[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-literary-master-of-tokyo":3,"chapter-literary-master-of-tokyo-literary-master-of-tokyo-chapter-74":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Literary Master of Tokyo",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2354923,4607,"Chapter 74: Who Is the Winner of the Grand Prize?","literary-master-of-tokyo-chapter-74",74,"\u003Cp>On the afternoon of the Mantan Publishing Newcomer Award ceremony, Asano Aiko drove her small light-colored sedan to pick up Akiwara Yuto, who was waiting at home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She glanced at Akiwara Yuto, who had changed into formal attire and styled his hair neatly, and felt he looked even more handsome after dressing up; her face flushed involuntarily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto was unaware of her thoughts; seeing that the route the car was taking did not seem to be toward the Mantan Publishing headquarters, he asked, \"Asano, isn't the Mantan Publishing Literary Award ceremony held at the main office?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Asano Aiko reacted immediately, realizing she had forgotten to tell Akiwara the specific itinerary, and explained, \"Akiwara, this Mantan Publishing Literary Award has been scheduled at the YosugaNoSora Hotel in Dongjingwan. First, there will be a discussion among the writers, then a speech by the department head, and only then will the winners be announced and the awards presented...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto nodded and leaned back in his seat to close his eyes and rest; he had only remembered last night that he had forgotten to write his acceptance speech, and he had stayed up quite late finishing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a 30-minute drive, the two arrived at the hotel, which was today's destination, and parked in the lot next to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This hotel, called YosugaNoSora, was 15 stories high; its overall design consisted of white exterior walls and glass, featuring a square-shaped frame with a relatively understated appearance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto and Asano Aiko were ushered in by a waiter and soon arrived at the multi-function hall on the top floor of the hotel, which had been booked by Mantan Publishing for a cocktail party.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto looked around and found quite a few acquaintances at the party, including editors from Mantan Publishing, contracted writers, and some staff who looked like media personnel—he was not surprised, as Mantan Publishing, being one of the giant publishing houses, always had some friendly media outlets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Asano Aiko said a few words and then parted ways with Akiwara Yuto; this cocktail party was a good opportunity to expand one's network, so it naturally could not be wasted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto also nodded, picked up a glass of champagne from a nearby table, and walked in another direction—he had just spotted a few \"acquaintances.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he had taken two steps, a grinning acquaintance appeared before him; it was his bad friend Imamura Yuto, who was wearing a floral suit today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon seeing Akiwara, Imamura Yuto immediately leaned in and said sneakily, \"Akiwara, is your acceptance speech ready?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's ready, don't worry,\" Akiwara Yuto nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because he did not know whether he would win the Grand Prize or the Gold Prize, he had prepared two versions, though they were largely the same, with only slight changes in wording.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Imamura Yuto raised his eyebrows and, imitating the tone of a period drama, said, \"I, Imamura Yuto, first congratulate Lord Akiwara on winning the Mantan Publishing Grand Prize! Please do not forget me in the future, Lord Akiwara, and do give me a hand.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto’s mouth twitched, and he rolled his eyes at him, too lazy to deal with this idiot; after all, the result was still unknown, and he didn't want to be jinxed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amidst the music in the hall, the two chatted and ate; after all, it wouldn't be convenient to eat once the award ceremony began.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While Akiwara Yuto was chatting, a middle-aged woman in a black dress walked over; it was Seto Tamae. She held a glass of champagne and greeted Akiwara Yuto with a smile: \"Teacher Akiwara, when will your next work be published?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto clinked glasses with her and replied politely, \"I'm still looking for inspiration, but it should be soon.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was what he said, but in reality, he truly had no clue; although he knew many works, he really didn't know which one was just slightly better than the *ZOO* series without being too abrupt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Editor-in-Chief Kikuchi, who had been frequently urging him to start a new work, had been quiet lately, which left him somewhat puzzled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seto Tamae took a slow sip of her drink and then said with a smile, \"Teacher Akiwara, I am very much looking forward to your new work.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As his strongest competitor for this Grand Prize, logically she shouldn't have come to ask about these topics at this time, but to be honest, as a veteran in the literary world, she had long since stopped focusing on internal awards at Mantan Publishing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By comparison, she was more concerned about what Akiwara Yuto's next work would be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ever since Akiwara Yuto had explained the design techniques for nine types of tricks at her home a few days ago, she had been in awe of Akiwara Yuto's \"genius,\" and had subsequently read his previous works three more times, attempting to study the deeper meanings within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, apart from what the book reviewers had said, she hadn't seen anything else, nor had she found many of the nine techniques Akiwara Yuto had mentioned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, she vaguely guessed that Akiwara Yuto might be planning to write some content in his future works that would surprise readers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto smiled; facing this \"kind and wealthy\" female senior of the literary world, he really didn't know how to respond, so he could only promise to release a new work as soon as possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, the music in the hall suddenly stopped, and the lights dimmed. Under Imamura Yuto's reminder, Akiwara and Seto looked toward the stage at the front of the hall, where lights turned on, and a middle-aged man in a black suit walked to the microphone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Imamura Yuto lowered his voice and introduced him to Akiwara Yuto: \"The one on stage now is Kihara Daigo, the department head in charge of all literary editorial departments.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing his introduction, Akiwara Yuto couldn't help but start sizing up the middle-aged man on the stage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked to be in his 50s, with an upright posture, graying hair, and wearing a custom-made suit; he possessed an air of natural authority, looking like the type of person who had been giving orders for many years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After standing still, the man scanned the crowd below, placed both hands on the podium, introduced himself into the microphone, and then, in a deep voice, delivered the opening remarks for this Mantan Publishing Literary Award.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto listened to the speech for a while and was somewhat speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the speech sounded impassioned, it was actually the same old routine, much like the ones he had heard in his previous life, nothing more than \"thanking everyone for coming to this award ceremony,\" \"Mantan Publishing has a very long history,\" \"we spare no effort in cultivating writers,\" and so on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many people started to feel sleepy while listening, but they dared not show it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone present was internal staff from Mantan Publishing; it would be bad if word got out that they were sleepy while listening to the department head speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who knew if the department head was petty and would make things difficult for them later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>40 minutes later, the speech finally came to an end. After being interviewed by photographers and other media, another woman who looked like a rather iconic host stepped onto the stage and handed a card to the department head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The department head picked up the card, glanced at it twice, then looked around, and said into the microphone: \"Next, we will announce the Grand Prize for this Literary Award...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing these words, Akiwara Yuto couldn't help but feel nervous; he clenched his fists and stared fixedly upward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Asano Aiko, on the other side, was no better; she crossed her hands tightly and prayed silently in her heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amidst their anxiety, Department Head Kihara spoke slowly: \"According to the judgment of the jury, the winner of this Grand Prize is...\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1318,"2026-06-21T03:58:01.347Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","03137f22ca22a9d28ad8dcd3f34a738fd31197abb37d7aef3a210021847c09a5","literary-master-of-tokyo-chapter-75","literary-master-of-tokyo-chapter-73",334,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fliterary-master-of-tokyo-cover.jpg"]