I, who advocate giving up, feel like a disqualified person

The two of them called me in tacit understanding.

"What are you doing..." I looked at them impatiently.

"Take us home."

....What a hassle...

Chapter 8: Encounter

After I confirmed that Ye Jin and Ling Can had returned home, I did not walk towards home, but changed direction.

Well, it's rare that I want to go out for a walk, but once I get home I'll probably fall back into the habit of lying down for half a day... I want to be active sometimes.

This isn't good... I actually have such thoughts. What's wrong with me? Should I go to the hospital for a checkup?

Why am I complaining about myself...

In this case, it's probably because he's had too much energy in recent days, so he wants to do something to burn it off... Besides, my mom has already returned home, so it's better not to disturb them...

Hmm... But if I think about it carefully, I've been busy with various things recently... Especially the cultural exhibition, so I haven't been to the bookstore to buy comics for a while... Although I only missed one issue, as a collector, I still want to buy it... It depends on whether the bookstore has it.

...................

We arrived at the largest bookstore here. Because the heating was on, I took out my scarf, which had been in my pocket, and held it in my hand.

Although it was already afternoon, the store was still quiet and there was no one in sight. Come to think of it...who would want to go out in such a cold day?

So the only person in my sight was the cashier who glanced at me with a lazy look and then continued to look at the magazine in her hand.

"Ah... Comics section... Comics section..."

I muttered to myself as I walked towards the bookcase inside, and then I saw a few people, but they were all strangers.

However, I am still a little surprised that there are people besides me who would go to the bookstore at this time.

"Well..."

I looked at the neatly arranged bookshelves, but couldn't find my target for a moment.

In this case, asking the clerk directly is the most energy-saving option... But thinking back to how she was reading a book just now... it's better not to disturb her.

"......"

Apart from finding this month's Heart Magazine, I really can't find last month's. I guess it's sold out... If you ask the salesperson and they really don't have it, you'll have to buy it online.

Come to think of it, there seemed to be extracurricular reading in the winter vacation homework... It seemed that we were required to read "Don Quixote"... If I remember correctly, Don Quixote was the earliest example of the "Chuunibyou" syndrome, right? The guy who was obsessed with knight novels and couldn't distinguish between reality and delusion was simply the originator of the "Chuunibyou" syndrome.

Now that I'm here, I might as well buy a copy...

I walked towards the bookshelf with classic novels... As expected, there was no one around...

"Ah... so many..."

There are so many classic books, and most of them are familiar titles... However, there is no such thing as the "Chuuni Knight" I'm looking for...

Well, I am very satisfied, because I can use this as an excuse to write one less book review...if Brother Nan doesn't take it too seriously.

The reason I can't find it is probably because no one wants it... Most people come here to buy comics, magazines, and the like. Even if they buy novels, they're probably online novels... which are more popular. I guess no one wants to read classic novels anymore...

I couldn't help but sigh.

"What's wrong with liking classics..."

.....................

After finding out that the previous issue of the comics was not available, I started looking for other bookstores.

Actually, I'm not very familiar with this section of the road, so it's a bit difficult to find another bookstore...

But luckily I had the scarf Yehui gave me, so walking in such a cold wind was not too painful.

When walking through a small alley, I suddenly discovered that there was a bookstore in this extremely deserted place.

It looks like it has been here for quite some time... because there is only one word "书" (book) on the sign, and it looks like it was written with a brush. The wooden sign looks quite worn out, but the dim light in the room shows that the store is open.

"..."

For some reason, I wanted to go in and take a look.

When I pushed open the old door, it made a harsh creaking sound as expected, so I quickly looked inside the house and wanted to apologize to the owner.

"that..."

"It's okay... Welcome."

A somewhat old male voice came.

"oh oh..."

I answered in a low voice and walked into this small bookstore.

The facilities are a bit old...and the lighting equipment is still an incandescent lamp that looks like it has been used for some time. The lampshade is covered with a layer of black due to the vaporization of the tungsten filament.

The owner of the shop looked to be in his fifties or sixties, with completely white hair. He looked very cultured... maybe he was a teacher when he was young?

"Well...."

I looked around...it doesn't look like there are any comics here...

"What book are you looking for?"

He asked me.

"Ah... I'm looking for two books. One is Don Quixote, and the other one might not be here... It's the last issue of this magazine."

I said as I handed him the comics I had just bought.

"Oh... Comics... I remember getting some... I wonder if I can still find them... I do have Don Quixote."

As he said this, he left the small counter and walked towards the books.

"..."

I saw that he seemed to be looking for a while, so I looked at other books... Oh, they were all versions that looked a bit old... Although it didn't affect the reading.

"Hey, here are two, translated by Fu Donghua..."

As he said this, he handed me two books that didn't look very nicely packaged but looked very new.

"oh oh...."

Who is Fu Donghua...

I thought about this and glanced at the publication date... 1959... Are you kidding me?

"Um... this... how much is it?" I think this old edition of the book shouldn't be cheap...

"Hmm? Ah...collect money..."

He seemed a little hesitant... I don't know what he was hesitating about.

"How about this? If you answer a question for me, I can give you these two books. How about that?"

How can you do business like this...

"Uh...that's not so good..." This time it was my turn to hesitate.

"It's okay. I see you're also someone who likes literature... Are you writing something?"

Ah....How did he guess that...

"Yes, I'm writing a novel."

"Really... Then can you tell me why you want to write novels?" He looked at me with a smile, as if expecting a satisfactory answer.

Why do you write novels? This seems to be the first time I've been asked this question...

"If you ask me to explain it in detail, I really can't say it... I just want others to see my thoughts. I think other creators must think the same way... so I should feel the same way."

"Hmm... If you're just going with the flow, that's not bad... Well, meeting each other is fate, so it's reasonable not to accept the money. Take it."

"Oh... then... thank you."

I answered him.

"You're welcome."

"Ha... I'll be leaving now. See you next time."

"Maybe there won't be a next time... This place is closing."

That’s right... After all, I’m old and I should go home to retire.

"Then...see you again if fate allows."

He seemed to like this sentence very much and nodded.

"Well, see you again, my dear."

"Um..."

I pushed open the creaking door again.

Hmm...the wind outside is still noisy and cold.

.....................

Ah... I suddenly remembered that I forgot my comics there.

Fortunately, I didn’t walk far, so I turned back.

When I pushed open the door again, I was suddenly stunned.

There was no bookstore here, just a room filled with miscellaneous items, covered in dust. The small space was very dark, and only broken wires remained where the incandescent lamps used to be.

However, I did find the sign with the word "book" written on it among the pile of junk.

But no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find my comic book.

No way...

...Is this...what they call...the destiny hasn't arrived yet?

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Thinking about it now, it’s really scary. It’s really mysterious. I guess no one would believe it if I told them.

And most importantly, I spent money to buy a comic book.

Well, of course I thought it was a dream or an illusion... But looking at the old-looking copy of "Don Quixote" in my hand, I felt that I had just met a lonely old man by chance.

......................

inspiration

"Well..."

I threw aside the comic book that I had read three times, then leaned back and lay straight on the bed.

“Huh…ah…”

The comfort caused by the relaxation of the spine instantly spread throughout my body, and I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

It turns out that reading is also very tiring...

"worn out..."

Although I have finished reading the comics, I still don’t want to take a look at the classic book I just bought... It’s not because the origin of the book is a bit weird, but because... there are too many words in it.

I don’t know if it’s because I watch too many comics, animations, movies and TV series, but when faced with pure text, I’m too lazy to imagine the pictures, so it seems very difficult for me to read.

Well...if you have to say it, this is a kind of degradation.

...Although the winter vacation is not long, and there is still time to visit relatives and friends, I still don’t plan to seize the time to read books and finish my homework... There is no cure for laziness.

Come to think of it...it seems like there are some things I haven't done, but I can't remember them for the moment...It's something I used to be doing, but now I'm not doing it.

What on earth did I forget...

When I glanced at the bookshelf, I suddenly remembered...I am also a novelist...After all, I haven't written for a while because of the school's cultural exhibition, so I have completely forgotten it now.

Well... now that I've remembered it, I'd better update it before Xiaoye comes to urge me...