun, their sole purpose being to drive out the good with the bad.

Oooh!

How did the Pacers’ Paradise become like this!

How can this ideal paradise be good with these insects around?

A strong feeling of worry made Panasonic take out a neatly folded printed poster from his jacket pocket and unfold it with a click of his tongue.

Another sigh.

When it comes to some things, the real problem is comparing people with each other.

I recall the female singer and her friends whom I met under the overpass.

How pure, how untainted.

Not only did they not pretend to set out bowls and charge money, they also gave out beautiful posters and small commemorative cards that were obviously designed with great care.

Although the style of the songs is somewhat old-fashioned, you can hear the care put into each song. In fact, it is easy to detect that they are not just replaying the old tunes of classic folk styles, but can also feel some new elements of pop, jazz and even rock.

Obviously, a lot of thought has been put into innovation.

This is the attitude towards making music!

While praising him, Panasonic sighed again——

Damn it. Having to work overtime unexpectedly these past few days has ruined my original plan to go to that designated izakaya to listen to music.

The more I think about this regret, the more uncomfortable I feel.

It was not until recently that Panasonic discovered that the melody he had heard from the female singer who called herself Qingshan Xiazhi became more and more addictive and difficult to forget as he savored it carefully.

Absolutely, it’s one of those songs that has a lot of staying power.

But there is another person that Panasonic can never forget.

a man.

I still remember his face and his voice. It was like a folk singer's song about green mountains. At first sight and hearing, it seemed ordinary. But as the same tone and image rolled back through my memory, it became increasingly elegant, increasingly unforgettable.

Don't get me wrong.

Matsushita has a normal sexual orientation and also has a female colleague whom he secretly admires.

The reason why I was so impressed by that man might be due to the sound test session of adjusting the microphone when Mr. Qingshan officially started his street concert.

While the female singer was shyly covering her face and taking deep breaths to adjust herself because it was her first group performance, he stood in front of the microphone and hummed a short piece of music that he had never heard before.

It seemed like he was simply testing the microphone.

However, to this day, Panasonic can still clearly remember every romanization and every turn of the melody that he recited with a calm expression.

And, those two lines that I would use as the key parts of every night’s dream concert:

[A twisted and scarred spring, dragging its unanesthetized steps...]

[What echoes in my body is the cry of living bravely...]

Matsushita was not a very cultured person. Therefore, he only had one comment on these two lines:

good!

Especially the way the man sang it, it felt like he was telling a story.

But the most annoying thing was that after reading those two sentences, that guy actually fell silent and gave up the microphone. Obviously, it might get more exciting from now on... Damn it!

Matsushita was certain that this song was an original creation of that man, or that female singer, Aoyama. Because all the music at that concert was completely unheard of. So, he wouldn't use someone else's song during the soundcheck.

He desperately wanted to hear the sequel. He had a strong feeling it would be a song about youth and passion. And that was exactly what he, with the fire still burning in his heart, wanted.

But...hid it, that man! Don't let anyone know!

The more I think about it, the more itchy I feel.

As a result, the noise produced by the fledgling apprentice rock band in front of them became increasingly unbearable.

It was so hard to escape and find a quiet place, where I felt more comfortable.

But he found that a small circle surrounded by people appeared in front of him.