Starting as a Manga Editor-Chapter 124: She'll Probably Hate Me, Right?

“Alright.”
Tang Yao had just been daydreaming about all the sneaky ways she could lure... convince Li Xue to help out.
But there was no rush.
She snapped out of her thoughts, gently patting Tang Xun’s slim back to reassure her.
“I’m not getting married, okay? Not happening.”
“Who cares if you get married or not?”
Tang Xun slowly lifted her head, instantly returning to her usual cool, aloof self.
“…Wanna voice Tohsaka Rin instead?”
Tang Yao couldn’t help but laugh, amused by how fast her sister flipped moods.
“So dishonest.”
“……”
Tang Xun tilted her head away, clearly avoiding the topic.
Instead, she asked, “What do you want to eat tonight? I’ll cook something now…”
“Anything’s fine.”
Tang Yao was used to this routine by now. She reached out to ruffle Tang Xun’s hair before turning to sit on the bed. Crossing her long, shapely legs, she swung one foot gently and started messaging Li Xue.
Tang Xun had just started heading to the kitchen when she heard her sister recording something—those same embarrassing lines from earlier.
Curious, she wandered back over and sat down beside her.
Tang Yao didn’t mind. In fact, she even scooted closer—it was warmer that way.
So, Tang Xun easily caught a glimpse of the message her sister was sending.
She glanced at the contact name, hesitated, then asked:
“Li Xue… Is she a colleague?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Tang Yao didn’t even look up. She kept typing as she answered, “I’m trying to talk someone into helping me. Too bad you’re underage—otherwise, with how tsundere you are, I wouldn’t need anyone else.”
“I’m not tsundere.”
“Sure, sure. That wasn’t my little sister earlier, clutching my clothes and terrified I’d leave her behind.”
“……”
Tang Xun’s ears flushed red in embarrassment. She started to get up and leave.
But just as she moved, her right hand was gently caught by her sister’s warm, soft hand.
She froze, glancing down.
Tang Yao laced their fingers together and said quietly:
“You don’t have to be afraid in front of me, Xun. Say what you want to say. Do you really think I’d be upset with you? Silly girl.”
“……”
Tang Xun slowly looked up.
Her sister held the phone in one hand, the other clasped tightly around hers. Her pretty peach blossom eyes were fixed on her, tinged with a hint of mock reproach.
Their eyes met—and for a moment, Tang Xun felt something warm and gentle flow through their joined hands, straight from her sister’s heart into hers.
She didn’t speak.
She simply leaned back in and rested her head against Tang Yao’s shoulder.
Tang Yao smiled softly and went back to typing.
After a moment, Tang Xun asked, “...Is that the same Miss Li who invested?”
“Mm-hmm~”
Tang Yao nodded. “She’s a great person.”
“Sis.”
Tang Xun tilted her head to look up at her sister’s radiant profile.
…So pure, not a single flaw. Like a piece of unblemished jade.
Tang Yao paused mid-typing. “Hm?”
She could never resist when Tang Xun called her like that.
Tang Xun squeezed her sister’s hand a bit tighter, then shook her head.
“It’s nothing.”
…No one’s good enough for her.
Not even another woman.
“I told you already—anything you want to say, just say it.”
Tang Yao sighed softly, resting her head against Tang Xun’s as she kept tapping out her message.
But Tang Xun didn’t say anything more.
The two sisters sat quietly, breathing softly in the unheated room—but with their foreheads touching and fingers entwined, neither felt cold at all.
After clearing up Tang Xun’s worries about her ever getting married and running away, Tang Yao sent the message off to Li Xue.
And sure enough—Li Xue came by the very next day.
Her fashion sense had always been Tang Yao’s type, and today was no exception:
A long, ankle-length skirt that perfectly highlighted her slim waist, a soft inner top, and a cozy coat. Simple yet elegant, warm yet gentle.
“You’re doing voice acting?”
As soon as she stepped into Avalon Studio, Tang Yao dragged her straight into a meeting room.
Inside, Li Xue was taking off her coat when she asked the question.
“Not me. Us,” Tang Yao said seriously.
“No thanks.”
Li Xue froze mid-motion, then shook her head quickly.
“I can’t do that.”
“I can’t either,” Tang Yao replied, deadpan. “But think about it. I’m the boss and I’m still doing it—so why can’t you, a shareholder? I mean, if one person doing something embarrassing is already bad, two people doing it won’t make it worse.”
“But I really don’t know how.”
Li Xue backed up a step. “And besides, didn’t you say all the voiced characters already have actors? That means I’d be voicing… what, Sakura?”
“Yeah, no thanks.”
Tang Yao blinked, then quickly shook her head.
Not a good fit.
“Exactly. So you do it,” Li Xue said with a slight grin. “I heard your test run the other day. It was really good.”
“Just don’t show your face in public,” she added quickly.
“Of course I won’t!”
Tang Yao huffed, “I’d have to be crazy to appear on camera. It’d ruin the character—could even cause unexpected drama. I’m doing it myself to prevent a situation where the actor ends up overshadowing the character. If I go on camera, it’d defeat the whole point.”
“Yeah… it definitely would.”
Li Xue nodded slowly. “All anyone would be able to see is you…”
“No way!”
Tang Yao rolled her eyes. “Why would anyone pay attention to me when there’s a hot anime girl in black stockings on screen?”
“……”
Li Xue stared at her best friend with a mix of admiration and exasperation.
For a split second, she really wanted to throw Tang Yao in front of a camera, just so the whole world could tell her:
“You're not any less attractive than a 2D waifu.”
In fact, if 2D characters had rivals in real life—Tang Yao was one of them.
But that little fantasy only lasted a second.
Because beyond forcing Tang Yao to face reality… there was no point.
So why bother?
It was better if no one else ever knew.
If the whole world was as blind as Tang Yao herself…
Then maybe she could keep this sight all to herself.
But just as that thought crossed her mind—
Li Xue froze.
What the hell was that possessiveness?
“What’s wrong?”
Tang Yao blinked, noticing her odd expression.
“Nothing… I was just picturing my lines and cringing.”
Li Xue quickly recovered and looked at her friend’s flawless face.
But the moment passed, and the thought crept back in—
If I actually said what I was thinking… would she hate me?
“Then let’s do this,” Tang Yao said, sensing her hesitation but not pressing.
“You don’t have to play a named character. You’ll just be a random assistant.”
“Assistant?”
Li Xue blinked, tilting her head.
“Yeah. You’ll be in the video with me—helping me with the dubbing. Both in and out of character, you’re just ‘the assistant.’ Not any specific game character.”
Tang Yao looked a little sheepish.
“I didn’t want to ask any of the staff—it’s too embarrassing. So I had to turn to you.”
“…That I can do.”
Li Xue didn’t object.
“But I really don’t know anything about this stuff…”
“It’s fine. I’ll walk you through it.”
Tang Yao quickly got into explanation mode. “I did some research last night—most facial capture software still isn’t that reliable, but there’s one that lets us import external models. So right now, we’ve got two options…”
And so, she started explaining the whole virtual idol setup to Li Xue.
The project had officially begun.
Li Xue was still a bit lost in the details.
She hadn’t yet realized what kind of storm she and Tang Yao were about to stir up—
or just how big a deal this would become.