Starting as a Manga Editor-Chapter 21: Feeding Crap

At the same time, Kang Ming wasn’t the only reader who lost it over the direction the manga took.
There were plenty of readers just as fired up as he was.
Some were even more fired up.
At least Kang Ming had Tang Yao, his assigned editor, to fill him in on the background and give him some inside perspective.
But the rest of the readers? They had no such luxury.
And Su Deqiang was one of them.
He had just graduated high school this year and was about to enter college.
With no more exams and no need to stare at test papers day after day, plus no immediate worries about an uncertain future, this summer break was the most carefree time of his entire life.
You could say he was in a great mood.
And then came Thursday—a double dose of happiness.
Because his favorite manga, The Girl, the Boy, and the Sword, had a new chapter out that day.
That’s right.
He loved this manga. It had carried him through the darkest days of senior year. Even though he didn’t get to read much—just once every two weeks, sneaking in a chapter here and there—
the intense plot and the sexy female lead had brought real comfort to his soul...
People often remember the works of art they turned to during hard times. And they tend to see those works through rose-colored glasses.
So even though it was vacation, Su Deqiang got up early and headed to the station with his friends to grab the latest issue of big comic.
Yep.
His friends were big fans too.
What teenage guy didn’t have a raging hormone phase? And Full Effort-sensei really did draw some super hot female characters...
In short, they all went to the station early, bought their copies, and even bumped into a gorgeous girl in business attire—
She must’ve been a bishoujo. She looked really young.
They were feeling a bit cheeky that morning. Seeing her holding the latest big comic, they tried talking loudly about the manga plot nearby, hoping to get her attention...
No dice. The girl just sighed and walked away.
“Seriously, what’s the point of talking about a manga aimed at guys in front of someone like her?”
Thinking back on their dumb little stunt, Su Deqiang’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
He shook his head hard to get rid of the thoughts and carried his copy of big comic back to his room.
At the end of the day, it was just a random encounter.
No matter how pretty she was—it didn’t matter.
Time to read.
The real reason he rushed to get the magazine so early wasn’t just nostalgia for how the manga helped him survive senior year.
It was because… the third major arc of The Girl, the Boy, and the Sword—which had lasted his entire final school year—was finally coming to an end.
The heroes had reached the depths of hell and were now face-to-face with the final boss—the Demon King who ruled the underworld.
In the previous chapter two weeks ago, the Demon King’s true form was revealed: a little girl.
As soon as he saw that, Su Deqiang had been hyped to see what happened next.
That’s why he’d gone out so early to grab a copy.
I mean, it’s not like the magazines would sell out.
“Little loli, hehehe...”
He looked down at the newest issue of big comic, his heart pounding with excitement as he opened it.
But he didn’t go straight to The Girl, the Boy, and the Sword.
He had a habit of saving the best for last, so he read the other series he liked first.
About thirty minutes later,
He finally flipped back to the table of contents, smiling happily.
“Here we go!”
Su Deqiang eagerly turned to the page for The Girl, the Boy, and the Sword, ready to savor his final course.
The story picked up right where it left off.
The main characters were facing off with the loli-form final boss.
Everything was moving along smoothly.
With a smile on his face, Su Deqiang watched the male lead gently speak to the loli Demon King, cautiously moving closer...
He turned the page—
And froze.
On the next page—
The silent final boss slowly lifted her head.
Then—
Shnk—
The male lead’s shocked face was shown—
And then his head was gone.
Instant decapitation.
Thin, invisible threads slashed through the air.
The male lead was shredded into pieces, head and all.
The brutal black-and-white artwork showed him getting chopped into bits.
The expressions of horror and disbelief from the rest of the cast almost seemed to leap off the page and punch Su Deqiang in the gut.
His face froze, but his hands—on autopilot—flipped to the next page.
The party members scattered using the teleportation devices that had been mentioned earlier in the story.
The female lead ended up in the same spot as the second male lead.
Neither of them had been prepared for the main character’s death.
Two full pages were dedicated to their shock and fear.
But Su Deqiang didn’t care about any of that right now.
What he really wanted to know was—
Was that real? Was he hallucinating?
His excitement was gone. Completely gone.
He felt like he’d just eaten s**t.
He flipped the pages faster.
But the plot only got worse.
The second male lead used his analysis skill over and over again—repeating to the readers that the male lead was really dead.
The female lead broke down.
“Even if he’s gone, he’d want us to get out of here. We have to leave.”
The second male lead said that, holding her hand.
She, shaken and vulnerable, clutched his hand in return.
The two of them, fingers tightly interlaced, began searching for the rest of the party.
A temporary retreat…
And that was where the chapter ended.
The manga helpfully closed on a shot of their fingers laced together, as they set off to find a way out.
Su Deqiang just sat there, frozen.
His face went from red to pale to sickly green.
He’d been thinking this was the happiest day ever—
The most carefree time of his life, reading his favorite manga.
Two good things at once.
That was what he thought... just a moment ago.
But now, looking at this declaration of escape, at that shot of their fingers intertwined—
He felt like a total clown.
And then—
A powerful, almost explosive anger surged up from within.
“WHAT THE H*LL DID YOU JUST DRAW!?”
Su Deqiang slammed the magazine down, absolutely livid.
Even without moving much, he was breathing heavily from pure rage.
He never imagined that the ending he’d been so hyped for would be like this!
The male lead—dead for no reason!
And then… flirty scenes between the female lead and the second male lead?!
What the h*ll does that even mean!?
Are you kidding me?!
The last chapter had built up the tension perfectly—
The male and female leads had just reaffirmed their emotional bond, the storm was about to break…
And after two weeks of waiting, this is what we get?!
And the second male lead had always been into the girl—that was foreshadowed.
But now he’s not even pretending anymore?
Replacing the protagonist?!
What kind of sick joke is that!?
What the hell were all those past issues for?!
The more Su Deqiang thought about it, the more his face twisted in frustration.
This wasn’t some comedy manga.
Mr. Ou had been writing a serious, dramatic story.
Readers who’d followed this long had developed deep emotional attachment to the male lead.
Especially with the kind of wish-fulfillment vibes the character had early on.
And now?
That emotional attachment turned into a liability.
And that final panel—with their fingers interlocked—
That’s what really broke him.
Never mind the girl’s mental state, or whether the plot gets reversed later—
That one moment was enough to make readers feel like their emotional bond had been hijacked.
Like they’d been betrayed.
This was awful.
Really, truly awful.
“F**k!!!”
Su Deqiang’s fury only grew.
He was shaking with rage.
Hands trembling, he grabbed his phone and opened a new social media app that had recently gone viral.
He pulled up his following list and found the account with the male lead’s profile pic and the username “Full Effort.”
Tapped in.
“This coming Monday, the Wenxin Press will launch the first ever Wenxin Manga Award!
Interested creators, check it out at —— [website link]”
The latest post was an ad for the manga award.
Tang Yao hadn’t contacted Ou Congquan.
But Editor-in-Chief Ding had.
And Mr. Ou, out of courtesy, gave him face.
But—
That ad had the opposite of its intended effect.
Instead of promoting the award, it only made readers even angrier.
You draw garbage like that, and now you’re promoting a manga award?
A manga award?!
After that cr*p of a chapter?!
That was exactly what Su Deqiang thought.
He instantly dove into the comment section and started flaming.
The more brutal, the better.
He dropped over a dozen comments before cooling off a little.
Then he realized…
He wasn’t alone.
A post that usually got just a few hundred replies—
Now had over five thousand.
“WHAT THE FK DID YOU DRAW?! THE MALE LEAD IS DEAD?!”
“FK FK FK!!! I CAN’T ACCEPT THIS! FIX IT!!”
“YOU DUMBASS! ARE YOU CRAZY?! LOOK AT WHAT YOU DREW!”
“Sensei! I don’t get it! Why did the male lead suddenly die?! Why the romantic tension with the second male lead?! Explain now—I’m not waiting two weeks!”
“You draw this trash and have the nerve to push a manga award? GO DIE! That stupid award too! You let your top series turn into garbage and still want to host a contest?!”
“Fix it! FIX IT! Otherwise your manga award can go eat sh*t!”
“IDIOT! GO DIE!”
“…”
Readers were breaking down.
But Su Deqiang didn’t feel any better seeing all this.
If it were some manga he’d only heard of, he’d just laugh it off.
But this was a series he’d followed for three years!
And this—
This was what they gave him?!
The more he thought about it, the more pissed off he got.
He stared at that ad for the manga award, and disgust bubbled up in his chest.
What a joke.
You think you deserve to promote this?
And that publishing house—hosting a contest when your flagship series just nose-dived like this?
What, are all the entries gonna pull this “got betrayed” crap too?!
Now Su Deqiang was starting to lash out.
Stay calm? Calm my a*!*
He scrolled through the comments again.
Ou Congquan hadn’t shown any sign of life.
Annoyed, Su Deqiang tossed his phone aside.
He picked up the magazine he’d thrown earlier, flipped back to that final page… and broke again.
But this time—he noticed something.
A tagline he hadn’t seen earlier because of how hard the plot had hit him.
“…What does that mean…”
Su Deqiang stared at the last page, a bit dazed.
A faint glimmer of hope rose inside him—almost pitifully so.
He mumbled to himself:
“…Is there going to be a twist? Does that mean there’s going to be a twist?”