Tokyo Mystery Writers

Chapter 18 Love That Disregards Everything

"You lucky brat!"

"Not only does he look like Ataru Moroboshi, but he's just as lecherous as that guy!"

"No wonder you were so mean to me! You were like a completely different person when you saw my sister!"

"So you were only after my sister's beauty; you had ulterior motives from the start!"

Jiang Liumei pointed angrily at Maishiro Kyosuke, as if Maishiro Kyosuke had kidnapped her sister.

Ambiguity is a special kind of electromagnetic wave; once the connection is broken, the feeling can never be found again.

That brat Jiang Liumei ruined everything.

Jiang Liu Meili could only cover Jiang Liu Meiya's mouth, sit back in her seat, take a big gulp of sake, and give Mai Shiro Jingjie an awkward smile.

Maijo Kyosuke also grabbed food and stuffed it into his mouth, as if nothing had happened.

"Speaking of short mystery stories about love..."

"Ms. Mai, what are your thoughts?"

"I'm curious... what kind of story will you present to the world?"

Jiang Liumei pressed a glass of ice-filled wine against her burning face, using work as an excuse to cover up what had just happened.

It was clear that Maishiro Kyosuke's mind had been disturbed by Eri Ryumi.

Hearing Jiang Liumei's words, he suddenly remembered that he had agreed to the commission in a daze.

What a huge blunder!

But Kyosuke Maijo doesn't blame himself for being unambitious.

Tell me, what man in the world would refuse a girl who only has eyes for him?

"A story about love?"

Maijo Kyosuke tapped rhythmically on the table with his fingers, gazing at Jiang Liu Meili, whose face was flushed but who still looked at him with admiration.

For some reason, I was reminded of a very famous love story:

"Miss Jiang Liu, have you ever heard the story of the Seventh Sister who owned eight hundred houses?"

Jiang Liu Meili paused for a moment after hearing Mai Shiro Kyosuke's words, then asked:

"Is Teacher Wu Cheng referring to the legendary Miss Yu Qi, who set fire to a house for love?"

Maishiro Kyosuke smiled and nodded:

"That's right, it's that Miss Yu Qi who set fire to the place for love."

"Actually, this is not a legend, but a true story. In the second year of Tenna (1683), the Tenna Fire occurred in the Edo area."

"Yu Qi, who helped her parents take care of the 800 House, which is a fruit and vegetable shop, fled to Yuancheng Temple with her parents to seek refuge."

"At Enjo-ji Temple, the young Yu Qi, who was just beginning to experience love, fell in love at first sight with Sōda Shōnosuke, a servant at the temple, and became deeply in love with him."

"Later, when Yu Qi returned to her new home, she couldn't stop thinking about Ikuta Shonosuke. In the depths of her feelings, the crazy idea popped into her head that 'if the fire breaks out again, we can meet again!'"

Ultimately, Yu Qi, driven mad by love, committed arson, was caught, and was burned alive at the stake!

"Throughout history, the haikai poet Ihara Saikaku used this story as a prototype to write 'The Story of the Vegetable Shop Owner'."

"Based on this, the young and brilliant orthodox mystery writer Keikichi Osaka wrote the world-shaking 'Funeral Locomotive'."

"The recent sensational manga 'Glass Mask' also tells this story."

"Therefore, I want to use this theme to write a similar but different mystery novel."

Maishiro Kyosuke took a sip of his drink, looked at Jiang Liu Meili sitting opposite him, and said with a serious expression:

"Miss Jiang Liu once asked me, 'What is love?'"

"I'm not a philosopher or a scientist, just an author who writes some mystery novels."

"I won't use those strange philosophical and scientific arguments to explain what love really is."

"Because for me, love means disregarding everything, being willing to become foolish for the one you love!"

"I admit that what Miss Yu did was really excessive and incredibly foolish."

"But if she hadn't been deeply in love, and her constant longing for Ikuta no Nakamaru had driven her to the brink of collapse, how could she have done something so absurd?"

"If she wasn't hopelessly in love, why would she choose to go down a path of no return?"

Maijo Kyosuke's words left a lingering impression, and Jiang Liu Meili was first moved by Yu Qi's fervent love.

What one then feels is the desolation hidden beneath this story.

To pursue the love one yearns for at an incomprehensible, near-destructive cost is a twisted form of love.

Although this kind of twisted love is difficult for ordinary people to understand.

But for Yu Qi, who disregards everything for love, isn't it also a kind of living towards death?

Jiang Liumei savored this twisted story of extreme evil and extreme beauty, and suddenly realized...

In just a few minutes, Maijo Kyosuke had unleashed such a brilliant inspiration!

If we take this tragic story as a blueprint, and add Maijo Kyosuke's powerful ability to evoke emotional resonance, it would be perfect.

Jiang Liumei couldn't even imagine what kind of storm her magazine would cause in the Japanese literary world once this article was published!

Thinking about all this, Jiang Liu Meili's admiration for Mai Cheng Jingjie grew even stronger!

I couldn't wait to pull out paper and pen from my bag right now and have Maijo Kyosuke write this story down on the spot!

However, this can only remain in the realm of imagination.

Jiang Liumei isn't stupid enough to actually do that.

"Mr. Maicheng, to be honest, before I met you, I had already met with many writers."

"But when it comes to the grand theme of love, almost all writers are a bit hesitant."

"It's not that they can't write, it's just... what they write is always a little lacking."

"Completely unworthy of being the best section of a magazine!"

"Now, I finally don't have to worry about this anymore!"

"Because just hearing Ms. Wu Cheng narrate it made me look forward to the story!"

"Your story deserves the best layout!"

After Jiang Liumei finished speaking, she immediately took out a calculator from her bag and began typing rapidly with her head down.

"Ms. Mai, since my magazine is a short mystery magazine, there is a word limit."

"Therefore, it would be best to keep it under 20,000 words..."

Jiang Liumei was halfway through her sentence when she looked up at Maishiro Kyosuke:

"Ms. Mai, your talent and ability are evident to both Mr. Yushan and me."

"But, since you are a newcomer, there are some things I still need to explain to you clearly."

Seeing that Maishiro Kyosuke nodded in agreement, Jiang Liu Meili took out two sheets of paper of different sizes from her bag and placed them in front of Maishiro Kyosuke.

"Ms. Maishiro, these two sheets are standard manuscript paper in the Japanese publishing industry."

"This smaller sheet of paper contains approximately 300 to 400 words and is suitable for short articles in magazines."

"The larger sheet of paper contains about 500 to 600 words."

"In Japan, royalties are paid on a uniform basis. Whether it's a mystery novel, a folklore novel, or a science fiction novel, and no matter who writes it, the payment is basically the same."

"The payment for articles is calculated based on the amount of paper they are paid, and it is roughly between four and five thousand yen per article."

"This is not only fair, but it also makes it easier for us editors to solicit articles, saving us the trouble of negotiating prices."

"Of course, this is not entirely absolute."

"If Ms. Wucheng becomes a top writer, she will naturally receive higher royalties."

Jiang Liu Meili quickly tapped on the calculator, then placed it in front of Mai Shiro Kyosuke:

"To show my utmost sincerity, I gave Mr. Maishiro a fee of six thousand yen per sheet of manuscript paper."

"A 20,000-word manuscript would require approximately 50 sheets of paper, which would amount to a total payment of 300,000 yen!"

"If Ms. Mai-shiro wants to compile the stories into a book and publish it in the future, then we can entrust Mr. Yu-shan to publish it again."

"Then we can collect royalties based on the number of books printed."

"It should be noted that for works like 'The Astrological Murder Mystery,' which have never been published before, the royalties are approximately between 12% and 14%."

"If it was published in a magazine and then compiled into a book, the royalties are about 10% to 12%."

"Ms. Mai, did you understand?"

Upon seeing Maishiro Kyosuke nod slightly, Jiang Liu Meili smiled and took out a stack of bank cards from her bag, pulled one out, and handed it to Maishiro Kyosuke.

"Ms. Mai, there are 300,000 yen in this card. Please accept this payment."

From Eri Miri's words, Maijo Kyosuke learned about the rules of the entire Japanese publishing industry and gained a completely new understanding of the Japanese publishing world.

The moment I received the royalties from Jiang Liumei.

Kyosuke Maijo has truly embarked on his path as a writer!