Tokyo: I took in a homeless girl

She wouldn't miss any good opportunity to ruthlessly exploit Zeshan Chunye. After working like a slave for so long, how could she not get any reward?

Although Haruno had treated her to two meals before, her appetite was pitifully small, and she didn't eat much at all, so she couldn't trick Haruno into eating anything. This time was a golden opportunity!

"can."

Upon hearing this, Sawayama Haruno readily agreed, "Anyway, the copyright tax revenue will be deposited into our account soon, so feel free to buy whatever you want today."

Having already achieved financial freedom, Haruno Sawayama has no shortage of such things. The most important point is also related to Shiori Mine, so it's a good opportunity to give her a small gift.

Anyway, they'll all become family sooner or later. Sawayama Haruno is undeniably good at treating his own people and is very willing to spend money on them.

In his view, money is meant to be spent; once it's gone, you can just earn more. He has no shortage of ways and means to make money.

Since he moved to Tokyo to live alone, he has never really deprived himself. Although it wouldn't be accurate to describe him as "extravagant," he certainly spent a considerable amount of money during his three years of high school and one year of university.

Before he even started writing his novel, he had already bought a lot of things because he lived with Maki Miyazawa, spending almost all of his savings from his previous part-time jobs.

Since Haruno Sawayama had said something so hard to refuse, Shiori Mine smiled and joined Riho Morikawa in offering a few words of encouragement. Afterward, the group excitedly went back to their rooms to change clothes.

Sawayama Haruno didn't care and just threw on a fleece-lined plaid jacket before setting off, but the three women clearly took a lot of time.

Finally, after he sat on the sofa playing on his phone for half an hour, the group of people came out of the room.

The most eye-catching one was Shiori Mine, who, despite being petite, wore a slightly more mature outfit for the first time today.

She wore a blue knitted sweater with slim-fit jeans and an oversized white wool coat. She also wore a cute little hat, which gave her a mature yet youthful look, so much so that even Sawayama Haruno couldn't help but take a second look.

Upon noticing this, Riho Morikawa, standing to the side, immediately puffed out her chest in a hint of resentment, her already impressive figure trembling slightly with this subtle movement.

Her outfit was even more figure-hugging than Shiori Mine's. Despite the cold weather, she insisted on wearing a crop top, only choosing a thicker coat. She was even wearing shorts and over-the-knee socks, revealing a small patch of her fair thigh, which looked quite shabby.

As for the last assistant, he seemed rather conventional, dressed very conservatively, looking more like a student on vacation. However, perhaps influenced by the demeanor of the two people beside him, he still looked quite good overall.

After looking the three of them over, Sawayama Haruno stroked his chin and began to hesitate, wondering if he should also go back to his room to change his clothes.

They dressed up far too carefully, and their makeup was clearly done with great care. I just threw on a coat and went out, and I felt a bit out of place with them.

"It's all settled, let's go."

Riho Morikawa didn't give Haruno Sawayama time to hesitate. She waved her hand triumphantly and was about to lead everyone into the big shopping mall in downtown Toronto.

Seeing this, Sawayama Haruno had no choice but to abandon his previous idea and followed the others out of the villa.

The driver had received advance notice that they were going out, and had already prepared the car at the entrance.

As the only male among the group besides the driver, Haruno Sawayama was ruthlessly relegated to the passenger seat by Riho Morikawa. Fortunately, he didn't mind, since even if he sat with Shiori Mine, there wasn't much he could do due to the cramped space inside the car.

Today's task is simply to go shopping.

Traveling in a minivan, the group quickly arrived at Eaton Centre, Toronto's largest shopping mall, led by the driver.

This is not a shopping mall in the traditional sense. Shopping malls abroad are actually quite different from those in island nations and countries from Haruno's previous life. The biggest difference is that shopping malls abroad are more like commercial shopping streets.

In contrast, shopping malls in Asia are simply huge buildings filled with all sorts of different structures, rather than arranged in the form of streets.

They are just different in layout and style; they are essentially shopping centers that provide goods. However, the one that Haruno and her friends came to looked quite luxurious.

It's not clear how many floors there are yet, but the transparent skylight overhead and the dozens of seagull statues hanging there do give it a rather exotic feel. There's even a pristine white piano in the center of the first floor, surrounded by barrier-free access, clearly indicating that it's open to the public.

Unfortunately, Haruno Sawayama has not yet learned any music-related skills, so the white piano did not attract him. He only glanced at it briefly before turning his attention to the shops next to it.

At this moment, Riho Morikawa had already excitedly dragged her assistant to a store that specializes in coats. It's no wonder that coats are one of the three most popular items for women when shopping. If you ask what the other two are, only jewelry and high heels can rival them.

Sawayama Haruno quickly lost interest in their activities. He turned to Mine Shiori beside him and asked, "Shiori, aren't you going to go with them?"

"I?"

Shiori Mine glanced down at herself, then said in a low voice, "I'd better not, I'm not suited to that style of clothing."

She was rather petite, barely reaching 1.5 meters tall, which would be considered quite short even among women in Japan.

In fact, the way men and women are judged in terms of appearance has changed slightly in recent years. In the past, many people would ridicule tall women with unpleasant nicknames such as "Tokyo Tower", but this has decreased considerably in recent years.

Men have also gradually shifted from initially requiring tall stature to accepting shorter men, because most island nation girls feel that shorter men are more likely to evoke their maternal instincts, or what is known as their protective instincts.

The most obvious example is an anime that Sawayama Haruno watched in her previous life. The female lead, who looks like an older sister, is paired with a gloomy, short male lead. After this anime became popular, it successfully brought this new trend of appearance in Japan to a new level.

However, according to Sawayama Haruno's own opinion, girls can be taller or shorter, but boys should be as tall as possible.

"Shall we go look at something else?"

Shiori Mimine was reluctant to look at the coat, so Haruno Sawayama thought for a moment and then made a new suggestion.

The shop next to the one selling coats happened to be a secondhand store, and given Shiori Mine's personality, perhaps shopping in this kind of store would be more suitable for her.

The term "vintage store" actually means a second-hand market. The word "vintage" originated in Japan, which is related to Japan's famous "bubble economy".

In the 80s, the emergence of the bubble economy led to the island nation's people squandering their inflated wealth and continuously purchasing large amounts of luxury goods.

This was not a situation that occurred only in a few families, but rather that almost all families began to squander money without restraint during the "bubble" that lasted for several years.

After the "bubble" was ruthlessly burst, many families began to frequently trade in the luxury goods they had previously purchased in order to recoup their financial burden, which led to the rise of secondhand stores.

Because the bubble economy era is long past, many of the items sold in secondhand stores are no longer in production, thus acquiring the value of antiques, although not particularly high, but still quite good for collection.

It wasn't unfounded for Sawayama Haruno to think that Mine Shiori would like this kind of shop. After all, Mine Shiori is definitely the kind of artistic girl who would prefer something with a vintage feel, something special and hard to come by, rather than something luxurious like diamond jewelry.

Moreover, this is a used store in Canada, so the items sold there are definitely different from what she saw in Tokyo.

Sure enough, after Haruno Sawayama pointed to the shop next door, Shiori Mine's eyes lit up and she became slightly interested in the shop.

Seeing this, Sawayama Haruno pulled her inside without saying a word.

Even in Canada, the interior layout of secondhand stores is all the same, with a large number of goods randomly placed on the floor and shelves, as if the temperament of antiques and collectibles cannot be highlighted otherwise. This made Sawayama Haruno mutter a few complaints to himself.

He had been keeping his attention on Shiori Mine the whole time, so when her gaze settled on an old-fashioned record player, Haruno Sawayama immediately understood.

"Boss, how much is this?"

He pointed to the uniquely designed old-fashioned record player and began communicating with the shop owner in fluent English.

The shop owner, who looked somewhat middle-aged and balding, had rosy cheeks that were clearly exposed to the wind often. Upon hearing Sawayama Haruno's question, he replied without hesitation, "Five hundred Canadian dollars. You can take it. This is the cheapest price I can offer."

"?"

Upon hearing this, Sawayama Haruno immediately sensed something was wrong. "You're selling me an old record player for five hundred Canadian dollars? What kind of record player could be worth that much money?"

No, I still have to bargain. The shop owner is obviously trying to rip off tourists from out of town. He probably saw that I wanted to give it to Shiori Mine and thought that since I'm a man, I would be too embarrassed to bargain in front of a woman, so he quoted an astronomical price.

Although Sawayama Haruno is rich, he is not stupid and would not actually spend five hundred Canadian dollars to buy this overpriced old record player.

So he quoted another price: "Fifty Canadian dollars. If you're willing, I'll pay right now. If not, we can go to the next shop."

"Fifty??"

The shop owner stared wide-eyed at Zeshan Chunye in disbelief.

This is truly the ultimate, invincible dragon-slaying sword! It almost made the shop owner faint with just one strike. This kid wasn't really here to buy anything, was he?

Fifty Canadian dollars was barely enough for him to break even on a third of his investment!

"No, three hundred Canadian dollars, it really can't be lower."

The shop owner backed down and even gave the two a brief introduction to the old record player. It was at this moment that Sawayama Haruno realized that it was an antique steam record player from the last century, which had been out of production for who knows how many years.

Logically speaking, such items could fetch exorbitant prices, but the shop owner's record player was already broken and could not work properly, so it was just for display. That's why he wanted to sell it to them for a few hundred yuan.

Chapter 370 Akutagawa Prize Nomination

After listening to the shop owner's explanation, Shiori Mine, who was standing to the side, tugged at Haruno Sawayama's sleeve, trying to dissuade her from buying the item.

However, after examining the record player, Sawayama Haruno thought it would be a good idea to buy it as a display item or collectible. After all, old-fashioned record players can't compare to modern technology, and people who buy such things are basically just collecting them.

Therefore, he ignored Shiori Mine's advice and continued to haggle with the boss.

Perhaps because it was the first time he had seen someone bring a girl and still try to bargain, or perhaps because the record player had indeed been in the store for a long time, the owner was somewhat impressed by Sawayama Haruno's patience in negotiating the price, and finally sold it to Sawayama Haruno at a relatively low price.

Carrying a somewhat worn-out old-fashioned record player, Haruno Sawayama looked at Shiori Mine beside her and smiled, "Although it can't be used to play records anymore, it still looks like an old object, perfect for collecting. Consider it an early New Year's gift for you."

"Um"

Upon hearing this, Shiori Mine smiled faintly.

She really has no resistance to these kinds of things; compared to outwardly luxurious jewelry, she probably prefers things that have special meaning.

The old-fashioned steam record player in front of us has an extremely long history, at least several decades old. The inside of the horn is covered in rust and needs extra care. Fortunately, Shiori Mine has enough patience in this regard and plans to deal with it slowly after returning to the villa.

It wouldn't be right to just carry the record player around and keep shopping like that, so Haruno Sawayama and Shiori Mine first took the record player to the driver before turning back to find Riho Morikawa and the others.

The two women had already chosen their gifts. Riho Morikawa picked a white cashmere coat, while her assistant chose a pair of thick-soled boots. The price was quite cheap, as they seemed embarrassed to let others pay too much.

Sawayama Haruno didn't care. After paying the bill, he stuffed the receipt into his bag and then led the group to continue shopping in the back.

The shops behind weren't much different from those in front, but as they ventured deeper into the commercial street, street performers began to appear. When Sawayama Haruno and his friends were drinking beverages outside a milk tea shop, a violinist was performing nearby.

"That's great!"

Riho Morikawa, who was standing next to her, said with some envy, "I also joined the music club in high school and practiced the violin, but I gave it up later because of my studies."

"you?"

Sawayama Haruno looked over with some suspicion.

Riho Morikawa doesn't seem like someone who plays this instrument at all. Of course, it's not that I doubt her temperament is suitable for the violin, but rather that there's a physical reason behind it.

Generally speaking, playing the violin requires holding the instrument on your arm for a long time, maintaining a raised hand position. Over time, your arm will definitely get sore. This is especially true for those with exceptionally large physiques, such as Riho Morikawa.

Already troubled by the large size of the problem, raising one's hands for extended periods to play the violin would only strain one's body, making it difficult to persevere over time.

As if she understood Sawayama Haruno's suspicion, Morikawa Riho glared at him and said unhappily, "Back then, I was the ace member of the music club. If I hadn't quit the club to take the college entrance exam, I might have actually debuted as a star in high school."

"You'd be more suited to be a street pop star, wouldn't you?"

Sawayama Haruno rolled her eyes, not taking the other person's words to heart.

There are many underground stars in island nations. They are usually people who dream of stepping onto the big stage but have no connections or resources, so they take a step back and become underground stars.

But being an underground star isn't easy; many people even have to work odd jobs to maintain their dreams of stardom.

On the streets of the island nation, you can often see young and lively girls handing out flyers. Most of these people are trying to attract customers for their performances. The more people they attract, the more money they can earn, and they might even gain new fans.

It sounds very different from normal celebrities, but this is the norm for most underground celebrities in Japan, which makes people feel a bit emotional.

Suddenly, Shiori Mine asked with some curiosity, "Ms. Morikawa, you can play the violin? Why didn't I see you perform during the company's team building activity?"

"Who wants to perform in front of a bunch of old men and middle-aged men?"

Riho Morikawa, biting her straw, said with a hint of disdain, "Team building is just about watching the big bosses get drunk, then link arms, cross one leg, and spin around in circles, all while laughing and wailing like ghosts."

"It's so vivid!"

"Shiori, you've only been with the company for six months. If you stayed longer like me, you'd realize that team building activities are really boring."

Riho Morikawa put down her milk tea and began to sigh, "I can't just go home and rest. I have to socialize with my colleagues. It's so troublesome. After the annual meeting, there's our department's team building dinner next spring."

Oh, by the way.

Riho Morikawa paused, then suddenly looked at Haruno Sawayama beside her.

"I think there's going to be a gathering for authors next spring, kind of like a salon. The timing is around the same time as our department's team building event. Do you want to attend?"

“I’m not going.” Sawayama Haruno shook her head and said casually, “Don’t call me for anything else next year except for competitions and similar events.”

"All right."

Seeing that he had said that, Riho Morikawa had no choice but to give up the idea of ​​introducing him to more colleagues.

However, since the topic of competitions had come up, Riho Morikawa felt it was time to clarify the details of next year's literary awards and nominations with the other party.

The two biggest literary awards in the island nation are the Akutagawa Prize and the Naoki Prize. In addition, there are some awards and prizes specially set up to commemorate other authors, but putting those aside for now, Riho Morikawa plans to have Haruno Sawayama participate in the Akutagawa Prize and the Naoki Prize.

After all, there haven't been any particularly outstanding works in the past two years. Sawayama Haruno's strength is undeniable. Even if she can't win the championship in the end, there is at least hope, not to mention a nomination.

According to Riho Morikawa's estimate, Haruno Sawayama will at least win one of them, provided that a veteran writer submits an old work for the competition and is successfully nominated. Otherwise, given Haruno Sawayama's level, he could basically win both awards.

"Let's talk about the Akutagawa Prize first."

Riho Morikawa rested her chin on her hand and explained confidently, "The Akutagawa Prize has two nomination opportunities a year, one in the first half and one in the second half. The first half is too far away, so we'll ignore it for now. The nomination time for the second half is in mid-January next year."

"If you're lucky enough to be nominated, the results should be announced around mid-February."

"If you're not nominated, you'll have to wait until the first half of next year, around July or August. But that would take too long, since you'll probably have written your second book by then."

"If you are very confident in yourself, it is best to win this award before the second book comes out, and try not to let the two books compete in the competition."

“Sometimes, judges will not award prizes to candidates who have multiple shortlisted works, in order to take into account the situation of other contestants and the literary world,” Riho Morikawa added.