Unknowingly, the beetle has become accustomed to living with the old man.
But one day, it was clear that the time had come, but the old man did not come.
The beetle stared at the store door for a long, long time.
From sunrise to dusk, the door that should have been pushed open long ago remained motionless.
The old man...didn't come.
The store is very dark and quiet.
The closed environment makes the smell of book pages more mellow.
Smells very good.
It should have made the beetles salivate.
But the beetle found that it missed the sweet taste of honey water.
...
The beetle is lying on the cashier counter, which is closest to the door.
It determines time through the light transmitted through the door gap.
…
The next afternoon, some sleepy beetles heard the noise coming from the door.
It immediately stood up and its eyes glowed.
However, after waiting for a long time, the beetle discovered that the person at the door had left.
Moreover, it just realized that it was not.
Those were not the footsteps of an old man.
After several years of getting along with each other, he understands the elderly far better than he thought.
…
Over the next few days, there was no movement at the door.
All I heard was the vague sound of traffic coming through the door panel.
Pedestrians were coming and going outside, but no one was the person it was waiting for.
…
"Wow~"
The rolling door outside was pulled up.
The sudden sound startled the beetle, and then the sunlight pouring in made it slightly squint its eyes.
The fresh air rushes in, bringing... the smell of strangers.
The beetle opened its eyes wide.
stranger.
But...somewhat like an old man.
Is it the old man's child?
Although it always stays in the bookstore, the old man has also taught it a lot of human knowledge in the past few years.
The old man told it that he had three children, two sons and a daughter.
Is this... his son?
He really looks like the old man.
But, they just look alike.
Different.
The breath is different.
Where is the old man?
The beetle looked behind the man, then looked startled.
There is no one left.
"Where's grandpa?"
The beetle couldn't help but look at the man a little anxiously and asked loudly.
This name is derived from the old man coaxing it with honey water.
I actually don't quite understand the meaning of this title.
But at that time, it was captured by the sweet honey water, so it obeyed the old man's wishes.
It feels like it, and it's not a bad title.
Seeing the old man looking at it so expectantly, it didn't mind satisfying the old man's request.
…
However, it received no response.
The man casually placed an envelope on the cashier counter.
"Hello!"
"Where's grandpa?"
The beetle took a deep breath and increased the volume a bit.
The man walked towards the lined bookshelves.
Its voice still echoes in the air.
The beetle, who only felt his anger welling up, suddenly froze.
It...forgot.
This man is not an old man.
The old man can see it.
But this person...can't see it.
…
The beetle suddenly lost interest.
The failure of expectations made it feel irritable and wanted to do something, but it was too lazy to move.
It's been waiting for so many days.
My eyes were sore.
Finally, the door opened, but the person it was waiting for still didn't show up.
what is this?
It was obviously the same day as the countless days before. The old man smiled and said to it -
"See you tomorrow."
…
"fraud."
The beetle muttered softly.
This is already the first few tomorrows.
It's angry.
It hates humans who don't keep their word.
Only if the old man gave it three small dishes of honey water and a corner of a book page would it forgive him.
The old man always said that it is not good to eat too much sweet things, so he should control the amount of honey water he drinks.
It's dismissive.
It's not that fragile as humans.
Although... its power is not very strong.
However, its body is still strong.
What's wrong with eating more sweet things?
No problem at all.
No matter how it protested, the old man was very determined.
It was so angry that it bit the newspaper the old man was reading into a mess.
Seeing the old man's troubled expression, it felt a little angry.
…
The old man also asked him if he wanted to go home with him.
It refused.
It likes the smell in bookstores.
Even if you don't eat the book, it's still good to smell it.
The old man also understands this.
At that time, the old man touched its head and said, "Next time, can I give you the exercise book that my grandson and granddaughter don't want?"
It expresses disgust.
It likes to eat old books.
A book with a sense of time.
He doesn't like the ink smell of new books.
The old man wondered, "The newspaper?"
Zhi was stunned for a moment, then turned around and said, "Why don't you leave? It's almost getting dark."
"goodbye."
The next day, the old man brought him old newspapers.
…
Looking at the man sitting in the old man's seat, Zhi was a little angry.
That's the old man's place.
Seeing the man pick up the newspaper next to him and looking surprised at the "miserable" appearance of the newspaper, he felt a little relieved for no reason.
Hum hum.
...
The man put down the newspaper.
He picked up the envelope on the cash register.
That's what he put on the cashier counter when he first came in.
He took out the letter paper inside and spread it out.
The expression on his face gradually became a little strange.
"what?"
"Isn't Dad an old fool?"
The man muttered a few words in a low voice and stuffed the letter paper randomly into the envelope.
He put the envelope in the drawer again.
He got up and walked to the door of the store.
He has put a sign on the outside of the window that sells books by the pound.
The passers-by outside were either walking in a hurry or talking and laughing, but no one noticed that there was a bookstore that was about to close its doors.
Sure enough, the sale slogans in bookstores are not as eye-catching as those in shopping malls?
The man shook his head with a wry smile.
He turned around and walked back to the store.
Sitting behind the cashier again.
take it easy.
How much can be sold?
The rest will be sold to scrap collectors.
…
Um?
Watching another person walk out of the store with several books, he blinked.
There are a lot of people coming these days.
A lot of books were also sold.
However, the old man never appeared.
I know how much the old man cares about these books.
These are old people's books.
Even if this human being is the old man's son, he cannot sell the old man's books so casually.
Looking at the missing books one after another, I became anxious.
But no one could hear its voice.
It is weak and can't do anything.
It suddenly became very angry.
Where did the old man go?
Mingming was not even willing to give him a small bite of the page before, but now his son has sold out all his books!
Why hasn't he shown up yet?
Since the book is going to be sold, it is no longer the old man's book.
It's not polite.
The beetle bit off a piece of the book page hard.
The long-lost taste is as delicious as the memory.
But there seems to be something different.
It doesn't know.
…
The beetles ate many, many pages.
Take a bite in the east, take a bite in the west.
Eat in exchange for a book.
The more you eat, the more you eat.
It is obviously full already, but there is a feeling of anger in the heart that urges it to keep eating.