Chapter 102: Sheer Exhilaration

After paying at the front desk, Uesugi Sonoko left the Yamazaki Bookstore with the book in her hand.

On the way, she said goodbye to her companions and walked quickly all the way back to her home.

She opened the door with her key, changed her shoes, and walked quickly to the living room. She sat on the sofa and, without even changing her clothes, took the book out of the packaging bag.

How should she put it? Although it was a bit of an exaggeration, her current mood was filled with excitement.

As a member of the Literature Department at Yokohama National University, her academic requirements included the interpretation of literary works.

But in fact, she had already read most of the literary works currently on the market.

Moreover, these works were often written by the same small group of people in the literary world; she couldn't say she knew their styles and writing techniques like the back of her hand, but she was quite familiar with them.

Therefore, she had always hoped to see some different works.

Just then, the Mantan Agency's magazine, *New Novel*, published Akiwara Yuto's *ZOO* series, which made her realize that novels could be written like that!

The author's work combined elements of human nature, suspense, and mystery, carving out a unique path!

During the nearly two months that Akiwara Yuto stopped serializing, she had been constantly thinking about his new work. She even specifically checked the table of contents of the new issue of *New Novel* every time she went to the bookstore, but the results were very disappointing.

However, now, finally...

Thinking of this, a bright smile appeared on Uesugi Sonoko's face. She tore off the protective film wrapping the book, then held it up and began to read it carefully.

On the obi strip wrapping the black-covered book, a line was written: "Sometimes, just by living, a person is enough to save someone else."

Living? Saving?

Uesugi Sonoko lowered her head, pondered the two phrases, and her interest grew even stronger.

She put the book down, opened it to the first page, and began to read—she wanted to savor every sentence.

It began. The opening of the work told of a math teacher preparing to commit suicide. Was he the protagonist? But why did he want to commit suicide?

A pair of mother and daughter named Hanaoka came to deliver a gift, and then this protagonist named Ishigami gave up on suicide and made them his spiritual sustenance?

Writing it this way, wouldn't it be a bit too hasty?

The first conflict occurred quickly: the Hanaoka mother and daughter killed the ex-husband due to a conflict, and Ishigami took the initiative to help them. Immediately after, the police found the corpse and confirmed through hotel records that it was the ex-husband.

This plot immediately grabbed Uesugi Sonoko's heart, making her cast aside her original doubts and become involuntarily nervous.

Next, the police investigation determined the time of the victim's death, but when questioning the mother and daughter, they found they had an alibi.

What method did Ishigami use? How did he do it?

Huh? Ishigami threatened Hanaoka Yasuko when he saw her dating another man. What the hell? How could he do such a thing? Wasn't that the same as her ex-husband!

Akiwara-sensei, what kind of protagonist are you trying to write?

Carrying her trust in Akiwara-sensei, Uesugi Sonoko suppressed her impatience and continued reading. But as she read, she found herself moved step by step by the rhythm of the plot.

Time passed bit by bit. Soon, five hours had gone by, and Uesugi Sonoko had turned the book to the last page.

With Hanaoka Yasuko's confession, the scene froze on the moment Ishigami knelt on the ground, wanting to vomit his soul out.

Only then did Uesugi Sonoko come back to her senses and fall into deep thought.

She had originally worried whether this new work would fail to reach the level of *ZOO*, but looking at it now, the structure of the entire plot and the depth of human nature were already a cut above.

The maturity of the writing, the ingenuity of the plot, and the interpretation of human nature all expressed the extraordinary nature of this work. To be honest, this *The Devotion of Suspect X* was enough to occupy a place in the current mystery novel world.

Even if it won the Uemura Prize, it wouldn't be that surprising, right?!

Uesugi Sonoko secretly admired it in her heart. She closed her eyes and thought about other aspects.

But it was still a bit strange. Judging from the previous book, Akiwara-sensei's writing style and the like were still a bit immature, but looking at this book, it had suddenly become much more skillful.

Besides that, judging from the style, there were still subtle differences between the two works.

However, the theme of the book was still focused on human nature, which was consistently maintained throughout.

Uesugi Sonoko thought for a while, her mood feeling increasingly excited. Although the story ended in tragedy, she had to admit that the ups and downs of the story gave her a feeling of sheer exhilaration!

It really was a surprise!

No, I have to go online and post to promote this book properly so that more fellow fans can see it!

7:00 PM, Mantan Agency Headquarters, *New Novel* Editorial Department.

As the new editor-in-chief, Matsushima Kazuhiro sat in front of his desk, staring blankly at the book in his hand. On this black-covered book, the words *The Devotion of Suspect X* were clearly written.

This afternoon, when the statistics department was conducting a bookstore survey, they accidentally discovered this book written by Akiwara Yuto. Immediately after, they contacted him and informed him of the situation.

Holding a skeptical attitude, Matsushima Kazuhiro immediately arranged for someone to go to a nearby bookstore to buy the book.

In fact, regarding Akiwara Yuto's recent claims that he had no inspiration and couldn't write, Matsushima Kazuhiro had speculated whether the other party was going to the other three major publishing houses. He didn't expect that the other party would actually find a small publishing house.

Looking at the four characters "Anjiu Bookstore" on the back of the book, Matsushima Kazuhiro gave a disdainful laugh, feeling that Akiwara Yuto was truly too young.

It was just a little grievance; couldn't he just endure it? And even if he wanted to change his allegiance, it should be to a large-scale platform. As for Anjiu Bookstore, what was that?

Matsushima Kazuhiro shook his head. He opened the book, intending to take a closer look at what this book was actually about...

In his view, this work might not necessarily be that excellent; after all, genius writers who had exhausted their talents were not uncommon in the RB literary world every year...

As for this Akiwara-sensei, it was hard to say if he was one of them.

With contempt, Matsushima Kazuhiro began to read.

From Ishigami's suicide to him being moved by the mother and daughter, from the ex-husband being killed to Ishigami taking the initiative to help, from the police investigation hitting a wall to Yukawa coming to verify, from Ishigami deciding to turn himself in to Hanaoka Yasuko also taking the initiative to confess...

Time passed bit by bit, the sky grew darker, and even the traffic on the road outside the window became much sparser.

When Matsushima Kazuhiro put the book down, the office clock already pointed to 1:00 AM.

Matsushima Kazuhiro put the book down, his eyes narrowing involuntarily. He was surprised to find that in the process of reading, he had been deeply moved by the plot, and the more he thought about it, the more interesting it became.

Since even a professional like himself felt this way, then perhaps ordinary readers would think so too?

No, if that were the case, the sales of this book might exceed his expectations.

If that happened, it might bring him quite a bit of trouble!

Matsushima Kazuhiro stood up, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. He couldn't help but clench his fists.

Damn it, Kihara Daigo and Takei Kohei, it's all your fault! If you hadn't manipulated the award selection, why would the other party not cooperate with *New Novel*?

No, Akiwara Yuto was still a contracted writer for *New Novel*, so all the responsibility still lay with him.

Looking at it this way, the better this book sold, the greater the blame and pressure he would receive.

It seemed he still had to go and have a good talk with Akiwara Yuto!