Chapter 38: Gold Prize in Sight?

Kikuchi Tai intended to further improve his relationship with Akiwara Yuto.

After all, the 3 short stories serialized by Akiwara Yuto actually increased the magazine's sales by several times, which could simply be called a monster.

Because of the surge in sales, he had been a bit proud when attending the department decision meeting recently, and many jobs that were originally very difficult to coordinate were now easy to deal with.

This made him regret not paying more attention when he first met Akiwara Yuto.

If time could go back, he would not only ignore the opposition and arrange the cover for him, but even tilt the promotional budget toward him.

Now he can only try his best to make up for it and see if he can get closer.

Akiwara Yuto didn't know Kikuchi Tai's thoughts, but he didn't intend to refuse the other party's good intentions.

From the perspective of future benefits, whether it is the subsequent release of his own works or Asano Aiko's promotion, it is inseparable from the other party's help.

The two of them, with the same intention of making friends with each other, became polite.

The waiter brought the appetizers at this time. Akiwara Yuto looked at them for a few times and found that this seemed to be Kaiseki cuisine.

Kaiseki cuisine is a banquet cuisine common in wedding banquets and cocktail parties. It is said to originate from the banquet held by haiku poets after the poetry meeting. It is a banquet cuisine centered on wine, which is completely different from the Kaiseki cuisine that originated from the tea party.

The general order of meals is to serve appetizers, braised dishes, sashimi, grilled food, etc., and finally serve rice and soup.

He felt slightly surprised. Such a meal seemed to cost a lot of money, and it might even exceed two of his manuscript fees, which should exceed the reimbursement standard of the publishing house.

It seems that this Editor-in-Chief Kikuchi is going to bleed heavily.

Kikuchi Tai smiled and said: "Akiwara-sensei, don't be polite, let's eat and talk."

Akiwara Yuto nodded, feeling that this was the other party's good intention after all, so he settled down and began to taste it.

He ate a few bites and found that the taste was indeed much better than the general izakaya, and the freshness of the ingredients was also better.

However, if the price was as he thought, he would rather go to an ordinary izakaya.

Forget it, let's eat for free first...

The three of them were eating and talking without stopping.

Kikuchi Tai praised Akiwara Yuto well, was very appreciative of the manuscript he wrote, and hoped that he would write better and better in the future.

Because the superior was on the side, Asano Aiko also politely added a suffix and called him "Akiwara-sensei."

Akiwara Yuto naturally understood the other party's meaning and indicated that he would treat his future writing work well and would definitely not slack off because of this little achievement.

He also constantly helped Asano Aiko claim credit, indicating that she played a great role in his writing process.

Hearing these words, Asano Aiko felt even more grateful to Akiwara.

Kikuchi Tai nodded, indicating that he understood very well.

After eating for a full hour and a half, Akiwara Yuto felt that he had drunk too much alcohol.

He greeted, then got up and went to the toilet, but unexpectedly encountered an acquaintance—Kadowaki Yuzhen.

It had actually been less than two days since they last met, but he felt that the other party's spirit looked much worse,

with a messy beard, pale face, and some stains on his clothes. He looked like he had encountered some setbacks, and his whole person had a decadent temperament.

Kadowaki Yuzhen also saw him at this time, was stunned for a moment, although he still looked a bit drunk, he immediately straightened his waist, pretended to look at him disdainfully, snorted, and walked away quickly.

Akiwara Yuto was a bit strange. After all, even if he lost the cover position and the column at the very front, the other party's article was still ranked in the front.

And wasn't it said that *The Footsteps of Searching* could be adapted into a film and television drama and win a Gold Prize?

What's there to be discouraged about?

He couldn't figure out the situation for a while, so he turned his head and stopped thinking about it. The other party counted as an enemy now, and he wished the other party would be more unlucky.

He put down his concerns in this regard, returned to the previous room, and continued to drink with Kikuchi Tai and Asano Aiko.

This meal was eaten for another full hour. Not much food was eaten, but instead, they kept drinking, which very much corresponded to the theme of Kaiseki cuisine—drinking.

To be honest, he felt a bit dizzy.

However, this drink achieved the desired effect.

Akiwara Yuto and Kikuchi Tai not only talked about all aspects of work but also enhanced their relationship with each other.

He also got the guarantee he wanted and would receive the greatest attention from the editorial department later.

Seeing Akiwara Yuto satisfied, Kikuchi Tai also breathed a sigh of relief. He was really worried that Akiwara Yuto would jump ship.

After all, although the other party didn't win an award, he had already proved his strength through sales. It is impossible for other literary magazines to remain indifferent.

And the conditions that other magazines can offer will never be lower than *New Novel*. After all, the resources of *New Novel* are very limited, and even the manuscript fee cannot be increased at will.

Seeing that Akiwara Yuto was a bit drunk, Kikuchi Tai stopped persuading him to drink, coughed lightly, and said in a "kind" tone: "Akiwara-sensei, I have to congratulate you here."

Akiwara Yuto was a bit confused, but he hadn't lost his mind yet, and asked suspiciously: "Editor-in-Chief Kikuchi, what is there to congratulate?"

"Akiwara-sensei, we are preparing to send your series of serialized works to participate in the Mantanshe Literary Award."

Kikuchi Tai paused and said in a tone with a hint of certainty: "There is a high probability that it can be awarded the Gold Prize."

Hearing this news, Akiwara Yuto was instantly spirited, and his drunkenness disappeared by more than half. After all, wasn't this what he was worried about before!?

He subconsciously looked at Asano Aiko and found that she nodded with a smile, suspecting that the other party had already known the news.

Seeing that Akiwara Yuto was much more spirited, Kikuchi Tai smiled and said: "We just decided on this matter this morning, so please keep it secret, Akiwara-sensei. After all, it still has to be decided by the judging committee."

Akiwara Yuto nodded to indicate that he understood. This kind of award-winning matter involves unspoken rules. If it makes too much noise, it will undoubtedly make people jealous.

If it affects his award, it will undoubtedly be a loss that outweighs the gain.

By now, he also knew the reason for Kadowaki Yuzhen's loss of composure just now.

According to convention, *New Novel* can only win one Gold Prize. If this award is given to him, then Kadowaki Yuzhen will inevitably miss out.

He was in a great mood and drank two more glasses of wine regardless of his drunkenness.

Good guy, he still wanted to ask me for cover resources, but as a result, he even lost his own award.

By this time, it was almost 11 o'clock in the evening. Kikuchi Tai said he had something to do, so he left early, leaving only Akiwara Yuto and Asano Aiko.

Seeing that Akiwara Yuto was very drunk, Asano Aiko smiled and said: "Akiwara, you have drunk too much, let me drive you back to rest."

Although Akiwara Yuto was confused, he still tried to make himself a little clearer and asked a question: "Asano, do you know the reason for winning the award? I heard rumors before that it would be awarded to *The Footsteps of Searching*..."

"It is said that it seems that there was a problem with the negotiation with the Hokkaido government." Asano Aiko also answered hesitantly after hearing this.

After all, this is a matter for the upper management, and she actually doesn't know the situation very well, just heard the gossip today.

Akiwara Yuto nodded and stood up, but he was a bit staggering when he stood up. Seeing Asano Aiko approaching, he grabbed her hand: "Asano, let's work hard together!"

Asano Aiko was startled. She thought Akiwara Yuto was going to do something, but she didn't expect to hear this sentence.

The expression on her face softened, a smile appeared, and she also held his hand tightly, "Okay, let's work hard together!"

She knew the other party was drunk, but she still sighed from the bottom of her heart. She had known the other party for less than a month, and her life had undergone such a big change.

If she hadn't met the other party, maybe she would still be making coffee every day.

She thought for a while and decided to express her gratitude to Akiwara Yuto again, but when she looked up, the other party was already sleepy and couldn't even stand straight.

She was angry and funny for a while, but she still supported Akiwara Yuto hard and stuffed him into her car, sending him all the way to the other party's house.

Fortunately, the key was in the other party's pocket, otherwise, he couldn't even open the door.

Ending all this, Asano Aiko complained in her heart while driving her small car toward her home.

She held the steering wheel, looked forward, and her face was full of smiles.

Akiwara, the future is still long, let's work hard together... ===== CHAPTER 39 =====