Tokyo Mystery Writers

The sound of numerous sheets of paper being turned could be heard coming from the Kodansha conference room on the fifth floor.

Everyone was flipping through the pages of "A Bellflower" written by Maijo Kyosuke.

Jiang Liumei stood on the stage, her expression full of pride, while also making plans for the future.

This time, he offended Manji Gonda, a well-known critic in the mystery genre, as well as Toru Miyoshi, the chairman of the Japan Mystery Writers Association.

It's easy to imagine how things will end.

However, just as I had expected.

Life would be too boring if you only did the right thing.

After being blacklisted by the Japanese mystery fiction community, should he go abroad?

Although the foreign mystery genre is declining, I should still be able to make a name for myself with my love for mystery!

Even if I fail, I can still go home and inherit Futabasha!

Thinking about these things, Jiang Liumei felt less burdened.

Although she could no longer work with Kyosuke Maishiro, Eri had no regrets at all for illuminating Kyosuke Maishiro's future path!

I just hope that kid, Maishiro Kyosuke, has a conscience!

Knowing that I've made such a big sacrifice for him, I should thank myself properly!

-

Kodansha employees handle a large number of manuscripts every day, and their reading speed is extremely fast.

The manuscript, which was about 20,000 words long, was read in 30 minutes.

Jiang Liumei heard many people crying for Miss Linghui from below the stage.

But no one spoke.

Everyone's attention was focused on the judges on stage, wanting them to evaluate the work titled "A Bellflower".

Takao Tsuchiya had always admired Kyosuke Maijo, but as he grew older, he found himself involuntarily drawn into a vortex of memories from which he could not extricate himself.

Upon hearing about a new work by Kyosuke Maijo, Takao Tsuchiya quickly snapped out of his reverie and immediately grabbed the manuscript to read it!

Since Takao Tsuchiya was the first judge to receive the manuscript, he was naturally the first to finish reading it.

"Rather than calling it a bellflower, call it a handful of sour fruit."

"To this day, I have been in the industry for 30 years, written eight novels and more than 60 short stories, and read more than 30,000 manuscripts."

"But I have never read such a bitter manuscript!"

"The beautiful writing, coupled with the metaphor of the bellflower, makes it truly unforgettable. Just like a sour fruit, it is sour at first, then astringent, and between these sour and astringent notes, there is a hint of sweetness."

"Like the first stirrings of love, yet fleeting and infrequent, it unknowingly bewitched me!"

Takao Tsuchiya smacked his lips and fell silent, for he had already turned back to the first page and was once again engrossed in the story.

Chen Shunchen placed the manuscript on the table, let out a long sigh, and then looked at Jiang Liumei beside him with a smile, saying:

"Ms. Jiang Liu, thank you so much for bringing Mr. Wu Cheng's short story to us."

"Because, after reading this manuscript, I realized that Professor Mai Cheng truly deserves to be called a once-in-a-century genius!"

"I was already shocked by the sheer madness of Ms. Maishiro in 'The Tokyo Zodiac Murders'."

"But unexpectedly, Ms. Mai's book, 'A Bellflower,' suddenly put away its overflowing madness and turned into sadness."

"Paired with the atmosphere of the Showa 2 era, which is inherently filtered, it tells a story of obsession and greed for love, and passion and blindness in love."

"Although Ms. Suzue committed the serious crime of murder, to be honest, my values ​​were influenced by Ms. Maishiro."

"To be honest, after reading Mr. Maishiro's descriptions, I have to admit that I have fallen deeply in love with Ms. Suzue!"

Chen Shunchen smiled happily, even changing his address for Maishiro Kyosuke to "Teacher Maishiro":

"In my twenty years in the industry, I've met countless writers, including many with diverse styles, but I've never met a writer like Ms. Wu Cheng!"

"He can write in a wildly eccentric style like in 'The Astrological Murders,' and he can also handle a poignant style like in 'A Bellflower.'"

"To be able to switch between two writing styles so easily in a short period of time is truly a genius, a rare feat in a century!"

Chen Shunchen's praise resonated with the Kodansha staff who had already read "A Bellflower," who nodded in agreement.

Naoki Akimoto was deeply moved by "A Bellflower" because he could even detect a hint of social realism in this classic story. This delighted him as a fan of social realism, and he was extremely impressed by Kyosuke Maijo's abilities!

If before, Hiroyuki Itsuki had some concerns about Kyosuke Maijo's literary talent, fearing that Maijo's madness would lead him to extremes.

However, the appearance of "A Bellflower" made Hiroyuki Itsuki realize that Kyosuke Maijo's ability had far surpassed that of most writers of his time!

"I retract my previous statement, and I also retract the vote I cast for Motohiko Izawa."

"Because 'A Bellflower' showed me a literary quality that transcends detective fiction, and it also gave me hope for the future of detective fiction!"

Jiang Liumei bowed deeply to Tsuchiya Takao, Chen Shunchen, and Itsuki Hiroyuki, her almond-shaped eyes filled with tears.

The selection process for the Denglong Award was reversed once again due to the appearance of "A Bellflower".

According to the rule of majority rule, Maijo Kyosuke has already declared victory!

But Jiang Liumei made such a big sacrifice not just to get these three votes!

This may be my last appearance in the history of Japanese mystery fiction.

Without a unanimous vote, he couldn't bring his final professional career to a perfect close.

Jiang Liumei is absolutely not willing to accept this!

Therefore, Jiang Liumei turned her attention to Miyoshi Tetsu and Gonda Manji once again!

Miyoshi Toru was amazed by Maishiro Kyosuke's beautiful writing and the subtle foreshadowing. Even though he wanted to support Izawa Motohiko, he couldn't convince himself that Izawa Motohiko was stronger than Maishiro Kyosuke.

The reality is that Motohiko Izawa was completely outmatched by Kyosuke Maijo from every angle and every direction, and had no chance of winning the Ryusuke Prize!

Miyoshi Toru sighed heavily, looked at Jiang Liu Meili who had been staring at him, and waved his hand with a wry smile:

"Miss Jiang Liu, I now know how formidable you are. Stop staring at me."

"I surrender. I am willing to cast my vote for Maijo Kyosuke."

"Because compared to Motohiko Izawa, Kyosuke Maijo's versatile style is what has influenced generations of people and allowed him to enter the world of Japanese mystery literature."

"If I were to vote for Motohiko Izawa against my conscience, decades later, I might become a sinner who influenced the direction of the Japanese literary world."

Miyoshi Tetsuya wasn't an unreasonable person. After talking to Eri Miri, he even gestured towards Gonda Manji with his lip.

This was clearly an indication that Jiang Liu Meili was suggesting that she question Quan Tian Wanzhi.

Although Manji Gonda is the youngest of the five judges, he has been involved in the world of mystery commentary for many years, where debates are frequently held.

His shrewdness and thinking are naturally much more profound than those of writers who stay at home writing books.

Seeing Miyoshi Tetsu gesturing in his direction, Gonda Manji could only raise his hands in surrender.

"Chairman Miyoshi, please spare me. I don't want Miss Jiang Liu to have another bomb strapped to my body, a bomb that forces me to choose between two options."

"Therefore, I'm also willing to vote for Maijo Kyosuke!"

"Because compared to historical mystery novels, which are already dead, I believe that with Mr. Maijo Kyosuke's versatile writing style, a new era of mystery novels will be created!"

Gonda Manji's words instantly dispelled the tense atmosphere that had been brewing.

After several hours of intense discussion, Maijo Kyosuke was unanimously elected as the winner of the Edogawa Ranpo Ryu-no-kyo prize!

Overjoyed, Uyama Hideomi completely disregarded his image, excitedly picked up the silly-looking "Watson," jumped onto the table, and shouted loudly!

"Maishiro Kyosuke! Ryuu!"

"Kyosuke Maijo! Long live him!"

The staff of Kodansha were stirred by Hideomi Uyama's high spirits.

They all followed the rhythm of Uyama Hideomi's shouts, raising their arms and celebrating Maishiro Kyosuke's successful ascension to the dragon throne!