That Year, Eighteen, Standing There Like a Lackey

The publishing house where Tang Yao worked was called Wenxin Hall, and she was an editor for Big Comic magazine under its umbrella.

It was a biweekly youth manga magazine, published once every two weeks and released every Thursday.

Its main focus was fantasy and intense battle-themed manga.

Unlike the famous Boy's JUMP from Tang Yao's previous life, which championed "friendship, effort, and victory," this magazine's three principles were closer to YOUNG JUMP, which focused on "love, violence, and power."

As for its sales and readership... they weren't bad.

Although it couldn't compare with the first, second, or third-ranked magazines, it still had a stable readership. Its sales probably ranked in the top four, which already made it a major publication.

In theory, being an editor in such a magazine department might not be ideal, but it shouldn't have been too bad either.

Coincidentally.

That was what Tang Yao had thought at first too.

Then she met the manga artists she was responsible for—the ones who made her life miserable.

The man who had just spoken was named Ou Weiquan. His pen name was Give It Your All, and his work was a fantasy manga titled Girl, Boy, and Sword.

It was a very cliché title. From Tang Yao's perspective, even the setting and plot were rather cliché...

Yet this manga was the pillar of Big Comic magazine.

What was a pillar?

Simply put, it was a work that occupied a dominant position in the fiercely competitive manga-magazine market and supported the magazine's content and sales... In other words, it was the magazine's lifeline and the floor beneath its sales.

In her previous life, a work like this would never have been assigned to a newly hired rookie editor like her.

So when Tang Yao was initially told that she would be responsible for the magazine's pillar work, she was quite surprised.

She had even thought that perhaps she was more important than she realized... It wasn't that such a thought had never crossed her mind.

That was until... after reading the storyboard, she went to the manga artist's home with the mindset of doing a little work since she was being paid, only to get chewed out.

That was when she finally came to her senses.

This wasn't her previous life, nor was it the Japan or China of her previous life.

Here, manga artists held absolute authority over editors. In front of successful manga artists, editors were practically superfluous.

It wasn't that editors had no say at all. The manga artist had to be easygoing, the editor had to be sufficiently forceful, and the editor also needed a certain track record. At the very least, they had to have discovered and promoted a hugely popular manga before they could speak with any authority.

Otherwise, the editor was nothing more than a human tool for delivering storyboards.

And the pillar manga artist Tang Yao was responsible for was not only domineering, he had also been poached from another magazine. Rumor had it that when he was recruited, an agreement had already been made that he was not to be interfered with during the creative process.

A rookie editor without a track record, and a domineering, stubborn manga artist.

When the two came together, it was easy to imagine what kind of disaster would result.

It wasn't just Tang Yao. She had heard that even the editor-in-chief was having a terrible headache over Ou Weiquan and could do nothing with him.

The reason he had assigned Ou Weiquan to Tang Yao wasn't because he had high hopes for her. It was simply because... he wanted to pass the buck.

Everyone in the editorial department knew that this man completely ignored the opinions of his responsible editor.

"Editor Tang... I'm sorry, but Teacher Ou doesn't seem to want to see you."

An impatient voice came from inside.

Tang Yao stood at the door. Although she was twenty-one, she still looked like a lackey.

Assistant Li felt a little sorry for her. Looking at Tang Yao with her eyes lowered, he cleared his throat and took the initiative to ease the atmosphere. "Why don't you come again next time?"

"..."

Tang Yao fell silent for a moment, then firmly shook her head. She took one of the document folders in her arms and handed it over. "No matter what, the plot development in this issue doesn't work... I can't understand why Teacher Ou wants to kill the protagonist once and make the second male lead and heroine develop feelings for each other. This is complete nonsense. I hope you can change it.

"This plot development is deliberately hurting the readers' feelings, and I can't accept it. These are my suggested revisions. I hope you'll take a look."

After learning about the state of the manga industry in this world, Tang Yao had already made up her mind. If she had to be a human tool, then so be it. She had accepted her fate.

As long as nothing major went wrong.

Then an accident happened.

This issue, after losing his reins, the damn author had started pulling all sorts of stunts!

That Teacher Ou wanted to kill the male lead once, and in an extremely gruesome way at that... That alone would have been bad enough, but he also wanted to make the heroine and the second male lead interact ambiguously.

According to him, this was meant to develop the characters better.

But in Tang Yao's eyes...

Was this a plot development that any sane person could come up with?

At any rate, Tang Yao had exploded the moment she read the storyboard.

His work happened to be at the end of a major arc. The previous issue had been perfectly fine—the male lead was about to face the mastermind behind everything in a direct confrontation, and the atmosphere had been built up perfectly.

Yet in this issue, he was going to kill off the male lead!

Tang Yao truly couldn't understand it.

The readers were looking forward to the satisfying battle, and he was feeding them garbage. What was that supposed to be?

After reading the storyboard, she immediately contacted Teacher Ou.

But as soon as Tang Yao began speaking, Teacher Ou on the other end of the phone threw out, "An outsider wouldn't understand," and hung up.

Tang Yao had gone to his home twice more, but Teacher Ou had become increasingly impatient. By now, he wasn't even pretending to show her any respect.

That was why Tang Yao was standing there now. It was also why she hadn't wanted to come in the first place.

To be honest, she didn't want to interfere either.

She felt that Teacher Ou had truly gone mad, but she couldn't leave it alone. She knew exactly what would happen if this plot development was published. The readers would explode!

And as his responsible editor, she would face unimaginable questioning afterward.

To be honest, the questioning itself would still be bearable.

But if things really blew up, she would lose her year-end bonus. That was the most important part.

That was also why she was still standing there.

Let the manga artist court death if he wanted, but he couldn't drag her year-end bonus down with him.

She really needed that money. She truly did.

"...Editor Tang."

The assistant named Li Jiang looked at the document folder Tang Yao had handed him, hesitating. "Teacher seems to have already made up his mind."

"Please, make sure he looks at it."

Tang Yao took a deep breath and extended the document folder a little farther. "That plot development will only hurt the readers' feelings. I refuse to believe he can't see that."

"..."

Li Jiang was in a difficult position, because he knew his boss's personality all too well.

Just then, the impatient voice sounded again from behind them.

"Li Jiang!"

Li Jiang came back to himself. He could only reach out and take the document folder. "Editor Tang, I can only promise to do my best to speak with Teacher..."

"Sorry for the trouble."

Tang Yao bowed slightly in thanks.

Then.

The door closed.

Tang Yao straightened up again, looked at the tightly shut door, and turned to leave. She had done everything she could.

Next.

There was another disaster like this.

At the same time.

Inside the room.

Holding the document folder, Li Jiang came to the doorway of the small room where the assistants worked. He looked toward the separate office on his right, where Teacher Ou was, and hesitated...

Footsteps approached, followed by a voice.

"That female editor left? What are you holding?"

Li Jiang jumped and spun around. His boss had appeared in front of him without him noticing.

Ou Weiquan was a man in his early forties, in the prime of his life. He was balding slightly, with drooping corners to his mouth. When expressionless, he looked especially mean.

Being stared at by him created immense pressure.

So when Li Jiang heard his boss, the words practically slipped out of his mouth. "They're Editor Tang's suggestions for revising the storyboard..."

"Suggestions? You haven't even grown all your hair yet, and you want to instruct me? Hah. Throw them in the trash."

Upon hearing this, Ou Weiquan tugged contemptuously at the corner of his mouth, then walked past Li Jiang toward the bathroom. "Then get back to work immediately."

Clearly, he had absolute confidence in his story.

Li Jiang: "..."

He gazed at Ou Weiquan's back, feeling bitter.

Sorry.

Editor Tang.

He had already given up hope the moment he accepted the document folder.

The draft had already been drawn. Given his boss's personality, how could he possibly revise it?

Meanwhile.

Tang Yao left the residential complex and raised her hand to hail a car. At the same time, she looked back at the complex where Ou Weiquan lived and took a deep breath.

In truth, she already knew what the final result would be.

She had to start thinking about a way out.

Tang Yao withdrew her gaze. While thinking about her plans, she got into the car and headed to the next manga artist's residence.

Half an hour later.

Tang Yao stood in front of another residence. Looking at the young man with an earring in front of her, she said calmly, "Teacher Shao! I remember you promised me that you would give me the original manuscript last week."

"Soon, soon. I'll give it to you this afternoon."

"Soon? This afternoon?"

"I couldn't help it... Editor Tang, I've been a little busy lately. There have been too many events."

"I'm not interested in those, and I remember the event only lasted one afternoon."

"Even if you're not interested, they were arranged by your editorial department! One afternoon still consumed a week's worth of my energy! Fine, this afternoon... I'll definitely give it to you this afternoon."

"..."

Tang Yao stared expressionlessly at the young man in front of her.

The man revealed an impeccable smile.

Shao Changqing's manga, Trajectory, was a fantasy work. Although it couldn't be called a pillar, it was still a popular title in Big Comic.

He wasn't stubborn, nor did he pull any stunts.

But he was always late with his manuscripts!

Tang Yao would never forget how, on her very first day, while she was still adjusting to her body and her job, Teacher Shao's habit of submitting his manuscript right before the deadline had forced her to work like a spinning top.

Because of that.

She had repeatedly reminded Teacher Shao to make sure he submitted his storyboard and subsequent original manuscripts on time.

But there were still problems.

According to the original owner's memories, Shao Changqing wasn't arrogant. Yet whenever he was urged to hurry, he would sincerely admit his mistake every time—then do it again next time.

"This is also your editorial department's problem! So believe me one last time, Editor Tang."

"I hope so."

Tang Yao looked at the man in front of her. After a moment of silence, she tossed out those words and turned to leave.

Twenty minutes later.

The final stop.

Tang Yao arrived at a villa district in the western suburbs and stood in front of a detached villa before pressing the doorbell.

This time, she was once again greeted by an assistant. He had a baby face, making it hard to tell whether he was even an adult yet.

Looking at the young man in front of her, Tang Yao suddenly had a bad feeling. "Hello, I'm Tang Yao. We spoke on the phone two days ago. I haven't received Teacher Tang's manuscript, so I came to confirm the situation. The Wenxin Manga Award is about to begin."

"...I'm sorry."

The young man looked somewhat dazzled. While discreetly sizing up Tang Yao, he said apologetically, "Teacher has had too many manuscripts lately. As for the work he promised to submit to promote your company's Newcomer Award... he may not be able to complete it."

"..."

The Wenxin Manga Award.

To better discover new talent, address the increasingly declining ranks of manga artists, and respond to the internet trend, Wenxin Hall had established this manga award modeled after the Newcomer Award. The submitted works would also be exhibited online simultaneously.

Unlike an ordinary Newcomer Award, this one allowed viewers to vote because it was displayed online. To establish its reputation and prevent awkward situations from arising, they had specifically invited several established manga artists to submit works and build momentum.

Tang Yao was responsible for one of them.

But now...

"..."

Tang Yao suddenly drew in a deep breath.

She had spent the entire morning visiting three places in succession, and not a single thing had gone smoothly.

At that moment, even though she had been mentally prepared, she still couldn't help feeling angry. Looking at the young man in front of her, she suddenly stepped forward and closed the distance. "Does he know what a promise means? It means—no matter how circumstances change! It means the promise must not be affected!"

"..."

The young man at the door froze slightly, then instinctively took half a step back. He clearly hadn't expected the excessively beautiful girl in front of him to reveal such a cold gaze. "S-sorry."

"..."

Tang Yao looked at him in silence for a long while, then turned around and left.

There was no way to do this job anymore!