blogombal Page 192
Page 192
“Indeed, most people wouldn’t give away a work that contains their heart and soul, but—what if it’s to protect something more important? What if that thing is countless times more important than this ‘Sky-Colored Country’? What choice would Atsuko make?”
"Ayako, what is that?"
Unable to contain his curiosity, Hiroki Kakutani couldn't wait to ask more questions about the unexpected twist in Chikako's "plagiarism" case.
"Takahashi—"
Instead of answering Hiroki Kakutani's question, Ayako Suzuki looked at Ryoichi Takahashi and asked a question that seemed completely off-topic:
Do you know about Atsuko's family situation?
"Family situation?"
Ryoichi Takahashi was taken aback, thought for a moment, and then answered honestly:
"All I know is that her parents own a factory, and they seem to be quite wealthy. She also has a younger brother who is studying in their hometown. We only met him once, at her funeral..."
"really!"
Ayako Suzuki sighed:
"You really know very little, no wonder such a big misunderstanding arose!"
"Actually, you're right. Atsuko's family does own a factory and used to be quite wealthy. However, their factory had a major accident, and they were first fined a large sum of money. Then, they exhausted their savings due to the issue of compensation for the workers. Even that wasn't enough; without money to pay compensation, they faced a lawsuit!"
"Atsuko was very anxious, so she approached Chikako, wanting to sell her all the copyrights to her completed novel, 'The Land of Sky Colors,' for two million yen. However, Chikako refused, knowing that two million yen was just a drop in the bucket for Atsuko's family. Later—"
"I'll tell you the rest!"
Chikako, who had been silent all along, spoke softly:
"Actually, I could have come up with two million yen at the time, but just like Ayako said, two million yen was not enough for Atsuko's family's affairs, so I took her to see Ayako!"
"Ayako, did you know about these things?"
Satoshi Ota and Hiroki Kakutani were just as bewildered as Ryoichi Takahashi, feeling as if they had attended a fake university and joined a fake club, knowing absolutely nothing!
"That's right~"
Ayako Suzuki nodded.
Chikako Ikeda continued:
"After Ayako found out, she gave Atsuko 20 million yen without hesitation. We didn't want the book 'The Country of Sky Colors' at all, but Atsuko was very stubborn and insisted on giving it to us!"
"She also said that once the work is given to someone else, it can no longer be credited to her. Ayako and I tried to persuade her for a long time, but in the end she said that if we didn't agree, she wouldn't accept the money, and we had no choice but to listen to her!"
Chapter 177 The Final Truth
Chikako finished explaining.
Satoshi Ota and Hiroki Kakutani suddenly realized.
"So that's it?"
If we exclude other factors...
The essence of this matter is that Ayako and Chikako spent 20 million yen to buy the full copyright of Atsuko's "The Country of Sky Colors".
That makes sense!
It turns out that Ayako and Chikako were not plagiarizing at all; on the contrary, Atsuko benefited greatly.
Twenty million yen!
You should know that even now, with the title of Best New Screenplay Award, Chikako's works don't sell for much money!
Moreover, Atsuko was still relatively unknown at the university. To be honest, the two million yen she asked for was already a bit high. For Ayako to give twenty million yen was practically charity!
"impossible!"
The unexpected turn of events was unacceptable to Ryoichi Takahashi!
The reasons he had been trying to convince himself of suddenly seemed utterly ridiculous, and he cried out in a panic, as if grasping at a last straw:
"If what you say is true, why did Atsuko commit suicide? And the night before Chikako won the newcomer award? Why didn't she tell me? Why didn't I know any of this!?"
"this--"
Xia Ye suddenly interjected:
Is it possible that your relationship hasn't reached the point where she tells you everything?
"Look, you don't even know about Atsuko's family situation. Her family's factory had such a big problem, and she only told Chikako and Ayako. Obviously, she and you are not some close friend who can talk about anything. You are just normal and ordinary clubmates. You think you have a good relationship? That's a misunderstanding."
"Xia Ye!"
Sonoko suppressed a laugh, pursed her lips, and nudged Natsume's waist.
Xia Ye is so sharp-tongued! These few words were probably more damaging to Takahashi Ryoichi than his sister and Chikako talked for half a day.
After all, Atsuko was the one who sustained his belief in revenge. Now that he's told that Atsuko only sees him as an ordinary friend, it's no wonder he's devastated!
Just as Sonoko thought.
Ryoichi Takahashi's beliefs crumbled. Natsume's cruel yet truthful words shattered the lies he had been telling himself, causing him to panic instantly.
"That's right, Takahashi!"
And so, Satoshi Ota and Hiroki Kakutani rubbed salt into the wound, with Ota saying self-deprecatingly:
"In our club, the guys are pretty close, and Atsuko, Chikako, and Ayako often hang out together."
"To be honest, we are indeed friends from the same club and went through an unforgettable university life together, but to say that we are so close that we can talk about anything—well, at least between you and Atsuko, that's not the case!"
Hiroki Kakutani continued to strike at the heart of the matter, echoing Satoshi Ota's words:
"That's right, it's a relationship that everyone can see. Why do you think that Atsuko is special to you, Takahashi?"
"wrong!"
Ryoichi Takahashi stared wide-eyed in a final struggle:
"Atsuko showed me her most precious work, which was an unpublished original manuscript that she wouldn't show to just anyone!"
"that--"
Ayako Suzuki's voice was calm.
The tone was exactly the same as Xia Ye's just now:
"Is it possible that Atsuko showed 'The Country of Sky Colors' to me and Chikako before showing it to you?"
"She also asked us if we wanted to show it to other club members, but Chikako advised her that Kakutani is always fiddling with his precious camera and Ota is always showing off, so neither of them should be interested in the script. Only Takahashi is interested in these things, so Atsuko showed it to you!"
"Chikako~"
"Isn't it a bit much to talk about a friend like that!"
Hiroki Kakutani looked at Chikako, spread his hands helplessly, and said:
"Actually, I do read books sometimes!"
"Exactly, where did I show off!"
Ota Satoshi tossed his long, flowing hair and said narcissistically:
"I really am handsome, okay!"
Chikako simply couldn't be bothered with them; she wasn't in the mood for it!
Ryoichi Takahashi lowered his head, exuding a gloomy and dejected aura. It turned out that even the script reading he thought was the most special was after others, and it was the person he was going to kill who suggested that Atsuko let him see it. How could he bear this!
but--
"wrong!"
Ryoichi Takahashi suddenly looked up.
Remembering something, he pressed on with his question:
"Why did Atsuko commit suicide the night before Chikako won the Best New Screenplay Award for 'Blue Kingdom'? If her family's problems had been resolved, she would have had no reason to commit suicide!"
"so--"
Ayako Suzuki sighed and said helplessly:
"I'm telling you, Takahashi, you don't understand the situation at all. You're just making things up in your head. If you had asked Chikako yourself before you decided to kill her, or if you had come to ask me, none of this would have happened today. Why didn't you ask her?!"
"I!"
Ryoichi Takahashi was speechless.
His face was ashen, and he swayed precariously.
"Ayako, why did Atsuko...?"
Hiroki Kakutani glanced cautiously at Ryoichi Takahashi and asked the same question that had been on his mind.
"Hey!"
Ayako Suzuki's eyes showed regret:
"The 20 million yen was indeed enough for Atsuko's family to compensate the workers, but after the compensation was paid, their factory was ordered to shut down for rectification. Atsuko's parents' life's work vanished, and in despair, they—Atsuko took leave to go home and handle her parents' funeral arrangements, and then she herself—"
"We didn't even know!"
Satoshi Ota felt somewhat guilty, as he hadn't noticed anything wrong with Atsuko at the time.
Now he remembered that Atsuko had left in a hurry during a club activity, but a few days later, everyone received the news that she had committed suicide!
"Atsuko told me not to tell you~"
Ayako Suzuki pursed her lips and said:
"She said that letting you know about these things would only cause you more trouble, but I never expected that she would have suicidal thoughts at that time!"
"On the night she committed suicide, she sent me and Chikako a delayed email. The email didn't arrive until after Chikako's awards ceremony the next day. We rushed to her house, but it was too late!"
"No wonder, only her younger brother was a relative at Atsuko's funeral, it turns out—"
Hiroki Kakutani sighed with regret, then looked at Ayako and asked hesitantly:
"Ayako, could you tell me the contents of the last email Atsuko sent you? If it's a secret, then forget it!"
Let's talk about this topic.
Natsume and Sonoko also perked up.
They were very curious too.
Even the dejected Takahashi Ryoichi raised his head, after all, these were Atsuko's true last words, and he wanted to hear them too!
Ayako Suzuki took her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through her emails. She quickly found the email from years ago, glanced at it, and then handed the phone to Natsume beside her, saying with a heavy heart:
"Summer Leaves—"
"Why don't you read it aloud to everyone?"
Xia Ye took the phone and said seriously:
"it is good!"
Atsuko's original email is as follows—
“Ayako, by the time you receive this email, I will no longer be in this world. Don’t be sad for me. I’ve just gone to another world to find my mom and dad. By the way, I actually know that my script wasn’t worth 20 million yen at all. It was all given to me for free by your kind heart, Ayako. I was planning to pay you back slowly after I started working, but now—I can’t pay you back! But, Ayako, you’re so rich, you probably won’t care about a mere 20 million yen, right? (laughs) Well then—farewell. Remember to make ‘Blue Kingdom’ with Chikako!”
After reading it, Xia Ye returned the phone to Suzuki Ayako and smiled faintly:
"Although I've never met Ms. Atsuko, I can tell from her words that she's a very serious and proud girl. She even thought about paying back such a large sum of money. It's truly a pity that such an excellent girl met such a tragic end."
"Atsuko is indeed a very good girl~"
A hint of reminiscence flickered in Ayako Suzuki's light blue eyes, then she looked at Chikako Ikeda with a touch of helplessness in her gaze:
"However, it's all because of what Atsuko wrote in the email that I'm so troubled now. Chikako knows that Atsuko wants to return the money to me, so she said that Atsuko's work was ultimately attributed to her, and that she should be the one to return the money. So she insists on taking the 20 million yen for herself, even though she knows I don't mind at all!"
"Chikako?"
Hiroki Kakutani looked at Chikako in surprise.
Unexpectedly, in order to fulfill Atsuko's wish, she quietly took on a huge debt of 20 million yen!
In contrast——
Takahashi, who wanted to kill someone without even understanding the situation—it's truly indescribable!