Chapter 211: The Best Card

Akiwara Yuto noticed something was wrong, but he didn't show it, instead putting on a smile.

"May I ask if you are Mr. Onuki's mother?"

The woman nodded, then pushed the door open.

"Why don't you come in and talk in more detail? Masakazu is out and won't be back for a while."

Akiwara Yuto waved his hand, "No, actually, I came here to see you."

After saying this, he handed the gift he was holding to the woman, "To thank you for your support of Mr. Onuki, the editorial department specifically prepared a gift for you."

The woman smiled and said, "How could I accept this?" but her hands naturally took the gift.

Akiwara Yuto saw her accept it, then politely declined the invitation to come in for tea, said "Goodbye," and left.

He only wanted to get away as quickly as possible and then investigate slowly. But if he left without doing anything, it would seem even more suspicious.

He could only hope this woman wouldn't think too much of it and would just assume he was an ordinary editor from *Tokyo Youth*.

After leaving Onuki Masakazu's home, Akiwara Yuto walked about two blocks, found a phone booth, inserted a phone card, and called Ooshiro Rika.

After the call connected, he immediately reported the situation in full detail.

Upon learning the situation, Ooshiro Rika ordered him to stop other unimportant proofreading work and focus on investigating this matter.

In addition, she allocated an extra budget to him.

After receiving the funds, Akiwara Yuto immediately found a detective agency with experience in cooperation and asked them to investigate Onuki Masakazu thoroughly—including his family relationships, financial status, interpersonal connections, and his relationship with *Tokyo Youth*.

After receiving the commission, the detective agency arranged for a senior detective to conduct about two weeks of surveillance on Onuki Masakazu himself.

……

Setagaya Ward, Aoyama Detective Agency.

Akiwara Yuto and a plain-looking middle-aged man sat on a sofa, chatting about the results of this investigation.

"Mr. Akiwara, these are the series of photos I took."

After the middle-aged man finished speaking, he placed a stack of photos on the coffee table, and Akiwara Yuto lowered his head and began to look at them.

In these photos, a gaunt man with a gloomy expression was either playing pachinko or holding a woman while drinking.

Akiwara Yuto raised his eyebrows and asked, "Mr. Ando, please briefly tell me what you've found."

The middle-aged man nodded and began to speak.

"The subject's family relationships are relatively simple, but his upbringing was quite harsh. His father was an alcoholic who committed domestic violence, and his mother was gossipy and petty. Influenced by his parents, the subject also has a rather nasty temper and poor interpersonal relationships; he has no friends."

Akiwara Yuto nodded; based on the photos provided, it was clear that Onuki Masakazu was a gambler and a womanizer.

The middle-aged man continued, "Based on gossip among their neighbors, I also learned one thing."

"Please, go ahead."

"When Onuki Masakazu was shortlisted for the Mystery Literature Newcomer Award, his mother shouted all over the shopping street that her son would become a great writer, which caused some people's resentment. After he failed to win, his family became a laughingstock instead."

The middle-aged man took out a notebook and continued reading.

"But since he was shortlisted for the award, a publisher soon contacted him and published his work, though the final sales were disappointing. This led to a very poor financial situation for the Onuki family; they even lived on welfare for a period of time."

Akiwara Yuto frowned and asked, "Do his parents not work?"

"His father has an unstable job at an izakaya, and his mother doesn't have one. But the reason for their poor family situation is that Onuki Masakazu himself often spends money lavishly."

Akiwara Yuto sighed; this person had picked up so many bad habits before even becoming famous, so even if he won an award, he probably wouldn't go very far.

Just as he was lamenting, the middle-aged man added, "But in January, their family's financial situation suddenly improved."

He pointed to a photo on the coffee table of the subject drinking.

"According to my conversations with the owners of the shops in the shopping street, the alcohol he used to drink was cheap, inferior stuff, but in the middle of January, he suddenly started buying expensive foreign liquor and even high-end Wagyu beef."

Akiwara Yuto pressed, "What improved the finances? And what does it have to do with *Tokyo Youth*?"

The middle-aged man shook his head.

"I'm still investigating the specifics. But through surveillance, I discovered that a black, high-end business sedan often parks downstairs at their home on Monday nights. Then, a person wearing a mask walks into his home with an envelope and comes out with a thick document bag. So I suspect they are likely conducting transactions in cash."

Akiwara Yuto began to ponder, feeling more and more that something was wrong.

Generally speaking, when an editorial department settles royalties with a writer, it is usually done directly via bank transfer; after all, keeping large amounts of cash is very inconvenient.

Unless there was some special reason?

"Mr. Ando, please continue the investigation. It would be best if you could get a front-facing photo of that masked person. Besides that, it would be best to find out the specific contents of that document bag."

Hearing this request from Akiwara Yuto, the middle-aged man gave a wry smile, "Mr. Akiwara, your second request is a bit difficult."

"If you can get the information inside, the payment is negotiable," Akiwara Yuto said earnestly, meeting his gaze. "As a long-time client, you should know I don't lie."

The middle-aged man pondered for a while, gritted his teeth, and agreed.

At worst, he would just buy some wiretaps and micro-cameras; he didn't believe he couldn't handle it!

……

After leaving the detective agency, Akiwara Yuto immediately returned to the *April Youth* editorial department and reported all his findings to Ooshiro Rika.

After finishing, Akiwara Yuto said, "Editor-in-chief, there is indeed some kind of transaction between Onuki Masakazu and *Tokyo Youth*, but the content of their transaction is still unclear."

Ooshiro Rika took a close look at her capable subordinate, "Akiwara, you actually know it yourself, don't you? Between a writer and an editor, what else could there be besides writing?"

Akiwara Yuto hesitated for two seconds, then said, "I did consider that possibility, but I checked the issues of *Tokyo Youth* since January and didn't see any works signed by him."

Ooshiro Rika laughed, "What if it's inconvenient to use his name, or if it's signed under someone else's name?"

Akiwara Yuto muttered, "A ghostwriter? That's unlikely!"

He had indeed imagined this possibility, but subconsciously dismissed it immediately.

Because *Tokyo Youth* was, after all, the number one literary journal in the industry; it would surely value its reputation highly!

If this were exposed, it would surely cause great resentment among readers and the public!

From any angle, it would be a complete loss that outweighs the gain!

Ooshiro Rika countered, "What if *Tokyo Youth* had a work that they absolutely had to find a ghostwriter for?"

She paused and listed some of the previous conditions, "According to the detective's findings, the subject's financial situation improved in January. Akiwara, think carefully, what happened at *Tokyo Youth* during that time?"

Akiwara Yuto frowned and thought for a while, then said, "The screen adaptation of *Detective Kamimura*?"

Ooshiro Rika nodded and said, "Not only that, the style of *Detective Kamimura* changed at that time, so we even asked Mr. Akiwara to discuss it and asked him if he thought the other party was plagiarizing."

"But Mr. Akiwara thought they weren't plagiarizing, just drawing inspiration," Akiwara Yuto continued along her line of thought, then said, "Editor-in-chief, you mean..."

Ooshiro Rika leaned back in her chair and stated her speculation in a certain tone.

"I'll make a guess: because of some problems, the author of *Detective Kamimura*, Furuya Masaaki, wanted to give up the serialization. But *Tokyo Youth* was in the middle of negotiating a screen adaptation, so they found Onuki Masakazu to act as a ghostwriter to continue the serialization in his place."

She continued, "In this way, regarding the work *Detective Kamimura*, Furuya Masaaki can continue to receive royalties, *Tokyo Youth* can use the screen adaptation to drive sales, and Onuki Masakazu receives a payment that solves his financial predicament."

Akiwara Yuto nodded subconsciously; according to Ooshiro Rika's speculation, everything was very logical!

This also proved why *Tokyo Youth* and the other party had to use cash for their meetings—because it couldn't be seen in public!

And Ooshiro Rika laughed; she had been worrying about how to defeat *Tokyo Youth* to become the industry leader, but now it seemed this was no longer a problem!

After all, the other party had already delivered the best card to her!