Chapter 156 - Extra 3 Part 3 Words Between the Lines
Shen Yan printed out the article and placed it with the books and materials he
often referred to, as a reminder of why he had chosen his profession.
Though he didn't know the author of the article, he had a feeling… that if
they ever had the chance to meet, they’d probably get along surprisingly well.
As June drew to a close, the full force of summer arrived with the constant
hum of cicadas filling the city.
With the peak season for pet illnesses passing, the pressure on the hospital
significantly lessened. Additionally, most of the cats from the abuse case
were discharged, and his work schedule gradually returned to normal. Apart
from having time to pen down daily observations of the little animals of the
day, when time allowed, he could even take up voice acting gigs requiring
"uncle" or "grandfather" voices.
Up until now, he had only recorded his parts quietly and submitted them for
all the audio dramas he's been in.
He never joined the crew’s group chats, nor did he ever chat with any of the
staff; mainly because he couldn't keep up with the pace of all those young
girls.
The online voice-acting community has changed drastically over the past few
years. The circle was growing increasingly younger, their conversations
constantly peppered with emoticons and internet slang. It was completely
different from the structured, no-nonsense exchanges of his days. He felt
these young ladies would surely find his way of speaking boring and
monotonous, and being naturally awkward with strangers anyway, he figured it
best to remain silent. Hence, with the mentality that "silence is golden", he
usually kept his texts brief on QQ.
Fortunately, because his parts were often so small, most crews simply said
"thanks" after receiving his recordings and that was that.
Some producers would contact him again for minor “grandfather” roles in other
projects, but even those interactions were limited to the usual sending
scripts, recording, submitting, revising, and announcing the release of the
dramas; there was little depth to the exchanges.
So, when a production team reached out with a request that fell outside the
usual workflow, Shen Yan was suddenly at a loss for how to respond—
(Message window shakes.)
Puppet Show: /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~ Uncle Yan AAaaaAaaH! Uncle Yan, are you there, are
you there, are you there? (infinite echo)
Puppet Show: I'm the scriptwriter for《Trap》, the project you're in. We're
currently in urgent need of a male CV who is online now to help.
Puppet Show: /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~ If you're here, please, please respond, Uncle Yan!
I'm begging you!
(Message window shakes.)
When Puppet Show sent him those three distress messages consecutively, he had
just finished sending yesterday's voice recordings to another drama group and
was about to shut down for the night.
However, because the other party made use of the "shake" function, the
notification window popped up suddenly, abruptly halting his action of closing
QQ.
The message content left him momentarily stunned; in that moment, he was
unsure how to respond.
Puppet Show was a known scriptwriter in the community and a close friend of
the first producer Shen Yan had helped after returning to voice acting. That
producer who had been at her wit's end, desperate for someone to fill a minor
grandfather role, was overjoyed when she received Shen Yan's dry recordings
and started recommending his grandpa voice everywhere she went. Eventually,
earning him the nickname "Grandfather Specialist". It was also because of this
that the《Trap》production team, which Puppet Show was a part of, had
approached him to voice the main character's grandfather.
He had already submitted his dry recordings and all there was left should be
to wait quietly for the audio drama's release. Who knew Puppet Show would
suddenly approach him for something else entirely.
Still, she seemed genuinely distressed…
After some deliberation, he ultimately placed his fingers back on the keyboard
and gave a brief reply.
Geese Fly North: I'm here.
The simple reply of two words seemed to send Puppet Show over the moon as she
immediately started flooding the chat with a flurry of excited emojis.
Puppet Show: AaaaAaah! Uncle Yan! (Burst into tears)
Puppet Show: You actually replied me!
Puppet Show: Ahem, sorry I got a little too excited because I heard you
basically never reply to QQ messages…
Geese Fly North: May I ask if the production team needs something from me?
Puppet Show: The thing is, our crew for《Trap》had arranged for the two lead
CVs to do a live reading together tonight, but one of them couldn't make it,
and the other lead is usually really busy—if we miss this chance, it'll be
really difficult to arrange another live reading session. So we're looking for
a male voice actor with a similar vocal range to fill in temporarily...
Seeing that message, Shen Yan finally figured out what she meant, but the
moment he did, he also clearly felt the resistance in his heart.
—The "emergency" the team was facing was referring to an online rehearsal.
It's already been four years since he last did a live reading session… After
parting ways with "Two" and the rest of the group, he had never acted with
anyone else. All the roles he had taken on since then had been recorded
offline, all by himself.
He had already read through《Trap》when he accepted the role of the
protagonist's grandfather so there wasn't an issue with his understanding of
the plot and the characters. It's just that he did not think he was ready
mentally, nor did he think he could complete a live rehearsal that was up to
standard.
This sudden invitation… He lacked the confidence to accept it.
Should he tell this young scriptwriter that he had no experience with live
readings and would not be able to help? But that would be a lie, and he
didn't want to lie, yet he couldn't bring himself to tell the truth either.
He agonised over it, his fingers hovering motionless above the keyboard,
unable to come up with a suitable response.
Puppet Show was already anxious to begin with, and she grew even more frantic
at his prolonged silence.
Puppet Show: /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~ Is it a no? Are you really not able to help, Uncle
Yan?
Puppet Show: /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~ I know that you're a really private
person and suddenly requesting for you to do a live rehearsal with a stranger
is a lot to ask, especially since it's not your obligation. But I've contacted
every CV I know, and I'm really out of options which is why I came to bother
you as a last resort. I sincerely hope you'll consider it.
Puppet Show: Uncle Yan?
Puppet Show: …
Puppet Show: …Okay, I understand. Sorry to bother you… Thank you for replying
so quickly. (Bows)
Seeing this, he suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
She was a clearly polite and kind young lady, bending over backwards for the
sake of her production team to plead with a stranger for help, yet here he was
choosing to run away, abandoning her to her predicament all because he was too
afraid to face his own demons.
His throat tightened as he hesitated, but he eventually typed five words into
the reply box.
Geese Fly North: I’ll give it a try.
Puppet Show: !!
Puppet Show: R-Really? You’re really willing to try? Awooooo! That's
wonderful! I’ll let the other staff know right away and send you the YY room
number!
He was stunned for a moment. YY room… What's that?
His understanding of online voice software was still stuck on Skype, and he
was completely clueless to this new platform, YY Voice, so he had to look it
up and quietly read through the installation and user guides. By the time he
had downloaded, installed, registered, and figured out how to enter the room
by its ID, nearly fifteen minutes had passed.
The moment he entered the channel, named [Trap Production Crew], he could hear
the sighs and complaints of several girls.
"Puppet, just what are you doing? If that's the case then how is it any
different from not finding anyone?"
"S-Sorry…"
"Sigh, forget it, I'll continue looking."
…
…They're probably talking about me, he thought. He had wasted quite
some time figuring out the software, it seemed they misunderstood and thought
he had bailed on them.
He hastily typed the words "I'm here" in the chatbox, but before he could send
it, Puppet Show could be heard exclaiming,
"Wait! Wait a minute! He's here!"
He paused for a moment before silently deleting those words in the chatbox.
Then, following the tutorial instructions, he pressed down on the F2 key with
his left hand to activate his microphone.
But right at that moment, a somewhat amused voice suddenly came through his
headphones.
"Hello, Grandpa."
"Clack."
His right hand which was adjusting the microphone trembled violently,
accidentally bumping the audio receptor and producing a sharp burst of
static—much like the jolt in his chest as his heart skipped a beat.
—"Five".
That term involuntarily popped up in his mind, sending a chill down his spine.
His fingers quickly withdrew from the F2 key, cutting off the voice chat.
—How could "Five" be here?
Just this very thought made his throat tighten as if someone were pressing on
it. His breathing hitched and he could hear his heart pounding in his ears
before his hearing gradually dulled, and he found himself sitting there,
frozen like a statue.
When "Five" first introduced him to the others, everything was still fine. But
his attitude suddenly took a 180 and "Five" started targeting and ostracising
him both openly and secretly, always trying to make him look bad in front of
the others. Although he didn't know the reason for this change, he still chose
to silently endure it all because he didn't want to get the others involved,
breaking apart their little group.
Four years ago, he finally learned the truth at Grandfather's deathbed. He
also understood the reason he was being ostracised, but by then, he no longer
had the energy or will to stay and naturally did not wish to be associated
with "Five" again.
In the past four years, he had heard "Four" awkwardly mention that "Five" had
left the voice acting circle. And true enough, he basically didn't see
"Five's" ID on the forums any more, proving this news to be true. This was
also the reason he decided to heed the doctor's advice and return to voice
acting.
But if "Five" was still around…
However, he quickly dismissed this notion once he heard the person bantering
and laughing with the girls.
It's not "Five"…
While the first impression had been similar, as he listened more carefully, he
noticed there was quite a difference between their vocal timbres, which was
especially noticeable in normal conversation.
This person sounded much clearer and more easy-going than "Five".
Even his ID was quite casual—"Don't ask for my return date".
He heaved a deep sigh of relief and composed himself as he typed a reply in
the public chat: Hello.
His polite, formal greeting seemed to make the other person pause in thought
for a moment. When the other party spoke again, his voice was softer,
apologetic even, "Ah, sorry about that… I only called you "Grandpa" because of
our characters' relationship in the script. I thought it was funny in the
moment, but I wasn't trying to bully you. Please don’t take it to heart."
Strangely, as the gentle words came through one by one from the headphones
into his ear, they didn't carry the usual pressure he felt when talking to a
stranger.
When he heard "please don't take it to heart," he instinctively shook his head
slightly and typed out a response: It’s fine.
Then, the man asked again, "Could it be that you don't have a mic, so you
can't voice chat?"
He knew that simply communicating by typing wasn't going to cut it; they were
here to rehearse lines after all, so he couldn't keep silent forever.
But he had no idea what to say beyond the lines on the script and ultimately
didn't speak up. He only typed "I can use voice chat" on the public chat and
passively waited for the production crew to give further instructions.
The other STAFF probably felt a little awkward as well, as the director, a
girl with the ID "Knives cutting in from four corners" decided to skip the
small talk and get down to business.
"Um, in that case, you two can just start whenever you're ready. Let's go
through it once completely; I won't interrupt. And when you're done, I'll give
you my feedback line by line." She pasted the scene excerpt in the chat and
handed the reins over to them.
"Understood. I'm ready to start any time on my end," the other man replied.
"Huu…"
He steadied himself, took a deep breath, and quietly set his voice mode to
"Free Speak".
"I knew right from the start that everything you did was just a scheme against
me—"
His voice came out low and restrained.
He knew it was a trap right from the start, one he could've dodged, yet he
walked right into it.
He knew they were opponents right from the start, that he should have kept his
distance, yet somehow he’d found himself drawn closer and closer.
He didn't criticise or question the other party's stance but was instead hung
up on the fact that everything had been a calculated ploy against him—it was
nothing but an admission that his heart's defences had been compromised.
It was just one line but it conveyed a multitude of emotions: loss, regret,
anger, inner turmoil, and a cold and rigid facade he put on to mask his true
feelings from the other person.
The lines for leading roles typically demanded far more emotional depth than
supporting characters. He needed to immerse himself completely to capture all
these subtle nuances in tone.
That was his first line. And after it, his scene partner should have continued
but there was no response even after waiting for quite a while.
Instead, they were cut off by the director's exclamation, "Holy heck."
He was a little stunned. Could it be that because he hadn't done a live
reading in so long, he already messed up on his first line?
"What was that just now? What was that youthful voice just now!" The director
nearly lost control, as she continued exclaiming in the channel, while the
other two staff members joined in, echoing her surprise in the chat.
Only then did he realise. He’d always voiced elderly characters, but this
time, he used his original voice, which probably startled them.
The girls were chattering away excitedly amongst themselves, but the person he
was rehearsing with remained silent, showing no reaction.
It wasn't until the director finally gathered herself and asked, "Hey, are you
still there, Return date?" that he finally heard the other person slowly
reply, "Yes, I'm here. Sorry, could you turn your volume up a little, Your
Grace, Geese Fly North? I couldn't quite catch it on my end, might be a wifi
connection issue."
Ah, so he didn't hear me…
Thus, he silently pulled the microphone a little closer and increased the
volume.
"I knew right from the start that everything you did was just a scheme against
me."
With the microphone so close, even his breaths as he spoke were captured,
further highlighting the character's state of painful restraint in that
moment.
Then, a lazy laugh came from the other side. As he heard the laugh, a hint of
breathing could also be heard, as if he were looking down on him as he
challenged his cold, rigid facade.
"You knew it's a trap, yet you still jumped right into it," the first half of
the line completely exposed the feelings he tried to hide while in the second
half, the voice seemed to draw closer and closer, like a secret whisper
between them, magnifying the subtle tension between them. "Doesn't that
mean…you're interested in me?"
It must be because he got into character…
Shen Yan could feel his breathing quicken slightly, his throat unconsciously
tightening.
He wondered if it was because about eighty or ninety per cent of the roles
he'd played, whether with his old companions or in later projects, had been
minor characters and naturally had little to no romantic involvement.
Formally rehearsing and voicing such a scene between same-sex lovers was a
first for him.
Moreover, this scene in《Trap》was... setting up for a later intimate scene on
a sofa, so naturally it was charged with sensual undertones.
"…Holy heck." The director's exclamation came at either the worst or best
possible moment, once again interrupting their dialogue.
He blinked, snapping out of it, and took a moment to ground himself.
A dedicated CV would give their all regardless of the role or content.
His scene partner had certainly done that, which had led to his earlier
immersion in the scene—this was what voice acting was all about; this was the
true meaning of a "performance[1]".
He suddenly realised that as he acknowledged this, his initial anxiety about
whether he could complete this rehearsal smoothly had vanished.
How nice—
He thought. Turns out starting anew wasn't as difficult as he'd imagined.
"Let's continue. shall we?"
When not doing a scene, that person's voice always remained unfailingly
polite, constantly seeking ways to communicate that wouldn't make him
uncomfortable. Always checking in with him before proceeding with the next
step.
He unconsciously lowered his eyes at the screen, feeling a warmth in his
heart.
"Yes."
Years later, whenever he thought back to that simple reply, he couldn't help
but wonder: perhaps, this was the beginning of their promise to each other.
No one could have predicted it.
No one would've thought much of it at the time.
But sometimes, some people,
and some things were simply destined—taking root and sprouting before he'd
even realised it.
+++++
"Dr Shen, there's someone looking for you."
He had just finished surgery on a cat with severe fractures and was wearily
pushing open the operating room door when he heard the head nurse, Ms Pang,
calling out to him.
Recently, two more cases of brutal cat abuse had occurred. No one knew if it
was the same group at work or if someone was deliberately following suit,
emboldened by the lack of legal repercussions. Since the hospital had
successfully handled the first group of abused cats—and his effort to save the
cat with ruptured organs had even made it to the local newspaper—animal
protection organisations throughout the city had sought them out. The injured
animals from these recent abuse cases were also entrusted to their hospital
for treatment.
Whilst it was a good reputation, the workload that came with it was also
immense.
He had been working under intense pressure every day lately, with almost no
time to rest. So when he heard the head nurse call him, he reflexively assumed
another injured animal had just been brought in. He lifted his head without
thinking, only to pause in slight surprise.
Standing next to the head nurse was another person, someone with a gentle,
refined demeanour and a bright, warm smile.
He'd seen this person once at the library, but never imagined they'd meet
again here.
He had also heard this person's voice twice, but he only quietly speculated
about it, never with the chance or the right excuse to confirm his suspicions.
If he were to confirm it, would it make things awkward for the other person?
As he thought about this, his hand, which had been about to remove his mask,
paused slightly in mid-air before ultimately withdrawing
At that moment, the person before him stepped forward with a slight smile,
handing him a business card. Without the distortion from a microphone, his
voice now sounded even clearer and brighter.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Qi Jing, a journalist with the provincial TV station.
I'd like to follow up with an interview about the latest cat abuse case—"
Hearing this, he almost felt his heart tremble slightly. He instinctively
looked up, staring fixedly at the person before lowering his eyes to focus on
the press badge on his chest.
There, a name was clearly written on it.
[Qi Jing]
The dazzling sunlight from peak summer streamed in at an angle from the
window, casting golden fragments of light onto the transparent plastic of the
press badge, flowing and flickering in quiet, silent dance.
That light seemed to fall bit by bit into his eyes, and into his heart.
Staring at the business card in his hand, seeing that striking character "誩"
printed there, something stirred deep within his chest—like the soft knock of
a door. Perhaps, one day, the little seed hidden behind that door would grow
into a towering tree, breaking through the door.
"So it's you…"
He muttered softly, a faint smile forming beneath his mask.
—Break your name apart and there'll be two characters for "word (言 yán)"
If one of it belongs to you, then isn't the other destined to belong to
me?
—Yes.
1. Technically written as "对戏" which I've been translating as "scene work"
or "rehearsal" but I don't think those two translations are quite apt for
this line.↩
And that concludes all the extras wheee~ All that's left is the QnA about
Noodles and Five ٩(^ᗜ^ )و ´-
Fair warning: depending on your tastes in BL and morals (XD) I think the
info from the QnA might ruin them for you oops
If you don't mind, it'd be nice if you can rate this novel on NU if you've
enjoyed it so far!! ( ̧⸝⸝⍢⸝⸝)ෆ
Please feedback to me in the comments below if you find any typos or
terrible grammar, etc that you think I should change. Or maybe you think
my interpretation is completely off lol Help me help you have a better
reading experience ahahah what a tongue twister XD
Thank yous!! (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a great day!!
You can support me by sending some love in the comments or through the button below
Thank yous!! (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a great day!!
You can support me by sending some love in the comments or through the button below
peace lilies~