Starting as a Manga Editor

Tang Yao actually knew her current mental state was a bit strange.

But... it was really hard to change.

You could even say it was unsolvable.

Because a person’s will greatly affects their behavior, and the will is inevitably influenced by the subconscious.

Take a slightly off-topic example: when people see a "Please Keep Quiet" sign in a public place, most will decide whether to obey based on their past experiences and formed values, worldviews, and life philosophies. Some will instinctively lower their voices upon seeing the sign, while others will continue to do as they please.

Even if deep down they know it’s wrong, feelings, emotions, values, beliefs, and ideas shaped over time will unconsciously influence a person’s will—and thus their actions.

That's why they say, "a leopard can’t change its spots."

Tang Yao’s situation was even more special... because her consciousness was the fusion of two selves.

Most of the time, especially when it came to work, she could avoid being affected by the other self.

But when she was around Miss Li, or just at home, it was a different story.

The biggest influence hit when she was at home—

because as long as Xun was nearby, Tang Yao, for the most part, was just Tang Yao...

a Tang Yao with a plugin brain and some odd, persistent habits.

In fact... as time passed, Tang Yao would only become more and more like Tang Yao.

She wouldn’t forget her past life’s memories, but her sense of her old gender would gradually blur.

And the process was irreversible.

Because despite the huge differences, both selves shared one consensus:

You must act in a way that matches your current identity. For example, even if Tang Yao really admired Kang Ming, she would never casually throw an arm over his shoulders, or even imagine doing so—because both the old and current Tang Yao believed that kind of behavior was wrong.

Her identity wasn’t suited for that, and it would be completely inappropriate.

Since she had decided to accept her new identity, even if she still thought of herself as a "macho man" deep down, her old-world common sense would tell her that such behavior wasn’t bold—it was just degrading.

On the other hand, when it came to Tang Xun and Li Xue,

hugging or cuddling them—even if she still felt like a macho man inside—didn't seem inappropriate, maybe just a little embarrassing.

That was her reality now.

Unless Tang Yao immediately switched to a different body,

this slow but inevitable transformation—the original self gradually "corroding" the transmigrated self—would continue.

Still... it wasn't really a bad thing.

Since she had no chance of going back anyway, getting used to it early could actually be a good thing.

However, just because it wasn’t a bad thing didn’t mean there weren’t downsides.

Like right now.

Tang Yao clearly knew that Shang Tao’s stunt had been a huge boon to her plans—a complete win.

And her name appearing on the site? So what? Nobody else knew who she was.

No big deal, really.

But from Tang Yao’s perspective, she still felt unbearably embarrassed—because it was her name up there...

recommending her own works.

Even though others didn’t know, for someone as thin-skinned as her, it was mortifying.

Honestly...

just seeing the words "heartfelt recommendation" made her want to crawl into a hole.

"Even if they hadn't attached my name, it would’ve been better..."

Tang Yao shifted a little, pressing her burning face against Tang Xun’s fair, slender thighs, inhaling the faint scent from her body as she muttered.

Tang Xun brushed aside the hair covering her sister’s face and asked:

"...What happened?"

Just a moment ago, the two sisters had simply been sitting together.

But then Tang Yao, while staring at her phone, suddenly let out a wail—then flopped face-first onto Tang Xun’s lap...

In truth,

Tang Xun still had no idea what had happened.

“……”

Hearing her question, Tang Yao flipped over to lie on her back, trying to look at her sister’s face.

But at that moment,

she finally understood why Frieren, when resting her head on someone’s lap, could only see half the sky.

Tang Yao could only see half the ceiling, and blindly handed her phone to Tang Xun.

Tang Xun took it, and gently propped her sister further onto her lap...

The sofa at home wasn’t that big, and with Tang Yao’s head resting on her thighs, she was genuinely worried that if Tang Yao squirmed too much, she’d fall and roll onto the floor.

As for making her sister sit up... Tang Xun never even considered it.

“……”

After making sure Tang Yao was steady, Tang Xun finally looked at the phone.

Of course, Wenxin Press’s site didn’t have a mobile version yet. They hadn't even figured out the desktop one…

Tang Yao had opened the website in her browser—reading manga like that was a nightmare, because the text wasn’t mobile-optimized and was tiny as hell.

But browsing the site in general wasn’t a problem.

And very quickly,

Tang Xun figured out why her sister had cried out earlier.

Because she saw it too—the "Heartfelt Recommendation! Works managed by Manga Editor Tang Yao!" section.

And under that category... the two mangas Tang Xun had already read, even before most readers.

However…

Tang Xun leaned forward slightly, looking down at her sister lying in her lap.

Tang Yao was staring up at the ceiling, noticing her sister’s gaze:

"Xun, now you understand what happened, right?"

“……”

Tang Xun lightly gripped the phone, not replying immediately. Instead, she glanced back at the screen, at the special category set apart on the site, and remembered the sight of Tang Yao hunched over her desk, working herself to exhaustion just days ago… her eyelashes fluttered.

It wasn’t just the drawing…

Even at work, she pushed herself that hard?

Tang Yao found it odd:

"Hmm?"

"Nothing."

After a long silence, Tang Xun finally tapped into the "Fate/Zero" info page and tried to skim through it despite the ridiculously tiny text.

And then, when she saw the author's name—

Tang Xun looked back at her sister and asked:

"...Why is the author listed as 'Third-Rate Artist'?"

"...Pen name."

Tang Yao didn’t know how to explain it properly, so she just said:

"I’m the editor. My real name is already attached to it… Honestly, whether it’s listed or not, the author can’t publicly be me. Otherwise, there would be tons of unexpected headaches later."

Tang Xun said softly:

"But that’s not fair."

"Fairness...

Xun, I never planned on becoming famous anyway. Honestly, it’s already troublesome enough that my real name showed up on the site."

Tang Yao stared up at half the ceiling, sounding a little helpless:

"I’m already wondering if, when readers can’t find 'Third-Rate Artist,' they’ll come after me instead."

“……”

"...What’s wrong?"

Tang Yao noticed Tang Xun had fallen silent again. She shifted a little to look at her face, then teased:

"Feeling bad for your big sister?"

"A little."

Tang Xun nodded slightly, then slid her finger across the screen, opening the comment section.

She couldn’t read the manga easily, but the comment section, which was mostly text, was still viewable.

Currently, the number of comments was approaching 30,000.

"Holy sh*t, genius! Is this a divine battle royale!? Hell yeah!!"

"This is so good! Such insane talent! You can draw crazy stuff like 'Human Head Balloon,' and then turn around and do such an amazing classic manga!"

"This manga’s the best! I only came for the laughs at first, but after reading this, nothing else from the Manga Award submissions even compares. After finishing 'Fate/Zero,' I went to check out the others thinking they'd be just as fun, but after one or two, I lost interest completely.

The gap is just too big. Even compared to the crazy 'Human Head Balloon,' the others are way less fun. Lame."

"No kidding, this setup is just way too fascinating! The author's incredible!"

"Serialization! Serialization! It’s urgent! Teacher! When’s the next chapter coming!? Please update!"

"Teacher! Please continue! I’ve never read a manga like this before! Please update! I’ll do anything you ask!"

The readers genuinely loved this manga—the comment section was flooded with praise and desperate pleas for more chapters.

Tang Xun, reading those comments praising the author—praising her sister—pressed her pink lips together tightly, and for a moment, a faint smile appeared on her pale, delicate face.

"Hmm?"

Tang Yao blinked in surprise.

But Tang Xun’s smile faded almost instantly.

She quietly handed the phone back to Tang Yao:

"Call."

"Call?"

Tang Yao’s attention shifted as she took the phone and glanced at it—

It was Li Xue calling.

She answered immediately.

And as soon as the call connected—

Li Xue’s excited voice came through, just like the first time she finished reading "Human Head Balloon" —

so excited you could picture her bouncing through the phone:

"Tang Yao! Have you seen the site? 100,000 readers are online demanding the next chapter! One hundred thousand!

Are you really not planning to draw manga!? Really not!?"