In Guangqiu in early summer, cicadas lay on the trees and kept shouting "Zhi! Zhi!". The sun hung high in the sky, spreading endless light and heat, passing through the lush branches and leaves, and reflecting on the ground.
There are as many haloes as stars and gravel. The breeze blows and the branches and leaves sway, shattering the shadow.
A bus came from afar, passed through the intersection, passed by the tall buildings, and stopped under the tree. The door opened, and Xinxing Mian, a young man who had graduated from university and was carrying a black backpack, got out of the bus and stood
Under the shade of the trees, I looked up at the azure sky, as pure as sapphire.
"It looks like the weather is good." Xinxing mian said to himself, carrying his bag and striding toward his home, looking around as he walked. He didn't know when he started to pay attention to the town.
Every time I come back from school, I slow down and use my eyes to record the shops, buildings and vehicles on both sides of the road that has been widened a lot.
Then, he discovered that many stores that originally existed in his memory had disappeared without realizing it. He and many children had followed my dream along this road; this place originally had a store selling Ultraman peripherals.
He met my dream here; over there, he bravely jumped over the abyss-like gap and got the red ball...
It has been more than ten years!
The small town where he lives has changed a lot, and he has also changed a lot from a third-grade elementary school student to a fourth-grade college student.
As I was walking, I suddenly heard a surprised shout from the side: "Xiao Mian, you are Xiao Mian, right!"
Xinxing Mian couldn't help but stop and turned to look in the direction of the sound. He saw a young man covered in oil and sweat walking out of a small factory on the roadside with a surprised look on his face. He looked very familiar. Xinxing Mian
He was stunned for a moment, then his face showed surprise, and he said: "You are Tian Hao!"
"Yeah," Kashimada Hiroshi said. He had already arrived. He was about to give him a hug. When he reached out his hand, he saw the gloves were almost black with oil. He stopped quickly and said, "It's been a long time. I almost missed him just now."
I didn’t recognize you.”
"Yes, we rarely see each other after graduating from junior high school." Xinxing Mian also had a surprised smile on his face, but he was very surprised in his heart. Kashima Dahao, who was a head taller than him back then and liked to bully weaklings with a gun, is now
His face was full of smiles, and there was no trace of the domineering ferocity he had in the past.
Kashimada Hiroshi took off his oil-stained gloves, pulled up the towel hanging around his neck and wiped his sweat, and said: "No way, I don't have good grades like you and Yu, and I can be admitted to a high school in Tokyo.
It's inevitable, but didn't we meet it again today? If you say it, you will definitely be admitted to university."
"Yes," Xinxing Mian nodded and said, "I have graduated, passed the prefectural police recruitment examination, and will serve as a patrol officer in Mitsuoka."
"That's great." Hiroshi Kashima couldn't hide the envy on his face. He reluctantly joined the workforce after finishing high school. After working hard for several years, he opened this family factory that specializes in manufacturing garage equipment. He was busy every day.
Late at night, the oil smell on my body cannot be washed away no matter how I wash it.
And Xinxing Mian, who was bullied by him at the beginning, went to college and became a patrol policeman. His salary didn't seem to be very high, but he had a variety of benefits and subsidies. No matter how you look at it, they are excellent. It explains what it means to widen the gap with academic qualifications.
Knowledge alters your fate.
Xinxing Mian smiled sheepishly, and then asked: "Are Watanabe and Kohei still in Guangqiu?"
"They are all in Mitsuoka. Like me, Wata only finished high school and now he has inherited his family's optical shop. After graduating from Kohei Junior College, he joined a publishing house. If you have time tonight, I will call them two.
, let’s take care of you together.”
"Okay," Xinxing said happily, but also said with some regret: "It would be great if Yuu could come too. He is preparing for the monk (equivalent to a master's degree) exam in August. I'm afraid he will have to wait until the exam is completed before he can come."
Got together."
"He is indeed the best at studying. It doesn't matter. There will be plenty of time in the future anyway." Kashimada Hiroshi also thought of the man who always followed Xinxing Mian, wore thick glasses, and always came first in every exam.
Small boys are now out of reach.
Just as he was about to say something more, he heard someone shouting from the factory. He turned around and answered, then turned around and said, "It's agreed, let's get together tonight."
"Okay, I will definitely go."
The two people who hadn't seen each other for a long time exchanged a few words and separated. Kashimada Hiroshi ran back to the factory holding his gloves. Shinsei Tsutomu stood there and looked at his back, filled with emotions in his heart. He still remembered his junior high school days.
, Hiroshi Kashima has won many awards for his first-hand model making, and he said he wants to become the best model maker, but now he is working in a cramped and noisy family factory.
But think about yourself, why isn't it like this? I once dreamed of becoming a scientist, inventing an instrument that travels through time and space, to find my dream, but now I am about to become a patrolman with a stable job and guaranteed income during droughts and floods. I can only use "If you can't protect the world, then
Comfort yourself with the reason of protecting citizens'.
He turned around and walked towards home. In two days he would go to Guangqiu Police Station to report and start his patrol career. This period was also his last happy time. He chatted with his parents for a while at home and waited until night fell.
On this occasion, I went to an izakaya that Kashimada Hiroshi mentioned.
The small private room can only accommodate four people, but the atmosphere is very lively. Childhood friends who have not seen each other for a long time are chatting and laughing, drinking wine, hugging each other, and exposing each other's shortcomings. Even a small embarrassing incident can make everyone laugh.
Laughter, the sorrow brought by life has temporarily disappeared at this moment, leaving only the joy of reunited childhood friends and the beauty of reminiscing about the past.
Gentle Nakahara Kohei pointed at Kashima Tianhao and said with a smile: "I remember that Tianhao really liked watching Ultraman, but he was afraid of being laughed at, so he only dared to watch it secretly at home."
Kashimada Hiroshi, who was laughing heartily, seemed to have his tail burned by fire, and quickly defended: "The one who likes Ultraman the most is obviously Xiao Mian. He also said that the town was actually destroyed by monsters, but he and Ultraman
Together we saved everyone and the town recovered."
"That's right," Kosugi Gen also thought about it and said, "He also secretly told this to other people who like Ultraman as a secret, and asked them not to tell it, but in fact everyone already knew it."
"Yeah, I was really naive at that time," a drunken Nakahara Kohei said, waving his hands indiscriminately: "I would take the things in my fantasies as reality, and always feel that I was great and would become a big shot. But as a result,
Haha, the result..."
Kashima Tianhao hurriedly hugged Nakahara Kohei, who seemed to be thinking about something unhappy, and said: "I see you are drunk. Let's have a sip of tea first. Today is to help Xiao Mian wash away the dust, so be happy."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Nakahara Gengping also quickly adjusted his mood and became smiling again, but he couldn't hide the disappointment in his eyes, and even his smile seemed to be forcing a smile.
"That's not a fantasy, it's true. I did see Chiba, and I dreamed of Asuka and the others." Xinxing Mian said with a happy smile on his face. Although more than ten years have passed since that 'big adventure'
Years ago, but now that I think about it, it is still vivid in my mind, and I am afraid I will never forget it in this life.
He fought side by side with the Ultramans, defeated the monsters together, and made the red ball that destroyed countless worlds disappear. Although I dreamed that they returned to their own world and everyone lost the memory of that battle, Xiao Mian
I believe that one day, he will meet me again.
Kosugi Wataru hugged Shinsei Tsutomu and said with some surprise: "You have graduated from college, but you haven't graduated from Ultraman yet."
Xinxing Mian was startled. He heard this again. He couldn't count how many times. When he was in elementary school, Kashimada Hiroshi and others, who called themselves "adults", often said, "You are such an adult and you still like Ultraman. It's really hard."
"It's too childish." Later in junior high school, high school and college, every time Xinxing Mian was watching Ultraman's disc and someone saw him, he would be surprised and say: "You still like Ultraman?"
Although the growth of age and experience prevents people from ridiculing as much as he did when he was a child, he can also feel others' surprise, confusion, and a little bit of ridicule, and he will not stubbornly say, "I
I just like Ultraman,' and I would only reply, 'Just take a look.', and then silently say in my heart, 'Because Ultraman is the source of my courage and the pillar of my soul, allowing me to work hard every day.'
.
Therefore, when Shinsei Tsutomu heard Kosugi Wataru's words, he smiled and replied: "Because those are memories worth cherishing. If you remember them, you will be happy."
"Hahaha, yes, those children who watch Ultraman have grown up, and the good memories of childhood can be realized," Nakahara Kohei said with a smile: "I am also watching, from Ultraman to the new releases now
"Ultraman", I read the monsters in it repeatedly, and the publisher asked us to sort out all those monsters and publish a special monster collection with ENN."
Sitting next to him, Hiroshi Kashima said in surprise: "Oh, is a new Ultraman going to appear again?"
"Yes, last time when I went to Engu Company to discuss cooperation with the president, I saw that the new logo was the letter Z." Nakahara Kohei simply said without going into detail.
Xinxing reluctantly picked up the food on the plate and said with emotion: "But Ultraman is very strange recently. I feel that the story is very thin and too commercial. I can't find the original feeling at all.
"
"Because there is no use just loving it. No matter how well it is done, it has value only if it is sold. If it cannot be sold, it has no meaning. This is business." Unexpectedly, he said such philosophical words.
It turned out to be Hiroshi Kashima. His face no longer had the hearty smile, but instead had a bit of bitterness, saying: "The times are changing, and the needs are also changing. No matter what, everyone will feel that the past is the best.
OK, then use the filter of memories to criticize the present."
Kashimada Hiroshi's words resonated with other people. No matter in work or in life, we can all encounter people who always feel that everything was good before and everything is bad now. However, people cannot always live in the past. No matter good or bad, everything is bad.
To move forward.
Xinxing Mian raised his chopsticks in the air, thinking of the Ultramen he had met a long time ago - Tiga, Dyna and Gaia. After they saved the world, they returned to their own world, and 'stayed'
Those in this world are just actors.
Although Xinxing Mian also knows this, he can't help but pay attention to these three actors, trying to find in them the shadows of Tiga, Dyna and Gaia that he has met before:
Makoto Chiba, who has participated in Tiga, was in an idol group that had already passed its peak period when he first entered junior high school. Apart from the regular fans, there were very few new fans to join in for a meal together.
It is difficult to guarantee fixed concerts every year.
A few years ago, it was revealed that she was in love with an actor who once played Lina, which further proves that her popularity has dropped to the point where she can be in a relationship, because those who can announce their relationship have either successfully transformed from idols to idols, or they have not.
Why is he so popular? Otherwise, even if he has children, he still has to stick to a single character to maintain his popularity.
When he was in college, Chiba Makoto simply announced the news of his marriage. After that, he was rarely heard from. The only thing that caused heated discussion was the announcement of the disbandment of the already declining idol group, which attracted many ten-year-old fans.
Check in to commemorate, and then disperse, without causing any further disturbance.
Yoshioka, who participated in Gaia, has been active in the entertainment industry, but he has participated in various roles, many of which were villains, which made the rising star Tsutomu at that time very confused and even angry, thinking that he was ruining the show.
I dreamed of falling off a mountain and even Ultraman Gaia, so much so that I became angry and stopped paying attention to him.
It wasn't until I grew up that I realized that actors and the characters they play should be separated. Actors are just ordinary people with their own ordinary lives, anger, sorrow and joy. They don't have extraordinary powers, and they are not Ultraman on the screen. They cannot be compared with Ultraman on the screen.
I have liked and admired Ultraman since I was a child.
Nakahara Kohei saw Kashimada Hiroshi smiling bitterly, Xinxing Mian in a daze, and Kosugi Wataru also sighing. The atmosphere was a bit wrong, so he quickly changed the topic and said: "By the way, let me tell you a strange thing. Last time I went to Enko Company, I encountered
A strange guy wants to buy a monster."
Kosugi Wataru said uncertainly: "Let's buy a monster... figure, then he should go to Bandai."
"It's not a figure, it's a real monster, just like the huge monsters on TV that can move and destroy." Nakahara Kohei waved his hand and said with a smile: "He also said that he is a time and space merchant, and his main business is buying and selling monsters.
Her face is painted like a geisha, she is dressed like Chaplin, and she is holding an umbrella, it’s really ridiculous.”
Everyone else laughed after hearing this, but Xinxing Mian was moved and asked: "What happened next?"
"Later, he was kicked out, and he actually went to a company that shoots tokusatsu dramas to buy monsters. Guys like this are either crazy or here to stir up trouble."