Chapter 66: Social Death

"I'm home."

Kikuchi Tai shouted at the door, changed into indoor shoes at the entrance, walked into the living room, stretched his somewhat tired body, and sat on the sofa.

His wife, wearing an apron, quickly walked over, took the briefcase from his hand, and put it away, asking in confusion: "Child's father, why are you home so early today?"

Kikuchi Tai waved his hand and said with a smile: "There's nothing going on in the editorial department, so I came home early to have dinner with you."

His wife smiled, nodded, and said "Yes," then turned back to the kitchen to continue cooking. Looking at his wife's back, a satisfied smile appeared on Kikuchi Tai's face.

He could smile so happily, which was inseparable from the series of good results of *New Novel* recently.

As a middle-aged man in his 40s, his status in Mantanshe had always been awkward.

Some outsiders felt that he was an editor-in-chief and middle management of the publishing house. But he himself thought that this position was simply a chicken rib and very awkward.

Before this, the sales of *New Novel* couldn't even reach an average of 30,000 copies, completely at the bottom of the four major publishing houses, let alone compared to the 150,000 copies of *Tokyo Literature*, which was also under Mantanshe.

This made many editors of *Tokyo Literature* often show an attitude that was not very respectful when they saw him, and even secretly badmouthed him as an incompetent editor-in-chief behind his back.

When he first heard these rumors, he was so angry that his lungs were about to explode, and he swore to make some achievements for them to see. But as time passed, the sales of *New Novel* remained half-dead, which only made him give up this idea.

Just when he intended to resign himself to working honestly until retirement, an editor he didn't value, Asano Aiko, dug up a genius named Akiwara Yuto.

After that, *New Novel* was like getting on a Shinkansen, and the sales of each issue were growing at a speed visible to the naked eye. His own status, income, and bonuses were also rising with it.

Not only that, whether it was *Tokyo Literature*, the distribution bureau, or other departments, they now had to respectfully call him "Editor-in-Chief Kikuchi" when they saw him. Although some people still badmouthed him for having good luck, he didn't care, knowing that those words were just jealousy.

Because of these reasons, he was very grateful to Akiwara Yuto, and even allocated an extra 2 million yen to him from the bonus allocated to *New Novel* by Mantanshe.

However, he himself also found a channel and earned a lot of money.

By the way, the general manager must have seen the recent results of *New Novel*, right? Can my position move up a bit...

Kikuchi Tai was thinking about his own affairs when suddenly the phone rang. He walked over and picked up the receiver: "Hello, I am Kikuchi, who is this?"

"I am Takei Kohei, sorry to bother you, Editor-in-Chief Kikuchi."

Hearing this name, Kikuchi Tai was a bit confused, but still said: "Editor Takei, what can I do for you?"

"Editor-in-Chief Kikuchi, sorry to disturb your rest time, but please come to the Misaki Club in Ginza tonight."

Hearing this request, which was similar to an "order," Kikuchi Tai was so angry that he laughed. The sales of *Tokyo Literature* had been exceeded by *New Novel* by a full 50,000 copies, so where did the other party get the confidence?

He sneered and responded impolitely: "Deputy Editor-in-Chief Takei, sorry, if you have anything, please come to the office to find me tomorrow."

When saying this, he deliberately emphasized the word "Deputy."

But to his surprise, Takei Kohei did not get angry, but just said lightly: "Editor-in-Chief Kikuchi, I want to ask you a question, do you know someone?"

"Who?" Kikuchi Tai replied in confusion.

"Yamanaka Narumi, do you still have an impression of this name?"

Hearing these words, Kikuchi Tai was stunned, and a stormy sea was set off in his heart. However, he quickly calmed down and pretended to be "calm" and said: "The other party is the president of a design company. I have had business dealings with her before. May I ask what the problem is?"

"Is it the cover design for *New Novel*?"

"That's right, that's all."

Takei Kohei on the other side of the phone sneered, "Editor-in-Chief Kikuchi, then why would someone tell me that this President Yamanaka has sat on your lap?"

Hearing this, Kikuchi Tai couldn't pretend anymore. He lowered his voice and asked: "Takei, this has nothing to do with you, right? And what exactly do you know..."

"I don't know much, but I have some photos in my hand that I would like you to appreciate carefully. Please arrive at the club at 7 o'clock tonight!"

After saying this, Kikuchi Tai heard the sound of the other party hanging up the phone. He looked at his wife's back cooking in the kitchen, and a confused expression appeared on his face.

Around 6:45 in the evening, Kikuchi Tai arrived at the Misaki Club in Ginza and was led into a small private room by the mama-san, where he saw Takei Kohei sitting and smoking.

There was only Takei Kohei in the private room. When he saw Kikuchi Tai, he said with a "politician-style" smile: "Editor-in-Chief Kikuchi, please sit down, don't be polite."

The mama-san bowed and left. Kikuchi Tai could only sit down with a livid face and asked in a low voice: "Where are the photos?"

Takei Kohei casually took out an envelope and pushed it in front of Kikuchi Tai. Kikuchi Tai immediately picked it up, opened the envelope, took out the photos inside, and confirmed them.

These photos are real, the other party didn't lie...

Although he didn't show it on the outside, he was actually not calm at all on the inside.

Once these photos are leaked, his relationship with a married woman will inevitably be exposed, and it is even more likely that someone will find out that he has used his power to commit a certain degree of corruption.

At this point, he will face a real "social death," and both his career and family will suffer devastating blows.

He couldn't imagine how he would face his wife and children at that time. And once he is kicked out of Mantanshe, it will be difficult for him to find a suitable job at his age. Because of such a scandal, no company in the industry will accept him.

Therefore, he must get back all the photos and negatives in the other party's hands.

Seeing Kikuchi Tai's performance, Takei Kohei showed a slightly mocking smile: "Editor-in-Chief Kikuchi is really good at calculating, outsourcing the publishing house's business, getting both the beauty and the money. That luxury car must have cost a lot of money, right?"

Kikuchi Tai's brows furrowed even tighter, "Takei, you..."

"Editor-in-Chief Kikuchi, don't pretend, I already know everything."

Hearing this answer, Kikuchi Tai felt as if he had been splashed with a basin of cold water. He looked at the other party, slumped on the sofa powerlessly, sighed, and said: "There is no conflict of interest between us, tell me, what exactly do you want?"

He was confident that he had done this series of things very secretly and shouldn't be easily known by the outside world. But Takei Kohei happened to know, which meant that the other party had at least spent a lot of effort.

Although the two were not in the same editorial department, they had cooperated many times after all. He considered himself to have a deep understanding of Takei Kohei, knowing that the other party was a person who would not get up early without profit.

Seeing that the other party had softened, Takei Kohei was satisfied. He handed over a piece of paper with a few lines of words written on it, "Editor-in-Chief Kikuchi, the matter is very simple, I just need you to make such arrangements for Akiwara Yuto and Asano Aiko..."

Kikuchi Tai took the paper in confusion and read it carefully. After reading it, he couldn't help but break into a cold sweat and muttered: "This is impossible..."

Takei Kohei did not answer immediately, but just pressed the cigarette butt into the ashtray in front of him. At the same time, the smile on his face became even more eerie... ===== CHAPTER 67 =====