Tokyo Tycoon, Start as a Writer

Chapter 7 A turning point appears
Naoto Oguri was in a daze the whole morning.

My mental state was seriously not right, and I couldn't concentrate on reviewing the manuscript. I could only read "The Dancing Girl of Izu" over and over again, intoxicated by its plain, implicit and ethereal artistic realm.

As a professional, he can taste something a little deeper.

Beneath the skin of romanticism, this book reveals underlying realistic descriptions everywhere.

From the old woman in the teahouse, the bird trader, the hotel owner and the sign at the entrance of the village, all reflect the survival difficulties of touring artists.

Apart from the protagonist, the only person who is close to them in the whole story is the dog.

This kind of living environment has had a certain negative impact on the dancers. They know that their status and position are low, so they appear to lack dignity and self-esteem, which is why they behave so humbly to the protagonist.

Because of the huge class gap between them, the love affair between the protagonist and the dancer ended in failure. This is undoubtedly a criticism of the class system in real society by the author, and it is also a reflection of the author's inner humanistic concern.

What kind of novelist can be called a literary writer?
This is it!

But this book criticizing class differences was suppressed by the real classes.

It seems somewhat ironic.

The more he watched it, the more futile Naoto Oguri felt.

He felt regretful that his love affair with the dancer ended in failure.

He felt empty when his novel Dancer failed to be shortlisted for the award.

In vain, in the face of absolute power, all beautiful ideals are in vain...

At noon, Naoto Oguri packed up his manuscript and walked towards the security room.

The summer sun was hot, but he felt a little cold.

In the security room, Oshima Yong also felt a little cold.

Seeing Editor Oguri walking towards him, he felt hopeless and thought his career as a security guard was saying goodbye to him.

"Oshima..."

Nao Oguri came to the security booth.

"Yes, Mr. Oguri." Oshima Yong smiled with difficulty. "About my cousin, I'm sorry, I can't contact him..."

"No need to contact him." Nao Oguri shook his head and handed the folder back to him.

Oshima Yong's eyes were stunned: "Huh?"

"Take it back, tell him not to lose heart and keep working hard next year." Nao Oguri said dejectedly.

"Fa, what happened?"

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask."

Naoto Oguri warned him, turned around, and walked in the cold sunlight.

Looking back on my career over the past ten years, I started out by staying up late to review manuscripts with passion, and personally responded to every author who submitted manuscripts. Now I slack off at work and only focus on newcomers with potential. I have changed a lot without realizing it.

The ambition to work hard in a big city has gradually turned into the helplessness of just being able to live in a big city.

He jumped into this swamp called dreams on his own initiative, and he was deeply trapped in it and unable to extricate himself.

So, what will happen tomorrow?

Naoto Oguri sighed, raised his head and looked at the trendy building, his eyes hurt slightly from the refraction of light.

This is Japan's oldest and most professional pure literature publishing house. Almost all the famous writers in Japanese history have published articles in Shincho.

But even for such a publishing house, there will be shady dealings. Can literature still be called the final pure land in people’s hearts?

Naoto Oguri just couldn't figure it out.

He looked around and sighed, feeling that he was completely alone and had no one to rely on in this company.

"When encountering something like this, I don't even know where to start protesting. Am I still worthy of being an editor? Am I still worthy of studying..."

The middle-aged man, who had long lost his edge and had family burdens, muttered to himself.

In the security booth, Oshima Isamu looked at Oguri Nao with a puzzled look on his face.

I always feel that this guy looks a little lost and confused. Is his wife cheating on him? Well, I don't care about other people's affairs. I just want to keep my job... Oshima Yong stuffed the folder into the drawer.

"Good afternoon, Oshima."

A clear, energetic voice like a silver bell sounded behind him, and Naoto Oguri subconsciously turned around to look.

A tall girl with short chestnut hair walked into the security booth and asked Oshima Isamu in a familiar voice, "Do you have any manuscripts to mail to me?"

"It's from Xiaolin. Let me take a look." Oshima Yong turned around and flipped through the letter box. "I haven't received any manuscripts from you recently. What's wrong? Did any author say they would submit to you? Today's manuscript hasn't been sent yet. Why don't you come back and take a look after get off work?"

"Oh, there's nothing again. This is so difficult~~ Oshima, please keep an eye out for me. If there is, contact me immediately and I will come down to get it myself." The girl with short chestnut hair was a little frustrated. After giving the order, she turned and walked towards the office building.

She passed by Naoto Oguri.

Her personal information is on the work badge on her chest.

Editor-in-Chief, Midori Kobayashi.

Naoto Oguri frowned slightly, looking thoughtful.

Many publishing houses have an unwritten rule that the first editorial department is responsible for pure literature, and the second editorial department is responsible for popular fiction.

On the surface, the business of the two editorial departments is clearly differentiated.

But in fact, the boundary between pure literature and popular fiction is difficult to distinguish simply, so there is a competitive relationship between the two editorial departments in novels that are close to both pure literature and popular fiction.

Because Xinchao focused on pure literature, most of the works were submitted to the first editorial department.

The second editorial department is relatively weaker.

This can be seen from the number of editors.

The first editorial department has three editors-in-chief, leading three groups with a total of more than twenty editors.

The second editorial department has only one editor-in-chief and six or seven editors.

If the second editorial department has the opportunity to sign a talented new writer, they will definitely not care about the editor-in-chief of the first editorial department...

A bold idea came to Naoto Oguri's mind, prompting him to turn around and walk back to the security booth.

"Oshima, I want to ask you something."

"Hey, Mr. Oguri, please tell me."

"Is that woman just now also our Shincho's editor?" asked Naoto Oguri.

"You are talking about Xiaolin. He's a new intern who hasn't even graduated from college yet. He's currently working as a trainee editor in the second editorial department." As the security guard stationed at the gate, Oshima Yong knows the company's employees best, apart from personnel matters.

"What did she want from you just now?"

"She asked me to help her keep an eye on the manuscripts. As you know, as an intern editor, I don't have any author resources and my performance is pitifully poor. If my performance doesn't meet the standards, I may not even be able to get a permanent position. I heard that she has a sister in high school and a seriously ill mother at home. Sigh..."

Intern editor, urgently need performance...

Moreover, the editorial department 2 is in competition with the editorial department 1, so I don’t need to look at the face of the editor-in-chief of the editorial department 1.

feasible!

"What kind of person is she?" asked Naoto Oguri calmly.

"Well, from what I've seen, she's pretty, generous, sensible, and ambitious..." Oshima Yong said, and suddenly came to his senses, his eyes alert, "Mr. Oguri, why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

"I want to transfer your cousin's manuscript to her." said Naoto Oguri.

"Eh?"

His words left Oshima Isamu confused.

"He is your cousin. I won't hide this from you."

Naoto Oguri came over, lowered his voice, and said to Oshima Isamu, "The manuscript is of very high quality and has a high chance of winning an award, but for some reason the editor-in-chief of the first department is not allowing it to be nominated. Help your cousin to submit the manuscript to the intern editor of the second department just now. Remember, you should say that it was specifically submitted to her, but it was accidentally opened by someone else. Also, tell her that I accidentally saw this manuscript and thought it was very good. I want to go over and discuss with her whether it can be transferred to me..."

“…Leave it to me!”

Without saying a word, Oshima Isamu rushed to the office of the second editorial department.

(End of this chapter)