tokyo writer

Hiroto Akihara pondered for a long time before he finally settled down. He went downstairs and picked up the phone, and also called Aiko Asano, and asked her to go to the "double" coffee shop near Mantansha for a meeting the day after tomorrow.

He was going to tell Asano everything he had learned, and asked if she had encountered any work problems, and if she would encounter trouble in the future, how would she solve it.

After the call was made, Aiko Asano was a little curious about Akihara Yuto's intentions, but she didn't say anything, she just agreed and made an appointment at the same time.

Hiroto Akihara hung up the phone and let himself put aside his worries for the time being. After all, it is hard to guard against backstabbing, no matter how much you take care of it, it will not help. It is better to think about your own work first.

He returned to the desk, took out the pen and paper again, and began to think carefully.

What should I write next?

How about "Edogawa Ranpo Short Stories Collection"?Edogawa Ranpo, as the originator of RB mystery novels in his previous life, his works such as "Yin Beast", "Da Saka Murder Incident", "Human Chair" and other works are the pinnacle works of neon reasoning, and because they are in the form of short stories, It just happens that one article can be published in each issue to replace the current work.

However, the era background described in these works is a bit long, will it make readers seem to have no sense of substitution?

This possibility cannot be ruled out.

How about Miyabe Miyuki's "Train"?This work is a novel, mainly about a suspended policeman who is entrusted to investigate a missing fiancée case.The narrative style is very grim, which is slightly different from other works.

Moreover, this work has gained a high reputation. Not only was it selected by the British "Guardian" as one of the top ten mystery novels in Asia, but it was also rated as the most remarkable mystery and suspense novel by RB in the past 10 years by "Yomiuri Shimbun".

But is it more appropriate for this work to hit the higher Uemura Award?It seems a bit wasteful to just use it for the next serialization.

Hiroto Akihara frowned, and many classic works appeared in his mind, including local neon works and other domestic and foreign ones, but after repeated thinking, he also had a measure in his heart, that is, it is not bad to come up with one, It is best to do it step by step.

After all, if he suddenly writes a work that far surpasses his previous level, then no matter what work he writes, it will surely be compared, and it is more likely that the media will think that he has exhausted his talent.

But what works are just a notch above without being so obtrusive?He fell into thought again.

Until the end of today, he didn't come up with a result.

……

When the time came to 3 o'clock in the afternoon the day after tomorrow, Akihara Hiroto came to the "double" cafe near Mandansha according to his agreement with Asano Aiko.

He pushed open the glass door and walked in, sat in the corner seat, ordered two cups of latte and a small cake, wondering why Aiko Asano didn't come on time.

But within 5 minutes, Aiko Asano appeared at the door. She walked in and took a seat, put away her small bag, and apologized with a smile: "Sorry, Akihara, for keeping you waiting."

Hiroto Akihara took a look at her, and felt that she seemed to be dressed a bit differently from before.

Compared with the previous intellectual style, today's Asano Aiko is wearing a plain long skirt, and her skin looks fairer.Coupled with her short black hair and small cherry mouth, the whole person has the feeling of a magazine model.Even more amazing, she even painted pink nail polish.

Looking at this attire, it doesn't seem like he encountered some work problems in the editorial department?He was a little puzzled for a moment, but didn't say anything.

Aiko Asano noticed his gaze, but she didn't show it on her face, but she was a little nervous and excited in her heart.

After receiving the invitation the day before yesterday, she made careful preparations, specially bought this long dress of a new style, and changed into a set of nail polish.Even the lateness just now was the result of her special makeup.

Although she was ready, she still felt a little shy after realizing that Hiroto Akihara was really looking at her.

Akihara Yuto saw that she was silent for a long time after sitting down, and felt a little strange, so he opened his mouth first: "Asano, after you left the day before yesterday, the editor of "April Youth" also came to my house."

Asano Aiko was still thinking wildly, but when she heard the news, she suddenly woke up.

She calmed herself down, and then asked, "Qiuyuan, is the other party here to invite you to join "April Youth?"

Apart from this reason, she could think of no other reason.

Hiroto Akihara nodded, and then explained the cause and effect, emphasizing the information he had obtained—someone might use some indecent means against her because of jealousy.

Asano Aiko nodded after listening, and also began to fall into deep thought, she thought for a while, her expression relaxed, and she said with a smile: "Akihara, the other party is just from another publishing house, you don't have to take what he said too seriously. "

To be honest, she felt that it was unlikely that she would be targeted.

After all, Mantanshe is a formal publishing house, and all personnel and work processes have corresponding systems.

In terms of work, as the responsible editor, she is mainly responsible for collecting and reviewing Qiu Yuan's manuscripts, and the person who troubles her the most is sitting in front of her.

In terms of personnel affairs, as the editor of "New Novel", editor-in-chief Kikuchi must be responsible for any job-related matters. Others, even if the head of the department wants to intervene, cannot do without the editor-in-chief Kikuchi.

She felt that the colleague from "April Youth" should be exaggerating, so she comforted Hiroto Akihara instead.

Having said that, she suddenly remembered something, and asked: "Qiu Yuan, have you confirmed the content of your next serial?"

Compared with other things, this matter is very important.

Hiroto Akihara is responsible for at least half of the current sales of "New Novel". If the blank period after he stops serializing is too long, he will definitely lose a considerable number of readers and fans.

When Akihara Hiroto heard this question, his face froze. He really didn't think about what to serialize later.

But looking at Asano Aiko who was smiling slightly, another question came to his mind.

Can you really ignore what that editor Awazu said...

[61.Chapter 61 The crime of embezzlement]

"Although it's a bit hard to say, but according to a series of information I have collected in recent weeks, Akihara Yuto really has no black material that can be used."

The person who spoke was a young man, about 25 or 6 years old, wearing ordinary business attire, and looked like a common office worker.

Right now, he was sitting at a booth in a coffee shop, reporting to a middle-aged man opposite him.

After the young man finished speaking, he took out a stack of photos from a black briefcase he was carrying, and laid them flat on the table.

"Yuto Akihara's daily actions are very regular. He will go to a nearby convenience store to buy lunch and bread in the morning, and then basically write at home all day, and the person who visits his house most often is his editor-in-charge Aiko Asano. In addition, Imamura Yuto, a contracted writer of your editorial department, will occasionally go.”

He paused, and said in a low voice: "Takei-san, I'm sorry, at least for now, the other party doesn't have any bad habits, and there's nothing he can take advantage of."

His name is Ryota Yamamoto, and he is a private detective who is mainly responsible for helping clients investigate civil-related information.

There are actually many detectives like him in the neon society. Taking Tokyo as an example, there are thousands of related firms.

The emergence of these large numbers of private detectives is also inseparable from the special background of the neon society.

Because the police have no right to intervene in civil disputes, some civil disputes must be resolved by private detectives.For example, the order he received before was to help a married woman collect evidence of her husband's extramarital affairs.

If evidence of her husband having sex with other women can be filmed, the woman can obtain a more favorable result in the division of property in the divorce proceedings in the court.

However, this business was not easy to do, because he hadn't gotten the photo for a long time, so he was preempted by other detective agencies.So when he learned of the new commission, he started the follow-up investigation non-stop.

It's a pity that the subject of the investigation this time, namely Hiroto Akihara, is not good at anything.

The middle-aged man sitting opposite was holding a photo, looking at the picture and lost in thought. If Hiroto Akihara was around, he would be Takei Kohei, the deputy editor-in-chief of "Tokyo Literature".

Takei Kohei frowned. He picked up the photo, looked at it and thought about it, his face became more and more gloomy.

Since the last time he broke up at Akihara's house, he has been thinking about how to deal with Akihara Yuto, or in other words, how to make the other party "submit".