Hou Wenjie handed the two books to the two regular customers.
The shop offers free tea for customers to brew themselves, and also has private reading cubicles.
Tabuchi and Ozawa liked to sit on the tatami mats in their small cubicle, drinking free tea and reading slowly.
Tian Yuan is a teacher at a nearby fruit high school, while Ozawa is the owner of a small moving company.
Older people often feel that they have the will but not the means.
For them, Magic Bean Bookstore is, to some extent, a spiritual home.
Hou Wenjie opened the writer's assistant on his phone and typed away for another hour or so, only to find that he had written less than two hundred words.
Writing online novels is a challenge for him.
He decided to take a break; perhaps inspiration would strike later!
Then, he noticed a new WeChat message had arrived.
He opened it and saw that it was a message from his friend Tang Ren:
"Brother Huang, thank you. My undercover mission has been a complete success. I have cracked the largest case of illegal publication of banned books in mainland China!"
Suspect Luo and others have been apprehended, and their online fresh food marketplace in mainland China has been shut down.
Upon seeing the message from Tang Ren, Hou Wenjie was somewhat bewildered and asked in confusion:
"What happened?"
Tang Ren sent a voice message from the other end: "Brother Huang, this is a long story. Well... there are some people on the mainland who are illegally publishing banned books, but there has never been a solid chain of evidence."
Later, it was discovered that accounts on the mainland and Taiwan were continuously transferring funds there! We and Taiwan are needed to assist in the investigation.
"Um... that account used for the payment is yours, Brother Huang!"
Upon hearing this, Hou Wenjie understood in an instant, and then he was completely stunned!
He replied speechlessly, "So you infiltrated my book club! You're not even a reader of my novel?"
Tang Ren's awkward laughter came through the voice message:
"Brother Huang, what are you saying? I'm just doing this for work, aren't I?"
Hou Wenjie continued typing: "So, everything I said in my book club group became part of your investigation evidence! You've arrested all the authors I mentioned?"
In the voice message, Tang Ren defended himself, saying, "It wasn't me, it was a local police officer from our country. You know our local censorship system!"
And there's no publishing review process on the island!
I know this might be a little unfair. But thank you anyway, Brother Huang!
Having solved this major case, I can finally return home in glory.
Hou Wenjie was completely dumbfounded! He never expected that a mole could infiltrate a book club of only eight people! And what this mole did didn't seem like something a mole would do at all!
Look at what he did! He secretly took photos of his female colleagues and used them as material for Hou Wenjie's novel. Is this something a normal undercover agent would do?
Who would believe that someone like this could be an undercover agent?
He hid it so well! Hou Wenjie is really exasperated!
Even though he was emotionally deprived, he still sensed something was wrong.
Is this the legendary self-cultivation of an undercover agent? Isn't it a bit of an overestimation of his abilities to apply this to him?
Shaking his head, Hou Wenjie quickly regained his composure and finally typed in the chat box: "Then I wish you a bright future and great success."
Putting down his phone, Hou Wenjie began to think carefully.
With Luo and these veteran authors arrested, his Magic Bean Bookstore will lose its supply of books!
His livelihood has been ruined.
You know, his old customer Tian Yuan just asked about the latest version of "Cao Cao the Thief," and the author is probably in jail right now!
Sigh! That Tang Ren, he tricked him twice!
Anyone who has a book lover like this is doomed!
…
Evening, at Hyakusho Sauce Izakaya.
Hou Wenjie, Zhang San, Kong Yiji, and Jie Cheng were drinking.
Zhang San was telling his interesting stories about popularizing the law:
"I have a friend named Li Si. One day, he was walking down the street when he met a beautiful woman. By chance, a remote control fell off her."
The beautiful woman, blushing and breathing heavily, looked at Li Si. Li Si smiled knowingly, pressed a button on the remote control, and the subway next to him exploded! What crime did Li Si commit?
"Hahaha!" Kong Yiji laughed so hard his eyebrows curved. "Old Zhang, you're really something! One more!"
Li San adjusted his glasses, thought for a moment, and then spoke again:
"I have a friend named Li Si. Li Si was pushing a very beautiful girl into an alley, preparing to rape her, when you miraculously appeared."
You ask eagerly, "Can I join?"
Li Si readily agreed to your unreasonable request. So, you raped… Li Si. What crime did you commit?
This time, everyone laughed, raised their glasses, and clinked them together.
Hou Wenjie took a sip of his drink and said, "A major event has occurred in the online literature world today!"
Kong Yiji asked, "What is it?"
Hou Wenjie sighed, "Several writers, led by Luo, have been arrested, and their online fresh food store has been shut down! What a pity, I don't know what will happen to my Magic Bean Bookstore."
Kong Yiji was startled; this was a huge scoop. He paused, allowing enough time to recall, and then sighed somewhat wistfully:
"I remember reading his serialized novel in the magazine 'Ancient and Modern Wuxia' when I was a child. He was named one of the top 100 online novel authors a few years ago. I never thought that the next time I heard from him, he would be in prison!"
Changing the subject, Hou Wenjie looked at the seemingly shy and quiet Jiecheng, clinked glasses with him, and asked, "How have you been lately?"
Yu Cheng smiled and said, "I filmed a movie with top industry star Kawanishi Ayaka about a female boss sexually harassing a junior employee."
Zhang San looked at Jie Cheng and laughed, "You little rascal! Now I wonder how many more people will hate you to death!"
Jiecheng still smiled shyly.
At this point, Hou Wenjie briefly recounted what had happened during the day.
Zhang San frowned: "You're being a bit impulsive, Lao Hou! Gangs are a one-way street. The underworld has its own rules. Even if you ruin yourself one day, the Kyoto police won't give you a second glance."
If you had called me today, I could have smoothed this over for you. The Beichuan Society is just a small group; I have a hundred ways to deal with them, but you chose the most radical one!
Hou Wenjie took a sip of wine and casually said, "Mr. Wen Yiduo once said that life is like a stagnant ditch that can't be stirred up, and you can see the end of its decay at a glance."
If we are not content with mediocrity, we are destined to fight against it and strive to achieve something great in this world!
Kong Yiji laughed: "Why are you suddenly being so sentimental? Didn't you used to say that contentment brings happiness?"
Hou Wenjie wouldn't tell Kong Yiji that he was actually a piece of data, because he found it difficult to feel happy.
But he felt lonely. He was an outsider, a wandering spirit in this world, without any companions or goals in life.
So, he casually set a name for himself.
He looked at Kong Yiji and said nonsensically, "Maybe it's because I like rock and roll."
Rock and roll is about unrestrained freedom!
In 1993, Zhang Chu released his first album, titled "A Heart That Refuses to Be Vulgar".
In 1994, he released his second album, titled "It is shameful to be a lonely person".
Then some things happened, and for several years he lived in a small room, isolated from the world, and almost died alone.
Isn't that so rock and roll? He felt lonely because he believed he had a heart that refused to conform, and loneliness was considered shameful in the eyes of the world. Therefore, he almost died alone.
Hou Wenjie didn't know why he was making this up, but he continued:
"He Island is magical enough, cyberpunk enough, and everything that is illegal on the mainland is legal here."
This place is rife with gangs, seemingly orderly on the surface but rife with bloodshed behind the scenes. Sometimes, the gangs are even more effective than the police.
Life here is a frenzied, bloody rock and roll song in itself. As long as I maintain enough passion, I can keep playing it until I die!
When Kong Yiji heard Hou Wenjie say "until I die," he suddenly felt a sense of horror, as if he were facing a scene of bloodshed.
This friend suddenly seems a bit unfamiliar.
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