Starting as a Manga Editor-Chapter 49: Scrambling to Take the Fall

Ding Yilong stared at the resignation form Tang Yao handed him, his pupils shrinking sharply.
But he quickly snapped out of it. He suddenly looked up at Tang Yao, furious.
“You’re trying to jump ship with Teacher Third-Rate!? You little—”
“No.”
Tang Yao slowly stood up.
This time, she didn’t care at all about the surrounding stares. Her tone was calm.
“I won’t jump ship with that mangaka. After all, like you said, I’m just an unqualified editor. The fact that a work I liked managed to get this far was pure luck.
I don’t want my own lackluster skills or misplaced confidence to ruin a mangaka’s future.
So I won’t be responsible for Teacher Third-Rate’s work anymore, and I won’t be joining any other magazine.”
Ding Yilong’s fury faltered.
Not just because of what she said—
but because… those were the exact words he once used to ridicule Tang Yao.
Not similar, but practically word-for-word.
For a moment,
Ding Yilong felt ashamed, humiliated, and enraged.
This was payback—this had to be revenge!
But just as that thought emerged—
“As for Teacher Third-Rate… he seems completely disappointed in the editorial department. And in me as an editor.”
Tang Yao continued, “So I won’t be working as an editor anymore, and Fate/Zero won’t be serialized in any magazine.
Teacher Third-Rate has already decided to publish the work online, for free.”
“…That’s bullsh*t!”
Ding Yilong was stunned. His swirling mix of shame, anger, and frustration was instantly replaced by shock.
His eyes slowly widened like copper bells.
“You really think a mangaka would do that? Free serialization? You think you can fool anyone with that crap!? …Oh, I get it—you’re still trying to mock me, huh? You done yet!?
Yeah! You got lucky, alright! You found a decent mangaka—so what!?
You really think one work is enough to control me?
You think just because you dug up a title that happened to get a little attention, you're suddenly untouchable?
Fate/Zero hasn’t even survived the Death Five yet! Who are you trying to impress with this act!?”
“……”
Tang Yao didn’t bother responding.
Seeing he wouldn’t take the resignation form, she simply placed it on the desk and turned to leave.
She loathed this man.
Both mentally and physically—he disgusted her. She didn’t want to be in this place a second longer.
She could accept an Editor-in-Chief lacking in talent.
After all, maybe they were just more suited to administrative tasks—that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
But what she couldn’t accept—
was someone who not only lacked ability,
but also had no self-awareness, and was selfish and arrogant to boot.
This man… every fiber of his being was repulsive.
“You’re using this as a chance to get revenge, aren’t you!? You really think I’m helpless!?
You think you can force me out like this? Let me tell you! Even if I have to get down on my knees and beg the President for forgiveness,
I’ll drag this out until Fate/Zero's popularity dies off!
Then I’d like to see how you plan to serialize it!”
Seeing Tang Yao walk away without even glancing back,
Ding Yilong’s face twisted in rage.
“I don’t care if it does get serialized later—
I’ll make sure it doesn’t get past chapter six!
Let’s see how you explain that to the mangaka!”
“……”
Kang Ming turned his head slowly, looking at Ding Yilong…
Honestly, he was just done.
This guy—
he was full-on scumbag and a certified f***ing moron.
Meanwhile,
Tang Yao paused at those words, then turned back.
Ding Yilong saw this and assumed she was backing down.
His twisted expression relaxed, replaced by a smug, arrogant look.
Tang Yao stood not far away, staring at him like she was looking at garbage.
She suddenly asked,
“Do you know why Teacher Third-Rate chose to give up the chance to serialize in a magazine?”
Ding Yilong didn’t seem to catch on and shot back,
“Why? Rhetorical question, obviously!”
“Rhetorical question?”
Tang Yao nodded and said flatly,
“Alright, then let me ask it another way—
As Editor-in-Chief, when was the last time you actually read a manga?
Besides knowing that Fate/Zero is popular, have you read it?
Do you even know what the story is about?”
Ding Yilong curled his lips, his arrogant look deepening.
“What, so now you’re gonna beg and butter me up by boasting about how great it is?
Whether I read it or not—does that even matter?”
“...It doesn’t?”
Tang Yao took a deep breath, her pale face slowly forming a mocking expression.
“That's laughable.
You’re the Editor-in-Chief of this department—do you even know what you're saying?
You want to serialize a manga you’ve never even read?
And not only that—”
She paused briefly, looked around the room, then continued:
“Right here, in front of the entire editorial department,
you said that because of a personal grudge,
even if the manga does get serialized, you’ll make sure it never reaches chapter six.
That’s really impressive, Chief Editor.
Tell me—
which mangaka would dare submit their work to our department after hearing that?
And even if they did—
who would still trust the editorial team?
Who would trust their editor?”
“You just said…
‘No mangaka would ever choose to publish a popular work online for free.’”
“But after the way you acted just now—
is that really so impossible?”
“……”
Hearing Tang Yao’s words,
Ding Yilong finally started to realize what was happening.
His smug expression froze, and he glanced nervously around.
…Every single editor in the department was looking over—
or more accurately, looking at him.
He couldn’t read most of their expressions from this distance.
But the closest one—Kang Ming—he could see clearly.
What he saw in Kang Ming’s eyes was pure, unfiltered disgust.
"He tui."
Seeing Ding Yilong look his way,
Kang Ming spat on the floor without even pretending to be polite,
then turned his back, pulled out a form, and began filling it out.
“…That’s not what I meant.”
Ding Yilong swallowed hard.
Though he hadn’t fully grasped everything,
he could feel something was very wrong.
He quickly raised his voice to explain,
“I just—”
But he froze.
A leopard doesn’t change its spots.
You couldn’t expect someone so selfish and arrogant to suddenly realize what they’d done wrong.
“Just what?”
Tang Yao’s voice came from nearby.
She saw Ding Yilong fumbling to explain, clearly unsure what he’d done wrong, and found it laughable.
“A Chief Editor who doesn’t even read manga.
One who only cares about hype and doesn’t even know what the content is—
One who dares say, ‘I’ll make sure it doesn’t get past chapter six’—
And you’re the one asking why a mangaka would choose to release their hit work for free online?”
Ding Yilong swallowed again, the feeling that something was off growing stronger and stronger.
“Kneeling to apologize to the president?
Dragging it out until the hype dies?”
As Ding Yilong grew more and more uneasy,
Tang Yao’s voice rang out again, this time ice-cold:
“We’ll see if you can even make it to tomorrow.
You want me to sit here and wait for death?
Try finding another job after you get fired, you arrogant braindead idiot!”
With that,
she flicked her ponytail and turned to leave.
What a moron.
Scrambling to take the fall.
“……”
Ding Yilong stared at Tang Yao’s retreating back,
his arrogance now completely gone—
replaced by panic.
His right arm began to tremble violently.
Because he finally realized something—
If Fate/Zero, at its current level of hype, really did get released for free online,
it would shake the entire manga publishing industry.
Because the hype around Fate/Zero was real—
and readers’ expectations were sky-high.
So far, no one had contacted Tang Yao or asked about Teacher Third-Rate,
mainly because the manga had debuted through the Wenxin Manga Award.
Everyone just assumed it would be serialized in a Wenxin-affiliated magazine.
Readers were all asking when Wenxin would launch the serialization.
But when that time came—
and it wasn’t being serialized in any Wenxin magazine—
and if his earlier words got out…
Ding Yilong’s fat body quivered hard.
Watching Tang Yao’s figure about to disappear,
he panicked.
Because if that happened—
forget staying at Wenxin Press—
he wouldn’t even be able to get a job anywhere in the industry!
Other publishers would take one look at his "glorious record" and toss him out on the spot…
He wouldn’t even qualify to be a basic editor!
This wouldn’t just be getting fired.
This would mean the end—no backup plan, no path forward.
With that horrifying thought,
he rushed to chase after Tang Yao.
“Wait! Just wait!! That manga can’t be published for free—”
BANG—
But just as he took a step, Kang Ming stood up abruptly and rammed into him.
Ding Yilong staggered from the hit and was forced to stop.
He immediately turned toward Kang Ming, face full of rage.
“What the hell are you doing!?”
“Resigning.”
Kang Ming held up the resignation form he had just finished,
then grabbed Tang Yao’s form from the desk as well and handed both to Ding Yilong.
“I’m quitting too,” he said coldly.
Ding Yilong stared at him, then down at the forms in disbelief.
He exploded:
“Can’t this wait!? Don’t you see I’m—”
But before he could finish,
Kang Ming suddenly stepped closer, grabbed him by the collar, and yanked him forward.
“Don’t see what?”
Seeing that Kang Ming looked like he might actually throw a punch,
Ding Yilong’s rage vanished in an instant,
his voice cutting off completely.
His spineless panic—it was downright pathetic.