Starting as a Manga Editor-Chapter 55: At Odds

“I’m going to walk my cousin out.”
Li Xue heard Lin Shuang say she was leaving and didn’t try to stop her. She simply turned to Tang Yao and said softly, “Just wait here for me a moment.”
Tang Yao nodded.
Li Xue stood up and followed Lin Shuang out of the café.
Ding-ling-ling—
The door opened, and the morning sunlight poured in, sweeping away the stuffy atmosphere.
Lin Shuang took a deep breath of the fresh air outside, then glanced back at the café. “Honestly, the air in there isn’t great, and the décor’s kind of outdated. Who even uses retro doorbells to greet customers anymore... Can a place like this really make money in this part of town?”
“Not sure. I don’t come here often either,”
Li Xue shook her head. “I’m not really a coffee person... But still, thank you for making the trip, Shuang-jie.”
“It’s nothing.”
Lin Shuang stood at the door without hurrying off. Instead, she started chatting with Li Xue. “If anything, I should be the one saying sorry. You rarely ask for favors, and yet I couldn’t really help this time... But I’m curious. You’re not the type to agree to things casually — let alone go out of your way to ask others for help. Why did you get involved in this?
When you called, you sounded so formal. I honestly thought you were asking me to meet your boyfriend or something, let me vet him.
I mean, didn’t I brag once that I was great at reading people? I even spent a while getting ready this morning. When I saw that young girl, I almost blurted out and asked if you’d started dating a woman...”
She wasn’t lying.
When she first walked in, that really did cross her mind.
Mostly because of how serious Li Xue had sounded on the phone... and Lin Shuang knew her cousin well. She wasn’t the type to ask for favors lightly.
So it wasn’t surprising she overthought it.
“...”
Li Xue looked a little speechless. After a moment, she replied, “Come on, it’s not that serious… Even if I was dating a girl, it wouldn’t be that big a deal.”
Lin Shuang smiled with curiosity. “Then why help her? You owe her or something?”
“No.”
Li Xue shook her head. “She’s just a good friend.”
“Oh…”
Lin Shuang was a little surprised. She turned and glanced at Li Xue, then suddenly said, “Didn’t know my cousin was such a warm-hearted person.”
Li Xue caught the implication right away. “It’s not about being warm-hearted... You really think that project has zero chance of success?”
“No one can say for sure.”
Lin Shuang looked out toward the skyline gleaming in the morning light and smiled. “No venture capital manager in the world dares to say they’ve never misjudged a project. Everyone’s been wrong before... Sometimes, what looks like total nonsense ends up being a hit — makes no sense at all. So I wouldn’t say it has zero chance...
And to be honest, your friend’s got some decent ideas. She’s better prepared than eighty percent of the entrepreneurs I meet who come looking for investment.
But still... ideas are just ideas. The problem is she’s too naive, too young, too idealistic.”
“You mean her approach to monetization?”
“Not just that. Her entire take on the mobile game market is pretty flawed.”
Lin Shuang shook her head. “To sum it up — she’s a little too full of herself. Didn’t really study the gaming industry, just came up with a concept off the top of her head and assumed it would definitely make money. But if you don’t rely on competition and player comparison, it’s not that easy to generate revenue...”
At this point...
She couldn’t help glancing back at the café, thinking of the pretty girl inside, and gave a faint smile. “She’s adorably clueless.”
“…”
Li Xue pursed her lips but said nothing. Her expression was odd — like something had gotten under her skin...
Lin Shuang noticed it and raised an eyebrow. Then she asked, “You’ve read the proposal too?”
Li Xue nodded. “I have.”
“What did you think?”
“I thought it was very good.”
“Hmm.”
Lin Shuang smiled again, then checked the time. “I should get going.”
Two elegant women stood by the café entrance, bathed in morning light, casually chatting... They didn’t have the CP vibe that Tang Yao and Li Xue had together, but they were still a striking scene.
A lot of hurried passersby glanced over without meaning to, and a few of them even ended up walking into the café.
That day, the café’s business saw a noticeable bump.
And now, more and more people were arriving. Lin Shuang didn’t mind too much — but she wouldn’t say she liked it either.
More importantly, she felt the conversation had run its course. The other party was a bit too green, and they weren’t really on the same wavelength.
“Mm.”
Li Xue responded and added a polite thank-you. “Thanks again for coming.”
“No big deal. Let’s have a meal sometime. Grandma misses you.”
Lin Shuang waved her hand and walked off. But after just a few steps, she suddenly paused and turned around, speaking with a hint of weight in her voice: “Cousin... One last thing — seeing things through rose-colored glasses will bite you eventually, especially when it involves money. Even we insiders get swept up and dazzled by some smooth-talking founders — let alone normal people.
Whether something’s good or not isn’t the point.
But don’t let the word friend drag you into a mess. It’s not worth it.”
“Got it. Thanks for the advice.”
Li Xue’s expression didn’t change. She nodded in thanks.
Lin Shuang didn’t say more. Her heels clicked as she headed for her car.
Li Xue watched her leave. Only when her silhouette completely disappeared did she look away. She took a deep breath — her chest visibly rising and falling — and slowly exhaled.
...Something about it just rubbed her the wrong way.
“If you think my opinion as an outsider doesn’t matter, just say so. Why all the veiled jabs?
And what’s with ‘idealistic’? Or ‘adorably clueless’? Or ‘full of herself’?
You don’t even know my friend. You’ve barely spoken. And now you think you’ve got her all figured out?
Sure, you’re so damn clear-eyed. Whatever.”
“…”
Li Xue cut off the thought. She took another deep breath to steady herself, then turned and went back into the café.
And the moment she stepped inside—
Because of the time she’d spent chatting with Lin Shuang outside, the once half-empty café had now filled up, and most of the people were sneakily glancing in one direction.
Li Xue followed their gazes.
No surprise... It was Tang Yao.
Couldn’t be helped.
She was the kind of person who always stood out in a crowd — her looks and aura were just too striking.
What surprised Li Xue a little was...
Even with so many people eyeing her, Tang Yao had just scooted further inside, showing no sign of discomfort. Her expression was calm as she stared at her proposal, brows slightly furrowed, deep in thought.
As far as Li Xue knew, Tang Yao usually cared a lot about how people looked at her.
Had she been hit harder than she was letting on?
“...How are you feeling?”
Li Xue watched her for a while, then walked over and sat down again, asking, “Are you mad that I didn’t speak up for you earlier?”
“Miss Li, what are you talking about?”
Tang Yao snapped out of it and turned to look at Li Xue, not looking the least bit down — in fact, a little exasperated. “If I blamed you, I’d be a terrible person… This wasn’t some small thing. You’re family — how could you speak up? If something went wrong, it’d just make things worse for you. I’m already grateful you got me the meeting.”
“Still... it didn’t work out.”
“Yeah, it didn’t work out...”
“How do you feel?”
“I feel... like your family has beef with winter. I know it’s not nice to joke about names, but seriously — Shuang and Xue? You guys really love winter.”
“…”
Li Xue hadn’t expected that answer and couldn’t help laughing. “Yeah, my dad’s generation was not great at naming... Wait — that’s not what I was asking.”
“I know… I just wanted to get that off my chest.”
Tang Yao dropped the joking expression and looked at her proposal again, speaking softly: “Of course I’m disappointed... But I don’t want to give up.”