Chapter 141: Thank You for the

After a simple warm-up by the host, a middle-aged man wearing a traditional men's kimono walked to the front of the stage, held the microphone, and said, "I am Kawai Shinta, Vice President of the Zuojiaxie Society, and I am in charge of this Zuojiaxie Society Award and Newcomer Award ceremony."

Akiwara Yuto, sitting in the audience, felt a bit confused; after all, for this kind of award ceremony, isn't it usually the president who presides? Why is the vice president hosting?

Also, the surname Kawai reminded him of that message he had just been relayed... not to worry too much...

Murata Kyoka, sitting to his side, seemed to have noticed his confusion and lowered her voice to say, "It is said that because the current president is unwell, this Vice President Kawai will soon be taking over as the next president."

Hearing this, Akiwara Yuto suddenly realized; if that were the case, then everything made perfect sense.

Just as the two were whispering, Kawai Shinta, holding the microphone, continued his speech: "... s an organization with over 80 years of history... we are very grateful for the contributions every writer has made to the society... therefore, we have specially established..."

After speaking for nearly an hour, Kawai Shinta finally finished the official pleasantries and brought up the content that interested Akiwara Yuto the most: "Next, we will present this year's Zuojiaxie Society Award and Mystery Literature Newcomer Award."

After finishing this sentence, he did not step down immediately but paused slightly, and another man in a suit hurried onto the stage and handed him a list.

At this moment, many reporters with long lenses and short cameras rushed to the front of the stage and began to crouch down to take photos and film.

Akiwara Yuto sat up straight, looking ahead, though he couldn't help but feel nervous inside. The two other candidates beside him, Murata Kyoka and another gloomy-looking man, also showed anxious expressions.

Three minutes later, Kawai Shinta, standing on the stage, held the list and announced the results into the microphone: "The winners of this year's Zuojiaxie Society Award and Mystery Literature Newcomer Award are Sudo Shuichi and Akiwara Yuto, respectively."

Hearing this result, Akiwara Yuto finally felt at ease, and he clenched his fists tightly. The two people beside him, however, could not help but show expressions of disappointment.

Immediately after, some guests in the auditorium began to applaud, and after a while, the applause grew louder and louder.

Listening to the applause, Kihara Daigo and Takei Kohei, sitting in the partner's section, were momentarily in disbelief, especially Takei Kohei, whose facial expression suddenly became exceptionally rich.

Confusion, suspicion, surprise, distress—all kinds of emotions could be found on his face.

Why did Akiwara Yuto, a writer who had clearly been blacklisted by his own efforts, win this award?

One must know that the difficulty of winning the Newcomer Award is actually even greater than the Zuojiaxie Society Award!

Although the Zuojiaxie Society Award sounds more prestigious, its selection scope is narrower and it has extremely strict regulations, requiring writers to have debuted for over 15 years and never have won the same award before.

Although the Mystery Literature Newcomer Award carries the name "Newcomer Award," its selection scope covers all writers who have debuted for less than 15 years, and even those who have not yet debuted can submit entries. Because the threshold is low, the number of entries received is countless.

Due to such strict regulations, almost all contracted writers from the four major publishing houses were wiped out, and not a single one was shortlisted.

Looking at Akiwara Yuto, the fact that he could be shortlisted and win under these circumstances was simply unbelievable; was he a monster?

Takei Kohei bit his lip tightly, and he quickly realized a fact.

Akiwara Yuto, after winning the Mystery Literature Newcomer Award, would inevitably become a candidate heavily promoted by the Zuojiaxie Society.

This also meant that his previous blacklisting of the other party had to end as soon as possible.

Otherwise, it was very likely that he would face dissatisfaction from the Zuojiaxie Society.

Takei Kohei frowned and made a decision.

After returning tomorrow morning, he must immediately communicate with the Public Relations Bureau and demand that everyone deny having ever blacklisted Akiwara Yuto...

Akiwara Yuto did not know about Takei Kohei's intentions; his current mood was filled with joy.

He stood up, smiled and signaled to the two people beside him, and then, together with the writer named Sudo Shuichi, was led to the stage by a woman in a kimono in charge of protocol.

During this process, Akiwara Yuto subconsciously sized up this Mr. Sudo and found that he was about 40 years old, thin, with a serious expression, and looked like someone who did not joke around.

Akiwara Yuto had some other thoughts at this moment.

When he first debuted, he was labeled by some as the "second Sudo Shuichi," and it took a long time to shake off that title. As it turned out, now that he and the other party had won the Zuojiaxie Society Award and the Newcomer Award respectively, he would likely be rumored to be the "second" again.

It was truly a bit of a headache.

The two followed the woman in the kimono to the center of the stage. Immediately after, President Kawai took two certificates symbolizing honor from the hands of the woman in the kimono.

Under the lights and the gaze of hundreds of people in the audience, he handed these two certificates to Sudo Shuichi and Akiwara Yuto one after the other.

But whether it was an illusion or not, Akiwara Yuto always felt that the way President Kawai looked at him had an inexplicable meaning.

After the presentation, applause erupted again in the audience, and reporters held their long lenses and short cameras, continuously pressing their shutters.

After waiting for a full 3 minutes, the applause slowly became sparse.

President Kawai looked around the audience and said, "Next, I invite the two winners to share a few words."

After saying this, he handed the microphone to Sudo Shuichi, who nodded in thanks, took the microphone, and began to speak.

"I would like to thank the judges of the Neon Zuojiaxie Society, the guests present, and all my friends. Being able to win the Zuojiaxie Society Award today is a great encouragement to me..."

"The essence of literature is to find the possibility of exploring one's own development on the foundation of the previous generation. In this process, I finally understood what I wanted to write and what I wanted to do..."

"Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the Zuojiaxie Society once again."

After finishing these words, applause erupted again in the audience. Amidst the flashing lights of reporters constantly pressing their shutters, Sudo Shuichi took two steps back and bowed deeply.

Then, he handed the microphone in his hand to Akiwara Yuto and squeezed a smile onto his stern face.

Akiwara Yuto nodded in thanks, then took the microphone and began to deliver his own speech.

"I would like to thank the Neon Zuojiaxie Society and all the guests for their encouragement. I am very honored to be standing in this position today."

Speaking of this, a series of events that happened today suddenly flashed through his mind.

The letter received at the door of his home, the words relayed by Tian Sang in the auditorium, the inexplicable look from President Kawai at the end, and his own final deduction.

He paused for 2 seconds, and then, under the confused gazes of the people in the audience, he continued:

"Besides that, I would also like to deeply thank the Mantan Society for their 'support'!"