People in Tokyo, the world is clear

The industry calls it [special cleaning].

"If you really want to understand, it's easy to explain. It's actually pretty much the same cleaning service provided by a housekeeping company. It's basically just cleaning the room, collecting and sorting out belongings, etc. It's not a particularly difficult job."

"I see. But why is the price so high?"

"Because they're dealing with the belongings of a deceased person, most workers wouldn't accept it. They need to enter the homes of those whose cases have been closed by the Metropolitan Police Department and concluded they committed suicide or died alone, leaving traces of the remains. They then reconstruct the scene to make it appear as if nothing had happened, facilitating subsequent disposal of the property. The client is usually the city hall or the deceased's family who have won the inheritance. In this age of sky-high real estate in Tokyo, both types of people are well-off, and with so few practitioners, the prices they charge are naturally high."

In the afternoon, Lin Sen, wearing a large protective suit, explained this while carrying tools from the back of a van with the words "Tokyo Special Cleaning and Relics Disposal Society" printed on it.

"I see."

A colleague next to him, who was dressed similarly, nodded, but suddenly tilted his head, as if to express doubt.

"Come to think of it, it's incredible that I could actually meet Kobayashi-san in a place like this..."

"Incredible?"

Lin Sen spread his hands towards the fully armed girl beside him.

"If it were anyone else, I might be surprised. But I'm really used to it, Qingshan. Wherever I work, there's an 80% chance you'll appear there."

"So this is fate, Kobayashi-san~"

He reached out to take off the mask and the hood attached to the protective suit, revealing his signature ponytail.

The smiling female face made Lin Sen look elsewhere.

sigh.

"I prefer to call it a fellow worker in need of money, Qingshan. Anyone who can take this kind of work is at least somewhat destitute."

Chapter 15: Live boldly

When it comes to making more money, Lin Sen and Qingshan Xiazhi are always on the same side.

This has not changed even after paying off the debt that weighed like a huge rock on my back.

No one would think too much money. Moreover, Lin Sen couldn't even find a single one-yuan tree in his pockets.

Therefore, Lin Sen will do any job that can earn some quick money to feed people.

“But this job is really not for humans!”

It was Ms. Aoyama who made the complaint afterward.

At this moment, the girl's legs were weak and she could only stand with the help of Lin Sen's friendly arm.

What followed was a trembling and loud complaint:

"Xiao Lin, how did you manage to hold on for so long? Are you really an ordinary person?"

The considerable volume attracted attention.

A passerby's eyes wandered between the young man with a lost look on his face and the girl with weak legs. He then glanced at the couple's hotel that served as the background of their conversation, and his face showed an ambiguous expression of sudden realization.

Lin Sen had no choice but to help Miss Qingshan take a few steps and change the background to the snack bar next to the hotel.

I bought a bag of meatballs, took out a wooden skewer, cleared the bag, and handed it to the girl with the ponytail who had already started covering her mouth, pointing it in the direction of her retching to prevent any accidents that would affect her personal image.

He turned around and glanced at the stall owner, whose eyes became increasingly aggressive as the girl moved, and stuffed one of the meatballs in his hand into his mouth, purely as a late lunch.

"Wow."

After finally suppressing the nausea that was surging in her stomach, Miss Aoyama let out a long sigh.

"Although I was mentally prepared, the scene of a lonely death was really scary."

Although the police had arrived in advance and dealt with the body of the deceased, there was still something on the wooden floor of the target house that was not sure whether it was solidified corpse oil or melted skin, which stickyly formed the shape of a lying human body.

Clothes, bedding, water cups, and waste paper were scattered around in a mess, and many of them were stained with dark yellow substances that were not sure if they were excrement.

Even more terrifying was the fact that, above and around that "human print," there were densely packed, dirty, black dots. If one had good eyesight, one could clearly see from a distance what these things were...

The shells of flies and the corpses of maggots.

It evenly covers the ground, making it almost impossible for people entering the house to find a foothold.

What’s even more terrible is the smell that makes you want to vomit out the food you ate the night before.

Even someone as strong as Miss Qingshan couldn't stand steadily and was about to faint.

That was why she was so amazed at Lin Sen's unmovable stance.

So much so that I kept my eyes wide open throughout the cleaning work just now.

Watching Lin Sen follow the older and more experienced hands in opening the package, taking out the finished rice balls and coins called "ferry fees", he completed the farewell ceremony for the deceased.

The tough guys, who had long been accustomed to the smell of corpses, dried body fluids, and even insect stench, took off their masks after working themselves to the point of sweating and took the initiative to chat with Lin Sen about their daily lives:

“The smell of the old man’s isn’t very strong.”

This sentence almost made Miss Qingshan collapse.

What really broke her defenses was Lin Sen's reply:

"Hmm. He must be a senior who pays great attention to body management."

Body management, right?

Thinking of this sentence again, Qingshan Xiazhi, who had finally recovered from the work injury, freed his hand from waving at Lin Sen and emphasized his previous conclusion again.

"This job is really not for humans. It's too horrible."

"Will you still do it next time?"

"Of course!"

Miss Aoyama, whose expression changed instantly, happily took out a thick envelope from her trouser pocket and put it on her face.

"This one ticket is worth several days of work for me. Anyone who doesn't do it must be a donkey in the head."

Ok.

The saying goes well.

Money makes the world go round and round.

The two men, having reached a consensus once again, found a stone step to sit down, opened the envelope containing their reward and counted the money together.

"I heard that Mr. Nakajima is going to release a new album in November. I was worried about how to find the money, but now it's enough."

Unconsciously, the girl has tried to share her life with her friends.

She took another long breath and began to move forward.

"Does Xiaolin know this teacher? She has always been my idol."

Lin Sen was not surprised by this.

The singer the girl was referring to was named Miyuki Nakajima in her previous life. Perhaps due to some strange effect of the parallel world, only the surname Nakajima was matched here.

It’s just that his talent and status are exactly the same. He can be called the true god of the music scene in the 80s, a monster who combines creative ability and singing voice.

As a girl with a dream of music, it is normal for Qingshan Xiazhi to admire her.

"That person is indeed, how should I put it, a beast of burden."

"She's definitely talented. None of her songs are bad. Every one of them is amazing, whether it's the arrangement or the singing!"

Describes the girl with the waving of her arms.

"Especially the album 'Lin Yue'. Although it only ranked seventh in sales that year, in my heart it is the best album of the year."

"real."

After dancing and praising her idol, Aoyama Xiazhi stuffed the counted bills into the small shoulder bag she was carrying, put it on her back with one hand, and then grabbed its long black shoulder strap.

After hesitating, he pursed his lips.

"You know, Xiaolin, I used to look up to Ms. Nakajima as my role model, and I even tried to imitate her style and wrote a few songs myself."

"However, even teachers who started out with folk music have begun experimenting with rock music in recent years."

The girl who said this held her face with both hands and drooped her eyes.

His eyes were dull as he stared at the passing traffic.

"I don't have a rich, beautiful voice like my teacher. Xiaolin, you've heard it too. They say my voice is like a child's, shrill and thin, and it sounds awkward no matter how you listen to it. No one seems to like it. It's even worse when it's used in rock music."

"That's because people of this generation haven't yet awakened to the aesthetic appreciation of your heavenly voice."

Lin Sen's words made Qingshan Xiazhi laugh.

She reached over and patted his shoulder.

"If I didn't know you well, I would think you were being sarcastic."

"My brother always tells the truth."

Lin Sen spread his hands:

"I won't go into the details, you've probably heard it so many times that my ears are almost callused. In short, my poor buddy is counting on you to lead the way, so there's no way I'd lie to you about something like this."

"Xiao Lin, I'm afraid you've got the wrong person."

"No doubt. I'm always right in judging people. To be fair, you're one of those undiscovered gems. You're a rich mine in the West that no one visits, a rough diamond hidden deep in the rock. One day you'll shine."

"There's no need to worry about the current audience's judgment. It's just that their appreciation hasn't caught up with you yet."

"Be brave and persevere. That day will come."

The firm tone in those few sentences made the girl lose the momentum to refute or laugh at herself. She just lowered her head and digested those slightly pertinent adjectives.

Lin Sen observed that she was trying hard to hide the upward curve of her lips.

People always like to be recognized and praised, no matter how insecure they are.

It can be clearly felt in the subsequent casual conversation.

The girl began to raise her head and look at the sky where white clouds were floating. She felt much more relaxed.

"Xiao Lin."

"What?"

"Tell me, are there really listeners who like and appreciate me as a singer? I haven't encountered any yet."

"Oh, I mean I'm not your fan."

Lin Sen's answer was met with another shoulder strike from Qingshan Xiazhi.

"You're not a weirdo!"

There was a commotion, and then some intermittent conversation, until Miss Qingshan stood up and stood in front of him.

After some hesitation and hesitation, he still mustered up the courage and put on a serious expression.

"Are you free this Saturday night at nine?"

The girl took a deep breath and gave an address.

"I'll sing the song you gave me. Come and help me fill the room? I'm a little scared... There's not a single audience member who likes it."

So Lin Sen also stood up and put his hands in his pockets.

"No need to ask for this kind of thing, buddy, I'll be there on time."

I can't sleep at night, I want to chat with everyone who saw it

0⑧⑨○⑨

The reasons I initially decided to write this book are mentioned in the chapter about my thoughts on its release. I'd like to share some details that I didn't mention in detail.

When I started writing, I was an unemployed homeless person.

The specific reasons why I ended up in this situation are too complicated to explain in a thousand words, but the end result was that after discussing it with my family, my parents resisted the pressure and agreed to let me try writing full-time.

I was deeply impressed by a sentence at that time:

Go ahead and do it. You won't go hungry as long as I have something to eat.

I really, really appreciate it.

So I opened the old laptop that had been with me for many years and started my business.