A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

Chapter 340 Urging for Updates

After a gaunt figure in a suit appeared in his mind, he scrolled down and began reading the email.

Hello, Mr. Li Mu. I wish you good health. I am Li Xiaomu, a Kabukicho guide who met you once before.

Since parting ways with you, I have been reflecting on the past few years from my youth to the present. While they may not have been particularly exciting, as you said, they have indeed been filled with some ups and downs that others have not experienced.

So I started to try writing, to dig out these memories and put them on paper.

I originally only planned to write a little, but once I started writing, I couldn't stop.

After a year of writing down everything I wanted to write and talk about, and after much deliberation, I decided to write this email to you.

You were the one who inspired these words. Now that the book is finished, please take a look; this is also our promise from back then.

However, I am not very proficient with computers, and the entire manuscript of over 100,000 words was handwritten. So it took me some time to only type five chapters into the computer.

Please take a look.

Oh?

Li Mu became interested and his gaze fell on the email attachment.

It's a small compressed file named "Guide".

After thinking about it, he decided to reply to the other party first:

"Mr. Li, hello, it's been a long time indeed. I've been busy in China lately and haven't had a chance to visit Japan. If I do visit next time, I'll definitely enjoy a drink with you."

I am very interested in Mr. Li's story. Even if you humbly say that your life is not exciting, it is already quite remarkable to me.

I have received the attachment to this email.

I've read it first, and after I've finished, I'll discuss my thoughts with Mr. Li in detail.

After replying to a very simple email, he directly downloaded the attachment.

I opened it and extracted it to a folder on my computer.

It contains several Word documents.

These are Chapters 1 through 5 of the "Guide".

He clicked directly on the first chapter.

1. Introduction

Two things from 2002 left a deep impression on me. One was the person who inspired me to write this book—reporter Li Mu. Without him, this book would certainly not have been published, and my experiences might have gradually faded from my mind as I grew older and my memory deteriorated. But after meeting reporter Li Mu, we had a long talk in a small bar in Shinjuku.

Observing the guests' expressions, demeanor, and reactions during conversations is a professional instinct of mine.

During my conversation with Li Ji, I noticed something.

He wasn't interested in Tokyo's glitz and glamour, Shinjuku's bustling atmosphere, or Kabukicho's decadent lifestyle. But whenever I talked about my experiences over the years, his eyes would light up.

So, after a few drinks, when it was time to part, he extended an invitation to me:

"I think your story is perfect for being written into a book. I've even thought of a title: 'My Experience as a Guide in Kabukicho'."

I responded jokingly:

"Once I finish writing it, I will definitely show it to Li Ji as soon as possible."

He was the person who impressed me most in 2002, and while this book was being written, I saw the situation in China online. I wish him peace.

The second thing is the Korea-Japan World Cup.

In May 02, the Japanese archipelago was at the best time of year, between late spring and early summer.

My phone has been ringing almost nonstop, 24/7. With the World Cup just around the corner next month, I've entered a tense preparation phase along with the participating teams and fans from around the world. Television and newspapers are reporting on teams and groups of fans arriving in Japan. Even the Japanese, who are usually obsessed with baseball and sumo, are now paying attention to football, and I feel a surge of excitement, a sense that I can make a significant impact.

Of course, I don't mean to organize criminal gangs in Shinjuku's Kabukicho to take advantage of the chaos. Rather, I need to increase the number of "guides," especially those from China who are fluent in English—during the World Cup, a large number of foreign tourists will visit Kabukicho.

I work as a "guide" with a few like-minded people. Our job is to proactively greet tourists from various Asian countries and take them to the places they want to go in Kabukicho. There are quite a few Japanese people doing this job as well, but their clients are mainly Japanese. We each do our own thing and keep to ourselves, so there are basically no conflicts.

After I placed recruitment ads for male escorts in various Chinese newspapers in Japan, my phone started ringing all night. This was to be expected. You see, the recession that began in Japan during the Heisei era not only manifested in the sluggish economy but also directly impacted the lives of Chinese people living in Japan. At a time like this, the prospect of a Chinese person in Japan receiving a guaranteed monthly income of "240,000 to 400,000 yen or more" as advertised on the job posting was incredibly tempting. With such a good deal, who wouldn't want to try their luck? Even if they were skeptical, making a call to inquire wouldn't be difficult…

Li Mu had to admit that this was the first time he had been "written" into a book.

The taste is quite peculiar.

But that's not the point. The point is... this person who is in charge of Li Xiaomu's case has pretty good writing skills.

At least, he found the article, written from his own first-person perspective, to be a very enjoyable read.

And the story begins to unfold slowly from Li Xiaomu's self-introduction.

……

Time flies, and the morning is over.

Li Mu has finished reading all five chapters of "The Guide".

Well... to summarize, these five chapters are equivalent to starting with his self-introduction as "Guide Li Xiaomu", then explaining why he went from being a ballet dancer in China to working and studying in Tokyo, and then how he went from being a cleaner at a love hotel to becoming a guide in Kabukicho.

The story ends when he first went to Kabukicho and handed out tissues to people.

Li Mu knew what happened next.

During that drinking trip in Japan, Li Xiaomu said, "I started by handing out tissues. I accidentally met a Chinese guy who was visiting Kabukicho for the first time. He asked me where to go for fun. I introduced him to a bar and got a commission of 23,000 yen."

From that moment on, he officially embarked on the path of becoming a guide.

But we were just chatting at the time, so it certainly wasn't written down in such detail.

Surprisingly... after watching it, Li Mu felt a sense of unease, as if thinking, "Huh? It's over? Is there more?"

It was really not satisfying.

After staring blankly at the computer for a while, he thought for a moment and started typing his reply again:

"I've finished reading the first five chapters, and my strongest feeling right now is that I haven't had enough! Are there more? From the writing quality to the style and overall feel, these chapters have left me wanting more. It would be wonderful if I could read them all in one go. Also, Mr. Li, do you have any plans to publish this book? Is there anything I can do to help?"

After he finished writing, he sent the email.

I didn't write any particularly pedantic or wordy reading notes.

He simply sent over his most genuine thoughts.

I really haven't seen enough.

I want to watch it all in one go.

And most importantly, this feeling of being stuck in a limbo made him very uncomfortable.

In a daze, he suddenly remembered something.

That was when we were in school, and our professor was talking to us about the news media industry, using Jin Yong as an example.

The mentor's point was that when Jin Yong's novels were serialized in newspapers in the early years, due to the limited length, some readers were so angry that they called the publisher and cursed him!

Some people even asked directly when the next chapter would be released, and when they learned that it wasn't being serialized daily, some even made some very offensive threats.

The gist of it is something like, "If we don't see the next chapter by tomorrow, we'll burn your newspaper office down..."

At the time, Li Mu treated it like a joke.

I didn't feel anything special.

Even my mentor said:

"When Jin Yong published his novels in newspapers, not only did readers keep urging him to publish them, but even people from newspaper and publishing houses came to the editors in charge to ask for the original manuscripts to see."

Li Mu found it amusing to hear.

But now, he suddenly understood to some extent how those people felt back then.

It's really unpleasant to keep people in suspense like this.

Especially considering that Li Xiaomu explicitly stated that he had already finished writing it.

No... buddy.

If you can write, why can't you write more?

Is it really that hard to add more?

You only write this much in a day? Are you suggesting we lock you in a dark room with eighteen gay men standing behind you to supervise your writing?

As he was pondering this, a new email arrived.

Li Xiaomu's reply.

"Haha, Li Ji, I'm sorry, I haven't entered Chapter Six into the computer yet. I have some things to do right now. We can talk on the phone when you're free. I do intend to publish this book, but I'm not very clear about the situation in China. I'll ask for your guidance when the time comes."

Ah this...

You're an author, can't you get down to business?

Is something wrong?

What could be wrong?

Is there anything more important than finishing writing the updated chapters?

Li Mu was speechless, but still replied:

"Sure, we can schedule a time. You can make the arrangements."

This book is indeed very good.

As for the publishing matter, although he hadn't handled it before, Brother Bie knew Cai Lanyao, so he could just ask him when the time came.

This book is so wonderful, it's a pity to only read it on the computer... Hmm?

Suddenly, he paused, startled.

Viewing on a computer?