What Does That Have to Do with Me?

Half an hour later.

Tang Yao returned to the entrance of Ou Congquan's home, in Building C of a residential complex, on the twentieth floor, and rang the doorbell.

This time, after the doorbell rang,

the door opened much more slowly.

About a minute later, the door finally opened. A weary-looking man wearing round glasses appeared in the doorway—it was Ou Congquan's assistant, Li Jiang.

Li Jiang held the door as he saw Tang Yao standing outside. His expression changed abruptly, and he glanced anxiously over his shoulder before saying hurriedly, "Editor Tang... this isn't a good time. Teacher Ou is in a terrible mood. Maybe you could come back later..."

"Is he free right now? I have something I need to confirm with him."

Tang Yao shook her head, seemingly missing his hint, and said politely, "Could you ask him for me?"

Li Jiang grew anxious and was just about to say more.

"Did you come to laugh at me?"

But just then, a voice came from behind him.

Li Jiang's body instantly tensed.

Tang Yao looked past Li Jiang to the person behind him.

Ou Congquan stood a short distance away, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at Tang Yao. "You were right, so did you come to laugh at me?"

He looked to be in terrible shape. He should have been well rested last night; the magazine hadn't even gone on sale yet. But in just twelve hours, he had turned into this red-eyed, hysterical mess.

He had clearly suffered a tremendous shock.

It seemed that

despite his outward confidence, he wasn't so confident inside.

He was an author who didn't match his own outward appearance and was easily swayed by readers' responses.

As far as Tang Yao knew, some manga artists were advised by their editors not to look at social media, especially around the time a magazine went on sale.

That was because some artists really were easily swayed by readers' opinions. Positive comments made them happy, but one negative comment could make them doubt themselves repeatedly. Their mindset would be affected, and they would unconsciously change their pacing in response to criticism, eventually disrupting the story's original rhythm.

It could even cause the entire manga to fall apart.

And this arrogant, conceited Ou Congquan clearly belonged to that type... and was among the most emotionally fragile of them all.

Wait...

Tang Yao remembered something. After taking on this role, she had gone through Ou Congquan's past serializations. She felt that if an editor hadn't even read the work of the manga artist they were responsible for, they were woefully unqualified.

Judging by his past serializations, Ou Congquan occasionally got overly artsy, but was mostly normal. His work had its ups and downs, with some very poor chapters and some very good ones, but whether good or bad, it had always stayed within the bounds of normal. He had never taken a break, meaning he had never had such a major breakdown.

This was the first time.

And Ou Congquan was so emotionally fragile...

At the thought,

Tang Yao narrowed her eyes slightly.

"What? You came to laugh at me, but you don't dare to?"

Seeing that Tang Yao had been silent for a long time, only staring at him,

Ou Congquan spoke again.

"Laugh at you?"

Tang Yao came back to herself and looked at the red-eyed Ou Congquan, replying expressionlessly, "I'd love to laugh at your unbelievably stupid plot, but unfortunately, I don't have time for that. I'm an editor. I represent the magazine and the readers. What, you want people to laugh at you? You don't need me for that. Just log in to your social media account. Plenty of people there are laughing at you."

"..."

Ou Congquan's eyes grew even redder, and his breathing suddenly quickened.

Standing in front of Tang Yao, Li Jiang stared at the girl, eyes wide and pupils trembling wildly.

"If I were you, I wouldn't ask such a stupid question. If I wanted to laugh at you, I could just leave a comment on your social media saying, 'Serves you right.' Because it really does serve you right. Why would I bother showing up in person?"

Tang Yao continued, "So could you stop putting on that act? Have you drawn the storyboards for this issue yet?"

"...No!"

"Then can the great manga artist listen to his editor now?"

"..."

Ou Congquan glared at Tang Yao.

What she had said was almost exactly the same as what she'd said when she first visited him.

Only this time, it was even more mocking.

But

he couldn't see any gloating or satisfaction on the girl's face.

She was perfectly calm, just as she had been on her first visit.

Ou Congquan's expression slowly grew complicated. After taking a few breaths, he turned and walked straight inside.

Li Jiang looked behind him, then at Tang Yao, unsure what to do.

Tang Yao reminded him, "Please step aside, Assistant Li."

Li Jiang hesitated for a moment, then moved aside with a bitter smile and warned her, "Editor Tang, Teacher Ou was furious today. Actually..."

Actually, you shouldn't have come.

"It's fine."

Tang Yao shook her head, thanked him for his concern, and walked straight inside.

Nothing could stop her from earning money to support her younger sister.

After entering, Tang Yao saw the living room in disarray. Things had been thrown everywhere, and through the open door to the workroom facing the living room, she could see drawings scattered all over the floor. They had all been crumpled and torn, further proving that Teacher Ou's emotional resilience really was pathetic.

It seemed he had also sent all his assistants away.

Only his chief assistant, Li Jiang, remained.

"What do you want to say?"

In the trashed living room,

Ou Congquan sat on the sofa with his head lowered, both hands pressed to his forehead. He was trying to hold himself upright with dignity, but instead looked as though he had curled in on himself, radiating dejection from the inside out.

Tang Yao sat down across from him, set the documents she had brought on the table, and began, "This issue's plot has caused a lot of controversy."

She had only just begun

when Ou Congquan abruptly raised his head and glared at Tang Yao. His downturned mouth and bloodshot eyes made him look both mean and frightening. "Did you come here just to tell me that?"

"What else?"

Tang Yao met his gaze without fear. "To tell you it doesn't matter? To spout nonsense about how you shouldn't care what readers think? Why don't you check your social media? If you want empty praise instead of a solution, you can call Ding Yilong right now. He'll give you all the flattery you want! If you want to bury your head in the sand, then you shouldn't be sitting here. Go to bed, pull the covers over your head, and pray to the gods to change things.

The situation is a complete mess, and you're still putting on airs, refusing to even listen? I've barely started and you're already acting like this. What is it, did your editor offend you?"

"..."

Ou Congquan's breathing grew rapid, his chest rising and falling as if he were furious.

But soon, his breathing gradually slowed... and he lowered his head again, curling in on himself.

The truth was,

the reason he had let Tang Yao in was that he no longer knew what to do.

He was a mess.

And the only person who had come to visit was this female editor in front of him, an editor he looked down on.

He wanted to solve the problem, but he didn't know how.

And right now, the only person he could seemingly rely on was his editor.

"I have a problem with all of you editors."

Ou Congquan kept his head down, staring at the reflection on the tabletop as he spoke in a low voice. "My last arc turned into that mess because of you editors."

"The summer vacation arc?"

Tang Yao narrowed her eyes.

"..."

Ou Congquan paused, apparently not expecting Tang Yao to immediately name the arc.

But he soon composed himself and continued, "Back then, that editor told me my work was too monotonous, that I kept going over the same things, and that a world with supernatural powers couldn't exist without an official authority. He told me to try adding political intrigue... I saw some readers saying the same thing, and he'd gathered reference material, so I gave it a try.

But that guy said one thing and did another. Every time I finished drawing something, he'd say this part wasn't right or that part wasn't right, this was too sensitive, that was too extreme for serialization, and in the end he just kept making me revise, revise, revise, revise, revise!!!

By the end, even I didn't know what the hell I was drawing anymore! The readers were all cursing me!

And that guy! That editor! Then he turned around and said he'd been thinking of my best interests! Told me not to cross the line! Damn it! Who did he think had suggested it in the first place? And when I contacted Ding Yilong, Ding Yilong was just as vague, saying the other guy was cooperative! Neither of them did a damn thing to solve the problem!

In the end, after that guy turned my serialization into a total mess, he just walked away without a care! He left me to struggle through the ending on my own!! Editors! Hah! What good are they?!"

"..."

Tang Yao confirmed it: he really was the type to be easily swayed. Anyone with a bit of conviction wouldn't have listened to the previous editor's nonsense.

Official powers? Political intrigue? What did that have to do with your manga?

At the same time,

Tang Yao finally understood why he had such a problem with her.

But!

Tang Yao looked at Ou Congquan and said coldly, "So what does that have to do with me?"

"You're an editor recommended by Ding Yilong too."

Ou Congquan slowly raised his head. "At first, he also told me you looked like someone who'd be very obedient... Your editor-in-chief really knows how to recommend people."

As he spoke,

Ou Congquan twisted his mouth into a sneer. "Obedient, huh."

"So that's all this is about?"

Tang Yao's voice turned even colder. "You're taking it out on the next editor just because of that?"

"Yes. Why shouldn't I?"

Ou Congquan glared at Tang Yao with bloodshot eyes. "You're exactly like that editor! You came in and immediately started talking about revisions! Acting as if you understood the manga better than the artist. But I'm the one drawing it, not you people!"

"So you can't communicate? Are you mute?"

Tang Yao looked him straight in the eye. "And what did I tell you to draw? I said the plot in this issue didn't work. It was too sharp and abrupt."

"What's the difference?"

"What's the difference? Did you even read the proposal I gave you?"

"..."

"You didn't."

When Ou Congquan didn't answer, Tang Yao guessed what had happened. "So why weren't you even willing to look at it? Were you afraid you'd be influenced?"

Ou Congquan remained silent.

"So that's how it is."

Tang Yao shook her head. "You're ridiculous."

"What did you say?!"

Ou Congquan's expression stiffened. He leaned forward and glared at Tang Yao, like a beast ready to devour someone.

"I said you're an idiot."

Tang Yao remained calm and didn't move an inch. "You accept every bit of feedback from readers, but refuse to look at your editor's feedback, all for that laughable reason. You stirred up such a huge controversy. You're a bestselling manga artist who makes a fortune in royalties, yet you act like a puppet on strings, with no basic judgment of your own.

No, you don't even have the courage to make a judgment! You're over fifty, yet you act like an elementary school student, and your excuse is just as childish and ridiculous."

"You—"

Ou Congquan was already beside himself with rage. "What do you know? You came here to mock me, didn't you? Are you happy now? I messed up! I was wrong! Satisfied? But do you know what the readers said? Do you know why I drew this part of the story? You don't even know what I'm drawing, and you're here to tell me what to do?!"

His voice echoed through the living room.

Nearby, Li Jiang had just come out of the kitchen carrying tea. His hand jerked, and he stopped in his tracks.

He watched Tang Yao's back worriedly, hesitating over whether to say something.

"I know."

"You know... what did you say?"

Ou Congquan's anger faltered. He seemed not to have expected that answer.

Tang Yao looked at the great manga artist before her and replied, "You wanted the protagonist to seem less perfect, to show that he had flaws too, right? And you wanted this part of the story to reveal the worries hidden deep in every character's heart, so you could bring the romantic storyline between the second male lead and the heroine to a definitive end, right?"

"..."

Ou Congquan looked at the girl in front of him, his eyes widening slightly as shock gradually appeared in them.

"You know nothing, yet you presume to judge other people."

Tang Yao noticed the shock in his eyes and said coldly, "Does it make you happy?"