Chapter 223: Good News for the

After finishing his chat with Kawai Shinta, Akiwara Yuto left the Writers' Association, but just as he returned home, Fuji TV producer Fujioka Yasuki called him to share some good news.

The latest episode of "Furutachi Ninzaburo" had reached a new milestone—a 37% segment rating and a 39. % peak segment rating, rising another 3 percentage points from the previous episode and further widening the gap with "Detective Kamimura."

In truth, the show "Detective Kamimura" was not bad; with the massive investment from Asahi TV, it was filmed beautifully, and beyond that, the actors' performances and the plot design were excellent.

As a detective drama, the intelligence of its deductive tricks was on point, and its portrayal of human nature was also quite good; it was a decent work.

However, due to the ghostwriting scandal, many viewers boycotted it from the heart, and furthermore, there was another show with the same theme, "Furutachi Ninzaburo," airing at the same time.

This led those viewers who wanted to abandon the show to throw themselves directly into the embrace of "Furutachi Ninzaburo."

Under these circumstances, "Furutachi Ninzaburo" had truly soared to the heavens, becoming unstoppable!

Seeing the soaring ratings, the Fuji TV side was filled with joy, and every member of the production crew wore a smile.

After seeing the results, the relevant board of directors also increased the budget to give it a boost, causing advertisements to fill the train stations.

Seeing the excellent performance of "Furutachi Ninzaburo," many critics immediately changed their tune and began to tout the show, praising it while stepping on "Detective Kamimura," believing that the nearly three-month battle between the two detective dramas had finally reached a conclusion!

In short, looking at various newspapers and magazines, the reviews were basically unanimous in their praise, including for the plot of the work and the acting of the cast!

Aided by the soaring ratings and the "heavy touting" from critics who changed their tune, Kishida Ryota, the actor who played "Furutachi Ninzaburo," became a massive hit!

Because of his elegant style, he was affectionately called the "Gentleman Detective" by many viewers, and his fan club set up online boasted over 100, 00 members!

One must know, this was the internet of the 90s; the total number of internet users in all of Japan was only a few hundred thousand!

When he attended a live event in the Kyoto area, he was surrounded by nearly 6, 00 spectators, more than double the expected number. When nearby residents learned that "Furutachi Ninzaburo" was there, they also rushed over one after another.

The organizers and the local police station were unable to maintain order and, fearing a stampede, had to coordinate with Fuji TV to temporarily change the venue and time.

To appease the fan base, everyone on the production crew, including Kishida Ryota, had to bow and apologize, which prevented any further trouble.

This incident even made the news on several major television stations, causing some news anchors to reflect on the matter.

After hearing everything reported by Fujioka Yasuki, Akiwara Yuto thought of another angle.

Why not take advantage of this wave and release the "Furutachi" series paperback now! Let the production crew help sell the books! It would probably perform even better than his own autograph sessions!

After thinking this through, he immediately proposed it to Fujioka Yasuki, who thought about it for a moment and agreed quite readily!

Although this did not quite conform to the regulations, compared to the favor owed to Akiwara Yuto, it was not a matter of any consequence.

The television station had already planned to turn "Furutachi" into a long-term episodic drama, which required further reliance on Akiwara Yuto's subsequent manuscripts.

Before ending the call, Fujioka Yasuki added, "Akiwara-sensei, the production crew has sent you a gift; please be sure to accept it."

After saying this, he hung up the phone.

Akiwara Yuto didn't think much of it; it was just receiving a gift. Compared to the help he had provided to Fuji TV, it was nothing.

However, since the "Furutachi Ninzaburo" television series had already reached the top, could the sales of "April Youth" next week surpass "Tokyo Youth" and become number one in the industry!?

Thinking of this, Akiwara Yuto clenched his fists, feeling invigorated!

……

While Akiwara Yuto was excited, Kawai Shinta was sitting in a private car, arriving in front of a residence with the two characters "Miyagi" hanging on it. He stepped out of the car, knocked on the gate, and was then welcomed by a maid into a tea room.

In this tea room sat an old man with white hair wearing a traditional men's kimono.

He was also the target of Kawai Shinta's visit this time, the leader of the Social School, Miyagi Kentaro.

Compared to the kind-faced Kawai Shinta, Miyagi Kentaro's expression looked very serious, possessing a quality of dignity that did not require anger to command respect.

"Miyagi, an old friend has come to see you, won't you stand up to welcome him?" Kawai Shinta said with a smile, then sat down opposite him without ceremony.

"An old friend who doesn't even know how to say 'excuse me' doesn't need to be welcomed by standing up."

Miyagi Kentaro said bluntly, but although his expression was serious, a hint of a smile was hidden in his eyes.

Kawai Shinta laughed out loud, then poured himself a cup of tea. Miyagi Kentaro didn't mind at all, his expression not changing in the slightest.

"May I ask, Vice President of the Association, what is the purpose of your visit today?"

"Can't I come to see a friend?"

"I don't think you have the time," Miyagi Kentaro continued: "Speak directly; let's save both our time."

Kawai Shinta's smile did not fade, but he still didn't answer the question. "Do you know about Wada Shin's recent encounter?"

"I know a thing or two," Miyagi Kentaro changed his sitting posture, rested his right hand on his right knee, and revealed an expression of disdain.

"As an old guy from our same era, I didn't expect him to fall into such a pit. However, the failure of a despicable person is only natural."

"Indeed," Kawai Shinta sighed, "This incident was truly unexpected; I didn't expect him to actually go and make things difficult for a kid."

"However, your intention today wouldn't be just this matter, would it?" Miyagi Kentaro continued to ask. "I don't think someone like you would be so bored."

"Alright, I'll speak the truth," Kawai Shinta drank the tea in his hand in one gulp, then stated his request: "I hope that in this selection for the Uemura Prize, Akiwara Yuto's work can be shortlisted."

The selection for the Uemura Prize involves judges consulting with writers, magazine editors, and other relevant figures, and then selecting some recommended works.

But such rules give the judges a great deal of power; if a work cannot gain the approval of the judges at all, then being shortlisted is out of the question.

And among the judges this time, there was one who was a writer of the Social School and had deep connections with Miyagi Kentaro.

"Hmm?" Miyagi Kentaro frowned and said in a slightly serious voice: "I am a bit disappointed; the Kawai Shinta in my memory would not be the kind of person to do such a thing."

Kawai Shinta looked at him and said in a flat tone: "I am merely recommending a work to a judge in my capacity as a writer; is there any problem with that?"

Miyagi Kentaro raised his eyebrows.

This reason was impeccable, because the other party had indicated that he was just a writer, not the Vice President of the Mystery Writers, which fell within the scope of normal and reasonable rules.

He thought for a moment and asked again: "Why recommend Akiwara Yuto? I remember he hasn't even debuted for a year, right?"

"Because I think very highly of him," Kawai Shinta explained with a smile, recounting Akiwara Yuto's previous creative philosophy and some of his achievements, and then told the cause and effect of this incident.

He added: "Do you know? The radical faction even wanted him to be shortlisted for the Uemura Prize as a reconciliation, but he refused it. The reason he refused was actually because of a dispute over philosophy."

After hearing these words, Miyagi Kentaro fell into silence.

In the eyes of an old-timer writer like him, writers who have debuted for less than 10 years are all newcomers, and Akiwara Yuto was even more of a newcomer among newcomers.

But for such a special "newcomer" to actually insist on his own philosophy and give up benefits, this was a very rare thing.

One must know that even just being shortlisted is a very high honor for some writers.

After a moment of silence, Miyagi Kentaro asked again: "Kawai, it's not that I don't want to give you this favor, but you should know the significance of winning the prize for our Social School, right?!"

The works that win the Uemura Prize twice a year will undoubtedly become a hot topic of public attention because they are heavily reported.

In other words, if a Social School work can successfully win the prize, it can be used to promote works of this genre.

Kawai Shinta did not deny it, but took a book with a black cover from the document bag he brought and placed it in front of Miyagi Kentaro.

"You should know Akiwara's work, right? If it's this one, you shouldn't have any objections, right?"

Miyagi Kentaro took the book and began to read it, and as he watched the changes in his expression, the corners of Kawai Shinta's mouth rose slightly.

It seemed there wouldn't be too much of a problem with his proposal!