Xun

6 PM.

Tang Yao left the company.

Although the job of a manga editor had a pile of problems, it wasn't without its merits. There were some, for instance... the working hours were relatively flexible.

Because the manga artists she was responsible for didn't have unified schedules, and editors, as those who cooperate with manga artists, needed to adjust their working hours according to the artists' schedules. Many editors worked night shifts.

Under such circumstances, there naturally couldn't be any fixed working hours.

Of course, this was also one of the few advantages Tang Yao could rack her brain to come up with.

"So why did the original host choose to become an editor?"

Tang Yao got on the subway, her body swaying gently with the train's movement. She lowered her head and muttered softly, "Because the working hours are more flexible?"

Of course, it was just a complaint.

Actually, she knew the reason. It was nothing more than pursuing an unattainable dream—becoming a manga artist.

A dream.

Would taking a detour to get closer to a dream truly make one feel better?

Tang Yao turned her head to look at the skyscrapers outside the subway window, their edges gilded by the setting sun. She felt a bit helpless... Drawing wasn't a good career path, especially after AI emerged. And becoming a manga editor felt like a completely different thing from being a manga artist.

She could only say... she chose the wrong profession.

Today, Tang Yao had visited many high-end residential areas, and even went to a renowned wealthy district within the city, but she couldn't afford to live in places like that.

In fact, where she lived was very remote. After getting off the subway, she still had to take nearly ten bus stops.

Because the rent was too expensive.

The city she was currently in, coincidentally, was also called Magic City, just like in her previous life. Although the city's layout was different, what was the same was that, as a big city, housing prices here were astronomical... With her current income, she couldn't even afford a toilet stall in the city center.

She currently rented a place in a remote area of the Southern Suburbs. It was relatively close to the crematorium... Compared to the city center, the price was relatively affordable.

Of course, the only advantage was that it was cheap.

Besides that, it was all disadvantages, like the house being old, no elevator, and being in an inconvenient location...

But there was no choice.

As the saying goes—poverty made her endure humiliation.

Past 7 PM.

Tang Yao finally returned home. Climbing seven flights of stairs in one go left her a bit breathless. She took out her key and opened the door.

The lights inside were on.

Tang Yao surveyed the room. The apartment wasn't large... Although the rent here was more affordable compared to the city center, it still wasn't cheap, so she only rented a one-bedroom, one-living room, one-bathroom apartment.

The apartment was very small, even cramped. The bedroom and living room combined weren't very big. After placing a three-seater sofa and a table in the living room, there wasn't much space left for activities.

And facing the living room was the balcony, which doubled as the kitchen. The only room was on the left, but because the living room took up the majority of the space, the room was particularly small. To leave room for activities, only a bunk bed could fit.

However.

Small as it was.

Thanks to the two sisters' arrangement, under the soft lamplight, it didn't appear dilapidated. Instead, it was exceptionally cozy.

So even though she was still catching her breath, Tang Yao felt at ease the moment she entered.

And the instant she opened the door, a graceful figure emerged from the room on the left, carrying clothes. It was a young girl whose face bore a five-to-six-tenths resemblance to Tang Yao. She was wearing a simple white T-shirt and blue denim shorts, revealing a pair of straight, well-proportioned, fair, and smooth long legs that looked exceptionally fair and tender under the light.

Although their appearances were somewhat similar, their temperaments were worlds apart.

Compared to Tang Yao, she was... quite cold and aloof. Although equally beautiful, she gave off an aura of "do not approach."

As for why the two sisters had such different temperaments.

Tang Yao hadn't figured it out yet.

That's right.

This was Tang Yao's sister in this world—Tang Xun.

"Xun."

Seeing the girl carrying clothes, seemingly preparing to wash them, Tang Yao turned and closed the door. Then, she walked to the sofa and slumped down tiredly.

The girl stopped, but didn't respond to Tang Yao. She just sized her up, as if confirming something, then carried the clothes to the cramped bathroom connected to the balcony.

About a minute later.

She returned and sat down beside Tang Yao, looking at her again. "How was your day?"

Her voice was ethereal.

Just a bit cold.

"It was okay."

Tang Yao was used to it. She leaned back against the sofa, gazing at the light fixture above. "Just a bit troublesome with work."

"...Oh."

Tang Xun's tense, pretty face seemed to relax as she withdrew her gaze. "That's good. I thought you were going to say something nonsensical like you did a week ago, about dreaming."

"..."

Tang Yao's delicate body stiffened at the words.

To be honest.

When she first arrived, she was indeed very excited... If it weren't for the young woman in front of her, she might not have been able to get out.

After all, the situation was too strange.

"Right, I consulted a doctor. Your condition is due to excessive stress."

At this moment.

The young woman's cool voice sounded again. "If you feel tired, don't mind me. I'll go to work after I graduate from high school."

"It has nothing to do with stress."

Tang Yao snapped back to reality, looked at the ceiling, and let out a cute, languid yawn. "You just focus on your studies. Don't worry about the money."

"No."

"Yes."

"..."

Tang Xun glanced at her sister's profile, then took out her phone, ignoring her sister.

Clearly, she didn't agree with her sister's words and was silently protesting.

Tang Yao thought for a moment and said nothing more, simply staring at the ceiling, relieving her stress while pondering what she should do next.

Anyway, having money would dispel her sister's worries.

The two sisters sat there quietly.

This was considered a rare moment of relaxation for Tang Yao.

Because no one would disturb them.

As for the sisters' parents.

Well, they weren't dead.

But they were practically the same as dead.

After divorcing, their father never visited the two sisters again. As for their mother... perhaps because she felt raising two daughters was too tiring, or perhaps because the place she remarried to had severe patriarchal customs.

In short.

She chose to abandon the two sisters and remarry... and then vanished from the face of the earth.

A cliché and sad story.

However, although Tang Yao inherited the original body's memories, she couldn't empathize. She just felt their parents were trash.

"Go take a bath. Dinner should be ready soon."

Tang Xun's voice sounded again, interrupting Tang Yao's thoughts.

She stood up, put away her phone. "The clean clothes are on the bed."

With that said.

She went to the balcony on her own and turned on the light.

"Okay~"

Tang Yao temporarily put aside work matters, ran into the room, grabbed her clothes, and hesitantly walked into the bathroom.

More than ten minutes later.

Bathroom.

Steamy water vapor rose. Because the space was small, everything appeared hazy, but within the haze, one could still see the fair, smooth skin that was as lustrous as milk fat.

Tang Yao wiped away the water droplets and went to the mirror. She gently wiped away the fog on the mirror and then looked at her blurry reflection, feeling a bit lifeless.

As expected.

Humans' ability to adapt was truly strong.

Too strong.

She could even get used to this.

All one could say was that there was truly no hurdle that couldn't be overcome.

As she thought this, she took off the towel that was barely covering her graceful curves and proud female features. Her face flushed slightly as she lifted the heavy, firm breasts and quickly got dressed, then walked out of the bathroom.

The steam surged out as the door opened, appearing ambiguous in the light.

Entering the living room.

Tang Xun had already brought the food to the table. It was simple.

Scrambled eggs with green peppers, and a pot of braised pork.

Tang Xun saw her older sister come out, put down her phone, and picked up a bowl. Before serving rice, she looked Tang Yao up and down, her hair still wet, her gaze finally settling on her chest. "Doesn't it feel uncomfortable? There's no one else here."

"Mind your own business."

Tang Yao's face flushed slightly as she went to sit on the sofa.

Tang Xun lowered her head to serve rice. "Besides, you don't have to wash your hair every time. Don't you find it troublesome?"

"I can't not wash it."

"I don't understand."

"Just think of it as my quirk."

"It really is too much pressure."

"Stop. I don't want my quirk to lead into the topic of whether you're going to school or not."

"..."

Tang Xun stopped talking and simply served two bowls of rice.

The two ate in silence.

Tang Xun cleaned up the aftermath, then carried the bowls and plates back to the balcony.

Meanwhile, Tang Yao smoothed her wet, long hair. After a moment of hesitation, she stood up and walked into the room the two sisters shared.

After eating, if she didn't do anything, she would immediately feel sleepy.

After all, she was quite lazy.

The sisters' room was indeed very small.

However, because it had bunk beds, they could still fit a desk. That single computer desk facing the bed held not only a laptop but also a large pile of manga magazines, and of course... drawing paper and pencils of various types.

Tang Yao pulled out a chair and sat down. She pushed the manga magazines aside to her feet, then picked up a sheet of drawing paper and fell into thought.

Her current situation was that she had definitely resigned, but she still needed to stick around for a while...

But as Li Xue had said, that editor-in-chief who was just coasting along would turn into a demon when his own interests were involved. So, to get through this period without much pressure, she still needed to solve some problems.

She had tried her best with both Teacher Ou and Teacher Shao.

Since they chose to court disaster themselves.

Tang Yao wouldn't bother with them anymore and would let them do as they pleased.

Although this still put a lot of pressure on her, especially since the next issue featuring Teacher Ou would surely bring about a storm...

But they knew what kind of people they were, the entire Editorial Department knew. Otherwise, they wouldn't have assigned them to her.

Overall, she could handle it.

But adding the manga award issue to this made things more troublesome.

Because it would make her look like she couldn't accomplish anything.

She might actually get fired...

So, at the very least, she needed to resolve one of these issues.

She couldn't do anything about Teacher Ou, nor did she want to.

Therefore, all she could do now was deal with the manga award situation.

And the solutions... there were only two: either try her luck again with the manga artist who 'promised' to provide submissions, or find an equivalent manga artist to submit to.

But Tang Yao didn't want to try either of these options.

Why?

She was too lazy to put up with the hassle.

So she chose a third option—to draw it herself.

Yes.

When she told Li Xue she would try, she wasn't trying to find a replacement, but rather trying to draw it herself.

After all... she was a manga artist in her previous life.

Even though she absolutely didn't want to draw.