Tokyo Tycoon, Start as a Writer

Chapter 88 Higher Level Spiritual Needs

In the early hours of the morning, Songzhi Luming woke up.

When I opened my eyes, the sky was slightly bright, and the city at dawn was still as quiet as a ruin.

But she didn't feel at peace. She felt a little uncomfortable in her mind and all over her body. Her body was obviously very tired and her mind couldn't concentrate, but she couldn't rest well. Her spiritual world was always shrouded in a restlessness and she wanted to struggle to get up.

Why do you feel uncomfortable?

Some random thoughts flashed through my mind.

Yes, we still have to win first place in the cultural festival, how can we fall down at a time like this... I struggled to sit up, and I heard the voices of my family members, my mother and Kiyokatsu Matsueda.

"Thank you for your hard work last night..."

"Little things~"

The sound of their conversation had a reassuring power.

Matsueda Luming lay back down on the tatami in the tea room and looked towards the kitchen.

She slept in the tea room last night. Her sister took care of her in the first half of the night. Because her sister was busy during the day, Matsueda Kiyoaki took over to take care of her in the second half of the night.

In her hazy memory of last night, there were still fragments of Matsueda Kiyoaki wiping her sweat and feeding her water. It was quite warm to recall it now.

It was daybreak and the kitchen door was open.

The outline of a human figure can be vaguely seen.

In the early morning light, my mother leaned against the kitchen door frame, talking to Matsueda Kiyoaki with a smile.

She was wearing a tight black velvet nightgown, and the plump curves from her neck to her legs were something her flat-chested little girl could never envy.

As the morning breeze blew, Songeda Qingxian also smiled, and his white teeth were particularly eye-catching.

"Do you want to catch up on some sleep now?"

"No, I slept last night, and I'm going to go for a run later. By the way, what should I wear today..."

"what?"

"I didn't ask you to wear it yesterday because I didn't want to seem like I was threatening you with my daughter's illness. But I still wanted to see it..."

"Not today!" said the mother seriously.

"tomorrow?"

"Not tomorrow either~"

"When?"

"Shh~ Keep your voice down, don't let anyone hear you."

As she spoke, the mother looked towards the tea room as if feeling a little guilty. After confirming that her little daughter was still asleep, she spoke to Matsueda Kiyoaki in a tone that her daughter had never heard of before, as if she was acting like a spoiled child: "The day after tomorrow~ Today is Friday, and the day after tomorrow is Monday. Xiaolu must be well again and will have to go to school. There will be only two of us at home, so we can..."

In the dim light of morning, mother's eyes flashed, then avoided; sometimes opened, sometimes half open, sometimes half closed.

There was an unprecedented feminine attitude in her eyes.

"Ok?"

Songzhi Luming felt that there was something wrong with them.

In my memory, my mother has always been old-fashioned and dignified, and she rarely even smiles.

How did she become so feminine?

Songzhi Luming lifted the quilt and sat up with difficulty.

"Yeah, the little deer is awake."

Matsueda Shinsako, who had been keeping an eye on this side, immediately ran over.

The little daughter, who had finally sat up, was pushed back into the quilt by her and then covered tightly with the quilt.

"..."

Songzhi Luming felt very tired.

"Lie down and don't move. I'll take your temperature." Matsueda Masako reached out for the thermometer and put it under her daughter's armpit.

"What time is it now?" Songzhi Luming asked, his voice a little hoarse.

"It's just past six o'clock. You can sleep a little longer." Matsueda Shinsako picked up a clean towel, wet it in the basin, and carefully wiped her daughter's forehead and face. Her voice was calm but not without tenderness. "Mom is cooking meat porridge. You can eat it after you wake up. If you are hungry now, you can wait. After the food is cooked, you can take some medicine and then go to sleep..."

Listening to my mother's chattering voice, I saw Songeda Qingxian slowly walking into the tea room.

"Eat now..." Songeda Luming said weakly.

"Okay, Mom will go to the kitchen to see if everything is ready." Matsueda Shinsako stood up, glanced at Matsueda Kiyoaki, and then walked towards the kitchen.

Songzhi Luming widened his eyes and looked at Songzhi Qingxian.

This rising star was sitting on the tatami, looking at her casually.

There was neither malice in his eyes as if he wanted to bully her while she was sick, nor was there any pity as if he wanted to be nice to her because she was sick. Instead, there was only the calmness and indifference of an adult, the kind of indifference that made people feel that they could leave everything to him without worry.

He is just six years older than me, that’s all!
Songzhi Luming thought a little unconvinced, but considering that he took care of himself in the second half of the night, he didn't say anything about it.

Just as he was thinking this, Kiyoaki Matsueda picked up a biscuit from the table.

Songzhi Luming, who had no idea how long she had been hungry, almost subconsciously reached out to take it, but unfortunately she had no strength in her hands, and it fell dejectedly onto the quilt as soon as she raised her hand. Songzhi Qingxian also finished the biscuit in two bites, then he wiped his mouth and looked at her with an indifferent expression.

"You can't. You can only take medicine now."

Songzhi Luming curled his lips, feeling somewhat helpless: This guy really would not let go of me when I was weak, and was taking the opportunity to tease me.

Then, she heard Matsueda Kiyoaki say, "I want to ask you something."

"Ok?"

The girl, with a weak face, looked at him with tired eyes.

"You really don't have any friends at school, right?" Kiyoaki Matsueda asked with amusement.

Songzhi Luming's face turned dark, and she once again believed that he wanted to kill her just because she was sick.

"Your homeroom teacher called to inquire about your situation last night. I talked to her for a while and learned some of your situation." Matsueda Kiyoaki looked down at her, his smile becoming more and more annoying. "You have almost no personal friends in school. Only Kobayashi Naoko and Tsukimi Yuki can talk to you."

"Aren't these friends?" Songeda Luming retorted.

"No, they are not. In your eyes, they are just weaklings, weaklings who are helped by a strong person like you." Matsueda Kiyoaki did not care about her feelings and went straight to the point. "Kobayashi Naoko's family was not well off, but you taught her to play the violin and let her take the instrument out of school to perform. Tsukimi Yuki was a fool, but you bought her exercise books and gave her after-school tutoring. This was just the help of a strong person to a weak person, and it did not involve friendship at all."

Songzhi Luming fell into silence.

"Because you don't know how to socialize, you got into conflicts with your classmates. I hope this incident will teach you a lesson and you should get along well with your classmates in the future." Kiyoaki Matsueda said earnestly.

Songzhi Luming felt that his old-fashioned look was very annoying, so he replied sarcastically: "I know, Dad!"

"what?"

Matsueda Masako immediately poked her head out from the kitchen and looked over here eagerly: "Xiaolu, say it again."

"?"

The little deer's mind was full of question marks.

"I, I just didn't hear you clearly and wanted you to repeat it. Ah, the meat porridge is ready..." Matsueda Shinsako retracted her head in embarrassment.

"Hahaha~"

Kiyoaki Matsueda laughed out loud.

"Ha, ah~" In the living room, Songzhi Qingxue stretched lazily and walked towards this side, "You are smiling so happily so early in the morning, is there something good? Hmm, it smells good, what did you make for breakfast, mom?"

"Meat porridge."

"Quick, give me a bowl."

"Hurry up and wash up!" Matsueda Shinsako glared sternly at her eldest daughter, whose pajamas and hair were messy.

"Ah~ I'll go right away."

Songzhi Qingxue yawned, turned and walked towards the tea room.

She was wearing cute little bear pajamas and her hair was messy, like a bird's nest stuck on her head.

But despite this, she still exudes a temperament that can be called beautiful and otherworldly, which makes people know at a glance that she is a unique existence - no need to elaborate, it is purely a natural gift of beauty.

Songzhi Qingxue walked into the tea room, looked at his sister who was in bed with confused eyes, and then looked at Songzhi Qingxian who had just finished laughing. Like a puppy who smelled a strange smell, he flashed a sensitive look and said: "It seems that the relationship between you two has improved."

Matsueda Luming glanced at Matsueda Kiyoaki and said, "Impossible. I can never be friends with this man who has nothing but talent and looks!"

"What do you think of the deer?" Songzhi Qingxue asked Songzhi Qingxian again.

"Pretty, cute, smart..." Matsueda Kiyoaki said as he counted, but he couldn't continue and could only answer honestly: "Xiaolu is a beautiful girl who has nothing good except her beauty and intelligence."

"Hahaha~"

Songzhi Qingxue laughed so hard that tears were about to come out.

After finally stopping her laughter, she bent down and rubbed her sister's hair vigorously: "Little Deer is so cute, if you don't let me and my brother-in-law be together, I will listen to you."

"Really?" My sister's eyes lit up.

"Of course!" The elder sister ruffled her hair and bent down to kiss her forehead, "Let Xiaolu date him instead."

"..."

My sister's face darkened again. "Hahaha~"

My sister once again laughed happily as if she had succeeded in her mischief.

Kiyoaki Matsueda couldn't help but suspect that in her opinion as an older sister, her younger sister was just a toy given to her by her mother.

"My hair is going to be a mess!"

The younger sister shook her head and struggled to escape from her sister's ravages.

After all this tossing and turning, I felt dizzy again and lay there in a daze, with an expression as if I had been tortured.

"I'll go wash up and have breakfast with you later." Songzhi Qingxue pinched her sister's rosy little face before getting up and leaving.

Kiyoaki Matsueda came closer and looked down at the girl with a flushed face and confused eyes.

"What are you going to do..." The girl felt something was wrong.

"Little deer, little deer, get well soon..."

Under the stunned gaze of Matsueda Luming, Matsueda Kiyoaki put his fingers into her hair and imitated his sister, scratching her hair hard to make it fluffy...

"Hahaha!"

Before she could react, Kiyokana Matsueda ran out smiling.

"Matsueda Kiyoaki!" The girl, with a red face, cursed in a fierce tone that was cuter than a cat, "You're dead..."

■

Tokyo, at daybreak, was as quiet as a ruin.

Kiyaki Matsueda was running on the streets of Yotsuya, with a thin layer of mist floating around him.

There was only one thing on his mind at this moment.

Last night Qingxue asked him to be the male and female protagonists with her in a stage play for her sister.

Given his personality, he certainly doesn't want to do those troublesome things.

But the pleading look in Matsueda Kiyoyuki's eyes made it impossible for him to refuse, so he could only nod and agree.

But even if I agreed, I would still feel a little troubled...

After waking up this morning, he saw Xiaolu, who was so venomous even when she was confused by the fever, and he suddenly thought that in order to make Xiaolu look regretful and apologize to him with her panties exposed, he could actually act...

Could it be that I have become a vulgar person who wants to show off...

Thinking about this question, Kiyaki Matsueda ran through the winding narrow alleys of Yotsuya.

The pedestrians passing by have all changed into autumn clothes.

The leaves of the trees on both sides of the road have turned completely yellow, indicating that it is the day when autumn is approaching.

After a while, when the leaves begin to fall, it means winter is coming.

【Ding】

A prompt pops up in front of you.

【Stamina 6→Stamina 7】

"Hoo, hoo~"

Songeda Qingxian was panting.

Looking ahead, it seemed to be the apartment building where Editor Kobayashi lived.

Midori Kobayashi, who came from Hokkaido, was full of dreams and youth, which formed a sharp contrast with Kiyoaki Matsueda's easy-going personality.

To put it nicely, it's called casualness.

To put it bluntly, it means having no goals in life.

You can generally only choose one of these two ways of living: actively striving for a better future, or taking things as they come.

It's like if you choose the student council president who is gifted, beautiful, flat-chested, sharp-tongued, tsundere, with long black hair, you will miss out on your childhood sweetheart who is lively, cute, big-chested, gentle, straightforward, with short curly hair.

Only children want them all; adults know that they are only allowed to choose one kidney.

It is difficult to summarize in one sentence which way of life is better.

Kiyoaki Matsueda looked at the yellowing leaves.

When I first came here, it was midsummer and the leaves were still green.

But now, the leaves have turned yellow and will soon all fall off.

The leaves turn yellow and fall to reduce consumption during the bleak autumn and winter seasons, storing more nutrients for stronger growth in the spring of next year.

Thinking of this, Songzhi Qingxian had a lot of insights.

Even trees can make corresponding changes in different seasons in order to better adapt to the world. How can life remain unchanged?
In the face of different stages of life, we must make corresponding changes.

According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, human needs are divided into five levels.

1: Physiological needs.

This is the most basic level of needs, including food, water, air, etc., and no further explanation is needed.

2. Security requirements

After satisfying their physiological needs, people begin to pursue security and stability, such as physical security, health security, financial security...

Kiyoaki Matsueda is currently at the level of satisfying the second need.

When he first came through, he had no relatives and had to quickly earn money by copying books to meet his security needs; he was weak and had to meet his health needs through fitness exercises.

Now he is in better health than most people, and has accumulated enough money to make him feel secure.

When people have steamed buns, they will want a warm bed; when they have a bed, they will want to do happy things in it.

Kiyoaki Matsueda has higher-level spiritual needs, namely the third need for social belonging and the fourth need for respect.

The former is the need for friendship, love, etc., while the latter is the need to be respected and recognized by others.

Having a normal relationship, wanting to win the Akutagawa Prize, and agreeing to help the deer with Qingxue are all to satisfy these two spiritual needs.

Yes, how can being pretentious be vulgar?

Isn’t this a higher level spiritual need?

After figuring out his true thoughts, Matsueda Kiyoaki suddenly felt more open-minded.

Hey, he had an idea.

Why can't I be casual and pretend to be cool at the same time, and have both the gift from heaven and the childhood sweetheart?
Yes, he is Kiyoaki Matsueda, who has a system on his back and is destined to have a great future. After solving the initial survival problem, he will finally begin to experience a more exciting and rich lifestyle - helping Xiaolu win the first place in the cultural festival and making her look at him with admiration and love.

And asked her to show her fat body to apologize for his previous vicious behavior.

Of course, before that, he had to go to Waseda first.

The school called and asked him to go back because their great benefactor, Professor Kiyono, wanted to see him.

■

October 8rd, 55: am.

Waseda University Faculty of Literature Building 1, classroom 202 on the second floor.

"Ahhh, I'm almost late! Please make way..."

Under the gaze of several boys, Kobayashi Midori rushed into the classroom from the back door. As her butt just touched the stool, Nakaharu Kiyono, a professor of literary history who was known for his strictness and had slightly gray hair, walked up to the podium with a textbook in his hand.

The classroom was originally filled with chatter and constant discussion.

But as soon as Professor Qingye came in, the room suddenly became silent.

"Huh, it's so dangerous~"

Kobayashi Midori patted her chest, still in shock.

There was a reason why she was so scared. After all, it was Professor Kiyono's class. If she was late, she would definitely be scolded by him... After all, he was the kind of man who would even scold his own daughter, so how could he show mercy to his students?

Besides, it's fine if I scold him, but I might even fail the exam under his guidance...

Although Professor Kiyono is knowledgeable, he is also known for being strict and old-fashioned, and is always ruthless when teaching his students.

When you can only score 59 points, no matter who you or your father is, never give 1 point more!
Kobayashi Midori failed one of his classes last year, and she still feels psychological trauma when she sees him now.

"Ah, why do I have to come to class and complete the required class hours before I can graduate, while Matsueda-kun can graduate as long as he passes the thesis... Woo, I don't want to go to class, I want to go back to work at Shincho, I love my job!" The young editor lay on the table, complaining gloomily.

Two minutes later, the class bell rang.

Professor Kiyono walked up to the podium, and the students followed the old customs and bowed to him before the class began.

"Today's Japanese literature history class is about a very popular novel, The Wave of Tide, written by the writer Mishima..."

"Hey, this is the one..."

The editor who was sullen a second ago suddenly revived and a happy smile from the bottom of his heart bloomed on his face.

That energetic smile almost attracted the hearts of several male classmates who were secretly watching her.

　I have to revise the article these days, so I can only update once. I hope you understand.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)