Revive it!Wenhao Press

Ten years ago, summer.

"Mr. Noguchi, hello, Mr. Noguchi!"

A rush of voice brought Noguchi back to his senses, and the hand holding the manuscript trembled.

He raised his head, and saw the young man sitting opposite him staring at him with wide eyes.Eyes met, the young man said: "Noguchi has already read the last page, right? I only wrote the beginning, but there is no need to keep silent, right?"

"...What do you think?" The young man asked nervously.

Noguchi Satoshi once again set his eyes on the manuscript in his hand.

Tightening his fingers slightly, he said, "Mr. Chiba, this story... "Angelica" is great!"

"Really?" Chiba Akira forgot his shyness and stood up abruptly.

"It's so beautiful." Noguchi sighed in a low voice, "Is this the world seen by Chiba-sensei's eyes... I want to know more."

"There is such a pure story in this world. The love and trust of human beings make their appearance so beautiful. I am so touched. It makes me a little..." Noguchi Satoshi suddenly turned around when he said this. ,"Feel sorry."

"Eh?"

Chiba Akira opened his eyes wide: "Mr. Noguchi, are you crying...?"

"No, it's just dust in the eyes!"

Noguchi Tomo took a deep breath, turned around, but the corners of his eyes were slightly red.

He suddenly extended his hand to Chiba Akira: "Mr. Chiba, please let me be your editor."

Seeing Tomo Noguchi's outstretched hand, Akira Chiba subconsciously wiped the sweat from his palm on his trousers.

"Mr. Noguchi is obviously much older than me, so it's really embarrassing to be called a teacher by you..." He held Noguchi's hand, "From today onwards, I will ask Mr. Noguchi to teach you more."

When the two walked out of the coffee shop where they had agreed to meet for a meeting, Noguchi Satoshi's document bag had already contained the original manuscript of Akira Chiba's "Angelica".

When passing the reflective glass French windows on the side of the street, Noguchi Tomo caught a glimpse of the shadow reflected on the glass French windows from the corner of his eye, and subconsciously stopped.

Chiba Akira noticed Noguchi's movements, and couldn't help but stop together, and turned to ask him, "Mr. Noguchi, did you forget something?"

"No, I just saw my shadow and yours." Satoshi Noguchi replied.

"Really?" Chiba Akira also stood in front of the glass floor-to-ceiling windows, looking at his reflection.The reflection is two young people standing side by side. Although their postures are a bit cramped, their eyes are full of ambition for the future.

"...I really like this "Angelica" written by Chiba-sensei." Noguchi Satoshi suddenly said, "After it is published, it will definitely touch many people. The goddess of literature will definitely take care of you."

"It also depends on Mr. Noguchi's help." Chiba Akira smiled embarrassedly.

Pausing for a moment, Noguchi pointed to the reflection in the window: "Look, we are still so young now."

"Five years from now, ten years from now...what will we be like?" Tomo Noguchi muttered to himself, "But even if I was older at that time, I would probably be married and have a family, perhaps with sons and daughters. I have all of them, but I should continue to be an editor. Everyone who is an office worker is like this. After graduation, he finds a job, and then works in the same company until retirement, and receives a pension until he dies.”

"Will Teacher Chiba think about the problems of old age?" He asked.

"No." Qianye Akira touched the back of his head and laughed, "Because as long as you keep writing, you will always be young. A writer will never grow old!"

"'Authornevergrowsold'..." Noguchi Tomo murmured.

It was the first meeting between Satoshi Noguchi, who had only been working at Bailang Club for a few years, and Akira Chiba, an 18-year-old boy who contributed for the first time.

……

"Ms. Chiba, I'm sorry."

Satoshi Noguchi, who came to report the results, hesitated for a moment, and still sighed: "The response to "Angelica" was not very satisfactory, and I didn't get a chance to publish it."

"...Really?" Qianye Huang was stunned, with a disappointed expression, "That's something that can't be helped."

"When I saw "Angelica", I felt that such a work would be very popular, and I never thought about the situation that it would not pass the publication meeting." Noguchi sighed and recalled the meeting. situation.

As pure literature, "Angelica" is quite excellent.However, the composition of the plot made the editorial department judge that this film will not attract many readers and have insufficient commercial value.

But soon, Tomo Noguchi raised his hand and patted Akira Chiba on the shoulder: "Don't worry too much, it's only the first article after all."

"That's true." Chiba Akira quickly smiled.

"I don't want to worry about that, let's just focus on the next work." Speaking of this, Noguchi Tomoji raised a pitcher of beer in his hand, "I brought this."

"Alcohol?" Chiba Akira opened his eyes wide, his cheeks flushed slightly, "But I'm not yet 20 years old, so I shouldn't drink alcohol..."

"It doesn't matter. In my eyes, Teacher Chiba is already a writer before him." Noguchi Satoshi put his shoulders, "And the beer alcohol is not high. When Teacher Chiba really approves the manuscript, I will invite you Drink fine wine. How about Petrus?"

"Woo..." Chiba Akira struggled for a while, remembering what he hadn't passed, and finally took a deep breath, "Mmm!"

……

"Sorry, "Reeds in the Wind" also failed..."

Looking at Noguchi Satoshi standing at the door, Akira Chiba lowered his head: "Thank you, I understand."

"Don't be dejected, it's common for the first two submissions to be rejected." Satoshi Noguchi raised the beer in his hand, "Even if it's for the hard work during this period, let's have a drink."

……

After that, four years have passed, and Akira Chiba submitted six manuscripts, but each time they were rejected for the same reason.

During the meeting where only the editor-in-chief, deputy editor-in-chief, and several editorial team leaders can participate, Noguchi Satoshi, who is an ordinary editor, suddenly broke into the conference room.

"Please let Teacher Chiba's work be published once! Short stories are also fine!" He said loudly, "Ms. Chiba is a genius! If you don't give him a chance, how do you know that his work will not be successful?"

People in the meeting room looked at Satoshi Noguchi in surprise.After a while, the editor-in-chief said in astonishment: "You are really passionate, Noguchi-kun."

"But Mr. Chiba's works are all obscure pure literature." He said, "Compared with business that focuses on commercialization and follows the trend of fashion, isn't it obvious which side readers will prefer?"

The silence lasted for a moment, and Noguchi's voice sounded again.

"But sales figures aren't everything, are they? This is...literature."

After the words fell, Tomo Noguchi bent over slowly, touched the ground with his knees, and knelt down.He pressed his palms together to the ground, and slowly, slowly lowered his head until his forehead touched the cold floor.

"Please trust me once and give Teacher Chiba a chance." He leaned his head against the floor, closed his eyes, and murmured, "Please."

The conference room fell into silence, eyes turned to Noguchi Satoshi who was kneeling on the ground.The editor-in-chief sighed.

"……Oh."

Finally, the editor-in-chief walked up to Tomo Noguchi and squatted down.

"Noguchi-kun, we also have things to consider." He said, "It is the numbers that you think are not everything. Magazines and writers also have to survive."

"If you become the editor-in-chief one day, you should understand."

……

After the submission results came out, Noguchi Satoshi routinely visited Akira Chiba.

"sorry."

On that day, the routine beer party also moved from the small house rented by Akira Chiba to the izakaya.

Holding the draft beer in his hand, Akira Chiba looked a little dazed: "Now I have reached the age where I can openly enter an izakaya."

"...Hmm." Noguchi Tomoko took a gulp of cold beer.

Recalling his comments when he was rejected, Noguchi asked hesitantly: "Mr. Chiba, if you say that your work has a chance to be published if you modify it according to the readers' preferences... what would you do?"

I've already taken my seat myself, so it doesn't matter if I ask the writer a little bit.

He bite the bullet and said: "For you, as long as you learn the style that is popular in the market and write a little bit, you will definitely be able to pass the manuscript, and even sell well..."

Chiba Akira's hand holding the wine glass tightened slightly.

"My reason for dismissal...was this?" he asked.

Noguchi Satoshi was silent and did not answer, but his reaction made Chiba Akira get the answer.

"I... don't want to change it." Akira Chiba whispered, "I will write better, so that other editors can't reject my work."

"I will work harder and work harder. So, Mr. Noguchi, please don't make me change." He said in a muffled voice.

At that moment, a strong sense of shame flooded Noguchi Satoshi's brain, colliding with alcohol in his brain, and finally turned into liquid and flowed out of his eyes.

He actually said such a thing to Chiba Akira.

Chiba Akira, who didn't get an answer, finally couldn't help but look back at Tomo Noguchi, but what caught his eyes was a distorted crying face: "Hey! Mr. Noguchi!? Your face is so ugly!"

"I'm sorry." Noguchi took several deep breaths, and finally said, "I will never say such a thing again."

Same as when we first met, Tomo Noguchi extended his hand towards Akira Chiba.

"Next, let us work together to create something that they can't refuse!"

Chiba Akira stared blankly at Tomo Noguchi, finally smiled again, and held that hand: "Okay!"

"But I'm afraid I won't be able to deliver new works for a while." After letting go of his hand, Chiba Akira said again, "I don't want to rush to write anything in the near future. I want to study hard and write something that can compare with the masterpieces that have been handed down to this day. Bi's works..."

After that, Akira Chiba did not bring any new works for a whole year.

……

Why hasn't Akira Chiba brought new works since then?In terms of research, he spent too much time.

During that year, Noguchi often thought of this incident.Perhaps it was when he was in the izakaya that he proposed revisions that hurt Chiba Akira's heart, causing him to lose the writer's trust as an editor.At that time, Chiba Akira said that he should study hard, maybe it was just perfunctory him.

Maybe Chiba Akira couldn't write anymore because he couldn't trust him.Or maybe Chiba Akira has gone to other magazines and found another editor...

If only at that time, he didn't try to ask Chiba Akira to modify the work.

……

"Here, Mr. Noguchi, please take a look."

A year later, one day in November, Chiba Akira suddenly visited Noguchi Satoshi with a notebook.

After taking the notes, Tomo Noguchi opened the cover with astonishment.

Why did Chiba Akira suddenly bring a new work after a year?

But these doubts quickly disappeared with the content.Looking at the new work "Traveler" brought by Akira Chiba, Tomo Noguchi felt dazed for a while, his mouth was dry and his heart almost jumped out of his throat.Seeing the happy place, he couldn't help laughing; seeing the touching place, he couldn't help crying, unable to restrain himself.

Even if it is still pure literature, "Traveler" is as interesting as commercial!

Great, Chiba Akira didn't distrust himself.Over the past year, Chiba Akira has really devoted himself to research, and finally wrote such a good one!

Seeing the end in one breath, Tomo Noguchi was still unsatisfied: "I haven't finished writing this yet. Is there any next one?"

"Yeah." Chiba Akira replied, "This is the result of my hard work for a year. I originally planned to finish writing it all before telling Mr. Noguchi. But thinking that Mr. Noguchi has taken care of me for so long, I still want to inform you earlier. good."

Chiba Akira's face did not change.But for some reason, his demeanor made Noguchi feel a little strange.

It seems that apart from Noguchi Satoshi himself, there are some strange things attracting Chiba Akira's attention.

Just an illusion.

Noguchi Tomo waved away the distracting thoughts in his mind, and refocused on the top.

"It's different from the past few works... Ah, I mean, although the past few articles are also very good, although they were unsuccessful, to be honest, I think it is more than enough to be published in the magazine, but this "Traveler" is different Yes." He held the notebook as if holding a treasure, ""Traveler" has begun to take shape as a masterpiece, but in the end we still have to read the whole picture after reading it. If Mr. Chiba thinks there is no problem, I will write It was submitted to the meeting..."

"Ah, long-winged nymph!"

Before Tomo Noguchi could finish his words, Akira Chiba suddenly stood up and walked quickly to the window: "Mr. Noguchi, did you see it? It's a long-winged nymph!"

Isn't the long-winged nymph a fictional creature in Voyager?How could Akira Chiba see it?

Noguchi Tomo was stunned, stood up with Chiba Akira, and looked out the window.But there was nothing but the streets, motor vehicles and pedestrians, and he couldn't see any butterflies.

"I didn't see the long-winged nymph." Noguchi hesitated, and asked Akira Chiba, "Ms. Chiba, did you misread it?"

"...Really? Maybe."

Chiba turned around.Troubled by his work, he looks like a happy kid for the first time: "But wouldn't it be a good thing if I could see the world inside me? Then I could write better."

"Only this one..." he said, "I bet everything on this one. Give it all, give it all."

"Ah..." Noguchi Tomo was stunned, feeling somewhat resistant.But in the next second, the reflections and doubts of the past year came back to his mind.

He will never wear down Chiba Akira's trust in him again.

Thinking of this, Tomo Noguchi nodded sharply: "As expected of Mr. Chiba! Articles written in this state will definitely become masterpieces!"

All writers are like this, immersed in their own world, seeing things that others cannot see.The scenery in their eyes is different from the scenery in the eyes of ordinary people.

"Since this is the case, Mr. Chiba will dive deeper and deeper into the country!" Tomo Noguchi clenched his fists and said vigorously, "Let "Traveler" become a masterpiece known to everyone!"

As if encouraged, Chiba Akira smiled at him: "Yeah!"

When he returned to the editorial office with the notebook that recorded the first few chapters of "Traveler", Noguchi Satoshi glanced at the elevator light that was slowly descending from the tallest building. Run up in two steps.

"Noguchi?" the editor from the same editorial department shouted behind him, "Is the elevator coming soon?"

"I can't wait, Haneda!" Noguchi Satoshi's voice came, and his figure had disappeared on the stairs.

……

A month later, Tomo Noguchi received the sad news of Akira Chiba.

Writers really don't age.Chiba Akira has lost the chance to grow old.

……

"It seems that I jumped from the balcony of the house I rented in the middle of the night." A housewife who lives nearby whispered outside the cordon of the scene. He climbed up. The police also think he committed suicide."

"I heard that he was an unsuccessful writer, and his manuscripts were always returned. It must be because of this reason that he committed suicide."

"Oh, what a pity..."

The housewives gossiped for a while, and suddenly one of them said: "However, the daughter who happened to live next to him slipped to the balcony next door to secretly play games. She said that before climbing up the guardrail and falling, the man seemed to be muttering. Whispering, I saw a long-winged nymph, and I stretched out my hand to grab something that seemed to be flying in the air..."

"The daughter of that family is still a primary school student, right? The child's testimony is not credible. I think it is suicide..."

The housewives were still chattering, but Noguchi Satoshi, who was standing not far from them, stared blankly at the bloodstains that had not been cleaned up in the cordon, his legs softened, and he knelt on the ground.

It was because Chiba Akira saw the long-winged nymph in the hallucination that he chased it and climbed outside the balcony guardrail.

I wanted him to pass the draft and not let him revise it. Instead, I let him go, and even encouraged him to fall deeper and deeper into the hallucination.That's why he died.

Chiba Akira wanted to live, he didn't commit suicide.He died because he could not bear the split between fantasy and reality.

He wants to catch his butterfly.

I killed him.

"...I killed him—! It was me—!"

Noguchi Satoshi, who was kneeling on the ground, suddenly let out a blood-weeping roar.

Then, ignoring the eyes of others, he fell on the ground, buried his head in his arms, howled and cried like a seriously injured dog in the water, until he could no longer cry out from his torn throat.

The surroundings finally fell into silence, without butterflies.

The first snowflakes of winter have fallen.

……

A week later.

"A writer committed suicide... The cause of death is speculated to be the mental stress caused by the long-term failure to submit a manuscript..."

Looking at the newspaper news in his hand, Fumiya Yamada couldn't help sighing: "I hope he can die soon and be free from the pain..."

After putting down the newspaper, Fumiya Yamada looked at the corner of the desk.There, there is a collection of short stories published by him, "Fenghualou".

The initial print run was [-] copies, but until now, less than [-] copies have been sold, and the digestibility rate is less than [-]%.If the results of "Fenghualou" quenched his enthusiasm, the death of the writer in the newspaper made him feel even more unhappy.

Literature is such a cruel road, which constantly devours the youth, life, will and talent of writers.The same is true for geniuses and mediocrity, the numb people go with the flow, and the sensitive people suffer even more.

"It's been almost ten years since I resigned and devoted myself to writing." Fumiya Yamada muttered to himself, "And how many ten years do I have left in my life as a writer?"

"The writer is free. What about me?"

With mixed feelings in his heart, Fumiya Yamada suddenly found that a new email had been received in his mailbox.

"The sender is... Noguchi Satoshi, the editorial department of Bailang Club's "Literary Times"?"

A month later.

Sitting in the cubicle on the first floor of Bailang Club, Fumiya Yamada held in his arms the works he had published that he was about to bring to the new editor.Sitting across from him was Noguchi Satoshi who was dressed in black and had an expressionless face.

"Teacher Fumiya Yamada, first of all, I would like to welcome you to sign with Bailang Club." Satoshi Noguchi said.

"Ah, about this..." Fumiya Yamada said hastily, "I decided to publish all the works published in Bailang Club under the new pseudonym 'Koyama Kaya'. Besides, these are my old works, if they can serve as a reference ..."

Koyama Ka also handed over the work he brought, but Noguchi Satoshi did not accept it.

"It's not a problem to change your pen name." The expression on Noguchi's face remained unchanged, "I don't need to read the old works again, I already know what kind of writer you are."

"Then, Mr. Xiaoshan, I will be your editor from now on. As I promised in the email, I will definitely let your manuscript pass the publication meeting of the editorial department, and I will also let you go from the anonymous editor who has sold less than [-] anthologies. The writer leaps to the top of the list."

"But before starting any work, there are some guidelines I want you to keep in mind."

Looking at Kaya Koyama who was a little startled, Noguchi Tomohime slowly spit out a sentence: "First of all, it is a commodity, not something used to entrust personal ideals and feelings. Don't take it as everything to yourself."

"Before you become a great writer who can enjoy the job of writing on your own even if you leave the editorial department and the publishing house, you must obey all my revision suggestions. You must write what I ask you to write, and I don't allow it. What you write, you have to cut it off immediately, don't even think about it..."

***

Ten years later, in October, that afternoon, at Xiaoshan House, Xiaoshan Jia also narrated this past event to Hualichun.

"The editor-in-chief Noguchi didn't tell me these things personally, but later I heard from the deputy editor-in-chief Haneda. The two of them are the only two in the editorial department of "Literary Times" who have been working since more than ten years ago. He is also the only person who knows the truth about Chiba Akira's death."

"After that, the editor-in-chief Noguchi became a business-oriented person, and because of the big sales of the books he was responsible for, he took over as the new editor-in-chief after the original editor-in-chief retired. Many other publishing companies have learned from it, and the creative environment has also changed, and this environment has become the cause of the decline of the literary supremacist Hoshinosha at that time."

Koyama Ka also said slowly, "To be honest, before I knew all this, I also had a certain degree of resentment towards the editor-in-chief Noguchi. Of course, his behavior destroyed the literary dreams of many writers, and it is only natural to be resented .But after learning about the past, personally, I can't really hate him anyway."

"However, after the editor-in-chief Noguchi learned that the deputy editor-in-chief told me what happened back then, he lost his temper with the deputy editor-in-chief..."

***

Today, November 11th.

The live broadcast of the results announcement of the New Arts and Culture Awards was being broadcast on the TV.On the bulletin board, after announcing the results of all sub-category awards in the literature department, the staff in suits finally posted the names of the works and authors who received the highest awards.

Sakunosuke Oda, "The Kindness of Couples".

Inside Hoshinosha.

"... Oda-sensei!"

Hualichun turned her head and stared blankly at the Oda dog.

Although when the small awards were announced, the names of Hoshinosha's writers kept appearing, such as "Winter's Nagato Gorge" which won the Poetry Award, "Theory of Fall" which won the Literary Critic Award, and "No Love" which won the Social Confidence Award. "Fearing the Wind and Rain"... The New Art and Culture Award has almost become an internal competition among Hoshinosha writers. Only works of the same level as Kaya Koyama's "Snow Blindness" can stand on the same stage as it.But before the results of the highest award appeared, Oda Inu did not expect that he would be the one who won the highest award in the literature department.

He originally only thought that it would be great if he could get one of the awards.

The large brown-red dog stumbled to the front of the TV, its nose almost squeezed to the screen, and the wet dog's eyes reflected the live TV screen.

Dazai Inu and Anwu Inu looked at each other, and walked over first, intending to congratulate them in a very gracious manner.Although the other dogs are a bit regretful, after all, there are various literary awards every year, and there will be opportunities in the future.On the contrary, the Oda dog who won the highest award will not be able to participate in the selection of the new school award in the future.

But before everyone had time to speak, the Oda Inu suddenly raised his head and roared heartily, as if his emotions had completely exploded.

……

In Bailang Club, the editors in the editorial department of "The Times of Literature and Art" were also watching the live TV broadcast.

The highest award in the literature department is announced.The huge black characters were reflected in the pupils of Noguchi Satoshi standing in front of the TV.

Sakunosuke Oda, "The Kindness of Couples".

There was a sound of footsteps behind him, and the editors of "Literary Times" who were watching the live broadcast on the wall-mounted TV subconsciously stepped aside.

Noguchi Satoshi looked back at the wall-mounted TV and turned his head.

Appearing in front of him were directors who rarely appeared in the editorial department of Bailang Society, and there were seven or eight directors at one time.

The silence lasted for a long time, and the leading director finally said, "Noguchi, come here."