novelraw Chapter 101 Searching for People
Chapter 101 Searching for People
Chapter 101 Searching for People
January 20, 1980, 1 p.m.
Jiang Liumei changed into her nice clothes, drove her red BMW M1, and arrived at the "Longevity Soup".
But before she could even step onto the stairs to the second floor, Eriyoshi was stopped by Myojin Sosuke: "Ms. Eriyoshi, editor-in-chief of the magazine department at Kodansha, right?"
Jiang Liumei turned around and looked at Mingshen Caozi with some confusion, asking, "Who are you?"
Myojin Kusanagi spoke calmly, "I am Myojin Kiyone's grandmother, and the person in charge of the 'Longevity Soup,' Myojin Kusanagi."
"My daughter Xiaoyin mentioned you before. She said you are an outstanding woman, and after meeting you today, I can confirm that she truly lives up to her reputation."
Jiang Liumei didn't understand the meaning behind Mingshen Caozi's words, and a look of doubt appeared in her eyes: "Grandma Caozi? Is there something you need from me?"
Ming Shen Cao Zi pointed to the second floor with a worried look on her face: "Miss Jiang Liu, you're here to see Teacher Wu Cheng, right? He went out two hours ago."
"They still haven't come back."
"I've been seeing a lot of people with tattoos at the Long Life Bath lately," Jiang Liumei heard Myojin Kusashi's words and felt a momentary ringing in her ears!
Because I'm not dealing with the negative impact of Top Hat magazine today.
It was during the signing event for the "Collector's Edition" of "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" that I was working with Kodansha employees.
Completely unaware that Maijo Kyosuke's sudden surge in popularity might attract jealousy and retaliation from other authors or publishers!
Thinking of all this, Jiang Liumei felt a little guilty. She immediately took out a piece of paper from her bag, wrote down a phone number, and stuffed it into Mingshen Caozi's hand: "Grandma Mingshen, normally, Teacher Wucheng should be waiting for me here to pick him up, because the autograph session will start in an hour."
"But he hasn't come back yet; maybe something happened to him outside."
"This is my phone number from the autograph session. Please call me immediately if Mr. Mai is back!"
After Jiang Liumei finished speaking, she hurriedly ran out the door, drove back to the autograph session venue.
The autograph session for Kyosuke Maijo was held at Kinokuniya Bookstore in Ginza.
Although there were still two hours before Maijo Kyosuke's autograph session began.
However, since the purpose of this book signing was to promote Kyosuke Maijo, there was no limit on the number of people allowed in a single day, which resulted in Kinokuniya Bookstore being packed with people.
Many people arrived late and couldn't even squeeze through the bookstore's doors, so they had to wait in the mobile prefabricated houses that Kodansha had temporarily set up.
Jiang Liumei squeezed through the bustling crowd and quickly found Uyama Hideomi, who was resting in the room, and the sales manager, Mikoshiba Yasunori.
"Mr. Uyama, Minister Mikoshiba! Something terrible has happened!"
Jiang Liu Meili, panting heavily, spoke to Uyama Hideomi and Mikoshiba Yasunori.
When the two saw Jiang Liu Meili return alone, they looked puzzled and asked in unison, "Miss Jiang Liu, what happened? Where is Teacher Wu Cheng?"
Jiang Liumei calmed her breathing and said with great self-reproach, "When I went to the Longevity Soup to find Teacher Wucheng, the person in charge there, Grandma Mingshin, told me that Teacher Wucheng went out two hours ago and hasn't returned yet!"
"They also say that recently, people with tattoos have been frequently seen at the 'Longevity Soup'!"
"Maybe I'm overthinking it, but Ms. Maishiro is so popular right now—I'm worried—"
Jiang Liumei hesitated, a worried look on her face.
Upon hearing Eri's words, both Hikari Uyama and Yasunori Mikoshiba realized what might have happened and their faces showed signs of anxiety.
Mikoshiba Yasunori lit a cigarette and took a deep drag: "It was probably someone from Bungei Shunju or the Social Thought Society that did it?"
"Fifteen years ago, Shimizu Yuichi, the editor-in-chief of the magazine 'Jewel' at Hakubunkan, was stabbed more than seventy times in Kabukicho, Shinjuku. Although the murderer has not been found to this day."
"But I asked a friend of mine who hangs out in Shinjuku."
"The person who took action was either Kippei Sendo, the president of Bungei Shunju, or Kyosuke Ito, the president of the Society and Thought Society."
Mikoshiba Yasunori stubbed out the remaining half of the cigarette, a look of displeasure in his eyes: "I didn't expect that Teacher Maishiro would be so ruthless after less than a week of making a name for herself."
Although Jiang Liu Meili had heard what Mikoshiba Yasunori had said, she always thought it was just hearsay.
But the current situation clearly confirms that what happened back then was indeed true.
Publishers can really kill off rivals or writers out of jealousy and envy!
"What do we do now? Ms. Mai has been missing for two hours!"
"Could it be—"
Jiang Liu Meili dared not think any further, because the thought of Mai Shiro Kyosuke being killed felt like her heart was being pierced by a knife!
Mikoshiba Yasunori looked at Jiang Liu Meili, whose eyes were red, shook his head, walked to the phone, and dialed a number: "I hope we are overthinking it—I'll call my friend in Shinjuku and ask him if he has any way of finding Ms. Maishiro's whereabouts."
The call connected quickly, and Yasunori Mikoshiba pressed the speakerphone button.
The first sound from the phone was a woman's coquettish voice mixed with singing, followed by a high-pitched male voice: "Hey~ Tai Dian, when did you think of calling me, you bastard?"
"When are you free to come over for a drink?"
"I recently got my hands on a batch of Louis XIV's, you can drink your fill!"
Seeing that both Uyama Hideomi and Eri Ryū were looking at him with surprise, Mikoshiba Yasunori coughed twice on purpose and said, "Hiroki, I don't have time to chat with you. I have an important matter that I need your help with."
There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a laugh and the question: "You want my help? Tai Dian, are you kidding me?! I got to this position back then thanks to you!"
Mikoshiba Yasunori struck a pose and said in a very serious tone, "Hiroki, I'm not kidding you. You should have heard of Maijo Kyosuke's name in Shinjuku, right?"
The indifferent response came from the other end of the phone: "I've heard of it—but I'm not really interested in mystery novels, so I've only heard of it."
Mikoshiba Yasunori didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "Maishiro Kyosuke is a writer that our company is currently focusing on developing, but he has mysteriously disappeared today."
"Hiroki, you know I don't usually ask for favors, but this time is different. I hope you can do me a favor and find Maijo Kyosuke. Consider it a favor I owe you."
"Once things are settled, forget about drinking Louis XIV; if you wanted a pink Dom Pérignon, I'd make you drink until you throw up!"
A burst of laughter came from the other end of the phone: "Tae-jeon, I love your straightforward personality. Don't worry, I'll definitely help you find the person."
"As long as they haven't made a move yet, that's fine —"
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