Rushing to Take the Blame

Ding Yilong looked at the resignation form Tang Yao handed him, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

But he quickly realized what was happening. He jerked his head up and glared at Tang Yao, enraged. "You want to take Third-rate Teacher and jump ship!? You..."

"No."

Tang Yao slowly stood up.

This time, she paid no attention at all to the gazes directed her way. Instead, she said calmly, "I won't take this manga artist with me when I leave. After all, just as you said, I'm an incompetent editor, so the fact that a work I took a liking to has reached this point is purely an accident. I also don't want my inferior skills and inexplicable confidence to ruin a manga artist.

"So, I won't be responsible for Third-rate Teacher's work anymore, and I won't be going to another magazine either."

Ding Yilong's anger faltered.

It wasn't only because Tang Yao had said those things.

It was also because... those were the very words he had used to mock Tang Yao back then.

He couldn't exactly say they were identical. It was more accurate to say she had repeated them word for word.

For a moment,

Ding Yilong felt ashamed, humiliated, and furious all at once.

Revenge. This had to be revenge!

But just as that thought arose,

"As for Third-rate Teacher... he seems to have become utterly disappointed in the Editorial Department, and utterly disappointed in me as his editor."

Tang Yao continued, "So I won't be an editor anymore, and Fate/Zero won't be serialized in any magazine either... Third-rate Teacher has already decided to serialize the work for free online."

"...Bullshit!"

Ding Yilong froze when he heard this. The complex mix of shame, humiliation, and fury was swiftly replaced by shock.

His eyes slowly widened like bells. "You think a manga artist would do that? Serialize it for free? Who do you think you can fool with that kind of talk!? ...I get it. You're mocking me again, aren't you? Have you had enough? Yes! You got lucky and found a decent manga artist. So what? Do you really think you can use a single work to control me?

"You really think that just because you discovered a work that got off to a good start, without knowing how it will develop, and merely happened to gain a little popularity, you can look down on everyone?

"Who knows whether Fate/Zero can survive five rounds of the death spiral! Who are you trying to fool with this act?"

"..."

Tang Yao couldn't be bothered to deal with him. When she saw that he wasn't accepting the resignation form, she simply placed it on the desk and turned to leave.

She hated this man.

She found him repulsive both psychologically and physically and didn't want to stay here anymore.

She could accept an editor-in-chief who wasn't capable enough. After all, being better at administrative work wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

But she couldn't accept someone who was not only incompetent,

but also lacked self-awareness, and was selfish and arrogant.

This man... truly radiated a nauseating aura from the inside out at all times!

"Using this excuse to get revenge, are you? You really think I have no way to deal with you!? You really think you can force me out? Let me tell you! Even if I have to kneel and apologize to the president, I'll still drag this out until Fate/Zero's popularity fades. I'll drag it out until you want to serialize it but can't!"

Seeing Tang Yao leave without a care,

completely ignoring him,

Ding Yilong's face twisted as he lost control. "Even if it manages to continue serialization... I can still stop it from reaching the sixth installment! I want to see how you'll explain that to the manga artist!"

"..."

Kang Ming heard this and slowly turned to look at Ding Yilong... To be honest, he was completely convinced.

This man really was... a purebred scumbag and idiot!

Elsewhere,

Tang Yao stopped when she heard that, then turned around.

Seeing this, Ding Yilong thought she had given in. The twisted expression faded from his face, and he looked at Tang Yao with faint arrogance.

Tang Yao stood not far away, staring at Ding Yilong as if he were garbage. She suddenly asked, "Do you know... why that Third-rate Painter gave up the chance to serialize his work in a magazine?"

Ding Yilong still seemed not to realize anything. He answered directly, "Why? Don't ask a question you already know the answer to!"

"Don't ask a question you already know the answer to?"

Tang Yao nodded. Her face was expressionless as she said, "Fine, then I'll ask a different question—when was the last time you read a manga as the editor-in-chief of the Editorial Department? Aside from knowing that Fate/Zero is popular, have you even read it? Do you know what the manga is actually about?"

Ding Yilong tugged at the corner of his mouth, and the arrogance on his face became even more pronounced. "What? You're too proud to lower your head and apologize, so now you're trying to brag to me about how good this manga is? Does it matter whether I read it?"

"...Does it matter?"

Tang Yao took a deep breath. Mockery slowly appeared on her fair face. "How ridiculous. As the editor-in-chief of the Editorial Department, do you even know what you're saying?

"You haven't even read the manga, yet you want it serialized in a magazine? And—"

At this point,

she paused. After sweeping her gaze around the room, she continued, "In front of the entire editorial office, because of a personal grudge, you said that even if the manga could be serialized... you could stop it from reaching the sixth installment. You're truly something, Editor-in-Chief. Tell me, after this, which manga artists would dare submit their work to the Editorial Department? Even if they did submit, who would still trust the Editorial Department? Who would still trust its editors?"

"You just said... no manga artist would ever make a hit work available for free serialization."

"But think about the face you just showed. Is it really impossible?"

"..."

After hearing Tang Yao's words,

Ding Yilong finally understood. The arrogance on his face froze, and he abruptly swept his gaze around the room.

...Every editor in the Editorial Department was looking this way. More precisely, they were all looking at him.

Because of the distance,

he couldn't clearly make out what they were feeling.

But Kang Ming, who was closest... Ding Yilong could see his expression perfectly clearly.

His eyes were filled with undisguised disgust.

"Heh."

When he noticed Ding Yilong looking over,

Kang Ming spat on the floor without the slightest concern for propriety, then turned around, pulled out a form, and began filling it in.

"...That's not what I meant."

Ding Yilong swallowed. Although he still hadn't fully understood the implications, he had vaguely realized that something was wrong.

He immediately raised his voice and began explaining. "I only..."

But he had barely begun

when he got stuck.

A leopard couldn't change its spots.

Nor could anyone expect a selfish, arrogant, and conceited person to immediately realize what was wrong with the things he had said.

"Only what?"

Not far away,

Tang Yao saw Ding Yilong's flustered attempt to explain himself despite not knowing what he had done wrong, and found it deeply ironic. "An editor-in-chief who doesn't even read manga. An editor-in-chief who only sees that something is popular, doesn't look at its content, and intends to serialize it. An editor-in-chief who can say, 'I can stop it from being serialized'... You still have the nerve to ask how a manga artist could possibly serialize a work for free?"

Ding Yilong swallowed again. The sense that something was wrong grew stronger and stronger.

"Kneel and apologize to the president? Drag it out until the popularity fades?"

Just as Ding Yilong became increasingly uneasy,

Tang Yao's voice rang out again, cold as ice. "See if you can drag things out until tomorrow! You want me to wait for death? ...Get fired first, then talk about whether you can find another job, you arrogant moron!"

With that,

she swished her ponytail and turned to leave.

What an idiot, rushing to take the blame.

"..."

Ding Yilong watched Tang Yao's retreating back. The arrogance had vanished from his face without a trace... In its place was panic.

His right arm began trembling more and more violently.

Because he had finally realized something...

Given Fate/Zero's current popularity, if it really was serialized online for free, the entire manga magazine industry would be shocked!

After all, Fate/Zero was genuinely extremely popular right now! Readers were genuinely looking forward to it!

And the main reason no one had contacted Tang Yao or inquired about that Third-rate Painter was that the manga had made its debut at the Manga Award hosted by Wenxin Hall.

Almost everyone had assumed that the manga would be serialized in a magazine under Wenxin Hall. Weren't readers all asking when Wenxin Hall would begin serialization?

But if the manga wasn't serialized in a magazine under Wenxin Hall,

and his words from just now spread...

The fat on Ding Yilong's body suddenly quivered. Looking at Tang Yao, who was about to disappear, he panicked.

Because if something like this happened,

setting aside whether he could remain at Wenxin Hall, even if he really was fired, he could forget about finding work in the field!

Once the other magazines heard about his "glorious record," they would immediately tell him to get lost... He wouldn't even be able to work as an ordinary editor!

This was no longer as simple as being fired. He would have no way out at all.

Thinking of this,

he hurriedly started after Tang Yao.

"Wait! You wait right there!! That manga absolutely cannot be serialized for free..."

Bang—

But just as he took a step, Kang Ming suddenly rose and slammed into him.

Ding Yilong staggered from the impact and was forced to stop.

He immediately turned toward Kang Ming, his face fierce. "What are you doing!?"

"Resignation."

Kang Ming picked up the resignation form he had just filled out, then also picked up the one Tang Yao had left on the desk and handed both to Ding Yilong. He said coldly, "I'm resigning too."

When Ding Yilong heard this, he looked at Kang Ming, then at the resignation forms in his hand. He exploded, "We'll talk about that later! Can't you see I—"

But before he could finish,

Kang Ming stepped forward, grabbed him by the collar, and yanked him closer. "Can't you see what?"

Seeing that Kang Ming looked ready to hit him, Ding Yilong's anger instantly vanished, and his words faltered.

His appearance—tough on the outside but weak within—was especially laughable.