"Hasegawa-sensei, do you know how many copies of the second volume of Tokyo Ghoul were sold yesterday?" Machida Sonoko said happily to Hasegawa.
"From your tone, it seems that a lot of copies were sold?" Hasegawa smiled, hoping to hear the answer, but he also directly cooperated with Machida Sonoko's interest.
"Of course it's a lot, Hasegawa-sensei. Yesterday, the second volume of Tokyo Ghoul sold more than 10,000 copies, or 12,064 copies to be exact. I have a feeling that the 50,000 copies printed this time may be sold out in less than a week. Moreover, the first volume of Tokyo Ghoul also sold more than 3,000 copies yesterday. It's amazing." Machida Sonoko said excitedly.
"Is it selling so well?" Hasegawa was also a little surprised. After all, when it came to the first volume, the first printing was only 10,000 copies, and this was because Machida Sonoko was optimistic about it, so she printed more copies on purpose.
If it were some small publishing houses, the first volume of a novel might only have a thousand copies, or even less than a thousand copies.
And now, more than 10,000 copies are sold a day, even for Fuzugawa Bookstore, the results are considered quite good.
"Yes, it's selling so well. Hahaha, it looks like I'm going to be promoted to deputy editor-in-chief today, Mr. Hasegawa." Machida Sonoko was very happy, not only because the novel sales were very good and she could get a bonus, but also because she was likely to be promoted this year.
"Then congratulations to Editor Machida, so should I change my name to Editor-in-Chief Machida?"
"Well, it's a little early to say Editor-in-Chief Machida, yes, a little early. Haha, haha, but Editor-in-Chief Machida is really nice."
After ending the call with Editor Machida, Hasegawa couldn't help but open the text messages on his mobile phone and read them again. In just over two months, his bank account, which had been emptied, suddenly became more than 4 million. Although the unit is Japanese yen, Hasegawa still felt his heartbeat speed up a bit with such a large amount of money.
Originally it was 2 million yen, and then 2 million yen for the first print of 50,000 copies of the second volume of "Tokyo Ghoul", and part of the money for the first volume.
Hasegawa felt that as long as "Tokyo Ghoul" continued in this way, publishing one volume every month, he would definitely make a lot of money. Even a small goal a year is very likely.
Although the unit of this small goal is different. But it is also an astonishing amount.
"Maybe, I can buy a house - no, no, if I buy a house, I have to move out of here. Although this is not my home, it is still quite comfortable to live here." Hasegawa couldn't help muttering.
"Maybe I should buy a car? But without a driver's license, I can't drive it even if I buy one. Age is really a problem. If I'm older, Mrs. Yuigahama and I..."
"Forget it, why think so much? I don't have much money now. Besides, I have to say hello to Hasegawa's parents." Thinking of Hasegawa's original parents, Hasegawa's expression was a little silent.
He didn't accept the original memories, nor did he accept the original feelings. The original parents were a pair of strangers to Hasegawa.
But he is Hasegawa now after all. Hasegawa's parents, to be responsible, are his parents.
Thinking about the occasional calls from Hasegawa's parents, the voices of his parents on the phone were somewhat restrained and timid, but full of love.
Every time they called, they were about Hasegawa's physical condition, or his financial situation. As for his academic performance, they didn't seem to dare to ask.
Hasegawa even felt from the other party's tone that they were deeply inferior and deeply guilty towards Hasegawa, as if they felt guilty for not being able to give Hasegawa a good family and a good future.
Hasegawa was not very clear about his original attitude towards his parents. From some words in the diary, it seemed that the original body was indeed not very good to his parents, and even had some complaints. Complaining that his parents were country people and complaining that his parents could not give him a good background.
It was probably because of the original body's attitude that Hasegawa's parents spoke with a strong sense of inferiority and guilt when they talked to him on the phone. But apart from that, there was really only love left, the kind of love that parents have for their son.
Although Hasegawa's tone was a bit awkward when talking to Hasegawa's parents, he tried to be very polite and caring about his parents.
Hasegawa remembered that when he first talked to Hasegawa's parents in this tone, he faintly heard the sound of crying on the phone. Maybe, he was moved.
The tone of his voice was so raw and dry. But Hasegawa's parents were moved to tears. It is conceivable what kind of attitude Hasegawa had towards his parents.
After thinking about it, looking at the phone in his hand, Hasegawa hesitated whether to call his parents.
Before, the frequency of calls was about once a month, but it was his parents who took the initiative to call Hasegawa. Now that he was asked to call back, Hasegawa was still a little uncomfortable.
It was really uncomfortable. It was really difficult to call strangers "Mom and Dad". Even if it was just on the phone.
Hasegawa thought of the actors in TV dramas. Great actors can call strangers "Mom and Dad" very realistically. But in reality, it is really, really difficult to do it.
"We can't just keep dragging it on." Hasegawa sighed.
Looking at the phone number on the phone, Hasegawa still dialed it.
"Hello? Is this Kenichi? You, you took the initiative to call us?" Hasegawa's mother's timid and even somewhat unbelieving tone came from the phone.
"Yeah." Hasegawa said, and then he didn't know how to continue.
"Well, Kenichi, did you encounter anything? Do you need money? How much do you need? Mom will ask your dad to call you." Hasegawa's mother's voice was happy that her child took the initiative to call her, and she was also worried because Hasegawa suddenly called her, worried that something had happened to Hasegawa.
"No, I'm fine. Well, I recently wrote a novel, published it, and made some money. I'll transfer the money to you later. So don't panic if you notice that there's an extra sum of money in your family's bank account."
"Hey? Transfer money to your family? Kenichi, your family doesn't need money. Keep the money you earn for yourself. Tokyo is a big city, and the expenses must be very high. Don't transfer the money to us, keep it for yourself. If it's not enough, tell us and we'll transfer it to you..."
"Okay, that's it. I'll transfer the money to you later." Hasegawa said, and hung up the phone a little embarrassedly.
After hanging up the phone, Hasegawa looked at his phone, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
Before calling, he had already thought about changing his words and calling her mom, but he couldn't say it. He still couldn't say it.
Thinking about Hasegawa's mother's words and her attitude. Hasegawa couldn't help but think of her parents in her previous life. Although they were different, the love they showed to their children was almost exactly the same.
Hasegawa couldn't help but sigh again.
He stood up and prepared to go out to give the money to Hasegawa's parents. But just as he opened the door, Hasegawa saw Mrs. Yuigahama standing at the door.
"Mrs. Yuigahama--"
"Hasegawa-kun!" Mrs. Yuigahama hugged Hasegawa directly and even pressed Hasegawa's head against her chest.
Although Hasegawa felt that the posture was a bit uncomfortable because of the height difference between the two people, but when he felt the touch on his cheek, Hasegawa was stunned, as if he was acupunctured and couldn't move at all.
Hasegawa breathed in the breath from Mrs. Yuigahama and felt that his nostrils were a little hot.
"Hasegawa-kun is missing home? He must be. After all, he is studying abroad and cannot go home for such a long time. He can only call his parents when he misses them, but he can't see them at all. It would be strange if he didn't miss home."
"But it doesn't matter, Hasegawa-kun. Although you can't see your parents, I treat Hasegawa-kun as a family member. If Hasegawa-kun doesn't mind, you can call me mom." Mrs. Yuigahama said very emotionally.
After hearing what Mrs. Yuigahama said, Hasegawa's eyes twitched fiercely. Call you mom? Are you kidding, Mrs. Yuigahama?
Hasegawa wanted to reject Mrs. Yuigahama righteously, but he was acupunctured and couldn't move, so he could only continue to press his face against Mrs. Yuigahama's chest.
"Hasegawa-kun, if you don't say anything, it means you agree--"
"Mom, Hasegawa, you, you, what are you doing?" Yuigahama Yui ran over at some point and saw Hasegawa and Mrs. Yuigahama like this. She felt her brain buzzing as if someone had hit her hard with a hammer.
"Yui, Hasegawa-kun is homesick." Mrs. Yuigahama said to Yuigahama Yui without any other thoughts.
"Eh? Hasegawa is homesick?" Yuigahama Yui blinked.
"Yeah. So, I think if Hasegawa-kun wants, he can call me mom. Hasegawa-kun has agreed." Mrs. Yuigahama said seriously.
"Eh? Mom?"
"Ahem, Mrs. Yuigahama, that's a misunderstanding. I, I didn't agree." Hasegawa had to stand up and object at this time. The relationship was not easy to deal with in the first place. If they became mother and son, wouldn't it be even more difficult?