He was holding a bag with the street corner bookstore logo in his left hand, and his right hand was the affordable bread from the convenience store downstairs. Shimizu Tetsu was still thinking about the Naoki Award when he squeezed open the apartment door with his shoulders.

What exactly does Kotanshe want to do? What is the reason for promoting a scammer writer who was shortlisted for more than ten years ago? What are their intentions for themselves?

“Welcome back.”

"Yeah, I'm back."

After a conditioned reflex response, Shimizu Tetsu suddenly realized something was wrong. He raised his eyes and saw Nanami Nanami who was poking his head out of the kitchen.

"Wait, what's going on?"

"Hmm? I made the sukikaku today."

"No, why did Qi see you here? You were still in Hokkaido when you called yesterday?"

"Are you unhappy?" She smiled faintly and then curled her expression, her eyelashes drooping unconsciously. "I heard that Shimizu, you were shortlisted for the Naoki Award, so I came back early this morning... By the way, can you help move the induction cooker?"

"good…"

Walking into the kitchen behind her and looking at her as if she was taken for granted, Shimizu Tetsuya thought to herself: This should be her way of celebrating, right?

After moving the full set of tableware to the living room, and tossed for a while, the two of them sat down in front of the stove and raised the glass filled with juice.

"Congratulations to Shimizu, you were shortlisted for the Naoki Award."

"Thanks."

After a simple celebration, it was the enjoyment process. Qingshui Cho picked up a piece of beef and put it into his mouth. The umami taste on the tip of his tongue made him widen his eyes: "It's so delicious!"

"Of course, this is the most expensive in the supermarket, only today," Nanami Nanami swallowed a piece, unconsciously curling her eyebrows, "By the way, Shimizu, do you think...you have a great hope of winning the Naoki Award in the end?"

After tasting the taste of tofu again, the clear water exhaled the white air from the outlet, and then he could answer her question.

"I guess...it's about 30%.

"Is that low?"

Nanami Nanami blinked through the steaming mist in the pot, "Today's TV and newspapers are very confident in you, and the commentators think you will break the record of the youngest winner of the Naoki Award."

"It's not that way," Shimizu Tetsu held the bowl and shook his head. "I have seen all the shortlisted works this time. Compared to them, I have good sales and it's hard to say how much it is in terms of quality. In addition, it's just that age is so-called topical, so it can arouse the interest of the media."

"Well...isn't it good to be young?"

"It's not all good," Shimizu Tsuki showed a helpless smile. "I have seen the list of winners of the nearly twenty Naoki Awards. Either they have been shortlisted for the Naoki Awards several times, or they have won other awards, and have never seen them just debuted, have not won or been shortlisted for other literary awards. The first award is the writer of the Naoki Award."

"That's... lacking qualifications, right?"

"That's right," Shimizu Tsuki nodded, "The literary circle is actually similar to the outside world. It values ​​teacher-education relationships, likes to divide factions and seniority. Therefore, the judges of the Naoki Award may have to maintain the so-called 'tradition'. If that's the case, I may not have much hope this time."

After a moment of silence, Nanami stood up to add juice to the two of them in the boiling sound of the soup, and suddenly spoke: "Actually... the painting side is the same. The internship work found by the school fell into the hands of the predecessors..."

"This country may be similar everywhere."

Qingshuiche swallowed a piece of radish, and was choked by the spicy smell and coughed several times. After swallowing ice water in big mouthfuls, she continued to speak in her concerned eyes, "There is a senior named Ye Shilin who was shortlisted this time. Have you seen the "Story of the Eternals" written by him?"

"It's the one you put on the sofa? I flipped through the beginning today, what's wrong?"

"What do you think of that book in Qi Jian?"

"Well... Although it is a novel with historical themes, it mainly describes the subtle feelings between people. It is similar to Shimizu's "The Legend of the Boat" by Shimizu... I haven't read much yet, but the parts I have read are already very attractive."

"Yes," Kiyoshi Shimizu smiled, "I heard that Senior Ye Mulin is proficient in Chinese poetry and is very literary when writing such subjects. I still have many things to learn from him in this regard. However, there are some other factors for this Naoki Award selection."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Senior Ye Mulin is 61 years old this year. This is his fifth time being shortlisted for the Naoki Award, and he has written such a good work... The judges will definitely consider this. Logically speaking, this Naoki Award is a competition between me and him."

"Realistically speaking, are there any other situations?" Nanami Nanami leaned forward and keenly captured the implicit sound in his words.

Seeing that she could not hide it, Shimizu Tsuki had to tell her about Kotanshe and Sekawa Ren.

After hearing this, Nanami was stunned on the spot and murmured: "I didn't expect that among the shortlists of the Naoki Prize, there was Kishida Sang's enemy..."

"I also find it strange," while she was unprepared, Shimizu Tetsu picked up the last slice of beef. "More than ten years ago, Kotanshe was the victim of the man's fraudulent royalties, but now he seems to have completely forgotten that incident. He promotes it in various channels and recommends that Shin Sekawa compete for the Naoki Award. If he simply wants to stop me from winning the award, it would be better to support Senior Ye Mulin directly..."

"And according to Kishida Sang, Shin Sekawa himself is at most a third-rate writer, but now he has written works that can be shortlisted for the Naoki Award. Although it is not impossible to improve his writing skills in the past ten years, I always feel something is wrong... I really don't know what they are trying to do behind their backs..."

Seeing him falling into deep thought, Nanami quietly returned to her room and held a slender box in her hand.

"...Maybe it's better to exchange for something more practical..."

Unconsciously speaking, Qingshuichi came to his senses and heard the question floating from the mist.

"Hashimizu, did you decide what to do?"

"Absolutely, I'll go to school to find Teacher Takahashi tomorrow... Hum? What is this?"

He noticed the box carefully wrapped in dark blue paper on the table.

Nanami Nanami touched the hot earrings and put down her hair to block it. Her cheeks turned slightly red from the mist in the middle, and the pink lips were drawn in a faint curve.

"Qimizu, your birthday gift...didn't you say before, I'll give it to you when I arrive in Tokyo..."

"Ah...thank you..."

The thanks were a bit stumbled in surprise. Shimizu Tetsu carefully opened the packaging outside and saw Nanami Nanami's feelings.

"Baile Pen! This one is very expensive, right?"

"...Because I don't understand very much, I can only ask the clerk to recommend it... But you should be able to use Qingshui, right?"

"It will definitely be used, but it's just..."

"It's okay, I have a little savings now..."

At some point, she had moved from opposite the table to Qingshuiche, looking at his eyes filled with mist. Her slender hands also held his hands for the first time, and her gentle words were like hazy mist.

"Actually, what I want to say is... No matter what decision you make in Shimizu... I will always be by your side..."

After a moment of silence, Qingshui looked at her slightly drooping eyelashes, smelled the smell of shampoo, and got closer little by little.

However, she turned her face at the last moment.

Without the expected touch, Shimizu Tetsu couldn't help but wonder, "Hmm?"

“…sorry…I’m a little…”

"Then come back."
Chapter completed!