Chapter 31: Unexpected Letter
After the New Year holiday in early January, Shirakawa Kaede returned to Tokyo. The first thing she did was to give the local specialties she brought from Akita to her friends here .
My two roommates in the same dormitory, several used electronics stores that we cooperate with, and managers of electronics recycling points, such as Mr. Matsumoto and his gang.
These specialties are basically Akita sake, matsutake mushrooms, and water shield, which are dry goods and fine wines.
After dividing these things, Baichuan Feng thought about it and prepared a separate portion.
After sending postcards, delivering souvenirs, and settling Kotaro down, Shirakawa Kaede finally rushed to the dormitory in Suginami District.
He was stopped by the dormitory manager downstairs, who said there was a package for him.
Shirakawa Kaede was confused when he saw the words "Cultural Affairs Bureau" on the envelope.
The Ministry of Culture? What does this have to do with me? He looked at the recipient and saw that it was indeed his name.
Although he was full of doubts, he opened it as soon as he returned to the dormitory to see what was inside.
The other two people in the dormitory were not there. Baichuan Feng sat on the sofa and picked up the paper in the envelope and read it carefully.
"To Mr. Shirakawa, I have received the copyright registration form you submitted..."
After reading the letter quietly for a few minutes, Baichuan Feng finally understood what was going on.
The letter from the Ministry of Culture informed him that the copyright registration for the original song "Dragonfly" had completed the preliminary review and would be open for public review in the next two weeks. If there were no objections, the registration would be completed and officially recorded.
The letter also includes a copy of the original application form for the applicant to check.
Baichuan Feng picked up the copy. At the beginning of the form was some basic personal information.
Then there is an appendix of the score and lyrics of the original song "Dragonfly", including the time and place of the work's creation, as well as specific information about its first public performance.
When Shirakawa Kaede saw the words "Public performance information is available on the VHS tape (attached)" on the form, he suddenly realized that someone had recorded the clips of his New Year's Festival performance songs on a VCR.
Looking at the beautiful handwriting above, given Shirakawa Kaede's familiarity with it, it is basically certain that it was written by Asuka Kobayashi.
Based on the reply date on the envelope, Shirakawa Feng roughly calculated that it was very likely that she had prepared and sent it to the Cultural Affairs Bureau's Copyright Office the day after the New Year's Festival.
Now, the so-called two-week public notice period of the Ministry of Culture is almost halfway through.
RB law holds that copyright automatically takes effect and belongs to the creator the moment it is created.
Copyright registration simply ensures that a creator's work is officially registered, or serves as a clear written document for the transfer of copyright.
In addition to the internal review by the Ministry of Culture, there is also a final public disclosure period.
The publicity period is when your work is published in a specific journal. If there is no objection from others and there is no copyright dispute, then the copyright registration is completed.
Now that Shirakawa Kaede has received a reply, it means that his copyright registration has been reviewed and qualified. After the public notice period, the copyright of the song "Dragonfly" will belong to him and will be protected by law.
The protection period is a lifetime plus 70 years after death. This is why many singers can make a living for a lifetime by relying on a popular song.
Baichuan Feng looked at the beautiful handwriting on the registration form and sighed. It seems that I have to thank Xiaolin classmate. Last time, she invited me to celebrate. It's a good opportunity for us to celebrate together this time.
Asuka Kobayashi spent the entire afternoon secretly delighted by the fact that Shirakawa Kaede invited her to dinner.
Last New Year's Festival, she took the initiative to extend an olive branch, but Baichuan Feng's polite refusal made her feel very disappointed for a while.
This time, Shirakawa Kaede's active invitation made Asuka Kobayashi secretly happy, but also a little conflicted.
She rejected me last time, but this time she turned around and invited me. If she agreed easily, would it seem that I was too frivolous?
Humph, should I ignore him on purpose to let him know that I am not so easy to get along with and that I also have my own little emotions.
"Xiaolin, hurry up. The wagyu sushi there is very popular and the supply is limited. If you go too late, there might be nothing left."
"Huh!" Seeing Shirakawa Kaede waving at her at the door, Asuka Kobayashi stood up in a panic and trotted over.
Since the New Year's Festival performance, Shirakawa Kaede's reputation as "Ichiban Otoko" has spread like wildfire.
Not to mention classmates, most people on campus have heard of this name.
Seeing Shirakawa Kaede asking Kobayashi Asuka to leave, the students in the classroom began to make a noise. Some female students even showed a rather indignant expression.
This was the first time that Shirakawa Kaede received a love confession letter from a female classmate since the new semester. In this era, most girls are still reserved and shy.
Most of them would secretly slip the letters into his textbooks when he was not around, then hide in their seats and secretly observe his every move.
Baichuan Feng could only pretend that he didn't see it and gently closed the textbook, and people understood.
Unlike Asuka Kobayashi who blushed when she heard the faint cheering behind her, Shirakawa Kaede led the way generously, and their destination was Mingqian Station.
South of Meiji University, near Meimae Station, there is a shopping street called "Suzuran-dori", which is a favorite gathering spot for young people nearby.
Especially for students of Meiji University, the place they visit most is not Akihabara or Shibuya, but Suzuran-dori.
The shopping street is not long, only a few meters long. But even in this narrow alley, there are all kinds of food, drinks, entertainment and entertainment.
There are all kinds of restaurants, video games, karaoke, and bookstores. Basically everything that young people like can be found here.
As night falls, red lanterns sway in the wind and flashing billboards dot the night sky.
Below are busy crowds of people and all kinds of steaming snacks. The shouts, the conversations of the crowd, and the occasional singing from the speakers in the shops all merge into one lively scene on the street.
"There are too many people." Bai Chuanfeng had been here before, but there were especially many people today. It might be because the New Year had just passed and everyone hadn't been together for a long time, so they all chose to come out and have a small gathering today.
However, Asuka Kobayashi's interest was not affected by the noisy crowd at all, and she looked around with great interest.
The two squeezed into a restaurant called "Oyamaya" and ordered two of the signature dishes here, Wagyu sushi.
The shop is not big and very crowded. Many people simply don't sit down and just stand by the bar, drinking and chatting.
In the name of celebration, Shirakawa ordered two beers. After all, the store owner couldn't tell that he was still one year away from 20. But he only had a few beers. Besides, he had to take care of Kobayashi, a female student.
Soon, the snacks, sushi and beef were served. Shirakawa Feng raised his glass and said, "In the new year, I wish Xiaolin to be more beautiful, complete all the credits, and never fail a course!"
"Arigato~" Asuka Kobayashi raised her glass and clinked it with his with a smile.
Shirakawa Kaede picked up a piece of Wagyu sushi and put it in his mouth. Hmm, it tastes good, fresh and refreshing, worthy of being the star restaurant here.
As for Asuka Kobayashi, she squinted her eyes and puffed up her mouth, enjoying the delicious food wholeheartedly.
"How is it? Not bad, right?"
Kobayashi Asuka had no time to speak, she could only nod her head frequently like a chicken pecking at rice. She looked like a hamster with its mouth full, greedy and somewhat cute.
Amused by her appearance, Shirakawa Feng clinked glasses with her again and began to enjoy the delicious food with peace of mind.
Wagyu sushi is considered a high-end dish for students. Normally, they don't eat here often, but today, they enjoyed the meal to their heart's content as a celebration.
After strolling around Suzuran-dori in the evening, Shirakawa Kaede and Kobayashi Asuka slowly walked north along the street. Their dormitories were both behind Meiji University, so they were heading in roughly the same direction.
Under the dim lights on both sides of the road, a pair of figures slowly walked forward along the tree-lined streets . Shirakawa Kaede put his hands in his pockets, while Kobayashi Asuka put her hands behind her back, their fingers intertwined.
"Xiaolin-san..."
"Shirakawa-kun"
Before Shirakawa Kaede could finish his words, he was interrupted by Asuka Kobayashi.
"Hmm?" Baichuan Feng looked at her strangely.
Kobayashi Asuka's face turned slightly red, but it was not obvious under the dim light. She lowered her head and said in a very careful tone, "Actually, Shirakawa-kun can just call me Asuka-chan."
The tone was so light that Shirakawa Kaede almost didn't hear it clearly. When he heard it, Shirakawa Kaede was stunned for a moment, then blinked and replied with a smile, "Okay, Asuka-chan. Thank you for the matter with the Cultural Affairs Bureau, so I have to entertain Asuka-chan today no matter what."
"Wait a minute," Kobayashi Asuka raised her head, "Shirakawa-kun is hosting me today because of the Cultural Affairs Bureau?"
"Yes, what else?" Baichuan Feng asked in surprise.
"You should just call me classmate Kobayashi." After saying that, Asuka Kobayashi put her hands down her back, put them in her pockets, and walked towards the dormitory not far away without looking back.
"Eh?!" Shirakawa Feng was stunned. He was stunned for a second and then shouted to Kobayashi Asuka, "Asuka-chan, how about we go for dinner next time?"
I guess one meal is not enough, so I have to have another one. There is nothing that two meals of Wagyu sushi can't solve.
"I told you to call me Kobayashi-kun!"
Kobayashi's angry voice could be heard from afar, and she quickened her pace as she left.
"It's strange," Shirakawa Feng muttered to himself. He didn't understand why Asuka Kobayashi, who was usually a foodie, could resist the temptation of two delicious meals today.
Just when Baichuan Feng was belatedly thinking about the girl's complicated thoughts.
When he arrived at the dormitory, the administrator told him that someone had called him in the afternoon. It sounded like it was from a certain company, and after learning that Shirakawa Kaede was not there, they asked the administrator to tell him that they would contact him again at 9 am tomorrow.
