Starting as a Manga Editor-Chapter 59: Revolutionary Shift

Now that Si Jinliang had agreed, everything else went smoothly.
With help from the agent, both parties confirmed the size of the old finance room, then discussed how to split miscellaneous costs beyond the rent—like property management fees and the agent’s commission.
The whole process didn’t take long, probably because Li Xue seemed pretty experienced with this stuff.
“That’s about it... No need to split the break room cost. If you want to use it, go ahead, but you’ll need to bring your own kettle and such.”
Si Jinliang glanced at the contract. Seeing nothing wrong, he nodded and signed his name under Party A: “Also, you’ll need to buy your own printing supplies for the print room...”
“No problem.”
Tang Yao agreed immediately and signed her name too, clearly pleased.
Even though she’d said they were just renting a residential unit, deep down she knew an office building was better. After all, the facilities were more complete, and it felt more like actual work. Plus, she wasn’t that close with Kang Ming yet, so it felt weird being alone in a residential house with him.
But an office was a different story.
“So we’re neighbors now.”
Tang Yao tucked away her copy of the contract. After paying the agent fee, she smiled at Si Jinliang. “Looking forward to working alongside you.”
“‘Working alongside’ is a bit much.”
Si Jinliang was caught off guard by her bright smile again. He quickly looked away and glanced around the empty office space, giving a bitter laugh. “You’ve seen how things are for me. And we’re not even in the same industry... Oh right, what are you planning to do?”
He trailed off, just realizing he hadn’t asked what this girl planned to do.
“It’s pretty rare to see a young woman starting a business these days. And such a beautiful one at that...”
Tang Yao didn’t hide anything. “Games.”
“Oh, games, huh? Games are grea—wait, games!?”
Si Jinliang was about to throw out some polite response, but halfway through he froze, his eyes widening in disbelief. “You’re planning to make games too?”
Tang Yao: “Yeah.”
“……”
Si Jinliang went quiet for a moment, then asked, “Miss Tang, you do know what my company does, right?”
“Yeah. Games, right?”
“...If you knew that, why still rent the place? I’m a walking cautionary tale right in front of you. And you still want to make games?”
“Because it’s cheap.”
“……”
Silence again. Si Jinliang studied her gorgeous face carefully and realized—she wasn’t joking at all.
He let out a long sigh, then said seriously, “Miss Tang, just give up.”
Li Xue glanced at him, her expression saying called it.
“Hm?”
On the other side, Tang Yao wasn’t convinced. Instead, she asked, “Why?”
“Why? Just look at my empty company. Isn’t it obvious? Now’s not the time for game dev anymore…”
Si Jinliang raised his head slightly, gazing at the ceiling. His tone grew bleak. “Just give up. I’ll return your deposit. If you quit now, you only lose the agent fee. But if you keep going… who knows.”
Tang Yao shook her head. “The games I’m making are probably different from yours.”
“Different? How different?”
Si Jinliang gave another bitter smile. “What are you trying to make? MMORPG? Turn-based? FPS? Browser games?
I know this industry better than you do! There’s nothing new under the sun—just the same genres, same gameplay.
You think you’ll stand out through style or quality? Let me tell you—it doesn’t work. I thought the same when I started. Look at me now.
Without big company resources, it’s just too hard.
Ever heard of the 80/20 rule? The game industry’s already locked in. Big companies dominate the profits. Small studios barely stand a chance.
Just give up. That’s my advice, from someone who’s been there.”
“……”
Tang Yao just shook her head, saying nothing.
She understood everything Si Jinliang had said.
But mobile games really were different… at least, from her past-life perspective, this shift from PC to mobile was—a revolutionary change.
In her past life, that revolution hadn’t entirely reshuffled the domestic gaming industry. The top two companies still ruled.
But a wave of new studios did rise rapidly on the back of mobile games.
You could say that the rise of mobile games… wasn’t just a new category.
It carved out a blue ocean in an industry most people thought had already peaked.
A blue ocean.
“I hope you won’t regret this.”
Seeing that Tang Yao had no intention of giving up, Si Jinliang suddenly seemed deflated. Maybe he was remembering some painful past.
He shook his head, stood up quietly, and said, “If I’d known you were doing games, I wouldn’t have rented the place to you…”
With that, he turned and walked toward his office.
“Wait.”
Tang Yao thought for a second and suddenly called out to him: “What’s your game called? What type is it?”
“Doupai... It’s a strategy card game.”
Si Jinliang paused for a moment, then without turning around, said, “Go check it out. Then you’ll understand why I told you to quit.”
With that, he ducked into his office and said nothing more.
Because Tang Yao had reminded him of how full of ambition he’d once been… so stupid, really.
He felt like he could already see her ending.
No matter how well-meaning, advice never works. Nothing more to say.
...Such a shame. So beautiful, yet so clueless.
On the other side.
Tang Yao stared at Si Jinliang’s office, thoughtful.
…
Tang Yao and Li Xue left the building.
And the moment they did, the few remaining folks in Mingyu Tech’s operations team immediately began whispering.
After all, they’d been eavesdropping this whole time and knew Tang Yao was there to co-rent.
Originally just muddling through each day, suddenly they all seemed energized by the news.
Of course…
Tang Yao didn’t know any of this. She held her contract and left Mingyu Tech, already deep in thought about her next steps.
As for what Si Jinliang said, she didn’t take it to heart.
Meanwhile.
Li Xue looked at Tang Yao, who had a serious face and kept mumbling stuff like free release and production schedule. She clearly hadn’t been affected by Si Jinliang at all…
Li Xue had always thought the best words to describe this girl were pretty and cute, but now she felt like cool wasn’t too far off either.
But before she could give her that compliment—
Her phone rang.
Li Xue frowned, took out her phone, glanced at it, and hesitated a little.
Tang Yao noticed her hesitation and said, “You can go, Miss Li. You’re the Deputy Editor-in-Chief—you’ve probably got a lot on your plate. You’ve already stayed with me long enough, and I’ve got the place rented. I’m heading home to prep the free release of Fate/Zero. We officially start tomorrow.”
“……”
Li Xue pressed her lips together, still looking unsure.
“Go on, all your savings are with me.”
Tang Yao hesitated for a moment, then gently wrapped an arm around Li Xue’s slender waist and teased, “If you don’t work, you’ll have no money next month. I’m fine, really. You can come visit when you have time. It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”
“……”
Li Xue rolled her eyes at her, then thought for a second and said softly, “Alright… I’ll head off, but be careful. Don’t eat or drink anything strangers give you. Si Jinliang doesn’t seem like a threat, but still—you’re a girl. Don’t let your guard down…”
Tang Yao sighed: “I’m not a kid. Relax.”
“Still… just be careful. I’m off.”
Li Xue really did have a lot to handle. The female editors’ team wasn’t in great shape either… and she’d already been away half the day, hence the phone calls.
But before she left, she double-checked: “So you’re planning to release Fate/Zero for free—how are you going to promote it?”
“Pretend to be a reader and spread the word myself. There’s not much else I can do. I can’t rely on the Manga Award anymore… but the current manga scene is still hot. Once it’s out for free, the news should spread quickly.”
“It’s still a risk… Let me know the exact time you plan to release it. I’ll help however I can.”
“Huh? How?”
“I am the Deputy Editor-in-Chief. I know a lot of mangaka… You’ll see.”
“…Alright, it should be out tomorrow. If anything changes, I’ll let you know.”
“Cool. Message me when you get home.”
“Mm.”
They chatted while heading downstairs.
Then they parted at the building entrance. Li Xue answered a call while walking off toward Wenxin Press.
Tang Yao, meanwhile, messaged Kang Ming and sent him the location of their new office, telling him to come by tomorrow.
Not long after she sent the message, Kang Ming called back.
But the call didn’t last long—there were too many details that needed to be discussed in person.
“…Let’s talk tomorrow. I’ll bring the proposal with me.”
That was the last thing Tang Yao said before hanging up and putting away her phone.
She turned back to glance at the old Tech Trade Center building behind her, a flicker of anticipation on her face.
Everything was ready.
Now, it was time to release Fate/Zero for free…
And then—make this game a reality!