Chapter 131

unedited

Did he have any ideas

He could think of many ideas in a moment, but upon closer thinking, most of them would get veto-ed, being too unrealistic.

Qi Jing smiled indifferently, shaking his head slightly, I dont have any.

At least, he didnt have any substantial ones.

Ninth Lady

replied with a soft grunt at the other side of the call, as if not at all surprised by his reply. She only said, For me During those last two, three years, Ive been slowly finis.h.i.+ng my old long-running projects, planning to retire by slowly ending them all and not starting any new audio dramas. I only know a very few of the newcomer staff members and VAs, so starting a new project would be a pure self-torture But if you ever want to ask me, Return Date, I will help you to the end with all my honour.

Hearing this, Qi Jing suddenly felt warmth in his heart. He thought that there was some worth in voice acting for those three yearsat least he made a great friend. Thank you.

Ninth Lady

went straight to the point. With me saying this, I guess you already guessed what Im thinking of.

Qi Jing didnt reply for a moment, only smiling silently. After a while, he finally asked in a low voice, Are the rights for Trap exclusive?

I dont know, but it also doesnt really matter,

Ninth Lady

said decisively, If its not, then itd be easy, we could just ask the author for the rights to the second version. If it is, then it wouldnt be impossible to s.n.a.t.c.h it.

s.n.a.t.c.h.

This one didnt sound all that nice.

But if we were to s.n.a.t.c.h it, that would cause a lot of trouble, right?

Hm It wouldnt be that much of a problem, but we would probably have to use some underhanded methods, so it wouldnt give us much of a good look in the public eye, thats all.

s.n.a.t.c.hing the production rights was regarded as rather unsightly in the online voice acting circle, they would usually involve some kinds of schemes behind the scenes. As a producer,

Ninth Lady

had always advocated for keeping away from the battle of tricks and treachery between other staff members. She just wanted to do an honest-to-G.o.d job making the audio dramas and never played with scheming, so when she herself proposed to use some underhanded methods It really proved that she thought this problem to be a th.o.r.n.y one.

But Qi Jing didnt wish for her to betray her principle as the producer for this sake.

Forget it, He said cheerlessly, What good could come out from dirtying your hands because of those people? Aside of that, I have already taught

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

a good lesson in Order to End the Heavens compet.i.tion, so its not like I need to have a yet another fight with him right away.

Then if we can have the second production rights, would you consider it?

Ninth Lady

still insisted.

Qi Jing sighed. First, lets not even talk about how leaving one edition only to quickly jump onto the second one would blatantly be going against

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

, a clearly unjust motive. It would invite peoples criticism and sound like Im caring about getting a revenge against the great G.o.d more than about Trap Also, you are a producer, you know more than me about how many hards.h.i.+ps there are to producing an audio drama. Didnt you even just say that to someone whos half-retired like you, being in charge of production and finding people would be a self-torture?

To create an audio drama, aside of the two VAs for the main roles, there was also a great deal of secondary and background characters that needed them as well. No matter how extraordinary the main roles, if the secondary and background characters couldnt match their level, it would only create a contrast and ruin the immersion.

And as long as the candidates knew of the animosity between

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

and

Dont ask for my return date

, they would also know that joining them would be equal to publicly setting themselves against the great G.o.da lot of them wouldnt dare to enter the muddy waters. This would only make the already difficult process of finding VAs even harder for the producer.

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

and his crews VA resources were all already there, while if they wanted to make another version, they would have to start from scratch.

Hearing this,

Ninth Lady

also heaved a sigh, For VAs, an old-timer like me can still try going around asking the friends. The staff members would be a bit easier, but the only problem would be finding a sound designerthe current producer of Trap, Lifetimes Locks skills are beyond anything else I ever heard of. I have listened to the first episode, as well as her other works, and she really is exceptional at sound design. Theres nothing I could possibly pick at with her handling of the voice lines and background noises, her use of BGM is also very on point. If we leave her moral quality aside and only consider her skills, I would probably give her a nine out of ten.

The reason why

Rouge Flower

used to try her hardest to put up with all the troubles caused by

Lifetimes Lock

and

DaXiao Qiaos

, even imploring everyone else to endure it with her, was precisely because she knew that it was way too hard to get a sound designer this talented.

Although it was only because

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

played the main role that

Lifetimes Lock

took on this audio drama, aside from the voice acting being out of character, the sound design part of the finished product had almost nothing to pick about. Although

Lifetimes Lock

character wasnt particularly pleasant, she had definitely mastered her craft. Within the online voice acting circle that currently put a lot of importance on the sound design, it had to be said that she brought up the quality of Trap by more than one level.

Thats right.

Producing an audio drama was different from a voice acting compet.i.tionit didnt only rely on the VAs performance, both the script and the sound editing were crucial to whether the outcome would be good. Not a single one of the three could be compromised.

Ninth Lady

also understood that.

I keep saying that Im a veteran, but to be truthful, I dont know that many good sound designers, even more so if were talking about those at Lifetimes Locks level. During all those years, I only got to know threethe first ones character was even worse than Lifetimes Locks, she has already gotten cancelled into oblivion back in the day and disappeared from the scene; the second one fell down the abyss of online games and from that point on, she became a complete pa.s.serby in the online voice acting sphere. I heard that because of her continuously putting off her work on the recordings, the production of the audio drama she took on two years ago flopped miserably, so I wouldnt trust this kind of person. And for the third one She went off to marry and have a child. Shes way too busy with her IRL, so she has no way of accepting any new projects.

Then whats the difference between this and just saying that theres no better sound designer out there?

None.

Qi Jing held his forehead in his hand. Even if we manage to fight for the double production rights, whats the meaning if the second version doesnt outdo the first one? He smiled bitterly. According to his understanding of

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

s fans, it could even end with them getting criticised for it instead.

Thats true as well, As rare as it happened to her,

Ninth Lady

s tone turned gloomy. Our chances arent very high if we dont find a good sound designer

Haha, dont worry about it anymore. I didnt really intend to create my own version in the first place. Qi Jing chuckled and said to comfort her. It should be him feeling dejected now, but now it sounded like

Ninth Lady

was more dejected than him, so he naturally felt sorry.

Later, they chatted about all kinds of stuff for a bit, but because of the time difference, it was already her rest time, so she went offline after a short while.

After she went, Qi Jing took a look at the time. There was still half an hour before he had to go, so he just s.p.a.ced out while looking at his list of contacts on QQ.

He clicked on the group chat sectionk2014;the group chat they created before the compet.i.tion was still there. He hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he opened it and typed a message there, sending it.

Dont ask for my return date

: I heard about the matter with Trap. Im sorry, Im partially guilty for that too I hope that all three of you can find peace of mind and continue making amazing works. ^_^

After sending this message, he was about to close QQ, but he didnt expect replies to appear in the group chat.

Puppet Show

: /(o)/~~ Aaaaaaah, Return Date-sama!!

Knives cutting in from four corners

: Aaah! Return Date, you actually took an initiative to contact us QAQ (Im kinda moved)

The script writer and the director were still there, only the producers avatar was still grey.

Qi Jing moved the cursor, checking

Rouge Flower

s signature. When he saw that

Already retired, will no longer use this account

, he felt a hard to explain pang of pain in his heart.

Puppet Show

: Rouge had retired yesterday I dont know if you know that or not Sir

Dont ask for my return date

: Mn I know, but I didnt know that she would even abandon her QQ account.

Puppet Show

: She only used this account for the online voice acting, so naturally, she wouldnt use it anymore after retiring.

Dont ask for my return date

: I heard that you two also left the production.

Puppet Show

: Yes, although I cant say Im completely out yet, since the second episode has yet to come out, and theyre still using the script I wrote

Knives cutting in from four corners

: Hehe, I was telling Puppet to just have them give the script back to her, but shes such a softie. She got pushed around by the sound designer and went along with it. (_)

Puppet Show

: Knives Cutting, you dont nag me like this, youve been doing it for long enough already /(o)/~~

Knives cutting in from four corners

: Right, Return Date, I went to listen to Order to End the Heavens after that.

Dont ask for my return date

: You did? ^^

Knives cutting in from four corners

: And actually Uncle Yan also went, aaahhh! And he also became a double champion, Uncle Yan is so cool!! I just knew that hes got the skills!! QAQ

Puppet Show

: Aaaaaaaaah, Uncle Yan!! Speaking of him, Return Date-sama, did you actually keep in contact with him all that time!!

Puppet Show

: So after that time he asked for your QQ number, you actually became friends in private!!

Puppet Show

: You know that I went to listen to the compet.i.tion live, but I didnt dare to believe it when I listened to that voice (his voice isnt all that distinct, its not my fault _(:)_ ). It only got confirmed when he revealed himself on spot, I was simply howling from the excitement at that moment!!

Hehe Qi Jing chuckled subconsciously.

They counted as the first group of staff members who heard

Geese Fly North

doing a youth voice, so when compared to their first meeting, the excitement brought by meeting again this way was even stronger.

Even more so since at that time,

Geese Fly North

and

Dont ask for my return date

had once again performed together for them to hear

He quietly smiled for a while, then decided to reveal a part of the truth to them.

Dont ask for my return date

: Mhm, we turned out to live in the same city. And later We actually had a lot of interactions IRL.

Puppet Show

: ( )

Knives cutting in from four corners

: ( )

Knives cutting in from four corners

: I-, I-, I-, IRL?? You two met IRL?? And even live in the same city?? (Heavens, my little heart almost skipped a beat, ahhhh!)

Puppet Show

: I knew it!! I just knew that you two had to contact each other afterwards, and that you would certainly hit it off!! Especially during that one opening during the finals My heart condition also almost acted up!! (((p()q)))

As long as he didnt touch upon their relations.h.i.+p as boyfriends, only touching upon the subject shouldnt do them any harm. Qi Jing believed so because he trusted those two quite a bit. After all, there was no third party that knew about him and Shen Yan having a run-through together before. The sheer fact that even after the surge of gossip caused by the Order to End the Heavens compet.i.tion, it didnt get brought up by people, was enough to prove that they were all tight-lipped gals who knew how to keep their tongues at check all the way through, even during the heated debate of gossip theories.

Dont ask for my return date

: I will have to ask you two to keep this a secret, please dont make it public to anyone.

Knives cutting in from four corners

: Dont worry! I dont know how many staff members and listeners came to us to ask about the story behind you and Uncle Yan meeting through Trap. Me, Puppet and Rouge had already talked it through beforehands, and agreed to not disclose it to anyone. (Fortunately the sound designer didnt know with whom youve done that run-through with, phew)

Puppet Show

: /(o)/~~ Right, right, please rest at ease, we wont be causing you any troubles~

Dont ask for my return date

: Thank you. ^^

Knives cutting in from four sides

: Return Date, I know what youre thinking of. Youre both getting a lot more popular these days, but if the news of him replacing

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

for the PIA could even end up attracting a lot of hate, and even if it didnt, making it public under these circ.u.mstances would still remain dangerous We also more or less know the rules in this circle, and wouldnt involve you into gossip for a short-lived pleasure of sharing it.

Dont ask for my return date

: Im actually indifferent to it myself, but hes a rather low-key person. It was already challenging for him to take part in the compet.i.tion, so I hope that he can continue voice acting in peace without getting disturbed by the outside world. ^^

Knives cutting in from four sides

: Yup!! Its kind of a pity that a VA this good stays so low-key, but its his choice, and we will respect it.

Puppet Show

: Yup!! Well respect his choice!! (shakes fist)

Knives cutting in from four sides

: But I have to say Your audition with you two in Order to End the Heavens was so, so, so beautiful!! For a director like me, this level of performance was simply a pure pleasure to my ears, I cried while listening to it

Puppet Show

: I agree so much, it was extremely beautiful!!

Knives cutting in from four sides

: Your acting was even more perfect than during your first run-through together! I didnt even think that Uncle Yan would also be so terrific at playing a villain, and you were amazing too, Return Date (so sad about the double runner-up situation), I wanted to just run outside and scream

I KNOW THOSE TWO VA

aaahhhh (but I had to endure)

Dont ask for my return date

: Haha, thank you girls. After that time, I also completely gave up on retiring from the circle. From now on, I will continue to play with all Ive got, I hope well collaborate again in the future if theres a chance~ ( 3)

Knives cutting in from four sides

: For sure!!

Puppet Show

: For sure indeed!!

After talking with those two girls, his previous regret about Trap receded slowly.

He had finally figured it out for himself

Some people voice act for popularity, just like

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

; some people voice act to overcome their disorders, just like Shen Yan; some voice act to forget about being lonely, just like himself. There were all kinds of reasons to become a VA, but what he ultimately figured out was the same as Pu Yuzhi had said before.

It was only when he discovered the excitement and joy he brought to the listeners that he realised that there was a value to his hard work, and found pride in it.

For this one particular matter, he and Shen Yan could both openly say to

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

:

I won

.

And with the outcome already decided, there was no need for further fighting.

It would of course be nice if he could voice act Trap, but if he couldnt, then he wouldnt insist on it. He realised that after losing this audio drama, he gained so much more valuable things: confidence in himself, respect, mentors, friends, and familyhe was already content.

So satisfied even, that during their flight to Beijing, Shen Yan, who was sitting beside him, asked why those two days he would s.p.a.ce out alone, smiling to himself. What are you thinking about? Seems like its something pleasant?

Im not really thinking of anything. Startling back to reality, he gave this man a radiant smile, pulling cheekily on his fingers below the blanket provided for the flight. From the start to the end, he didnt tell Shen Yan about the mess within the Trap production crew. He felt that there was no need to make ones vexation a two peoples problem, especially since he wasnt vexed about it anymore.

Now, they could finally focus on their trip to Beijing.

When we get there in a while, should we split and act separately? Qi Jing seriously considered whether he should go with Shen Yan while he lowered his head to look at the map provided by the organisers.

No need to. Shen Yan replied lightly, Just come with me.

My voice is easily recognizable, arent you afraid that your fans would recognize me, making it into a problem? The introductory event of Order to End the Heavens voice acting cast was open to the public, so most probably, there would be quite a bit of fans showing up. Qi Jing himself wasnt afraid of getting recognised, only saying so jokingly as he watched how Shen Yan would reply.

Shen Yan shook his head slowly, returning the grip of his hand. If youre not afraid, then theres nothing for me to fear.

If it wasnt for the pa.s.sengers in the adjoining seats, as well as the stewardess going back and forth, Qi Jing would really want to scoot over to give him a big kiss on the cheek.

It was snowing that day in Beijing, leaving the sky and earth covered in a white expanse of snow. The last time Qi Jing came it was already past the snowing. This time, the tiny specks of snow were still falling, melting as they touched on his cheeks, while the snowflakes that fell onto his scarf and collar remained there like a fine display of sifted frost, both exquisite and adorable.

Fortunately, the hotel arranged by the company behind Order to End the Heavens was very close to the metro, so it was easy to get there directly from the airport. They didnt have to spend too long of a time bracing the snow outside.

This hotels first and second floor provided all kinds of food and recreational facilities, as well as a couple of venues for business events, one of which would be used this time for Order to End the Heaven developers to throw the official introduction event. From the third floor up were the hotel rooms, which was where the contestants were supposed to check in.

Originally, Qi Jing was prepared to get another room for himself, but he didnt expect that when Shen Yan went to the reception desk, the receptionist would take a look at his data and tell them that the room the developers prepared for them was a standard double room, allowing two people to check in at the same time.

So is it okay for just anyone to check in? Qi Jing was astonished.

Thats right. The booking is only under Mr Shens name, the other one isnt specified. You can check in as long as you have an ID. The receptionist replied to him with a standard business smile.

Yet Shen Yan didnt appear surprised, only saying lukewarmly, The tickets were for two peoples worth, so its not all that strange for the room to be double as well.

It sounded logical, but it was a bit beyond expectation. It was kind of unimaginable for a business company to be this generous.

It was especially when they entered the room to leave their luggage and saw that the standard room had a double bed, leaving Qi Jing blinking, full of disbelief. Just what are the organisers thinking? What if the one accompanying you isnt me, but your normal friend or a normal fan?

Shen Yan only smiled without a reply.

After the two of them left their luggage, they took a look at their watches and noted that they still had some time left. Qi Jing remembered that there was a coffee shop nearby, and since the freezing day made him want to drink some hot beverage, he went down with Shen Yan to buy some hot coffee. Along the way, they watched Beijing adorned in decorations for the upcoming Christmas.

After strolling outside, they still had half an hour before the start of the event, but at some point, the signs for the Order to End the Heavens introductory event got put by the hotels entranceit seemed like the organisers had already arrived.

Seems like the people from the company already came to prepare the event. Do you want to come in now? Qi Jing asked with a smile. Contrary to him who came under the name of a fan, Shen Yan was one of the candidates. It could perhaps make the impression he left on the producers better if he came before time.

Shen Yan stood silently in the snow, as if not intent on going there right away.

Qi Jing noticed that the vapour escaping his lips was a bit heavier this time, denser, s.h.i.+elding his expression from perceiving.

Whats wrong? Even though he couldnt see clearly, he could feel that Shen Yan was uneasy.

Its nothing, He released a long exhale, the white vapour rolling and breaking apart as he spoke, making the snowflakes on his hair ends sway before finally dropping, Lets go, were going in.

Walking into the hotel, Qi Jing brushed the layer of snow off their clothes before walking into the lift.

As he watched the lift door close, Qi Jing suddenly saw a man walking over, seemingly wanting to go upstairs as well, so he hurriedly reached his hand out to stop the door from closing.

The other man seemed to have heard the sound of it opening again, and so the previously lowered eyes looked up and met Qi Jings gaze. Then, he nodded his head in thanks.

Qi Jing returned the nod with a smile, s.h.i.+fting a bit to make him some place.

After the man got inside, Qi Jing secretly sized him up, curious.

It was a young man of a slender build and with black square-rimmed gla.s.ses, which paired with his somewhat stern look gave him a very particular aura, adding even more flavour to the already attractive face. He seemed to have also just come from the outside, there was still some snow on his s.h.i.+ny leather shoes and his coat was hanging neatly from the crook of his arm. He was wearing a standard black suit, probably scrupulously ironed beforehands for it to look so perfectly straightfrom the very first glance he looked especially well-bred and orderly.

Was it someone from the Order to End the Heavens company? Or maybe a guest staying at the hotel for his business trip?

Qi Jing couldnt guess that right away, so he smiled politely and reached his hand in preparation to push the floor b.u.t.ton for him, Excuse me, which floor would you like to go to?

The moment he spoke, that person lifted his head in surprise, staring fixedly at him for a moment. In the end, he faintly said two words with an inquiring tone.

Return Date?

When Qi Jing heard his voice, he also stared at him, dumbfounded, eyes going wide.

He completely didnt expect to hear the voice he recognised from this mans mouthbecause his impression of this voice was so completely in dissonance with the person before him, so far away from his expectations.

Eh He gave a weak, awkward smile, afraid that he would call the wrong ID, but he just had to make sure for himself, Noodles?

A/N:

Kittys Papa, theres a love rival ahead of you! (no theres not)

Dont forget that Beijing is the homeground of the Time Limit s.h.i.+ppers (sips tea) Actually, the author a captain lingreader of the Time Limit s.h.i.+p (Hey)

T/N:

Lucilla: I love them smooth-voiced but stern-looking, lanky four-eyes xD Were over 100 chapters into the novel, nearing the end of it, but d.a.m.n, if Im not enjoying this little non-canon side-s.h.i.+p Joining the author for that one!