Revive it!Wenhao Press

At the gate of Bailang Club, a man with an editorial certificate of "The Age of Literature" hanging around his neck was looking at the time on his mobile phone repeatedly, pacing anxiously.

"West Village."

The voice from the side suddenly made the man startled.He raised his head and saw Satoshi Noguchi coming out of the elevator: "Chief editor!"

"Nishimura, didn't you plan to meet Shimizu-sensei at three o'clock?" Noguchi Tomo walked up to the single Nishimura, his eyebrows frowned, "Why are you still walking around here?"

"...Mr. Shimizu should have arrived 10 minutes ago, but no one came." Nishimura said with some anxiety, "I was thinking about whether to call him, but I also considered that the writer might have some Special hobby, if you shouldn't be urged at this time..."

Halfway through speaking, Nishimura looked towards the door inadvertently, his eyes suddenly widened: "Ah, here we come!"

Qing Shuiming quickly ran up the steps leading to the gate of Bailang Society.He obviously rushed over in a hurry, the broken hair on his forehead was soaked with sweat, and he was still panting loudly when he ran in front of the two of them.

"Sorry, when I realized it was time to go out, it was getting late..."

Noguchi Satoshi glanced at him, didn't say anything, but walked away, ready to continue what he was going to do.And Nishimura patted Qing Shuiming on the back to help him calm down: "Did Teacher Qing Shui forget about the meeting today?"

"...I read the latest issue of "Monthly Literature"." Qing Shuiming said in a low voice.

"Ah?" Hearing this, Nishimura stopped patting Qing Shuiming's back involuntarily.

"You should have seen the content published in the latest issue of "Monthly Literature", right?" The panting finally calmed down a bit, Qing Shuiming looked at Nishimura and clenched his fists, "The content on it is even worse than mine. Much better..."

"That has nothing to do with Teacher Shimizu's next plan..." Nishimura persuaded, "The content of today's meeting is to discuss the next serialization..."

"I know. My serialization will start within three months, so the theme must be determined within this month..." Qing Shuiming gritted his teeth, "However, after reading the works on "Monthly Literature", my brain is a mess blank……"

"The only thing that echoed in my mind was what I said when I was presenting the rookie award..."

【I will surpass Dazai, Nakahara, and Akutagawa and break Koyama's record.The next top seller - will be mine! 】

"Thinking of what I said when my head was hot, I thought, ah...it can't be done."

Qing Shuiming raised his hand and covered his head: "All the plans that were originally planned will fail. Those words have already spread, right? If I write again, won't I immediately face myself..."

"This..." Nishimura's expression changed slightly, "Mr. Qingshui, don't you mean..."

Shimizu put down his hand.He looked down at the ground and sighed.

"I," he said, "maybe no longer able to..."

Before Qing Shuiming could finish his words, a big hand suddenly lifted from his back and pressed heavily on the top of his head.

His head sank due to the sudden force, and Qing Shuiming was startled.And Nishimura standing in front of him was also taken aback: "The editor-in-chief..."

I don't know when, Noguchi Satoshi who just walked away came back again.

Qing Shuiming wanted to turn back subconsciously, but the hand holding his head was like a pair of iron clamps, pressing his head firmly, forcing him to stand still, motionless.

"You will write."

Noguchi's voice came from behind him.Unlike when the Newcomer Award was presented, as the hand that once patted Qing Shuiming's shoulder pressed his head, the editor-in-chief's tone was the same as in the past, but it became terrifying to his ears , as if the beast had finally bared its fangs.

"It was agreed when the winner of the Newcomer Award was notified, right? If you accept the award, you must sign a serialization contract. At that time, Shimizu-kun also agreed, saying that he would definitely write a masterpiece."

"but I……"

Qing Shuiming still tried to struggle, but soon, he was stunned to find——Noguchi Satoshi's strength is so great!

"Mr. Shimizu, you are immersed in the fantasies of becoming a writer. I'm afraid you still don't understand it? A writer is not a profession where you can play your temper casually."

The hand on the head was getting stronger and stronger, and Qing Shuiming had to gradually lower his head under the pressure.

"This is no longer a game, but a career. If you don't want to write, you should say so before signing the contract. But after you miss the last chance, your personal feelings are no longer important."

Noguchi's fingers tightened slightly: "You should know how much the Bailang Club has paid for you, right? Mr. Qingshui, you are already standing on the edge of the cliff, and there is no way back. touch the other side."

"Look carefully." The hand on the head forced Qing Shuiming's head to one side, "Your face is still printed on the newcomer award posters that can be seen everywhere. If this handsome face fell to the point of being smashed so quickly , that would be a pity."

The photographer's skills are superb. Akira Qingshui's body on the Newcomer Award poster is slightly turned, looking at the camera, full of the unique temperament of literary youth, and looking at his confused and frightened face.

Akira Shimizu couldn't turn his head back, but he could imagine the expression on Tomo Noguchi's face at this moment, he must be like a tyrant.Maybe Nero's rebirth is nothing more than that.

"Don't play tricks on us, Shimizu-kun. It's like selling your soul to Satan. Write it with blood and tears. Who do you think lifted you up to heaven?"

Noguchi Tomomo whispered in his ear: "Tell me, are you still writing?"

That cold-blooded and terrifying tone made Qing Shuiming completely lose the idea of ​​resistance.His lips trembled, and he whispered: "Write..."

The pressure on the head is gone.Akira Shimizu turned around in panic, only to find that Noguchi Satoshi put down his hand on his head, and smiled at him as if nothing had happened.It was just that smile that made him feel chills.

"Mr. Shimizu said he was going to write," Noguchi Satoshi turned to Nishimura and said, "Why don't you hold a seminar soon?"

"……Yes."

Nishimura came back to his senses, and hurriedly brought the dumbfounded Qingshui Ming to the nearby cubicle and sat down: "Then, Mr. Qingshui, please tell me the project you want to write..."

"... Are you scared?"

Qing Shuiming raised his head with a dull expression: "Eh?"

"Actually... everyone in the editorial department was a little nervous when facing the editor-in-chief Noguchi." Nishimura said softly.It wasn't until this time that Qing Shuiming realized that there were traces of fingers soaked in sweat on the paper that Nishimura had touched.

"Editor-in-Chief Noguchi is the key person who made "Literary Times" the number one selling magazine, so he became the editor-in-chief." Nishimura raised his hand and took off the glasses on the bridge of his nose, and wiped the sweat on them with a tissue, "But His work style is like this, as long as you meet his requirements, he looks like a good talker. However, once you fail to meet his expectations of you, the editor-in-chief will become like that..."

"The resources that can be used will be used every drop, and the things that cannot be used will be ruthlessly thrown aside... This is the style of the editor-in-chief Noguchi. The only way to gain willful power in front of him is to become a great writer. , such as a coffee position like Mr. Xiaoshan, and then you can freely write as you like."

Nishimura explained, "Many people think that those who can be the editors of "Literary Times" are the lucky ones. But in fact, those of us are just people who can survive under the editor-in-chief."

Silence lasted for a moment.

Nishimura sighed, put his glasses back on, and looked at Akira Shimizu: "It's digressing. Anyway, Mr. Shimizu, let's continue discussing the next serialization."

"The serialization plan will start in three months, so the theme and outline must be roughly determined this month, and the beginning will be written next month."

"Even if the theme and outline have been set and the writing is started, the manuscript may be sent back, so allow time for error tolerance. And there is an unwritten rule for the writers who are serialized in our magazine, that is, to write well in advance. Three issues of archives..."

Qing Shuiming sat across from Xi Cun, listening to Xi Cun's voice constantly squeezed into his mind, a thought suddenly popped up in his mind.

He is obviously a newcomer who has attracted much attention, but he was unable to resist in front of Tomo Noguchi just now, like a dog.

If you become a dog, how can you become a writer?

***

A week later.

"Akira Shimizu, No. 1 of the Bailang Club Newcomer Award, is expected to start serialization in two months, but the short stories he created in the past will be published in the next issue of the magazine..."

Looking at the preview of Bailang Club on the mobile phone, Hualichun couldn't help being a little surprised: "Although in the actual selection, Qing Shuiming should have a lower evaluation than Xia Youjie, but he should be a powerful faction after being serialized so soon. .”

At this moment, Hualichun's cell phone rang suddenly.She glanced at the caller ID, answered the phone, and listened in silence for a while.

"That's it..." Hualichun said softly, "The sales of Bailang Club have increased by about 19% compared to the previous period... Thank you, I came here to ask about the sales, and I'm sorry to trouble you."

The voice of the proprietress of Sanxianya came from the other end of the phone: "You're welcome."

But soon, she hesitated and said: "I suddenly came to ask about the sales volume of "The Age of Literature and Art". Are you going to compete with Bailang Club again?"

"It's not that direct yet, but it must not be reconciled to not being able to take away the readers of "Monthly Literature." Hualichun thought for a while, and judged, "The newcomer award must not be their only means. Although I have only seen the editor-in-chief of "The Age of Literature and Art" on TV, but he is definitely not someone who would give up so easily."

"There's more to come."

Hualichun was still thinking about it, but the proprietress of Sanxianya suddenly said, "Actually, after you mentioned Noguchi, the editor-in-chief of "Literary Times", I remembered something."

"In fact, our bookstores often exchange information. It is easy for everyone to know which book is selling well and which bookstore is not selling. The bookstore staff often communicate with each other. So I know Well, when the editor-in-chief Noguchi was not promoted to the editor-in-chief, he would often visit the bookstore with the salesman in charge of several districts in central Tokyo."

"But later, the editor who visited the bookstore in that area was changed. After asking, I found out that Mr. Noguchi has been promoted to deputy editor-in-chief, and he will no longer regularly go to front-line bookstores with sales to do research work in the future. "

"That period of time..." the proprietress of Sanxianya said softly, "it happened to be ten years ago—that is, the period when Mr. Xiaoshan left Hoshino Club and turned to contribute to Bailang Club."