I am a literary giant in Japan

After a flight of more than ten hours, Kitagawa Hide arrived safely at Tokyo International Airport at noon the following day.

Welcome home, dear~

"Hey, I thought those nagging old folks in Stockholm would be driving you crazy, but you've even gained some weight?"

"Beichuan, you've really gained a lot of weight!"

"Really? I feel like Kitagawa-sensei is still the same as before?"

"The teacher seems to have not only gained weight, but her eyes and demeanor are also completely different from before."

Upon seeing Kitagawa Hide return, Yumeko immediately tossed the two little ones to Aso Mayumi and then rushed into his arms as fast as she could.

Kitagawa Hideya happily picked her up and spun her around several times before slowly putting her down.

The women behind Mengzi chuckled at the sight, feeling a mixture of envy and jealousy that the couple, married for almost three years, still had such a good relationship.

After spending a short, intimate moment with Yumeko, Kitagawa Hide took her hand and led her back into the crowd. Kitagawa Toru and Kitagawa Midori, the two little ones, could already call him "Daddy" in their baby voices, and their adorable appearance almost melted Kitagawa Hide's heart.

Under the careful guidance of experienced mothers Mayumi Aso and Keiko Shimamura, the naturally mischievous Midori Kitagawa finally became a bit more quiet, while the seemingly clueless Tetsu Kitagawa revealed extraordinary talent in mathematics and physics—

Yumeko has already discussed it with them and decided to hire a lecturer from the Department of Mathematics at the University of Tokyo to tutor Archer before he starts kindergarten, so that he can become an outstanding scientist in the future!
Rei Jabami, who was closest to Tetsu Kitagawa, was extremely upset upon learning of this.

Seeing that little Archer had rosy lips and white teeth, and that he had perfectly inherited the good looks of his father and mother, she thought about teaching him to sing and dance, so that he could enter the Japanese entertainment industry and grow from a child star to a national boy band idol!
Unexpectedly, this little guy has a good appearance but almost no artistic talent, which is quite different from Kitagawa Hideyuki, who has a high artistic talent.

Because of this incident, and because she was frightened several times on set while filming "One Missed Call 1", Rei Jabami, who was in a bad mood, would complain to Hideki Kitagawa about how fat he had gotten.

Kitagawa Hide ignored the sharp-tongued woman's little temper and didn't argue with her as usual.

He knows Jabami Rei too well.

This woman gets really into it once you start arguing with her. She'll keep pushing you to her level of thinking by constantly bickering with you, and then keep tormenting you until she convinces you.

There are only two people in all of Japan who can effectively control Jabami Rei.

One is Yumeko, whose personality naturally restrains her. Jabami Rei is like a raging fire, while Yumeko is like gentle water. As soon as Yumeko pounces on her, the fire is extinguished, and she can only obediently follow orders.

The other is Professor Osamu Takeuchi, who successfully instilled fear in Rei Jabami during her four years at university.

Professor Takeuchi Osamu treated her as his own daughter and groomed her as his successor. Even though she now spends most of her time in the entertainment industry, she still hasn't escaped Professor Takeuchi Osamu's control.

The two, one a monkey and the other a Buddha, effectively subdued Rei Jabami.

Seeing that he was deliberately ignoring her, Rei immediately started grumbling and cursing as she picked up little Archer and walked away.

Seeing her best friend sulking again, Yumeko, feeling both amused and exasperated, let go of Kitagawa Hide and ran over to comfort her, also to prevent Acher from being corrupted by this arrogant godmother.

After Yumeko left, Saito Rena and the others naturally moved closer.

"Kitagawa, we listened to the entire public lecture on the radio. Your new theory of tragedy is truly thought-provoking."

Rena Saito, who serializes "Ju-on" in Kitagawa Bunko, has recently experienced writer's block again.

With the first major chapter of "Ju-on" about to end, she hesitated to start writing the ending.

When she was an editor, Rena Saito tried writing a few times, but she never even managed to submit her work. Therefore, she never experienced the life of a proper contracted writer.

Now, having successfully signed a contract with Kitagawa Bunko and become the third most popular novelist on the website after Kitagawa Hide and Jabami Rei, she has gained both fame and fortune. However, she is also gradually feeling the pain and torment of being a novelist.

No wonder the writers under my supervision always have all sorts of bizarre reasons for delaying their work and their outrageous procrastination.
Now that it's her turn, the thought of the dreadful ending makes her wish time would slow down, the deadline would be later, or she could even delay the manuscript.

Fortunately, the open lecture that Kitagawa Hide gave at the Swedish Academy this time gave her a lot of inspiration.

Novels, especially horror novels, don't need to force a happy ending or a happy conclusion.

Sometimes tragic endings are more moving and better showcase the horror and charm of horror novels!
"I'm just standing on the shoulders of giants and picking up scraps from others." Kitagawa Shu glanced at Saito Rena and saw her slightly puffy eyes and face. He knew that this "swollen-faced editor" was having another episode, probably writer's block.

He asked casually, and it turned out to be true.

Rena Saito is currently serializing the 2000 videotape version of "Ju-on 1," which was later adapted into a TV drama.

The plot of this part is mainly about Saeki Toshio not coming to school for several days. His homeroom teacher, Kobayashi Shunsuke, comes to visit his home, but only finds Toshio who is in a daze and behaving strangely. He does not see the Saeki couple who are supposed to take care of Toshio.

Shunsuke Kobayashi learned of Kayako's feelings for him from her diary, leaving him bewildered.

Just as Kobayashi was wandering around Kayako's house, he suddenly received a phone call from Takeo Saeki, informing him that his pregnant wife had been brutally murdered!
Saeki Takeo killed his wife because he suspected her of adultery with Kayako, and that their child, Saeki Toshio, might be Kobayashi and Kayako's son.

Takeo Saeki suffers from oligospermia, and doctors believe he will have difficulty conceiving. However, Kayako, who has always been in love with Kobayashi, gives birth to Toshio.

This made him suspect the relationship between Kobayashi and Kayako.

At the same time, Kayako, who had been brutally murdered, appeared in front of Kobayashi. Unlike the female ghosts in typical horror novels, she did not show mercy to the man she had admired in life.

Kayako is a terrifying and unsolvable monster formed from an infinite collection of resentment. She is not afraid of sunlight, has no human emotions, and only knows how to kill and spread resentment.

After Kobayashi's death, the psychic Kyoko Suzuki was asked by her younger brother Tatsuya, who ran a real estate agency, to investigate the Saeki family's house.

After the investigation, Kyoko offered advice to her younger brother, but she soon discovered that misfortune had already befallen her and her nephew, Nobuyuki.

On the other hand, the Kitada couple, who bought the house, also began their terrifying and bizarre life.
Rena Saito was caught in a dilemma regarding how to handle Kayako's murder and the subsequent spread of Ju-on.

On the one hand, she would definitely write a sequel, so she couldn't let Kayako's evil spirit be exorcised and become a Buddha. In other words, the curse had to continue to exist and affect countless people.

On the other hand, during its serialization, "Ju-on" garnered more terrifying reviews than "One Missed Call" and "Ring," and was hailed by countless readers as the scariest horror novel of all time. However, excessive horror means a niche appeal and difficulties in film and television adaptation, which is clearly detrimental to the novel's future development.

Rena Saito attempted to write a happy ending, in which she sent Kyoko to eliminate Reikaya. Although she ultimately failed, Kyoko still managed to save her nephew and several other people's lives.

However, after finishing the writing, she immediately realized that the ending was out of step with the overall tone of "Ju-on" and was obviously unusable.

After listening to her troubles, Kitagawa Hide laughed as he walked away, "Judging from the plot and themes you wrote before, forcing it to be a happy ending or a good ending will definitely be met with the scorn and anger of readers."

Now that you've finally established yourself as the 'number one horror novelist,' why do you insist on catering to the so-called mass market in order to achieve mainstream appeal?

"That's what I thought too, but..." Saito Rena rubbed her temples and asked in a low voice, "Wouldn't it be too much to let everyone die?"

Japan is currently in a period of economic depression. After the bursting of the bubble economy, no one knows how long this absurd situation will last.

Several prime ministers have tried to drastically boost the domestic economy and send positive messages and news to the public.

The government just issued a batch of regional revitalization vouchers in April and is still working hard for the overall economic situation.

The overall atmosphere and style of "Ju-on" goes against the national norm, just like how Hideki Kitagawa wrote "No Longer Human." If it provokes a negative reaction from the public, Rena Saito feels that she cannot escape the blame.

After all, she wasn't Kitagawa Hide, the time traveler; she had "love" for this country and its ordinary people.

Forcibly changing the tone would be tantamount to leading "Ju-on" to its demise. As a creator, she finally has a literary work that can be remembered in the history of Japanese literature, so how could she give it up so hastily!

She looked at Kitagawa Hide, and her rare pleading look touched him.

Saito Rena and Kawade Shizuko were always the two more reliable women among the group, and rarely asked Kitagawa Hide for help.

Once they ask for your help, Kitagawa Hide finds it hard to refuse.

Kitagawa Hide pondered for a moment, first going through the development of the Ju-on series and the adaptations in the original history several times in his mind. After confirming how to handle the problem, he earnestly said to Saito Rena, "I think that although this ending is tragic, it fits the overall tone of Ju-on very well and is the right way to write it."

As for the things you're worried about, I don't think it's necessary to overthink them.

First, regardless of whether you write a happy ending or not, anyone who has read "Ju-on" will find it difficult to categorize it as a horror novel.

Your market is very niche, so there's no need to abandon your core customer base in order to please more people.

Secondly, after careful consideration, I realized that the more tragic the story, the more it fits the overall tone of your novel. Therefore, not only should the first part be written in this way, but the subsequent parts should also follow this principle.

The curse remains, and the dead continue to die;
Resentment endures, never ceasing!

"As long as the curse persists, the dead will continue to die; as long as resentment endures, life will never cease."

After hearing his words, Saito Rena's eyes lit up, and she immediately had a direction and ideas for her writing.

“Beichuan, you’re right. I can’t lose the big picture for a small gain; that would be suicide.”

Since I've already written "Ju-on," I should follow Kayako's example and spread the word about "Ju-on" to the very end!

"It's good that you understand. But that sounds weird, it gives me a chill, haha."

In his previous life, Hideki Kitagawa was also a victim of "Ju-on," and it was this movie that led him to understand Japanese horror, which indirectly led him to go to the University of Tokyo for graduate studies.

He remembers watching the film for the first time at a cultural festival during his sophomore year of college.

At that time, the neighboring university was full of various cultural festivals and club activities. Although many clubs and student organizations were filled with a strong, low-quality Chinese bureaucratic flavor, it also made Kitagawa Xiu, who had worked hard for sixteen years, feel an unprecedented freedom.

During that cultural festival, his student association booked the cafeteria building and transformed it into a haunted house for students to visit and play in.

Because so many people came because of its reputation, the president decided to play Japanese horror movies on a loop in the waiting area on the first floor. This way, the students who were waiting would have something to do and would not lose a lot of customers.

Kitagawa Hide was in charge of showing the film and maintaining order on the first floor at the time.

Then, without knowing it, he watched the entire "Ju-on" movie.
More than four years have passed since I transmigrated here. Kitagawa Xiu's memories of his past life are becoming increasingly blurred. Sometimes he would suddenly wonder whether he was Kitagawa Xiu or Xu Xiu.

This feeling was very unpleasant, making him feel extremely anxious and distressed. When humanity touches on philosophical questions like "Who am I?", he is not far from madness and death.

To preserve the memories of both lives, Kitagawa Hide often reminisces about the past, reminding himself not to forget that his name was once Heo Hide.

Kitagawa Xiu is him, and Xu Xiu is also him.

Saito Rena was unaware of the many emotions and thoughts surging within him. After resolving the most troublesome issue, she inquired about Kitagawa Hide's new book, which he was preparing to use in his public lecture to directly confront the leftists.

Her initial opinion was the same as that of the leading figures in the Faculty of Arts: this might make Kitagawa Hideaki's chances of winning the Nobel Prize in Literature next year less secure.

But she woke up very quickly.

She cared more about Kitagawa Hide's own thoughts; she had long since become indifferent to awards and such.

In life, not everything can be achieved perfectly.

Just like the characters in "Ju-on," many people are completely innocent, but so what?

In Kayako's eyes, they were no different, and in the end, they all met the same fate.

Since life allows for an enormous amount of mistakes, why bother with trivial matters?
She asked Kitagawa Hide if she wanted to truly help him with this book and fulfill her editorial duties.

Rena Saito was not an outsider, but a business partner closely related to his career, so Hide Kitagawa didn't think much of it and directly told her the details of "July 22".

He actually had something he needed to ask Saito Rena to help him finish this book. (End of Chapter)