Tokyo Sound

"No matter how time flies by, I only care about you. I am willing to be infected by your aura. How many times in life can one find a confidant~"

Upon seeing this, the old store manager clapped his hands gently and at the end even kindly gave the customer a bag of snacks.

"You're here for the festival, right?"

"How did you guess that?"

"Why else would a guy like you come to such a boring and quiet place? Where did you come from?"

"Tokyo. But it's still fast. After all, the train won't encounter traffic jams or anything."

"Are you alone?"

"With companions."

The two chatted briefly.

The CDs played on the small TV and DVD player must be homemade, because after the classic "Toki no Nagura ni Mi wo Makase" [Note: refers to the Japanese version of Teresa Teng's single "I Only Care About You"], there are also country rock, Cantonese songs, etc. The styles and languages ​​are different, but they are all golden songs of the era.

It is worth mentioning that men also like this playlist.

Yin Ze looked down at the latest news on his phone, waved goodbye to the old store manager, and walked out of this inconspicuous store. He came to the wide road, looked around at first, and finally turned his head as if he had sensed something, and finally saw the person who invited this event.

Sakura Ayane was not wearing her formal school uniform today, nor her usual casual clothes made of exquisite materials and fashionable designs. Instead, she was wearing a simple and plain dress with her fair calves and ankles revealed under the fluttering lace skirt.

She was wearing sandals and had short hair that fell below her shoulders. The evening breeze blew through the fields, bringing with it the fragrance of lisianthus. The light of the sunset shone on the girl, her lips were smiling, and her eyes were sunny and bright. There was a sense of unreality.

The girl stood on the roadside with her hands behind her back, looking relaxed and lazy. It didn't look like they had made an appointment in advance or came from a long journey. Instead, she looked like a kid from the town who just came out for a walk after dinner and they just met here by chance.

"What are you doing?" Yin Ze, who was carrying a cross-body bag, walked over, somewhat puzzled.

"You seemed to be in my grandfather's shop just now?" It was Sakura Ayane who asked specifically first.

"Grandpa...?" Yin Ze was a little slow, but he quickly figured it out.

"I thought so. So this is your hometown town. No wonder you chose this place as the venue. Of course, if you want to watch the fireworks, Tama River and Nagaoka are more famous. So it seems that you must have arrived very early?" Yin Ze chuckled.

"Such a large-scale event with a limited date and a large number of people is too tiring. It just so happens that today is the traditional festival day in the town, and I haven't visited my grandparents for a while, so I came." said Sakura Ayane.

"If I had known that it was your grandpa's shop, I would have at least bought a bottle of water before leaving, if not a gift..." the man pondered.

"I've cleaned up a room for you. After you finish visiting the festival, you can stay there for a night before going back," the girl suggested.

"Thank you for your kindness, but this is too presumptuous, so forget it. I can just take a bus back, it's not a big deal." The man declined without hesitation.

"Okay." Sakura Ayane kicked the pebbles on the side of the road, "Then I'll take you there."

The setting sun passed over the mountains and crops in the fields. They walked one after another along the road bathed in warm light, crushing the flowers that were like the setting sun.

Yin Ze was walking behind, so he could smell the fragrance coming from the front.

There seems to be something different about Sakura-san this time.

he thinks.

……

A lot of people have gathered near the river.

Local residents in charge of the festival unloaded bundles of steel bars from small trucks one by one, tied them up skillfully, and covered them with rainproof cloth, and the simple stalls were ready. Fresh ingredients were taken out and cut on the chopping boards, making regular sounds. The greetings from family members came one after another. The preparation stage was already in full swing, and the atmosphere was full.

There were more people coming, including tourists from surrounding towns. They were all wearing yukata, chatting and laughing.

The most active and excited people are the students of the township middle school. In their eyes, the summer festival with the girls in buns and wooden clogs always has a special romance. The man also heard several classmates from the middle school passing by discussing the confession plan. Whether it succeeds or not, when the night falls soon, this experience under the glow of fireworks will definitely become a beautiful youth for the boy and others.

The scorching sun faded, leaving only dusk, but the air still lingered with a hint of heat. Yin Ze stood by the roadside, his bloody mouth opened mercilessly, and he bit off the popsicle in his hand.

The sky gradually darkened, and the wind blowing from the river was cool and moist. The uncles, with an average age of over 50, rolled up their sleeves with great enthusiasm, and finally pulled up the long string of lanterns, and the lights suddenly dyed this festival street.

I always feel that this is the only way to fully appreciate the summer here.

The man tilted his ear, listening to the song being sung in the distance.

There was a sound of crisp footsteps approaching.

Yin Ze turned his head and saw the unexpected person, Sakura Ayane.

The girl was wearing a bathrobe with a white background and a pattern of red dianthus flowers, which meant smile and happiness. Although she had been joking before that drinking milk tea would make her gain weight, she was actually not fat at all. The close-fitting bathrobe made her waist look very slender. Her smooth medium-short hair was beautifully tied up, and her exposed neck was white.

She looked like the daughter of an ancient famous family, standing straight, well-educated and well-mannered. Her rosy face, slightly made-up, no longer had the childishness and carelessness of her past.

It is unexpectedly bright and beautiful.

Yin Ze couldn't help but think of the first time he met this person. Suddenly, it was difficult to connect the beauty in front of him with the reserved student.

"It's quite beautiful. Is it rented?" Master Yin commented sparingly.

"This is my grandmother's house." Sakura Ayane lowered her head to hide her expression, making it difficult for people to see her nervousness. "Let's go down too."

"it is good."

Summer festival, the stars are visible through the scattered clouds, and the lanterns flicker.

They walked along the path towards the river bank below. There were more and more people like them around them, and the brisk and crisp footsteps were full of joy and youth.

The sizzling sounds of soup can be heard in the shops on the shore, and the shop owners with white towels tied around their necks start to shout loudly. Popular snacks such as Taiyaki and Marshmallows are being preheated. Takoyaki is a little slower, and the fragrance will spread only when it is cooked. Game shops are opened one after another, and children carrying goldfish bags and water balloons are running around actively, while middle school students are competing in the air gun shop.

The uncles who participated in the event were in full swing, imitating the costumes of the ancient Warring States Period, riding horses and carrying sedan chairs, marching on the central road, speaking eloquently, beating drums and singing in unison, with colorful floats behind them, dazzling people for a moment.

"Such a big event? This is called a spontaneous event?" Yin Ze was surprised when he saw a float about seven or eight meters high passing by.

"These clubs often participate in the official summer festival, so of course they are professional." Sakura Ayane was not surprised. She looked around, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she ran over and bought a white fox mask from a stall. She smiled and stuffed it into the man's hand, saying in a slightly boastful and suggestive manner, "I think this suits you very well~"

"That's true." Yin Ze raised his eyebrows, immediately understood, and calmly put the mask on his head. "I have to be careful today and don't run into any naughty kids, otherwise I will be scared to death in a while."

"You're still wearing a shirt. This COS doesn't look serious at all."

"You're wearing better clothes than in the show, isn't that just superficial?"

Now that I have put myself in their shoes, I can understand to some extent the feelings of Gin and Hotaru in the Firefly Forest.

The team of musicians and singers also arrived, performing traditional music, and the floats continued to flow by. The festival was filled with the sound of drums of all sizes, men and women dancing around the bonfire, and shamisen musicians and folk song singers also formed a team to sing and dance, full of passion and energy, forming a long straight line of lanterns, as if guiding someone in the direction of the bright lights.

This small town, far away from the country's richest and most prosperous city, suddenly burst into an incredibly vibrant life.

The crowd was crowded and it was extremely enthusiastic.

Sakura Ayane was somewhat restricted in her movements in the midst of the jubilant crowd, and felt as if she was being pushed further and further away. She subconsciously reached out to her companion for help, and nervously grabbed the middle sleeve of his shirt.

"I won't really die." The man turned his head with a smile, and took the girl's hand without hesitation, "Come this way."

Yin Ze held the crooked white fox mask and led the girl through this dazzling summer banquet.

Sakura Ayane had no time to refuse, she could only be taken away, with a faint, helpless feeling in her heart. Her ears were filled with the sounds of laughter and blessings, and the aroma of delicious snacks filled her nose, as if something tangible was tempting her stomach. There were too many beautiful things to take in.

The summer festivals in the past didn’t seem to be as great as today’s…

"Boss, two skewers please."

"Okay! Sheng Hui!"

"Here." Yin Ze held two crystal clear apple candies in his hand and said to the girl, "I've always seen them on TV before, and today I finally got to taste them."

Sakura Ayane took it and gently licked the candy with her tongue, feeling a rich sweetness from the tip of her tongue.

“So sweet”

"So sweet."

The two of them spoke almost in unison.

"It's sweet, we don't cut corners." The boss gave a thumbs up proudly, then tilted his head to take a closer look and muttered, "Hey, you look like the girl from Yong'er's family, right...?"

"Let's go." This time it was Sakura Ayane who grabbed the hand of someone else, "Let's go and grab the best viewing spot in advance."

After all, they were locals. Under the guidance of the girl, they successfully avoided the most crowded places and came to a quiet high slope. This is indeed a very suitable place to watch the fireworks.

The beautiful festival is just below the field of vision. Looking down, the whole picture of the summer festival is simply a ball of warm fire, and the river surface under the starry night is also reflected with flowing orange light.

What a clean night sky, with no clouds, only the moon and stars dotting each other. The stars are dense, and a silver river hangs upside down above their heads, looking endlessly magnificent.

When I was young, I could always see the Milky Way as long as I looked up. But after I started working, I rarely see it. Maybe it’s the drawback of urban development, or maybe I’m just too busy to look up.

But I saw it today.

"It's so beautiful." Yin Ze stood with his hands on his hips, breathing in the air, and sighed for the umpteenth time today. "Those are billions of years old starlight, which is really far away. Some may even be dead. Even such a tiny bit of starlight has the weight to crush our civilization. Therefore, every time I look at the universe, I always feel my own insignificance and humbleness. Our story is not important on this planet. This is really a cruel truth."

"That's not important." Sakura Ayane said silently, her eyes sparkling, "Anyway, no matter if it's hundreds of millions of years, billions of years, or even hundreds or thousands of years, it's already a huge amount of time for most of us whose lifespans are only in the double digits, so the starlight that watches over each other is still eternal for us."

"Well, this is also a kind of relativity." Yin Ze smiled.

"So whenever we look up, there must be stars twinkling in the sky." The girl said slowly, "Maybe they are blocked by sunlight, or hidden behind clouds, or their light is too weak to be seen... But they are not non-existent. No matter when and where, the stars are there, and they never leave."

This starry sky has indeed never changed.

The man thought. He had always thought so.

When he was young, he caught crabs in the fields of the production team. As long as he looked up, as long as there was no wind or cloud, he would see the night sky full of stars and the moon.

He was not in the mood to work hard on his homework during the evening class in high school. He leaned against the classroom window and yawned. When he looked up, he saw the night sky with the moon hanging in the sky.

I kept putting it off and working overtime until late at night. I got up to stretch my numb and stiff spine. On my way to make some coffee, the night view I saw through the high-rise glass of the company's office building was the same.

You haven't changed, but even you can't be my coordinate anymore.

The man said to the night sky in his heart.

There's nothing we can do about it. There's nothing we can do about it.

"I met Mr. Yamayanagi Isonobu some time ago." Sakura Ayane lowered her head and fiddled with her fingers.

"I never thought of that." Yin Ze looked at her strangely, "How is it, tell me? Did that unethical and disrespectful dean of studies cause you any trouble?"

"No, we just happened to chat." Sakura Ayane defended, "Teacher, he praised you very much."

"Well, after all, a prodigal son returning home is one of the most romantic things in the world. Well, he's not a prodigal son, but it's almost the same idea." Yin Ze responded naturally. He could probably guess what Director Mediterranean had said to the girl.

"It's not just about academics." Sakura Ayane looked over, "He's also happy that you've made so many friends."

"Ah, I know." Yin Ze nodded calmly.

"but……"

"What's wrong? Are you still hesitating? Just say whatever you want to say."

"I just, I just feel that you shouldn't encounter those things. Because you are such a considerate person, generous and kind, and you have courage, so I..." Sakura Ayane said intermittently.

"What happened suddenly?" Yin Ze was puzzled.

There was a brief silence.

"I don't understand it myself, but is the reason you are sad now just because of your previous experience in school?" The girl lowered her voice very carefully, for fear of causing displeasure to the other party.

"I've been isolated and excluded before, so I know exactly what it feels like. I was really sad, but no one comforted me. I cried and got angry, but no one tried to comfort me. But you're different, right? Everyone is praising you, saying that you're amazing, that you overcame your depression, and came out of the difficult situation. But I don't think it's just that."

The girl chose her words carefully, speaking softly and slowly.

"My father said that enduring loneliness requires greater perseverance than enduring poverty. Poverty may lower a person's worth, but loneliness may ruin a person's character. However, you are much stronger than me. In an unfamiliar environment, facing all kinds of people and things, you will not be at a loss. You will quietly think in solitude and mature in thinking. This is what my parents really want me to learn, the wisdom of survival."

"All our dignity comes from the control of desires and their appendages. Every outstanding person has a period of silence, a time when they put in a lot of effort, endure loneliness and solitude, do not complain or complain, and when they talk about it in the future, even they will be moved. You are very good, but I can't see your goal. You only said that you want to travel around the world and that you want to live a free and unrestrained life. They seem to have one thing in common, that is, they are all rootless."

"I haven't heard you talk about your dreams seriously." Sakura Ayane clutched the cuffs of her yukata's wide sleeves. "Everyone says you're strong, even though that's true. But it's not that you overcame the past, it's more like you compromised with the present, so...in addition to being bullied at school, something else must have happened that was even more beyond redemption."

"you--"

Those worried and bright eyes seemed to be able to see through her. She actually touched upon her deepest regret without any evidence.

Yin Ze opened his eyes wide, somewhat moved, and it took him a long while to return to normal and remain silent.

Being ridiculed and bullied certainly makes people feel sympathetic and angry.

However, what I lost and what was taken away was the entire world.

After a disaster, there will still be ruins left, but he didn't even have broken walls left, everything was wiped out. The god picked up the eraser and wiped away the family, friends, concerns, and the heroic spirit and ambition that were shattered in the wine glass. The god was so cruel that he would devour even the slightest bit of flesh and skin, leaving nothing behind. Even this vast starry sky might have been replaced. Who knows if the starlight we are looking up at now is the same as in that world?

Apart from the name "Yin Ze", only this name is left. It is the only thing left that still belongs to him.

"Can you tell me? Can I help you?" Sakura Ayane asked timidly.

"No." Yin Ze said neatly. This seemed to be the first time that a man clearly rejected the girl's request, "You can't help me."

No one wants to disappear from this world.

Now when I close my eyes, I can still clearly feel my heart swaying, but that is not my heart.

It was a great ups and downs that went beyond sadness and loneliness and shook one's own existence to its foundations. The storm lasted for a long time and could only be endured by putting one's arms on the rope of fate and making excuses.

No one can save it, no one can save it. It is insurmountable and irreversible. We can only accept it.