Living in the bubble economy of Tokyo, I became a literary giant through lotteries.

April 1st, April Fool's Day.

The Yoshino cherry blossoms in Ueno Park are in full bloom, and the petals drift in the wind onto the surface of Shinobazu Pond, forming a light pink carpet.

Pedestrians on the street have changed into spring clothes, and the air is filled with the scent of new green grass and the silvery laughter of young girls.

In this season of renewal, the animals have arrived once again...

These are digressions.

On this special day when one can lie without being blamed, there are always people who use jokes to mask their true feelings, gently revealing words they wouldn't dare say on ordinary days under the cover of the holiday.

However, during the transition from the Showa to the Heisei era, people did not take this imported Western holiday as seriously as they did Christmas.

Most people simply glance at the newspapers and chuckle at the absurd fake news deliberately published, then continue with their ordinary day.

However, for the publishing industry, this April Fool's Day was anything but funny.

A week has passed since the two volumes of "The Twelve Kingdoms" were quietly released without any prior notice.

There was no extensive pre-release hype, no celebrity endorsements, and even Guan Gufeng himself did not promote the book beyond mentioning it on a TV program.

All Wenyi Chunqiu did was utilize its distribution channels to place these two books, with their minimalist covers and cool-toned color scheme, in the most prominent positions in major bookstores.

College students who bought the book brought their reflections back to campus, or girls who were moved by "Yoko's" story recommended it to their friends.

It sold out within a day thanks to word-of-mouth recommendations from readers.

Every bookstore's copy of "The Twelve Kingdoms" sold out within a day. Bookstore owners frantically called the sales department of Wenyi Chunqiu to urge them to restock, only to receive hoarse and helpless replies from the operators.

Reputation, the most uncontrollable variable in the publishing industry, propelled "The Twelve Kingdoms" to legendary status in an almost frenzied manner.

As the book became a bestseller, public opinion shifted dramatically, faster than the weather in April.

Just a week ago, those weekly magazines and tabloids were still seriously analyzing whether "Guan Gu Shenqi has run out of ideas," using sensational headlines to grab attention.

Now, with the new book's sales figures in sight and readers' enthusiastic praise pouring in like a tidal wave, the same group of media outlets are all saying, "It was just a joke," as if it were merely an unspoken April Fool's Day prank.

"The rising star of Heisei literature is unstoppable!"

"Guan Gu Shenqi: He silences all doubters with his abilities!"

"Selling out 100,000 copies in a week, who dares to say it's just a flash in the pan?"

Some of the critics who wrote the most enthusiastically were precisely the ones who had been the most vehement critics in the past. This ability to change their tune was truly fitting for April Fool's Day.

As the new owner of Guan Gufeng, Wenyi Chunqiu would naturally not miss this perfect opportunity to kick a man when he's down.

On April 1st, they solemnly published several book reviews from heavyweight figures in the literary world in the latest issue of Weekly Bunshun.

This is not an April Fool's joke, but the most solemn crowning to a work.

Two of them are particularly noteworthy.

The author of the first story is Hiroshi Aramata, a name that is widely known in the world of Japanese fantasy literature.

This renowned author, who won the Japanese Science Fiction Award for his masterpiece "The Imperial Capital Story," which blends historical, mystical, and science fiction elements, highly recommends "The Twelve Kingdoms" in his article.

"What amazes me most about Guan Gu’s fantasy novel, which draws inspiration from ancient Chinese classics and boasts a magnificent worldview, is not its brilliant imagination."

"The key is that he can tell such a complex and intricate worldview in such a captivating and engaging way, which is no easy feat."

"What moved me even more was the character development in the book. Yoko, the character created by Sekiya, is constantly growing. If 'The Shadow of the Moon, the Sea of ​​Shadows' shows a girl's timidity, escapism, and growth."

"Then 'The Wind of Ten Thousand Miles, the Sky of Dawn' elevates the theme to a new level, namely the self-discovery and maturity of the monarch."

"Without this work, Japanese fantasy literature today might still be stuck in the same old boring and clichéd tropes of heroes and demon kings."

"Sekiya-sensei brought revolutionary works to the Japanese fantasy literature scene."

Besides being an author, Hiroshi Aramata was also a naturalist. As the author of "The Great Illustrated Guide to Natural History," he knew that it was difficult to write a captivating account of a grand and complex worldview.

If we say that Hiroshi Aramata's praise stems from the literary creation and fantasy setting itself.

The second major article then shifts the discussion from the realm of literature to a broader and more sensitive area: social criticism.

This article is authored by two renowned professors from the Faculty of Letters and the Graduate School of Sociology at the University of Tokyo.

The article is short, but every word carries immense weight.

"We noticed that Professor Guan Gu's 'The Twelve Kingdoms' is spreading at an astonishing rate among teenagers. Initially, we simply read this phenomenal work out of our professional habit as sociologists."

"But after reading it, we realized that this is not just a fantasy novel. It is also a mirror, a mirror reflecting the deep-seated problems of Japan's current education system and social structure."

"In 'The Shadow of the Moon, the Sea of ​​Shadows,' the protagonist Yoko's school life in Japan, though not extensively covered, is portrayed with remarkable depth."

"She wears a mask in class to fit in, dares not fight back against isolation and bullying, and gradually loses herself in the oppressive educational atmosphere. This is not fictional literary embellishment, but a microcosm of the daily lives of countless Japanese teenagers today."

"The Wind and the Sky" goes a step further, using the growth of three girls to put forward core values: people must bear the corresponding price for their choices, willfulness, and evil deeds; freedom without the restraint of responsibility will only breed selfishness and destruction.

"Xiangqiong's spoiled and escapist behavior, Ling's blind obedience and lack of independent thought, and Yangzi's awakening and sense of responsibility correspond precisely to three types of Japanese teenagers: perpetrators, blind followers, and oppressed individuals."

"The problems revealed in the book all point to a deeper systemic flaw: Japan's current juvenile law."

"Has this law, intended to protect minors, become, to some extent, a breeding ground for wrongdoing? Does its excessive protection of perpetrators constitute secondary harm to victims? These questions can no longer be avoided by society."

The moment the two articles were published, the entire public discourse exploded.

If the previous debates surrounding Sword Art Online were merely a storm within the literary world...

This time, the discussion about "The Twelve Kingdoms" and the Juvenile Law has completely broken down the barriers between different social circles and become a public issue of concern to the entire nation.

Major newspapers urgently replaced their already written articles with editorials, working overnight to conduct in-depth analyses of juvenile law issues.