Chapter 30: Good News

Akiwara Yuto knew nothing of the Yokohama girls' idea to start a fan club for him; he was currently busy handling his own work.

After going to an internet cafe a few days ago to look up information, he had summarized the relevant data to avoid errors or omissions while writing the script.

Afterwards, he sat at his desk, writing furiously, intending to finish the stage play script for "Seven Rooms" as soon as possible.

Following the format of a script, the first part is the general background of the story, the second part is the characters and traits of the actors, and only at the end are the actors' dialogue and actions.

As he wrote, he would occasionally put down his pen to ponder, then feel that the effect of what he had written was poor, and crumple the entire sheet of draft paper into a ball to throw into the wastebasket. He wrote like this from morning until 12 noon, and his stomach began to growl.

Speaking of which, if he rushed to the publishing house now, would he still be able to eat the bento Asano Aiko brought?

……

Asano Aiko did not know that someone far away was thinking about her lunch; she was currently carefully examining the statistical data in her hands.

This data was sent by the Statistics Division under the Distribution Bureau and was a summary made directly based on sales from distributors and some bookstores, including first-day sales, weekday sales, and final estimated sales.

She looked at the curve graph on the data sheet from Monday to Friday and felt it was very strange no matter how she looked at it.

When it was first released on Monday, the sales of "New Fiction" were still the usual six thousand copies or so; according to the trend of daily decline, the total sales for this issue should still fluctuate around thirty thousand copies.

By Tuesday, however, the sales data showed over seven thousand copies sold.

She didn't think there was a problem with this part; after all, the half-page book review in the "Tokyo Daily News" was still somewhat effective, but the effect of a book review usually only lasts 1-2 days.

However, she couldn't quite understand the following days.

On Wednesday, sales dipped slightly but still maintained around six thousand copies, on par with when it was first released.

By Thursday, sales actually rose against the trend, becoming over seven thousand copies again.

Then, until the end, the sales curve maintained an upward slope, reaching a full eight thousand-plus copies on Friday.

She put down the statistics sheet, rubbed her brow with her hand, and couldn't help but think that if things kept up until the weekend ended, it was possible that all 40,000 copies of the first printing would be sold out.

At this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps approached. Asano Aiko was frowning and wondering who was so impolite, but when she looked up, she discovered it was the editor-in-chief of "New Fiction," Kikuchi Tai.

Perhaps because he was walking too fast, Kikuchi Tai's face was flushed red, and he was a bit out of breath. But his eyes were exceptionally bright, and the joy on his face was completely impossible to hide!

She was a bit puzzled as to why the editor-in-chief was in such a rush, only to see the other party suddenly raise a report in his hand, laugh loudly toward everyone in the editorial department, and say: "Reprint! We're having a reprint!"

Asano Aiko didn't come to her senses for a moment. The others in the editorial department couldn't help but stand up one by one upon hearing this.

Kikuchi Tai looked at the people gathering around, his excitement irrepressible. He himself hadn't expected that the Distribution Bureau would suddenly inform him today that the 40,000 copies previously published had already sold out, and that 20,000 copies would be reprinted later.

Although he hadn't figured out what was going on, this was undoubtedly good news, so he couldn't help but get excited.

After all, "New Fiction" hadn't had a reprint for too long!

Matsushima Kazuhiro was also a bit surprised to hear this news, and he had a bad premonition in his heart.

Asano Aiko did not have such concerns and revealed a heartfelt smile. She sincerely hoped that "New Fiction" would sell better and better, regardless of whether it was due to her own contribution.

The surrounding editors were also very excited; a reprint meant their performance bonuses would also rise, so they all clapped or high-fived the people next to them one by one.

Because there were so many people, the entire office made quite a loud noise for a time, shaking half the floor and causing people nearby to keep glancing over.

Watching the scene before her, Asano Aiko thought of Akiwara Yuto; she prepared to make a phone call to inform him of this good news!

However, before that, she had to first figure out the specific reason for the surge in sales.

……

At 7:00 PM, Akiwara Yuto, who was writing, heard a phone ring.

He put down his pen, stood up, walked downstairs, and picked up the receiver: "I am Akiwara Yuto, who is this?"

"Akiwara, it's me."

Hearing Asano Aiko's voice on the phone, he said with a smile: "Asano, why are you calling suddenly?"

"Akiwara, there's good news, 'New Fiction' is having a reprint!"

Akiwara Yuto was half-believing and half-doubting for a moment.

A reprint refers to a book or periodical being printed again for publication and sale, which meant that the previously released issue of "New Fiction" had already sold out, but hadn't "New Fiction" always been at the bottom?

Asano Aiko on the other end of the receiver seemed to have guessed his thoughts and immediately explained: "Starting from Tuesday, people have been coming to various bookstores one after another to ask for 'New Fiction.' By yesterday afternoon, the inventory for 'New Fiction' was cleared out, and many bookstores even called to request restocking."

She paused, then said with a hint of a smile: "Akiwara, the hero this time is you."

Akiwara Yuto was confused, but still listened as she continued.

It turned out that the reason for this reprint still lay in that half-page book review.

A couple had purchased the second issue of "New Fiction" because they saw that book review, and were moved by the story of the parents and child depicted in "Sofar."

At the same time, they also learned about the little boy in Iwate Prefecture who had been abandoned by his parents.

This couple were social workers by trade; after inquiring about the location, they immediately headed to Iwate Prefecture, preparing to visit this poor child.

But they didn't expect that after making contact with the little boy, they would be moved by his well-behaved and sensible nature.

So they contacted the social organization currently in charge of the matter, preparing to adopt this child.

This incident was also reported by local media, sparking more people's curiosity about "Sofar," which led to many people going to bookstores to purchase it recently, which in turn drove the surge in sales and the reprint.

Hearing all this, Akiwara Yuto couldn't help but suddenly realize; it seemed he had hitched a ride on a hot topic.

However, he was still very happy in his heart; if that little boy could be adopted by a loving couple, it would undoubtedly bring about a turning point in his fate.

Besides that, the matter of the reprint also made him feel a bit excited; he felt that after coming to this world, he had finally achieved some results!

Asano Aiko didn't hear a reply from Akiwara Yuto for a long time, which wasn't strange; she could more or less guess Akiwara Yuto's current mood. After all, a magazine reprinting because of a newcomer's serialization was something rarely heard of in the entire publishing industry.

After a while, she felt that Akiwara Yuto should have calmed down, so she continued: "By the way, there's another piece of good news: the covers of the following issues should all feature your article as a key recommendation."

Akiwara Yuto was slightly surprised: "Is it because the reader feedback came out?"

According to what the editor-in-chief Kikuchi Tai had said before, his article had to be in the top five of reader feedback to get a recommendation spot on the cover.

But he later learned that the recommendation spot Kikuchi Tai mentioned was just adding a title to the bottom left corner of the cover, and wouldn't be like "Footsteps of Searching," which had a dedicated person to make a cover.

Asano Aiko gave an affirmative answer and at the same time talked about the series of events that had just happened in the editorial department.

After everyone in the editorial department celebrated, deputy editor-in-chief Matsushima Kazuhiro submitted a plan for the next step of promoting "Footsteps of Searching," and the editor-in-chief was considering whether to approve it.

As a result, a specialist from the Statistics Division came to the editorial department again, informed everyone of the cause and effect of the "New Fiction" reprint, and simultaneously submitted a reader feedback report.

This report showed that among the 963 readers who filled out the survey, Akiwara Yuto's "Xiao Yang and Kazuko" and "Sofar" were highly rated by 85% of readers, while Kadowaki Yuzen's "Footsteps of Searching" was only liked by 45% of readers; the data difference was extremely stark.

At that time, Matsushima Kazuhiro's face looked as ugly as if he had swallowed a fly, and after repeated confirmation, editor-in-chief Kikuchi Tai directly rejected the former's promotion plan.

He subsequently found Asano Aiko and informed her that the editorial department would vigorously promote Akiwara Yuto in the next step and customize a special cover.

That was why Asano Aiko had made this phone call now.

Akiwara Yuto nodded; this confirmed his own thoughts. As long as he could prove his work through sales, the editorial department would naturally increase its emphasis.

Asano Aiko must be very happy now, right? Thinking of this, Akiwara Yuto jokingly teased: "Asano, you aren't going to go to a bar to drink again, are you?"

Asano Aiko, holding the receiver, didn't expect Akiwara Yuto to still be thinking about her going to a bar. She rolled her eyes and said bluntly: "If I were to drink, shouldn't you, the great writer, treat me, the little editor, to HighFive? And open two bottles of good wine to treat me?"

Akiwara Yuto choked a little and directly pretended not to hear.

HighFive was one of the most expensive bars in Tokyo; a single drink could cost ten thousand yen, and opening a bottle of wine was even more incredible—it might be equal to the money for half of his manuscript. With that kind of money, he would rather donate it to the Fuli Academy.

Asano Aiko discovered he was speechless and felt a bit smug. Who told you to bring up my going to the bar? I already told you not to bring it up again.

She smiled and prepared to end the call; after all, the subsequent cover and promotion plans all needed her to push and plan from her side.

"Akiwara, let's celebrate together later; I still have some work to handle recently," she said with a smile, her voice sounding quite spirited, "When it really becomes a big hit, I'll treat you to a big meal; I definitely won't let you down!"

"Then I'll wait for your big meal!"

The two then hung up the phone and continued to get busy. Akiwara Yuto returned to the desk upstairs, sat down, and continued to write his stage play script.

He hadn't expected that there would be this good news from the editorial department, but this didn't mean he should slack off; he also had to work harder on his own end.

Inspiration kept surging in his mind, and he was just about to write furiously when he didn't expect the phone to ring downstairs again...