Are You an Idiot?

Ten minutes later.

Tang Yao composed herself and returned to the Big Comic Editorial Department.

Since it was lunchtime, there weren't many people in the office.

Ding Yilong was sitting at his desk, looking worse than ever.

Standing beside him was a man who looked to be in his forties. He wore thin-framed glasses and had a slender build, without the potbelly and greasy air typical of middle-aged men. Instead, he gave off the distinctively wooden air of an engineering type.

Tang Yao didn't recognize him, but judging by his clothes and bearing, he probably wasn't an editor... He looked pretty unhappy, too.

"..."

Tang Yao studied the two men, her brows knitting as she sensed trouble brewing.

She walked over slowly.

When the man in the thin-framed glasses saw Tang Yao approaching, a look of surprise crossed his eyes. He seemed not to have expected someone like her to work in the Editorial Department. He turned to look at Ding Yilong.

It was as if he were asking, Is she an editor?

Ding Yilong still had a dark look on his face. He gave an almost imperceptible nod.

The man in the thin-framed glasses understood. He looked Tang Yao over again, then spoke before Ding Yilong could say anything. "You're the editor of Girl, Boy, and Sword, right? Hello, I'm Shang Tao, the new media director. I'd like to ask you about a few things."

His tone was a little urgent, but not at all aggressive. On the contrary, he was quite polite.

"Hello... I used to be the editor of Girl, Boy, and Sword. I'm Tang Yao."

Hearing this, Tang Yao thought of what she'd just discussed with Miss Li and had a vague idea what was going on. She introduced herself too, taking care to use the past tense.

"...Used to be?"

Shang Tao was taken aback by her answer and turned to look at Ding Yilong again.

It was obvious he was asking what was going on.

"Cut the nonsense."

On the other side, Ding Yilong was just as anxious, but he kept his face stern and put on an air of authority. He slowly picked up the magazine on his desk, flipped to the last page of Girl, Boy, and Sword, and tossed it in front of Tang Yao. "This! You wrote this, right? What's the meaning of it?"

Tang Yao glanced down and replied casually, "AORI."

"What kind of stupid answer is that?!"

Ding Yilong was clearly unsatisfied. He snapped, "I know it's AORI! I'm asking what this AORI means! What do you mean by 'a gathering of malice'? Is it a dream or reality? If you wrote an AORI like this, does that mean you know something? Why did Teacher Ou draw a story like this? How will it continue? Explain yourself!"

"?"

Tang Yao slowly raised her head and looked at the editor-in-chief as if he were an idiot. "Explain? Why did he draw a story like this? Editor-in-chief, are you an idiot?"

"What did you say?"

Ding Yilong froze for a moment, then the veins on his forehead bulged.

Tang Yao calmly repeated, "I said, are you an idiot?"

Bam—

Ding Yilong slammed his hand on the desk, his face twisted with anger. "Are you ever going to learn to respect your superior?! Is this how you talk to your boss?!"

"Am I wrong?"

Tang Yao raised her right hand and pointed at the pile of next issue's original pages on his desk.

Since it was a biweekly magazine, there was more time than with a weekly, so many artists had pages ready in advance. "You're not even willing to look down? 'Why did Teacher Ou draw a story like this?' You're asking me? His original pages are on your desk every week, and now you're asking me why he drew a story like that?

"Didn't I bring it up with you two days ago? I clearly told you he was drawing whatever he felt like. What did you say to me then? 'Teacher Ou's work has problems! Do you really think you know more than him?'

"Forgotten already? Even if you'd asked me at the last minute before it went to print, I would've answered you seriously. But now you're asking me?

"What else could you be but an idiot?"

Ding Yilong looked down at the desk, his expression stiffening. But he quickly recovered, lifted his head, and raised his voice, as if being louder would make him sound more reasonable. "...I'm asking you a question! I'm not asking you to shirk responsibility!"

"Shirk responsibility? Are you sure I'm the one shirking responsibility?"

Tang Yao met his gaze without fear. "Why don't you look at yourself in the mirror? Oh, now there's a problem, so you want me to explain? You're in a hurry to pass the buck. What were you doing before? Where's that confidence of yours? That attitude like you had everything under control?"

Ding Yilong grew even more agitated. His voice rose, and his expression turned uglier. "...Who's the superior here, me or you?!"

"You're the superior."

On the other side, Tang Yao's expression didn't change. She curled her lip and replied, "You want an answer? Then I'll explain. I told you in advance that Teacher Ou was drawing whatever he wanted, but you ignored me. You want to know what happens next? Sorry, I'm no longer responsible for Teacher Ou. Just like you said two days ago, I'm hopeless, and I'm not qualified to be his editor-in-charge.

"As for that AORI, I was just doing my job, using the contents of Teacher Ou's chapter to build anticipation for the next one. It's that simple.

"Anything else you want to ask? What answer are you hoping to get? Did that AORI make you think I know what happens next and can change the situation? Or do you want me to break down in tears in front of you, admit I was wrong, and say this whole mess is my fault?"

After hearing Tang Yao's words, Ding Yilong looked as if she'd hit the nail on the head. His face slowly flushed red with embarrassment and anger. "Stop changing the subject! I'm asking about AORI!!"

"Fine. I wrote the AORI."

Tang Yao nodded, then lifted her snow-white chin slightly. "And? I just explained why. What answer are you hoping to get now? What do you need me to do? Just give the order, Editor-in-Chief."

"..."

Ding Yilong was at a loss for words. He'd hurriedly called Tang Yao over.

When it came down to it,

he just wanted her to take the fall.

The matter was serious, and the attitude of Zhao Fang Sheng, the deputy general manager, had him worried.

He'd said they would use AORI to placate the readers, but he had no idea how to do that or how Girl, Boy, and Sword would develop from here.

At a time like this, the editor in charge had to take responsibility.

Whether she was capable of handling it or not, as long as she bowed her head in front of him and said she was sorry, he could pass the problem off to her with a clear conscience.

And whether she could change the situation afterward wouldn't be his concern. At least the main problem wouldn't be his fault. After all, the editors below him dealt with the artists, and the AORI had been written by one of them. At most, he'd been negligent in his oversight.

But he hadn't expected that after something like this happened... Tang Yao wouldn't be afraid at all. She showed him no mercy and threw the problem straight back at him.

She was even more aggressive than he was.

His face turned from red to white. Years of anger and resentment, mixed with humiliation, erupted all at once. "Isn't this your problem?! What kind of attitude is that?! Take responsibility!!"

"My problem? My responsibility?"

Tang Yao looked at Ding Yilong as if he were trash and said coldly, "I went to see him four times in one week, doing everything I could to change Teacher Ou's mind. I told you twice during that time to contact him yourself. The first time, you didn't take me seriously at all! The second time, you said I was hopeless and accused me of harassing him. And now you're telling me to take responsibility? You think you have the right?

"What were you doing before? You know exactly why Ou Congquan drew a story like this, don't you? Oh, that's right, you don't, because you're an arrogant, conceited idiot... who hasn't even read his original pages!

"Now there's a problem, and all you know how to do is pass the buck. You saw one AORI and decided I had a solution? That I'd take responsibility? Let me tell you: this is your responsibility! I have no solution! I tried last week. If you want me to do something, say it to my face, and I'll follow your instructions.

"But you're an idiot who only knows how to put on airs. Can you even say what you want me to do? Can you come up with one practical solution?"

Ding Yilong's eyes widened like saucers as he sprang to his feet.

Bam—

In his haste, his heavy body slammed into the desk with a loud thud, drawing the attention of the few editors in the office.

Tang Yao wasn't intimidated. She stepped forward and stared him in the eye. "Go on. What do you want me to do? Since this happened, have you thought about anything besides passing the buck? Before you called me over, did you contact Ou Congquan yourself? Have you even had a single idea for how to solve this?"

Ding Yilong panted heavily. He seemed so furious that he finally yelled, "I'm asking you a question!!!"

"Now I'm asking you!!"

Tang Yao braced both hands on the desk, leaned forward slightly, and glared at the editor-in-chief as she snapped, "I wrote the AORI! So what? Don't tell me you think I have a solution just because I wrote it. I don't. What do you want me to do?!"

"You—you go contact Teacher Ou!"

Ding Yilong met Tang Yao's cold gaze, furious, but even so, he stumbled over his words and couldn't come up with anything more.

"And then?"

Tang Yao pressed him. "Do you know how far the story has progressed? Do you know why he drew it like this? Do you know what he's thinking? Have you thought about how to change his mind? Have you even read—Ou Congquan's manga?"

"..."

Ding Yilong opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

"You can't say anything besides passing the buck? You're the editor-in-chief, but you don't even read the original pages. All day long, it's sales, sales, sales. You don't understand the important artists under your charge, you don't listen to the editors working beneath you, and you don't care how the readers who buy the magazine every week feel.

"Tang Yao's porcelain-pale, strikingly beautiful face took on a look of scorn. "Before there was a problem, you put on airs, acting arrogant and conceited in a way that made people sick. Now that there is a problem, you're helpless, and the first thing you do is make someone else take the blame. You can't even come up with one practical plan to save the situation. Look at the plaque on your desk. Do you think you deserve to be editor-in-chief?"

With that,

she pulled her hands away and straightened up again. "You're a piece of shit, good for nothing!"

Then,

she turned and walked away.

Ding Yilong's breath caught. Watching Tang Yao's retreating figure, his eyes flew open. He felt the blood rush to his head, and his face instantly flushed bright red.