Wakaki Yasuhiro is a well-known writer who won the Araki Award for his book "The Ridiculous Thief" at the age of 29.
Now he is in his 40s, with slightly white hair, wearing a pair of light red-rimmed glasses, a gray and white suit, and a tie. He stepped onto the high platform and bowed slightly to everyone, who all responded with applause.
Wakaki Yasuhiro wrote several works in the past ten years, including "Hometown in a Far Country", "The Empty Talker" and "The Last Soul".
Especially "The Talking Man" can be said to be Wakaki Yasuhiro's pinnacle work in the past ten years and has brought him many honors. In the latest Ooka Award, "The Talking Man" was successfully shortlisted and almost won the crown.
Even though he failed to succeed, it still made the famous Wakaki Yasuhiro famous and elevated his status, making him one of the top writers in Japan.
Therefore, Wakaki Yasuhiro will be the host of the Araki Award this time, which shows his identity and status at this time.
"As we all know, the Araki Prize has always focused on quality. If there are no suitable works, it would rather fail than make up for the loss. But what is very gratifying is that this year, three excellent new works have been published." Wakaki Yasuhiro did not Taking the speech script, he spoke to the audience.
"The three works are - "Raising Crane from afar" by Ikegaki Takashi, "Memorial is not remembrance" by Murakata Hiroshi, and "Who is the Second Person" by Yamada Shinichi!"
"Let us applaud these people!" As he said this, Wakaki Yasuhiro applauded, and then the scene burst into applause. In the midst of the applause, Ikegaki Takashi and Murakata Hiroshi stood up and bowed to the people around them.
Ikegaki Takashi is wearing a specially customized black suit today. His extraordinary appearance and elaborate clothing make him look very elegant, and his gentle and humble attitude can't help but make people like him.
Hiroshi Murakata, the most powerful candidate for the Araki Prize this time, has a wavy hairstyle that is not common in Japan. He has small eyes, thick eyebrows, and a long mustache, giving people a very weird look. Feel.
Hiroshi Murakata is a hard-working writer who cannot be said to be a newcomer. He has written many short and medium stories, but his name is not well-known. Until the publication of "Memorial is Not Remembrance", he received many positive comments, saying that this book "Hiroshi Murakata" The book has profound connotations and is thought-provoking. It is a good book worth reading.
To make such an evaluation, there is a famous Japanese writer Yamanogawa Keiyuki.
Yamanokawa Hiroyuki is best at writing short stories. His articles are profound, humorous and rich in philosophical connotations.
If you look at his novels, you will find that upon closer inspection, they are all about the in-depth analysis of human nature and ethics, and the resulting speculations. "Nobody's Collection of Comments" is the masterpiece of Yamanokawa Keiyuki.
Yamanogawa Keiyuki has always been a very serious person, and he usually does not praise others, but those who deserve his praise must have something outstanding.
For this reason, when Hiroyuki Yamanogawa reviewed Murakata Hiroshi's "Memorial is Not Remembrance" with a high rating, Murakata Hiroshi became known to more people, and was even shortlisted for the Araki Prize, and is now one of the three candidates.
When the two of them bowed, Pei Ziyun did not go up, which surprised those around him.
Someone in the audience whispered with regret, "Yamada Shinichi, aren't you here now? Well, it's such a pity. I must have failed to win the Araki Award this time."
The works that can be finally selected for the Araki Award will naturally not be bad, and when the works are similar, the author's attitude is very important.
Every award requires recognition—either from the parties involved or from the public.
A candidate who cannot come to receive the award is often dismissed. Some major international awards even stipulate that if the award cannot be received in person, it will be invalid.
Now that Pei Ziyun doesn't even come, he is obviously down in the eyes of others.
However, the podium did not seem to be affected in any way.
Wakaki Yasuhiro continued what he said and said: "Now I would like to invite Nimotoki Hidehiro to announce to everyone the Araki Prize this time!"
At this time there was another round of warm applause.
Nimotoki Hidehiro is also a well-known writer, known as the "Father of Evil". His most famous book is "Revenge". This book depicts the evil in human nature so vividly that it is breathtaking. Some people even call "Revenge" Knowing the evil of human nature, this book brought him many honors.
This time the Araki Prize will be announced by Nimotoki Hidehiro.
Nimotoki Hidehi stepped forward and revealed the list in his hand. There was not much suspense. After all, he was a writer and not a professional host. He only said slowly in a low voice: "The winner of this Araki Award is Yamada Shinichi's " Who is the second person?"
When Nimotoki Hidehiro announced the result, some people below were dissatisfied. Even the Japanese could not maintain their composure at this time. Some people whispered: "Yamada Shinichi didn't come here, why did he win the prize?"
Some people also responded: "Yes, is there any inside story about the Araki Award? This time the Araki Award will definitely be for "Memorial, Not Remembrance". How can "Who is the Second Man" win?"
"No, I think it should be "The Crane from the Distant Place"!"
Although it was not an open question, there were still murmurs in the audience. Yasuhiro Wakaki listened to the noise below, frowned and came to the center of the stage, took the microphone and said: "Please keep quiet, the Araki Prize winner is absolutely fair and just!"
"Due to special reasons, Yamada Shinichi cannot come in person and will receive the award on a representative."
After Wakaki Yasuhiro said this, the noise in the venue became quiet. After all, there were some people with status and status present. Although they were a little confused and dissatisfied with the final result, they immediately understood what the occasion was and kept quiet.
After hearing this, Sanchiko Sakagami went up to receive the award.
At this time, some people kept muttering in their mouths to express their dissatisfaction.
Sanchiko Sakagami is holding a trophy in his hand. This trophy is platinum with three words "Araki Award" written on it. This is a representative of honor.
Sanqianzi Sakagami returned to his seat and did not hand the trophy directly to Pei Ziyun, because now in full view of the public, it would be easy to think of Pei Ziyun. Instead, he congratulated in a low voice: "Yamada Zhi, you are really amazing!"
While the Jinchuan Shrine was dealing with the aftermath of Pei Ziyun's attack on the Uchiyama Group, they evaluated Pei Ziyun again.
This time, Jinchuan Shrine speculated based on the relevant information and historical archives that it knew that Pei Ziyun was most likely the rebirth of a certain warrior soul, or there was a very small possibility that he was born. But no matter which case it is, such a Man, there is no problem with his qualifications to be the young master of Jinchuan Shrine.
However, it was a bit of a surprise and a bit unexpected for Pei Ziyun to win the "Araki Award".
It was unprecedented for a samurai to receive such an honor. Jinchuan Shrine had to adjust its assessment and attitude.
Although purely in terms of money, writing a work may not lead to a successful retreat, writers are very respected in Japan and have a high social status. In some aspects, even samurai are difficult to obtain.
Therefore, Sakagami Sanchiko's mood was a bit complicated.
At this time, Omori Hironaka, the president of Shiraishi Gakukan Publishing House, came over, and it was Nagano Narumi who handed Pei Ziyun's latest manuscript "The Ghost of the Night" to him.
Omori Hironaka was shocked after reading it. He didn't expect this youngest writer to publish such a good book again. Just in case, he came over in person immediately.
Hironaka Omori said to Pei Ziyun: "Congratulations on winning the Araki Award. First of all, taking advantage of this reputation, I think "Who is the Second Man" will be reprinted and it will be possible to sell 100,000 copies."
There is precedent for this. Once you win a big prize, it will promote rapid sales growth. 100,000 copies is a relatively conservative number.
"And for this book, "The Ghost that Walks the Night," our publisher will pay 10,000 yen per copy for the original manuscript, and how about 12% of the royalties?"
Pei Ziyun smiled after listening to what the president said.
Before receiving the Araki Award, the published manuscript of "Who is the Second Man" cost 6,000, which was already a very preferential treatment, and the royalties were only 8%. Now that I have received the Araki Award, these have increased a lot.
This is very realistic!
Pei Ziyun didn't put any more conditions on the president. He nodded and said, "Baishi Academy has helped me a lot. I agree to this condition!"
Sakagami Sanqianzi frowned slightly, as if he had something to say, but Pei Ziyun was unmoved.
After the president left with satisfaction, Sakagami Sanqianzi said to Pei Ziyun: "Yamada Zhi, the price can actually be raised a little bit more!"
Pei Ziyun shook his head and said: "Although I won the Araki Award, I am indeed a true newcomer. Unlike some people who have a reputation as a newcomer writer, they have actually made their debut for five or six years."
"So I don't have much reputation, so I can't ask for a very high price. The price offered by Baishi Academy is actually very fair, and I have taken a lot of risks. Moreover, I am very happy to cooperate with Baishi Academy. There is no need to worry about it. There is still a long time to come. Time to collaborate.”
The 200,000-word "The Ghost Who Walks in the Night" alone has 5 million yen in raw material manuscript. If 100,000 copies are sold, it will be 12 million yen. In addition to the still-selling "Who is the Second Person", that is, the annual income is 20 million yen.
Pei Ziyun needed money, but he didn't value it, let alone care about it. He was willing to accept favors from others and would repay them in return. The most important thing was that although the task was not declared completed, he felt that a large part of it had been completed. , he felt happy and decided to keep up his efforts.
“Plans are not as fast as changes, but this change is beneficial.”
"The wooden sword dominates the whole country. My original plan was to sweep through all the dojos."
"But sweeping across the dojo is not as good as sweeping away the evil spirits?"
Thinking of this, Pei Ziyun took out his mobile phone, checked the time, and seeing that the meeting was about to end, he said to Sakagami Sanqianzi: "Now, it's almost time to go to Satomikan!"
After hearing this, Sanchiko Sakagami stopped talking. He checked the time and nodded: "Yes, Yamada! It's almost time. We have made arrangements. Let's leave through the back door!"
After saying that, Sakagami Sanchiko was very pleased with Yamada Shinichi's confidence. Although she didn't know where this confidence came from, the Japanese are very superstitious about momentum and believe that momentum often determines victory or defeat. She immediately got up and led the way to the bathroom. Pei Ziyun arrived at a small door and left the hotel.
Obviously this small door is a hidden passage of this hotel. It will only be used in emergencies or special situations. Otherwise, it would not be so simple to avoid reporters and come out.
After all, although she was a stranger before and no one paid attention to her, Sakagami Sanchiko had just received the Araki reward, and it was the center of attention from reporters, so how could she escape casually.
Although it was raining slightly when we went out, we saw a motorcade within ten steps. Sanchiko Sakagami held an umbrella in person, pointed to a silver-gray car in the middle of the motorcade, and said, "Yamada, this is your car, please come in." !”
Pei Ziyun got into the car and found that the driver was silent and wearing a black suit, looking solemn. This was the essence of Jinchuan Shrine.
"Let's go!" Sanchiko Sakagami took over the command of the convoy and did not let any trivial matters bother Yamada Shinichi. After giving the order, he felt relieved when he found that there was no objection.
The convoy filed out silently and crossed the road in the light rain.
(End of chapter)