Starting as a Manga Editor

Chapter 173: Huh?

“Me? Why would I need a year-end bonus?”Li Xue was stunned for a moment, then shook her head lightly. “I’ve been so busy I haven’t even had time to buy anything. Even if you gave me money, I’d just stash it away. And don’t think I don’t know—you went behind my back and specifically instructed them to give me a share of the annual profits based on equity… Do you even realize how much profit Avalon made this year? And you’re giving me a share of that…”

As a shareholder of Avalon,Of course Tang Yao wouldn’t forget Li Xue.

In fact,After this New Year,Li Xue would officially become a rich woman!

“You earned it,”Tang Yao said with a soft chuckle. “What, you’re not happy to be given money?”

“I just think it’s unnecessary.”Li Xue replied offhandedly, “Rather than give me that much money… how about explaining to me why you ran off yesterday?! What the hell did you mean by ‘guess’!?”

“Uh…”Tang Yao’s expression stiffened. She hadn’t expected Li Xue to be lying in wait for this, so she quickly tried to change the subject: “Hey, why don’t you go talk to Cai Quan about the Rin Tohsaka account right now?”

“So you were doing it on purpose, huh?”Li Xue scooted her chair closer and cupped Tang Yao’s soft cheeks with both hands.

Tang Yao fell silent for a moment, then whispered, “Take a wild guess?”

“!!!”Li Xue was instantly ticked off. She squished Tang Yao’s face hard, glaring playfully at her.

But for a second, she didn’t know how to retaliate. She was completely stuck. “….”Tang Yao saw her all tangled up and couldn’t help but laugh. “Miss Li, if you really don’t know what to do… maybe just spare me this once?”

“Don’t even think about it! You better tell me why Makima died! What happens next in the story?”Li Xue shot her a glare. “Or else…”

Tang Yao cut in, “Or else what?”

“….”Li Xue fell silent again.

She realized she really couldn’t do anything to Tang Yao.Her so-called revenge basically amounted to squishing her face—not exactly threatening. If anything, it felt more like rewarding herself.

After all, Tang Yao’s cheeks were so soft. They felt great in her hands…She couldn’t just hit her, right?

With that thought,Li Xue looked at the slender, neatly seated girl in front of her.Yeah, that really wouldn’t be appropriate.

Seems like she truly had no way to deal with her.

Tang Yao saw Li Xue’s conflicted expression and couldn’t hold back a giggle.Big sister really is too cute—she even has to struggle this much to figure out how to "punish" someone.

“….”Li Xue caught sight of the playful smile on Tang Yao’s pale face and instantly guessed what she was thinking. She gave her a small glare.

And that only made Tang Yao’s smile even more radiant.

Li Xue was actually getting mad now.

She bit her glossy red lip, then made up her mind. No more holding back—She stood up.

Tang Yao blinked, caught off guard by the sudden movement.

Then—Li Xue straddled her, sitting directly on her lap, facing her. Her cheeks were tinged with red, and she gritted her teeth. “Or else I’m not getting off your lap!”

“…?”Tang Yao felt the weight on her legs and froze, her breath catching slightly. She hadn’t expected this kind of revenge.

On the other side,Li Xue, seemingly determined to make a statement, leaned in closer and wrapped her arms around Tang Yao’s slender waist, pulling them fully into an embrace. Her dewy red lips were nearly brushing Tang Yao’s nose.

The warmth of her body radiated through their clothes, their breath mingling in the narrow space.

They were so close, you could count each other’s eyelashes.

Tang Yao finally came to her senses and blurted out, “I’m sorry! I’ll tell you right now! I’ll explain the upcoming manga plot—just get off! We’re at the office!”

“….”Li Xue froze. It was like she’d just remembered that tiny detail. She jumped up like she’d been shocked, quickly returning to her seat and pretending nothing had happened.

But the flush on the tips of her ears gave her away.

“What are you doing?”Tang Yao glanced around, cheeks slightly red. When she saw no one had noticed, she relaxed a bit and looked at Li Xue, half exasperated and half amused.

“Revenge…”

“That counts as revenge? Who even does that?”

“I’m heavy…”

“You’ve got a point there…”

“!”Li Xue gave Tang Yao a wounded look.

Noticing her expression, Tang Yao boldly said, “You said it yourself. And to be honest…”

She paused, casting a sidelong glance at the round, perky curve where Li Xue’s backside had met the chair.Her thighs weren’t made of steel… and that was a lot…

Though she didn’t say it out loud, Li Xue easily picked up on her gaze and guessed what she meant. Her face flushed pink as she snapped back, “Yours is the same!!!”

“Bulls**t!”

“It’s just like mine!”

“That’s slander.”

“Then sit on my lap and I’ll prove it.”Li Xue stared at the stubborn Tang Yao, clearly not satisfied.

“….”Tang Yao blinked at her, then slowly looked down at those long, shapely legs pressed neatly together. Honestly… she was a little curious.

But—“Miss Li, do you think I’m that dumb?”

“….”Hearing that,Li Xue looked into Tang Yao’s beautiful peach blossom eyes, and it was as if she instantly understood what was going on… her expression turned a little unnatural.

Her lips parted like she wanted to say something.

“Let’s change the subject.”Tang Yao beat her to it. “So childish… What are your plans for the New Year?”

The holiday was just two days away.

“Mm… I’m going home for New Year’s.”Li Xue forced herself to suppress the flustered feelings inside. “You and your sister are staying here?”

“Of course.”Tang Yao nodded. “It’s always just been the two of us. We don’t really have any attachment to our hometown.”

Li Xue heard that and pushed all her complicated thoughts aside, looking at Tang Yao with a trace of heartache. “Then I won’t be able to keep you company…”

“It’s fine. Not like it’s the first New Year,”Tang Yao said lightly. “Take the chance to rest while you can. Next year’s going to be even busier.”

Noticing the look in Li Xue’s eyes, Tang Yao smiled. “I’ll be counting on you again next year.”

Li Xue didn’t reply right away. After a moment of silence, she said, “I’ll come back early… Want me to bring you any local specialties?”

She didn’t want to leave all of this to next year.

“Forget it. I’m not into that stuff. I’d rather tell you about what happens next in Chainsaw Man,”Tang Yao tilted her pale chin slightly and thought for a moment. Then she shook her head. “Wouldn’t want you getting dramatic again and jumping on my lap. I don’t think I can return the favor…”

“….”Li Xue saw Tang Yao had circled the conversation right back around and pressed her glossy lips together, her eyes dimming slightly.

Someone as sharp as Tang YaoMust’ve seen right through her feelings, right?So… what does she think of me?

“Wanna hear it?”Tang Yao reached out a fair, delicate hand.

Li Xue blinked, then smiled softly. “Of course I do. Makima’s sudden death already has the readers going wild. If I don’t know what happens next, I won’t be able to enjoy New Year’s at all.”

She scooted her chair a little closer to Tang Yao.

Everything looked normal.Except that her palm felt a bit more damp than usual.

“…Who even does something like that in public.”Tang Yao muttered under her breath, sensing it. “Only you would. If you wanted to sit, at least wait till no one’s around. Now I’m regretting not moving into a private office.”

“….”Li Xue paused, blinking. Somehow it felt like Tang Yao was revealing something in those words… but she didn’t dare believe it.

Tang Yao didn’t give her time to react and changed the subject again. “I’ve already drawn the next part. Wanna see it?”

“Yes.”Li Xue gripped Tang Yao’s hand tightly and looked at her beautiful profile. She answered without hesitation.

…

Lunar December 25th.Aside from essential staff, most of Avalon had already gone on break.

And on this day,Avalon managed to distribute the year-end bonuses just in time before the holiday.

Also on this day,Chainsaw Man Chapters 21 and 22 were updated right on schedule—Along with an announcement about the series taking a break for the New Year.

Then,Almost at the exact same time,Two very different explosions occurred.

The staff? Exploding with excitement!The readers? Just plain exploding…