My Years as a Copyist in Taiwan

Chapter 86 Aggrieved Akina Sauce

Zhao Wen showed not a shred of shame for his boastful behavior. "Are you kidding me? I've become a plagiarist, a novelist through plagiarism, and you're talking to me about shame?"

It took less than ten minutes in total.

Zhao Wen clapped his hands: "Alright."

Everyone stared at the thing, speechless.

Can this... can this be called flower arranging?

There were no flower vases, no water, and none of the rules of traditional flower arranging. It was just a crooked wire frame with a few withered bamboo poles tied to it and three wilted wildflowers.

but..

Why do I feel so sad, yet so relieved, when I look at this?

Mr. Tanaka was the first to realize something must have happened!

He took two steps forward and looked closer. The more he looked, the wider his eyes widened.

From surprise, to confusion, to shock, and finally... to an expression that was almost one of fear.

His hands were shaking.

"What...what school of martial arts is this?"

Zhao Wen thought for a moment: "There's no specific school. It's simply... whatever you think, guided by your heart, everyone can..."

'

God the hell guides my soul!

Teacher Tanaka glanced at Zhao Wen's "work," then at Zhao Wen himself: "Impossible. This couldn't have been just randomly inserted."

The angle of every wire, the position of every bamboo branch, the distance between every flower... everything is just right.

'

"This shelf isn't just for displaying flowers; it's part of the flowers itself. No, that's not right. The flowers are more like embellishments. This...this isn't flower arrangement anymore; this is..."

He thought for a long time but couldn't find the right words.

"Ichiki Techoch (architecture)," Zhao Wen added.

"Yes! Architecture! It's architecture!"

Mr. Tanaka circled the artwork three times, becoming increasingly engrossed in it, muttering to himself.

"Hongyi, take a picture, quick!"

In the 80s, the Japanese flower arrangement community had a strong sense of photography, with a complete system from exclusive photographers for each school to cross-disciplinary collaborations with master-level artists, to official exhibition catalogs and media coverage.

As a top flower arrangement master of the Sogetsu School, Tanaka Nigishi naturally has a very professional photographer by his side.

President Hanami was stunned. He didn't understand flower arrangement, but he could sense that this thing was different from any flower arrangement he had ever seen before.

Traditional flower arranging, whether it's Ikenobo or Sogetsu, makes you think, "Ah, how beautiful," and that's it.

But after you see this, you'll feel a void in your heart.

You'll feel uncomfortable, you'll feel like there's something left unsaid, you'll stare at those empty spaces, at the gaps between the wires, at the blank spaces between the bamboo branches, at those places where there's nothing at all.

You can't help but wonder: what should have been there?

Then you'll think of many lost times, people you missed, and an incomplete life.

President Hanami suddenly understood; she had an epiphany.

The pathos of traditional flower arrangement uses the withering of flowers to tell you that "life is short." But this thing itself is incomplete, incomplete, and inherently regrettable.

It doesn't need the withering of flowers to tell you what impermanence is; it has been impermanent from the very beginning.

Those crooked wires, those broken bamboo branches, those flowers hanging in mid-air as if they might fall at any moment—everything tells us: this is how the world is—imperfect, unstable, and always on the verge of collapse...

But even in this imperfection, three little flowers are blooming tenaciously.

It was so unassuming, yet so stubborn.

Mr. Tanaka looked at it for a very long time.

"Mr. Snail! Teacher! Please accept me as your apprentice!" Tanaka Nigi bowed deeply to Zhao Wen.

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

President Hanami's mouth was wide open.

Akina, who had just quietly found a stone stool to sit down and rest when no one was looking, was so startled that she stood up.

She knew nothing about flower arranging or incense ceremony; all she knew was that her husband seemed to have done something admirable again today.

Who is Tanaka-sensei? He is a master of the Sogetsu school of flower arrangement and a senior figure in the Tokyo flower arrangement world. Everyone who meets him must respectfully call him "sensei".

Now he's respectfully asking Mr. Snail to take him as a disciple... wait, he's asking Mr. Snail, that seems... it makes sense...

"No way! Really, no way! Mr. Tanaka..." Zhao Wen quickly advised, thinking, "Damn, are the Japanese really that driven by progress?"

Tanaka Nigi was indeed sincere in his desire to become an apprentice. When Mr. Snail refused, he did something that shocked everyone without hesitation: he took a step back, creating a slight distance between himself and Zhao Wen, then pressed his hands tightly against his thighs, brought his knees together, bent his right leg, and lowered his center of gravity by an inch.

You son of a bitch!

With lightning speed, Zhao Wen quickly stepped forward, grabbed Tanaka Nigi's shoulders, and used his inner energy to forcefully straighten him up.

Zhao Wen is very familiar with the starting posture of the dogeza (a traditional Japanese kneeling gesture), as it appears in many Japanese dramas and anime.

He could draw the sequence of actions—taking a step back, kneeling on one knee, touching the ground with both hands, then kneeling on the other knee, and finally slamming his forehead down—even with his eyes closed.

If this old guy actually completes the dogeza (a deep bowing gesture), the nature of this matter will change.

Taking him as a disciple? Are you kidding me? What kind of status does a third-generation master of the Sogetsu school have in the Japanese flower arrangement world? If you take him in, Zhao Wen will be put on the hot seat in the Japanese flower arrangement world. People from all schools will come to him to spar, become his disciples, and challenge him. It'll be so annoying!

Refusing will only cause more trouble. Imagine a senior monk performing a deep bow in front of everyone in the courtyard, and you refuse? Believe me, Tanaka Nigito will give you another "Ichimonji-ba" (a type of Japanese martial arts move).

"Mr. Tanaka!"

Zhao Wen's voice wasn't loud, and the force in his hands was just right—steadying him without appearing to use too much force.

Tanaka Nigi clearly felt that he had succeeded, but in the blink of an eye, how come he was standing perfectly fine again?

He looked up at Zhao Wen, a hint of surprise in his eyes at being interrupted.

"Mr. Snail, I..."

'

"Mr. Tanaka, in our China, seniors cannot give such a grand gesture to juniors. You cannot break our rules!" Zhao Wen, who almost caused a blunder, quickly shut up the old man Tanaka with these words.

Upon hearing this, the group of people standing around nodded slightly.

Everyone could tell: Mr. Snail was giving Tanaka Nigito a way out.

Mr. Tanaka felt a little ashamed, and also somewhat unwilling.

"Mr. Snail, I've studied flower arrangement for forty years, and only today did I realize that flowers can be arranged and structured in this way."

"Mr. Tanaka, you're too kind. There are no fixed rules for flower arranging; Ikenobo has its own beauty, and Sogetsu has its own."

Well, these are just some oddities and tricks I've come up with to make everyone laugh.

He spoke of it casually, but everyone knew—this wasn't some fancy trick; it was an overwhelming and utterly crushing defeat.

Tanaka Nigi stood there, looking at the floral arrangement, then at Zhao Wen's young face, and suddenly let out a long sigh.

"Mr. Snail," he bowed solemnly, this time a deep ninety-degree bow, not a full kowtow, "I have learned a great deal today. If there is an opportunity in the future, please continue to guide me."

"Let's learn from each other, let's learn from each other. Hanami-san, thank you so much for letting me meet Mr. Tanaka, such a kind person, today."

Hanami Tsuru had been waiting for Zhao Wen's gaze. Seeing him turn his attention to her, she quickly smiled and said, "Then, Mr. Snail, shall we take our seats?"

According to Motoko's information, Hanami Tsuru learned that Mr. Snail likes peace and quiet and has never dined with more than four people.

So tonight's dinner will only include Mr. Snail, Akina Nakamori, his intelligence officer Motoko, and Nigi Tanaka.

When dining in a Japanese-style room in Japan, taking off your shoes is a strict rule, even if it's just a fleeting moment. However, kneeling is not mandatory; otherwise, Zhao Wen wouldn't always come to Yachiyo for barbecue, as he hates eating while kneeling.

He also genuinely disliked having many people crammed into a Japanese-style room for meals, mainly because he didn't want to smell other people's foot odor.

Today he discovered he had finally been infected.

He wrinkled his nose slightly and glanced at the vegetables on his right.

Nana immediately understood her husband's doubts, and her eyes immediately defended herself: It wasn't me! It must be that Mr. Tanaka!

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