novelraw Chapter 133 A Special Invitation
Chapter 133 A Special Invitation
Chapter 133 A Special Invitation
Despite the two-day suspension, Maijo Kyosuke's autograph session did not suffer a decline in popularity.
Conversely, the second issue of Top Hat magazine sold out.
Discussion surrounding "Convergence" continues to rise.
More and more people are coming to Kinokuniya Bookstore in Ginza hoping to get a personal autograph from Kyosuke Maijo.
Faced with this situation, Maijo Kyosuke had become numb and too lazy to struggle.
He would sign as many copies as the number of people who came, since there were only 50,000 copies of the "Collector's Edition" of "The Astrological Murder Mystery".
If we put in a little more effort, we can try to finish signing all of these within the next week.
I can say that I have successfully completed this task.
Because of the sheer power of Kyosuke Maijo's "Convergence," its exquisite triple structure is unique in the entire history of mystery fiction.
This has led to Jiang Liumei having an unusually relaxed time these past two days.
This also gave her the opportunity to come to the autograph session and help Kyosuke Maijo.
"Ms. Jiang Liu, doesn't your magazine department still have over five hundred unprocessed manuscripts?"
"How come you still have time to come to the autograph session to help me?"
As Jiang Liu Meili distributed books to the entering readers, she half-jokingly said to Mai Shiro Kyosuke, "What's wrong? Mr. Mai Shiro? Don't you like me coming here to help you?"
"Or are you worried that my presence here will interfere with your interaction with your female fans?"
Upon hearing Jiang Liumei's words, Maishiro Kyosuke quickly changed the subject: "No! I didn't mean that. I'm just curious about what's been going on in your magazine department these past few days."
"It's out of concern. Miss Jiang Liu has helped me so much, so it's only right that I show her some concern."
Seeing that Maishiro Kyosuke was unusually sweet-talking and could say such things, Jiang Liumei didn't keep her in suspense any longer: "Those manuscripts were all returned."
Upon hearing Jiang Liu Meili's words, Mai Shiro Kyosuke frowned: "Returned? Why? Even if there are special reasons, you can't just return hundreds of copies at once, can you?"
Jiang Liumei shrugged and explained, "The main reason is your article 'Conclusion', Teacher Wucheng."
"Upon its publication, 'Convergence' captivated readers with its charismatic anti-detective Mercator, combining the unique structure of quantum entanglement with Schrödinger's cat, a stunning plot twist at the end, and a murderer whose identity remains undiscovered—"
"This is a resounding slap in the face to the entire Japanese mystery literature world!"
"It might be an exaggeration to say that Convergence created a completely new genre, but its influence on detective fiction as a whole is indeed comparable to that of Murder in the Rue Morgue."
"Short stories of this caliber are among the best in the world, so even though the voting cards haven't been collected and tallied yet, it's already clear who won and who lost."
"So, starting from the afternoon of January 22nd, writers who had already submitted their manuscripts began to request that we return them."
"The reasons are surprisingly consistent!"
"Simply put, these Japanese mystery writers who originally looked down on you, Mr. Maishiro, and wanted to put you down, have discovered that their writing is simply not qualified to compete with you, Mr. Maishiro."
"So, of the more than 500 manuscripts, more than 400 were rejected in just one afternoon."
Jiang Liu Meili sighed, then blinked her almond-shaped eyes and smiled at Maishiro Kyosuke: "The good thing is, Mr. Maishiro, you've swept everything in 'Top Hat' magazine, defeating many Japanese mystery writers who looked down on you."
"The downside is that before long, my magazine department will probably return to the state of torturing other writers every day because of a lack of manuscripts."
When Maijo Kyosuke heard Jiang Liu Meili's words, a smile appeared on his face, because this was exactly the effect he wanted.
Otherwise, I would never have brought out such a treasured work as "Convergence"!
The book signing event lasted until 8 p.m.
It's possible that Yokomizo Seishi gave Maijo Kyosuke extremely high praise, or it's possible that Maijo Kyosuke wanted to produce some results quickly so that Yokomizo Seishi could fulfill his wish.
In short, at this moment, Maijo Kyosuke felt his whole body was full of power!
In just two hours, nearly a thousand books were signed.
Including the sales from the previous two days, the "Collector's Edition" of "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" has already sold about one-twentieth of its volume.
Despite the large number of fans who adore Kyosuke Maijo, there were still many queuing up inside Kinokuniya Bookstore.
However, Maijo Kyosuke could clearly feel that after signing more than two thousand books, the number of fans queuing up was not as large as in the first few days.
This is not because of the decline in Maijo Kyosuke's popularity.
However, the most enthusiastic fans had already obtained the autographs they had been longing for in the first few days.
The remaining fans are more easygoing and not in a hurry, which is why this situation occurred.
Maishiro Kyosuke, having finally gotten a chance to relax, said to Jiang Liu Meili beside him, "Ms. Jiang Liu, I think today's autograph session will be over by nine o'clock."
Do you have time tonight?
"How about we find a restaurant and get something to eat?"
"I've been staying and eating with Yokomizo-sensei and Tsuchiya-sensei at the hospital for the past two days. The food there is terribly bland. I really don't know how Yokomizo-sensei and Tsuchiya-sensei manage to swallow it."
When Jiang Liu Meili heard Mai Shiro Kyosuke's words, her heart suddenly started pounding wildly, and her eyes, which were fixed on Mai Shiro Kyosuke, held a hint of ambiguity.
Just two days ago, Jiang Liu Meili had been "educated" by her mother, Jiang Liu Bieji.
Although he was still resentful that his mother had lied to him again.
But as night fell...
As Jiang Liumei lay in bed, gazing at the moon outside the window and lost in thought, she clearly understood that her mother was absolutely right.
Humans are creatures that like to compare, and they also have a strong desire to admire the strong.
Therefore, when someone like Maijo Kyosuke, who is outstanding and charismatic, appears, many admirers will inevitably appear around him.
If one keeps hiding one's feelings and is unwilling to express one's feelings to Maijo Kyosuke.
When Maijo Kyosuke really chooses to be with someone else, I will definitely cry my heart out just like my mother said!
With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Liumei made up her mind to confront her feelings for Maishiro Kyosuke.
"Hmm—Mr. Mai, what would you like to eat?"
"A good place to eat—let me think—"
"How about a Western restaurant? I remember there's a Michelin three-star Western restaurant around Ginza!"
"Red wine, steak, and dessert—just thinking about it makes my mouth water!"
Jiang Liu Meili was imagining the sweet time she and Mai Cheng Jingjie would spend alone together during a candlelight dinner at a Western restaurant.
Unexpectedly, Maijo Kyosuke's single sentence shattered Jiang Liu's beautiful fantasy.
"By the way, what is Mr. Yushan doing?"
"Give him a call. Didn't he say last time he wanted to drink something called 'Seven Hanging Twenty Strings of Cash'?"
"I don't think Western food goes well with sake."
"It's better to eat Chinese or Japanese food."
Kyosuke Maijo was busy signing autographs with his head down, completely unaware of Ryou Miri's livid face, which was ashen with anger.
All I heard was the sound of a book being slammed onto the table.
"Bang!"
Maishiro Kyosuke heard the sound, looked up, and turned to look at Eri Ryumi beside him.
Perhaps it was because the expectations and the disappointment were too great, or perhaps she had just been about to confront her own feelings, but was rendered speechless by Maijo Kyosuke's "straight man behavior".
Jiang Liumei had no choice but to turn her head away, clenching her fists to resist her slightly trembling body.
Seeing this, Maijo Kyosuke could sense that Eri seemed to be angry.
But she couldn't figure out the specific reason why Jiang Liumei was angry.
"Miss Jiang Liu—what's wrong?"
Maijo Kyosuke tilted his head, trying to guess Jiang Liumei's feelings.
But then a disheveled drunkard appeared at the entrance of Kinokuniya Bookstore.
He was carrying a bottle of high-end whiskey.
No one would have guessed that this man, who looks like a professional drunkard, is none other than Nishimura Hisayuki, known as the "King of Hard-Hard Mystery" in the current Japanese mystery literature world!