Chapter 79: Heavy Doubts

Three days later, morning, at Akiwara Yuto's home.

Akiwara Yuto stood by the telephone in the entryway and said into the receiver, "Mrs. Asano, may I ask if Asano could come to the phone?"

"I'm sorry, Akiwara," Mrs. Asano sighed, then continued, "She is still feeling a bit unwell. Please forgive her."

"I understand. Please convey my message to her: she must take good care of herself," Akiwara Yuto said.

"Understood, I will pass that on to her."

Akiwara Yuto was silent for a moment, then hung up the phone.

He closed his eyes and began to think about the series of events that had occurred recently.

Because of the remarks made by teacher Seto Tamaki, the entire awards ceremony had become a joke. The person primarily in charge, Kihara Daigo, immediately announced the end of the awards and demanded that all staff and contracted writers remain silent toward the media.

Although public relations work was done, some media outlets still reported the content, though the wording was much more "euphemistic" and did not use the term "black curtain."

Despite this, Mantanshe still held a small press conference. At the conference, Kikuchi Tai bowed in apology and announced he would take responsibility for the result, but the reason given was vague, citing only his own errors.

At the end of the conference, Mantanshe announced he was being transferred to the Shikoku branch to serve as deputy branch manager, which was effectively an exile.

After the conference ended, Akiwara Yuto received a call from Asano Aiko, who told him the detailed "cause and effect" and hoped he could forgive her. Just as Akiwara was feeling bewildered, she hung up the phone. After that, he could not reach her at all.

Takei Kohei also paid a visit, extending an invitation to him once again in the name of *Tokyo Literature*, and repeatedly guaranteed that they would protect his interests and could make further concessions on manuscript fees and royalties.

However, faced with this invitation, Akiwara Yuto did not agree, saying only that he needed to consider it further.

……

Akiwara Yuto sorted through the recent events, then found paper and a pen and began to analyze them on the page.

The occurrence of these events felt as if they had been arranged, making him feel a deep sense of something being wrong.

First, Kikuchi Tai's performance did not match his personality.

According to Asano's account, Kikuchi Tai had changed the shortlist for the Jin Shang to curry favor with the department head and secure a promotion. But if that were the case, why would Kikuchi Tai promise to give the Jin Shang to him? There was no need for that at all.

Moreover, given Kikuchi Tai's slick personality, even if he had such an idea, he would have communicated and appeased him beforehand, and compensated him in other ways.

Second, Kihara Daigo's reaction was very strange.

If Kikuchi Tai had truly done this to curry favor with him, then as the department head, even if he couldn't help Kikuchi Tai openly, he could have intervened from the sidelines to arrange for Kikuchi Tai to be moved to another department or a slightly better branch.

One must know that the Shikoku region is located in the Nankaido, which could be said to have the worst economic environment in Nihon.

Such a lack of mercy would undoubtedly chill the hearts of subordinates who wanted to be on good terms with him.

Besides these two points, Asano Aiko's reaction of avoiding him after telling him the truth, and Takei Kohei's immediate move to extend an invitation, all made him feel that a pair of hands was pushing all of this.

He furrowed his brows, then put down the pen in his hand. What he needed now was more intelligence.

But, who to ask?

He thought for a while, opened a drawer, took out a business card, and dialed a number according to the card.

"Editor Awazu, may I ask if you are free this afternoon?"

……

3:00 PM, "SWAG" cafe in Chiyoda Ward.

Akiwara Yuto sat in a corner seat, holding a cup of black coffee. Sitting across from him was the editor of *April Youth* from the Kejiaoguan, Awazu Hideki, who had invited him to join them last time.

Awazu Hideki said "Thank you" to the waiter who handed over the dessert, then faced Akiwara Yuto and asked, "Teacher Akiwara, what is the matter for which you have invited me to talk today?"

He paused, then continued, "Could it be that you have already decided to leave *New Fiction* and join *April Youth*?"

Akiwara Yuto did not deny it directly, but he did not admit it either, saying only politely, "Editor Awazu, you must have heard about the recent awards ceremony for the Mantanshe Literary Award, right?"

"That's right, I have learned a bit about it here," Awazu Hideki revealed a gloating smile, "That counts as a scandal, neither big nor small."

"So, Teacher Akiwara, is it because of your own encounter that you have become cold toward Mantanshe?"

After finishing this sentence, he stared at Akiwara Yuto, trying to find a trace of dissatisfaction on his face.

After all, as the greatest contributor to the massive sales of *New Fiction*, Akiwara Yuto had ended up with not even a Jin Shang, obtaining only a Silver Award. Surely the other party would be very dissatisfied, right?

But to his surprise, the expression on Akiwara Yuto's face was very calm, and not a trace of fluctuation could be seen.

Akiwara Yuto did not answer this question, but instead said, "Editor Awazu, I invited you here today because I want to ask some questions about the internal affairs of Mantanshe."

"I am just an editor for *April Youth* at the Kejiaoguan; I might not know much about the situation at Mantanshe," Awazu Hideki waved his hand, but still said, "Please talk about what you want to know first. I can only tell you what I know."

Akiwara Yuto nodded to show understanding, though he felt very dismissive in his heart.

The fact that the other party could know his address and mention some of the circumstances of his cooperation with *New Fiction* showed that the other party had an "insider" in the editorial-related departments at Mantanshe, and that this insider's rank was not low. Since that was the case, the other party definitely had the intelligence he needed.

He set down the coffee in his hand and asked, "Regarding the award, was it truly pushed by Kikuchi Tai?"

Awazu Hideki did not answer immediately, but instead asked in return, "Akiwara-teacher, if I were to tell you some of the situation I am aware of, would you accept the invitation from *April Youth*?"

"No, I still need to consider it." Akiwara Yuto naturally would not sell himself out so easily, but he still said solemnly, "I will owe *April Youth* a favor."

Hearing this answer, Awazu Hideki was silent for a moment, but immediately laughed: "If it were someone else, I certainly wouldn't pay any mind if they said that. But since it is you, I believe it."

In his previous understanding, Akiwara Yuto had remained steadfast at *New Fiction* solely due to the kindness of Asano Aiko in discovering his talent, so he did not doubt that the other party would lie about this aspect.

His expression became solemn, and then he said, "I am not entirely clear on the specific events; what I know is only this..."