Benefactor

"In short, I'm sorry."

Shang Tao left those as his final words, bowed slightly, and then walked away.

...Leaving Tang Yao standing there in utter confusion.

What was he apologizing for?

Tang Yao watched Shang Tao leave, her brows knitting slightly as she eyed him suspiciously.

Director Shang had acted very strangely when he came back with the storyboards... First, he'd asked her to reassure the manga artist who'd drawn Fate/Zero, saying there'd definitely be a chance to serialize it. Then he'd apologized to her.

What was that supposed to mean? Reassure myself? What serialization opportunity? Had he misunderstood something?

And could he at least explain what he was apologizing for?

Seriously...

But Tang Yao soon stopped thinking about it. It didn't seem all that important... Anyway, the thing she cared about most was already done.

Fate/Zero had hitched a ride on the Manga Award's publicity campaign! Done!

And both manga had made it!

She'd been most worried that Fate/Zero was already a serialized work, but that didn't seem to be a problem either. According to Shang Tao, Vice President Zhao had agreed right away without even making her explain.

That saved her a lot of trouble.

After all, Tang Yao didn't think she was good at talking people into things. If someone asked how a serialized work could be promoted through new media... she wouldn't even know what to say.

Anyway, she didn't know what Shang Tao had been apologizing for, but as long as things had worked out, that was all that mattered~

"Yes!"

After Shang Tao had left the reception room for good, Tang Yao gave a little hop on the spot. Her impressive chest bounced with the movement, and she looked delighted.

This really was worth celebrating.

All the preliminary steps were complete.

And now...

Tang Yao stopped hopping and happily took out her phone, finding Li Xue's contact information.

It was almost time to clock out. All that was left was her benefactor!

The eleventh floor.

The same lounge area.

But since it was after work, no one else was there besides Li Xue.

And the beautiful older sister... looked as gorgeous as ever. Her makeup was still impeccable, and she was still dressed in the classic black-and-white combination. Beneath her skirt, her long, shapely legs were still wrapped in smooth black stockings, not an ounce of excess fat on them.

This was also the first time Tang Yao had seen Li Xue after work.

To stay so poised and composed after a full day at the office, with bright, clear eyes and the gentle warmth unique to a mature woman... Honestly, it was impressive.

What was more...

This beautiful older sister also carried all of Tang Yao's hopes.

So when Tang Yao saw Li Xue, she became completely tongue-tied. "Benefactor... No, honored guest... No, Miss Li."

"Tang Yao, don't say anything else yet."

To Tang Yao's surprise, Li Xue didn't tease her over her babbling. Instead, she put a hand on Tang Yao's shoulder, took a deep breath, and said solemnly, "You have to make it up to me."

"Huh? Me? Why do I have to make it up to you?"

Tang Yao looked confused.

Li Xue continued, "Doesn't matter. Make it up to me."

"Miss Li... Did something happen?"

Hearing that, Tang Yao looked at Li Xue with concern and immediately forgot about bringing up the investment.

She gently took Li Xue's pale wrist, her delicate brows furrowing as she asked in a soft voice, "It's okay, it's okay. I'll keep you company. So what happened? And what exactly do I have to make up to you for?"

"Come home with me."

Tang Yao: "????"

"Then just sit nearby and eat. You have to eat two lunchboxes' worth!"

A dejected look crossed Li Xue's delicate, lovely face. She seemed to recall some unpleasant memory and grumbled, "Why didn't you come today? Why didn't you come eat lunch? Do you know how stressful it was to open two lunchboxes all by myself? Do you know how hard it was to eat two whole lunches alone? Do you know how many calories that was? All the progress I made dieting this week... went right down the drain! You have to make it up to me!"

"..."

A faint blush lingered on Tang Yao's face. At once, she let go of Li Xue's wrist and glared at her. "You did that on purpose, didn't you!?"

Li Xue paused, then blinked. "Did what on purpose?"

Tang Yao: "..."

"Wait."

Looking at the bashful girl in front of her, Li Xue suddenly caught on. She let out a giggle, then held Tang Yao by the shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. "You didn't think coming home with me meant keeping me company, did you? The 'company' that goes with 'left ear'?"

Was that why she was embarrassed? Her ears were even red! That was way too cute!

"..."

Tang Yao couldn't take it anymore. She leaned forward, bringing their firm curves close together, then reached out and lightly pinched Li Xue's neck, shaking her. "You definitely did that on purpose!"

"I really did eat two lunchboxes."

Li Xue didn't mind at all. Instead, she gently stroked Tang Yao's flushed ear and laughed, her figure swaying. "And I really did diet for nothing this week. Do you know what that means to a woman who's almost twenty-seven?"

"Check your own stomach before you say that!"

Tang Yao let go of her neck and replied irritably, "And here I was worrying about you... I don't even want to talk about the important stuff now. Why are you dieting anyway? A little softness is better, isn't it? I think you look great!"

"Is that so?"

At Tang Yao's words, Li Xue rose slightly onto her toes and turned to the side, then looked herself over. She seemed rather pleased. "I'll let you off the hook this time... But you have to come eat tomorrow. I'll make you a lunchbox full of high-calorie food. We'll both get fat together."

"Sure."

Tang Yao agreed, then looked at the happy older woman before her... Honestly, she didn't want to leave.

But no matter how much she didn't want to, sometimes life just didn't give you a choice.

"But..."

Tang Yao paused, composing herself before continuing, "I don't think I'll be able to keep you company for much longer, Miss Li."

"Hm?"

Li Xue stared at Tang Yao's lovely little face in surprise.

"I've completed all the preliminary steps for that game project... I brought the proposal, too."

Tang Yao handed Li Xue the document folder she'd just tossed onto the table. "I'd like you to take a look, then decide whether you're willing to introduce me to that investor."

"..."

Li Xue looked at Tang Yao, then at the folder in her hands. After a moment of silence, she accepted it and smiled gently. "Aren't you worried I'll say no on purpose, just to keep you here?"

"No."

Tang Yao shook her head and answered earnestly, "You're not that kind of person. Otherwise, I wouldn't have told you about this."

"...Looks like you're serious."

Seeing Tang Yao's expression, Li Xue sighed softly. Then she lowered her eyes to the folder in her hands and murmured, "It's not often you make a friend at work..."

"Miss Li."

Tang Yao could tell Li Xue was feeling down.

So she quickly led her to a chair and sat beside her, offering comfort. "Just because I'm not here, does that mean we can't still be friends?"

"We can, but I've gotten used to making lunch for two..."

"Uh... Then I'll sneak in every day to eat!"

"Wouldn't that wear you out? I'm not that unreasonable."

Li Xue lifted her head and gave Tang Yao a gentle, sidelong look, then smiled. "All right, I'm just feeling a little wistful. I'm not really heartbroken, so you don't have to keep comforting me. Like you said, not working together doesn't mean we can't still be friends. Don't worry."

"...You're so cool."

Tang Yao looked at Li Xue's fair, lovely profile and sighed.

Actually... she'd thought about asking Miss Li to quit with her.

But as soon as the idea came to her, she rejected it.

She was just an ordinary editor, but Li Xue wasn't... She'd already become an assistant editor at such a young age, and she had a bright future ahead of her.

Making someone risk her career and future for a future Tang Yao herself wasn't even sure about would have been far too selfish and arrogant.

"I'm not like you. When someone calls you cool, you get so happy you can't contain yourself."

Hearing that, Li Xue playfully raised the folder in her hand. "I won't go easy on you. If I don't think it'll work, I won't contact the investor just because you complimented me."

"Of course. Go ahead and read it."

Tang Yao nodded, indicating that Li Xue should open the folder.

Li Xue said nothing more. She opened the folder, took out the proposal, and began reading it carefully.

There was a lot in the proposal.

But Li Xue read it with great care, you could say she was putting in the same effort she had when she first became an editor.

Even so, there were many parts she couldn't understand.

The combat system, the enhancement system, the allocation of gacha resources, the banner designs...

Under each of these major sections were finer categories and lengthy explanations, often followed by a whole string of numbers. Some parts even included notes describing illustrations.

That made for slow reading.

But even slow readers eventually finished... Nearly forty minutes later,

Li Xue finally looked up at Tang Yao, who was sitting beside her.

Tang Yao asked softly, "What do you think?"

"...To be honest, there was a lot I didn't understand, or only half-understood."

Li Xue looked at Tang Yao, who was sitting right beside her, and chose her words before speaking gently. "But I understood plenty, too. And from what I could understand, I confirmed one thing: you really are serious about this. Very serious... So I'll contact that relative of mine and arrange a time for you to meet. I'll let you know when it's set."