Exclusive Rights to An Online Voice Actor

Chapter 150

unedited

If someone were to use an EEG on Ninth Lady at that moment, the reading of the signals in her brain would undoubtedly display the flattest of lines.

And if EEG displayed the system messages just like QQ, then the message it would undoubtedly show would be “Your friend’s ‘brain’ is currently offline”.

Once her brain went offline, it didn’t really matter if she herself was online, because, to be completely honest, her mind was already in a completely empty state.

That being the case, Tu Xiaotu quickly monopolised her authority with much ease.

“Let the producer go to the side, she can come back once she snaps out of it. Before that, I will be the one speaking—”

“Si, sister Bumpy...”

“S-sister Bumpy really is a worldly person!”

The remaining two staff were both well aware of the ID “Sleek horses run fast”, and the status it held in the online voice acting community. Although the short circuiting in their heads wasn’t as severe as with Ninth Lady, they still were almost kneeling before their computers. Even their voices were trembling slightly as they spoke, and they couldn’t help but express their awe for Tu Xiaotu, who remained composed as always.

Meanwhile, Qi Jing was laughing heartily on the side. Experiencing the thrill of being the one outside the situation while others were left stumped with shock, it really felt amazing.

But as a seasoned staff member, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Tu Xiaotu was adept in taking charge of the situation, “So let me be clear about this—even if it’s Big Sleek Horse, even if Return Date recommended him, we can’t simply hand out roles. The voice actor needs to pass the audition to secure it. Am I right, director?”

“Eh? A-am I supposed to judge it?” Up till that point, Knives cutting in from four sides was in the midst of wolf-like wild howling in her heart. But when she heard Tu Xiaotu say this and realised she was about to evaluate the audition of a god-level VA, she truly wanted to fall onto her knees, trembling, and beg for mercy like a helpless eunuch from period dramas.

But she heard that Great God’s soft chuckle coming from her earphones—it didn’t seem like he was opposed to this arrangement.

“Understood. So I should provide you with a voice sample, right?”

“That’s right.”

Tu Xiaotu responded with a very professional smile.

Hearing that, Knives cutting in from four sides trembled, the pressure she felt reaching an-all times high for her. If this man were in any other production team, the producers would likely offer him the role the moment they saw his ID, not to mention bothering him with a voice auditioning. Nobody would care whether he suited the character, and it remained a mystery if anyone had auditioned him, or even dared to ask him to audition...

Knives cutting in from four sides shook again, having some second thoughts while secretly rubbing her heart.

Gah, don’t panic, don’t panic. Lord Sleek horses run fast is a Great God, how can a Great God possibly ever ‘perform badly’...

That was what Knives cutting in from four sides thought five minutes before...

After five minutes passed, Knives cutting in from four sides crumpled up that thought and threw it into the rubbish like a piece of scrap paper. Then, she slowly rested her forehead on her hand.

“...One more time...”

“Cough, I’m sorry, I haven’t voice acted for a very long time after leaving the community, so it might take me a bit to get back into it. Can you guys give me another chance?”

“Of course, of course, please feel free to take your time, Lord Sleek Horses...” To be honest, listening to a captivating voice repeatedly like this was truly a treat for the ears. Knives cutting in from four sides had no reason to decline, whether in an official or personal capacity—especially as Ninth Lady kept giggling foolishly in the background, eager to hear her life’s core speak more.

At that time, Puppet Show suddenly interrupted the voice audition, “Wait a minute, someone just came in—”

They saw a slight flicker in the channel member list, and sure enough, a new blue vest account appeared there—they were a member of this YY channel. No one knew where they suddenly appeared from. They didn’t even have a proper ID, merely using a simple “.” punctuation mark instead.

Knives cutting in from four sides momentarily went silent, afraid that the news of the new ⟪Trap⟫ production team approaching Sleek horses run fast would get leaked and invite hate from the antis.

Tu Xiaotu was also cautious, “Who is it? Did someone join here by mistake? I’m sorry, this room isn’t for farming channel points, so if you joined by mistake, then I must ask you to leave immediately...”

“Ah, it’s someone I know, you don’t have to chase him out.” Sleek horses run fast’s words left everyone astonished, “He joined because I said that I’m currently giving a voice sample, so he said that he wanted to listen in. Don’t worry, he’s very trustworthy, there’s no danger in letting him listen from the sides.”

Even though Sleek horses run fast might be a silly guy, he still knew to be responsible, so if he vouched for this person, it should be reliable.

Tu Xiaotu sighed with relief, “Since it’s someone brought in by Big Sleek Horse, then that’s okay.”

The two girls also chimed in to agree. “Since sister Bumpy said so, then we’re fine with it as well~”

“Yup, yup~”

Only Qi Jing remained silent throughout the conversation. His occupational curiosity compelled him to watch this “.” curiously, pondering it for a while. Gradually, a conjecture formed in his mind, was one he was ninety nine percent sure about, causing him to smile while supporting his chin.

And so, the second try of the audition began.

“...Stop. Lord Sleek Horses, can you make your tone sound a bit more natural? Currently it’s too apparent that you’re reciting the lines, so it would be better if you relaxed your voice a bit. Give it another try.”

“Okay.”

And so, the third attempt began.

“...Stop. My Lord, you’re not putting enough emotion into it, it sounds too flat... Let’s try again.”

“Okay.”

And so, there was the fourth attempt, the fifth, and then the sixth...

By the time the seventh take was done, the room was completely silent, and all of their icons turned grey.

Finally, the director’s cry broke the silence, “Aaaaaagh! I can’t find any fault with this voice, I really can’t! Even in terms of emotions, there was some steady improvement, but I still feel like something’s missing, and I can’t put my finger on it... I’m a failure as a director, aaahhh!”

“K-Knives, calm down...” Puppet Show stammered.

The ones leading the PIA were howling and crying, while the person on the other side of it went completely silent.

“L-lord Sleek Horses, are you... A-angry?” Puppet Show stammered even more. To get PIA-ed to this extent, even a normal VA would probably get annoyed, not to mention a big-name former god like him.

The other party’s icon remained grey, but huge bloody-red letters suddenly appeared in the chat.

★Five★: 〒▽〒 〒▽〒 〒▽〒 ←(sobs in silence)

“Pfft!” Knives cutting in from four sides failed at holding back from laughing, her self-control crumbling.

“Pffft!” Puppet Show was so amused she instantly forgot about her veneration for the Great God and laughed so hard she was shaking, “Lord Sleek Horses is actually acting cute! He’s acting cute!”

“Heeheehee... My life’s core is so cute, so cute, cute enough to kill me~ Heeheehee...” Ninth Lady was already beyond cure.

★Five★: 〒▽〒 sobs, I’m sorry everyone, I... This blow was so hard that I don’t dare to speak... (this pathetic voice actor’s lies here in shame)

Upon hearing his words, Knives cutting in from four sides grew anxious and said, “Lord Sleek Horse, don’t think like that! You’re already better than many others, it’s just I’m being overly critical!!”

Puppet Show also hastened to reassure him, “It’s okay! It’s okay! After all, when the listeners hear your voice, they’ll pretty much drop dead on the spot, so they won’t have any extra brain power left to pay attention to your acting skills...”

However, when she said this, his noodle-like tears flowed even more abundantly.

“Puppet, you...” Don’t just break the truth to him like this.

“Eh? Did I accidentally end up hitting him while he’s down... Eh?

“Cough, you would probably do better if you had someone else to interact with.” Tu Xiaotu cleared her throat, trying her best not to reveal that she was still suppressing laughter just a minute ago and assuming a serious demeanour, “I remember that Big Sleek Horse mentioned in an interview that your performance is better when voice acting with other people compared to when you’re recording alone. Is that correct?”

Qiu Tianyang responded with a soft “mhm”, likely feeling somewhat anxious due to his poor performance before.

The posted script excerpt in the chat was still in its dialogue format. Prompted by this suggestion, Qi Jing quickly skimmed through the lines for the other character. He was just getting ready to volunteer his services as Qiu Tianyang’s voice acting partner when, out of nowhere, the previously silent blue vest account on the member list suddenly spoke up.

“It wasn’t me.”

The voice was clear and gentle, yet the inherent vigour of negation caused a slight quiver in his tone.

Later, as if realising that his initial denial lacked conviction, he channelled more strength into the second statement. However, he still had to maintain an appearance of composure, causing the emotions to strain in his voice, “...That person wasn’t me—”

Qi Jing’s finger, which was about to press the “F2” key, suddenly froze in mid-air. Then, he instinctively retracted his hand and held his breath, listening intently.

The director was shocked.

The scriptwriter was shocked.

The producer was shocked.

Tu Xiaotu, who had remained composed all that time, also seemed to astonished when hearing this line.

—This was the line in the script where an undercover police officer was talking to the main character’s brother. This undercover agent has been placed as an informant alongside the older brother’s, who held a higher position in the mafia syndicate than the main character. His objective was to secretly look for information while assisting his own people in apprehending the criminals. Unfortunately, due to a risky operation, his cover almost got blown.

In this part, the two of them were having a confrontation.

And just as described in the novel, the undercover agent’s voice was especially deceptive, with a scholarly and frail vibe toit, devoid of any semblance of threat. It was clear and pure like a glass of unadulterated water.

Qiu Tianyang’s breath seemed to disappear for a moment, with his icon remaining grey. After a while, they suddenly heard him let out a deep chuckle, “Heh, is that so? Alright, come here—look in my eyes and repeat this one more time.”

He maintained his superiority without coming across as overbearing, still capable of conveying his interest in the other man even in the midst of a tense situation.

With the resonance of his low, magnetic voice, those feelings delivered the perfect impact they were looking for.

“Ah!” Knives cutting in from four sides couldn’t hold back her scream, “That’s the feeling! Ah, ah, ah! When Lord Sleek Horses’s voice and emotions come together like this, it’s just so—”

“Heart-pounding!” Puppet Show’s voice was trembling with excitement.

“Heeheehee~ My life’s core is so amazing~ Heeheehee~” Meanwhile, Ninth Lady remained beyond cure.

“Oh? This time you portrayed the emotions so well...” Even Tu Xiaotu had to give him credit, though her attention was mainly on the other person, “Who was the one who spoke up just now? Well done, really well done. You’ve managed to get Big Sleek Horse into the character and your voice also fits this role so well.”

The director and the scriptwriter also quickly voiced their approval.

Upon hearing this, Qi Jing smiled and calmly revealed the mystery, “Seems like it’s Noodles, right? What do you think, would you like to also join the audition for ⟪Trap⟫?”

【8 hours before the New Year】

“A... Accepted.”

After a little over an hour, Knives cutting in from four sides silently clutched her heart as she joined Ninth Lady in the “Beyond Cure Squad”.

Normally, the audition wouldn’t have taken that long, but to fulfil their selfish desires, everyone indulged themselves by having them go through most of the character’s lines, smitten as they kept howling in their hearts. Naturally, Qi Jing also joined in the scenes where the younger brother “Lin Qu” made his appearance. Throughout the process, the girls felt as if their ears could melt at any moment.

“I’m dead now.” Ninth Lady’s words of conclusion were simple and to the point.

“If you’re dead, you won’t have the chance to listen to the final version, so you better think it through.” Tu Xiaotu replied calmly.

“Then I’m not dead!” Ninth Lady replied in an instant, “Guys! Guys! You’re both accepted, please, you need to join our production team!!

“Thank you, Ninth Lady.” When voice acting with another person, Qiu Tianyang finally grasped the essence of the character. Now that the producer officially announced his passing, he couldn’t help but sigh with relief and grumble in that cute tone Ninth Lady and the others had already grown used to, and even secretly became fond of, “So tired~ So tired~ All the lines I voice acted in this two years combined wouldn’t outnumber what I’ve done today. I feel like my vital energy has completely drained... ”

“It’s only a little over an hour, can’t you just handle it like a man?” Tan Zixian wasn’t buying his act at all.

“Haha, even just an hour can be quite tiring. Thank you for coming here to participate in the audition, and I’m looking forward to our future collaboration.” Tu Xiaotu, who assumed the post of the producer after Ninth Lady’s reason left the premises, now added her final remarks as the sound designer after the audition had successfully concluded.

At that moment, Puppet Show finally mustered the courage to express what she had been hesitant to say, “I didn’t expect Lord Noodles to come and help us...”

Tan Zixian said in a calm tone, “I initially just came to observe how it goes, but somehow ended up participating. That’s actually good—when Return Date requested the adaptation rights on Weibo, I had already decided that if there was a suitable role that could use my skills, I would definitely come to lend a hand.”

Qi Jing smiled upon hearing this. “Thank you.”

Tan Zixian also smiled, “This time counts as us officially working together for the first time—even though it’s not a CP.”

Puppet Show couldn’t contain her excitement, “Cough, cough, cough... So you’re telling me ‘Time Limit’ was actually the real ship here? In the past, whenever people mentioned Lord Noodles, they would always refer to you as ‘Bronze Sparrow Terrace’s little bottom’ or something like that. But now... I actually can’t help but feel a bit sorry for Bronze Sparrow Terrace, what to do...”

Upon hearing this, Tan Zixian’s tone suddenly carried a hint of ambiguity, “Hmph... Well, I can’t help it. It’s not like I can control my feelings for Return Date.”

“Oooooh! It’s a confession, a confession!”

“Even though I’ve seen you say this on Weibo and in the recordings ⟪Order to End the Heavens⟫ competition, hearing it directly from you in person really adds a whole new level of excitement!”

A single sentence made the room explode with countless pink bubbles.

Qi Jing laughed while taking a glance at Qiu Tianyang’s dimmed icon. I think that Quick horses running fast deserves more sympathy now than Bronze Sparrow Terrace—

With the two key roles now cast, it was already midnight for a time-difference expat like Ninth Lady. Tu Xiaotu kept urging her to go to sleep, but she stubbornly resisted, crying and howling that she didn’t want to go offline yet.

The cause of her unwillingness—Sleek horses run fast—only had to say one thing to solve this problem.

“We’re in the same production team, so we’ll have more opportunities to meet in the future, Little Ninth.”

With him switching from calling her “Ninth Lady” to the nickname “Little Ninth”, the destructive power of his words was off the charts.

“Heeheehee, since my life’s core is saying so...” As expected, Ninth Lady who had just been rolling around throwing a shameless tantrum instantly turned meek. Tu Xiaotu silently sent “￢＿￢” in the chat to express her boundless disdain towards Ninth Lady’s personal conduct.

At that time, Qiu Tianyang suddenly added, “However, before Little Ninth leaves us, I have an idea. I hope you could take a moment to hear it, as the producer.”

There was no way Ninth Lady would say ‘no’ to him, “Please do tell, my life’s core!”

Qiu Tianyang’s tone shifted from the previous style, becoming more serious. “This idea came to me when Return Date wanted me to try audition for this role in ⟪Trap⟫. However, if I hadn’t passed the audition, I would have had to abandon it... Fortunately, I passed it. That being the case, I wanted to ask the producer lady: would you mind if I invited a couple of my old friends to this audition?”

“Old friends?” Ninth Lady asked quickly, “Are they also from the audio drama community?”

“It’s sort of like that, but not exactly... They’re good voice actors, but they’ve never been part of the community. So if you judge them by their ‘popularity’, then only a handful of people would recognise them.” Qiu Tianyang spoke, his voice low and slow.

“I understand that this kind of lineup might be underwhelming compared to the star-studded cast from Bronze Sparrow Terrace’s team. I’m also not sure if you’re aiming for more famous voice actors, Little Ninth, but I really want to ask you to consider giving them a chance. Even if there’s no suitable role for them, even if it’s just minor roles or background voices, it would be enough.”

“Five,” Qi Jing was the first one to react, his eyes glistening, “You can’t possibly mean...”

“Mn,” Qiu Tianyang’s words confirmed his guess, “I want to invite Two and the others, to once again work together for this audio drama.”

“Hold on a moment, by ‘Two’, you mean...” Having listened to the recording of the competition, Puppet Show was was taken aback, “It can’t be ‘Two’ who became one of the champions in ⟪Order to End the Heavens⟫ competition, right?”

“That’s right.” Qi Jing smiled lightly.

“Eh?”

“That’s where Big Sleek Horses’ got his nickname as ‘Five’ from. They’re old friends.”

“Eh?”

“You should also know ‘Six’ as well.”

“Eh??” Puppet Show felt dizzy, as if her heart was about to fail her, “So... that time Uncle Yan said he was ‘Six’ in the competition... Aaaaaah! You guys actually came from the same set!”

“Oh, by the way, I’ve recently also become ‘Seven’.” Qi Jing added playfully, delivering a final blow to her heart.

“Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Us old staff get to reunite, and their pack of old friends can reunite as well,” Tu Xiaotu chuckled heartily, “Isn’t that right, Little Ninth?”

“It’s, it’s perfect timing for us since we were just fretting over finding new VAs, so no matter if it’s for side characters, background characters, or even some miscellaneous roles, please don’t be shy with pulling them in!” Ninth Lady gladly accepted his proposition, and the director and scriptwriter both chimed in with agreement. With the support of the staff, Qiu Tianyang could finally feel at ease.

“Alright, then I will gather everyone. It’s a bit earlier than I expected, but that’s fine. At least we can meet first online before we meet in person.” Qiu Tianyang paused for a moment, then turned to Qi Jing, saying, “Return Date, this marks your first time acting as the main character since you joined us, and it’s also Six’s first time in leading role, so there could be more suitable time and opportunity than this.”

“And it’s also the first official comeback of Big Sleek Horse,” Qi Jing chuckled, asking, “Since we’re making such a big splash here, what could Big Sparrow Terrace’s team possibly do to match it?”

“That Bronze Sparrow Terrace guy... You have to either not bother engaging with him, or if you do, go all in.” The former great god chuckled lightly, his aura not any less impressive than his past dashing self, “Isn’t that right?”

【6 hours before the New Year】

“Aah—!”

The person on the motorbike let out a miserable scream as he got thrown off, crashing to the ground along with his bike. While desperately scrambling to get up from the snow, a hand suddenly grabbed his forehead and pressed him down, making him take a mouthful of gritty snow. His teeth instantly turned frigid, just as did his racing heart.

The passersby on the street fell into an uproar, forming a circle of bystanders when they heard the disturbance.

At that time, a middle-aged lady rushed over, clutching her bag. She looked alarmed as she watched the man on the ground struggling like a fish on a chopping board, rendered speechless by the sight.

“For real, why are there so many purse-robbers and thieves before the New Year?” He could even bump into one when eating dinner outside, and this time it was actually a motorcycle thief!

The man firmly gripping the thief’s hands behind his back let out a disdainful laugh as he thought this. He didn’t ease his grip, merely raising his head to address the gathering crowd, “Apologies, I don’t have an extra hand to make a call. Could someone from you please assist in calling the police?”

“I can do it, I can do it!” That woman who almost got her purse stolen hurried over, looking at him with gratitude, “Thank you so much for helping me!”

“No need to thank me, just be careful when walking by the roadside next time.” The man remarked casually, not thinking much of this situation at all.

—It’s just that his movements were a bit forceful, causing the not-yet-fully-healed wound on his arm to reopen slightly, sending occasional sharp pains shooting through. In response, he only furrowed his brow and rubbed it for a moment. However, if that Little Stammer, who diligently called him everyday to check on his condition, were to find out about it, she would probably burst into tears.

Thinking of this, he suddenly couldn’t hold back a smile.

Coincidentally, his phone started ringing at that very moment.

Unfortunately, he was still subduing that motorcycle thief on the ground, so he couldn’t free his hand to take it out. The phone kept ringing several times, but he was too preoccupied to attend to it. He was only able to pick up the call once the police hurriedly arrived.

“Hello?” Could it really be that girl, the one who stuttered whenever she was anxious?

However, as soon as he heard the voice in the call and then their first sentence, he was momentarily taken aback. He even instinctively let out a soft “eh?”.

After a moment, he blinked his eyes, a glimmer of light seeming to appear within them.

【4 hours before the New Year】

“End-year Grand Sale! End-year Grand Sale! The final big price drop before the year ends! Don’t miss it today!”

The mall’s promotional broadcast continued to beckon the customers repeatedly, and the upper and lower level of the mall bustled with people, creating a spectacular view.

Rushing out from the chaotic frenzy of shoppers scrambling for discounted products, the woman’s hands were full of bags of various sizes, filled with her spoils of war. She was planning to take a lift downstairs when she caught sight of an auntie shopping nearby. With a forceful fling, the auntie discarded a piece of clothing in her hand she decided against onto a counter, causing a neat pile of wool sweaters some shop worker meticulously stacked to collapse in an instant, turning it into a mess.

“My goodness...” The customers these days.

She thought for a moment, then turned back from the lift entrance. With the rhythmic tapping of her red heels, she reached the counter. Placing all her bags down, deftly and quickly folded the dishevelled clothes, arranging them back into a neat pile.

After arranging it, she took a stroll around to inspect the result of her work. Satisfied with the outcome, she finally prepared to leave.

A shop worker who witnessed it hurried over and expressed gratitude, saying, “Thank you so much, miss! Not only did you help with folding it, but you also did it so professionally!”

She flashed a bright smile at this girl and said, “I just did it in passing. I used to be a clothing department manager at a mall, so I know your pain. When I saw the situation, I couldn’t resist lending a hand. I need to go meet my husband now, so bye bye~”

Then, followed by the shop worker’s gaze filled with admiration, she picked up her spoils of war and strode confidently towards the lift.

Just as she was on her way to the parking lot, her phone started ringing.

She picked up her pace, quickly reaching her car. She efficiently stowed away her haul in the trunk before fishing out her phone from the bag. However, when she glanced at the ID displayed on her screen, her eyebrows lifted in surprise.

This number had been calling her persistently for the past hour, filling her calls history with a page full of missed calls.

At that time, she was likely caught up snatching the discounts, and the noisy inside of the mall made it difficult to hear her phone ringing. With a cheerful smile, she dialled back and exclaimed playfully, “Hi handsome, what’s going on—”

However, she paused abruptly, listening to the voice on the other end of the call., her eyes widening involuntarily. It wasn’t until a moment after she set down the phone, that she fully snapped back to reality. Without hesitation, she leapt into the driver seat, started the car, and hastily reversed before accelerating and speeding towards the exit.

She rushed all the way to the entrance to the orthopaedics hospital.

She paid no mind to her high heels anymore and sprinted with the clacking to the entrance of the outpatient department. Unexpectedly, a man emerged from the entrance just as she arrived, causing a wide smile to spread across her face.

“Hubby! Hubby!”

“Eh?”

Upon hearing her voice, the man lifted his head. He was tired after having just finished his work, and got caught off guard by the woman leaping into his arms. The impact sent him into a stumble, and they nearly tumbled together. Luckily, he reacted fast and he promptly caught her in time, preventing a fall as they both regained their balance.

The man simply didn’t know whether to cry or laugh, “Why did you come here? Weren’t you out shopping?”

He didn’t even get to ask about the situation before he got a big kiss on the cheek, causing his face to blush slightly. Seeing his embarrassment, his colleagues around him giggled. He coughed awkwardly, trying to hide his flushed face, but he didn’t wipe off the faint lipstick mark left by the woman’s kiss. Laughing helplessly, he asked, “What are you doing, being so flirtatious?”

“Quick, let’s go home! I’ve already driven here!” The woman showed no sign of flirtatiousness, linking her arm with his all in smiles and pulling him towards the car as she spoke.

“Go home? Why are you in such a hurry to go home, just what...”

“Don’t ask now, you’ll know once we’re back, so let’s go~”

【2 hours before the New Year】

【Both of you, get on Skype.】

Said the message from Five.

Qi Jing placed his laptop next to Shen Yan’s PC and settled down beside him. Even within the mere minute it took for his laptop to boot up, he managed to steal a moment to lean his head over and nuzzle Shen Yan’s shoulder.

Shen Yan just smiled, lowering his shoulder a bit to make it more comfortable to lean on.

“Ah, Skype. It’s so nostalgic...” Qi Jing murmured as he stared at the blue icon on the screen. He had this software installed on his laptop before, but it had been idle for quite a while. The main reason was that fewer and fewer people in the online voice acting circle were using it these days. “I used to have discussions with some production teams on Skype when I first joined the circle. Back then, YY wasn’t as popular, but now it’s Skype that’s gradually disappearing. Maybe it’s because Skype doesn’t have the in-built recording feature.”

“Mhm, having an option to record is pretty useful.” Shen Yan suddenly chuckled upon hearing this, lifting his hand to hold Qi Jing’s nape, gently rubbing the hair there.

Qi Jing immediately understood what he meant and he smiled silently, continuing to lazily enjoy his personal ‘benefits’.

Logging into a newly created account, Qi Jing began adding contacts one by one based on the list of accounts provided by Shen Yan. Then, it was Five who initiated the group voice call.

To make his identity clear, Qi Jing even changed his ID int “Ⅶ” matching the other people present in the group.

Five truly lived up to his reputation. He excelled in talking to people, making him the best person to gather everyone together. With him taking the lead, “Ⅱ”, “Ⅲ”, “Ⅳ”, “Ⅴ”, “Ⅵ”, and his own “Ⅶ” accounts were now all online status in the chat window.

“Ⅱ”-【Gimme a proper dub, dumbass】

“Ⅲ”-【Porcelain Bowl】

“Ⅳ”-【Biluochun Tea】

“Ⅴ”-【Swift horses run fast】

“Ⅵ”-【Geese Fly North】

“Ⅶ”-【Don’t ask for my return date】

The only one to remain missing was the one ranked first on the list, “Ⅰ”—

“What about One? Isn’t Onehere?” Two’s voice grew sombre, displaying clear displeasure, “We agreed to welcome the New Year together with all seven of us, how can we do that without One here?”

Five mumbled, “I know, I know! What else can I do if he won’t pick up my calls? The best I can do is to continue trying.”

Four was eating some melon seeds while watching him scrambling frantically to get in touch with the last person, “Good luck, you don’t even have two hours before the New Year~”

Five could only gaze listlessly at the skies, first pushing Qi Jing forward to act as a decoy, “You guys first talk to the new boy Seven, and I’ll keep trying to call him. Going AFK for a bit.”

【1 hour before the New Year】

“I... Can’t... Contact... Him...” They heard Five’s dispirited voice, sounding as if he was on the verge of tears.

“I’ve already talked about everything I could, so condolences.” Qi Jing expressed his helplessness.

During the time he was trying to contact the missing member, Qi Jing chatted with Four about the possibility of Jade Butterfly being the owner of the “Dissing Slag Gays” side account and her peculiar logic. Then, he shared various funny anecdotes with Three from the time when he had broken his arm, expressing his gratitude for his rehabilitation advice at the time. Lastly, he even started some impromptu script acting with Two for ⟪Trap⟫.

Luckily, Qi Jing was quite chatty himself, so he didn’t find it boring even after an hour.

Still, just continuing chatting wasn’t a solution.

“You still haven’t managed to contact One?” Three was asking concerned.

“Come on, Five, can’t you put in more effort,” Four was urging impatiently.

“Crunch, crunch, crunch...” As for Two, all that could be heard from his end was the sounds of him munching on potato crisps, with him probably having already given up on complaining.

Shen Yan also didn’t say anything, just waiting in silence. However, Qi Jing really couldn’t help his curiosity.

“What kind of person is One? Why is he so hard to find?”

“One, huh... He’s a man behind high-ranking officials.” Upon hearing him ask this, Five chuckled suddenly, deliberately putting the emphasis on the plural ‘officials’.

—A man behind high-ranking officials.

—It’s not only a high-ranking official, but also a number of them?

With those words, a whirlwind of eye-catching news headlines swept through Qi Jing’s head: “Kept Man Exposed”, or “The ‘Second Master’ Behind the Officials”, or “Unveiling the Scandalous Private Lives of Officials”, and so on...

Qi Jing shivered, scared by the door to a whole new world that opened in his mind.

Seeing him momentarily at a loss of words, Five couldn’t contain his laughter any longer and exclaimed, “Hahaha! Just now, you must have imagined One as some sort of kept man for the officials, didn’t you?”

Qi Jing turned his head away in an awkward silence.

That’s just a professional bias, a professional bias...

“Ah, One is an interpreter, nothing more—” At that time, Two, who had finally finished eating his bag of crisps, chimed in to tell him the truth.

Qi Jing finally understood.

No wonder Five referred to him as a man behind high-ranking officials... It was indeed kind of the case. He often encountered individuals like that at press conferences, serving as the alternative ‘voice’ for the officials. The simultaneous interpreters mostly operated in the background, rarely appearing during public events.

Bringing One up got everyone in the group chatting energetically once again.

“Seven, listen up! Listen! One has a built-in voice-over~”

“That’s right, when he’s voice acting in audio dramas with English lines in them, he sounds like a real foreigner...”

“But in exchange for that, he’s completely useless in the historical plots... For example ⟪Order to End The Heavens⟫. If he were to participate in that contest, he would definitely end up accidentally playing a transmigrated modern guy.”

“Speaking of which...” Five feebly tried to catch their attention among their chatter, “The main point is—we still can’t contact him?”

Upon hearing this, Qi Jing pondered for a moment and drew from his experience working at the TV station, offering an explanation, “Today is the day right before the New Year’s, and typically, official year-end summaries and New Year forecasts are released this evening. If One’s profession involves this kind of work... I believe he might be occupied with his job at the moment, and during such formal occasions, it’s likely that he has his phone turned off.”

His statement left everyone stumped.

Five wailed miserably, “Damn it, I think that Seven’s right—our plans to welcome the new year together got busted!!”

But suddenly, Shen Yan, who didn’t really speak much up till that point, said, “He will come. Let’s wait a bit more.”

【10 minutes before the New Year】

“It’s 11:50 now.”

Upon hearing this, Qi Jing slightly opened his eyes, confirmed that “Ⅰ” still hadn’t appear, and then closed them again, going back to lazy nuzzling against Shen Yan’s shoulder for some warmth.

On the other side, Four let out a yawn, and Three gave her a gentle pat with a wry smile.

Two’s potato crisps stash seemed to have run out, and even him, the guy who usually talked the most, didn’t have the energy to keep pushing. So, he just turned to having a sporadic conversation with Shen Yan.

“Doesn’t matter, it’s already good that we managed to gather six people for tonight.”

Five sighed wistfully, and he was about to abandon attempting to contact One. But then, his phone rang loudly, and the ringtone was transmitted to everyone on the Skype call, momentarily rousing them all from their drowsiness, perking up their ears to listen.

Since it was a phone call, they couldn’t hear the person on the other side, only Five who was talking to them.

The content of the call also had them on tenterhooks—

“One! Aaaaah, you finally...”

“That’s right, you finally listened to the message I left you? Yes, yes, everyone else is here, you’re the only one missing.”

“What! You’re telling me that you have no computer around you? You actually don’t have a computer??”

“Phone? I think you should be able to download a mobile app for Skype...”

“You’ve never used it before? Even if you haven’t, it’s okay, just give it a try quickly. We only have seven minutes left until the New Year!”

No one dared to take a deep breath.

After a moment, Five hung up the phone and informed everyone that One was currently downloading and installing the mobile app, so they had no choice but to wait. The tension in the atmosphere remained, getting more palpable with each minute and second.

【5 minutes before the New Year】

If there was anything more agonising in this world than forgetting password, then it was forgetting an account name.

Passwords are often more or less reused, people would usually just use a couple of them, but it was a different case with the account account names—especially when they haven’t been used for over half a year.

And so, One currently found himself in this tragic state—

“I’m... Impressed by him.” Five’s tone completely embodied a pure deadpan expression.

“Have him register a new account!”

“That’s right!”

“I told him that, and you know what? He said no,” Five’s deadpan expression seemed to escalate even further, “He said something about how true old friends should use their old accounts to meet...”

The corner of Two’s lips twitched, and he voiced the collective sentiment, “May I ask if I can give him a beating?”

【30 seconds before the New Year】

“...I’ve got both bad news and good news. Which one would you like to hear first in the last thirty seconds of this year?”

During the last moments, Five actually came to say something like this.

Two simply lost it.

“Tell! Us! Both! Now!! Goddammit!”

Perhaps due to his exasperated tone, it unexpectedly hit a comical nerve, making everyone burst into laughter almost simultaneously.

Even Five laughed along.

The first news came out with a dry laugh, “The bad news is that One... in the end, he didn’t remember his account.”

Then, with a bright smile, he delivered the second one, “The good news is, I remembered it for him.”

At that time, they got surprised with another person joining the voice chat window, the “Ⅰ” mark appearing on the list.

“Seems like you’re all here.” A calm and deliberate male voice could be heard, his manner of speaking a reminiscent of the combed-back hair of old-fashion foreign movie actors, each word meticulously arranged, “Good evening—”

And Two’s response was in turn like someone reaching down to tousle those perfectly neat hair in an instant.

“In ten seconds it won’t be evening anymore! Hurry up, we’re about to start the countdown!”

Laughter erupted through earphones, blurring the distinction between the voices.

The arrival of the last person elevated everyone’s spirits, filling the atmosphere with laughter and excitement.

“Quick, quick, let’s count down together!”

“Ready—!”

Three!”

“Two!”

“One!”

【New Year, midnight】

“Happy—New—Year—!”

The six of them exclaimed together in unison, but it got disturbed by One late Happy New Year in English, late by half a bit and almost making all of them choke.

“One! You...”

“One! What are you doing, mixing the English in!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry... I had just left my workplace, and my reflexes kicked in, so I interpreted it on the spot...” One humbly engaged in self-critique. Occupational habits are sure hard to control.

Qi Jing smiled among the noisy atmosphere on Skype, then suddenly, he turned his head to the side and, covering the mic, passed a bit of his smile in the corner of his lips onto the lips of that man.

“The first ‘mwah’ of the year.” He said.

Novels would often use the word ‘sweet’ to describe a person’s smile. Turns out, it really wasn’t baseless...

“Happy New Year, A-Yan.”

A/N:

That’s a long, long, long chapter... _(:3」∠)_

I hope that this will mean that there will be long, long, long comments... _(:3」∠)_ (Actually, as you guys are always checking everyday for the updates, I’m also checking in everyday for the comments, sobs)

T/N:

Lucilla: It is indeed, a long... long... long chapter... (dies)