Tokyo: The life of a literary giant begins with home self-defense!

Chapter 35 Signing a Contract
Taro Ono listened to the sound of melting snow in the small house all night.

In the early morning, around five or six in the morning, Taro Ono's body moved.

"Mr. Ono is leaving?"

A woman in her thirties was standing on the stairs next to the living room. She had a charming face and was wearing a black coat.

"Morning, Ms. Takeda."

Taro Ono's voice was hoarse, like an unoiled machine. He looked at Mrs. Takeda, who seemed to have just woken up or had come down a long time ago.

"What can I do for you?"

Although there were some twists and turns, the purpose of coming here has been achieved. He said yesterday that he would leave early in the morning, and Takeda Takako was obviously waiting for him.

The woman lifted the clothes draped over her shoulders and walked to the fireplace to light the fire.

“This thing is rare in rural areas.”

The warm orange light dispelled the chill, and Ono Taro watched the woman add firewood to the fireplace little by little.

The ochre-colored fireplace is dotted with gravel pieces of various colors, which are arranged in an orderly manner, giving it a messy beauty.

"It was Longchuan Tetsu's damned mother who did it."

The dancing flames illuminated half of the woman's profile. Her words were somewhat harsh, somewhat undermining her image of being polite yesterday.

Taro Ono was stunned for a moment without saying anything. He waited quietly for Takako Takeda to finish her work and sit down opposite him.

"You didn't know him before?"

"who."

"Ryukawa Tetsu."

Seeing the other party shaking his head, Takeda Takako breathed a sigh of relief and then asked another question.

"You look familiar to me, but I didn't expect Miss Zhenfei to be you." Ono Taro looked at the very similar face and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Sister?"

A strange smile appeared on Takeda Takako's face.

Tanaka Koizumi once said that she had met someone who looked very similar to her at Kodansha in Tokyo. Kodansha is also a major literary publishing company. They were both in that circle, so it was impossible that Ono Taro had not seen her.

"You look gentle and refined, but your guts are just as twisted as that little bastard's."

Takeda Takako raised her bare hands and poured a cup of tea for the other person. There was a dim light outside the window, and the woman looked at the other person with some contempt.

Since we know each other, I didn't even ask any questions when I saw two similar faces.

Either the other party is too free and easy, or he knows something and doesn't want to get involved.

Taro Ono smiled awkwardly, picked up the cold tea on the table and took a sip.

"How has she been getting through these years?" Takeda Takako looked a little conflicted. After thinking about it, she asked this question to Ono Taro.

"Ms. Shinki." Thinking of the strong and domineering woman who was stirring up trouble in Tokyo, Ono Taro shuddered.

"I paid off my family's debts and started as a small editor five years ago."

Ono Taro sighed.

"Now he is a general manager of Kodansha."

The executive director of a large company is almost the second in command under the president.

Takako Takeda was stunned for a moment, and her eyes suddenly turned red.

"I paid off all my debts and became the managing director of Kodansha."

The woman murmured, and Ono Taro saw that she looked somewhat sad and somewhat happy.

A woman who rose from being heavily in debt to becoming a prominent figure must have suffered a lot.

"She came to me ten years ago when she was doing financial investment. She was always so smart."

Mrs. Takeda sighed. She hadn't been in touch with her sister for almost ten years. At that time, she was still in the financial field and came to her and said that she would soon make enough money and wanted her to return to Tokyo to live with her.

"When something goes wrong, you just hide away. It's foolish not to make progress." Thinking of her sister's cold face, Takeda Takako's sympathetic expression turned bitter again.

"Please don't tell her you've seen me, or that I asked you about her."

Mrs. Takeda seemed to have let go of her worries and bowed to the other party. Ono Taro nodded without saying anything.

Even in Tokyo, where many famous and wealthy families gather, the events of the Takeda family caused a huge stir.

The huge building collapsed overnight, and the wealth and property slowly dissipated along with the bubble.

Taro Ono is a man of letters and doesn't want to get involved in the intrigues of these big families. He was very satisfied with coming here and signing Ryukawa Toru.

"Who are you and Longchuan-kun?"

The address changed overnight, and Ono Taro looked at the other person with some curiosity, but also a little wary.

Last night, when Takako Takeda came downstairs.

I saw this proud and arrogant scholar bending down and bowing his head to Longchuan Che.

She didn't quite understand why a young man who had no hope of getting into college deserved such respect from the other party, but at this moment she looked at the other party with a cruel smile.

"I had intended to destroy that little bastard, but I didn't expect he had a talent for writing."

The woman's cold words made Ono Taro frown.

But in the end he just sighed.

"I kind of know, but thank you for raising him anyway."

Taro Ono stood up, bowed to the woman, then walked out into the snow.

The wind and snow blew his coat, and at the end of the road there was a black car waiting for him.

"Why should you thank me?"

Thinking about the man's respectful salute just now, Takeda Takako curled her lips as she propped herself up and prepared to go upstairs to catch up on her sleep.

With a creak, the door under the stairs opened.

The boy was wearing a sweater and had loose hair. He glanced at Mrs. Takeda and walked towards the bathroom.

"Morning, Ryukawa Tetsu."

The expression on Takeda Takako's face was a little stiff. She was thinking about whether she had talked too loudly with Ono Taro just now, and whether she had been caught talking nonsense about Ryukawa Toru by the other party.

Watching Longchuan Che brushing his teeth, washing his face, and then getting dressed calmly.

Mrs. Takeda's heart was beating fast this morning.

She was very sure that Longchuan Che was a black-hearted man, if he heard her scolding his mother in the morning and heard that she had always had bad intentions towards him.

'The little bastard will definitely find a chance to take revenge.'

With this thought in mind, Mrs. Takeda watched Ryukawa Toru eat, rest, and occasionally fiddle with the contract that Ono Taro had just signed with him.

【Writer Invitation Agreement】

The above lists the fee of 10,000 yen per manuscript for Ryukawa Toru and the publication space of 10,000 words per month, in addition to this there is a special clause.

【Give the author a share of the royalties based on the increase in sales.】

A manuscript worth 10,000 yen is almost the top treatment for serial authors, and there will be additional rewards if the publication of "Snow Country" brings a significant sales increase to the monthly magazine Shincho.

"I have given you everything I can. I hope you will not be disappointed if you can do it and write something that everyone will recognize."

After sitting there all night, Taro Ono gave out such a contract. Toru Ryukawa signed it and looked at Mrs. Takeda, who seemed a little guilty.

"Ma'am, I remember we should have made a bet."

Ryukawa Toru gave Mrs. Takeda a pure smile, and Takeda Takako was sure that Ryukawa Toru must have heard something in the morning.

(End of this chapter)