Tokyo Tycoon, Start as a Writer

Chapter 100: The war is imminent, he needs to relieve and vent his stress

The morning sky is as cold as crystal.

Under the parasol in front of the hotel, Midori Kobayashi was reading the newspaper that had just been delivered that morning, paying attention to the news in the literature section.

The season is gradually approaching winter, but the enthusiasm of the Japanese literary world has not diminished at all.

Just the day after Shinchosha officially announced that Mishima's new work would be published in November, Bungeishunju also announced that the eldest son of the Ishihara family would publish his new work "The Sun and the Tower" in the monthly magazine "Bungei Shunju" to be issued on November 11st.

This act, which was clearly a declaration of war, added fuel to the already fiery literary world.

Most people don’t know who the eldest son of the Ishihara family is, but everyone knows Shintaro Ishihara of the Ishihara family.

As early as 1954, Shintaro Ishihara won the Akutagawa Prize for his book "Season of the Sun".

This book is a standard "post-war" literature, reflecting the social phenomenon that after the war, Japan's economic situation improved and rich children spent their days doing nothing, eating, drinking and having fun, leading a decadent life.

These young people are addicted to drinking, violence, and women; they ignore authority, do whatever they want, and bring serious harm to society.

The book "Season of the Sun", which is filled with a lot of sex and violence, has always been controversial.

Now that Shintaro Ishihara's grandson has released a new work, "The Sun and the Tower", there is no doubt that he is using his grandfather's name for marketing.

The day after Bungeishunju released the news, Shintaro Ishihara announced his resignation as a permanent judge for the Akutagawa Prize.

This move is tantamount to telling everyone that "The Sun and the Tower" is aiming for this year's Akutagawa Prize.

For a time, the focus of the entire Japanese literary world was on Mishima and Ishihara Seiji.

After reading all of Mishima's works, Shintaro Ishihara felt tremendous pressure. He stayed at home throughout mid-to-late October, helping his grandson polish his works. He finally managed to produce a manuscript of 8 words.

"The Sun and the Tower" is also a post-war literature, and it also has very eye-catching elements of sex and violence.

The full text totals 12 words. Ishihara Shintaro has already planned to publish it in two parts in the new issue of Bungeishunju.

Giving away large quantities while still being full is a very effective competitive strategy.

Relying on the large quantity, we first won the sales battle of the November monthly magazine, and then entered December with the momentum of victory to publish the next part.

With the Ishihara zaibatsu's strong hype and marketing capabilities, it will definitely be able to defeat Mishima.

Ishihara Shintaro's own literary accomplishment is also among the best. He knows very well that as long as Mishima's quality does not decline, it will be difficult for him to compete with him.

It is impossible to surpass Mishima in terms of quality, so we can only focus on quantity, public opinion and publicity.

Years of experience in politics and business have taught him that as long as the publicity resources are in place, even a piece of dog shit can be sold out.

Moreover, the quality of "The Sun and the Tower", which he polished himself, is not bad. Compared with previous Akutagawa Prize-winning works, it can also be ranked in the middle tier.

So, this advantage is mine!

Shintaro Ishihara is confident that he can win this game.

...Unless the opponent is cheating.

With this confidence, after Bungeishunju's official announcement, the Ishihara Group invested a lot of money to market its own eldest son.

Asking well-known seniors in the literary world to write recommendations for Seiji Ishihara is an outdated practice.

People in the literary world also noticed Mishima's huge traffic on the Internet and the huge success he achieved, and they all began to pay attention to Internet marketing.

Soft advertisements in various forums and hard advertisements on APP splash screens are emerging in an endless stream.

Offline subway and bus stop signs, exterior wall advertisements, and commercial screens play the video in rotation.

An online and offline linkage, with people inside and outside the circle joining together, a vigorous publicity campaign has officially begun.

#Recommended by professors from various universities#
#Don't miss it! A new masterpiece by the new author Seiji Ishihara! #
#The sister work of "Season of the Sun", "The Sun and the Tower" is coming! On November 11, it will be serialized with 1 words. Stay tuned to "Bungei Shunju" to enjoy it all at once! #
This kind of recommendation can be seen in front of every bookstore.

To be honest, Kobayashi Midori really envied this kind of "money-burning" marketing. If only Matsueda-kun could have this kind of treatment...

Of course, this is impossible.

It’s not that Shinchosha doesn’t value Mishima, but Shinchosha is a company and has to consider cost issues.

The Ishihara Group basically didn't consider the cost issue. As long as they could make their eldest son famous, they would not feel sorry for spending any amount of money.

In addition, the Ministry of Culture also cooperated with Bungeishunju and launched official channels to help promote it.

Mishima, who slapped the Ministry of Culture in the face last time, naturally did not receive such treatment.

Not only did they not support him, but at an internal discussion meeting of the Literature Committee hosted by the Ministry of Culture a few days ago, Mishima was specifically singled out and criticized - and those who attended the meeting were all well-known figures in the literary world.

These bigwigs used the same old tricks. After fully affirming the literary value of Mishima's works and the merits of "The Wave of Tide" in educating the people and boosting their confidence, they criticized the lack of depth in his plots.

They believe that a writer who only knows how to "talk about love" can never become a great writer.

After criticizing the work, he also criticized the character.

Regarding a topic at a high school cultural festival some time ago, it was reported that he had a chaotic private life, had ambiguous relationships with the three female members of the Matsueda family, and even had sex with his editor.

Such behavior is simply the glory of literati... bah, the shame of literati!
Video footage of the meeting was accidentally leaked.

But unfortunately, netizens are immune to these unoriginal attacks. Unless someone reveals that Mishima raped Lizard, these negative news will not be able to cause any more waves. The leaker's dream of provoking netizens will be shattered.

The video of the meeting was only circulated in the industry for a few days, and disappeared on its own when most people didn't pay attention to it.

This is how the information age works. As long as you are explosive and curious enough, you can become famous all over the country overnight. But when you have nothing new and don’t spend money to buy traffic, you will be drowned in the vast ocean of information and won’t be able to make even a wave.

At present, Mishima is no longer afraid of such despicable means as smearing.

What he has to face now is a head-on charge against him by the other side with real guns and real money.

Some time later, the editor discovered the video and angrily went to complain to Kiyoaki Matsueda. He just smiled faintly and said, "People like us are born to be envied and slandered."

At the same time, several other major publishing houses were also busy.

They also targeted the Akutagawa Prize and prepared the same counterattack measures.

In the last two months of 2010, they will all release works that they think are good.

In that case...

Inside Xinchao, there was an eerie silence and everyone was waiting.

For the top leaders, this situation of conflict among heroes must of course be ended by them personally.

They already have a shell in their hands.

A bomb that can blow through the entire literary world.

Wait until colleagues work together to stir up the heat and it reaches its maximum, and then drop this bomb.

"Boom~"

It is foreseeable that Japan's literary world will be swept by a huge wave...

By then, everything, everything, will become a stone on Mishima's step to becoming a god.

When Kobayashi Midori thought of that scene, she felt very happy.

After browsing the entire content of the literature page, she put down the newspaper and stretched, with a relaxed smile on her lips.

A fat orange cat that lived in the hotel came over and rubbed her ankle under the table. A sprinkler truck came by on the road, and the water splashed under the table, scaring the fat cat so much that it ran back to the hotel.

It was a refreshing autumn morning.

Kobayashi Midori leaned back in her chair and looked at the road. On the bright and wide street, students from Higashimaizuru who came to Kyoto for a school trip passed by in groups, and her sister was among them.

The younger sister saw her older sister and came over to say hello.

When Kiyoaki Matsueda walked out of the hotel, he saw his sister holding his younger sister's hand and saying something. His younger sister looked towards the hotel entrance absent-mindedly. When she saw him come out, the 15-year-old girl's mouth showed a smile as pure as a white lotus.

Her delicate cheeks looked even more radiant in the cold air, and turned red from the cold.

This smile was so pure that Kiyoaki Matsueda felt as if he had been washed in clean water, and the dirt dripped out of his ears along with the water.

Ah, the beauty of a young girl can be so pure and moving...

Naoko Kobayashi noticed him, her dark eyes widened and her eyes flickered.

Their eyes met.

There was a twinkling, mischievous, carefree light in her eyes.

Then, a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth and she left her sister.

The girl's figure was gentle, swaying in the bright sunshine of the late autumn morning, and she trotted directly towards him.

It was still chilly in the morning, and her little face was red from the cold.

She looked extremely charming, like a shy girl in love.

"Are you free this afternoon?"

Most Japanese girls have soft voices, and Arun is one of the best.

Naoko Kobayashi's voice is equally soft, and listening to it makes people feel like they are being wrapped in a soft rice cake.

"I can probably squeeze out some time. What's the matter?" Matsueda Kiyokatsu looked down at the girl.

She was wearing a long-sleeved school uniform with a short skirt and stockings.

The legs are long, straight and slender.

That innocent, childish face without any make-up was like a portrait of a pure and flawless soul.

"In the afternoon, we will visit Kiyomizu Temple, Ryoan Temple and Kamogawa. Remember to come find us when you are free." Naoko Kobayashi said with her face raised. She has a petite and slender figure, and her head can only reach Kiyoaki Matsueda's chin.

The dry and cold air made her lips slightly cracked, which made her look more lively.

"I will definitely come to find you when the time comes," Kiyoaki Matsueda promised.

The girl smiled happily, as pure and transparent as an elf on internship.

Every time he saw her, Kiyoaki Matsueda would feel a kind of "favoritism" in his heart.

This beautiful and unfortunate girl, with an innocent heart, is one of the most beautiful things in the world.

The two talked for a while and Kobayashi Midori did not interrupt.

In the student group across the street, the stupid Xiaoxue looked over and shouted, "Naoko! We are about to leave, come back quickly."

"See you in the afternoon." Naoko Kobayashi waved her hand, turned and ran towards her companions.

Ma Lu faced the person he hated the most. The stupid Xiao Xue made a face at him: "Lululu~"

How childish.

"You have a really good relationship with these girls." Kobayashi Midori walked up with a smile.

"Maybe it's thanks to this face." Matsueda Kiyoaki smiled faintly, then his eyes noticed something and looked at her legs.

The editor is wearing a white dress today, with a V-neck sweater with buttons on the chest. The overall feeling is very fresh and clean, which is the kind of outfit that only college students would wear. Under the hem of the dress, a piece of beautiful calf wearing flesh-colored stockings is exposed.

Kobayashi Midori had long observed that Matsueda-kun liked legs.

Being stared at by him, she felt a little shy, but she was more delighted that her lover liked her. She suppressed her shyness and raised the hem of her skirt a little: "Does this pair of stockings look good? When I bought them, I specifically bought the kind that is both warm and leg-shaping..."

"Why is this part of your socks wet?" Kiyoaki Matsueda interrupted her in confusion.

"……what?"

Kobayashi Midori looked down and found some unknown water stains on the calves of both legs.

It must have been splashed by the sprinkler truck just now.

"A sprinkler truck just came over." The editor explained.

"Oh, I see." Songeda Qingxian nodded, "Do you want me to wipe it for you?"

Kobayashi Midori rolled her eyes at him and said, "So you can touch my legs openly, right?"

"How could I, such an upright person, think about this?" Matsueda Kiyoaki snorted and walked forward.

"Stupid, stupid~" Kobayashi Midori followed him and poked his back with her fingertips, "There are so many people watching here, how can I let you touch me..."

"I already told you, I don't want to touch you!"

"Let's find a place where no one is around so you can touch me..." "Do you think I am... serious?"

"Matsueda-kun is a big pervert~"

She poked Matsueda Kiyoaki on the back again.

"You are being unreasonable. It was you who allowed me to touch you. How come I am a pervert?"

"Who are you if you're not?"

"You're the pervert who wants me to touch your legs!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he was stabbed in the back again.

"You female pervert!" Matsueda Kiyoaki would never tolerate her.

The back was poked again.

Every time it is very mild, no pain or itching.

"Baga Baga~" the editor cursed him several times in a soft voice.

Even though she was cursing, she was extremely happy, and her mood was brighter than the autumn sunshine.

The bookstore participating in the signing event and lecture this time is Tsutaya Books Kyoto Okazaki Store, which is next to the famous tourist attraction Heian Shrine.

It only takes about ten minutes to walk from the hotel.

The two walked side by side to the bookstore, enjoying the autumn sunshine, and looking up they could see the clouds shimmering like fine silk.

The advertisements on the roadside bus stops are all promotional posters for Seiji Ishihara and "The Sun and the Tower".

The poster consists of two parts. On the left is Seiji Ishihara, holding "Bungei Shunju"; on the right is a black figure, holding "Shiosao" and pointing to the left with one hand, which seems to be a challenge.

The two looked at each other from a distance, and sparks flew faintly.

The taste of opposition is full.

"They are so rich..." said Kobayashi Midori with some envy.

"That's good. The opponent's traffic is large, and I can get some of it." Kiyoaki Matsueda said optimistically.

"But they are disgusting. They are the challengers, but they made us the challengers on the poster."

"After all, they are Party A."

"The sales increase brought about by the overwhelming marketing should be terrifying." Kobayashi Midori said with some concern.

The Ishihara Group is the largest entertainment group in Japan. Its marketing capabilities in the field of culture and entertainment are absolutely first-class. This time, it has invested a lot of money to promote its eldest son. All kinds of advertisements of Seiji Ishihara can be seen everywhere.

In comparison, Xinchaoshe is much more shabby.

After all, a publishing house has to support hundreds of people and cannot ignore the issue of profit.

"What a wealth of money! It's awesome." Kiyoaki Matsueda could only sigh.

Marketing is a great way to save quality.

Although the means are crude, the effect is remarkable.

Many writers who are not good at writing can make good profits by relying on various means to manipulate the rankings and get comments, which squeezes out the exposure that should belong to good works, and the bad money drives out the good money.

After walking for a while, we arrived at the cultural center where the bookstore was located.

At the entrance of the cultural center, there are two human-shaped standees. On one side is a stand for Mishima’s autograph session; on the other side is a stand for Seiji Ishihara who made an appearance.

There are banners above the two signboards.

[The strongest newcomer Mishima VS the famous genius Ishihara Seiji]

The road leading to the cultural center is even divided into two parts, painted red and blue.

It really feels like going to the ring to fight for the winner, it's full of the spirit of a middle school student, I can only say that this is worthy of being Japan.

"What's going on?" Kobayashi Midori frowned and said angrily, "Today is your autograph session, why did the organizer put out the opponent's stand? Even if they want to take advantage of the opponent's marketing traffic, they have to wait until our event is over. Isn't this tantamount to helping the opponent provoke us right under our noses?"

Having said that, she turned her eyes away and was about to go and cause trouble for the person in charge of the bookstore.

"If he doesn't give us an explanation, we can forget about holding today's event!" Kobayashi Midori said this with great confidence.

Well, now that I have achieved results, I feel more confident and I am no longer that timid intern editor.

"Mr. Mishima, Mr. Kobayashi, I'm so sorry you're here..." The person in charge of the bookstore came over happily. As soon as he came in front of the two, he bowed and apologized desperately. "The ownership of this venue belongs to the Ministry of Culture. We just rented a part of it as a business place. They want to put up the sign of Seiji Ishihara. We really can't stop them, and we dare not destroy it. Please forgive me..."

The person in charge was sweating profusely and his legs were shaking with fear.

...If Mr. Mishima's book signing and lecture go wrong, he might be transferred to some remote place in Hokkaido tomorrow.

"Take us in." Kiyoaki Matsueda did not make things difficult for this grassroots leader.

"Thank you, thank you very much, thank you Mr. Mishima and Mr. Kobayashi..."

The store manager thanked him profusely, turned around, and led the way with his waist slightly bent.

"Although the Ministry of Culture is on their side, at least they don't dare to restrict us." Kobayashi Midori whispered to him.

"Relax, think about it, the bigger the opponent's momentum is, the brighter the smoke will burn when we take the lead."

After he finished speaking, the two smiled at each other.

When there is a tacit understanding, there will be a feeling that everything is implied.

Kobayashi Midori chuckled and looked at Matsueda Kiyoaki's profile, the admiration in her eyes becoming more and more genuine.

Who would have thought that four months ago, she was a humble intern editor who had not signed a single author for a whole month and was about to be fired, but just because she accidentally received a manuscript handed over by a security guard, she signed a super genius unprecedented in the Japanese literary world under her name.

The job was saved and the fame was established.

Authors continue to submit their works to her.

Within Xinchao, she, a newcomer who had to wait until she got her diploma before she could be officially hired, had not only established herself, but her words carried more weight than most of the veteran editors and were only second to some senior editors-in-chief.

The surprise I felt when I first saw the manuscript of "The Dancer" seems like yesterday.

Scenes passed by her eyes, and Kobayashi Midori looked at the profile of Matsueda Kiyoaki and her heart began to beat inexplicably.

"You're really amazing, Matsueda-kun..." The editor murmured softly, "If only you weren't so stupid and accepted my feelings earlier..."

There was also an explosive flow of customers in the bookstore, and Mishima's works continued to be bought and then replaced by the busy staff.

Customers who bought books lined up at the book signing event.

There were already four to five hundred people gathered at the scene.

When Kiyoaki Matsueda appeared, there was a burst of loud cheers at the scene.

Kobayashi Midori looked around at the enthusiastic crowd in the venue. The torrent of cheers was like an iron fist that was bound to smash any obstacles that stood in Matsueda-kun's way forward.

Sitting down at his seat, Kiyoaki Matsueda adjusted the microphone stand and picked up the pen with his right hand.

The young editor sat next to him.

After the host and the person in charge said a few brief words, the signing session officially began.

Kiyoaki Matsueda will sign readers' books and answer their questions.

This kind of scene is a great test of a writer's literary accomplishment.

"Mr. Mishima, I really like "The Wave of Tide". It satisfies all my fantasies about love." The first person to get the autograph was a cold-looking female office lady who showed excitement in front of her favorite author. "Can you write more books like this in the future?"

"'The Tide' is a happy work that a writer can only write once in his life. Its perfection and clarity is a trap in itself. I will write similar works again, but it is difficult to guarantee the same result."

The female office lady showed a surprised expression on her face: "Can the teacher write about tragedy?"

"Mr. Mishima said that he is a healing writer." The host quickly spoke up.

"Of course." Matsueda Kiyoaki smiled faintly, "I am a healing writer."

The second fan came up and asked, "Is Mr. Mishima's new work also a healing one?"

"How should I put it? This story about the growth and redemption of a sensitive and inferior boy should be considered healing," said Kiyoaki Matsueda lightly.

The third fan was a young girl, holding a newly purchased copy of "Dancing Girl" and looking at her idol tenderly: "Ms. Mishima, was your youth really full of dark storms? Is the one in "Cigarette" your autobiography?"

Matsueda Kiyoaki pondered for a moment and sighed slowly: "A weak boy who barely entered an aristocratic school. However, compared with his classmates, he neither had the same high social status nor was he as wealthy. He felt inferior because of being excluded. He could only stay away from the crowd and silently admire the most flattered and strongest students from a distance..."

"How pitiful~"

The girl looked at him with eyes that revealed a motherly kindness.

Hey, it’s actually a teenage mother…

The fourth fan, a teenager, said right away: "Mr. Mishima, you are my biggest idol. My biggest dream is to become a novelist like you."

“Why do you want to be like me?”

"Because novelists are valued and novelists are knowledgeable."

Facing the fanatical fans, Kiyoaki Matsueda shook his head and said: "What is the relationship between knowledge and novels? Knowledge is just a part of the material of a novel, like the rice in the hands of a sushi clerk. It is not because you are a sushi clerk that you have rice, but because you have rice, you can become a sushi clerk. It is not that novelists have knowledge, but that you can become novelists because you have knowledge."

The boy thought for a moment and then said, "At least as a person of noble character, a novelist deserves respect, right?"

"What a mistake!" Kiyoaki Matsueda continued to refute his point of view, "The reason why novelists seem to have noble personalities is just a filter added by people's wishful thinking. 'Artists will never commit crimes' is definitely a wrong idea. There is a passage in Thomas Mann's novel "Tonio Kröger": 'In order to become a poet, it is necessary to do something that will send you to prison..."

Then, Mr. Mishima listed many novelists and artists who had committed crimes to support his point of view.

His rich knowledge reserves won rounds of applause.

The fifth person to come on stage was a beautiful middle-aged woman, who looked at the young writer expectantly: "Teacher, you can write such a good love story, and you have such a beautiful lover. You must have a lot of life experience, right? You must have good love skills, right? Can you tell me some of your life experience to guide me..."

"Why let others tell you the way in life? You might as well go to the temple and draw a lot." Matsueda Kiyoaki looked at her like she was a fool. "A person who has been in love three thousand times may not have more experience than a person who has only been in love once. If you meet a teacher who insists on telling you the way in life, you have to be careful. Because he is either after your money or your sex."

After he said this, the audience burst into laughter.

The next fan came up and said loudly: "I respect you very much because you are a truly talented person."

"Whatever. If you want to respect a croaking parrot, it's just your personal taste. The only thing it has to do with me is that I am better than a croaking parrot in your eyes."

"Will Mr. Mishima lose sleep because of the noise of the parrot?"

"Insomnia is as rare to me as a lion eating salad."

“Can salad be eaten with pasta?”

"I think the pasta should be mixed with 42 grade concrete..."

"Mr. Mishima, I like you!"

"Thank you, I have a lover."

"Hahaha~"

There was constant laughter throughout the book signing event and the atmosphere was very lively.

The young writer who spoke eloquently on the stage was eloquent, quick-witted, sharp in his words and had a bit of dry humor. The audience never got bored even once in more than an hour.

The look in Kobayashi Midori's eyes when she looked at him was full of admiration.

The strength and tenderness, self-confidence and sweetness, severity and lyricism of a man...all these are concentrated in his face. He is the model of the handsome man that women of several generations have dreamed of.

This is a man who can make a woman toss and turn in bed, suffering from the pain of missing him.

It is difficult to count how many people are like this.

At the edge of the crowd, Matsueda Masako's eyes were gentle.

...As the mistress, it is time for me to do something to help him at this juncture, so that he can face this war in the most perfect condition.

■

Double, please vote monthly.

In the next part of the plot, the protagonist is going to have some meat.

(End of this chapter)