Chapter 244: Sorry, I Refuse

Seeing the "conflict" between Gao Tianzhijiu and Wada Shin, Akiwara Yuto felt a sense of satisfaction in his heart.

After all, in the series of events prior to this, Wada Shin had caused him quite a bit of trouble.

However, he also understood that a conflict of this level was not as significant as having the New Orthodox school, represented by Gao Tianzhijiu, ideologically break away from the traditional orthodox radical faction represented by Wada Shin.

Therefore, he merely glanced at Wada Shin with a half-smile and sat down.

Upon seeing this expression from Akiwara Yuto, the anger on Wada Shin's face became even more apparent.

"Sorry, I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave."

Wada Shin stood up, glared at Akiwara Yuto, and found an excuse to leave.

If he stayed any longer, he feared he might be unable to stop himself from committing some discourteous act.

After Wada Shin left, the seminar continued, but with the eyesore gone, the meeting proceeded exceptionally smoothly.

Many writers from the New Orthodox school raised questions and insights one after another, and Akiwara Yuto answered them in turn.

After all, he came from a background of a Master's degree in literature and was also a very seasoned mystery fan.

Thus, his answers, whether in terms of theory or the perspective from which he viewed the problems, were completely different from everyone else present.

And this caused his answers to easily convince those who had asked questions.

Not only that, some writers even found new directions for their writing from his answers.

By the time the seminar ended, all the attending writers, regardless of their age, were genuinely convinced when they addressed Akiwara Yuto as "Master."

Because of this admiration, most of them proposed exchanging business cards.

This caused the business cards Akiwara Yuto had brought to run out all at once, and he had no choice but to apologize and write down his number and email with a pen.

Watching the busy Akiwara Yuto, a satisfied smile appeared on Hehe Xintai's face; this seminar today could be called a great success!

Just as he was preparing to call out to Akiwara Yuto to leave together, Gao Tianzhijiu looked at him with a meaningful gaze, then stepped forward and said, "Vice Chairman Hehe, thank you very much for organizing this seminar."

Hehe Xintai smiled and said, "Not at all, after all, I also support the development of orthodox works, and naturally, I hope that excellent works can be seen by more and more people."

Gao Tianzhijiu raised his eyebrows; he heard the subtext in Hehe Xintai's words—the word "also" meant that he likewise represented support for the development of other schools of work.

However, he didn't say much, only stating, "Chairman Hehe, may I have a private word with Master Akiwara?"

"Of course, as mystery writers, it is only natural to have a good exchange."

Hehe Xintai smiled and patted Gao Tianzhijiu on the shoulder, then greeted Akiwara Yuto and left directly.

He vaguely guessed what Gao Tianzhijiu was thinking, but out of confidence in Akiwara Yuto, he did not intend to say anything more.

Gao Tianzhijiu watched the back of the departing Hehe Xintai, and the term "old fox" suddenly came to his mind.

……

On the other side, Akiwara Yuto had finally finished exchanging pleasantries with everyone, and just as he was preparing to take his leave, a voice suddenly sounded beside him.

"Master Akiwara, could we have tea alone?"

Akiwara Yuto turned his head to look and discovered it was Gao Tianzhijiu, the representative writer of the New Orthodox school.

Akiwara Yuto did not hesitate much and agreed.

Although the two had held different positions before, at this seminar, this Master Gao had indeed praised his work highly.

Therefore, the other party's invitation could not be considered a trap.

After bidding farewell to others, the two went to a tea room on the top floor of the association and sat down face to face.

Gao Tianzhijiu took the initiative to pour a cup of tea for Akiwara Yuto, then politely said, "Master Akiwara, your book, 'The Tokyo Zodiac Murders', is truly brilliant enough to make one look at you with new eyes."

"Thank you very much for your praise," Akiwara Yuto thanked him and took the tea, then looked up at the other party: "But that is not your intention for wanting to talk to me, is it?"

Gao Tianzhijiu did not expect Akiwara Yuto to be so straightforward, so he also got straight to the point: "Master Akiwara, what is your view on the orthodoxy of mystery literature?"

He knew that Akiwara Yuto had always stood on the same side as Hehe Xintai and the others, but he still wanted to hear Akiwara Yuto's own thoughts.

Akiwara Yuto did not expect this question; after a moment of surprise, he replied, "I don't believe there is any such thing as orthodox or unorthodox; compared to that, I value more whether the story itself is brilliant."

Gao Tianzhijiu was a little disappointed, but he continued to ask, "Then do you think the philosophy of the Social school is correct?"

Compared to the radical orthodox faction, the Social school also had its own viewpoint, which was that the humanity and social nature of mystery should be placed first.

Akiwara Yuto pondered for a moment and shook his head.

After a moment of silence, he said bluntly, "My view is that all schools of work should be treated equally, and let the readers decide what they truly like."

His subtext was that he did not support the radical faction's suppression of works from other schools.

Gao Tianzhijiu sighed deeply: "Master Akiwara, if the Social school occupied our current position now, do you think they wouldn't suppress orthodox works?"

Akiwara Yuto was about to answer "they wouldn't," but hesitated for a while and said nothing, because he thought of the history from his past life.

In his past life, the Social school of mystery rose because of Seicho Matsumoto.

Because this type of work focused on depicting the dark side of characters and was closer to the social life of the time, it was deeply loved and praised by the public and readers.

Also because of his influence, a large number of Social school authors emerged one after another, and for a time, they ruled the mystery literature world for 30 years.

This phenomenon was called the "Seicho Curse."

But because of the prevalence of Social school works, many writers and critics regarded the views of the Social school as the gold standard.

So much so that after Soji Shimada's "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" was published, it was suppressed and criticized by many supporters of the Social school, and it didn't even win the Edogawa Rampo Prize.

With this precedent, he naturally could not say that if the Social school occupied the advantage, they would not suppress the orthodox school.

Seeing that Akiwara Yuto did not respond, Gao Tianzhijiu continued to persuade: "Master Akiwara, the fact that the orthodox school is so prevalent today is the result of the efforts of many predecessors; we cannot abandon this advantageous position."

"Therefore, I hope you will not bring up this topic again in the future."

Akiwara Yuto sighed and did not say much more.

At this moment, he also saw that Gao Tianzhijiu's conviction was firm and could not be persuaded by a single work or a few words.

Just as he stood up to take his leave, Gao Tianzhijiu suddenly bowed deeply, "Master Akiwara, please consider whether you would like to stand with us."

Akiwara Yuto asked in confusion, "This is?"

Gao Tianzhijiu said in a sincere voice, "I hope you can become a member of the New Orthodox school!"

Akiwara Yuto was speechless; he had been preparing to persuade Gao Tianzhijiu, never expecting that the other party was also trying to persuade him!

However, he quickly understood Gao Tianzhijiu's intention, which was the influence brought by the book "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders."

In his past life, the New Orthodox school had established "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" as their banner, thereby attracting interested readers and new authors.

And compared to Soji Shimada, who was a newcomer at the time, he had greater fame and more loyal readers.

Once he stood on Gao Tianzhijiu's side, there was no doubt that he could play a greater role in the development of the New Orthodox school!

But if he did that, it would undoubtedly be a betrayal of Hehe Xintai and the others!

Gao Tianzhijiu seemed to see through Akiwara Yuto's concerns and said in a mocking tone, "Don't you feel that you are being used by Vice Chairman Hehe?"

Hearing this "sowing discord" remark, Akiwara Yuto frowned.

Gao Tianzhijiu did not mind and continued, "Master Akiwara, you have now become a banner for the moderate faction, and continuing like this will undoubtedly lead to more people targeting you. But whether it is the public opinion conflict of the Modern Mystery Literature Award or the selection for the Uemura Prize, what can they actually do to help you?"

He paused, then emphasized his tone: "To put it bluntly, I think you are doing a thankless job."

He observed Akiwara Yuto's expression for a while, found he could not read anything, and then said with a sincere expression, "If you join us and focus on creating orthodox works, any problem you encounter will not be a problem."

"After another 5 or 6 years, you can take over my current position and become the leader of the New Orthodox school."

After hearing these conditions, Akiwara Yuto did not know how to reply for a moment.

He did not know that the other party had actually said all this just to win him over.

The position of a leader of a school was not much different from Hehe Xintai's status in the moderate faction.

And after joining the New Orthodox school, he would basically have no resistance or pressure in obtaining the Uemura Prize and other awards!

Once he reached that step, he could put down all his worries and just write his manuscripts quietly.

Akiwara Yuto was silent for a long time, and finally gave his answer.

"Sorry, I refuse!"