Chapter 101: New Book on Shelves

October 7th, Wednesday (Friday), Yamazaki Bookstore.

Sugihara Aisa arrived at her workplace as usual, preparing to start her day's work.

As a bookstore employee, she was specifically responsible for the placement and adjustment of literary books and had to adjust to market trends every day, inserting suitable or unsuitable books into bookshelves or placing them on exhibition stands.

Just then, footsteps came, and she looked up to find it was the bookstore manager, who was walking over holding a stack of books.

"Sugihara, this batch is newly arrived books, I'll trouble you." After finishing this sentence, the manager handed the books to Sugihara Aisa, and the latter quickly took them.

Sugihara Aisa took the books, placed them on the floor of the bookshelf next to her, and scanned them, "Manager, this batch of books has more than 30 copies, won't it be a bit too much? Should we temporarily put fewer?"

Generally speaking, only 10-plus books are needed to be displayed to customers at the same time. 30-plus books would look a bit bloated and would take up quite a bit of space.

Hearing her proposal, the manager said: "There's no way around it. Because President Yamazaki attended the trial reading session of the cooperative publisher, this batch of books ordered 500 copies, so the quantity is a bit large."

Hearing this, Sugihara Aisa felt surprised first. After all, generally speaking, besides a small number of popular books and journals, bookstores rarely order so many goods.

Although they can be returned to the publisher if they don't sell, regardless, it still occupies funds and warehouse space.

The manager shrugged and continued in a joking tone: "So I need to trouble you, Sugihara, to adjust the position well and let customers see and buy them as soon as possible."

Sugihara Aisa nodded and responded: "I understand."

Currently, if she wants to digest this batch of books quickly, she can only take out 3 positions on the exhibition stand and put 9 copies. As for the other 21 copies, just put them together on the bookshelf. Although it's not a very good position on the bookshelf, as long as the quantity of the same book is enough, it can also attract readers' attention.

"Then I'll trouble you, I'll go busy with other things first." The manager waved his hand, instructed, and turned to leave.

Sugihara Aisa responded with "I understand" and lowered her head to start thinking. The space on the exhibition stand is also not enough, so she has to think carefully about which book's position to vacate.

Just then, her eyes caught the *New Novel* in the upper right corner of the exhibition stand.

Should she take away *New Novel*? Recently, because teacher Akiwara hasn't serialized, the sales of this journal haven't been selling as well as before, and it feels like it's going downhill again.

Then again, when will teacher Akiwara start a new serialization?

She sighed in her heart, then pulled one out from the stack of books the manager entrusted to her and took a look. But it was this one look that made her feel deeply surprised.

On the black cover, a big title "The Devotion of Suspect X" was written, and below this title was a line of slightly smaller words "Written by Akiwara Yuto."

She looked carefully for several glances, found that she hadn't misread it, then turned the book to the back and found the publisher information, which read "Anjiu Bookstore."

Eh, how strange?!

Didn't the official news written on the *New Novel* insert say that teacher Akiwara would have subsequent serialized content published? Why would teacher Akiwara skip the serialization and directly release a new standalone volume?

And even if it's a standalone volume, it should be Mantanshe, right? How did it become this "Anjiu Bookstore" whose name she hadn't heard of?

Although confused, she quickly made a decision and took action.

She moved *New Novel* away from the exhibition stand, replaced it with *The Devotion of Suspect X*, and placed the remaining *The Devotion of Suspect X* on the middle and upper layers of the bookshelf, arranged in a whole row.

As for *New Novel*, it was arranged to the middle and lower part of the bookshelf.

In this way, passing customers can see it at the first time!

Sugihara Aisa looked at the results after placement and nodded with satisfaction. She picked up a book and prepared to "sneak a break."

Let me, this literary area manager, see what content teacher Akiwara's new work is actually written about!

While Sugihara Aisa was reading, Shangshan Yuanzi from Yokohama National University, together with her good friend Qianjian Youji, walked into a bookstore with a "Fujilong" sign near the school.

The two soon came to the literary book and journal area of the bookstore, looking for literary books suitable for reading recently.

After looking around, she found it was still the same ones as before, which made her a bit helpless, and she couldn't help but sigh.

"Yuanzi, should we buy a *New Novel*?" Qianjian Youji picked up a *New Novel* and asked her good friend.

Shangshan Yuanzi responded: "Does teacher Akiwara have any new serialized works?"

Hearing Shangshan's question, Qianjian Youji flipped through the table of contents and scanned it, replying: "It seems there still isn't..."

Hearing this answer, Shangshan Yuanzi wasn't surprised, but the expression on her face became even more resentful.

Teacher Akiwara, if you don't publish a new work again, believe it or not, I will go to Tokyo to have a good talk with you.

By the way, should we organize it online and let everyone write letters to the publisher together to urge him to write early?

But will anyone send blades?

Just as she was letting her imagination run wild, a bookstore clerk brother wearing a bookstore uniform walked to the side of the bookshelf, pasted a poster on the wall with glue, and then left.

After he left, Qianjian Youji walked two steps closer, looked carefully at the content on the poster, and read it out: "*The Devotion of Suspect X*? What a strange name?"

Hearing this name, Shangshan Yuanzi was also a bit curious, so she walked up and looked at it carefully.

On the poster was a sketch of a man using his body to block the rain for two other women, but on the man's feet, a pair of shackles were worn.

She scanned it and looked at the copy on the poster, only to see the big title *The Devotion of Suspect X* written on it, and in the lower right corner of this big title, another line of small words "New work by Akiwara Yuto" was written.

"Akiwara Yuto?!" Shangshan Yuanzi couldn't help but say in a low voice, but she was still a bit confused, could it be the same name and surname?

But she thought about it again and felt it shouldn't be. After all, Akiwara is not a big surname, not to mention the words "new work," which means it's a writer who has already had works.

So no matter how you look at it, it's the teacher Akiwara Yuto she has been thinking about day and night.

Thinking of this, she suddenly became excited, immediately ran to the front of the clerk brother who had just posted it, and asked: "May I ask if the book on the poster is already on sale? Where is it located?"

The clerk brother was a bit stunned; he didn't expect that he had just posted the poster and someone immediately came to ask about this book.

According to the work arrangement, this batch of books would be arranged to be taken off the shelves in the afternoon, and they were still in the bookstore warehouse now.

But looking at Shangshan Yuanzi's serious expression, the clerk thought for a while and decided to satisfy the customer's needs, said "Wait a moment," and walked to the bookstore warehouse next to the staff room.

After 10 minutes, Shangshan Yuanzi got the book she had been thinking about, and a bright smile appeared on her face, which made the clerk on the side stare for a few seconds.

Shangshan Yuanzi held the book in her arms and was happy for a while.

But soon, she had new worries.

If she reads it too fast, won't she be short of books again immediately?

Forget it, let's go back and read it carefully today!

I hope this book can bring me new surprises! ===== CHAPTER 102 =====