Tokyo Soft Rice King

The skill of her left hand recorded her efforts.

Writing Level 3

Although he had no talent for writing, he had already accumulated his proficiency to level 3, and the progress bar was already halfway through.

She did not win the award by virtue of her unique talent, but rather relied on her extensive reading experience, careful observation, accumulation of materials, imitation and diligent writing practice to finally get this honor.

Yeah... I should have thought of it earlier. I don’t have the relevant proficiency in creation.

Shirai Shiori is the same as herself.

Just a pure girl who loves stories.

Chapter 121: True Conviction

However, the execution of the bet is not over yet.

It's not enough to just take off all your clothes, you have to get down from your seat first.

In this state of birth, Shiori Shirai has to admit defeat to Kuroba Akira.

This might be even more difficult for her to accept than taking off all her clothes.

This is true.

Shiori Shirai really wanted to kneel down as soon as possible so that she could put her clothes back on and at least not be so embarrassed.

But my knees seemed to be frozen and I couldn't bend them no matter what.

She leaned over and slapped the front of her thighs, gritting her teeth to make her body obey, but her legs and feet would not obey her.

Why……!

I’ve already taken off my clothes...why can’t I just get off my seat...!

Could it be that my heart hasn't surrendered yet?

I didn't expect that I would be so unwilling to admit defeat...

How embarrassing...!

Shirai Shiori felt ashamed of her stubbornness and was about to look up and say to Kuroba Akira, "Give her a little more time, and she will fulfill the promise no matter what."

But at this moment she heard Hei Yuming's voice coming from above her head.

"You know what? Shirai-san, for authors who create with their heart, creation itself is a process of exposing their inner selves, so people who like to write novels are actually exhibitionists."

This is actually a brutal statement.

For example, Kuroba Akira is not a pure creator. He prioritizes "what readers want to see" rather than "what he wants to write."

But this sentence applies to Shiori Shirai.

It was precisely because she wanted to express herself so much that her ego would "betray" her at this time, making her refuse to admit defeat.

“I want to bare my inner self to others, to gain their approval, to be praised…but the more I think about it, the further I stray from the creative process.”

Shirai Shiori listened to his words carefully and her mouth slowly opened.

Why does he understand my feelings so well?

It was as if he could see through not only my body but also my heart.

No, he didn't understand himself, but the author.

Because he is also the author himself.

And he is a 'predecessor' who has gone further than me.

"So-called creation is actually putting yourself and the readers on the two ends of a scale, trying to keep the scale balanced. But your scale has tilted, Shirai Shiori."

The balance is out of balance...

I really ignored the readers' feelings.

I just wanted to write excellent works.

But I never thought about who this light novel was for...

Is this the reason for my failure?

As if answering her inner questions, Kuroba Akira continued to talk about the plot of a novel.

"I once read a novel called 'Stupid, Come to Quanke'. It tells the story of a college student who met a Quanke man in a hot pot restaurant. With the help of this strange man, he rekindled his dream of writing novels..."

"I've never heard of such a novel..."

Is this a novel he conceived himself?

Or maybe he just came up with a story to comfort himself...

"Just hear me out."

"……it is good."

"Anyway, with the help of this strange man, the 'I' in the novel began to get in touch with the heroine, a popular female college student writer, and even became her apprentice. In fact, the heroine was the culprit who almost made the hero give up writing novels because he heard her evaluation of his submission: worthless."

"..."

"She believes that no matter how hard someone works, it's all in vain."

Shirai Shiori felt that this sentence was correct, but... it was indeed too cruel.

Because she knew that she actually had no talent.

It is precisely because I do not have the same overflowing inspiration and ingenious writing as those genius authors that I need to rely on massive reading to absorb the essence of books written by others and make up for the lack of talent I have.

Kuroba Akira...he is the real genius author.

"The idea is simply ridiculous."

"Hey?"

“I don’t believe that hard work alone will lead to rewards, but creation is definitely not a field where success can be achieved solely through talent.”

Hei Yuming looked at his right hand. If he didn't have the copied talent, he would have been a talentless person.

"Because I'm not as talented as you, Shirai-san."

"……you!"

What do you mean by not having any talent...!

I'm the one without talent!

You've already defeated me, haven't you?

You are not allowed to belittle yourself!

If that happens, wouldn’t I become a joke if I lost to you?

"Honestly, I've spent most of my life watching all sorts of content, searching for so-called 'interesting' content. This is not only for spiritual nourishment, but also for accumulating experience. It's this experience that has allowed me to surpass you."

"you……"

It turns out he is just like me...

"But actually, I didn't care about winning against you at all. I just wanted to make money from light novels."

"...!"

shallow!

This was Shiori Shirai's first thought.

But...is he really superficial?

He was not obsessed with winning or losing, and in the end he defeated himself... This shows that his mentality was correct.

Is it wrong to want to make money from novels?

Do not……

Being able to make money means you are popular, and being popular means you have a lot of readers...

Only such works can be recognized by the public.

He is right.

“Creation is not about winning or losing, it’s about survival.”

"The quality of a work is judged by its readers, and creators also rely on popularity to make money. So a popular writer's work may seem to resonate with many people, but in reality, only a few people truly understand it."

"So...it's a blessing to have a close friend. There's no need to force others to understand."

“Write for yourself, and also for your readers.”

"When you can do that, you won't lose to me anymore."

Hei Yuming finished speaking.

At this moment, Shirai Shiori realized that her knees had gone weak.

what……

It seems... not so painful anymore.

He said this to make himself understand the reason for his failure.

I didn't lose to the 'genius', it's not that I was born inferior to him, but I failed to care about the readers more than he did.

From this perspective...it's only natural that I would lose to him.

Because I am far less mature than him.

After truly admitting her defeat, Shiori Shirai felt a refreshing sense of liberation in her heart.

Something that was tightly wrapped around the body was untied.

That's obsession.

I must write something that can beat him.

Be sure to write something better than the award-winning work.

You must write work that will impress the editors of the publishing house.

must……

But how can creation be certain?

As he said, the quality of a work is not determined by oneself, but by the readers.

I failed to convince my readers, so I lost.

When she came to her senses, Shirai Shiori found herself kneeling down.

So, she continued to bend forward, put her hands in an inward-facing "X" shape and placed them on the ground, knocking her forehead against the ground.

Truly convinced.

"Kuroba-san...Kuroba Akira, this time, I lose."

She did it.

Chapter 122 Please Teach Me

Hei Yuming came to her side, squatted down, and put his hand on her head.

Shirai Shiori felt the hand above her head. Although she couldn't see it, judging from the direction of the hand, she realized that Kuroba Akira was not opposite her, but beside her.

He did not accept his kneeling.

"Hey, Shirai-san, do you want to be a professional writer?"

"I want to...! No... I absolutely want to become a writer!"

Shiori Shirai had never thought of any other path.

She started reading novels because her parents were away from home all year round since she was a child. She felt bored and lonely when she was alone at home, and she was not the type of person who liked to go out and play.