Tokyo Tycoon, Start as a Writer

Chapter 46: Pay back double, say it and do it.

"Our king?"

"Humph!"

"I don't know what the so-called guy is!"

In the conference room on the seventh floor, the three editors-in-chief all responded with disdain.

Editor-in-chief Matsushita of the second department sat opposite them, looking solemn and unwilling.

Mishima certainly had the potential to become the king of Shinchosha, but he was strangled by internal strife and suppression by the powerful just as he was beginning to show his talent. How could he be willing to accept this?

Kiyoaki Matsueda went up to the seventh floor.

Midori Kobayashi anxiously wandered around the door of the conference room, hugging one arm and gently gnawing on her right thumb with her teeth.

When she saw Kiyoaki Matsueda appear, she immediately ran over to greet him with big dark circles under her eyes, and it seemed that she had a very poor sleep quality last night.

"They are all here, and now they are waiting for you."

"Hmm~"

Songeda Qingxian nodded slightly.

His face was expressionless, but his back was straight, and his whole body was like a sword drawn from its sheath, emitting a sharp and compelling aura.

Now he perfectly meets the definition of the perfect man in Kobayashi Midori's mind.

When quiet, you should be as gentle as jade, with melancholy eyes, indifferent and peaceful.

When killing, you must be magnanimous, have tension, and have light in your eyes.

This gave Kobayashi Midori confidence, and she raised her white and tender little fist towards him: "No matter what the result is, I will stand firmly on the side of Matsueda-kun, please let go and do it!"

With her expectations, Kiyoaki Matsueda entered the meeting room.

As soon as he entered the room, someone scanned him with a metal detector and greeted him at the same time: "Nice to meet you, Mr. Mishima. I am the editor-in-chief of the first part, Nitta Satoru. Please give me your guidance."

Matsueda Kiyoaki had a blank expression on his face and did not respond to him.

Editor-in-Chief Nitta did not feel embarrassed and smiled kindly: "Today's meeting is special. To ensure privacy, please turn off your cell phone and put it on the table. Please take out any electronic devices you have with you."

Kiyoaki Matsueda took out his cell phone, turned it off and placed it on the table.

The metal detector scanned him back and forth several times, and only after confirming that there was nothing abnormal was he allowed to sit down.

"Mr. Mishima, that's Section Chief Ito from the Agency for Cultural Affairs." Editor-in-Chief Matsushita of the Second Department introduced him.

Kiyoaki Matsueda didn't respond or look, his eyes were just on the folder he brought.

The three editors-in-chief of the department opposite began to speak one after another.

"Ms. Mishima has reached a pinnacle that many people cannot reach since his debut. The key is that he is still so young, so he has a promising future..."

"I've been in the industry for 20 years, and this is the first time I've seen a newcomer with such a strong momentum."

"As long as the single volume is successfully published, Mr. Mishima will definitely win the Akutagawa Prize in the second half of the year." Editor-in-Chief Nitta said in an affirmative tone.

The Akutagawa Prize in this world was also established to commemorate a literary giant named Akutagawa, but not Ryunosuke Akutagawa.

"As a writer, Mr. Mishima should understand the significance of the Akutagawa Prize, right?" Editor-in-Chief Nitta asked again.

Matsueda Kiyoaki nodded: "Of course."

"As long as you can pass the review of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the Akutagawa Prize will definitely be yours!" Editor-in-Chief Nitta said, "However, if you can't even pass the review of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, your reputation with the judges may be affected. So, while Section Chief Ito is here, you should think about it carefully..."

Only a fool could fail to hear this naked threat.

Kiyoaki Matsueda shook his head.

"Don't act on impulse!" Editor-in-Chief Nitta emphasized.

"What do you mean by not acting on impulse?" Matsueda Kiyoaki asked, "Is it not acting on impulse to accept such predatory demands and give up half of the copyright and adaptation rights?"

"In your eyes, all you care about is the petty profits from copyright?" Chief Editor Nitta gradually became angry and glared at him. "Do you think you are so noble and great? Let me tell you, this is not just your problem! If you offend the Agency of Culture, not only will you never be able to publish a single book or win any literary award, but even the entire New Trend will suffer and be buried with you for your impulsive behavior!"

"Yes, Mishima, think about it carefully..."

"You may not be afraid, but other authors of Xinchao will be afraid too. Give them a chance to survive..."

Editor-in-Chief Matsushita felt sickened by the words of the other two editors, but from his point of view, no matter which side he took at this time, there would be serious consequences, so he didn't dare to say a word.

Facing the pressure from the three editors alone, Matsueda Kiyoaki said expressionlessly: "I will not agree. Just skip to the next step."

Editor-in-Chief Nitta was stunned for a moment, not knowing what he meant, and subconsciously looked at Ito Seiichiro.

The senior official from the Ministry of Culture nodded slightly.

After receiving the signal, Chief Editor Nitta changed his expression, sighed a little tiredly, and said, "Section Chief Ito, you can see that Mr. Mishima cannot accept the request for half of the copyright. From the standpoint of our publishing house, we also support Mr. Mishima, so we refuse. I hope you can understand this decision."

How interesting! It's such a waste of acting skills to be an editor. Kiyoaki Matsueda looked at them with interest.

Section Chief Ito, who was sitting in the front, pretended to frown and ponder for a long time, then tapped the table with his fingers and said in a loud and clear voice, "The purpose of the Cultural Affairs Bureau is to serve all literary and artistic workers. Since Mr. Mishima has objections and his own demands, we must pay attention to them and face them squarely. How about this, on behalf of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, I will waive half of Mr. Mishima's copyright requirements."

Editor-in-Chief Nitta quickly said to Kiyoaki Matsueda, "Why don't you thank Section Chief Ito?"

Kiyoaki Matsueda remained unmoved and continued to watch them perform.

"Of course, it can't be unconditional. After all, the content of "Dancing Girl" is not positive enough..."

Section Chief Ito spoke in a fluent and clear voice. After a few polite official remarks, he finally revealed the real conspiracy: "As long as we change the ending, "Dancing Girl" can be published smoothly."

"This is really great!" Chief Editor Nitta immediately stood up, ran to Kiyoaki Matsueda, excitedly grabbed his shoulders and pulled him up, "This way, 'Dancing Girl' can be published, you can get royalties, you can win the Akutagawa Prize, the money and fame are all yours. Hurry up and get up to thank Section Chief Ito!"

With his arm pulled, Matsueda Kiyoaki stood up.

Agree, and money and fame will be right in front of you.

If you don’t agree, just wait for the government to ban you.

If it were an ordinary newcomer, he would have been stunned by their one-two punch. Not only would he have obediently handed over the adaptation rights, but he would also have to thank the big boss for his kindness.

"Mishima, you should think about this seriously..." Editor-in-Chief Matsushita, who had been silent all this time, could not help but speak up and said to him, "Although the revised version of "Dancing Girl" may not be accepted by readers, it is at least better than letting it rot in the magazine, and... at least the Ministry of Culture will not block your future books anymore."

After saying this, he couldn't help but sigh, with a complicated meaning.

In this regard, Kiyoaki Matsueda remained unmoved.

"Hey, don't be ungrateful!" Editor-in-Chief Nitta said impatiently.

"I don't agree." said Kiyoaki Matsueda.

His calm tone made Chief Editor Nitta furious, and he scolded, "You, do you have any sense of responsibility at all? Whether it's the publishing house that supported your debut or the public sentiment, you just don't care about it. Aren't you too cold-blooded? Mishima, you can't just consider your interests and reputation, you have to consider your responsibilities too!"

"That's outrageous, Mishima."

The expressions of the other two editors in the group were filled with coldness and hatred towards him.

Matsueda Kiyoaki ignored these lackeys and looked straight at the official in front of him: "Please listen carefully, I don't agree with a single word you said! I will make you pay the price for what happened today."

Ito Seiichiro frowned slightly, feeling a little surprised, but his eyes were still full of disdain.

He is an official and he holds power. As long as he does not reveal any flaws in public, even those old and famous people cannot do anything to him, let alone a newcomer without any qualifications or connections.

"You are so presumptuous!" Chief Editor Nitta's eyes widened with anger and a distorted expression. He reached out to press the back of Matsueda Kiyoaki's neck. "Asshole, stop joking and kneel down to apologize to Section Chief Ito!"

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Songzhi Qingxian to bend down. Instead, he was pushed away.

Kiyoaki Matsueda walked towards Section Chief Ito with a sharp look in his eyes and an attitude that success or failure depended on this one move.

Throw away your self-respect and bow down to these people?
No matter how outrageous the things these people did, we have to pretend nothing happened?

It's impossible!

"Section Chief Ito, the plot of 'Dancing Girl' is regrettable and the content is not positive enough so it cannot pass the review. Then I want to read 'Tide Sao' which has a perfect ending and a positive and healthy plot. What other reasons can you use to block me!"

Kiyoaki Matsueda threw the folder out.

"Crack~"

The folder fell in front of Ito Seiichiro.

He didn't turn it over, his eyes were somewhat puzzled, but he still had the indifference and superiority of a superior. He asked in a rather amusing but actually threatening way, "Where do you get the confidence to fight me?"

"You can keep on holding back. I'll wait!" Matsueda Kiyoaki remained calm and didn't react to his threats at all. "From now on, I will post one article a month on my personal social media account for free. I'll wait. After three to five years, when I have accumulated enough fame, I'll see if you can still talk to me so arrogantly."

Hearing his words, Ito Seiichiro frowned deeply.

...Meet a tough guy.

"You're crazy, stop it!" Editor-in-Chief Nitta was furious, veins popping out on his neck, and he rushed up from behind and tried to push Kiyoaki Matsueda down.

Kiyoaki Matsueda turned around and punched him.

"Ah~"

Amid screams, Editor-in-Chief Nitta covered his face and fell to the ground wailing.

"Hey, why are you hitting someone..."

"It's so outrageous..."

As soon as the other two editors-in-chief spoke, Kiyoaki Matsueda glared at them.

They didn't dare to look at him directly, and immediately turned their heads and looked out the window with an unnatural expression.

"Very well, you have angered me..." Ito Seiichiro took a deep breath and glared at him fiercely, "As long as I am still in this position, you will never get a single work from me..."

Before he finished speaking, his cell phone rang.

In the entire conference room, his cell phone was the only one turned on.

It was the Deputy Minister of Tokyo, the highest official of the Tokyo branch of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, who called.

Ito Seiichiro did not dare to neglect it and quickly picked up the phone to answer: "Hello, Deputy Minister, yes, yes, I am in Shincho. Yes, huh? What? Why, this is not... Oh, I understand, please rest assured..."

His expression changed from respectful, to puzzled, and then to full of surprise.

Putting down the phone, I looked at the man in front of me, and the deputy minister's instructions kept echoing in my mind...

"Don't embarrass Mishima anymore, this is an order!"

Why would the Deputy Minister take special care of him?
Who is the big shot helping him behind this?

In a very short period of time, Seiichiro Ito's mentality changed drastically.

From just now, I looked down on Songzhi Qingxian and acted superior to him, to now, I feel an unknown anxiety in my heart...

This guy actually got the deputy minister to show up?
Seiichiro Ito was the section chief, two levels lower than the Tokyo deputy minister, and there was no way he could disobey.

No matter how much I coerced, bribed, deceived or tricked this guy named Mishima, I couldn't make him obey my orders. On the contrary, as a section chief, I had to bow my head in front of him. It was really a great shame...

"Section Chief Ito!"

The voice in front interrupted Section Chief Ito's thoughts. He looked forward and saw the man said calmly but with sharp eyes: "An eye for an eye, double the return! I will definitely do what I say. You won't be in this position for long--"

Section Chief Ito's heart skipped a beat.

He felt very uneasy, his stomach felt like it was being pinched by something and it was aching, and his head was aching. He immediately said, "Let you go, so that others won't think that I am using my power to bully you..."

After saying this, the senior government official no longer had the courage to stay here and stood up to leave.

As they passed by, Songeda Qingxian lowered his voice and said to him alone: ​​"I will send you the video recording of today's meeting later."

At this moment, Ito Seiichiro seemed to hear the whisper of death and trembled with fear.

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(End of this chapter)