Li Xue looked at Tang Yao’s serious side profile. When she heard her say she didn’t want to give up, she wasn’t too surprised. She just smiled slightly and was about to speak—
But Tang Yao beat her to it: “Miss Li… there are two paths in front of
right now, and I don’t know which one to choose. Can we talk it over?”
“…Two paths?”
“Yeah.”
Tang Yao looked a bit embarrassed and said softly, “Even though going back on my word is shaful, since this route failed, there’s no choice. So, the first option is: I still resign, but I reach out to Shang Tao again, co clean that I’m actually Third-Rate Artist, say that Fate/Zero has agreed to serialization, and ride the current hype. I’ll make sure that no matter how the manga performs, Wenxin Press agrees in advance to license the manga rights to the mobile ga.”
“Then, I’ll use the monthly manuscript fee to start preparing the ga early… and wait until the manga volus make so serious money before officially launching the ga project.”
“But the problem with this option is that it’s too slow. We might miss the best release window for the ga. Convincing Wenxin Press won’t be easy either. And down the line, it could cause disputes, since the rights would still belong to the publishing house…”
She paused for a mont.
Tang Yao continued, “The second option is to pull all-nighters and draw the rest of Fate/Zero as fast as I can… banking on the upcoming story developnts and the free-release gimmick to keep the current buzz going, then finish it quickly, and use the hype to find a magazine willing to publish the volus and make a big profit.”
“But again, sa issue—it’s impossible to do daily updates, and everything’s on a tight schedule. Even publishing the volus takes ti. We could still miss the window.”
“And I’m not even confident I can find a publisher willing to take it. If the ga explodes in popularity, maybe. But just banking on reader love and the buzz… not looking good. Feels like it would be a ss of back-and-forth negotiations.”
“……”
Li Xue listened quietly to the two options Tang Yao laid out. She stared at her beautiful face and was briefly stunned.
A while later.
She finally asked, “Did you just co up with all that?”
Tang Yao nodded. “Yep. I wanted to discuss it with you.”
Li Xue stared at Tang Yao blankly for a mont, then couldn’t help but laugh softly. “I thought you’d be devastated.”
“……”
Tang Yao was quiet for a mont, her shoulders slowly slumping as she said dejectedly, “…I was kind of crushed, but, well, I can understand where Miss Lin Shuang was coming from. After all, there really hasn’t been a successful case before.”
“But—”
Tang Yao straightened her back again, gently patted her own cheeks, and went on, “Understanding is one thing, but I still believe that a mobile ga with ani-style art, light gaplay, minimal social and competitive elents, but strong story and characters does have a market… I don’t want to give up, so I have to find another way. Self-pity won’t solve anything.”
“What I just said are the two most practical options I’ve co up with. Sure, they both have issues—but they each have potential too. What do you think, Miss Li?”
“……”
Li Xue looked at Tang Yao and smiled brightly. “Stretch out your hand, and I’ll tell you.”
“Huh? My hand? Why?”
Tang Yao looked confused, but still instinctively reached out her fair little hand.
Li Xue didn’t answer. She turned slightly, gently took Tang Yao’s hand, and handed her sothing.
Tang Yao blinked, then looked down—
…it was a bank card.
Tang Yao stared, stunned. Slowly, she looked back up at Li Xue’s delicate and beautiful face. “This is…”
Li Xue rested her chin in her hand, tilted her head, and teased, “A bride price. Or you can think of it as a dowry… There’s 1.7 million in it.”
“Bride…”
Tang Yao was still in a daze, but as soon as that word left her lips, she snapped out of it, glanced again at the bank card in her palm, and her expression slowly turned serious.
Then—
She handed the bank card back to Li Xue and said softly, “No, Miss Li. I can’t take your money.”
Li Xue didn’t seem surprised. She asked, “Why not?”
“Do you rember what I said before?”
Tang Yao pursed her rosy lips and answered earnestly, “That’s over a million… it’s probably all your savings. No matter how much I believe in the ga, I can’t guarantee 100% success. If it fails, all your savings are gone—and there’ll be nothing to show for it. That’s too risky. Even if there’s only a 1% chance of failure, I won’t gamble with a friend’s future.”
“I really appreciate it, but I just can’t take your money, Miss Li.”
“……”
Li Xue looked at Tang Yao, who had just resolutely turned her down, and her soft, beautiful face slowly broke into a smile.
She leaned in slightly, straightened up, placed her hand on Tang Yao’s shoulder, and looked her in the eye. “Tang Yao, if I asked to borrow money from you, would you lend it?”
“That’s not the sa—I don’t even have thirty thousand saved up…”
“But if I really needed it, would you?”
“…Yes. I’d set aside enough for my sister’s basic needs, and lend you the rest.”
“Then there you go.”
“But that’s not—”
“Tang Yao.”
Li Xue interrupted her gently, smiling at the stubborn girl in front of her. “Did you know I make thirty-five grand a month? I don’t have a boyfriend. I don’t need to support my parents. My biggest hobbies are reading manga and cooking. All my clothes are matching skirt-and-shirt sets like this one, just because I’m too lazy to pick anything else. And when it cos to eating, it’s even sadder—I strictly control my calorie intake to avoid gaining weight. I can’t even eat anything decent…”
“So instead of calling it a habit, you could say my saving is more like… sothing I had no choice but to do.”
“I’m not saying this to brag or act like I’m loaded. This isn’t just money I earned from working—it includes red envelopes and pocket money I’ve gotten since I was a kid. If you asked
to blow it all on soone random, I absolutely wouldn’t do it.”
“In fact, I actually like watching the number in my bank account go up. It makes
feel like I didn’t waste my life.”
“Then…”
Tang Yao opened her mouth instinctively.
“Let
finish.”
Li Xue shook her head. “The reason I’m telling you all this is to let you know—even if you lose all my savings, it won’t ruin my life. And also, giving money to a random person is one thing, but giving it to you is sothing else.”
“That ga proposal of yours—I won’t lie, I don’t fully get it… I an, I’m in a different field.”
“That’s why I didn’t speak up earlier—because I was worried I’d make things worse, not because I was afraid of getting involved.”
“But… I do understand what kind of person you are. I’ve read your manga. I’ve seen everything you’ve done at the publishing house. Even when my cousin turned you down just now, you didn’t mope or give up. Instead, you imdiately ca up with two backup plans.”
“Back outside the door, my cousin said your proposal was decent but that you were adorably clueless… but I completely disagree.”
“The proposal doesn’t matter at all.”
“You are the key factor. I’m totally willing to lend you the money.”
“And don’t forget—you’re still a mangaka. Lin Shuang doesn’t read manga. She has no clue how valuable your work actually is… but I do. Even if you lose it all, you can still be a mangaka. You don’t need to worry.”
Tang Yao: “……”
“One more thing.”
Li Xue paused, a little shy. “We’re friends… Even though I don’t want to admit it, I honestly don’t have any close friends in real life. Let alone soone I can really open up to.”
“You’re the only one. And I don’t want this issue to beco a wedge between us.”
“I don’t know if you’ll understand this… but if I don’t lend you the money now, and you end up failing because you missed the right timing, maybe you won’t mind—but I definitely will. I’ll keep thinking, why didn’t I help her when I could?”
“That kind of guilt… it would make
subconsciously drift away from you. I probably wouldn’t even dare talk to you, because I know myself…”
“You get what I’m saying, right? When your best friend is struggling with money, and you have extra but don’t lift a finger—how could you still face them later?”
“I don’t want it to end like that. I don’t want to lose you as a friend. I don’t want to just sit here and watch you worry. I’d rather give up all my savings to help a friend chase her dream. Even if it all goes down the drain, we can still sit together afterward, and you can complain to
and say, ‘Miss Li never should’ve lent
that money.’”
“Because money can always be earned back—but once a friend is gone, you can’t get them back.”
“Today I gave you this money. So whether or not you stay an editor, whether you succeed or fail, we’ll still be friends.”
“So… do you still want
as your friend?”
“……”
Li Xue wasn’t sugarcoating anything. She didn’t say “It’s fine if you lose it.” Instead, she gave a serious, thoughtful answer.
And it wasn’t about the money—it was about friendship.
Tang Yao looked at her, softly biting her lip, expression complicated.
You can’t say you’re not moved—because that’d be a lie.
A friend…
They locked eyes for a long mont.
Then Tang Yao made up her mind. She looked at the bank card on the table and said quietly, “Miss Li, if the ga fails in the end, then I’ll be yours.”
Li Xue blinked. Then she blurted out, “...Then how about you just take the money now and call it a failure?”
“I ant I’ll be your exclusive mangaka.”
As she said that—
Maybe it was the earlier talk of dowries and such—
Tang Yao’s fair cheeks flushed red. She shot a glare at Li Xue and quickly explained, “I an I’ll draw whatever you want. Any genre. Until I pay you back.”
“…Scared
for a second. I thought I bought you with that little money.”
Thinking of her own earlier words, Li Xue’s lovely face turned red too. She mumbled a little joke, then asked, “So you’re taking it?”
“Yeah.”
Tang Yao took a deep breath and said seriously, “Miss Li, thank you. I’ll use this money wisely. No matter what happens, I will pay you back—”
“Alright.”
Li Xue lifted her hand from Tang Yao’s shoulder and let out a breath. “So now…”
“Do you have ti?”
Tang Yao put the bank card away, stood up, and pulled Li Xue up too. No more polite formalities—just straight-up said, “Co help
find a place to work.”
Li Xue’s decision—and those heartfelt words—seed to wipe away the last bit of distance between them.
“In such a rush? Let
think…”
Li Xue tilted up her snowy chin, thought for a second, then replied, “Buy
a milk tea, and I’ll co with you.”
“…Didn’t you say you were watching your calories!?”
“I’m not alone anymore.”
Li Xue wrapped an arm around Tang Yao’s slender waist and said cheerfully, “If we’re both getting fat, who cares!”
Tang Yao: “……”
In the end—
Li Xue didn’t listen to her cousin.
Whether her decision was wise, whether she gained or lost in the end—that wasn’t clear yet.
But what was clear—
She’d gained a real friend.
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