Starting as a Manga Editor-Chapter 2: Eighteen Back Then, Standing Like a Henchman

Tang Yao worked at a publishing house called Wenxin Press, and she was an editor for one of its publications—Big Comic magazine.
It was a biweekly shounen manga magazine, released every other Thursday.
Its main themes were fantasy and intense battle series.
Unlike the famous Shounen JUMP from Tang Yao’s previous world, with its iconic themes of “Friendship, Effort, and Victory,” this magazine leaned more toward the vibe of Young JUMP, focusing on “Love, Violence, and Power.”
As for its sales and audience… they weren’t bad.
Though not on par with the top three magazines, it had a stable reader base and ranked within the top four. That already qualified it as a “big-name” publication.
Logically speaking, being an editor at a magazine like this—while not exactly glamorous—wasn’t all that bad either.
Coincidentally, Tang Yao had thought the same when she first started.
Then she met the troublesome authors she was assigned to.
The one who’d just yelled earlier was named Ou Weiquan, pen name: "Going All Out."
His manga was a fantasy title called The Girl, the Boy, and the Sword.
Yeah… a super cliché name. From Tang Yao’s perspective, the setting and plot were just as cliché.
But this manga happened to be the magazine’s flagship series.
What did “flagship” mean?
In the world of competitive manga magazines, it referred to a work that anchored the entire publication—carrying both its content and sales.
In other words, it was the magazine’s lifeline, its sales floor.
In her previous world, a newbie editor like her wouldn’t even dream of being assigned a flagship title.
So when she was told she’d be in charge of one, she was shocked.
She even had the fleeting thought: Wow, maybe I’m actually important.
Until… she read the storyboard.
With a “get paid, do your job” attitude, she went to offer some suggestions—
And got completely roasted.
That’s when she woke up from the dream.
This wasn’t her previous world.
It wasn’t Japan.
And it wasn’t the China she used to know.
Here, mangaka had absolute authority over editors.
For successful mangaka, editors were practically optional.
Not that editors had zero say—but to be heard, they had to be assertive, experienced, and have a proven track record.
You’d have to be someone who’d discovered and launched a hit series before your opinion even mattered.
Otherwise, you were just a glorified storyboard delivery mule.
And as for this flagship author she was stuck with—
Not only was he domineering, but he’d also been poached from another magazine.
Rumor had it that when they brought him over, they’d agreed not to interfere with his creative process.
A rookie editor with no clout,
An unyielding mangaka with seniority—
Put them together, and you’ve got a disaster waiting to happen.
Not even Tang Yao’s chief editor could handle Ou Weiquan.
He’d passed the guy to her not because he believed in her, but just to pass the buck.
Everyone in the editorial department knew that this author completely ignored his editors.
“Editor Tang… I’m sorry, but it looks like Mr. Ou doesn’t want to see you.”
As that familiar impatient voice rang out, Tang Yao stood silently at the door.
Even though she was twenty-one, she still felt like a lowly lackey.
Even Assistant Li looked like he felt bad.
Seeing Tang Yao standing there, head slightly bowed, he coughed awkwardly and tried to smooth things over. “Maybe come back another time?”
“……”
Tang Yao stayed silent for a moment, then resolutely shook her head.
She took one of the folders from her arms and handed it over. “No matter what, the plot direction in this issue just doesn’t work. I don’t understand why Mr. Ou wants to kill off the protagonist—
And then force a romance between the second male lead and the heroine.
It makes no sense. I really hope he can revise it.”
“This kind of twist deliberately messes with readers’ feelings. I can’t agree with it. These are my suggested changes. I hope he’ll at least consider them.”
Honestly, once she understood how the manga industry worked in this world, Tang Yao had accepted her fate as a tool.
As long as things didn’t go completely off the rails.
But of course, things did go off the rails.
This time, with no reins holding him back, this damn author decided to go wild!
Mr. Ou wanted to kill off the male lead—in a horrible, brutal way.
And then, just to top it off, he wanted to throw in a bit of romantic tension between the heroine and the second male lead.
According to him, it was to “flesh out the characters.”
But to Tang Yao?
What kind of logic was that!?
The moment she saw the storyboard, she exploded.
The series was at the end of a major arc.
Last issue, the male lead was about to face off with the main villain. The buildup was great.
Now this issue—bam, he’s dead.
Tang Yao couldn’t wrap her head around it.
Readers were hyped for an epic battle—
And you serve them this crap? What is this!?
After reading the storyboard, she immediately tried to call Mr. Ou.
But before she could finish a sentence, he cut her off with “You wouldn’t understand,” and hung up.
She’d already visited in person twice.
But each time, he got more impatient.
Now he wouldn’t even come to the door.
That was why Tang Yao was standing here.
Why she hadn’t wanted to come in the first place.
Honestly, she didn’t even want to deal with it anymore.
She really thought the guy had lost it.
But she had no choice. She knew what would happen if this story went to print.
Readers would lose their sh*t.
And as the responsible editor, she’d face serious backlash.
Honestly, backlash she could handle.
But if it really blew up, her end-of-year bonus would be gone.
That was the real issue.
That bonus—she needed it badly.
“…Editor Tang.”
Assistant Li hesitated as he looked at the folder she handed him. “Mr. Ou… seems pretty set on this.”
“Please make sure he sees it.”
Tang Yao took a deep breath and pushed the folder forward again.
“That kind of plot will only hurt the readers. I don’t believe he can’t see that.”
“……”
Li Jiang looked conflicted. He knew exactly what his boss was like.
And just then, that impatient voice barked again from inside.
“Li Jiang!”
Snapping out of it, Li Jiang could only take the folder and say, “Editor Tang, I’ll try my best to talk to him…”
“Thanks.”
Tang Yao gave a small bow in thanks.
Then the door closed behind her.
Tang Yao straightened up again, looked at the now-closed door, turned around, and left.
She’d done everything she could.
Next up…
She had one more pain-in-the-a** to deal with.
—
At the same time, inside the apartment:
Li Jiang stood at the doorway of the assistant’s tiny office, holding the folder.
To the right was Mr. Ou’s private studio.
He hesitated.
Footsteps approached.
“That girl editor gone? What’s that in your hand?”
Li Jiang jumped. He turned around to find his boss suddenly standing right behind him.
Ou Weiquan was in his early forties, slightly balding, with a naturally downturned mouth that made him look perpetually sour.
Getting stared down by him was no small thing.
So when he asked, Li Jiang blurted, “It’s Editor Tang’s storyboard revision suggestions…”
“Suggestions? She still has milk on her breath and wants to lecture me? Heh. Toss it in the trash.”
Ou Weiquan sneered, walked right past Li Jiang, and headed for the bathroom.
“And get back to work.”
Clearly, he had total confidence in his story.
Li Jiang: “……”
He stared at his boss’s back, bitter.
Sorry, Editor Tang.
Honestly, he’d had no hope from the start.
The pages were already inked.
Knowing his boss, there was no way he’d revise a single frame.
—
Outside.
Tang Yao walked out of the residential complex and flagged down another taxi.
Before getting in, she glanced back at Ou Weiquan’s building and took a deep breath.
Honestly, she already knew how this would end.
Time to start thinking of a plan B.
She got in the car and headed to the next mangaka’s place, going over her next steps in her head.
Half an hour later.
Tang Yao stood at another front door, facing a young man with an earring.
Her tone was calm: “Mr. Shao. If I remember right, you promised to hand in the manuscript last week.”
“Soon, soon. This afternoon, I’ll get it to you.”
“Soon? This afternoon?”
“Can’t help it… Editor Tang, I’ve been really busy lately. Lots of events.”
“I don’t really care. And I recall the event lasted just one afternoon.”
“Still your company arranged it! That one afternoon drained me for a whole week! Ugh—fine, this afternoon. I swear I’ll give it to you.”
“……”
Tang Yao stared blankly at the young man in front of her.
He flashed a flawless smile.
Shao Changqing. Creator of Trajectory, a fantasy manga.
Not quite a flagship, but definitely one of Big Comic’s top series.
He wasn’t difficult.
He didn’t stir up drama.
But—he always missed deadlines!
Tang Yao would never forget her first day on the job.
Still adjusting to her body and role, she got slammed right out the gate because Mr. Shao turned in his pages right at the last second.
Since then—
She had constantly reminded him to turn in his storyboards and manuscripts on time.
Yet here they were again.
According to the original Tang Yao’s memory, Shao Changqing wasn’t arrogant.
But every time he was late, he’d just sincerely apologize—
And then do it again.
“This is a problem with your whole editorial department! Just trust me this one last time, Editor Tang.”
“I hope so.”
Tang Yao looked at him in silence for a moment, then turned and walked away.
—
Twenty minutes later.
Final stop.
Tang Yao arrived at a villa complex in the western suburbs.
She stood in front of a private home and rang the bell.
This time, the one who greeted her was another assistant—a baby-faced young man who barely looked old enough to vote.
Tang Yao eyed him and got a bad feeling.
“Hi, I’m Tang Yao—we spoke on the phone two days ago. I haven’t received Mr. Tang’s manuscript, so I’m here to check. The Wenxin Manga Award is about to start.”
“…Sorry.”
The young man, slightly stunned by her beauty, subtly sized her up while replying awkwardly, “Mr. Tang has too many projects recently. About the promotional piece he promised for your company’s rookie award… he probably won’t be able to complete it.”
“……”
The Wenxin Manga Award.
A new contest launched by Wenxin Press to discover fresh talent, revive the declining pool of creators, and embrace the digital era.
It was modeled after rookie contests but with online exposure, giving readers voting power.
To help promote it—and avoid awkward situations—some established mangaka had been invited to submit entries as a show of support.
Tang Yao was in charge of one of them.
And now…
“……”
Tang Yao took a deep breath.
She’d run around to three different places this morning—
And nothing had gone well.
Even though she’d mentally prepared herself, she still couldn’t help getting angry.
She stared at the young man and suddenly took a step forward, her voice sharp: “Does he even know what the word promise means? It means—no matter what happens, you follow through!”
“……”
The young man froze, taken aback by the chilling look in her otherwise gorgeous eyes. He instinctively stepped back.
“S-Sorry.”
“……”
Tang Yao stared at him for a long moment.
Then turned around and left.
This job was really going to kill her.