Starting as a Manga Editor-Chapter 34: Are You Sure?

Tang Yao personally hated commuting.
…And honestly, who doesn’t?
But most people probably hate it because of the crowds.
Thing is, she was heading out in the afternoon — school wasn’t out yet, and it wasn’t time for most companies to get off work either. So the commute was actually pretty nice.
Whether it was the subway or the bus, there weren’t many people.
She even started considering changing her usual time to go to the editorial office.
But then she thought about Sister Li Xue’s amazing cooking… and figured it’d be a shame to miss that just for a more comfortable commute.
While she was still debating with herself, time quietly slipped by.
Around 3 p.m., Tang Yao smoothly arrived at the editorial department.
There were more editors than usual around right now, but Ding Yilong wasn’t one of them — who knows what he was off doing.
Tang Yao just glanced around and quickly looked away.
Not her business.
Honestly? It’d be great if he just dropped dead.
“Editor Tang.”
The new recruit, Kang Ming, was there. As soon as he saw her, he called out, “You weren’t here this morning. Something happen?”
“Kind of. A lot of things happened, I guess.”
Tang Yao stopped and turned back. “Why do you ask?”
“Oh, nothing. It’s just that a bunch of readers online noticed that AORI line. Some of them are even asking for you, the editor, to explain what’s going on with that Ou Bast—”
Kang Ming hesitated a bit, but still asked, “Is he planning to change it?”
“I know about that. No way I’m stepping out to explain anything.”
Tang Yao shook her head. “As for whether Ou Congquan is going to change it or not — I tried yesterday. We’ll find out in a bit.”
“You visited him yesterday?”
Kang Ming stared at the girl younger than himself in front of him, stunned — then came back to his senses. “In a bit?”
“The next issue’s storyboard just came in.”
Tang Yao pointed toward the printing room and lifted her hand. “I’m going to grab it. We’ll talk later.”
With that—
She headed for the printing room.
Sure enough, Li Jiang had already sent the storyboard over.
Tang Yao gathered it up, checked the page numbers, and was about to head back to her desk when her phone buzzed in her pocket again.
It was a message from Shang Tao.
Editor Tang, how’s the situation with Ou Congquan?
Tang Yao glanced at it and replied:
Just got the storyboard. I’ll give you an update in 30 minutes.
She put her phone away, took the storyboard back to her desk, and began reading it carefully.
At the desk next to her, Kang Ming was clearly curious about the storyboard.
But when he saw how focused she looked, he didn’t dare interrupt — just had to bottle up his curiosity.
Tang Yao didn’t flip through the pages very quickly, because this time, Ou Congquan’s storyboard was a lot rougher than usual. While it wasn’t completely phoned in (like those who just write dialogue and call it done), it still took effort to interpret what he intended to draw.
Understanding a storyboard is a skill — one that improves with manga-reading volume and editing experience. Tang Yao didn’t exactly have the latter… but she’d definitely read a ton of manga.
Meanwhile—
Kang Ming kept glancing her way, hoping for a chance to ask. But she never once looked up.
And her expression?
Hard to read. Calm, maybe. Sometimes she’d casually scribble something with her pen.
But she always looked like this. Whether it was assigning storyboard directives or writing the AORI, or anything else really — she always seemed to have it under control.
Kang Ming was practically crawling out of his skin. He held out for nearly twenty minutes.
Then, when he looked over again—
Tang Yao finally raised her head and began organizing the pages on her desk.
Kang Ming perked up, finally able to ask what he’d been dying to: “Editor Tang, how is it?”
“Well… there are a few issues.”
Tang Yao turned to him and said, “But it’s not another sh*tshow. You can relax as a reader.”
“...For real? That Ou bastard actually agreed to change it?”
Kang Ming’s eyes lit up. Yeah, he’d been cursing him hard yesterday…
But at the end of the day, he was still a fan.
As he’d said, he’d been following the series for a long time…
Seeing the spark of hope in this “living, breathing” reader’s eyes made Tang Yao smile.
For the first time, she actually felt like everything she did yesterday had been worth it. Not even receiving the storyboard had given her that feeling.
“For real.”
She gave a firm nod, then pulled out her phone to message Shang Tao about the storyboard.
“That’s awesome…”
Kang Ming was buzzing. But as he watched Tang Yao’s slender fingers flying across the phone screen, a thought hit him: “Wait—Editor Tang, did he revise it based on his idea, or did he follow the AORI line?”
It wasn’t paranoia.
After that last crap chapter, Kang Ming had really started to doubt Ou Congquan’s grip on the story.
This was exactly what Tang Yao had meant by “it’s not over yet.” Even if the chapter was rewritten, the damage to reader trust couldn’t just be erased.
While replying to Shang Tao, Tang Yao answered, “AORI. It introduces the concept of a Malice Entity.”
“YES!!”
Kang Ming was completely reassured and shouted again. Then, watching Tang Yao’s profile, he suddenly asked: “Editor Tang… when you added that AORI, you already had the follow-up in mind, didn’t you? Probably even clearer than Ou Congquan himself?”
Tang Yao looked up, surprised: “…Huh? What makes you think that?”
Kang Ming hesitated for a moment. “Just a gut feeling… and also, it was your concept. I doubt Ou Congquan could take that one line and build a fully developed idea from it. Only you could do that.”
“Well, your gut’s pretty sharp.”
Tang Yao tilted her head, eyeing Kang Ming. She wasn’t sure if he was complimenting her or what… but then she caught herself — why was she even overthinking that?
“Seems like a compliment… Thanks, anyway.”
As she spoke, she stood up. “I’m heading out — need to find the Director of the New Media Department.”
“Got it.”
Kang Ming looked up slightly and nodded.
“See you later.”
Tang Yao picked up the storyboard and her original drafts, waved lightly to him, and walked toward the editorial office doors.
“……”
Kang Ming watched her leave, then looked at her retreating figure. He took a deep breath and murmured, “She’s amazing…”
She really was.
It was the first time Kang Ming had ever admired someone so much.
He hadn’t been in the editorial department long, but he’d already heard a lot about Tang Yao… As an editor, she saw that last storyboard from Ou Congquan and instantly knew it was a disaster. She’d tried to change his mind four times — even at the cost of clashing with the Editor-in-Chief.
And when nothing worked and everything seemed lost, she still fulfilled her duty as an editor — writing that AORI.
And not just as a way to soothe readers.
She’d created an actual setting to match that AORI, along with suggestions — even a clear idea of where the story should go next. Maybe she understood the readers better than Ou Congquan did.
You could say… she embodied everything Kang Ming imagined an editor should be.
He’d even heard about her argument with Ding Yilong yesterday.
Kang Ming just thought it was ridiculous.
That guy? Not even worthy of shining Tang Yao’s shoes.
…
On the same floor.
In the reception room where Kang Ming had once been.
Tang Yao had only just entered when New Media Director Shang Tao came rushing in, pushing the door open and nearly jogging inside.
He immediately asked, excited, “Editor Tang, are you serious? It’s revised? And the storyboard’s done?”
“Mhm.”
Tang Yao handed over Ou Congquan’s storyboard. “He’s revised it. The new storyboard’s complete. I’ve reviewed it — there are still minor issues, but overall, it avoids being a total PR disaster. We can go ahead with early release for the Manga Award pieces.”
“Editor Tang! You’re amazing! A lucky star!”
Shang Tao was visibly thrilled, flipping through the storyboard pages quickly.
Yeah.
No clue what any of it meant.
He wasn’t an editor — his job was New Media Operations — and with how rough the storyboards were, it was no surprise.
Still, not understanding didn’t kill his excitement!
Even he knew this much:
Just the fact that she brought the storyboard back the next day? That said a lot.
Barely twenty-something hours had passed!
There was only one explanation: That line Tang Yao wrote — AORI — had become reality!
Just earlier, Vice President Zhao Fangsheng had been asking how it went.
Even mentioned going with Tang Yao to visit Ou Congquan.
Shang Tao had been starting to lose faith — so he came to check with Tang Yao.
And now? Wow…
Forget the visit — she’d already brought the storyboard back!
“Thank you so, so much!”
Shang Tao hastily skimmed the storyboard, then looked up at the stunning girl in front of him. “I’ll talk to you about the early release later. Right now, I need to go this to the VP. The Manga Award is going live very soon — time’s tight.”
“I understand.”
Tang Yao nodded and handed him two more drafts. “These are the other two manga I mentioned earlier for early release consideration. Look them over when you get the chance.”
“Will do.”
Shang Tao took the manuscripts eagerly. “If they’re suitable, I’ll definitely add them to the lineup. Gotta run!”
And with that—
He dashed out of the room, carrying the storyboard and drafts.
You could see how excited he was.
Tang Yao watched him go… and finally let out a long breath.
She’d done everything she could.
Now… it was up to fate.
…
Elsewhere.
Shang Tao really was in a hurry to share the news with Zhao Fangsheng. He left the reception room and immediately headed for Zhao’s office. He knocked, heard “Come in,” and stepped inside.
Inside, Zhao Fangsheng was staring at a , frowning as if deep in thought.
He didn’t look up until he heard footsteps.
When he saw Shang Tao, he instinctively said, “What did Ou Congquan say? Did you mention to Editor Tang that I’m free later? I can accompany her to visit Ou Congquan — just ask her if she’s available—”
Zhao was mid-sentence when Shang Tao, already beaming, cut him off: “No need.”
“There’s no need to worry. Even if her previous four attempts failed—wait, what?”
Zhao blinked, realizing something was off. “What do you mean, ‘no need’?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. No need for you to step in — it’s handled. Editor Tang already brought the storyboard back.”
Shang Tao said excitedly, “I just got it from her.”
“?”
Zhao raised a slow, skeptical eyebrow at the overly cheerful Shang Tao. “Are you messing with me? We just talked about this yesterday. And now the storyboard’s done?”
“It’s true!”
Shang Tao hurried forward and handed him the storyboard. “Here it is… I mean, I can’t make sense of it, but would you like to take a look?”
“……”
Zhao frowned, but took the storyboard.
“You sure this follows the AORI concept, and not Ou Congquan’s original idea?”
“Uh… I didn’t ask, but Editor Tang seemed really confident.”
“Impossible!”
Zhao shook his head.
What? They just talked yesterday, and today it’s resolved? And the plot really follows that AORI?
What kind of speed is that?
Could it be… that Editor Tang actually had a clearer vision for the story than Ou Congquan? That she knew exactly how to integrate the AORI into the existing plot?
She visited him, and he had some sort of epiphany and pulled an all-nighter to storyboard the whole thing?
That’s… absurd!
“Well, why don’t you see for yourself…?”
Seeing the VP so dismissive made Shang Tao nervous again.
He knew Zhao had an editorial background too.
“……”
Zhao didn’t respond, just nodded and began flipping through the pages.
He suddenly found himself doubting Tang Yao’s professionalism. Time to see for himself.
The storyboard was rough, sure — but not hard for him to understand.
The plot picked up right after the male lead’s death.
The pacing didn’t exactly scream “dramatic turnaround.” It felt methodical…
Hmm?
After finishing the last panel of the first page, Zhao noticed something odd.
The scene shifted.
Malice Entity.
Untouchable Being.
He paused, quickly flipped the page… and the next… and the next.
His page-turning sped up, and so did the changes in his expression — from suspicion, to surprise, to complete shock.
Shang Tao waited patiently, watching Zhao’s face closely… but all he saw was stunned silence. Hard to say whether that was good or bad.
Flip flip flip—
Zhao finally reached the last page.
Shang Tao was just about to speak when Zhao flipped back to the first page and started again from the top.
Shang Tao: “……”
This time he flipped even faster, as if double-checking something.
Finally.
After finishing the second pass—
Zhao slowly lifted his head, eyes full of disbelief, and stared at Shang Tao.
In a stunned voice, he asked:
“This issue’s AORI… are you sure it was written by that editor?”