The once wealthy and powerful Ryuuzen clan has been all but destroyed. Their misfortune began in 1960, when a majority of the family was wiped out when their vacation villa was buried under a landslide. However, search and rescue teams discovered something even more shocking: A majority of the bodies they discovered showed obvious signs of having been mu*dered before the landslide.... more>>

As though it were a trigger, what came to be known as "The Curse of the Ryuuzen Clan" spread throughout the descendants of the family's only survivor. By mu*der, by su*cide, by accident... it seemed none who held the name "Ryuuzen" could live to see the age of 35, and now, the family has been reduced to a single woman, lying in a hospital bed, days away from death.

Kamo Touma was once just another of the endless parade of sleazy tabloid journalists looking to exploit a prominent family's tragedy to sell magazines, but Ryuuzen Rena's kindness melted his frozen heart, driving him to quit his old job and become an investigative journalist specializing in overturning cases of false arrest. Eventually, he and Rena were married, but now, the curse threatens to steal away their happiness.

Kamo prays for a miracle, and his prayers are answered by the Hourglass of Miracles, an artifact spoken of in rumors and urban legends, said to grant one wish to anyone who obtains it.

"Meister Hora", a guide for those who obtain the hourglass, tells Kamo there is only one way to break the curse and save Rena: He must travel back in time to the year 1960 and catch the culprit of the original Ryuuzen Family massacre.

Who was the culprit of the mu*ders that took place almost 60 years ago? Why did they steal away the lives of the Ryuuzen clan? What is the true nature of the "Curse of the Ryuuzen Clan?" And perhaps most mysteriously of all... What is Meister Hora's goal in all this?

Winner of the 29th annual Ayukawa Tetsuya Award. <<less

An interview brings to light an old love story.

Ha Joyoon, a war correspondent for TPA, a foreign news agency, has been in a coma for five years after being involved in an accident in a civil war zone. Miraculously, he returns home and visits his ex-lover, but he was already with someone else … They were friends from birth, and lovers after they grew up. A man who never thought of breaking up with his lover and did not imagine himself with another person in his life, found his lover with someone other than him. ... more>>

The world blames all the consequences on his selfishness and irresponsibility. It took time and different ways to end, but Ha Joyoon, who never experienced such a thing, falls helplessly and clings to an old lover who is trying to forget him. But then another man came into his life. This new man doesn’t need affection and just wants to enjoy carnal desires. It is the first time that Ha Joyoon has experienced separation and the responsibility of love in his thirty-one years of life. <<less

He was the hand of God, the painter of the century. My husband became the best artist in the empire. ... more>>

And I was his shadow.

Even when my work went viral under my husband’s name, even when people spoke ill of me behind my back.

It was still good. Because I loved my husband.

But on our wedding anniversary.

“You are the only person I truly love.”

I witnessed my husband whispering his love to my best friend.

At the very moment when my husband saw me discovering his infidelity, his face contorted viciously and pushed me away.

“Where are you raising your voice to your husband?!”

I realized.

I realized that that man had never loved me.

So I decided to become the evil wife they spoke of.

*

“I have a special story for you.”

Ines suggested in a strained voice.

A man as beautiful as God turned his eyes gently to her.

“It’s a special story, our newspaper won’t print the case if it’s not good enough……..”

“It’s the fall of the painter known as the Hand of God…”

Ines continued in a tense voice.

“Isn’t this good enough a scandal to be published in Elton, the greatest daily newspaper in the empire?”

“Then what does Countess Brighton gain from the scandal?”

“My life.”

Ines’ answer brought a different expression to the man’s eyes for the first time. <<less

Cheng Yin likes her deskmate Chen Ran for a long time, but she never dared to confess her love for him, and the phrase ‘I like you’ is a secret hidden in her heart, but she can’t help but blurt it out from time to time…... more>>

Cheng Yin: “Chen Ran, I’ll whisper something to you.”

Chen Ran always leans over quite cooperatively, “What?”

The words came to her lips, Cheng Yin blushed and changed it into: “Your pants are unzipped.”

Chen Ran: “?”

Later, this kind of useless whispering has become more frequent, and Chen Ran listened again without moving a bit: ”Speak.”

The day of the party, Cheng Yin drink for the first time, Chen Ran became two in front of her eyes, she grabbed the person with both hands, want to try to catch the real Chen Ran, only to have her hand caught, he lowered his head in her ear and said: ” Let me whisper to you.”

Cheng Yin: “…… what?”

Such bad behavior, she thought it was something bad, Cheng Yin checked her pants and made sure the zipper was closed before she lean over.

The man’s breath blew softly in her ear, laced with a bit of the smell of wine.

“I like you.” <<less

“Ah Zan, I am Ran Ran.”... more>>

No person is an isolated island, except for you.

That day, he looked outside the window and saw a white olive tree in the open field.

***

Reporter Song is quite different from her appearance.

Reporter Song works very diligently.

Reporter Song is a bit cute.

Today I saw white olive trees with reporter Song. It was very special.

My New Year’s wish is to to marry her.

——Li Zan

Ah Zan, you need to pay attention to your safety.

Ah Zan, I like the scenery that has you in it

Ah Zan, don’t be afraid. I will take you home.

Ah Zan, you are the best person I have ever met.

Ah Zan, you have worked hard.

——Song Ran

“Ah Zan, I want to be a bird in my next life.”

“Then I will be a big tree.”

After witnessing the deepest darkness, the most ferocious evil, and the ugliest horror, I am nonetheless grateful to have seen the light, the kindness, and the most beautiful of souls.

I am nonetheless thankful to have seen that grove of white olive trees with my own eyes.

I knew it was a mirage; the intersection of where the sky and the ground meet in the desert.

And you were always by my side; the brightest light in the dark boundless night. <<less

Koizumi, Tangerine Weekly’s news reporter, quickly gains the nickname “Fire Witch,” in part for her vibrant hair and interesting methods. ... more>>

During a press conference, she realizes that the famous singer Senya Kaoru has fallen asleep.

No one believes her, so she devises a trap…

Note: This Chinese novel was originally serialised with Japanese names and locations. During publication, the name was changed to, “Afternoon Lavender.” The novel contained Chinese names and locations instead. <<less