Starting as a Manga Editor-Chapter 58: Alright

Games?
When Tang Yao heard that, she was a little surprised, but not too shocked.
Because she knew how things worked in this world.
Right now, it was the golden age of online games—this industry was a money-making machine. Last year’s richest person had apparently made their fortune from games.
So it was totally normal for people to want a slice of that pie.
But when an industry becomes common knowledge as profitable, that usually means the market landscape has stabilized. The era of wild growth and “big fish in a big pond” was over. Now it was a stock market—tight, saturated, cutthroat.
In simpler terms: the market was getting brutally competitive.
In that kind of environment, both user attention and revenue tend to consolidate around top-tier products. The big dogs get bigger, and everyone else becomes cannon fodder.
Still... the fact remained: online games were a cash cow. Incredibly lucrative.
Even if you knew you were charging into the grinder, tons of people still rushed in headfirst.
More importantly, this parallel world wasn’t quite like her previous life. While the market was “established,” it hadn’t gone to extremes yet. Back there, games with the same genre and gameplay became red oceans, and only the top titles survived—mid-level companies got steamrolled, and newcomers had no breathing room at all.
Here, there was still a bit of space—limited, but real.
So it was no surprise that so many people wanted to give it a shot.
And under those circumstances, bumping into a “fellow” developer was hardly unexpected.
On the other hand—
Li Xue was a bit more surprised by the answer. She couldn’t help glancing at Tang Yao.
The agent followed her gaze, a bit puzzled.
What’s up?
Wait… are you guys in the game business too?
Of course, he wasn’t tactless enough to ask that aloud.
Before long, the handling agent returned and led Tang Yao and Li Xue two blocks over to the Tech Trade Center.
“Is this okay?”
On the way—
Li Xue fell half a step behind and walked beside Tang Yao, whispering, “The other party is also doing games… and it sounds like they already failed…”
“That’s fine. Their failure has nothing to do with me.”
Tang Yao turned with a light smile. “It’s not like they’re unlucky and it’s contagious.”
“Well, not that exactly…”
Li Xue shook her head. “I just worry it might affect your mood—having a failed example constantly in your face…”
“Or maybe it’s just a wake-up call.”
Tang Yao shrugged. “No big deal. Plus, the kind of game I want to make is probably totally different from theirs. As long as the price is right, co-renting isn’t a problem.”
Hearing that, Li Xue thought for a moment and said nothing more.
Soon after—
The three of them arrived at the Tech Trade Center.
Despite the impressive-sounding name, the building was clearly an old office block—basic comms infrastructure and basic services only. A grade C building.
It wasn’t very large and sat tucked inside a bustling downtown area. It looked like it had been around for quite a while and stood out in an awkward way.
In this prime location, it was a wonder the building hadn’t been torn down already…
But Tang Yao actually felt pretty satisfied—it looked cheap, which was exactly what she wanted.
They took the elevator to the 7th floor.
“Mingyu Tech.”
Tang Yao stepped out of the elevator and read the sign quietly.
The agent seemed familiar with the place and led Tang Yao and Li Xue straight inside.
Tang Yao glanced around as she walked in.
Mingyu Tech had leased the entire 7th floor, which wasn’t very big—after all, the building itself was small. The reception desk was empty, and just past it was the open office area. Two rows of workstations stretched forward, partitioning off a few zones. But most of the desks had only computers—no people.
This huge office had… Tang Yao counted—only one occupied area. Just seven people. And most of them looked half-dead, clearly just going through the motions.
Tang Yao moved closer and glanced at the sign over that section—Operations Team.
The agent had said this company was about to fail…
Tang Yao disagreed.
It looked like it had already failed.
As they walked forward—
The entire Operations Team, the only people still hanging around, looked up and stared at them—eyes filled with awe.
Of course, there was also confusion.
Knock knock—
The agent didn’t greet them or offer any explanation. He just led Tang Yao to the back office and knocked on the door.
Soon—
The door opened.
A guy who looked even younger than Kang Ming—probably in his twenties—stood there.
He looked average, with long, messy hair like a bird’s nest. He wore a faded white T-shirt and ripped jeans, had crust in the corner of his eye, and a waxy, yellowish complexion…
The whole vibe screamed: barely surviving.
“Zhang-ge, that co-rental we talked about—”
The man seemed to know the agent well and greeted him casually as soon as he opened the door, diving right into business.
But halfway through, he noticed the two women behind the agent…
Tang Yao and Li Xue—by any standard—were absolute stunners. Top-tier, each in their own unique way. When he realized he was being stared at by them, the guy froze.
Then he snapped out of it and, clearly flustered, reached up to straighten his hair, then patted down his stained T-shirt…
But no matter how much he fussed, it didn’t help his appearance one bit.
The agent wasn’t surprised—he’d seen this routine before. So he cut straight to the point: “These two are the ones interested in co-renting.”
“Uh… nice to meet you, nice to meet you.”
The man looked even more nervous now. He wiped his hands on his jeans and introduced himself. “I’m Si Jinliang.”
“Tang Yao. Which area could you rent out?”
Tang Yao gave her name. Li Xue stayed quiet, scanning Si Jinliang and assessing whether he posed any risk.
“Let’s go sit down over there.”
Si Jinliang glanced back at his office, gave an awkward laugh, and quickly shut the door.
As the door closed—
Tang Yao caught a glimpse inside: a blanket was sprawled across the desk.
He had literally made the company his home.
But she didn’t say anything—no need to embarrass him.
Soon—
They found a few empty desks outside and sat down casually.
Si Jinliang clearly wasn’t used to talking with people like Tang Yao. Once seated, he kept glancing around, opening and closing his mouth like he didn’t know what to say.
Eventually, he gave up on being polite and just got to the point. “Miss Tang Yao, right? How much space are you looking to rent? This whole floor’s over 200 square meters, and if you want, you could take—”
“I don’t need that much,” Tang Yao cut him off before he could finish. “I just need a workspace. Not a lot of people.”
She turned her head and pointed toward the partitioned office near the entrance.
“Can I rent that?”
The door to that room was open, with a sign reading “Finance Office.” Looked like it could seat about six people.
“It’s possible.”
Si Jinliang followed her pale, slender finger and looked. He hesitated. “Everything here’s up for rent. I’ve already gotten permission from the original landlord to sublease. But that room isn’t very big, so it’s harder to calculate cost. I don’t need that much space either… Are you sure it’s enough?”
“It’s enough. So, can I just rent that section?”
Tang Yao pulled her hand back. “Just calculate the rent and related costs based on square footage. Even if it’s a little higher than average, that’s fine. You’ve run a startup—you should know that in the early stages, there’s no need for huge space. I can’t afford that anyway.”
“Uh…”
Si Jinliang hesitated.
“If it’s too much trouble, just say so.”
Tang Yao picked up on his hesitation and met his eyes, speaking earnestly. “If it doesn’t work out, I’ll look somewhere else. I was just trying my luck today… So? What do you think?”
Si Jinliang looked at Tang Yao’s stunning, fair face. When he met her eyes, his old face turned red and he quickly looked away.
Then he glanced around at the nearly empty office floor and thought about his current situation. He gritted his teeth and said:
“Alright.”
…Yeah, this had nothing to do with how pretty Tang Yao was.
It was purely about reducing his burden.
Tang Yao’s eyes lit up instantly.