Chapter 227

Since he knew about the death threat letter, Akiwara Yuto naturally couldn't sit and wait for death, and quickly made arrangements.

He first found 5 well-known detective agencies, paid a deposit to each, and requested investigations into Dagu Zhenghe, Takei Kohei, and others respectively.

Although Dagu Zhenghe was the most suspicious, the possibility of others could not be completely ruled out.

Akiwara Yuto also promised these detective agencies that for the detective who could find the specific sender, he would allocate an additional 20 million yen. He believed that with this money, these detective agencies would be more active.

Although this money was not a small amount, compared to the continuous monthly royalty income now, it could only be considered a drizzle.

Besides that, Akiwara Yuto also specifically purchased a thin stab-proof vest to wear inside his shirt through Asano Aiko's uncle at the Metropolitan Police Department.

And he also asked Satake Maki to look for high-end apartments with large property management.

The "single-family house" he lived in now was mainly of wooden structure. If the murderer splashed gasoline around and set it on fire, it was estimated that a big fire could ignite the whole house very quickly.

However, it was indeed time for him to buy a house—the current single-family house was particularly inconvenient every time he went up and down the stairs.

Besides these measures, Akiwara Yuto also contacted a professional bodyguard company and found 1 male and 1 female bodyguard to accompany him.

After arranging all this, another week passed.

But during this time, Akiwara Yuto learned a piece of news that made him very excited—that several major newspapers announced the shortlist for the Uemura Prize, and "Suspect X" was among them.

After this news spread, the public paid further attention to Akiwara Yuto.

Because compared to other nominees, Akiwara Yuto was not only the youngest but also had the least experience.

In the data analysis of the 5 candidates, Akiwara Yuto's debut time was marked as less than a year, far lower than the average of 20 years for other candidates.

This contrast further solidified Akiwara Yuto's identity as a "genius writer."

In Nihon society, which has a "genius worship" and "strongman worship," a large number of media began to report on Akiwara Yuto, and some newspapers even exaggeratedly said, "This is a genius writer encountered once in 200 years!"

However, afterward, Akiwara Yuto discovered that the newspaper that published this report had many interest collaborations with the Kejiaoguan side and belonged to the "one of our own" category.

Regardless, under massive exposure, the standalone volume sales that had already been declining started to advance by leaps and bounds again.

As the shortlisted work, "Suspect X" naturally went without saying; it was snapped up in less than a week and directly reprinted to enter the market again.

As for "The Death of a Detective," "The Invisible Guest," and other standalone volumes, sales also surged by 50% to 100%.

Seeing the standalone volumes selling well, Anjiu Bookstore's president, Anjiu Jin Gangyi, laughed until he was beaming.

Besides Anjiu Bookstore, Kejiaoguan and Fuji Television also jumped on this express train, increased publicity by taking advantage of the news of being shortlisted for the Uemura Prize, and achieved satisfactory results.

The sales of "April Youth" rose by 15%, directly breaking through from 300,000 copies to nearly 350,000 copies, surpassing "Tokyo Youth" to become the number one literary journal in the industry! Allowing Akiwara Yuto to achieve his original goal!

The ratings of "Furuhata Ninzaburo" surged from 37% to 40%, further consolidating his dominant position in this time slot! Making many drama critics exclaim!

After confirming these good results, Kejiaoguan and Fuji Television both had upper management send messages, hoping to connect with Akiwara Yuto.

But after attending a few cocktail parties, Akiwara Yuto declined subsequent ones...

It was a waste of time to drink with that bunch of pot-bellied executives; he didn't want to tie himself completely to these two big ships. If others could give higher benefits, he would still make his own choice.

April 15, Dongjingwan Television.

When Akiwara Yuto attended the celebration party for the "Furuhata Ninzaburo" crew, he met with the crew members briefly, then left halfway and took a private car to Dongjingwan Television.

He came this time because he received a program invitation from this television station.

When he had a dispute with Mantanshe, Dongjingwan Television clearly took Mantanshe's money and prepared to arrange a program to frame him. But due to Asano Aiko's "defection," this program instead became a joke.

However, Akiwara Yuto didn't hold a grudge against this television station; after all, when the program accident happened, the other party could have cut off the signal at the first moment, but because of the ratings, they dragged it out for half a day before ending the program.

This meant that Dongjingwan Television was just a neutral party taking money to do things.

So there was no need for him to think too much; after all, this society is mixed with black and white. Since that's the case, it's better to have more friends and fewer enemies.

The program he was going to participate in was around 8 o'clock, which could be considered prime time, and when he arrived, there was still half an hour before the program officially started.

Regarding Akiwara Yuto's arrival, Dongjingwan Television attached great importance to it, and even sent a female host, program director, producer, and others to the entrance to welcome him specifically.

Generally speaking, welcoming him in the hallway would have fulfilled the obligation of welcoming him.

But Akiwara Yuto was a writer after all, and his status in Nihon society was very high. In addition, he was a "genius writer" who had been shortlisted for the Uemura Prize—if he won the Uemura Prize, he would undoubtedly be admired by even more people.

In such a situation, the television station naturally didn't dare to be negligent, otherwise, if Akiwara Yuto felt their attitude was bad and said something outside, it would undoubtedly cause a great impression.

Finally, several members of the program team waited early in front of the television station, and when Akiwara Yuto got out of the car, they bowed in unison and said, "Mr. Akiwara, thank you for your hard work!"

Akiwara Yuto had seen many high-level people by now, so he wasn't very surprised, but he still bowed politely in return and said, "Thank you all for your hard work."

Maintaining a humble attitude was still very important; anyway, having a good attitude didn't cost a penny and could win more respect from others.

Seeing Akiwara Yuto's attitude, the few people on the scene felt relieved; after all, many writers' attitudes were very difficult to communicate with.

Seeing Akiwara Yuto so polite, there shouldn't be any big problems.

"It is a great honor for Mr. Akiwara to come to participate in the program," Mizuta Haruaki, the female host, handed over her business card, "Please give me your guidance in the future."

When saying this, her eyes were smiling, and her attitude was very friendly.

In her view, Akiwara Yuto was young and had already been shortlisted for the "Uemura Prize," and had several bestselling works, so his net worth must be considerable.

Such a person was definitely a "Jin Guixu."

And the host job she was doing now was a youth-dependent job; when she got older, she would have to move behind the scenes. Since that was the case, it was better to hold onto this golden thigh and let herself become a writer's wife.

Akiwara Yuto didn't know the other party's intentions, just smiled and took the business card, then exchanged business cards with the producer, director, and others, completed the Japanese meeting process, and then followed them to the program recording site with pleasantries.

Akiwara Yuto looked around curiously and found that the recording site had two rows of sofas, which could facilitate chatting between the host and the guest.

And surrounding the sofas were a pile of equipment and corresponding staff.

The program director and others walked to the side to discuss work, while Mizuta Haruaki walked up to "entertain" Akiwara Yuto.

For the title of writer's wife, she prepared to take the initiative to become a "carnivorous woman," otherwise, if she missed this opportunity, she estimated she could regret it until her intestines turned green.

"Mr. Akiwara, please sit down and have some tea."

Mizuta Haruaki invited Akiwara Yuto to sit on the sofa and handed him a cup of tea. Akiwara Yuto followed suit, sat down, took the tea, and said "Thank you."

Mizuta Haruaki sat opposite him, tested the microphone briefly, and after finding no problems, started chatting—this belonged to the work scope, but she could pave the way for her own plans through this work scope.

As a host, she quickly figured out that Akiwara Yuto's personality was easygoing, and then they started chatting.

After chatting for a little while, she pretended to be curious and asked, "Mr. Akiwara, do you have a girlfriend?"

"Not at the moment," Akiwara Yuto said, "The program later won't ask about these things, will it?"

"Of course not, it's just my own personal curiosity," Mizuta Haruaki said with a smile, "A writer as talented as you is actually still single."

She was actually intentionally flattering Akiwara Yuto; in her view, there wasn't a man who didn't like being praised by a woman, especially a beautiful woman like her.

But regarding the fact that Akiwara Yuto said he was still single, she remained skeptical, suspecting that he was saying it intentionally in front of her.

"I just haven't met the right person yet," Akiwara Yuto replied.

"Then..." Mizuta Haruaki intentionally leaned in a little closer, letting her perfume be smelled by Akiwara Yuto, "What kind of woman do you like?"

"Probably a beautiful woman like you," Akiwara Yuto said with a smile.

He was indeed not lying; as a host, Mizuta Haruaki's figure and face were naturally one in a hundred, otherwise, she wouldn't be able to attract male viewers at all.

However, although he liked beautiful women, he didn't just look at their faces, otherwise, he would have pursued Asano Aiko long ago.

A female host like Mizuta Haruaki looked like she was very good at "flirting," and he didn't know how many boyfriends she had gone through; he had no interest in becoming the next one.

But he still intentionally flattered her; after all, there was still a live interview between the two of them later, and he would need her help then.

Mizuta Haruaki felt a surge of joy, thinking Akiwara Yuto was hinting at something, so she said, "Actually, I don't have a boyfriend either..."

Just as she wanted to say she liked talented men, there was very little time left before the program started.

The director immediately reminded the two of them loudly, interrupting what Mizuta Haruaki wanted to say next.

Hearing the prompt, Mizuta Haruaki's attitude changed immediately, and she prepared to record the program properly.

In her view, the "Jin Guixu" opposite her had already expressed his attitude, so they could just talk in detail after the program ended; perhaps they could find a bar to chat more.

Akiwara Yuto also revealed a "smile" and entered the state of recording the program.

He had no interest in female hosts or anything of the sort; he had come to this program today with a very important purpose!