Substitutes are not a problem

Chapter101

A He family's house that covers a small area is full of loneliness that no one lives in all year round.But because there are regular cleanings, it is not messy, just a little dusty.

This is the ancestral home of the Mori family and the place where Mori Ogai spent his childhood.Later, when I went to Tokyo to go to school when I was a teenager, I seldom came back here except for winter and summer vacations.And since he was sent by the government to study in Europe, he never came back.

On the one hand, because of his special status, on the other hand, because there are no relatives in the family, Mori Ogai has never thought about coming back to visit his former residence in recent years.

Stepping here after such a long time, I suddenly found that everything here...has not changed.

Still exactly the same as I remembered.

Pushing away his bedroom and study room, the furnishings in the house are also the same as back then.

Looking at the desks on the tatami, Mori Ogai couldn't help recalling himself when he was a boy.

At that time, sitting in this position, looking out the window, what was I thinking?

Doing the math, the last time he returned to his hometown for a long stay was when he was 17 years old.After graduating with the honor of being the youngest medical bachelor in the history of the University of Tokyo, he had to miss the opportunity that the government sent him to study in Europe that year because of a serious illness.

At the most energetic and sharpest age, he suffered such a blow. He was really depressed when he was recuperating in his hometown.

When he was 17 years old, he was sitting here, looking out the window, thinking about... what is the outside world like, how big is it?

At that time, he imagined that he would leave his own traces in this turbulent era, that he would be worthy of the short hundred years he had passed in this world, and that he would meet a loved one to have a conversation. Remember the love of a lifetime.

So, in the next 20 years, has he done it?

Go to the University of Tokyo to study academics, go to the origin of supernatural powers in Europe to see the vastness of the world, join the army to win for the country in the cruelest way, become a scapegoat after defeat, be expelled from the military and political circles, and become an intelligence dealer and black market doctor , After learning from Mr. Natsume Soseki, he decided to regroup and join the three-moment conception plan, seize the opportunity to become the personal doctor of the former leader of the port mafia, wait for the opportunity to replace him as the new leader, and lead the port mafia to become the leading organization in the world in Yokohama...

Even, on this long road, he was indeed fortunate to have a love that will last a lifetime. From the first meeting at the age of 22, to the age of 40, he finally chose to let go with blessings. Although the ending is not perfect, it is enough. Make him recall his whole life.

Thinking about it this way, it seems that what he imagined when he was 17 years old back then has come true.

However, I always feel that I have lost what I once had.

Mori Ogai sat in front of the desk, which was his favorite sitting position in the past.On the desk, there is an old magazine more than 20 years ago, which published his novel named "Bubble" more than 20 years ago.

He returned to his former residence just to find this novel again.

The year when he was recuperating from illness in his hometown at the age of 17 turned out to be a year for him to write like a blowout... It was also a year for him to end his hobby when he was young.

And this "Bubble" is his final work.

【Life is short, if you feel happy with the snap of your fingers, if you don’t laugh out loud, you won’t regret it later...】

Looking at the sentence I wrote that year, it seemed that the voice of Rina Minamoto who read this sentence last night on the rooftop sounded in my ears, and Mori Ogai couldn't help chuckling.

It turned out that she had already known Morintaro at that time, and she was...only 13 years old at that time.

It turned out that at that time, he saw the world in this way.

If she hadn't been reminded, he might have forgotten it if it was true.

Forget about the former self, the pure Morin Taro.

Putting this closed work back to its original place, I suddenly wanted to read my earliest unpublished debut novel, that romantic story that ended in tragedy.

Relying on his memory, Mori Ogai rummaged through his own manuscripts on the dusty bookshelf.

After a lot of searching, I finally found it. When I picked up the stack of manuscripts, I accidentally knocked off a storage box next to it, and the things in it fell to the ground with a crackle.

They were all letters, letters from readers that the magazine had forwarded to him back then.

He opened some of them, and some of them didn't even open them. When these letters arrived at the address of his former residence, he had already sealed his pen and was about to embark on the road to Europe.

Bending down, he picked up the letters addressed to the writer Morintaro, and put them back in the storage box.

However, among the many letters, there was one letter that suddenly attracted his full attention.

This handwriting is...

Looking at the immature but familiar handwriting on the envelope that made him unable to look away, and seeing that the letter was sent across the ocean from Zurich, Switzerland 23 years ago, Mori Ogai's heart beat faster for a moment. He couldn't restrain his fluctuating mood at the moment.

He couldn't wait to open the envelope carefully but found the handwriting so familiar that he trembled——

[Respectfully, Mr. Morintaro, I am a reader of yours who lives overseas. On the plane leaving my hometown, I read your "Bubble" over and over again, and watched the plane land. Thank you for accompanying me with this novel. After this difficult journey...

Although the ending of the hero and heroine in the novel does not surprise me, or it should be so.

But the final ending is still sad.So is this dead end, which is ultimately tragic, really unsolvable, and is the established ending really unchangeable?

Mr. Morintaro, who wrote this novel, are you also like the hero in the novel, full of extreme enthusiasm and longing for love, even if you are doomed to disillusionment, you still want to firmly grasp the ultimate romantic moment in your heart? ?

However, just like what you wrote in your novel, life is short, and when you feel the momentary happiness, it is already a great blessing in life to laugh heartily without regret.From a reader who is wandering in a foreign land...]

Mori Ogai didn't realize that he had finished reading this letter at some point, and he couldn't get back to his senses for a long time after reading this letter from a reader who was 23 years late.

When finally realizing something, the body has already acted one step ahead of the mind.

After searching the bookshelf again, I finally found some blank manuscript paper.

Then, he sat back at the desk.

I took out the signature pen I carried with me from my pocket, and began to write my first novel after more than 20 years on the blank manuscript paper.Next to it was the manuscript of his unpublished debut novel.

The same location, the same concentration and seriousness, and the same immersion in the world of the story under the pen seem to coincide with Morin Taro back then.

And this time, he wanted to rewrite the story.

……

A month later-

Yokohama, the celebration of the [-]th anniversary of Lihai University Affiliated Middle School Literary Society was held as scheduled after more than a month of careful preparation.

This is the most important activity of the Literary Club this year, and it is also the last activity of this group of third-year high school members, including Yuan Rina, before retiring from the club.

According to the regulations of the High School Attached to Lihai University, after the end of this semester, all third-year students will end their club activities and concentrate on preparing for the university entrance exam.

Yuan Rina was looking forward to this event very much. When the event was finalized, she was still forced to struggle in the entertainment industry, and she promised the president that even if all the schedules were skipped that day, she would come to participate.

But now... Well, she is indeed looking forward to it. After all, for this celebration, the Literature Club mobilized all resources to invite masters from the Yokohama Writers Association, and many literary giants gathered together.

When drafting the draft, the agency even thought of ways to invite Mr. Natsume Soseki, the honorary president of the Yokohama Writers Association, who has been in the dark all year round.

If she hadn't recovered her memory, she would have been very excited to meet this gentleman.

But now...

As long as I am not embarrassed, others are the ones who are embarrassed. Although this statement sounds very chic, it is not so easy to actually do it.

When she and Mori Ogai signed the marriage contract, although the old gentleman did not come to the scene as a witness, Mori Ogai, who respects the teacher very much, still reported to his teacher before the marriage.And the old man also gave a gift to congratulate the marriage as an elder.

Of course, when we divorced, we didn't discuss it with our elders at all.

When she learned that Mr. Natsume Soseki would really come to attend the event today, Yuan Rina knew that she might not be able to avoid this meeting, and the fact is that...

In a secluded corner of the school garden, Natsume Soseki, who was old but still gentlemanly and elegant from clothes to aura, looked at the female high school student in front of him peacefully, without any intention of probing to the end.

After discovering the strange event that Chisong Yuan came back from the dead and returned to his youth.

As for the secret hidden behind this, if it was him before, he must investigate to the end, but...

Well, he's retired anyway, and the old man doesn't want to take care of so many things anymore.And his incompetent disciple has repeatedly assured him that Araki Genrina will not cause any harm to Yokohama, and is willing to guarantee it.

That being the case, why should he be troublesome as an old man.

He specially came to see her today, but...

Natsume Soseki handed over a document bag: "I am here to participate in this celebration today, to see the new generation of young people who love literature in Yokohama...By the way, do me a favor, someone asked me to give this to you you."

Minamoto Rina took the kraft paper bag, but nothing was written on it.

However, someone who can ask Natsume Soseki to give her something specially...

"Heh, a person who is normally bold but rarely becomes a coward in this kind of thing entrusted me to hand it over. He was afraid that if he handed it over to you, you would throw it into Yokohama Port without even looking at it. "

Natsume Soseki couldn't help laughing and cursing at his ineffective disciple, and then didn't stop any longer: "Okay, the things have been delivered, I won't bother you."

Turning around to leave, Natsume Soseki still couldn't help laughing and scolding his disciples angrily in his heart.

Really, a 40-year-old person still has to trouble an old man to help with such a thing, which is completely useless.

It's true that men are still teenagers until they die.

……

In early summer, the afternoon sun shines through the gaps between the leaves, bright but not too hot to burn people.

Sitting on the bench under the tree, Minamoto Rina opened the file bag.

Inside was a stack of manuscripts, and the handwriting on the paper was all too familiar to her.

"A novel?"

The name of the novel is "The Dancer", and the names of the heroes and heroines in the novel are Oota Toyotaro and Elise.

"You really know how to choose a name."

He gritted his teeth and let out a chuckle, but continued to read the novel.

Before I knew it, I was immersed in the world and the story depicted in the novel.

Don't take your anger out on the person who wrote this novel. As far as the novel itself is concerned, this is indeed a novel that can amaze the literary world.

And when she was halfway through the novel, she had almost expected the ending of the story.

Under the dual effects of the pressure of reality and his own selfishness and cowardice, the hero will abandon the heroine and choose the right and reasonable path for him, leaving behind a lifetime of sadness and regret and the trauma of self-condemnation.

It would be a romantic story with a tragic end.

With such a mood, she continued to look down, only to find that the development of the second half of the story... was beyond her expectations.

If the first half of the story is amazing, the second half is mediocre.

At the end of the story, the hero and heroine overcome many difficulties and come together firmly, which is a cheesy happy ending for all members.

If the story ends in tragedy as it should have developed, then this sad and romantic beauty is enough to be engraved in the Japanese literary world.

But she couldn't say she hated the tacky happy ending at the end.

The second half of the story will probably make all literature lovers regret, and she may be the only one who will be touched by such an unshocking ending.

【The established ending, I will change it for you...】

Suddenly, he remembered that when she was suffering from insomnia, he read novels for her, and changed the ending of the story secretly. When she found out, he told her so.

Fingers lightly brushed the manuscript paper, after the story was written, the afterword message——

[Mori Ogai may not be able to do anything, but Morintaro will change the established ending for you. 】

And that last sentence——

[Dedicated to the eternal Miss Alice in my heart.Mori Taro Sincerely]

The literary world will no longer have the romantic masterpiece "The Dancer", which is praised and circulated by later generations.

This is a story dedicated to you alone.