I am a literary giant in Japan

Chapter 69 is hot again, but we are cutting it at the speed of light! (Please read it~)

7 month 15 day.

The new issue of "Qun Xiang" supplement and main issue were put on the shelves of major bookstores at the same time.

Ever since Kitagawa Hide's "Hear the Wind Sing" was serialized in the April issue of "Gunzo", long queues have formed outside bookstores of all sizes in various areas of Tokyo since they opened at 4 a.m. on the 15th of every month.

These are all pure literature readers who come here because of its reputation and wait quietly to get the new issue of "Group Portrait" in their pockets as soon as possible.

Last month's "Gunzo" supplement, due to its perfect and clever "fragments", ended up with a monthly sales volume of 88.7 copies. Although it failed to break the terrifying sales record of 1995 copies of the April 4 issue of "Gunzo", it also severely crushed the sales of magazines from the other four top publishing houses, including Kawaide Shobo.

In order to make this month's "Gunzo" more popular, Kodansha revealed the inside information that "1973 Pinball" would come to an end in this issue of the supplement without informing Kitagawa Hide, and also announced the title and introduction of "A Wild Sheep Chase" in advance.

Of course, the benefits brought by this hunger marketing-like operational strategy are also huge.

As soon as the staff of many bookstores in Tokyo opened the shutters, they were frightened by a large group of aggressive readers outside.

A month or two ago, people were afraid to go out because they were worried that the Aum Shinrikyo would continue to cause terrorist incidents on the Tokyo subway. Today, it is as if the sarin gas incident had never happened.

Men, women, young and old, and people from all walks of life lined up outside in an orderly manner, and then poured into the bookstore one after another, with a clear goal - the supplement and main issue of "Qun Xiang" in July 1995!
Almost seven out of every ten readers who come into the store come to buy "Qun Xiang", and these seven will buy both the main issue and the supplement.

In addition, the hardcover paperback edition of "Hear the Wind Sing", which has been on sale for 2 months, is still selling well, with total sales exceeding 42 copies, successfully surpassing the former sales champion "Thirty Years in the World" and topping the Oricon physical book sales ranking list!
And judging from the current trend, unless another phenomenal novel like "Hear the Wind Sing" is published in the second half of the year, or "Ball" and "A Wild Sheep Chase" are published as physical books, no one can shake its top position.

"Found it! Found it! The pinball machine has finally been found!"

"Are you kidding me? You bought it early, what a big deal! Believe it or not, I will tear your spoiler-revealing mouth to pieces!"

"That's exactly what it tastes like! It turns out that only Mr. Kitagawa can write with a full sense of the times! I was wondering, what the hell is that book 'Eastward' by Hikaru Oshima? How dare you say that Mr. Kitagawa plagiarized his ideas? Listen to this passage, this is what we call a full sense of the times, okay!"

The young man who was speaking was a little crazy. He couldn't help but read aloud the supplement of "Group Portrait".

"The 'Great Tsar' of Paris, the blue sky, the Eiffel Tower, the 'King and Queen' of Godlip, the famous plane with eight spiraling fairways, the elegant and indifferent Western gambler, the Ace of Spades hidden in the garter
Heroes, monsters, campus girls, football, rockets, women. All are the same faded and decayed dreams in the bright and dark entertainment hall.

This time no one interrupted him, and no one spoke. The bookstore was eerily quiet inside and outside.

Everyone was listening carefully, and because this passage did not involve the plot, they stood there patiently and tacitly, savoring it quietly.

An indescribable atmosphere of the times hits me in the face, like an old dream, or like the mist that filled my eyes after I opened the window this morning.

It was as if a ferocious and roaring monster was waving its claws at the crowd, tearing and creating three cracks of varying lengths in their hearts.

Then a trickle of blood flowed out from it.

"Oh no, I suddenly don't dare to continue watching "A Wild Sheep Chase". I really want to keep the touching and redemption that "Ball" brought me in my heart forever."

Some people quietly admired that it was also beautiful that Hide Kitagawa's "Youth Trilogy" ended at this moment.

People are like this, when they come into contact with something that is almost perfect, they become anxious.

I’m afraid that new and subsequent things will destroy this hard-earned beauty.

Readers cannot imagine how "A Wild Sheep Chase" will continue to sublimate the theme of this series based on the ending of "Ball" and give them a different or more exciting reading experience.

On the morning of July 1995, 7, all the bookstores in Tokyo were flooded with people.

They even felt that this trend was more lively than the celebrations when Emperor Showa abdicated and Emperor Heisei ascended the throne.

On the subway, on the street, in cafes, and in bars, you can see readers everywhere holding "Group Portrait" and reading it diligently.

On this day, pure literature, which was originally a relatively niche genre among published reading materials, completely defeated comics and popular literature and became a topic of discussion for everyone.

The reading frenzy triggered by the last ten chapters of "Ball" began on July 7 and swept across Japan.

"Gunzo", which has always had middle-class and above readers as its main audience group, was once again a hot seller in Tama area, Adachi Ward and other places, and immediately kicked Kawaide Shobo's "Wenyi" off the shelves.

That afternoon, Kitagawa Hide packed his clothes, picked up his bag, and took the subway to Kodansha headquarters as usual.

To be honest, he thought it was a bit exaggerated when he saw nearly half of the people in a carriage were reading "Group Portrait". He had expected that the end of "Ball" would trigger a reading wave, but he was still a little surprised that the newly serialized "A Sheep Chase" could also be so popular.

"A Wild Sheep Chase" is a fictional story that criticizes capitalist socialism and right-wing elements in Japanese politics, using "sheep chasing" as an excuse.

As the final work of the "Youth Trilogy", the style of this novel is actually a little different from the previous two works. It is no longer just the youth love story they are familiar with.

Especially since it contains some political elements and metaphors criticizing the government and conglomerates, Kitagawa Hide has always been worried that his current readers will not be able to adapt to it.

As it turned out, he was worrying too much.

The subway arrived at the station smoothly, and Kitagawa Hide got off with his bag. Many of the new passengers also had "Group Portrait" in their pockets. They looked happy and couldn't wait to find a place to sit down and read it properly.

He originally wanted to go to the convenience store at Tokyo Station to buy a cup of coffee, but considering that it would be counterproductive if he was recognized by the store clerk, he had to leave the station regretfully and grabbed a can of iced coffee from a vending machine on the street to satisfy his craving.

They walked all the way to the outside of the Kodansha headquarters building, changed into a pink and white T-shirt and denim shorts, and showed their two long white legs for the first time. Saito Reina had been waiting for a long time. When she saw him coming, she smiled, stood on tiptoe and waved her arms, very excited.

It can be seen that since accepting Kitagawa Hide's invitation that day and deciding to resign from Kodansha together, the psychological pressure on Saito Rena has suddenly been reduced by a lot, and she has smiled more often.

This shows that she had actually been very depressed and unhappy at Kodansha over the past year and a half.

"Congratulations, Kitagawa-san! It seems that once the serialization of 'A Wild Sheep Chase' is completed, you will undoubtedly become a recognized 'middle-stream' writer in the literary world." Saito Rena was happy for Kitagawa Hide from the bottom of her heart.

Oshima Hikaru won the Gunzo Newcomer Award in 1989, and it was not until 1994 that he was named the best-selling author of the year for the first time, and only then did he officially enter the ranks of "middle-stream" writers.

This is already a genius-like rate of progress, and he is hailed by the industry as a literary genius rarely seen in a decade.

Kitagawa Hide now crushes Oshima Hikaru in all aspects and has completed his five-year journey in just three months. Saito Rena feels that the word "genius" is not enough to describe Kitagawa Hide, and she has to add a modifier like "once in a century" in front of it.

"It doesn't matter if you are middle class or not. I have always felt that there is no need to divide people into different classes so clearly. We are all people who pursue words and love literature. How can there be a distinction between high and low?"

This is what Kitagawa Hide really thinks. In his previous life, he was a graduate student in the Faculty of Literature at the University of Tokyo, but he never felt superior or complacent because of his academic qualifications or talents.

A hero does not care about his origin.

"And Kodansha has made a lot of money. I feel so upset that I want to cut ties with them right away!"

Saito Reina was amused when she heard this, she chuckled and nodded, "Let's go, let's go cut it off with them now!"

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(End of this chapter)