Chapter 118: Chapter 120: No Need to Mind

Wednesday, Chiyoda Ward, Akiwara Yuto’s home.

While eating breakfast, Akiwara Yuto suddenly received a phone call from Angutsu Goichi.

The other party informed him over the phone that connections had been made, and that they would contact a book reviewer from a local publication next week to arrange a visit; barring any accidents, there should be news soon.

Upon hearing this news, Akiwara Yuto felt invigorated.

As long as there is exposure, *The Devotion of Suspect X* will inevitably enter the readers' line of sight as soon as possible and begin brewing for a second and third printing; once it reaches that stage, it will certainly sell an astonishing number of copies.

Instead of being like now, where he can only stiflingly plot development step by step, not even necessarily selling 100,000 copies in a year.

But then again, if he could have one or two respectable award titles in his hands to put on the book band copy, perhaps it would sell even better.

Akiwara Yuto had just put down the receiver to ponder the issue when the phone rang again.

He picked up the receiver and said, "Hello, this is Akiwara Yuto."

A female voice came from the other end, "Akiwara, it’s Asano. Are you free tonight? There is something very important I would like to talk to you about."

Akiwara Yuto was somewhat surprised; ever since the Mantansha Literary Award ended, he had not been able to contact her, and even the letters he sent had ended up like stones sinking into the ocean...

Akiwara Yuto paused for a moment, then quickly reacted, "Asano, I am free tonight. Has something happened?"

From Asano Aiko’s tone, he could hear a sense of urgency, which made him feel a bit concerned.

In Akiwara Yuto’s impression, Asano Aiko was a woman who was always calm and gentle in everything she did.

"I will come by to visit around 6:30 tonight," Asano Aiko said earnestly, "Something has come up here at Mantansha that concerns you."

"Concerns me?" Akiwara Yuto could not help but knit his brows.

He had already left Mantansha to develop his career; what could possibly still have a connection to him?

Besides, they aren't even the same publishing house; what could the other party possibly do to him?

He was just about to ask a few more questions when he heard Asano Aiko say "See you tonight," followed by the sound of the phone being hung up.

Akiwara Yuto shook his head and put down the receiver.

He walked upstairs, sat cross-legged on the tatami, and began to think.

What on earth could it be?

While Akiwara Yuto was thinking with a furrowed brow, Satake Maki was wearing an apron, humming a little tune, and leisurely making a bento in the kitchen.

She packed the finished rice into the bento box, then added tomatoes and greens. Then, in the adjacent compartment of the bento box, she placed sliced small sausages and a serving of char siu.

Although Akiwara-sensei hoped that the bento would have more meat, she still believed that an excellent bento should fully maintain a balance between meat and vegetables.

At this moment, Mrs. Satake walked over and asked curiously, "Oh my, oh my, no work today? By the way, who is this bento for, Maki-chan?"

After finishing this sentence, she winked at her daughter.

Satake Maki looked quite calmly at her mother, who was teasing her, and replied, "Mom, this is work arranged by the president."

She was not lying; according to Angutsu Goichi’s arrangements, she was responsible for taking good care of Akiwara Yuto’s daily life and handling liaison matters.

So, after learning that Akiwara Yuto often ate cup noodles at night, she had made up her mind to try her best to use her spare time to take good care of his diet.

Hearing this explanation, Mrs. Satake was instead full of suspicion; since when did making a bento become work?

Satake Maki looked at the egg gradually taking shape in the frying pan and revealed a satisfied smile.

Very good, when it hits 7:00 tonight, she would ride her scooter to Akiwara-sensei’s house and deliver the bento.

She hoped to see the look of surprise on his face!

The sky gradually darkened, and soon it was 6:30 in the evening.

Akiwara Yuto was sitting on the tatami, organizing the clothes he needed to prepare for another book signing the day after tomorrow.

Immediately after, he heard the "ding-a-ling" sound of the doorbell.

Akiwara Yuto stood up, walked along the stairs to the entryway downstairs, and opened the door.

Standing at the door was none other than Asano Aiko, whom he hadn't seen in the past few months.

Asano Aiko was wearing professional attire; upon seeing Akiwara Yuto, her mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.

Akiwara Yuto quickly understood her awkward feelings; after all, the two of them hadn't been in contact for so long, so it was normal to feel awkward and estranged.

Thinking of this, Akiwara Yuto smiled and said in a gentle voice, "Long time no see, Asano. Come in first."

He then gestured with his hand, welcoming her into the room.

Asano Aiko nodded, took off her shoes in the entryway, and then followed Akiwara Yuto to the living room upstairs.

She looked around and found that nothing had changed, sighing inwardly to herself.

During the time she served as Akiwara Yuto’s editor-in-charge, she would come once or twice almost every week, sometimes to pick up manuscripts, sometimes to help tidy up, and sometimes purely to chat...

But after that incident occurred, she had never come again.

As a member of Mantansha, she had always felt guilty, believing she had let Akiwara Yuto down.

But she didn't expect that today...

Forget it; after all, there were some things she believed Akiwara Yuto had to know.

Akiwara Yuto signaled for Asano Aiko to sit down, then went to the kitchen to pour two cups of tea, placing them on the coffee table in the living room, "Asano, you said you had something very important to tell me. May I ask what it is?"

Asano Aiko snapped out of her daze and replied, "Akiwara, I heard a rumor like this today..."

After finishing this sentence, she told him the events of the day in full detail.

As she described it, Akiwara Yuto’s brows began to furrow as he pondered, falling into deep thought.

The intention of this rumor was undoubtedly to splash dirty water on him, but who had the most motive? Takei Kohei? Kihara Daigo?

Besides those two, there surely couldn't be anyone else. As expected, he must definitely take revenge when he has the chance!

But then again, the effect of this rumor must be limited, right...

Thinking of this, Akiwara Yuto relaxed and instead comforted Asano Aiko, who was still worried on the side, "Asano, I have already decided not to cooperate with *New Novel* anymore, so it won't have much of an impact on me."

Asano Aiko was still a bit worried, "Akiwara, if you go to other large publishing houses in the future, the other party might also formulate even harsher contracts because of this rumor."

Akiwara Yuto waved his hand; his current cooperation with Angutsu Bookstore was going very happily, and he had no reason to jump to other large publishing houses for the time being.

Moreover, the longer the time passed, the more his works sold, and the greater his fame would become. By then, even if other large publishing houses wanted to invite him, they would likely have to pay a high price, so there was no need to worry so much.

Akiwara Yuto looked up at the alarm clock and found that it was almost 7:00, so he took the initiative to suggest, "Asano, have you eaten tonight? If not, would you like to go with me to a family restaurant nearby? Their pork cutlet rice tastes pretty good."

Asano Aiko hesitated, but she still agreed; she still wanted to try to persuade Akiwara Yuto.

Just as the two of them stood up to go downstairs, the doorbell rang again.

Akiwara Yuto was a bit puzzled; who would be visiting at this time?