After my divorce, I became a Tokyo literary giant

Chapter 71

The headlights are hung from the ceiling, providing bright but not glaring light.

The guests, dressed in bright and beautiful clothes, were chatting and laughing while holding plates or glasses of wine.

Maki Saionji, wearing a red cheongsam, naturally became the focus of the salon, and she attracted everyone's attention wherever she went.

Cheongsam is a very sexy dress, and red is a bright and eye-catching color.

Cheongsam + red, most women can't pull it off. After wearing it, not only will they lose the feeling of dignity and elegance, but they will appear vulgar and give people the feeling of a cheap prostitute.

But Maki Saionji wouldn't do that.

She is 172 cm tall, wearing silver high heels, and is almost meters tall.

Most of the men present were not as tall as her.

Her tall and voluptuous figure gave her a powerful aura, coupled with her narrow and beautiful eyes that gave a strong sense of oppression and her high nose bridge, wherever she appeared, people would treat her as the queen of the place and kneel at her feet to beg her to look at them more.

Not only did Tazaki Saku not respect her, but he also tried every means to make her fall.

After exchanging greetings with the people in the courtyard, Tazaki Saku put his arm around the queen's slender waist and walked into the hall.

Soothing music was playing here, men and women gathered together to chat and laugh, and the scent of women's perfume wafted everywhere.

"Good evening, Mishima." The host of the banquet, Professor Fujimiya and his wife came over.

Professor Fujimiya was wearing a British-style pinstripe suit with a scarf tucked into his chest, and his wife was wearing a light, flimsy evening gown that looked like something a Middle Eastern woman might wear.

"Good evening, Professor Fujimiya." Tazaki Saku put his arm around Saionji Maki's waist and walked over. "This is my president."

"Head of the Saionji family, nice to meet you." Professor Fujimiya greeted politely.

Compared to the title of president of Aoba Society, he values the weight of the head of the Saionji family more in his heart. Although the Saionji family has declined, the value of this surname has always been the highest among the old noble families.

"Hello, Mr. Fujimiya." Maki Saionji nodded in return.

"By the way, let me recommend some young people to you." Professor Fujimiya waved with a smile.

Several young writers nearby came over with wine glasses, and they seemed to be familiar with each other.

During the greetings, Maki Saionji learned that they were a small group of eight writers who debuted at the same time, called Seiyukai.

Like most writers' groups, the topics discussed by these writers are not limited to novel writing, but also include various gossips and scandals in the literary and publishing circles, and at the very least, criticism of the government's political behavior.

"President Saionji, please give me your guidance." The female author whose pen name is Maria extended her hand.

She was wearing a shiny, soft-looking yellow long dress and a white silk scarf around her neck, looking bright and generous.

"Please give me your guidance." Maki Saionji stretched out her delicate hand wrapped in lace gloves and shook hands with her gently.

Tazaki Saku's gaze fell on the face of the female writer.

This is a female writer who writes love stories.

In the three years since his debut, he has written three books, each of which has sold more than 100 million copies. At the age of , he won the Naoki Prize, the highest award in the field of popular literature in Japan.

Her writing style is very shrewd and she has a unique dry sense of humor. The romance novels she writes often bring people a warm feeling that makes them smile knowingly amidst the absurd humor, and thus she has gained a large number of loyal readers.

However, what made her famous was not only her own strength but also the personality she created for herself.

In the image released to the public, she is an unlucky person who is both talented and beautiful, but has no luck in love. Every time she finally musters up the courage to fall in love, it is always ruined by all kinds of ridiculous little incidents.

Her fans always laugh and comfort her: This is a good thing. After falling in love, you won’t be able to write such a good love novel.

How could these poor fans possibly know that “the unlucky guy in love” is just a marketing character created by others?

Maybe she is a female sea king in private.

But Tazaki Saku didn't care about this.

He didn't covet her soul, he only coveted her.

Just when he was thinking about how to seduce the beautiful writer, her attention also fell on him.

Their eyes met and they began to exchange glances.

At this time, Maki Saionji had not noticed anything and was chatting with the writers from the Seiyoukai.

This happened to be the time for this year's Naoki Prize selection, so the topic of conversation naturally revolved around this award.

"Who can win the second Naoki Prize for our Seiyukai?" said a man named Masaaki Higashino.

This is a young man who writes detective novels. He has been quite popular recently, but unfortunately his works lack depth and have never been shortlisted for the Naomoto Prize.

"I think it should be Shinnosuke."

Shinnosuke writes financial business novels.

This type of novel has always been considered to be of a tool-oriented type and is unlikely to be shortlisted for the Naoki Prize.

"I think Mishima is more likely." Shinnosuke looked over here.

"Unlikely," Higashino Masaaki, the detective writer, shook his head. "Mishima's work is too pure literature. It's not even within the scope of the Naoki Prize. Even if the language is concise, it will be rejected by the judges."

This is true. The Naoki Prize is a popular literature award and will not win a pure literary work.

"Besides, you let Mishima, a pure literature writer, win a popular literature award. Isn't that a status issue? Pure literature writers are at the top of the contempt chain!" Higashino Masaaki said without any hesitation. He is a straightforward person who doesn't beat around the bush. Even his female editor was moved to tears several times by his words.

"Looks like Qingtian is more likely. He debuted at the age of 24 and was nominated for the Naoki Prize once..."

Maki Saionji listened to them talking, occasionally adding a comment or two of her own.

The contracts of these writers are almost expiring, and they are looking for new employers... Now is the time for her, Aoba Society, to have an opportunity.

Taki, it's your turn, hurry up and get along well with them!

Thinking this, Saionji Maki turned to look at Tazaki Saku...?
What about people?

He was just hugging her waist, how could he be such a big person?
Looking around the room, when she saw Tazaki Saku and the most beautiful female writer walking towards the corner while talking and laughing, Saionji Maki's eyes twitched violently a few times... This scumbag, don't even think about touching me again!

Walking to the dining table, Tazaki Saku brought a glass of champagne.

Maria also picked up a cup and looked at him with a half-smile: "Is your president jealous?"

"Don't mind her." Tazaki Saku raised his glass and clinked it towards her. "We are writers, and she is a businesswoman. We have different paths."

"Cheers~"

Maria clinked glasses with him and took a sip of champagne.

She was wearing a long yellow dress, her hair was tied up, and she was wearing earrings.

She appeared gentle, but her eyes were cunning, like a shrewd fox. "I really envy your talent," Maria said after swallowing her drink. "I've been following several of your novels, especially 'Sheep Chasing.' It's so well written, in no way inferior to last year's Akutagawa Prize winner."

"No, I'm just a newcomer who can't even win the Group Portrait Award." Tazaki Saku said modestly.

"I believe that gold will always shine. Mishima, you will definitely win the Akutagawa Prize in the future. Honestly, I really envy pure literature writers like you." Maria looked at him with admiration. "You use artistic words to construct stories bit by bit, plucking the deepest strings of the reader's soul. Unlike those of us who write popular literature, our minds are always focused on how to please the readers..."

"You're the only ones who can survive," Tazaki Saku said with emotion. "Pure literature may look noble, but in reality, it's barely enough to make a living. For example, there's a very good writer at Aoba Publishing, and they can only print 5000 copies of their new book for the first edition. He told me he can't see a future in it."

Maria seemed to empathize with the topic and sighed, "The publishing industry is in a downturn right now. A new author's masterpiece only prints four or five thousand copies. That was unthinkable in the past. A professional writer can barely make a living with such meager royalties..."

"This is despite the publisher's best efforts," said Tsukuru Tazaki. "Currently, 40% of the new books printed each year go unsold and remain sealed in the publisher's warehouse. This loss is borne entirely by the publisher."

The sale of books is consignment sales, and the bookstore will return unsold books to the publisher.

However, the publishing house cannot refuse to pay the labor costs, material costs, and author's royalties for each book printed.

"There's no point telling us writers about this." Maria took a sip of champagne, feeling the bubbles pop in her mouth. "Isn't all we writers can do when we're writing? After that, we can only wait."

After saying that, she smiled slightly, her eyes seemed to be waiting for something.

"All a publishing house can do is to provide authors with a secure and promising writing environment. Oh, by the way, Ms. Maria, I heard that your contract with Kodansha is about to expire..."

coming!

Maria put down her champagne glass and smiled: "Yes, I'm currently looking for a new buyer."

"I wonder if Miss Maria has any requests?" Tazaki Saku asked tentatively.

What Aoba Publishing House lacks most right now is a best-selling author with charisma. If they can sign this super popular beautiful female author, it will definitely be a big event worth celebrating.

"I'm waiting for nine o'clock." Maria said with a smile.

"I understand." Tazaki Saku stopped talking about this topic for the time being.

She chose nine o'clock because Japanese bookstores generally close before eight o'clock in the evening, and the statistical data will be released one hour later, which means that the sales data for the day will be available at nine o'clock in the evening.

Today is the first day that the October issue of Aoba goes on sale.

The first day's sales data will be a major factor in her decision to sign Aoba.

In the following time, Tazaki Saku, as a writer, chatted with her about some interesting things in the industry, and the two had a very pleasant conversation.

At the back, Maki Saionji broke away from the conversation and sat on the sofa to rest.

Her eyes always looked towards Tazaki Saku inadvertently.

Watching him chatting and laughing with the beautiful writer, her eyes were sometimes resentful and sometimes full of murderous intent.

The queen watched coldly from behind, and one could sense her unhappiness and resentment even from a distance.

"If this continues, she might kill me." Maria said meaningfully.

"I don't understand what you are saying." Tazaki Saku shook his head, looking like a gentleman.

"Yukiho told me that there's a rumor in your company that you're the president's gigolo, but in my opinion, that might not be a rumor..." Maria smiled narrowly.

"Huh, you know senior?" Tazaki Saku was a little surprised.

"A college classmate." Maria said, and the look in her eyes gradually became perverted as she looked at him. "You want to trick Xuehui away from me, but it won't be that easy."

"Let's wait and see." Tazaki Saku smiled confidently.

"Then let's see what tricks you have." Maria waved her hand, "I'm going to find Xuehui first."

Tazaki Saku's gaze followed her back and soon found Yonekura Yukiho in the direction she was heading.

The senior student was wearing a blue off-shoulder dress today, with her long hair tied up high behind her head. She looked fresh and elegant.

She was discussing the benefits of signing a contract with Aoba with several writers at the moment. Maria walked up to her and whispered a few words to her. She turned her head and saw Tazaki Saku, and an elegant and beautiful smile immediately bloomed on her face.

As a cold beauty, Yukiho Yonekura gave all her tenderness to this junior.

Tazaki Saku raised his wine glass and greeted her from a distance.

His eyes continued to turn.

In addition to the courtyard and hall, the salon also has a small side hall.

The person sitting there is a real big shot.

There was a screen blocking the entrance to the side hall, so from Tazaki Saku's angle, he could only see a small area.

The first person I saw was Miss Sakurako, who was wearing the clothes of the Kujo family.

She crossed her long legs and leaned lazily on the plush sofa, looking at her freshly done manicure with a bored look on her face.

Suddenly, a woman in black dressed as a bodyguard came over and whispered something to her.

The next second, she turned her head and saw Tazaki Saku in the hall, and a smile suddenly appeared in her bored eyes.

It was like a child who had found a favorite toy, and he even blinked at the toy and licked his lips meaningfully.

She wanted to play with my body under Ryoko's nose... Tazaki Saku understood her hint.

Next to her is Ryoko.

Ryoko, who always goes without makeup, still stands out among a bunch of women wearing makeup.

Her beauty is top-notch, but her lips are a little thin, and even with lipstick on, they are not plump enough.

In that luxurious European-style side hall, she lowered her head to read a book, with an air of self-admiration all the time - girls who don't like to be disturbed in social occasions usually adopt this attitude.

It’s strange to say, she was obviously already a married woman.

It has been eight years since I lost my virginity.

But she still gave people the feeling of being a young girl...

Tazaki Saku's gaze lingered on her face for a while.

Maki and Kujo Sakurako were both unaware of the divorce, so from both of their perspectives, it was definitely considered NTR for Ryoko.

As for the senior, coveting her best friend's ex-husband counts as half...

There are two and a half minotaurs, but only one victim.

Tsk, that’s so miserable.

(End of this chapter)