Chapter 160: The Request of

Dating Akiwara Yuto?

Hearing this question, Asano Aiko hesitated for a moment.

In Japanese society, unless one has a very close relationship, it is generally best to avoid prying into others' privacy.

That is why, upon hearing this question from Satake Maki, Asano Aiko was extremely surprised and remained speechless for a long time.

However, could it be that this Miss Satake also has feelings for Akiwara...

Asano Aiko turned her head to look at Satake Maki and noticed a very natural expression on her face.

She thought for a moment and asked, "Miss Satake, why do you ask this?"

"If I have infringed upon your privacy, I apologize," Satake Maki said, waving her hand before continuing.

"I was just curious. After all, you and Akiwara-senpai have been working together for so long, and you even eat dinner together at night."

Although Satake Maki said this, she knew that the reason for her question was not "curiosity" at all.

After all, the two of them were not very close; if she were to ask about personal privacy out of mere curiosity, it would undoubtedly be too rude.

But even knowing she was being "rude," she asked anyway.

Because she really wanted to know whether Akiwara and Asano were actually dating.

When they were on the phone, Akiwara and Asano addressed each other without even using honorific suffixes.

Furthermore, Asano Aiko had appeared at Akiwara Yuto's home and was even eating dinner with him tonight.

Everything that had happened made Satake Maki feel "uncomfortable," but she also understood that she was feeling deep "jealousy."

Driven by this jealousy, she could no longer care about whether she was being "rude."

However, although she had asked the question about "dating," she still used "curiosity" as an excuse to disguise her true motives.

Asano Aiko looked at Satake Maki carefully and found that she only had a smile on her face; she couldn't discern anything else.

It seems this is just another person asking out of gossip.

Asano Aiko was not surprised, because after her remarks in the television interview, Mantan Publishing had actively promoted the idea that she and Akiwara were a couple in the media.

Therefore, on the second day after arriving at the Angu Bookstore, that administrative staff member named Itakura Naka had secretly asked her about it in private.

Even President Angu had shown that kind of look.

Why is everyone at this publishing house so gossipy?

Asano Aiko felt a bit helpless for a moment.

"Miss Satake, you may have misunderstood. Akiwara-sensei and I have a purely professional relationship. He hired me to help with proofreading and subsequent publishing matters."

Asano Aiko paused and added, "Beyond that, we can only be called friends..."

She knew she liked Akiwara Yuto, but she felt there was no need to tell the people at Angu Bookstore about it.

"Is that so? That's a pity," Satake Maki said with a regretful expression after hearing the answer. "Satake-senpai is so beautiful; I thought Akiwara-sensei must have pursued you."

She spoke of regret, but inside, she was very happy.

Satake, you still have a chance; you cannot give up!

On the other side, Akiwara Yuto bid farewell to Chairman Kawai and the others, leaving the Mystery Writers Association.

Just moments ago, he had been informed of the procedure for joining the association—simply mail in a series of relevant documents and stamp them with his personal seal.

As for the remaining review work, the association would have Chairman Kawai arrange for it to be resolved.

Akiwara Yuto walked to the train station, boarded the train, and after a journey of about 40 minutes, returned to Chiyoda Ward and headed toward his home.

While watching the setting sun slanting down, he continued to ponder his questions.

What should his next piece be about?

Orthodox or social? Japanese or Western?

Akiwara Yuto thought for a moment and decided not to limit himself too much.

According to Chairman Kawai, he was considered a moderate in the Orthodox school, but this faction's view on mystery writing was based on the premise of storytelling.

Therefore, there was no need to put the cart before the horse and blindly pursue whether it was orthodox or social.

That said, what exactly would be appropriate for him to write?

While he was thinking, he realized he had arrived at his front door without noticing, but standing there was an acquaintance he hadn't seen in a long time—Awazu Hideki, an editor for "April Youth."

Upon seeing Akiwara Yuto, Awazu Hideki said with pleasant surprise, "Good evening, Akiwara-sensei."

"Is there something you need?" Akiwara Yuto asked with some confusion, but his tone was quite blunt.

In fact, he certainly had reasons to be blunt.

The first time he met Awazu Hideki, the man wanted to poach him from "New" to "April Youth."

The second time he met Awazu Hideki, the man tried to trick him into signing a long-term contract to work for "April Youth."

Therefore, Akiwara Yuto had no good feelings toward him.

Hearing Akiwara Yuto's blunt words, Awazu Hideki showed no impatience at all.

In his view, Akiwara Yuto was a "tough guy" who had withstood the blockade by Mantan Publishing and made them suffer a major loss.

So, upon seeing Akiwara Yuto, Awazu Hideki immediately bowed and stated his purpose in a very sincere tone, "Akiwara-sensei, I hope you can help 'April Youth'!"

Akiwara Yuto raised an eyebrow, momentarily confused.

He thought for a moment and felt it was still early before his dinner date with Asano Aiko, so he opened the courtyard gate and signaled for Awazu Hideki to come inside for a brief talk.

Awazu Hideki nodded, followed Akiwara Yuto inside, changed his shoes at the Xuanguan, went up to the second floor, and sat on the tatami behind the low table as arranged by Akiwara Yuto.

Akiwara Yuto poured two cups of tea, placed them on the table, and sat down cross-legged.

"Editor Awazu, you provided me with some information regarding Takei Kohei's actions against me previously, which counts as a favor. But if I recall, you also wanted me to sign a 7-year exclusive contract, right?"

Akiwara Yuto's words spoke of a favor on the surface, but in reality, they indicated that the value of this favor was limited.

After all, a 7-year exclusive contract was undoubtedly a very tyrannical clause!

Therefore, in his view, if this editor did not know his place and made any excessive requests, he would simply kick him out.

Awazu Hideki smiled awkwardly.

"Akiwara-sensei, I am hoping you could publish a serial in 'April Youth,' but I won't let you work for nothing. As for the manuscript fee, you can state your expectations first, and I will report them to my superiors."

Akiwara Yuto was puzzled by this and asked, "Is there a problem with 'April Youth'?"

Beyond that, he truly couldn't think of any reason why "April Youth" would come to him for a manuscript, given that the relationship between him and Awazu Hideki was quite awkward.

And if he were to write, the fee certainly couldn't be too low.

Awazu Hideki nodded and continued, "Looking at recent sales, the circulation of 'April Youth' is getting lower and lower. Weekly sales have fallen below 70, 00 copies. If this continues, we might fall out of the ranks of the five major literary journals."

He sighed, "In fact, the board of directors at Kejiaoguan is already very dissatisfied with our performance. Some executives have even proposed changing 'April Youth' from a weekly to a bi-weekly, or even changing the magazine's name."

Hearing this, Akiwara Yuto was surprised and couldn't help but show a look of pity.

If that were the case, then "April Youth" was truly miserable; whether it became a bi-weekly or changed its name, it was undoubtedly a great humiliation for a magazine.

At this point, this Editor Awazu must have quite a few troubles of his own; he might even be transferred to another department.

That said, why had the sales of "April Youth" dropped so much?

Akiwara Yuto was curious and posed his question to Awazu Hideki.

Awazu Hideki gave a bitter smile, "This matter actually has quite a bit to do with you, Akiwara Yuto-sensei."

Akiwara Yuto was even more confused.

What does this have to do with me?

But upon hearing what Awazu Hideki said, Akiwara Yuto couldn't help but be surprised...