I'm writing a diary in Zongman

When I opened the door, I saw Chikako Ikeda with a luggage bag on one shoulder. She looked good, but she didn't have the energy and spirit she had in college.

"Long time no see, Chikako."

"You too, long time no see, Ayako."

Compared to Suzuki Ayako's casualness and gentleness, Ikeda Chikako seemed much more reserved and also held Suzuki Ayako's outstretched hand with both hands.

Suzuki Ayako was not surprised at all.

After two years of running around in society, those who once thought they were awesome have had their edges completely smoothed out by the blows of society. How can they face those who may help them with their once arrogant attitude?

Only a moron would do such a stupid thing.

"Let's talk after we come in first."

Suzuki Ayako did not deliberately embarrass her old classmate, but instead pulled her old classmate into the house.

Chikako Ikeda followed into the villa with a little nervousness.

A younger version of Yuanzi can be seen in the living room.

Chikako Ikeda naturally knew Suzuki Sonoko, Ayako's younger sister. In the past, when they were in university club activities, Ayako also brought Sonoko to play.

"Long time no see, Sister Chikako."

Suzuki Sonoko, who was sitting in her seat, greeted with a smile.

"It's been a long time, Sonoko."

Chikako Ikeda also bowed slightly, showing proper courtesy.

When Suzuki Sonoko saw this scene, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly. You couldn't tell that her proud character had been completely worn away after two years.

However, the other party was able to bow her head and ask for her sister's help, which obviously showed that she had realized her own level and who could help her now.

Of course, even so, what my sister gave me was just an opportunity.

"Sister Chikako, it's rare that you can ask my sister for help. But I'm a little curious, was it really you who wrote the Blue Kingdom back then?"

Ikeda Chikako, who had just sat down, froze. Looking at Suzuki Sonoko's curious expression, she gave a wry smile.

"That... was definitely not written by me."

Suzuki Sonoko listened without surprise. It was obvious that this once arrogant screenwriter had completely understood how important her own abilities were, and she no longer hid such things.

"Actually, that story was written by another girl in our drama club at the time. She took the initiative to ask me to tell her about it. I saw that the story described a fantasy world, and I thought Dunzi's story was very rich and interesting, so I thought about asking her to buy it."

Suzuki Ayako's eyes suddenly became much sharper.

"Chikako, you didn't steal Dunzi's story and that's why she hanged herself, did you?"

"No, it's not me."

Chikako Ikeda's face changed and she quickly waved her hand in denial.

"Ayako, you know me. Although I'm a bit arrogant in school, it's just because I've achieved some success in the school clubs. I don't have the courage to steal people's things or force them to commit suicide."

Upon hearing this, Suzuki Ayako's expression eased a little.

Indeed, as a college classmate of Chikako for so many years, Suzuki Ayako knew that Ikeda Chikako was a bit pretentious, but she had never bullied anyone in college, at most she was just a little mean-spirited.

Chikako Ikeda breathed a sigh of relief, but her face still looked a little unhappy. At this moment, she could still remember Dunzi who had committed suicide.

"Dunzi and I aren't enemies. When I was in the drama club, I wrote all the scripts for the performances. Actually, you should know that the scripts I wrote back then weren't bad either. Dunzi also liked writing stories like me, but she didn't write scripts for plays, but fantasy stories."

"It's just that her stories are never suitable for dramas, so we've never used the scripts she wrote."

"Even though I knew Dunzi had written a great story, all I wanted was to buy it. She was just a nobody in the drama club at the time, and I was the scriptwriter. How could I possibly do something so shameless?"

"And if I were to seize someone else's work, I'd be doomed if I were to be found out. I wouldn't let that stain on my reputation at that time."

After listening to Chikako Ikeda's words, the two sisters Suzuki Ayako and Suzuki Sonoko nodded slightly.

It does make some sense.

PS: Please provide data for the new book.

Chapter 281 I Bought That Story

"What if we're careful and don't get discovered?"

Suzuki Sonoko asked with a hint of curiosity.

"it's useless."

Chikako Ikeda smiled bitterly and shook her head slightly.

"Once a published story is accused of plagiarism, the credibility of the person involved will be questioned. If someone with more talent can come up with better work, that's fine. But if they can't, then plagiarism is confirmed."

"Once you're labeled like that, it's a lifelong thing."

"If I snatch Dunzi's story and publish it, and she drags those gossip-savvy media outlets into making a fuss, I'll be completely screwed. The publishing house might be able to keep this a secret for me, but if my next submission isn't up to par, I'll be in big trouble."

As she spoke, Chikako Ikeda also lowered her head helplessly.

"In fact, I have been scolded like this for two years."

"I've also been working hard on my writing over the past two years, hoping to surpass Dunzi's Blue Kingdom. However, I'm better at writing scripts for dramas and stage plays, not fantasy stories."

“So, the books I submitted in the past two years performed very poorly, even very poorly.”

Chikako Ikeda's words actually woke up Suzuki Ayako.

She now remembered that the drama club she had joined in college was quite famous. She remembered that all the drama club scripts were written by Chikako, and Dunzi's scripts had never been performed on the stage.

"By the way, Chikako, you're good at writing plays and stage plays."

Suzuki Ayako, who remembered this, looked at Chikako helplessly.

"So, you're obviously not good at Dunzi's fantasy field, so why did you want to buy Dunzi's story?"

Chikako Ikeda felt a little embarrassed to talk about this.

"Actually, I was thinking of building my reputation first. Then I could get more theater bookings for my plays and stage scripts. But who knew I'd buy Dunzi's script and send it to a publishing house? And soon after the story was published, news broke about Dunzi's suicide."

In fact, Chikako Ikeda also knows that fame is very important. Sometimes using certain methods to boost one's fame can bring a lot of convenience to oneself.

But she didn't expect Dunzi to commit suicide in front of her.

Suzuki Sonoko also became interested in this matter, and couldn't help but ask curiously:

"Sister Chikako, did you buy your story from your friend? If that's the case, why did she commit suicide?"

"That's right. If it was a normal transaction, there would be no need for Dunzi to commit suicide. Chikako, did you buy the story from Dunzi? Did she agree?"

Suzuki Ayako was also a little puzzled by this question, so she also looked at Chikako Ikeda, the person involved.

"No, when I first saw Dunzi's story and thought I was interested in it and wanted to buy it, Dunzi was against it. He said it was his story and he would never sell it to anyone else. I didn't think much of it at the time and just gave it back."

"Actually, it was just a spur-of-the-moment decision. It would have been nice to buy it, but I wouldn't have cared less if I hadn't. At the time, I actually had several play scripts on hand, and several well-known theaters were in talks with me about writing scripts."

"But within two days, Dunzi's mother came to my house with the manuscript of the story that Dunzi had shown me. I asked her why she wanted to sell it. However, she didn't give any details. She just said that her family had some problems and urgently needed money, so she came to ask if I still wanted Dunzi's story."

"I had just finished writing a few plays and had some spare cash, so I decided to buy the stories. However, Dunzi's mother's asking price was quite high, 30 yuan for each story."

The price is indeed a bit high.

Suzuki Sonoko and Suzuki Ayako also felt that the asking price was a bit high.

No matter how interesting a story is, it has no value until it is validated by the market. This is because there are so many factors that need to be considered for a story to become popular, and there is also a certain amount of luck involved.

Charging 30 yuan for just a simple story is indeed a bit too much.

"I have some taste for the story and thought it could make some money. Although Dunzi's mother asked for a bit too much, I bought it anyway. I went to a lawyer with her and worked out a purchase contract, which we signed."

"Chikako, did you hire a lawyer?"

Suzuki Ayako looked stunned.

"I've considered a lot of things. The lawyer drafted a very demanding contract for me, to avoid any trouble from Dunzi's mother later. You know, publishing the story's copyright is a very important issue, especially since I even bought the authorship."

Chikako Ikeda is not stupid. She had considered many things that might happen later, so she immediately hired a lawyer to draft a sales contract.

"All I wanted at the time was for the story to bring me some fame. Besides being credited, the profits from the publication would also belong to me. At least I wanted to make back the money I spent on the story."

"Dunzi's mother also quickly signed the sales contract with me as the guardian."

"Who knew that the story I had just submitted to the publisher had just been published, and the next day I heard the news that Dunzi had committed suicide."

When Chikako Ikeda thought of this, she looked depressed.

What annoyed her the most at that time was this matter. She had clearly just bought a story, but why did she become like the murderer who forced Dunzi to death?

"Then you were...ah, the Blue Kingdom was very popular at that time."

Suzuki Ayako was about to ask Chikako why she hadn't spoken up when she suddenly remembered that Blue Kingdom was a huge hit. Chikako Ikeda, who had purchased the story, certainly couldn't reveal the story's sale. Even if Chikako was willing to disclose it, the publisher would surely have tried to stop it.

"I originally wanted to use Dunzi's story to increase my own fame and help sell my plays and stage scripts, but I ended up getting myself into this situation."

"Over the past two years, I've also been trying hard to learn how to write and structure other types of stories, but I'm really not good at fantasy. I don't have the imagination of Dunzi, and I can't construct that kind of story framework. So, the voices of doubt have become louder and louder over the past two years."

Thinking about her experiences of the past two years, Chikako Ikeda felt extremely depressed.

However, she is not without progress. The setbacks she encountered in the fantasy field led her to try many other fields.

Under such circumstances, she also constructed a story that she found interesting.

As she spoke, Chikako Ikeda opened her backpack and took out the manuscript she had prepared long ago.

"This time, I didn't go into the fantasy field that Dunzi is good at. Instead, I wrote a story in a direction that I found interesting. Ayako, please take a look."

"Ah."

Suzuki Ayako, who took over the manuscript, was more serious than before.

PS: Please provide data for the new book.

Chapter 282: Hope in the Death?

The story develops at a very fast pace. The beginning of the story is mainly about biochemical experiments, starting in a huge infected underground laboratory.

Both the heroine and the hero have lost their memories. From this perspective, they begin to search for their memories little by little and follow a team of mercenaries to the depths of the underground laboratory.

A zombie-themed story with a sci-fi twist.

However, Suzuki Ayako's work can be seen to have the flavor of a small theater, a bit of a stage play and a drama. From the polishing, it can be seen that Chikako has put a lot of thought into this story, and the amount of work is much more detailed and interesting than her previous manuscripts.

After reading half of it, Suzuki Ayako put down the manuscript with a smile on her face.

"Chikako, I can see that the story you wrote this time is more interesting. Although it is different from the Blue Kingdom in creating a fantasy world, the crisis caused by a biochemical experiment that caused the entire human race is indeed quite interesting."

"I'm not a very discerning critic, but I can tell you've put a lot of effort into preparing this story. And by re-structuring it to the style of stage plays and plays you're so good at, I can clearly feel that the story's structure has improved a lot."

In fact, the scripts for stage plays and dramas are not simpler than the stories of the 727 movies, and it still requires a certain level to write well.

At this moment, Suzuki Ayako saw this carefully polished story, which was not inferior to the Blue Kingdom itself, but the narrative style and the feeling of opening did not give people the same grandeur as the Blue Kingdom.

But even so, it is difficult to conceal the fact that Chikako wrote a good story this time.

After reading this story, Suzuki Ayako probably understood that what Chikako said was not to exonerate herself, and that such a thing might really have happened.

"Chikako, do you still have the contract you signed with Dunzi's mother?"

"Of course he's still here. Even the lawyer is here."

Initially, she had signed the contract to prevent Dunzi's mother from dragging her into trouble, but now it had become proof of her innocence. Ikeda Chikako had carefully preserved such an important item.

Because Chikako Ikeda knew that the contract would one day become her life-saving talisman.

When she heard Ayako mention the contract, Chikako Ikeda quickly responded.

"Then let's get together again after this class reunion is over."

Since there is clear evidence, Suzuki Ayako can almost be sure that Chikako did not seize Dunzi's story, but bought Dunzi through normal transactions.

As for Dunzi's death, it can only be said that it was Dunzi's mother's fault.

But no matter how much blame is placed on Chikako, it cannot be placed on her head.

Just thinking of this, Suzuki Ayako sighed.

"So, Dunzi chose to commit suicide because he knew his mother had signed that contract and that his story could not be recovered?"

Ikeda Chikako also nodded weakly.