Tokyo Sound

"At most I watch movies alone." Yin Ze said casually.

"As for me, I was rehearsing my part in a drama by myself when I was in junior high school." Uchida Maaya replied naturally.

"What about Sakura-san?" asked Matsuoka Yoshitsugu.

"I have a lot of friends and we hang out a lot."

"Is this true? Why have I never seen the friends you mentioned?" Yin Ze doubted.

"Different circles." Sakura Ayane said lightly, without any change in her expression.

What Matsuoka Yoshitsugu understood was that there were differences between men and women, and that it was not easy to talk about it between middle school students and college students.

What Yin Ze understood was the class differences, and she presumed that her peers were all wealthy kids and elegant socialites whose pocket money was comparable to the average social worker's salary.

Oh my goodness, if I wait a few more years, I can ask Sakura-san to bring her friends to social events - not for myself, of course, but to promote my taciturn brother. If my father in Hokkaido knew that I could have a girlfriend who lived in a single-family house in Minato Ward, he would definitely give me a thumbs up and be very pleased.

The crowd slowly moved forward.

The staff in charge of tourists' entry and exit mechanically blocked and released them, blocked again, and released them again. The raised and lowered hands were like industrial cutting machines on an assembly line, arranging them equally into the Ferris wheel cabins.

When they arrived, four young men handed over five or six coupons each, and the ticket price was reduced to 300 yen. The machine-like staff were speechless.

He waved his hand and let him in. As soon as Yin Ze entered, the hand slammed down like a gate, closing the door, and the small room slowly turned up.

Ah, a two-seater? So tiny?

Yin Ze leaned against the glass window, watching Matsuoka Yoshitsugu below go from confusion, to suspicion, to resistance, to giving up, and finally, trembling, he and Sakura entered a Ferris wheel at the back.

good luck.

It's a children's playground, but I've been exhausted since I stepped into it. Now I can finally enjoy the scenery and take a break.

I stretched out my body comfortably on the soft cushion, and then I accidentally met the eyes of the girl opposite me. Uchida Maaya sat in a ladylike posture, with her calves together and tilted to the right. The two looked at each other in silence, with only the sound of the machine turning in their ears.

"..."

"Takizawa-kun, why do you look like you're thinking about how to get along harmoniously?" Uchida Maaya asked, "Am I difficult to deal with?"

"Is it obvious?!" The man touched his face subconsciously. He had actually neglected to control his facial expression.

"I guessed." Uchida Mare smiled, "You look so nervous, but I'm not a man-eating monster."

Of course, she was not a frightening and ugly existence like a ghost, nor was she a two-faced type like Sakura. On the contrary, Uchida Maaya was gentle from beginning to end, not making suggestions or refuting anyone, but quietly participating in the cooperation. The only time she had a big mood swing was when she first met, she was a little excited.

"As for Uchida, where is he from?" Yin Ze asked.

“I was born in Tokyo,” said Maaya Uchida, “but I grew up in my hometown in the countryside.”

"Isn't this great? A childhood surrounded by steel and concrete is much less interesting than a childhood spent chasing dragonflies on the edge of a field in the summer evening."

"Isn't Takizawa-kun a native of Tokyo?"

"I have also played in the mud and blew up cow dung."

"Ah, my brother did the same thing." Uchida Maaya said helplessly and disdainfully, "When I was a kid, I would carry a few fireworks and go to the farmland to blow things up during fireworks festivals."

"I didn't expect that you have a younger brother who is like me. If I have the chance, I will definitely get to know him." The man said politely.

"You two must be able to get along well, but he has become a bit of a show-off lately. He always has a small comb in his pocket and he keeps fiddling with his hair."

"I guess there's a girl he likes. Men are creatures that want to act cool in front of women."

"Is it the same with Takizawa-kun?"

"I am not immune to this."

"No wonder you look so different now. Does that mean you have a girl you like?"

"That's wrong. I have left that childish stage and entered the mature world. I want to enjoy every beautiful day in a clean and tidy state. The most important thing in life is to be happy."

It doesn’t take long to go around the Ferris wheel. It’s a luxury to spend time alone with others in a private space, and every second is precious.

Let's just end it in a plain chat.

Clang.

With a shake, the slowly moving sky and scenery outside the window stopped.

The Ferris wheel stopped.

Looking down, the entire amusement park has stopped, and the roller coaster that makes people love and hate it is parked safely on the track a few meters above the ground. The carousel is no longer shining, but is idle and wooden on the ground. Only the small stage play has not stopped, and the actors in leather suits are performing professionally and hard.

The staff wearing red hats below are running around busy dealing with the accident.

Yin Ze scratched his head, feeling mixed emotions.

The air in the room below was even stranger. Seeing that there was no hope of escaping quickly, Matsuoka Yoshitsugu's expression became more miserable.

Chapter 47 A New Storm Has Emerged

"It should be a power failure. It's nothing. The safety measures here are in place. But if it needs to be restored, it looks like we'll have to wait a while." Yin Ze consoled.

Uchida Maaya was not panicked at all, she just approached the glass window and looked out quietly and peacefully. The bright sunlight reflected on her soft profile, a tranquil beauty.

She is such a calm girl, she doesn't fight or compete, she is neither happy nor angry, she always watches silently and won't make anyone feel unhappy.

When faced with nonsense or jokes, he would cover his mouth and chuckle. When it is awkward, he would discuss topics to thaw the atmosphere. When faced with difficulties, he would also help others kindly. He would follow others closely and share happiness and troubles.

He hid his thoughts skillfully, only letting out a few words occasionally. He seemed to try to accept everything.

Maybe she wasn't good at asking elders for candy when she was a child.

This is a bit of a disadvantage, as you are at a beautiful age and it is the best time to act coquettishly to the world. It is a pity to know how to restrain your desires, which means that your calls and requests for help may not be responded to, or even unable to be responded to.

"Does Takizawa often come to places like this to play?" Uchida Maaya suddenly turned around and asked.

"I'm already a qualified adult. I won't be weak, I won't look back secretly, and I won't grab seats with children." said the man.

"What about the right childhood?"

"Yes, but very little."

It was a very sincere answer.

Takizawa Satoru's family is not well off enough for his parents to have the free time to take him out for fun.

As for himself, he was content with mud and sand piles, and was specially taken to the children's playground in the theme park, where he licked ice cream and ate chicken nuggets and had a rosy face. He didn't even think about it.

The most common dish I ate back then was red potato rice. A portion of French fries could be used as spicy noodles. I would take a piece and eat it every now and then. I loved the Transformers toys that were missing arms and legs. My greed had blinded my heart, and I was so bold that I secretly took them from the village director's house and brought them back.

"When I was in primary school, my father's work was not going well because of his unsociable way of doing things. Due to income problems, the whole family moved back to our hometown which was not so crowded and busy."

Uchida Maaya whispered, shaking her legs slightly.

"He experienced the short-lived bubble era [Note: refers to the economic overheating in Japan from the late 1980s to the early 90s, caused by the land and stock markets]. There were always companies offering high salaries, but there was always a shortage of people. Because at that time everyone had high aspirations, and my father was the same. But with the economic collapse, his dream was shattered, and he gave up working hard and returned to the countryside exhausted."

"It's not bad, actually. The house is bigger, I have a separate room, and I can see my kind grandparents every day. The roads are wide, and the wind blowing on my face smells like moist grass when I ride my bike to school and back home. It smells good." Uchida Maaya smiled again, "The only problem is that there are not many fun shops in town. If I want to watch the latest movies, eat cakes and drink coffee, I have to make an appointment with my classmates and take the train for more than a dozen stops."

"It sounds like a perfect place to heal your body and mind after being hurt by life. I really yearn for the farm life of greeting the sunrise in the morning and appreciating the stars in the evening. Besides, the income from growing vegetables in Japan is not low." Yin Ze nodded with emotion.

"Really? The countryside is very boring. There are no beautiful young girls in hot pants, no nightclubs or game halls, only old people basking in the sun, walking their dogs and playing with their cats, and open-air movie events organized by the streets that repeatedly play movies that have become obsolete. It's silent at night, unlike here where the neon lights are like rain." said Maaya Uchida.

"It's pretty good." Yin Ze still said.

"This is just the novelty of the big city people's remarks. If you really stay there for a long time, you will be lonely to death. Occasionally, the natural gas will malfunction and it will take a long time to repair. You will have to burn wood to cook." Uchida Masaya snorted.

"Isn't it just right? Food cooked on a wood stove is the most delicious. As for loneliness, is there no internet in the countryside?" Yin Ze smiled, "To be honest, I have been waiting for Matsuoka to invite me to his hometown to enjoy the snowy scenery of the north."

"It's still warmer there than in Hokkaido."

"In that case, I am also shamelessly looking forward to your invitation, which includes meals, lodging, and travel." Yin Ze bent down to thank him in advance.

"Okay, but don't complain about the long and remote road and make excuses not to go when the time comes," said Uchida Mare with a stern face.

"I've never cared much for hiking for fun."

Uchida Maaya snorted, paused for a moment, and spoke slowly.

"It's actually quite nice there... The biggest thing is that it never changes. My dad left when he was 20 and came back when he was 40, but in those 20 years, time in my hometown seemed to have frozen. Nothing has changed. The buildings are still there, the music in the old store is still there, and the stray cats outside the door still like to rummage through the garbage. For someone as ambitious as my dad, who has seen the world develop so rapidly, it's really hard to spend the rest of his life here."

"The people he knew were getting better and better, but he was just staying at home doing farm work. Over time, he became increasingly unwilling to accept the situation. In the end, he wanted to return to bloated Tokyo."

"It's not a bad thing for a man to be ambitious." Yin Ze continued.

“But I failed and ended up in debt to my relatives.”

Both sides were silent.

"Don't look so heavy-hearted. I paid it off last year." Uchida Maaya smiled foolishly.

"That's good."

"By the way, Takizawa-kun, do you like this city?"

"Why do you ask so suddenly?"

"Because you live alone, waking up and falling asleep alone in this ambiguous city is a huge loneliness."

Uchida Maaya looked up at the ceiling of the box, as if looking at the sky farther away.

"Every detail here is so developed that it is almost streamlined. Many rules and regulations are buried in steel and concrete, supporting Tokyo together. Don't ask, don't communicate, just put on your headphones silently, isolate yourself from the world, and do things according to the process and atmosphere."

"In this huge eggshell, everyone obeys the rules for some reason, as if taking a step would destroy the world. They work, study, and rest carefully. Even if someone occasionally gives up and some problems arise, there are extremely comprehensive systems to deal with these minor troubles quickly without leaving a trace."

Even with light makeup, the girl's face still looked tired and her dark circles could not be covered well.

"The previous days must have been very hard." Yin Ze said softly.

"There was actually an amusement park built in a development zone near my hometown. Although it was small, it also had a Ferris wheel." Uchida Mare poked the glass with her slender fingers. "I went there to ride it when I was a child. When I got to the highest point, I felt like I was flying. Outside were red mountains at dusk, flat roads, and the horizon in the distance was sharply connected into a golden orange line. Wheat ears were swaying, and leaves and grass were dancing."

"It must be beautiful." Yin Ze looked in the direction of her hand, and could only see the densely packed city buildings.

"After graduating from elementary school, I returned to Tokyo with my dad. At that time, I wondered when I could ride the Ferris wheel again, but I never felt the same spiritual touch as when I was young." Uchida Maaya shrugged, "It's hard for a country girl to integrate into the group."

"Uchida is very fashionable now. It's no problem for her to go to Omotesando and become a street photographer."

"When I was in high school, I worked as a model to relieve my father's burden." Uchida Maaya said awkwardly, "I don't know what's so good about a girl like me with small eyes and a flat nose."

"Really? Can I see it by searching the name directly?" Yin Ze quickly took out his cell phone and pretended to search.

"No, no, no, no! It's so embarrassing!" The girl hurriedly stopped him.

"What a pity! Then when you are no longer shy, show it to me again." The boy laughed and put the phone back.

Uchida Maaya looked at that bright and sunny smile, lowered her eyes slightly, and intertwined her fingers.

"You're really different now, you're much more confident. You even got admitted to such a great university. I didn't even think about going to college, and I ended my student life after graduating from high school... There are a lot of great people at the University of Tokyo, right? The girls there are not like me, they are all strong and full of personality, right?"

"Education is just a gift of knowledge. Smart people can only look at problems from an efficient perspective. We are all the same. We will complain that ramen is cooked too hard, stay up late to watch TV series and skip classes, and try every possible means to get tickets for the idol's handshake event."

Yin Ze said calmly and simply.

"Besides, the pursuit of the true meaning of knowledge is not for you."

"what?"

"To get the truth." Yin Ze grinned.

The girl was a little late to understand the implication of this sentence. Her cheeks were a little rosy, and she said half annoyed, "It's really different now. Your mind has become so twisted. Besides, I'm older than you."

"What? So you're a senior?"

"correct."

"But you are my junior."

"Yes."

The man frowned unconsciously.

...The younger one is the senior Mr. Hidaka, and the older one is the junior Mr. Uchida.

Is this all done?

Chapter 48: A Man's Reserve

It was 18 minutes later when the power failure was repaired and the Ferris wheel returned to the ground.

The staff members bowed 90 degrees with heavy, self-reflective expressions to apologize to the guests who walked out of the compartment, as solemnly and sincerely as if they were welcoming the Prime Minister off the plane.

The lonely middle-aged man, Jianji Nakajima, was pushed to the end of the line and didn't get on at all. He just waited down there.

Sakura Ayane and Matsuoka Yoshitsugu came out one step later. For some reason, Matsuoka seemed to be released from prison, and rushed out to take a deep breath and embrace freedom. It was just a heavy rain, otherwise it would have been a direct replica of the famous scene from Shawshank Redemption.