Starting as a Manga Editor-Chapter 50: Nervous

What happened in the editorial department afterward, Tang Yao had no idea.
But the way this incident exploded far exceeded her expectations.
After all, with a red-hot hit like Fate/Zero emerging from the Manga Award, and after a full day of buzz, everyone at Wenxin Press knew about it.
So once the rumor that Ding Yilong was about to take the fall started circulating—fueled further by Kang Ming—
It took less than an hour.
Basically, the whole company had heard about it.
Vice President Zhao Fangsheng’s Office.
Bang—
The door was slammed open again.
And once again, the one barging in was Shang Tao.
Only this time, maybe Zhao Fangsheng had heard his hurried footsteps before the door opened.
So he was relatively composed this time, even picking up his thermos and calmly sipping tea after the door burst open.
“What is it now? Why are you always in such a rush? You're halfway to a hundred already—haven't you learned to keep calm?”
Shang Tao was panting heavily. Compared to the last door slam, this time he was drenched in cold sweat, and his face was filled with panic.
The moment he walked in, he got straight to the point and shouted:
“Vice President! Ding Yilong pushed Editor Tang to the point of quitting! And the author of Fate/Zero has decided to publish the series online for free!”
Pfft—
Upon hearing that—
Zhao Fangsheng, who had just asked why Shang Tao couldn’t learn to stay calm, sprayed tea out of his mouth.
Meanwhile.
11th floor, lounge area.
Tang Yao was sprawled idly across the table, scrolling through her phone to kill time.
She really didn’t want to be in the editorial department dealing with Ding Yilong, but she didn’t want to go home either.
Because she had come to the office mainly to see Li Xue and confirm their meeting.
So now, she could only wait in the lounge for Li Xue to take her lunch break.
It wasn’t bad—just a little boring...
But that boredom didn’t last long.
Because… Shang Tao called.
Tang Yao saw the number and hesitated a bit before answering. They chatted briefly.
As expected, Shang Tao started talking about what had happened not long ago and tried hard to persuade her not to quit.
Of course, he also brought up the Fate/Zero free online serialization...
But Tang Yao just gave a polite reply, saying it was her personal choice.
And just as she finally finished dealing with Shang Tao and hadn’t even caught her breath—another call came in.
This time from an unknown number.
Still, Tang Yao picked up, and the caller introduced himself as the Vice President of Wenxin Press...
Tang Yao was quite surprised by that.
Naturally, it was about the same topic, but with a few extras thrown in—
For instance, the Vice President promised to immediately get rid of Ding Yilong, and at the end even tried to lure Tang Yao in with the idea of her replacing him as Editor-in-Chief.
But Tang Yao had been fed too many empty promises in her previous life. She didn’t bite.
Besides, she had truly made up her mind. So again, she replied with the polite “personal choice” line and simply promised not to take “Third-Rate Artist” and jump ship to another magazine.
Still, the other party wasn’t willing to give up… he said a lot more, trying to convince her to stay.
But Tang Yao didn’t change her mind.
Eventually, Zhao Fangsheng had no choice but to ask for the contact information of the “Third-Rate Artist.”
Tang Yao hesitated a moment, but gave it.
Of course, she gave him her own backup number...
And even after getting the contact info of the legendary “Third-Rate Artist,” Zhao Fangsheng still wasn’t giving up and tried to say more.
But just then, Tang Yao spotted Li Xue—so she didn’t have the patience to listen anymore.
She quickly apologized and hung up the phone.
“…”
Li Xue had indeed arrived.
She was standing right next to Tang Yao, still dressed in her classic black-and-white outfit, wearing barely-there makeup that highlighted her elegant and poised aura.
Only, her breathing was a bit irregular—it looked like she had jogged over, slightly disrupting her graceful big-sister vibe.
“Miss Li… why are you here so early?”
Tang Yao sized her up, a bit surprised. “Isn’t it not lunchtime yet?”
“I was worried about you.”
Li Xue gestured for Tang Yao to scoot over, then sat down beside her. She patted her chest and let out a long breath:
“I was still working just now when suddenly I heard people saying the male editors were fighting. I went to the editorial department and couldn’t find you, so I figured you’d be here…”
“Fighting...? Huh? Who started that ridiculous rumor?”
Tang Yao widened her pretty eyes in disbelief. “I only said a couple things—how did that turn into a fight?”
“Well, the version I heard said they were fighting…”
Li Xue was still catching her breath, tucking some loose strands of hair behind her ear with one hand while grabbing Tang Yao’s hand with the other.
Tang Yao blinked and looked down at their clasped hands.
Then when she looked back up—
Li Xue was already gazing at her. “Is it not okay to hold hands?”
“It’s not that it’s not okay…”
Tang Yao noticed Li Xue’s palm was damp with sweat and asked curiously, “But you didn’t really think I got into a fight, did you?”
“Mm… let me calm down for a sec.”
Li Xue nodded and took a deep breath, trying to settle her racing heart.
She wasn’t sure why she got so anxious when she heard the news… maybe because she was scared this rare friend she made might’ve been hurt.
“That’s impossible.”
Tang Yao was amused but also touched…
She could tell Miss Li had rushed over immediately.
And it was her first time seeing this graceful lady so flustered and panicked.
So in turn, she gave Li Xue’s soft little hand a gentle squeeze and said quietly,
“But… thank you.”
“…”
Now it was Li Xue’s turn to look down.
Tang Yao’s hand really was beautiful—totally hand-model level: fair, delicate, soft and warm.
“Hmm?”
Tang Yao noticed her gaze and teased, “Is it not okay to hold hands?”
“It’s not that…”
Li Xue quickly looked away and changed the subject: “So, you’ve made up your mind?”
“Yeah, I already wrote my resignation letter.”
Tang Yao didn’t hide anything from Li Xue and told her honestly, “No matter what, I can’t stay here long. Just dealing with the Fate/Zero stuff gives me a headache.”
After all, she had never planned to serialize it in the magazine to begin with...
“True… just ride Ding Yilong’s mess as an excuse to exit cleanly.”
Li Xue nodded. “That way, you can publish it online for free and nobody can say anything.”
“Honestly, I didn’t think that far ahead. I was just planning to fool Shang Tao—do it first and tell him later. Drop it online, then say the ‘Third-Rate Artist’ didn’t want to serialize it.”
Tang Yao furrowed her brows. “But Ding Yilong really… just jumped in to take the blame?”
“Then he deserved it.”
Li Xue chuckled. “To say something that arrogant… I don’t know where he got the nerve.”
She shook her head, not bothering to say more.
“Since you’ve decided, then go ahead and quit… but don’t write a resignation request, write a resignation notice.”
“Yeah, I just remembered too. I’ll go back and fix it in a bit.”
Tang Yao nodded. She had only written it to get Ding Yilong off her back.
But of course she would revise it properly later—
She wouldn’t be spending much more time at the company anyway.
And she hadn’t even had a chance to tell Kang Ming about the game project.
Her schedule would be tight going forward. She needed to let him know soon…
Though she wasn’t sure if he’d be willing…
Tang Yao drifted into thought.
On the other side—
Li Xue seemed to consider something and asked again:
“By the way… who was that call from earlier?”
Tang Yao snapped back to reality. “Vice President Zhao Fangsheng.”
“Knew it. You’ve already been marked.”
Li Xue looked unsurprised. “So what did he say…?”
“Tried to get me to stay. Also wanted the contact for the so-called ‘Third-Rate Artist.’ I faked my way through it.”
Tang Yao recalled what he said and added,
“He even tried to sell me a dream.”
“Sell you a dream?”
Li Xue didn’t really get it, but she didn’t press. “If he calls again, and if possible… don’t burn that bridge.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“The tankōbon. Remember what I said yesterday? I think Wenxin Press is still a solid option.”
“…”
Tang Yao paused. “Fate/Zero gave up the chance to serialize under their magazine though—is that even possible?”
“It’s possible.”
Li Xue nodded seriously. “Trust your big sister. I’ll find a way.”
“I’ll try my best.”
Looking at Li Xue’s unusually serious expression, Tang Yao agreed again.
“But you know… on my end, it's manageable, but as for the Third-Rate Artist…”
“That’s your problem. Who told you to use a pseudonym?”
Li Xue grinned. “Just admit you drew it. A bishoujo mangaka makes for good PR, you know…”
“…”
Tang Yao ignored her.
No way she was admitting it. That would be a huge hassle.
Maybe… she could get Kaoru to play the role?
“Also.”
Just as Tang Yao was considering whether to ask her little sister to pretend to be the “Third-Rate Artist”—
Li Xue spoke again:
“Do you have time tomorrow afternoon?”
“Hmm?”
Tang Yao looked up. “Definitely.”
“Then I’ll set up a meeting with that relative I mentioned. I’ll come get you.”
Li Xue encouraged her:
“Don’t freeze up, okay?”