Starting as a Manga Editor-Chapter 6: The Boss

The next morning.
Tang Yao woke up with a slight headache—a consequence of staying up late. But after sitting up by the side of the bed for a bit, she recovered quickly.
Youth had its benefits.
Tang Yao lifted the thin blanket off herself and got out of bed, raising her arms in a deep stretch.
Her already curvy figure became even more pronounced as she stretched.
Then—
She turned to look at the finished short manga sitting on her desk, and a smile crept across her face.
Not bad.
She’d finished it in just one night.
Even if it was a reused idea from her past life, it was still surprisingly fast.
Was it possible… her artistic skill and the original host’s were somehow combining?
Probably not.
More likely, she was just in a good groove.
Tang Yao tilted her head, unable to figure it out, and gave up for now. She turned to glance at the top bunk.
Kaoru was already gone, and her blanket was folded neatly.
She stepped out of the room.
Sure enough—
Breakfast was already made.
Kaoru had changed into her loose school uniform and was sitting on the couch scrolling on her phone. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail.
And honestly… beautiful girls really could do whatever they wanted. Even wearing such a plain, baggy uniform, she still looked strikingly good. Full of youthful energy.
And yet, she didn’t give off an overly childish vibe either.
After all, they were sisters.
Just like her older sister, Kaoru was tall with a great figure—curvy in all the right places, already with the body of a grown woman.
“……”
On the other side—
Hearing footsteps, Kaoru put her phone down and glanced up at her sister curiously. Then she got up, walked over to Tang Yao, and gently wiped a faint smudge at the corner of her eye.
“Go wash up. I’ll do your makeup after that, then head to school.”
“Eh… you should just go to school first.”
Tang Yao’s expression stiffened slightly. She declined gently, “I’m not used to it.”
“……”
Kaoru stared at her sister—she didn’t say anything, but her expression clearly said, ‘What are you even talking about?’
“I’ve already given up on that. Now your big sister’s only goal is making money, got it?”
Being watched like that made Tang Yao blush slightly. She knew this sudden change was hard to explain, so she forced a half-joking response, patted Kaoru on the shoulder, and fled into the bathroom.
Kaoru watched her sister’s retreating figure, then glanced toward the bedroom.
She thought of what she’d seen that morning: the manga manuscript on the desk, with those strange, shockingly grotesque floating human heads…
She pressed her lips together.
Was it really all just stress?
—
Meanwhile—
Tang Yao finished washing up, got dressed, and stood in front of the bathroom mirror.
Staring at the delicate, pale face in the reflection, she sighed.
Humans really did adapt faster than she’d ever imagined.
Still, there were things she insisted on…
Even if they were hard to explain.
And honestly?
They were more troublesome than taking a shower.
At least she was used to showering by now…
Well—
Might as well get used to this, too.
The whole existential crisis phase was over.
Now it was time to face reality.
What else could she do?
Run out onto the street, throw a tantrum, and beg the heavens to send her back?
Not happening.
Besides—
Tang Yao placed a hand over her chest.
She really did just want to make money now.
Because the moment she came home and saw that girl,
This overwhelming need to make her life better just wouldn’t go away.
Honestly, it hadn’t gone away since the moment she arrived.
That’s probably why she’d been able to adapt so quickly.
A kind of lingering echo, maybe?
…Didn’t matter.
“Either way, even if I didn’t have a little sister, I’d still need to make money.
It’d be ridiculous to live a second life and still end up broke—no way.”
Tang Yao pressed her palm to her chest and spoke aloud with determination.
Then her tone suddenly shifted as she looked down at her chest.
“Ugh, is it getting tight again? Do I need to size up…? Pfft!”
No, seriously, what the hell!
Focus, Tang Yao—focus!
Money! Money! MONEY!
Forget the stupid sizing thoughts!
She dropped her hand and slapped her cheeks a couple of times, gathered her focus, and finally walked out of the bathroom.
Kaoru didn’t push her about makeup.
She just looked up now and then, giving her sister a few strange glances.
Tang Yao pretended not to notice.
After breakfast and cleaning up, Kaoru left for school, and Tang Yao took a deep breath as she opened the door to leave.
But just before heading out, she paused, turned back into the bedroom, and grabbed a kraft folder—she decided to take the manuscript with her.
—
10 AM. Wenxin Press. Big Comic Editorial Department.
If the office was dead quiet yesterday, today it was absolute chaos.
Because the editor-in-chief was back.
And the magazine’s weekly printing deadline was coming up.
“Qiao Yunming! That crossover manga still isn’t done?! How many times have I told you?! It’s important! Very important! If Big Comic shuts down and you lose your job, just say it out loud!”
“On it, on it—the storyboard ran into some issues with the mangaka…”
“Then go fix it right now! I need the finished manuscript this week, no matter what!”
“……”
As soon as Tang Yao walked in, she was greeted by the sound of shouting.
At the head of the workspace sat a man in his early forties, wearing glasses, with dark under-eye circles and a hint of hangover.
He was yelling like a man possessed.
Across from him, a sweating man in his thirties was desperately trying to explain himself.
That man—was Ding Yilong, Big Comic’s editor-in-chief.
Tang Yao didn’t want to say it, but—
That saying really did fit:
“Every boss is incompetent. That’s why there are subordinates—to do the things they can’t.”
Unfortunately, her boss truly was one of those incompetent types.
Not that he was completely clueless—
He was just more skilled at admin work.
Of course, the editorial team had another name for him:
The booze master.
An ass-kissing machine.
A heartless spreadsheet bot.
Maybe he had some hidden qualities they hadn’t seen yet, but with a personality like his, nobody really cared.
And clearly—
He was in a bad mood today.
Sales for Big Comic had been dropping lately.
Part of it was due to the rise of mobile internet.
The other part?
The quality of their serialized manga had been in steady decline.
And since he couldn’t fix the internet…
He started blaming the editors.
He was a pure kind of man.
He didn’t care about manga.
Sure, he could read storyboards, but things like plot? Passion? Artist development? Meaningless.
All that mattered was sales.
If the numbers looked good and he could deliver pretty s, he was all smiles.
But when sales dropped, and the blame landed on him?
He turned into the department’s worst nightmare.
Clearly, today was one of those days.
He’d probably gotten chewed out by upper management in yesterday’s meeting.
Also—
Tang Yao spotted someone unexpected.
Kang Ming—the prematurely balding guy she’d interviewed yesterday—was standing stiffly near the editor-in-chief’s desk, like a lackey.
But Ding Yilong was too busy yelling to even notice him.
Kang Ming heard footsteps, glanced to the side, and the moment he saw the angelic girl from yesterday, his eyes lit up.
But—
Before he could feel even a hint of relief—
“TANG YAO!”
That shout came barreling out from the editor-in-chief’s mouth.
Tang Yao walked over expressionlessly, bypassing Kang Ming and stopping at the other side of the desk.
The other editors gave her sympathetic looks.
“Where’s Shao Changqing’s manuscript?!”
Ding Yilong stared at the pretty, stone-faced girl, eyes full of fury. “The deadline’s almost here. Don’t give me another disaster like last time. I’m not here to play babysitter while you 'learn on the job'!
If you can’t do it, then quit! I don’t know why HR assigned you to the shounen department, and frankly, I don’t care. This is your last chance—”
“Editor-in-chief, first of all—”
Tang Yao took a deep breath and calmly cut him off.
“First, I don’t know why HR assigned me here. I had no say in that. So please don’t act like I pulled strings.
Second, I already followed up yesterday. I’ll be heading out again today to push for the manuscript. Even if I don’t get it, I’ve already prepared a backup plan.
Last time won’t happen again—please rest assured.
Third, as I mentioned before, I hope you can speak to the relevant departments about reducing Mr. Shao’s public appearances and events.
He already has a tendency to go off-script, and you told me yourself to let him leverage his looks…
But let’s not forget: a mangaka’s job is to draw, not spend their time doing promotions.
Yesterday, he even complained to me about how overloaded he is with events.”
Instead of calming down, Ding Yilong’s rage intensified.
Maybe it was because he felt challenged.
Or maybe for some other reason.
“You’re questioning me? Are you saying I’m the problem?!”
“I wouldn’t dare. I’ll go chase him again now.”
Tang Yao shook her head, then added,
“But I think it’s more urgent that you look into Mr. Ou Congquan.
He’s completely off the rails and ignoring my feedback entirely.
I suggest you contact him yourself—”
BANG!
Before she could finish, Ding Yilong slammed the desk so hard that Kang Ming nearly jumped out of his skin.
“That’s EXACTLY what I was about to say! You beat me to it!”
“Mr. Ou complained about you yesterday!
Said you were harassing him! That you kept butting in when you don’t understand a damn thing!
I told you to handle Shao Changqing—Ou’s just a bonus!
You’re mixing up your priorities! You’re hopeless! Utterly useless!
You think you understand manga better than Mr. Ou?!
Do you even know which manga sells the most in Big Comic?!
Do you know what happens if The Girl, the Boy, and the Sword misses just one issue?!”
Tang Yao blinked, then calmly asked,
“Editor-in-chief… have you actually read Mr. Ou’s work?”
“That’s not the point!
I’m asking YOU—
Do you really think you know better than Mr. Ou?!”
“……”
Tang Yao stared at the furious editor-in-chief, her chest rising and falling slightly.
Then she shut her mouth.
You dumb sales-obsessed robot.
Just you wait.
“So now you’ve got nothing to say, huh?!”
Ding Yilong’s anger exploded again.
“You’re banned from visiting Mr. Ou from now on! Just deal with Shao Changqing!
Later I’ll decide if I reassign the project.
Also, about the manga award—”
Tang Yao cut him off.
“Mr. Tang, who promised to submit for the award, told me yesterday that he’s too busy and is backing out.”
Ding Yilong’s eyes went wide.
Veins bulged on his forehead.
“WHAT—”
“But I’ve already contacted a very talented mangaka.
I’ve reviewed their work—
And I think it’s even better than Mr. Tang’s.
I’ll bring it to you for review shortly.”