An Eye for an Eye, Tenfold Repayment!

"Do you have any idea how much effort I put into getting a manga artist like that to contribute? I spent countless favors and got drunk enough to throw up several times just to bring in a big name! You couldn't even maintain the relationship! What kind of editor are you?"

"With all due respect, I don't know what you mean by maintaining a relationship. I've done everything from the initial visits to providing support whenever he needed it."

"Then why did he breach the agreement? Because you didn't work hard enough! If regular visits weren't working and you could tell he was getting impatient, you should've brought him some liquor and gone to see him. You should've buttered him up! It's your job to maintain the relationship! If you don't even have that kind of dedication, why are you here?"

"I can't do that. I'm an editor, not a hostess."

"Then what use are you to me? You can't do anything right! What good is that pretty face of yours?"

"Are you sure you want to keep going?"

Just as expected.

Tang Yao had caught Editor Ding completely off guard.

But the editor-in-chief quickly recovered. First, he looked incredulous; then his face flushed red. Finally, he completely lost it, pounding the desk and roaring.

The entire Editorial Department fell silent.

Kang Ming, standing not far away, watched Tang Yao stand up to Editor Ding and trembled with fear.

He'd been cooped up at home for a while.

For him, this scene was far too intense.

All he felt now was regret—deep regret.

If only he'd run away yesterday...

On the other hand, Editor Ding's agitation also showed just how important the upcoming Manga Award was.

Although this editor-in-chief could only deal with the editors, the publishing house as a whole was clearly more capable. They'd already started trying to embrace the internet.

Unlike the regular newcomer awards, the works for this Manga Award would be judged internally and posted online for readers to view for free. Online readers would also get a vote. The main goal was to promote the website. Otherwise, they wouldn't have invited an established manga artist to contribute.

That was right.

It wasn't as if nobody at Wenxin Hall had noticed the internet's recent rise. They'd begun hedging their bets. Traditional Print Media remained their focus, but they'd set up a Manga Award especially for the website they were about to launch. It was clear that, internally, they took new media fairly seriously.

The manga artist surnamed Tang, whom Tang Yao was responsible for, was evidently there to guarantee a baseline level of quality. After all, relying on beginners alone to draw an audience to the website wouldn't attract many people... not compared to accomplished, well-known manga artists, at least.

But that manga artist surnamed Tang had bailed... There were plenty of replacements, and the Editorial Department hadn't contacted only one big name. Still, it would undoubtedly have an impact. That was why Editor Ding was so angry.

But Tang Yao had a clear conscience.

She had done her best to maintain the relationship. Whatever kind of story he wanted to draw, she'd helped him gather reference materials. Anything she could handle, she'd promised to take care of. She'd called him every other day... She'd done everything she could.

But she still hadn't seen a single page of his work. Instead, Teacher Tang had suddenly invited her over to discuss things at night two days ago.

Tang Yao didn't know what he wanted to discuss, and she wasn't interested.

She'd simply turned him down.

It wasn't that she was afraid of danger. She was just afraid she wouldn't be able to hold herself back, and would end up in prison the next day for beating a famous manga artist into paralysis.

As for what happened after she refused, when she visited again yesterday, he'd said he had too much work.

Tang Yao didn't know whether the editor-in-chief in front of her knew what Teacher Tang was like. It didn't matter. If he knew, then he knew how awful the man was; if he didn't, then his words just now proved he was awful too.

Besides, she already had a replacement and had done everything required of her.

She had every reason to push back.

At that moment.

She narrowed her eyes and stared at Editor Ding, asking coldly, "Editor-in-chief, are you sure you want to keep going?"

"...Get back to work! If you can't get Shao Changqing's manuscript back, you're fired."

Ding Yilong opened his mouth, but when he noticed Tang Yao's icy gaze, he didn't dare say anything more. Instead, in a fit of humiliation and anger, he turned back to the issue of Shao Changqing.

After all, if he kept going, it might count as harassing a subordinate.

That was no small accusation if it got out.

Of course.

He might have stopped talking.

But as he looked at the pretty girl in front of him, who clearly had no respect for him, the anger in his heart only grew.

After all, what could make a superior angrier than having a subordinate defy him? So, while Tang Yao was still there, he added, "That work by the third-rate manga artist you said had so much talent..."

"He may be an obscure manga artist, but his work is good. I'll bring it over later. I'm sure it won't disappoint you. If it does, you can bring it up then.

I need to get back to work."

Tang Yao didn't wait for him to finish. She cut him off, replied, then turned and left.

She'd already presented her plan. Whether the manga artist was third-rate wasn't for him to decide.

She couldn't be bothered to waste any more time.

But her attitude only made Ding Yilong angrier.

His authority had been challenged again and again.

As he watched Tang Yao walk away, the dark, unspeakable thoughts in his mind began to pour out.

Only after Tang Yao sat back down did he take a deep breath. "You over there! Your name's Kang Ming, right?"

Kang Ming straightened up at once. "Yes."

Meanwhile.

Tang Yao heard the roar start up again. She felt a little sorry that Kang Ming had been caught in the crossfire, but she had no time to worry about it. She got straight back to work.

Teacher Ou still hadn't changed the panel layout.

He was still going to kill off the protagonist, and the finished draft had already been sent over.

Tang Yao had given up. What was done was done... She looked at the awful story, resisted the urge to tear it up, and started working on the panel-layout specifications.

The panel-layout specifications were essentially an instruction sheet. They indicated the font size, specified the typeface, and so on, for the printers to use later. They also included the AORI—the promotional tagline, meaning the teaser at the end of each chapter... A common format was something like, "[Next time, a great adventure begins.]"

Though Tang Yao couldn't understand Teacher Ou's thinking at all, she still did the work she was supposed to do, and soon became absorbed in it.

Until.

The chair at the neighboring workstation slid back.

"Um... thanks for yesterday."

Tang Yao turned and saw Kang Ming, whom she'd met briefly yesterday.

He was sweating all over, his face showing an expression that might have been regret or relief at having escaped disaster. Even when he spoke to her, he was cautious.

He looked old enough to be a generation above Tang Yao, yet seemed a little afraid of her.

"Your getting hired had nothing to do with me. I just did what I was supposed to. But do you regret it?"

Tang Yao tidied up the original pages on her desk and glanced over at him.

"..."

Kang Ming was sweating even more, but didn't answer.

Tang Yao didn't press him. She just smiled.

"By the way..."

Kang Ming was a little dazed by Tang Yao's lovely profile as she smiled... especially after remembering how she'd just stood her ground against Editor Ding. He was even more dazed now.

After hesitating for a while, he finally asked cautiously, "Aren't you afraid of offending the editor-in-chief?"

"..."

Tang Yao paused, then turned to him and asked in return, "You haven't worked in a long time, have you?"

Kang Ming flushed with embarrassment. "That's right... I had some health problems, and finding a job has been hard lately."

"Then it makes sense you'd ask. You have to understand, even if I'd been meek just now and kept lowering my head, I still would've been chewed out. Nothing would've changed. If anything, suppressing myself too much would've caused serious mental health problems."

Tang Yao nodded in understanding. As she organized the original pages, she explained, "Keeping your head down won't solve anything. At best, you'll get some cheap sympathy. You're the only one who ends up miserable.

And if you keep suppressing yourself, you'll gradually lose confidence and start thinking everything is your fault, even when it's someone else's.

Human beings are strange. They have a kind side—for example, they instinctively feel pity when they see someone weak. But they also have a cruel side. When they see someone weak, they can't help but... keep pushing them around.

What kind of person do you think our editor-in-chief is?"

"Uh..."

"I think he's the latter. If I act submissively—especially when I'm in the right—it won't improve my situation. It might even make things worse. Being timid will only encourage him to go further. At least, that's how I see it."

Tang Yao set the original pages down, moved her chair around, and turned to face the bald man. With a smile, she said, "Once you've worked for a while, it's easy to figure out who in the department can do the job, who's cunning, who's slacking off, and who's a good-for-nothing bastard... Once you know that, there are plenty of choices and plenty of paths to take.

But unfortunately, most of them don't suit me. My current position is a little complicated, and I don't really want to rely on other people.

So—"

Tang Yao's expression suddenly turned serious. "I have no choice but to take a more troublesome path. That is... an eye for an eye, tenfold repayment!"

Kang Ming: "..."

He watched Tang Yao play the part of Naoki Hanzawa and felt nothing but respect for her.

"I'm kidding. It's not really that dramatic."

Seeing his expression, Tang Yao couldn't keep the act up and burst out laughing. Then she glanced around and lowered her voice. "I'm just doing my job, meeting my responsibilities, and staying appropriately assertive.

Take Shao Changqing and Ou Congquan, for instance. I've done my part and told my superior about the problems I can't change. The decision isn't mine anymore.

And for the Manga Award manuscript, I found an excellent replacement. I've done what I was supposed to there too.

In a situation like this, there's no reason for me to be a punching bag."

"But the problem is..."

Kang Ming came around. He glanced at the original pages on his desk but didn't continue.

The meaning was obvious... There was a price for standing your ground.

But before he could finish.

Tang Yao stretched a little and smiled brightly. "Then solve the problem."

"..."

Kang Ming stared at the girl with her fair face and two faint dimples, momentarily lost.

At that moment.

Despite the age gap between them.

He felt that this younger girl was... far more capable than he was.

"Good luck."

Tang Yao didn't say anything more. She'd only said so much just now to make up for dragging him into the crossfire.

After all, she didn't want this unlucky guy, who'd already been to over twenty interviews, to come away with a psychological scar.

Once she felt she'd done enough.

Tang Yao left him with one last "Good luck," then turned her chair back around and prepared to finish up before heading out.

At the same time.

The phone on Kang Ming's desk buzzed. He picked it up and took a look. He immediately snapped out of his daze, then clicked his tongue softly and muttered to himself, "Come on, having a free game to play is already great..."

Tang Yao thought he was talking to her and turned her head again, puzzled. "Hm?"

"Ah, I wasn't talking to you. I meant this."

Kang Ming came back to himself, turned toward Tang Yao, and held up his phone to explain. "Before I started this job, I made an online platform for playing board games against each other. It was originally just for my friends, but I haven't maintained it much lately, and the users have started complaining. My friend asked me to take care of it, but I can barely make ends meet as it is. How am I supposed to find the time..."

"Oh?"

Tang Yao was slightly taken aback. Then she tilted her head, looking interested.