My transformation into a beautiful girl started with a hemorrhage.

Among the big shots sitting in the front row, one of them already had his hands clenched tightly. If someone hadn't been holding him back, he would have already started hitting people.

This man is named Nagayama Kohei, and he is the father of Nagayama Yasuo.

"Brother Changshan, calm down, calm down. Your son is young and impetuous. Who hasn't made mistakes when they were young?"

With a dark expression, Nagayama Kohei said to his friend who was pulling him aside, "Calm down. How can you expect me to calm down? I came here today to introduce that rebellious son to people in the industry, and look what happened? He offended everyone here with just one sentence. Rebellious son! What a rebellious son!"

Nagayama Yasuo spoke so arrogantly partly because he was inherently proud, and partly because he couldn't find Hui afterward, but he knew that the beauty was among the more than 800 people present, so he wanted to show off in front of her.

Of course, he also saw the boy next to the beauty, but in his opinion: a high school brat, how could he possibly compete with me?

The scene fell into a deathly silence. Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Minako Sakagawa reacted quickly and said, "Mr. Nagayama is a man of great character. Well, unlike previous years, another work won the 30th Japan Grand Prix this year. It is 'Martu Scorelab'!"

"I would like to invite the queen, the author of "Maracura" to the stage."

Down below, when Kouta heard the host mention Hui's work, he quickly pulled out the earphones that were resting on his shoulder and were in Hui's ears, which were listening to music.

"Hui, it's your turn!"

"Kouta, bad guy!"

Hui gave Kōta a reproachful look, then got up and went on stage.

Marduk Scramble is a rare science fiction masterpiece among light novels. Many authors present have bought and read it, and after reading it, they were all amazed and felt that it was worthy of next year's grand prize. Unexpectedly, it was awarded this year.

At the same time, they were very curious about the author of "Marduuk Scramble".

Because the light novel industry isn't actually that big, after all, Japan is only so big, and the only five major light novel publishers are all from the same group.

So strictly speaking, we are actually still... colleagues!

So when a writer named queen appeared in the community and wrote a masterpiece like "Martuk Scramble," people became curious. Some guessed that she was a newcomer, but most guessed that she was a pseudonym of some big shot.

This is not unprecedented; there have been instances where prominent figures encountered writer's block.

The reason was that he had a large readership and was under a lot of pressure. So, he simply took a break from his main account and started writing books on a secondary account. And sure enough, without the pressure, he could let loose as he pleased and actually broke through his creative bottleneck.

However, under the questioning gazes of everyone...

When a girl stood up in the back left corner of the theater, everyone was stunned. They saw a beautiful girl, like an elf, standing up.

Hui ignored the stares of those around her. For her, receiving the award was just a side event in her date with Kouta. She got up and walked toward the stage without paying attention to her surroundings, but everyone was watching her closely.

Chapter 140 Heartbeat

The girl was beautiful, breathtakingly beautiful. Whether standing, walking, or sitting, every move she made was pleasing to the eye.

When she stood sideways on stage, her neck was basically in a straight line with her body, her shoulders were relaxed, her back was straight, and her face was expressionless. Standing there, she gave people a sense of calm and tranquility, and a scholarly temperament that was both elegant and refined. What was even more remarkable was that the girl herself had an exquisite appearance that was not of this world and a light and graceful figure. The combination of the two added infinite charm to her.

Even the host, Minako Sakura, couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy when she looked at the girl in front of her.

However, he is a top student from the East Media Group. Although today is his first time hosting the Japan SF Grand Prix ceremony, his experience in hosting other programs is still there.

Minako Sakaki quickly composed herself: "Well, welcome... Ms. Kei Wagatsuma. Ms. Kei Wagatsuma is currently a first-year high school student..."

Hui listened to the host's platitudes until finally, when Minako Sakagawa handed Hui the certificate and the crystal glass.

Then, please have Hui deliver her acceptance speech.

Hui took two steps to the microphone, pondered for two seconds, and then, amidst the expectant gazes of everyone below, said, "Um—, thank you!"

He even nodded slightly as he spoke.

Then, he turned around, stepped off the stage, and left.

The audience felt a strong sense of déjà vu, like the feeling of confessing your love to a girl and being rejected on the spot.

The novelists attending the SF Grand Prize today felt that all the surprises of the year had been concentrated in this one day.

News reporters had already drafted headlines: "The most beautiful and youngest winner in the history of the Japan SF Awards has appeared!"...

Seeing these two oddballs who won awards one after the other, many writers fell into self-doubt:

'Is this why I can't win awards? Because I'm bound by social constraints and lack my own personality?...'

The more I think about it, the more I realize it makes sense. Nagayama Yasuo was extremely arrogant. In front of everyone, he pointed at the noses of most of the novelists present and called them incompetent and useless!

As for the latter, Satoshi Agasa, while undeniably a rare beauty, completely redefined people's understanding of "acceptance speeches" by delivering her acceptance speech in a tone that sounded like she was rejecting a boy's love letter.

'Am I just getting old and can't keep up with the ideas of young people these days?'

······

On stage, Minako Sakagawa felt utterly exhausted.

This was her first time hosting such a prestigious award as the Japan SF Grand Prix, but now she was starting to wonder if she had a problem with her understanding of acceptance speeches in the literary field, or if novelists were just so... casual?

However, there's nothing she can do about it; after all, she's the host, and it's her job to liven up the atmosphere and prevent awkward silences.

She could only wrap things up as quickly as possible and move on to the second item on the agenda—the Nebula Award.

The Nebula Awards are voted on by attendees at the annual Neon SF convention, similar to the Hugo Awards. This award has no connection to America's Nebula Awards.

The Nebula Awards currently have nine categories: "Neon Novel," "Neon Short Story," "Overseas Novel," "Overseas Short Story," "Media," "Comics," "Art," "Documentary," and "Freelance."

There is no such thing as "only being able to win an award once"; the same work can win the Nebula Award multiple times.

On the other hand, winning entries must have been completed within the year prior to the voting. In other words, if an entry is very popular this year and gets voted for, but is still being screened or has been completed for less than a year, it will still be rejected.

Moreover, this thing is just something that comes from audience votes, and it has a significant difference in quality compared to the "Neon SF Grand Prize" awarded by the official judging panel.

Although Hui didn't care about the awards ceremony, Kouta watched it with great interest from below, and he was also shocked by the manipulation by Nagayama Yasuo.

After returning to her seat, Hui did not pay attention to the Nebula Awards proceedings.

However, most of the people around Hui's seat were novelists, and they felt admiration for Hui.

They had read "The Girl in the Shell," a rare sci-fi novel, and when they saw that the author was a high school student, the word "genius" immediately flashed through their minds.

People generally feel a sense of awe or reverence for geniuses.

The Nebula Awards took more than an hour to select six works before the selection process ended.

Everyone got up and prepared to move to the New Domain Tamano Hotel, a few blocks away.

The awards committee has booked three floors of the Tamano Hotel for a banquet, where writers and others attending the SF Grand Prize can exchange experiences and share insights.

The dinner is scheduled for 7:30 pm, and it's only around 4:10 pm now, so there's no rush.

The crowd left in an orderly fashion.

Backstage at the theater.

Nagayama Kohei pulled his rebellious son to a corner, where the other servants had already discreetly moved away.

Without saying a word, Nagayama Kohei slapped Nagayama Yasuo across the face.

Snapped!

"You unfilial son, look what you've done today! Huh! You think Japan should cancel these basic level awards? How stupid can you be to say something like that? Huh!"

Nagayama Yasuki was stunned by the blow, and after a long while, he covered his face and looked angrily at his father.

"Did I say anything wrong? Why are you hitting me just because I told the truth?"

"Truth! You—you really want to drive me crazy! You bastard, rather than let you court death later, I'd rather beat you to death right now!"

Kohei Nagayama swung his fist at his rebellious son, but while Yasuo Nagayama didn't dare to retaliate, he knew how to dodge!

At 22, he was agile and dodged all of his father's 'attacks'.

At last,

Nagayama Kohei gasped for breath, "Huff—huff—..."

“You unfilial son. Come back with me and immediately issue an apology letter to everyone present today.”

"I refuse! Why should I apologize to a bunch of useless people? Besides, I didn't do anything wrong, so why should I apologize!"

"You—, are you really trying to make me die of anger right here and now? How could I have such a rebellious son? Do you know how many enemies you've made today?"

"Hmph! What good are a lot of useless people? But if you want me to apologize... it's not impossible."

When Nagayama Kohei heard the first part of what was said, he couldn't help but want to hit someone, but when he heard the second part, he felt relieved and thought to himself: "My unfilial son has finally come to his senses!"

"You can name any conditions you have, as long as they're not excessive. Dad will definitely grant them if it's within his power!"

Upon hearing this, Nagayama Yasushi was overjoyed: "You said it yourself, so I'm going to marry my wife, Hui!"

Yasuo Nagayama expressed his wish.

"Kazuma Satoshi." Upon hearing this, Kohei Nagayama immediately pictured an exceptionally beautiful young girl. "You mean the high school girl who won the award with you!"

"Yes, it's her. I've made up my mind, I will marry no one but her in this lifetime!"

"But you already have a fiancée!"

"Isn't she my fiancée? Whoever wants her can have her; we're not married anyway." Nagayama Yasuo felt absolutely nothing for his fiancée, whom he had only met a few times.

Growing up in a wealthy family, with his handsome looks and exceptional talent, he never lacked women. Having seen so many women, he came to think that they were all just ordinary, common women.

His fiancée was just like any other ordinary woman; he felt no attraction to her whatsoever. Before meeting Hui, he was indifferent to love, thinking that he could just make do with his fiancée and live a lifetime together.

However, after meeting Hui, he finally understood what it meant to be moved, and he felt that this was love.

Nagayama Kohei heard his rebellious son spouting wild words again.

"you--"

However, as the rebellious son said, the two did not get married, and modern times are not as strictly governed as in ancient times.

So, just break off the engagement, apologize sincerely, and don't embarrass the other person.

He could understand why his son would fall for that girl, Satoshi Agasa. After all, she was so beautiful that he was amazed when he first saw her, and she wasn't just a pretty face. If his son liked her, there was nothing wrong with marrying her.

"But has he agreed to marry you?"

"This?" Nagayama Yasuo was unsure. After all, it was always the girls who took the initiative to approach him, and he had never had any experience in pursuing girls. "He should agree, right? After all, we are a perfect match, so why wouldn't he agree!"

Yasuo Nagayama was very confident. He had previously obtained some information about Kei Agasa from the judging committee, including where she lived and where she studied. Yasuo Nagayama planned to go to Aomori City to confess his feelings to Kei Agasa after the Grand Prize was awarded, and then win the heart of the beauty.

Seeing his arrogant and overbearing son also have moments of unease, Nagayama Kohei couldn't help but understand: indeed, it still takes a woman to subdue a man.

Chapter 141 Crisis