Tokyo Sound

The dean of studies has reported the situation to the principal who was away on a communication trip. The principal took it very seriously and promised a large amount of rare props "Fukuzawa Yukichi [Note: Japanese educator, also a bust figure on the 10,000 yen] assistance" as a reward for the first kill.

After the director's indirect questioning, I learned that the principal, his father, and his grandfather had all attempted to enter Tokyo University but unfortunately failed.

The principal himself repeated his senior year with the dreams and aspirations of three generations of his family, but in the end he could not get over it. Heartbroken and crying, he went to study at Waseda University [Note: one of the top private universities in Japan and the favorite university for Chinese students].

His middle school was established quite a while ago and has produced many amazing test-takers, but the number of students admitted to the University of Tokyo has been zero so far.

Over time, this became the principal's inner demon and obsession.

When the dean of studies occasionally went to the office to report on his work, he would see the principal standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, staring blankly in the direction of the country's top institution of learning after work.

Most men have a dream.

After Yin Ze understood the cause and effect of fate, he couldn't help sighing.

When he was only six or seven years old and didn't know much, he felt so heartbroken about the top universities.

After all, when people are children, pretending to be cool, or spending money to draw cards, they do not have the normal and rational ability to look at their actual level.

Even now, he doesn't think he can compete in the University of Tokyo, where countless high school elites have failed.

He had a photographic memory, which was equivalent to having an open-book exam buff. It was not like he had never copied books and written exam papers before... Sometimes, textbooks really couldn't save him.

But the dean was full of confidence.

"Which of the teachers in charge of the college entrance examination preparation in the school's top class is not experienced? I have already drawn up a preliminary study plan for you - 'Freestyle in the Sea of ​​Questions'! It is tailored to your talents and guaranteed for life. After all, if you fail this year, you can pass it next year!"

Yin Ze thought for a moment and agreed. After all, the exam was not long away, probably less than three months.

Take a chance and your bicycle will turn into a motorcycle. If you pass, you can help others and win a big prize for the school. If you fail, you can graduate smoothly, get a diploma and enter the society.

And this also means...he really has to go to school seriously.

Yin Ze peeled off the insulation layer that was condensed with hot water beads, picked up the disposable chopsticks and enjoyed his dinner. To be honest, the bento sold in the convenience store here tastes really good.

In the room where there were no outsiders, the only sound was his paddling of rice, and other than that, it was quiet.

Takizawa should also come back at this time and eat alone.

People who live alone must learn to enjoy loneliness. They have to adapt to the gap from the bustling and youthful school life to the suddenly cold and lonely rental house.

Of course it is very happy to live alone, because there are no distractions, no nagging, no urging, and no cumbersome social interactions. You can do whatever you want, whether it is staying up late, having a hangover, or playing games all night long.

When I see a funny video or read a happy message and laugh out loud unconsciously, and then look up at the living room where there is no one else, I feel like a fool.

There is no one to share my happiness, and no one to complain about my troubles.

As night falls, street vendors close their stalls and shops, and the bustling hustle and bustle has all gone to sleep. Urbanization has clouded the sky, and the stars are still hanging in the sky, but they are no longer visible. Only the street lights are standing in the shadows, flickering.

While Yin Ze was eating, he suddenly picked up his phone out of habit and wanted to unlock the screen to see what his brothers had done in their Moments and Space.

But what he held in his hand was the honest and traditional flip phone that Takizawa used.

Yin Ze paused his right hand holding the chopsticks, chewed the rice in his mouth slowly, and then raised his head.

I gently opened my old phone and clicked into the address book, but of course I didn't recognize any of them.

He was silent for a few seconds, then stretched out his thumb and pressed the number that he had memorized.

With the speakerphone on, the beeping sound of people trying to make calls mixed with the noise of electricity, as if the radio waves were also lost in this city, wandering aimlessly around the buildings, riding on the wind and covering the night.

Can't find a place to go.

Soon, the staff's pre-recorded, business-style female voice politely reminded that this was an invalid number.

Yin Ze sighed silently, threw his phone aside, and buried his head in stuffing the last few bites of rice into his mouth.

Finally, after I was full, I propped my head up and stared at the picture I drew on my laptop.

Every man has dreams, and he is no exception.

Takizawa also wrote about his lofty ambitions in his diary.

He was a college student, and although he was jokingly called a noble man, he had no choice.

Whether it is wearing a yellow robe and delivering meals to the people, or wearing a handsome suit and combing his hair like an adult to work as a real estate agent, or taking a screenshot of a profile picture with a dark tie and a white shirt with his hands folded in front of his chest to be the top loan shark in the circle of friends.

When he had to make a choice, he chose the unrealistic one.

I hope that the things I do and the things I experience can make me happy in the future, that’s all.

He didn't want to wait until he was fifty or sixty, when his hair would fade and his legs and feet would start to become clumsy.

There are only firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea in life.

The wife's complaints, the passing of parents, and the worries of children and grandchildren are all traded back and forth.

Indeed, this is the life of ordinary people.

But he hopes that when he takes a break, he can do something other than running to the open space in the community to dance square dance.

By doing this, at least when I am old, I can still draw something and express my true feelings about life. I won the second prize for crayon painting in the fourth grade of elementary school, so I can be considered to have some talent.

Human beings' pursuit of beauty has continued for thousands of years, and the study and innovation of technology has never stopped.

Art is such a thing. No matter how much time you invest in it, it will never be enough and you will never see the end. The only things that can truly master it are human history and civilization itself.

But no matter how great it is, when the focus is on countless little people, it becomes insignificant.

Some people who went into comics are still doubting their lives, some are stuck in their comfort zone and cannot make any progress, and some people who went into business went from being exploited to becoming exploiters.

Most of them are unable to do it, so they choose to quit.

"I should be thankful that I was so stupid. At least I am here, and my dream comes with me."

Not all the time, but when he was fighting alone to hone his skills in order to earn a living, it was this dream that accompanied him through the early morning and evening.

Yin Ze picked up the digitizer.

"There's no kinder fellow here than you."

He breathed a sigh of relief.

The memory carousel suddenly started to turn, the huge library was shaking, all the tiring exercises, courses he had attended, and techniques he had experimented with all jumped out from the upright shelves and flew around him.

Everything became clear and distinct.

Hundreds and thousands of them are neatly arranged to form a huge formation diagram, which is repeated from draft to completion.

The essence of training is to know the concept, put it into action, and engrave it into your bones.

He is actually very stupid, and some of his ideas are just mechanical. He is far from having the rich experience in observing the world, the spirituality and the inspiration like those masters.

But looking back on my own journey of pursuing my dreams, I have sorted out the worries and confusions and finally achieved the harvest.

It turns out I'm not that bad.

Yin Ze opened his eyes. He was sweating all over, as if he had just been fished out of the water. His clothes were wet and stuck to his back. He had just eaten but was extremely hungry.

He looked at the pen in his hand.

For the first time in a long time, he felt that his dream was truly within his hands.

He no longer tried to copy others, but began to truly understand the knowledge.

Yin Ze stood up and was about to go to the bathroom to wash off the sweat, but he suddenly stopped and took a closer look at this small place.

Takizawa also worked silently here, moving towards the same goal, and recalling the warm and happy childhood with his father.

Thinking of this, the man smiled happily.

Chapter 10 When is Dongda No. 1

"Celebrate! This is the third floor of the school's library, which contains textbooks, test questions, and extracurricular books on all subjects, including modern literature, ancient Japanese, mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, geography, world history, society, economics, politics, and foreign languages!"

The dean opened his arms as if embracing the ocean of knowledge, with an intoxicated smile on his face.

"That's your training ground! The new classroom!"

Escorted by karate master Tomoko Yasui, Yin Ze looked at the bookcases filled with books and homework assignments, breathing in the scent of paper, pencils and graphite in the air. The ferocious beast called learning opened its bloody mouth towards him like a mountain and sea. The failure factor engraved in his soul made him subconsciously want to turn around and run away.

Unfortunately, he couldn't run away. Unknowingly, a middle-aged man in a suit and with gray hair was standing by the door, with his hands behind his back.

"Principal, are you back from the exchange program at another school?" the Dean of Studies exclaimed in surprise.

The middle-aged man did not say hello for the time being. He exuded a different aura and stared at the young man in front of him with burning eyes.

"Classmate, your eyes reveal timidity."

“There are too many books here. The heavy responsibility of inheriting the crystallization of human wisdom is beyond my imagination. I can’t control it for a moment.” Yin Ze clasped his fists.

"The road to study is very difficult, but don't worry, you don't have to turn yourself into Wikipedia."

The principal tried to comfort her briefly, then walked gracefully to the window, his tone becoming distant.

"Classmate, let me ask you, what is the University of Tokyo in your opinion?"

"It's the abbreviation of the University of Tokyo!" Yin Ze said firmly.

“……” Dean of Studies.

The principal's temperament was not affected, but his back looked desolate and lonely. He continued to speak in a low voice.

"I come from a family of scholars. When I was 2 years old, I could only fall asleep by listening to the audiobook of Manyoshu [Note: the oldest poetry collection in existence in Japan, which contains more than 450 long and short poems from the 4500th century to the late 4s], and I started learning to read, draw, and learn music at the age of . I started practicing mental arithmetic of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing hundreds every day in kindergarten, and I also compiled my own collection of prose poems. From elementary school to junior high school, I won first place and never missed any competitions. Whenever others scolded their own children for being uneducated, they would always use me as an example. I was that 'other people's child'."

"Because of this, I had few friends, often went to the movies and ate barbecue alone, and I didn't have a girlfriend. My peers viewed me as someone from another dimension, and female classmates wouldn't talk to me unless they wanted to copy answers. But I was never sad, because I knew where my destination was."

"I, Yuzaburo Koizumi, am the man who will break the curse of my family. I will make up for the regrets of my father Yujiro and grandfather Yuichiro."

The principal's voice changed from pride to sadness, and from sadness to emotion.

"I was extremely confident that year, and I thought that I had learned everything I could for a high school student. I tried my best, but in the end, I failed... People around me pointed fingers at me. They saw the end of a myth, like vultures picking up corpses and hyenas seeing blood. I stayed indoors for a long time, thinking, and decided to become a ronin, that is, a repeater, despite those doubts and strange looks."

"But I failed again the second time I prepared for the exam. At that time, I looked at those three- and four-wave ronin in the private school. I was more afraid of the exam than ever before. My heart was broken. Nothing I said was of any use. I finally couldn't stand my self-doubt and chose to escape. I gave up my dignity and face, and went to Waseda University with tears in my eyes. I still remember that day when I wrote my name at the new student registration office, I cried bitterly."

The dean of studies felt sympathetic and had mixed emotions when he heard this. It was not that he was moved, but he was a graduate of Waseda University and it was his first choice, and he had gone through a lot of hardships to get through.

"Every Japanese student has the so-called Tokyo University syndrome. Of course, there are emotional reasons, but more importantly, it is because the political status of this university is unrivaled."

The principal turned back slowly, his eyes hiding his lost youth.

"In the domestic civil service examination, 62.5% of the graduates from the University of Tokyo passed the exam, almost monopolizing the exam. This is especially true for the law and medical schools. The word "elite" is tailor-made for this group of people. In this society where class is rigidly fixed, the University of Tokyo is the real dragon gate. If you jump over it, you can break the shackles of your innate nature. Do you understand?"

"I understand!" Yin Ze nodded vigorously.

"Takizawa-kun, just as the principal said, you will definitely succeed with your talent. When you graduate from the law school, it won't be impossible for you to become a member of parliament after a few years thanks to your photographic memory!" said the dean proudly.

"Ah, but I want to go to the literature department." Yin Ze scratched his head.

The dean was so angry that he asked how could you not even choose a top major and was just about to give you a good lecture and give you a warning.

"well said!"

A smile appeared on the principal's face, and he spoke loudly with great appreciation.

"Does being an official make you an elite? Ridiculous! How can an elite be so narrow-minded! Doing real cultural research mean being outdated? People are always so short-sighted, only thinking about what they can see with their eyes, not knowing that the most important thing in human history is civilization!"

"Then it's better... No, it's not better, it's just changing the target to Waseda and Keio. The funding for private universities is managed by foundations, there is no performance guarantee, and they are more tolerant of literature, history and philosophy."

The timid dean finally spoke.

"Besides, they can afford private schools, and most of their families are wealthy, so it's easier for them to find beautiful, wealthy and white girlfriends."

"You must be joking. That won't work." The principal raised his head and showed a disdainful smile that belonged to the former academic god. "Todai is a public university, and it is more difficult. I always take the most difficult exams!"

You, a wanderer who failed the entrance exam twice, dare to act so arrogant in front of me who is also from Waseda University! The dean dared to be angry but could not say anything.

"Young man, why did you make such a choice? Speak out your heart and let this stubborn Mediterranean admit its own sourness!" The principal encouraged vigorously.

"I'm terrible at math, so of course I chose liberal arts." Yin Ze answered truthfully.

The three of them stared at each other in silence.

"Actually, the math problems are not that difficult." The principal tried to liven up the atmosphere.

"Appreciate further details."

"Just up to calculus, maybe," the dean put in.

"Calculus appears on the college entrance examination paper?!" Yin Ze was horrified and turned back to look at the door, ready to run away.

"How can young people be so impatient!"

The principal suddenly and cruelly pursued him and grabbed his sleeve, revealing the fangs of an iron-blooded educator.

"The score of Dongda University is the sum of the national unified examination and the school examination, not the result of one examination alone. The national unified examination tests basic subjects and consists of multiple-choice questions. As long as you get a high score in this examination, you will have a great advantage!"