British writer

the next day.

early morning.

Arthur Conan Doyle woke up early, and his beloved wife Louise Hawkins wasn't even awake yet.

He pushed his wife's shoulder,

"Ruth, wake up."

Hawkins woke up slowly and looked at her husband with a puzzled look on his face.

"Why are you so early today?"

Doyle pointed at the calendar and said with a smile, "Have you forgotten what day today is?"

Hawkins looked confused at first;

Then, she showed a look of realization and said, "Ah, that's right, I'll get up and make breakfast, and then we'll go to Meter Bookstore to have a look, and then we'll find Herbert."

Today is Wednesday, the release day of "Seaside Magazine".

It is also the day when "The Return" ends.

The corners of Doyle's lips curled up,

"I am very confident."

The last short story in the entire series of "Return" is called "The Second Bloodstain".

The story mainly tells the story of the disappearance of a top-secret document on national security. Once the contents are leaked, war will break out across Europe.

The Prime Minister personally visited Baker Street and asked Holmes to intervene in an attempt to restore the damage and calm the tense international situation.

Doyle was enthusiastic about the story.

Adventure, reasoning, politics...

With so many elements combined, it's sure to be a hit.

Doyle murmured: "No problem."

While getting dressed, Hawkins asked curiously: "What's 'no problem'?"

Doyle waved his hands, the smile on his face was more or less twisted.

He sounded relaxed, but only he knew whether he was nervous or not.

In fact, after Lu's "No Survival" and "Roger's Mystery" appeared, many people criticized "The Return" as a follow-up work.

Doyle firmly refused to admit this.

Even though "Golden-rimmed Pince-nez" has some debatable aspects on the reasoning level, the reading experience is very good;

"The Dancing Little Man" involves cryptography, with excellent reasoning and excellent quality;

As an adventure novel, "Six Busts of Napoleon" is even better in laying out suspense, only one (very) (very) (very) (very) loss (a lot) worse than "Roger's Mystery";

…

Doyle firmly believes that "The Return" may not have been born at the right time, but it is definitely an excellent collection of short stories.

What's more, Holmes's resurrection was originally intended to appease readers' anger over his death with Moriarty.

It's better now, what are you talking about?

Isn't this just scolding the cook when he's full?

"Pooh!"

Doyle spat.

Hawkins couldn't help but glare at him and said, "What are you doing? The breakfast I made is hard to eat?"

Doyle was surprised,

"breakfast?"

Seeing her husband like this, Hawkins couldn't help but sigh,

"Where have my thoughts gone? I was just telling you what to have for breakfast~"

After saying that, she patted Doyle on the back soothingly and whispered: "Don't worry, you and Holmes will be fine."

Doyle's head is full of black lines,

￣□￣｜｜

His eyes moved to the bookshelf.

On the bookshelf, Lu’s works are placed on the second floor, which is the most conspicuous and easily accessible.

"Roger's Mystery", "No Survivor", "The Hobbit\

,"There is even the latest work——

"Rural Teacher".

That "Roger Mystery" is a hardcover book with a sturdy cover.

But even so, the threads were still opened, and the outer layer of the lower edge of the cover fell off, revealing the slightly yellowed white edges inside.

It can be seen that this book has been read countless times.

And Doyle can be sure that this must be the work of his wife.

As for my Sherlock Holmes series, they were placed on the top and bottom floors of the bookshelf. Most of them were covered with a thin layer of dust and had obviously not been read for a long time.

Doyle couldn't help complaining: "Ruth, do you believe what you said?"

Hawkins:? ? ?

Following her husband's line of sight,

Then, an awkward and strange silence fell in the house,

"..."

"..."

"..."

It's like you can hear a needle drop.

Hawkins opened his mouth and wanted to say something.

Doyle immediately interrupted: "You don't have to say anything. I understand, I understand everything."

Although I understand, this feeling is really strange.

It's like wearing an environmentally friendly hat.

Hawkins rolled out of bed and ran out of the bedroom.

"I went to cook."

Doyle walked to the bookshelf and wanted to take out a copy of "The Sherlock Holmes" to read, but his fingers unconsciously fell on the spine of "The Country Teacher".

If "Roger's Mystery" is Hawkins' favorite novel,

"The Country Teacher" is Doyle's favorite short story, bar none.

Doyle sighed,

"well……"

That feeling of wearing a hat appeared again,

This time, he put it on himself.

But he couldn't help it, so he took out "Country Teacher" again, read it carefully, and studied Lu's techniques and writing style.

After an unknown amount of time, Hawkins' voice came from outside: "Arthur, come out to eat!"

Doyle muttered: "It's so well written..."

He carefully stuffed the book back, then left the bedroom and went straight to the door to put on his hat and coat.

Hawkins said: "You don't want to eat?"

Doyle replied: "Breakfast and everything, whatever."

Hawkins rolled his eyes.

"Hey! We're an old couple now! You wouldn't be jealous because of something like this, would you?"

As he spoke, he stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth, and then stuffed his husband's mouth with sausages and scrambled eggs. Then he took his husband's arm and said, "I'll go out with you."

Doyle chewed hard before swallowing all the food.

"Oh well."

They pushed open the door and walked out.

The early morning fog still plagues London,

The two of them squinted their eyes and could only vaguely see the street scene on the other side of the main road.

Horse carriages passing by in a hurry,

Pedestrians covering their noses and rushing on the road,

A staggering drunkard,

…

London has only just woken up.

But Doyle knew that there must be a place that was overcrowded now.

That's the bookstore.

Because today, "The Return" ends, "Seaside Magazine" will inevitably be swept away.

The couple crossed the main road and walked in the direction of Mette Bookstore.

The two quickly arrived at the door.

Surprisingly, it's not that popular here;

The boss, Matt, even had the leisure and grace to bask in the sun that did not exist in the London fog.

He leaned against the door frame and dozed off little by little.

Doyle stepped forward;

"Old Met!"

Matt shuddered,

"Huh...who I thought it was...Arthur, why are you here?"

The corners of Doyle's lips curled up, and he said proudly: "I'm here to cheer you up! How do you like seeing you looking so leisurely? Are all "Seaside Magazine" sold out today?"

Matt showed a troubled expression,

"this……"

There seems to be something unspeakable.

Faintly, Doyle had a bad feeling in his heart.

He walked around Mate and pushed open the store door.

I saw a row of "Seaside Magazine" placed on the best-selling and most conspicuous counter of the bookstore. A rough estimate was that there were about two hundred copies.

Doyle couldn't help but blush,

Unsaleable...

"Seaside Magazine" is out of stock! ?

I am puzzled!

While he was in a daze, there was a "squeak" sound of the door opening behind him, causing him to turn around.

I saw Mette walking into the room, looking like he was hesitant to speak.

Doyle showed a pleading smile and said: "Old Met, you are very flattering. You have got so many more "Seaside Magazines", and you are not afraid of getting them in your hands?"

Matt was helpless,

"Arthur, you know me, business is business."

The implication is that he will not be included in a certain book or magazine just because of personal friendship.

"Seaside Magazine", which used to be sold out as soon as it was put on the shelves, is no longer prestigious.

Doyle originally thought that he had moved towards Buddhism.

But now, his mentality is still broken.

He said: "Before, "The Return" was pinned to the ground and beaten by "Roger Mystery", and I admitted it. But what is the situation now!? Didn't Lu not publish the book!?"

Matt shrugged,

"I didn't expect it to turn into..."

Halfway through the words, the door of the bookstore was pushed open.

Doyle cast a hopeful look.

Unexpectedly, the gentleman outside the door just poked his head in without even thinking about entering the bookstore, and asked: "Is there any more "Mirror"? Give me a copy!"

Matt shook his head,

"It's all sold out."

The gentleman seemed to have expected this, and was not disappointed.

"Oh, that's all I know. The same goes for the newsboys on the road. One or two of them are sold out."

Bang——

The store door is closed,

Doyle and Matt were left alone in the room, looking at each other.

As a result, the two of them stared at each other for a few seconds before the door opened again.

Still the "gentleman with the probe".

Doyle's heart rose again with hope.

But this hope was quickly extinguished, because the gentleman just asked: "Boss, Lu previously announced in the "Mirror" that he would serialize a new book in the novel version. Has the serialization started in today's "Mirror"? What kind of novel is it?”

Matt shook his head,

"It hasn't been serialized yet."

"oh……"

The gentleman looked a little regretful and glanced at the bookstore subconsciously.

His eyes fell on the "Seaside Magazine" and stopped.

This look was like the divine light descended by the saint in the Bible, which gave birth to hope in Doyle's heart for the third time.

However……

"Forget it! I'd better go to Fleet Street and try my luck!"

Bang——

The store door was closed.

At the same time, Doyle also seemed to have been hit hard. He was hit so hard that he could not stand firmly.

Hawkins quickly supported her husband.

"Arthur, cheer up...you must cheer up!"

Doyle raised his head and looked at his wife blankly.

His eyes have lost their light,

"Ruth, I'm going to Fleet Street too."

…

Breya Road.

Lu Shi was licked awake by me,

With sleepy eyes, he looked at us drowsily, then looked at the sky outside, and muttered: "So early?"

My generation: "Meow~"

Natsume Soseki on the side said: "Lu, spring is here, isn't this guy thinking about spring?"

Lu Shi scratched his head,

In his impression, cats always have attacks at night, meowing like a baby's cry.

But I don’t have this symptom at all.

Lu Shi complained: "I think this guy is just hungry, so he just eats."

With that said, he got out of bed and changed his clothes.

On the other side, Natsume Soseki threw a piece of chicken over, and as expected, I stopped pestering him and started eating by himself.

Sichun is not as important as doing food.

Lu Shi spread his hands,

"Let's see."

He yawned and said, "Since you're up, let's go out for a walk and buy a newspaper."

After Phyllis went to Rome, there was no one to deliver newspapers to Via Brailla.

The two of them finished packing and went out together.

Spring in London is much better than January and February.

However, due to industrial pollution, there is no modern atmosphere like a kingdom of flowers. The branches of plants everywhere are bare, with occasional flowers and leaves hanging crookedly, adding a gray and solemn atmosphere to the city.

Lu Shi stopped a passing newsboy.

"Give me a copy of the Mirror."

As a result, the newsboy spread his hands helplessly and said: "Sold out! I'm heading to Fleet Street...um...are you..."

The newsboy seemed to recognize Lu Shi as he stared at him.

Lu Shi signaled the other party to silence, made a "shh" gesture with a smile, and said, "Then do you have any newspapers or magazines that you recommend?"

The newsboy nodded,

"Look at this."

What he handed out was "Seaside Magazine\

,"On the cover, there is a promotion in large and bold font: "The final work of "The Return of Sherlock Holmes"."

Lu Shi had complicated thoughts.

According to the original history, "Return" was serialized in "Seaside Magazine", with one article published roughly every month.

It was not until December 1904 that the last article was issued——

"The Second Bloodstain".

And because of Lu Shi's stimulation, Doyle turned out to be as productive as a sow, posting one article a week,

In the original world line, if Doyle is so diligent, Holmes's status will definitely be raised higher and he will have more fans.

But looking at it now, "Seaside Magazine" is not selling well.

Lu Shi counted out the coins and handed them to the newsboy.

"The Mirror is selling well?"

The newsboy nodded and replied: "The sales are very good... um... that's right! Professor Lu, you'd better not go to Fleet Street today. The headquarters of "Mirror" was surrounded by two to three hundred readers, saying they were looking for You are raising an army to investigate the crime!"

Lu Shi didn't know what was going on.

"What? Raise an army to investigate?"

The newsboy lowered his voice and said, "Professor Lu, have you forgotten what you announced in the Mirror?"

The preview of the new work was a week ago.

However, the Queen had just passed away at that time, and Scotland Yard had relatively strict control over the gathering of citizens. In addition, the "Mirror" did not have an official office at that time, so readers could not surround it even if they wanted to.

The newspaper office cut the ribbon yesterday and finally "can outrun the monks but not the temple."

Lu Shi couldn't help but look at Natsume Soseki.

The latter sighed,

"Look, something went wrong with the game?"

Lu Shi didn't expect that hunger marketing would be so effective, so he quickly hailed a carriage and headed to the newspaper office.

As soon as we turned onto Fleet Street, the coachman said: "You two gentlemen, you may not be able to walk any further."

Lu Shi opened the car curtain and immediately saw a group of people blocking the road.

At the same time, the sound of discussion came in,

"Will Lu publish a new book? Isn't it a lie to us? Or is the Mirror lying to us?"

"When you say that, it's really possible! You read those articles in the "Mirror" and it was quite enjoyable, but if you think about it carefully, you can't deduce it. They are ridiculously fake!"

"Don't think too much, the Mirror will not lie to us. Don't you know that this newspaper is run by Professor Lu? Professor Lu is Lu!"

"That's right!"

…

Readers reached a consensus on the authenticity of the trailer.

So, they changed the topic,

"Great! We can see Poirot active again!"

"I don't want to read mysteries! I like "The Hobbit"! I want to read fantasy novels!"

"That has to be science fiction! "Country Teacher" will always be awesome!"

…

This time it will not be so easy to reach consensus.

The argument gradually turned into insults, and there was a tendency to fight each other.

"hiss……"

Lu Shi took a breath of cold air.

Thirty-six strategies, walking is the best strategy,

He said to the driver: "Go back the same way!"

The coachman responded and turned the horse around, causing the carriage to slowly turn in circles.

At this time, a familiar figure fell into Lu Shi's eyes,

"Dr. Doyle?"

At the same time, Doyle also saw Lu Shi.

Doyle's eyes showed the complexity of two intertwined emotions, including the helplessness of "Lu Shi tortured me a thousand times" and the admiration of "I treat Lu Shi like my first love".

They are intertwined with each other, contradictory yet unified,

Doyle has been tortured by Lu Shi and suffered from Stockholm Syndrome.

He looked around and suddenly raised his voice and shouted: "Professor Lu, you are finally here! We have waited so hard for you!"

As soon as this statement came out, readers outside the newspaper fell into silence.

Half a second later, like zombies who had discovered fresh meat, they surrounded the carriage of Riku Toki and Natsume Soseki, their eyes full of fanaticism.

Someone shouted: "Professor Lu, when will you start serializing your new book!?"

The others shouted in agreement.

Now that the matter has come to this, Lu Shi can no longer pretend to be dead.

He jumped off the carriage,

"This time next week, I will start serializing a new novel!"

Someone else asked: "What is the theme of the new novel? Is it a mystery?"

Lu Shi shook his head,

"No comment at the moment."

His eyes lingered on Doyle for a moment and said, "If you like mystery novels, why not try "The Return of Sherlock Holmes"?"

For a while, no one spoke.

After a while, someone said, "I'm still looking forward to Professor Lu's works."

Doyle: "..."

My whole body was numb.