Are you fucking kidding me?

"How about... the President contacts Teacher Ou to ask?"

Shang Tao had been observing his Vice President's expression since just now. Noticing his hesitation and disbelief, he suggested, "After all, there's no point in us guessing here. Why don't we just ask the person involved directly?"

He had a lot of confidence in Tang Yao.

"Are we visiting him now?"

Zhao Fang Sheng was tempted, "But the storyboards are already back..."

"A phone call will suffice."

Shang Tao shook his head. "We just need to confirm with him and get an answer. We haven't even contacted the manga artist directly yet, have we? This way, we can be at ease."

"..."

After hesitating for a long time, Zhao Fang Sheng slowly nodded. He put down the storyboards, then turned to wake up the computer in front of him to search for Ou Congquan's contact information.

In a way, he was also a traditional person.

However, the tradition he adhered to was different from Ding Yilong's. He believed that the most effective way for people to communicate was face-to-face.

So, no matter what the matter was, he preferred to meet the other person rather than contact them by phone.

However.

He really wanted an answer now, so he didn't care about being traditional or not.

Soon.

He found Ou Congquan's contact information and dialed it.

The phone rang once and was immediately picked up.

"Hello?"

Just as Zhao Fang Sheng was about to introduce himself, the other person's voice rang out. He could only listen patiently, and after the other person finished, he said politely, "No, no, no, I'm not Editor Tang. I'm Zhao Fang Sheng, the Vice President of the Literary Association."

"Yes, the reason I'm contacting you this time is mainly to confirm the storyboards for this issue with you."

"Yes, that's right. I've already looked at the storyboards for this issue... Huh? I'm not sure about Editor Tang's thoughts. I received the storyboards through my subordinate."

"I haven't met Editor Tang either."

Zhao Fang Sheng said, glancing at Shang Tao.

Shang Tao stood by, looking a bit confused... He couldn't hear Ou Congquan's voice and only felt that the word "editor" was used quite frequently.

"Well, the storyboards you drew for this issue are very good, but the previous issue..."

Zhao Fang Sheng withdrew his gaze and started to get to the main point. "If you'll forgive my bluntness, the previous issue was really terrible. It was like night and day. But unexpectedly, these two issues seem to be connected, as if there was an intentional reversal to shape the character. So, what I mainly want to ask you this time is, was this intentional, or...?"

The voice on the other end of the phone rang out again.

He had quite a lot to say.

Therefore, Zhao Fang Sheng fell into a long silence.

After a long while.

Zhao Fang Sheng slowly spoke, but his voice seemed a bit dry. "You're saying that the previous issue was drawn without consulting the editor... and this issue was drawn after consulting the editor?"

"Huh? No? It was a revised draft? Detailed? How detailed?"

"...So, does that mean that AORI and the setting were all provided by the editor?"

"You only saw that line about AORI? ...The female protagonist's hallucination must not involve any other man, and the second male lead's hallucination about his mother's death was also mentioned in the revised draft... Understood."

"..."

Shang Tao still couldn't hear Ou Congquan on the other end of the line, but he could hear Vice President Zhao's words.

As expected...

Shang Tao felt a little emotional.

Editor Tang hadn't lied, so Zhao Fang Sheng's other guess just now... no, that was no longer a guess, but a fact.

Meanwhile.

The phone call continued.

Zhao Fang Sheng's expression was very strange, his features contorted, but he still deliberately maintained a calm demeanor. "I understand. Thank you for your explanation... You want to change editors? No, no, no, I don't have that idea for now... Oh, Editor Tang said so herself, is that right? So, what do you mean?"

"You're unwilling. I understand."

"Ding Yilong also contacted you? He wants to collude with you to shirk responsibility? I understand... I will try my best to resolve his issues. I apologize for the trouble caused."

"What? Okay, we won't rashly change editors. Please rest assured about this... I understand. I will help convey our apologies as much as possible."

"Then I wish you smooth creative progress from here on out."

"..."

The phone call ended.

After politely bidding farewell, Zhao Fang Sheng sat stunned for a while before stiffly and slowly lowering the phone from his ear, muttering, "It's actually like this... Unbelievable."

"Yeah... Unbelievable."

Shang Tao knew what he was sighing about and echoed the sentiment.

Of course, there was also an element of support.

After all, he had an extremely good impression of Tang Yao. She not only proposed a very reliable-sounding plan for the manga award and the website launch but also helped resolve potential future worries.

Her talent was outstanding, almost heaven-defying, not to mention her efficiency and beauty.

It was hard not to have a good impression of her.

"Someone like that..."

Zhao Fang Sheng glanced at Shang Tao, then looked away, focusing back on the storyboards on the table, seemingly lost in thought again.

However, Shang Tao didn't know what he was pondering this time.

He didn't ask.

Because the obstacle for the manga award, which concerned him, had been completely resolved.

After a long while.

Zhao Fang Sheng seemed to have an answer and said softly, "Let's wait a few more years. She's too young. But Ding Yilong definitely needs to be dealt with."

"What about Ding Yilong?"

Shang Tao vaguely heard a name and instinctively asked.

"After he couldn't shirk responsibility in the Editorial Department, he actually planned to contact Ou Congquan to push the blame onto the editor, saying the editor affected Ou Congquan's creative process."

Anger appeared on Zhao Fang Sheng's face. "He's a real beast!"

"..."

Shang Tao's eyes widened sharply at this. "What the f***... That's incredibly beastly."

You could play it like that? It was a path he had never imagined.

"I'll go see the President later."

Zhao Fang Sheng took a deep breath, suppressing the anger on his face, and didn't continue. "You go prepare for the early release of the works. It can proceed; there are no issues with the storyboards."

With that said.

He handed the storyboards back to Shang Tao.

"Okay."

Shang Tao, hearing this, wisely stopped talking. Ding Yilong was basically finished.

From now on, he only needed to worry about his own matters.

He took a few steps forward and took the storyboard drafts from Zhao Fang Sheng.

"Also, help me pass a message to that Tang... Huh?"

As Zhao Fang Sheng handed over the storyboards, he wanted to say something more, but he suddenly noticed Shang Tao holding a stack of original manuscripts and asked with some confusion, "What are you holding?"

Shang Tao took the storyboards, then looked down, and explained, "Oh, these are original manuscripts from Editor Tang. They seem to be works drawn by a manga artist she discovered, who wants to submit them to the manga award. Aren't we releasing some works early this time? She thought these two works were very suitable and recommended them to me.

But I haven't had a chance to look at them yet; I plan to go back and flip through them."

"Oh?"

Zhao Fang Sheng's interest was piqued upon hearing this, and he reached out again. "Let me see."

"The President wants to see them? Okay."

Shang Tao had no objections and directly handed the two manga over.

Zhao Fang Sheng took them, placed them on the table, and looked down at the first one.

"Head... Balloon?"

He looked at the title of the manga on the cover, somewhat surprised. Why was the name so strange?

Head and balloon?

What genre could it be?

With some curiosity, Zhao Fang Sheng slowly opened the first manga.

Then.

Shang Tao, standing nearby, noticed that Vice President Zhao's expression began to shift again, just like when he was looking at the storyboards.

But when he was looking at the storyboards, he had been skeptical.

This time, while reading the manga, he was initially just interested, but gradually... his breathing quickened, and a look of shock appeared on his face.

Then, as he turned the pages, his expression began to contort... as if he had seen something incredible.

Seeing this, Shang Tao couldn't help but become interested as well.

What kind of manga was this?

To make him react like this.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh--

Soon.

Zhao Fang Sheng flipped to the last page of the manga and saw the ending.

Then, his entire body froze. He stared blankly at the final panel, just like Miss Li, as if he had fallen into some grotesque and terrifying world.

About ten seconds later.

He suddenly snapped back to reality, his body shuddered, and he looked up at Shang Tao. While recalling the twisted, grotesque, and horrifying scenes he had just witnessed, which made him feel uncomfortable, he muttered, "Where did she find such a lunatic... no, such a genius manga artist?"

"Huh?"

Shang Tao was bewildered.

"This is too interesting."

Zhao Fang Sheng shook his head, picked up the short story titled Uzumaki in his hand, and his face was full of amazement. "Ou Congquan was able to resolve such a messy plot and fix such a mess, and even discover such an excellent manga artist and work... No, what am I waiting for? Let's break the rules once. The Shoujo Manga Editorial Department has a deputy editor-in-chief in their twenties, and someone around thirty isn't too young either!"

"???"

Shang Tao was even more confused. The only thing he could be sure of was that the manga Tang Yao recommended... must be extremely excellent.

"This manga must be included in the early release lineup."

After Zhao Fang Sheng made up his mind, he put down the manga in his hand and said this to Shang Tao.

Shang Tao: "Uh... okay."

"Also."

Zhao Fang Sheng continued, "How old is that editor named Tang Yao? When you return the storyboards, have her pick a time. I want to meet her."

He had already decided, but he needed to confirm with Shang Tao first, so he wouldn't back out if she turned out to be too young.

"The Vice President wants to see her?"

Shang Tao was stunned when he heard this. Then, recalling Tang Yao's appearance, he subconsciously replied, "How old? Uh... eighteen?"

"...How many?"

Zhao Fang Sheng's movements suddenly stopped. His eyes slowly widened as he looked at Shang Tao, more shocked than he had been when looking at Uzumaki, his expression as if to say, "Are you f***ing kidding me?"