Starting as a Manga Editor-Chapter 19: The New Issue of big comic

Although Tang Yao had just taken a wave of mocking and sarcasm,
She actually didn’t care much.
She knew her superior valued so-called “leadership authority” a lot. Just like his understanding of an editor’s job was all about sales, his expectations for subordinates were also strangely simple—obedience, loyalty, and respect.
In comparison, actual ability came second.
It sounded kind of ridiculous, but that was pretty common. Tang Yao had met people like this in her previous life.
It usually came down to the boss being not that capable, with a narrow mind and a strong sense of jealousy. Their fragile ego just couldn’t handle subordinates who were more competent and dared to talk back. So they’d try to suppress you, use every subtle tactic to tell you, “You’re nothing special.”
And if you made a mistake? Oh, they’d go all in to drag you down.
Now, if a company boss acted like that, it was understandable.
But a manga department’s editor-in-chief acting this way? That was just plain petty.
Tang Yao knew that unless she bowed her head, things would never improve—no matter how well she did her job.
But she never once considered forcing herself to submit.
There was no need.
She had already made up her mind to quit.
Whether she got investment or not.
Even if she didn’t get it and just went back to drawing manga—she was done here. No need to put up with any of this.
She was still hanging around for now just so she could have a better chance to meet with Miss Li and finalize her next steps.
Now that she had resolved her past-life baggage and could pick up the pen again, she didn’t even care about the year-end bonus...
In a way, you could say she wasn’t exactly “loyal.”
“Are you okay?”
Back at her desk,
Kang Ming had just sat down and glanced at Tang Yao beside him, concern in his eyes.
Tang Yao casually replied, “I'm fine. Like they say, the money you get every month isn’t a salary—it’s emotional damage compensation. Makes sense, doesn’t it?”
“What about the manga award?”
Though Kang Ming hadn’t been here long—barely two days—
He had picked up bits and pieces from Editor-in-Chief Ding’s comments and roughly pieced things together.
Tang Yao shook her head. “No problem. Like he said, sure, I’m just a third-rate editor, and that artist is third-rate too. But personally? I’ve got a lot of confidence in this.”
“Doesn’t really sound like it.”
Kang Ming looked at Tang Yao’s profile. Even though they hadn’t known each other long, something in his gut told him:
This girl might be worthless in the eyes of the editor-in-chief… but reality was far from that.
“Well, just wait and see. Check the website when it goes up,” Tang Yao smiled, then added offhandedly, “In the end, whether we’re third-rate or not, it’s up to the readers to decide. And thanks for your concern, but honestly… I’m planning to quit, so I didn’t really take Editor Ding’s words to heart.”
“Eh!?”
Kang Ming blinked, startled. His curiosity instantly turned into full-on shock.
He hadn’t heard anything about this.
“Because I want to do something else.”
Seeing the expression on Kang Ming’s face, Tang Yao hesitated. If she did land the investment, dropping it on him suddenly might be a lot to take in—so she decided to give him a heads-up.
“Though the date isn’t set yet, I am leaving.”
“……”
Kang Ming finally snapped out of it. Even though it felt sudden, he still asked, “So what are you planning to do?”
Tang Yao turned her head and smiled lightly. “Make games. I want to start with a mobile game—can you believe it?”
“……”
Kang Ming looked at the manuscript in Tang Yao’s hands… then at the brilliant smile on her face… and got even more confused.
Wait.
How does that connect?
That doesn’t connect at all, right?
Is this a joke?
Before he could figure it out, Tang Yao had already bent over her desk and gotten back to work.
Kang Ming figured he probably shouldn’t ask anymore.
On the other side, Tang Yao was reviewing the storyboard guide she’d finished yesterday, along with Mr. Ou’s latest feature... and gently shook her head.
The new issue of big comic was about to hit the shelves, huh?
Ou Congquan really went ahead with it after all.
Thinking about all those excited readers rushing out to buy the magazine,
Only to see that storyline... man, kind of a shame.
——
Even though the manga award was important,
The magazine’s release wouldn’t be delayed.
As time went on, the final proofing for the manga was completed. Once everything was verified, the files were sent off to the printing plant for production.
Soon, the rumble of machines echoed across the factory floor.
And by Thursday,
The new issue of big comic rolled out and hit bookstores and retail stands right on time.
On her way to work, Tang Yao stopped by a magazine stall and picked up a copy.
She already knew what series would run this week. She wasn’t interested in The Girl, the Boy, and the Sword, the magazine’s lead feature—so her interest in the rest was pretty low too.
But she still bought a copy.
Mainly because in her past life, when she was younger, she could still see magazine stands every now and then—like at train stations or something.
But as time passed, magazine stands started vanishing fast.
And don’t even mention traditional bookstores—they were dying off even faster.
She hadn’t lived through the cultural boom of the 1980s.
By the time she was born, online bookstores and e-readers—the first nails in the coffin for brick-and-mortar shops—had already arrived.
Honestly, they were already in the mobile internet era now.
The fact that physical bookstores weren’t completely gone yet was the real miracle.
Must be a parallel world thing.
It was out of this weird nostalgic feeling that she picked up the latest issue of big comic.
And to her surprise, quite a few people were buying too.
Most were going for the top-selling manga magazine, of course,
But judging by the pile of books at the stand, big comic—the perennial fourth place—had already sold two-thirds of its stock that morning.
“This issue’s got The Girl, the Boy, and the Sword, right?”
“Of course! This is the best part! The mastermind’s actually a loli! She’s about to go head-to-head with the male lead! I’ve been waiting six months for this! Finally hitting the climax!”
“Yeah! Can’t wait to see what Full Effort-sensei draws this time!”
“So hyped!”
“……”
While Tang Yao was buying her magazine,
A few readers—looked pretty young—were talking excitedly as they grabbed the new issue.
Probably students?
Tang Yao wasn’t sure, but she caught their conversation clearly.
She gave a small shake of her head, paused a moment, then turned and headed to the office.
—
About ten minutes later.
Tang Yao arrived at her workstation and tossed the magazine she bought onto the desk. She sat down and casually flipped through it.
After skimming most of it,
She tossed the magazine aside, gently massaged her temples, and for some reason, felt a wave of frustration bubble up inside.
Especially after remembering what those readers had said just now.
It made her even more annoyed.
After a moment’s thought, she woke up her computer and opened the site for the Wenxin Manga Award—hoping to distract herself.
Of course, the site wasn’t literally called “Wenxin Manga Award.” Its actual name was Wenxin Online.
Even though the competition hadn’t started yet, the site was already live. The mascot character had already been designed, and the homepage was currently displaying all the info for this first Wenxin Manga Award.
According to the schedule,
Once the contest launched, all submissions would be displayed on the site.
After the competition, the site would open for free submissions. The contest entries would become its first batch of content—essentially the seed collection.
Tang Yao opened the site mainly to double-check the submission process for the contest.
After all, she wasn’t going through the invited artist route...
Overall, the submission process was pretty simple.
The company seemed to be placing a lot of importance on the site. Besides invited artists, they were also accepting entries recommended by editors.
That made things easier.
Tang Yao closed the page, dug through her files a bit, and found the short story titled Human Head Balloon. She started preparing the digital file.
But before she could begin, there was one thing she needed to confirm—
Do I have to use the artist’s real name?
Nope.
As soon as the thought popped up, Tang Yao shook her head and rejected it.
It wasn’t her own name, and it would definitely be a hassle.
Using Junji Ito’s name wouldn’t work either.
Since she was going to post other works under the same alias later on.
Hmm… might as well just pick something random.
It’s just a placeholder anyway.
Let’s go with—Third-Rate Artist.
Tang Yao gave it a quick thought and locked it in without hesitation.
After all, in this world, the one drawing these manga—her—really was third-rate.
With the name confirmed, the next step was finishing the proofreading and converting it to a digital version.
The cover art had already been done yesterday.
Tang Yao threw herself back into work.
About twenty minutes later,
She was in the zone again. At the same time, her seat neighbor Kang Ming arrived.
Hearing footsteps, Tang Yao glanced up and saw the newcomer holding a copy of the new big comic issue too…
Only for some reason, the guy looked totally out of it—like he had gone tomb-raiding in the middle of the night, ran into a rival gang, barely made it out alive, and just barely dragged himself to the office in time.
What the heck had he been up to?