Chapter 70
Lilies: thank you Rereadm for the ko-fi (~￣▽￣)~ ← stolen emoticon from one of the earlier chaps
TLC: Lilies
Editor: Whiteflares
No matter who was that, it couldn’t possibly be “Kitty の Papa”.
And that’s simply because the voice was completely different—
When Qi Jing realised that he called out in a moment of desperation, his breath stagnated and his first reaction was to cover his mouth with hand.
He shot up to his feet as if reflexively, but the movement was too abrupt, causing him to forcefully knock his knee by the desk table with a bang. That sound was probably also transmitted, since Yang Chunqu once again exclaimed with surprise. The pain instantly made Qi Jing recover some of his rationality, so he put down his hand, quickly pushing the key to mute the mic.
Unfortunately, what is done can’t be undone—muting the mic now couldn’t make up for his already said words.
After all, it wasn’t only the MC who heard him, but nearly ten thousand of listeners.
Audience 1: &#k2026; Crap, who was that fellow?? I might not be very familiar with Kitty’s Papa’s real voice, but it can’t! Possibly! Be! Him!【By the way, I think I heard the sound of hitting something… My friend, are you alright?】
Audience 2: Σ(っ °Д °)っ That scared me, this voice is clearly different from Kitty’s Papa’s voice before… Whomst is it! Whomst!
Audience: Σ(っ °Д °)っ I need to say that this voice is quite pleasing to the ear~【so clear and distinct】
Audience: Could it be…
Audience 5: Could it be a family member?? Aooooo—! I know it’s a proper voice acting competition, but I can’t help my thoughts from going wild!! Begging for the truth, begging for clarification!! °.°(((p(≧□≦)q)))°.°
Audience 6: …Speaking of which… even though he spoke quickly, and I didn’t hear it clearly… I’m still sure that I heard that voice somewhere. It sounds so familiar!! But I can’t recall where I heard it right now… (scratching walls)
…
I’m begging of you all, don’t recall it—Qi Jing held his hand over his madly thrashing and panicking heart, not even daring to take a breath as his eyes stayed locked on the continuously appearing new guesses on the public chat.
What to do?
What to do?
His voice was very distinct, so even though he spoke so quickly and the listeners wouldn’t be able to recognise him at the moment, after some of his fans listened to the recording multiple times later, he would certainly get recognised—so what should he do now?
At that time, the door to the study suddenly opened as a panting Shen Yan barged inside.
His breathing was rushed, he hadn’t even managed to take off his shoes and coat and still held the keys to the main door in his hand—they jingled with every hurried step he made. Because he ran the whole way back, it was hard to say whether the flush on his face was from the running or from the chilly wind. Traces left behind by the perspiration that had dried were still visible on his fatigued face, but his gaze was strong.
Qi Jing should be overjoyed to see him, but at the moment he wasn’t capable of mustering any semblance of a smile, and could only stand there like a statue, his face pale.
“I’m sorry—”
“I’m sorry—”
Both of them spoke at the same time, and were taken aback at the same moment. But they also both knew what the other was apologizing for.
“I’m sorry… Shen Yan, I’m so sorry. I called out in my haste just now…” Qi Jing’s voice trembled as he pointed towards the mic.
“Don’t panic.” Shen Yan tried to slow his hurried breathing as he tossed the things in his hands aside and held Qi Jing’s shoulders, patting on them as if to help him suppress his fear. In fact, he heard Qi Jing’s cry as well when he entered the door. Linking together the words said, he could more or less guess the current situation, so he said in a low voice, “It’s my fault, it’s me who got back late… Don’t worry, it’s already fortunate that I can turn up on time.”
He wasn’t wrong about that; they should take it step by step.
Qi Jing closed his eyes resigned to this fate and nodded his head in silence as he let Shen Yan take off his headphones to put them on himself.
Yang Chunqu in the voice channel was clearly still confused. She watched as the light by “Kitty の Papa”’s ID dimmed once again; she tried to call him a couple of times, but to no avail. It also seemed that all of the listeners agreed to drown her with the pleas to “wait for a while longer”, so she had no other choice but to give him a bit more time.
At that moment, that light suddenly lit up and a slightly breathy, but still familiarly deep and steady voice could be heard, “I’m sorry, host… Everything is alright now.”
Once he spoke up, the chat was immediately flooded with cheers.
Audience 1: 〒▽〒 God bless!! It’s the real Kitty’s Papa this time!!【His real voice is really so easy on the ears ≧ω≦】
Audience 2: 〒▽〒 Hooowl—! I’m so excited! Is your equipment fixed already?? All that wait wasn’t for naught, it was worth it staying up tonight!!
Audience 3: 〒▽〒 Scaring me to death, and here I thought I won’t be able to hear you~
Audience 4: Kitty’s Papa, begging for clarification! Who is that guy who has just spoken! If I don’t hear the answer, I won’t be able to sleep tonight, really! (rolling around on the floor)
Audience 5: Begging for clarification or I can’t sleep tonight! +1
Audience 6: Begging for clarification or I can’t sleep tonight! +2
…
Yang Chunqu was stupefied by this scene, but she finally realised this contestant was the actual, legitimate Kitty’s Papa who competed for the role of “Old Man Xiao Shan”, and hurriedly said, “Ah, seems like it’s really contestant number thirty this time. Is your problem with the equipment solved?”
“Yes, I’m sorry for the complications.” While he responded, Shen Yan hurriedly took off his coat and loosened the collar of his shirt a bit, so that he could gradually calm his breathing. During all that time, his eyes had been fixed on Qi Jing who took his coat for him. He hesitated for a moment, then took an initiative to explain the situation to Yang Chunqu, “The person from before, he… he’s my flatmate. My equipment suddenly malfunctioned leaving me in a tight spot, so he came over to help me adjust it and spoke up in a moment of carelessness. So please, forgive us for that mishap, host.”
“Oh, so that’s how it was.” Yang Chunqu chuckled, finally understanding the situation, “That’s great that you managed to repair it at the last moment.”
“Mhm.”
It was 10:30 PM already, so saying Qi Jing was his friend wouldn’t be very plausible. But when he gave Qi Jing a questioning glance, the latter made a shushing gesture, signalling him to not tell the truth—that’s why Shen Yan chose “flatmate” as the most reasonable explanation, one that wouldn’t expose the true nature of their relationship.
But the listeners’ imagination spanned way wider than Yang Chunqu’s train of thought.
Even more, they started to extend into the more ambiguous direction—
Audience 1: … Flatmate… = =
Audience 2: … Flatmate… That has to be an excuse = =【Speaking of which, I also feel like I’ve heard that flatmate’s voice somewhere…】
Audience 3: Flatmate or whatever, the point is, they’re living together!! Hahahaha, two guys living under the same roof, it really makes my imagination go wild!! (/≧▽≦/)
Audience 4: That flatmate’s voice is pretty nice, can I ask Kitty Papa and the flatmate to come for a round?!!
Audience 5: Pfft, what did the previous commenter mean by that “come for a round”, what kind of coming and what round did you mean~ Oh crap, it really makes me shy~【Lies! You’re clearly so happy you could drop dead by now】
Audience 6: Pfft, I’ll board the trend and ask Kitty’s Papa and the flatmate to come for a round, no matter the interpretation, both are welcomed = =+
…
The situation was getting more and more out of hand.
Yang Chunqu cleared her throat and reminded everyone that the competition was still going on, “Dear listeners, we will now ask contestant number thirty to make the final preparations. As usual, before we start—do you have something to say to everyone, number thirty?”
Shen Yan’s audition was beginning properly, so there was no need for him to stay anymore—thinking this, Qi Jing made to go, intending to leave the room so that he wouldn’t influence Shen Yan’s performance. But at that moment, Shen Yan suddenly grabbed his hand. He didn’t use much strength, but his hold was firm.
Qi Jing found himself at loss; he lowered his head to meet Shen Yan’s calm gaze.
The deep black of those eyes was just like the strength holding his hand, steady, but also determined… It made one want to stay enveloped in it.
Wait.Shen Yan mouthed to him.
Qi Jing didn’t react for a while, then nodded his head lightly. But Shen Yan didn’t release him, he kept holding Qi Jing’s hand like this.
The listeners in the chat proceeded to express their excitement; because this “Kitty の Papa” had left everyone with quite a deep impression with his opening statement during the previous audition, even earning a special comment from Pu Yuzhi, together with numerous support from the listeners.
Only the judge had the right to speak at that time, so the contestants had no way of turning their mics on to respond.
That’s why now everyone was curious whether he had any change of heart.
This time, Shen Yan looked at the screen, at the comments people sent for him in the chat. It was as if he was looking at the audience smiling at him from below the scene, the view no longer obscured by the dazzling light of the stage lights. He took a deep breath and said slowly, “First… I’d like to thank Teacher Pu for the commentary and advice from the last time. It was on point regarding numerous things, and I benefited from it a lot. It let me… reconsider my attitude towards voice acting, as well as other things I was unable to see before. Thank you.”
As he spoke, he didn’t really stop moving his fingers and kept stroking the back of Qi Jing’s palm with his thumb.
Qi Jing chuckled noiselessly and also curled his fingers against Shen Yan’s hand in turn, holding the other’s hand in a gentle grip as if to convey his support for the other’s words.
“Next, I want to thank the listeners who showed me support.” Shen Yan’s gentle voice got caught by the mic; for Qi Jing, his voice was like a vast sea, steady and calm—but this time it wasn’t immersed in the depths of the night, but warm like a sea under the sunlight during low tide.
“Before, I never looked at the screen. I didn’t dare to. But only when I properly looked later did I realise that… There are actually so many people listening to me, supporting me. I… I’m really grateful to all of you.” He said in a low voice, “I hope that today I can also give you a satisfactory performance.”
When Shen Yan said this, the heaps of red flowers on the screen were already innumerable.
Audience 1: （╯‵□′）╯︵ Flipping the table! What do you mean by “satisfactory performance”, ah?! It will certainly be a performance deserving of a high score!
Audience 2: （╯‵□′）╯︵ Exactly! Kitty’s Papa, have more faith in yourself!
Audience 3: 〒▽〒 Even saying stuff like ‘not daring to look at the screen’… Crap, I think I felt my heart sting right now!! My motherly love (?) is overflowing!!
Audience 4: 〒▽〒 Each of your opening remarks make me tear up, what’s up with that… Kitty’s Papa, you owe me some tissues!!
Audience 5: Making me tear up +1, but I still have to say that this time, he will play Bai Ke!! That uber-scumbag Baike!! What if after being so wholesome now he won’t be able to scum himself up later!?【My focus seems to be wrong…】
Audience 6: The commenter above pointed out the right thing… Kitty’s Papa, why did you have to choose that role! Such a waste of your slots! (scratching a wall indignantly)
…
Everyone’s reactions were to be expected—or rather, they were even more warmer than expected.
Qi Jing smiled.
Shen Yan’s reaction had changed quite a lot since he first appeared the last time, and Qi Jing believed that the listeners could hear that in his tone. No matter the outcome of the competition, whether he wasted his role quota or not, it never really mattered—he had already witnessed Shen Yan taking a step forward in his life.
Like this, he could now leave with his heart at ease and go back to his room to listen to him on his own computer. As for whether they would get exposed, he didn’t really want to mull over that now. They could think it through later after the competition.
But just as he wanted to leave, Shen Yan not only didn’t move, but held his hand even tighter.
Qi Jing was utterly perplexed by his behaviour.
“And at last, I want to talk about why I chose this role.” Last time, Shen Yan had talked about the reason for choosing his previous character, and this time wasn’t an exception. “The choice of playing ‘Bai Ke’ is in fact mostly because of his relationship with ‘Fang Yisheng’—”
As he spoke, the chat filled up with all the “eh”s, signalling the surprise of the listeners. They obviously couldn’t make sense of that reasoning.
But Shen Yan continued.
“By my side, there’s a person I consider my benefactor. It’s not like I had my life saved by him like it was the case with ‘Fang Yisheng’ and ‘Bai Ke’, but he has given me so much; not in a material sense… but it’s something really, really precious to me.”
At that time, Shen Yan suddenly pulled Qi Jing’s hand, pulling it over to his chest’s level, then lowered his head to plant a gentle kiss on his fingers.
Qi Jing trembled, as if those lips set a fire that made their way from the place where the kiss landed up to his cheeks, immediately sparking a burning hot sensation.
Really…His heart was just so unprepared for that.
When the kiss ended, Shen Yan turned his head over to look at him and laughed as he placed that hand directly over his heart, then continued, “That’s why I wanted to try voice acting as this character—to remind myself not to become someone like ‘Bai Ke’. That’s it. Thank you.”
Even though only Qi Jing could truly understand those words, the audience’s ability to connect this and that was truly not to be underestimated.
The atmosphere in the public chat had already started to fall into an uproar.
Audience 1: o(*////▽////*)o Aiyoyoyo~~~
Audience 2: o(*////▽////*)o What kind of situation is that?? Does it mean that IRL Kitty’s Papa has a benefactor similar to Fang Yisheng??【Oh my, I just can’t stop my imagination from going in all sorts of directions, can I?】
Audience 3: o(*////▽////*)o That reason is so amazing! Saying it like that, I feel like the original plot had suddenly become a love-hate angsty drama! “I can’t have you, so I’ll kill you”, this kind of story, am I right?!
Audience 4: （//////艸//////） So it could be interpreted like that… Crap, once I’ve accepted such a setting…
Audience 5: Kitty’s Papa, is that really all you have to say?!! How is that possible!! Quick, tell me if that IRL “Fang Yisheng” you just spoke about is your flatmate or not!!【This time I really won’t be able to sleep tonight, ok?】
Audience 6: This time I really won’t sleep tonight +10086! Is it roommate-kun? Hooowl—! If it really is flatmate-kun then I feel like the door to the new world is about to open for me… I know that the original plot has a female lead character, but… I think there’s a place for a Bai Ke x Fang Yisheng slash, don’t you think??
…
“Ahem… Then, contestant number thirty, I will now turn off my mic.”
It was clear that Yang Chunqu knew where the people in the chat were going, but to leave some time for the final judges’ commentary, she put an end to everyone’s spirited brain-rotting.
Looking at the flickering of Yang Chunqu’s avatar, Qi Jing knew it was now the time for him to leave for real.
His cheeks were still hot when he gently broke his hand away from Shen Yan’s grip and lightly punched the latter on the shoulder. Then, he quietly left the study and quickly went to the bedroom to put on his headphones.
By the time Qi Jing put his headphones on, the timer of the mic sequence’s first speaker had already started counting down from 120.
As he wanted to save time, he was virtually running on his way there yet he didn’t even care to catch his breath but held it, focusing solely on listening.
Yet strangely enough, even though three seconds passed on the timer, there was still no sound to be heard in his headphones. In the end Qi Jing couldn’t hold his breath any longer and took a few gasps—only then he discovered the faint sound of a man gasping coming through the headphones—but compared to his, that breathing was more laboured, more hurried, as if it was coming from the depths of that person’s chest.
Quite stifled, the pants could be heard one after another.
It was as if there was something clogging his throat, his breath sounding almost turbid. As if…
He was in the rain—
Suddenly, Qi Jing felt a chill washing over his body as if it was pouring, just like in the scene he saw before his eyes. That’s right… it was in the middle of a torrential downpour—even without needing to read the novel, the lines for the second act would’ve already clued the contestants and the audience in.
What’s more, Bai Ke should have collapsed into a pool of blood at that time.
His face smeared was covered in mud and the rain was strong; most of the time a person lying like that would have trouble breathing, be it from the pouring rainwater or the water gathered on the ground.
Then, Qi Jing heard a voice in his ears quite unlike any other he had ever heard before.
It wasn’t the voice itself that he had never heard before—in fact, there was barely any change in the voice, it was merely a pitch higher, a bit brighter than Shen Yan’s natural voice.
What he had never heard before was the temperament hidden within that voice.
Just like Shen Yan himself was like a scabbard—an inherent quality of a scabbard is bluntness, it wouldn’t inflict any harm upon touching and is both solid and durable.
But now, he was like the blade hidden away in the scabbard, his sharpness almost sinister—
“I don’t want to die…”
When he said the first line, that moist breathing suddenly became more urgent, more laboured, to the point when one could hear his whimpers with each breath he took, making the repeated line he said later sound ever more powerful—
“I don’t want to die…” With his teeth clenched, he cried, unreconciled, “Don’t want to die… I don’t want to die!”
The same line, one Qi Jing had heard twenty nine times already, but the thirtieth time was different beyond his imagination.
At this point, the vast majority of the contestants had used the incoherent and weak tone, enacting the “nearing death” prompt competition officials included in the description, usually resulting in a copy-paste-like act of a man on his last dying breath.
That part itself wasn’t really wrong.
If this scene was to be taken out of the story without any context, no one would find it inadequate.
Qi Jing suddenly remembered the description of this scene from the original ⟪Order to End the Heaven⟫ novel. The reason why Bai Ke ended up in this state, waiting for death like this was because he had been ambushed by the imperial court’s military forces. His becoming the target of that ambush was the result of his identity as “senior of Qin Tuo the traitor”—the military officer who was after him had made this clear.
Bai Ke always had a low self-esteem because of his birth and felt envious of his junior whose family background was tens times better than his, yet now, he was to die at some god-forsaken place because of his relationship with that same junior.
How could he not feel resentful?
How could he not hate?
So of course… As he was nearing his death, there was one wish that would appear first in his heart—the wish to not die, to live on and take revenge on his junior.
Qi Jing felt as if something hard rammed into his chest, and a shiver ran through his body.
It wasn’t isolated voice acting.
This voice acting drew links to the different parts and encompassed the entirety of the story.
Gradually, that breathing that made one think of a trapped beast nearing its end was thoroughly exhausted and slowly ceased to be; after a spell of painful coughing, that man suddenly let out a tiny whimper, “… Uh…”
It was as if the moment of the overwhelming fury had passed—the man probably realised that he was really going to die and lost all of his will.
At such times, one would usually calm down that tiny bit.
The one he would think of wouldn’t be his junior, but his dear master who he was closest to and trusted the most, the master who single-handedly raised him but didn’t even know he was about to die in the chilling rain.
“I don’t want to die…”
He still wanted to see his master one more time.
He was still unreconciled, but this time it was more despaired, more sorrowful, “I, don’t want to die… don’t want to.”
Qi Jing didn’t realise that he stopped breathing at that point, as he was completely focused on the other party’s voice.
Upon witnessing such a change from furious to sorrowful, one would no doubt feel some curiosity towards this person.
They wouldn’t be able… resist wanting to save his life, to see why he clung to his life so desperately—
With that thought, the corresponding lines naturally escaped Qi Jing’s lips.
“Don’t want to die?” Interesting… So what exactly would the reason be? “Then… what other attachments do you have?”
Lucilla: (mind deep in a gutter together with the audience) I… I also want Kitty’s Papa and the flatmate to come for a round… (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)←also stolen
Whiteflare: AHHHHHHHH PUBLIC HIDDEN CONFESSION <3<3<3