[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-literary-master-of-tokyo":3,"chapter-literary-master-of-tokyo-literary-master-of-tokyo-chapter-131":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Literary Master of Tokyo",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2354980,4607,"Chapter 131: The True Reliance","literary-master-of-tokyo-chapter-131",131,"\u003Cp>Wednesday, 7:00 PM, GK District, Tokyo, Chacez Western Restaurant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto and Akutsu Goichi arrived early at the restaurant and reserved a four-person booth near the corner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After waiting for more than 10 minutes, they met the book critic they had invited, Kawada Keiji.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon seeing him, Akiwara Yuto did not wait for Akutsu Goichi to introduce him, but bowed and introduced himself: \"Nice to meet you, Mr. Kawada. I am Akiwara Yuto, the author of *The Devotion of Suspect X*. I look forward to your guidance.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After saying this, he straightened up and handed over his business card.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kawada Keiji nodded, took the card, politely introduced himself in return, and handed over his own business card.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that the social pleasantries were over, Akutsu Goichi called over a waitress and ordered Western-style dishes such as steak and red wine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the waiter served the red wine, Kawada Keiji coughed and asked a question: \"President Akutsu, Mr. Akiwara, is there a problem that you called me here today?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto did not answer immediately, but smiled and replied: \"No, the purpose of inviting you today is mainly to thank you for publishing that book review for *The Devotion of Suspect X*.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Kawada Keiji shook his head instead: \"Mr. Akiwara, this has nothing to do with me. If President Akutsu hadn't specifically visited me, I probably wouldn't have known about this book.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akutsu Goichi sat to the side, laughed loudly, \"Not at all, not at all,\" and then politely poured wine for the other two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kawada Keiji picked up his glass, took a sip, and then said: \"Besides that, the most important thing is that the quality of *The Devotion of Suspect X* earned my approval. Otherwise, I wouldn't have written a review for this book, and I might have even written a negative one.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto smiled awkwardly upon hearing this explanation; if he were really to be written a negative review, he would have the heart to stab the other person to death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, if that were the case, the book's reputation and sales would be severely affected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, a waiter in a uniform served the three men their respective dinners, and the three picked up their knives and forks, conversing while they ate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mr. Kawada, actually, besides thanking you, I have a small question.\" Akiwara Yuto cut his steak and replied in a casual tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Please ask, but I cannot guarantee whether I will answer.\" Kawada Keiji replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto nodded, then put down his knife and fork, and asked: \"Regarding the review you published for *The Devotion of Suspect X*, why did you choose to publish it in *Mystery Literature* rather than the *Chiba Daily News*?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is that it?\" Kawada Keiji was a little surprised; he had thought Akiwara Yuto already knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Akiwara Yuto's puzzled expression, he thought for a moment, put down his own knife and fork, and answered the question in a serious tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mr. Akiwara, President Akutsu, Mantansha has already lobbied all media in Tokyo and the surrounding areas, demanding a cold-treatment policy toward your work. In other words, you have been blacklisted by them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused and added: \"So, in order to publish this review, I could only choose a professional publication that is not a media enterprise.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both Akiwara Yuto and Akutsu Goichi were stunned; they had not expected to receive this answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a giant publisher among the top four in the industry to suddenly blacklist a writer who had debuted less than half a year ago was simply unbelievable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the comparison between the two, while not as exaggerated as a giant elephant versus an ant, was not far off from another perspective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akutsu Goichi gasped, subconsciously glanced at Akiwara Yuto, and began to wonder if collaborating with him was the right decision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although he had earned a lot of money now, if he were to offend a giant, it seemed a bit not worth the loss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other side, Akiwara Yuto frowned and began to think.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who would target him like this? Kihara Daigo? Takei Kohei?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed that apart from these two, no one else had a motive, but if they did this, what was their intention?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kawada Keiji cut a piece of beef, fed it into his mouth, and after chewing and swallowing, he picked up the napkin on the table to wipe the corners of his mouth and continued: \"Mr. Akiwara, actually, you don't have to worry too much.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto was pondering and didn't expect the other party to say this, so he asked back: \"Do you have any brilliant insights?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kawada Keiji replied: \"This kind of publisher blacklist is often only effective against authors without much talent. After all, if the work isn't very good to begin with, once it loses its promotional channels, it won't sell at all.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He picked up his red wine and took a sip: \"But I have read your *The Devotion of Suspect X*. To be honest, even without the recommendation of a book review, sooner or later it would rely on readers' word-of-mouth to be continuously promoted.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So, Mr. Akiwara, you don't have to underestimate yourself. Trust your readers; they are the reliance you truly have to contend with Mantansha.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto was worried, but didn't expect to be comforted instead. He thought about it and found that this was indeed the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as the reputation of *The Devotion of Suspect X* slowly spreads, the book will still sell well, and his other works can also use the readers accumulated through this to start gaining further sales in the market.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides that, the many works in his mind could completely become his reliance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As time goes on, the more his works sell and the greater his fame becomes, the less he needs to worry about Mantansha's so-called blacklist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ultimately, time is still on his side!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, Akiwara Yuto felt reassured and was not as worried as he was at the beginning, but he thought of other aspects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, if he only accepts it passively, the time he needs to endure is still a bit long, and it might even affect his plans for publishing other books.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, he still needs to think of other ways to see if he can break this so-called blacklist!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kawada Keiji held his wine glass, watched the expression on Akiwara Yuto's face relax, and also showed a satisfied smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, if the person who invited him this time had been the author of another work, he probably wouldn't have even come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, as a book critic, or rather a literary critic, one must actually maintain a certain distance from the authors of the books they evaluate. Only in this way can the reviews they write often be fair and impartial.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after receiving Akiwara Yuto's invitation, he couldn't help but accept it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, he was really curious: what kind of person is the author who could write a work like *The Devotion of Suspect X*?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto knew he had obtained the information he wanted to know, so he stood up again and bowed to express his gratitude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, without the book critic in front of him, he didn't know how many detours he would have had to take, and he would probably still be foolishly wondering why there were no other book reviews.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the remaining specific details, he would probably have to ask Asano Aiko, who was helping him scout for information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What Akiwara Yuto didn't notice was that when he expressed his gratitude to Kawada Keiji, Akutsu Goichi, who was standing to the side, showed a strange expression...\u003C\u002Fp>",1285,"2026-06-21T03:58:01.347Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","ee2276013784a9cc6e81a2dc95226950eb0cd3d37f1911b741be40c710bdc881","literary-master-of-tokyo-chapter-132","literary-master-of-tokyo-chapter-130",334,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fliterary-master-of-tokyo-cover.jpg"]