Chapter 219: A Slap

Just as Akiwara Yuto had thought, the number of people who believed in him was very small.

Driven by the faction of Wada Shin, more and more newspaper columns began to fan the flames—even the other three major publishing houses were secretly pushing for it, having their partner newspapers and magazines publish or reprint related news to varying degrees.

Besides this, Wada Shin even took the initiative to participate in several television interviews, where he spoke at length about a writer's cultivation and morality, arguing that a writer should not make wrong decisions out of jealousy for another's talent.

Although he did not mention a single word related to Akiwara Yuto throughout the interviews, almost no one watching the program was unaware that he was referring to Akiwara Yuto.

Not only that, but reporters also went to interview Onuki Masakazu, the author of *Death Duet*, reporting on his impoverished family background and his bitter struggle for his literary career.

Yet the Newcomer Award he had pinned his hopes on had been pushed by Akiwara Yuto to be awarded to another work.

This reporter claimed that because of this blow, Onuki Masakazu had nearly fallen into depression and had even contemplated suicide several times.

Although it sounded very much like a lie, the public bought it; after all, Onuki Masakazu was just an unpublished newcomer, far inferior to a famous writer like Akiwara Yuto, and was completely in a position of weakness.

The idea that Akiwara Yuto had suppressed him out of jealousy for his talent sounded perfectly plausible.

After all, even the veteran writer Wada Shin had said that Onuki Masakazu was very talented and was a writer who could completely replace Akiwara Yuto.

The public relations firm Akiwara Yuto contacted did their best, but the reports and content they arranged to be published were drowned out by the voices of doubt.

Although nearly 100 million yen had been spent on media promotion, it had little effect. After realizing the results were minimal, Akiwara Yuto had them shift the battlefield of public opinion to the internet.

Faced with the growing public opinion crisis, Asano Aiko suggested taking Wada Shin to court, but Akiwara Yuto stopped this move after some thought.

Taking it to court now would not have a high chance of success; after all, the other party had only used terms like "a certain young writer" throughout.

Perhaps, others might even be hoping he would do just that.

The issue of public relations and opinion is rarely as simple as who is right and who is wrong.

Akiwara Yuto suppressed the impatience in his heart, calmed down, and had people collect information from other aspects.

Being impatient now would not help; he was still young, and once he found a suitable opportunity, he would naturally retaliate one by one.

Whether it was "Wada Shin," who treated him like a soft persimmon, or that group of media people who kicked him while he was down!

……

Tokyo, *Tokyo Youth* editorial department, conference room.

"Due to the recent public opinion impact surrounding Akiwara Yuto, the viewership ratings for the *Furuhata Ninzaburo* series have dropped significantly, widening the gap with *Detective Kamimura*."

The person speaking was Ikemoto Ryosuke, the editor-in-chief of *Tokyo Youth*, and he was currently attending the editorial department's weekly regular meeting.

"Originally, *April Youth* could have become a major threat to us, but looking at it now, the other party's sales last week not only didn't increase, but actually dropped by about 10%."

He looked around at everyone and said in a relaxed tone.

Upon hearing this news, everyone in the room could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

After all, although the viewership ratings for *Furuhata Ninzaburo* were still not as high as *Detective Kamimura*, more and more drama critics were expressing optimism about the show. This had caused the viewership gap between the two works to keep shrinking.

Under such factors, the sales of *April Youth* had also been rising steadily.

If this momentum continued, in a few months, *April Youth* might have surpassed *Tokyo Youth* to become the number one magazine in the industry.

But fortunately, this incident happened, so it seemed there was no need to worry too much.

After Ikemoto Ryosuke finished speaking on this content and gave instructions for other tasks, he announced the end of the meeting.

But just as everyone was leaving, he called out to a young man in a gray suit, "Muro Ryo, come to my office."

Including Muro Ryo himself, everyone who heard the editor-in-chief's words noticed Ikemoto Ryosuke's dissatisfaction.

After all, calling someone by their full name was a sign of extreme disrespect toward the person being called.

Muro Ryo froze for a moment, then stopped his steps, said "Yes," and followed Ikemoto Ryosuke to the editor-in-chief's office.

After entering the office, Muro Ryo closed the door and had just turned around when he was suddenly struck by a heavy slap from Ikemoto Ryosuke.

After slapping him, Ikemoto Ryosuke said viciously, "Kneel."

Muro Ryo had just covered his face, but he immediately lowered his hand and knelt on the floor in a *dogeza* position.

Ikemoto Ryosuke sat in his seat, frowned as he looked at his subordinate, and began to reprimand him.

"Editor Muro, I assigned you the work of writing manuscripts for *Detective Kamimura* because I valued you. But look at what has happened now!?"

"The first requirement for a ghostwriter is secrecy and low profile, but now that it's caused such a stir, how can he continue to be a ghostwriter!"

He slammed the table hard, "If the outside world finds out the specific situation, it will definitely be a huge scandal!"

Muro Ryo lowered his head and said, "It is all this subordinate's fault! I didn't expect that guy Onuki Masakazu to actually go and submit to some Newcomer Award."

He was also helpless; after all, he wasn't a yakuza and had no way to control everything Onuki Masakazu did.

If the other party wanted to do something behind his back, he could only know about it passively.

Ikemoto Ryosuke said disdainfully, "Your apology is useless; I just want to know how to remedy this now!?"

As an editor-in-chief, he had dealt with many writers and understood the minds of some writers clearly.

Now that Onuki Masakazu had become famous, he probably wouldn't be willing to settle for being a ghostwriter anymore. In fact, even if he were willing, *Tokyo Youth* wouldn't dare use him.

Otherwise, if another incident happened one day, it might bring great negative impact to the editorial department's reputation.

Muro Ryo pursed his lips, "I plan to go and have a good talk with Onuki Masakazu to end the relevant cooperation. Besides that, I will scout for a new writer to take over."

Ikemoto Ryosuke stared at him for a while, then said, "Stand up."

After Muro Ryo stood up, he watched Muro Ryo and said, "No matter what, the fact that Onuki Masakazu is a ghostwriter must not be exposed to the media. If anything goes wrong, you won't need to come to the editorial department to work anymore."

Hearing the editor-in-chief's threat, Muro Ryo broke out in a cold sweat. He bowed deeply and said, "This subordinate understands!"

……

Leaving the editorial department, Muro Ryo drove his sedan straight to Adachi Ward.

After confirming there were no reporters near Onuki Masakazu's house, he put on a mask and sunglasses and knocked on the target's door.

After being welcomed in by Onuki Masakazu's mother, he didn't even exchange pleasantries and went straight to Onuki Masakazu's room.

"Mr. Onuki, what exactly are you trying to do!"

Upon seeing Onuki Masakazu, Muro Ryo questioned him immediately; if it weren't for the other party's submission, how could he have been slapped by the editor-in-chief.

Onuki Masakazu was reading a newspaper and didn't even lift his head, "I just did what a newcomer writer should do."

"Teacher, this is not what we agreed upon at the beginning!" Muro Ryo gritted his teeth, "Wasn't it agreed to help serialize *Detective Kamimura* for 3 years?"

"Do you want me to waste 3 years of my time for that kind of boring article?" Onuki Masakazu responded with disdain, "If you added my byline, I might consider it."

Muro Ryo was so angry he couldn't speak, so he could only play the emotional card: "Don't forget, if we hadn't provided you with this opportunity back then, you probably wouldn't even have been able to start your path in the literary world."

"Yes, yes, yes," Onuki Masakazu put down the newspaper and said to Muro Ryo, "But the manuscript fee I requested was cut by a third by you, right?"

"But you agreed to it, didn't you?"

"So what? We didn't sign any agreement; it was just a verbal promise." Onuki Masakazu remained dismissive, "If *Tokyo Youth* is dissatisfied, they can sue me in court."

Muro Ryo took a deep breath, telling himself he wasn't here to argue today.

He sat opposite Onuki Masakazu and said, "As you wish, *Tokyo Youth* is prepared to end the cooperation with you. State your demands!"

Onuki Masakazu laughed and proposed a sum of money.

Muro Ryo hesitated for a while, found that the money was not excessive, and agreed to it.

Subsequently, the two formally agreed that after this week, all contact between them would end, and even if they met, they would pretend not to know each other.

After all, the matter of a ghostwriter would benefit no one if it got out.

After saying this, Muro Ryo took his leave; he was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would get a cerebral hemorrhage from anger.

Watching the other party's departing back, Onuki Masakazu laughed.

At the beginning, he had only submitted a manuscript with a casual attitude and didn't have any high expectations.

After all, an award like the Modern Mystery Literature Newcomer Award, whether in scale or status, could only be considered a minor award compared to the Mystery Literature Newcomer Award organized by the Mystery Writers Association.

Even if he won the grand prize, he estimated that not many people would pay attention.

But what surprised him was that Akiwara Yuto, who had snatched away his honor of the Mystery Literature Newcomer Award, would be foolish enough to be jealous of his talent during the award selection and give the award to someone else.

And this behavior caused dissatisfaction from Teacher Wada Shin and made the outside world stir up a huge commotion.

Under the attention of the media, the benefits he gained far exceeded the significance of the award itself.

First, he successfully got rid of the cooperation with *Tokyo Youth*; second, he attracted media attention and laid the foundation for his debut; third, he was taken in as a disciple by Teacher Wada Shin.

Besides this, it also put Akiwara Yuto, whom he had always hated and envied, into a miserable situation!

Thinking of this, the corners of his mouth curled upward.

Heh heh, Akiwara Yuto, I want to see how you end this! The title of talented writer should be changed to someone else!