Chapter 122

unedited

At first it was by voice that he got to know him.

At first, there was close to not a single person who knew himback then, Qi Jing was still hiding under the ID of Grandpas Fan to leave a message in the Trap audio drama thread, feeling unreconciled at the sight of his silent support getting no reciprocation.

And now

His voice was being heard by more and more people, and that small and inconspicuous message also seemed to slowly fall back into the corner among the loud applause. It wasnt like he was unhappy, he was only thinking that Maybe it would be better to leave that message remain there in a corner, bringing it back now wouldnt quite match the current him.

Right now, if the ID ofDont ask for my return datewas put side by side with his, maybe It really wouldnt suit. He wasnt as good as

Two

yet.

c.r.a.p Was he having a downer or something? Qi Jing shook his head. While at the stage of a compet.i.tion, having negative thoughts and self-doubt is the biggest obstacle, but he fortunately realised that soon enough to steer away from it. Still, he still couldnt help a troubled smile.

Shen Yan, compared to being a fan, Id much rather hope to be your partner Just as

Two

and their group.

Anyone could make a fan, but only a special person could become a partner.

And it wouldnt be too late to be as confident as he wants while making their relations.h.i.+p known online when he finally gets good enough. Only this way he would have the a.s.surance to tell everyone that this was

his

boyfriend, leaving the antis with nothing to say. For now He was fine with only Shen Yan himself knowing who Grandpas Fan was, and only him knowing that in

Dont ask for my return date

s heart, there was only

Geese Fly North.

But I also know that, and I dont think that there is any problem with matching or whatsoever.

Two

went straight to the point as he continued to snack on his crisps noisily.

Qi Jing face-palmed in silence.

Again, how did he even end up talking about this topic with

Two

?

Ah, right

After twenty minutes had already pa.s.sed since that Ill be back in a moment from Shen Yan, someone finally poked him on YY, even sending a voice call invitation. He even thought that it was Shen Yan who came back, but upon taking a closer look, he realised that it was

Two

.

According to his own logic, it was because Either way Six is about to start the next audition, so I made him go make some preparations. And since I heard that it was you who convinced him to sign up for the compet.i.tion, I came over to talk for a bittruly the type to act out his words right away.

Qi Jing stared helplessly at the flickering sound volume icon.

Dont ask for my return date, That guy said thoughtfully, I think I heard that ID somewhere

We were adversaries during that audition for Qin Tuo, you even cursed me out.

You wake up already

. But of course, Qi Jing didnt say those last four words aloud.

Ah, it was you, The other person seemed to have remembered, now speaking with the suddenly gained understanding, You were the guy who got smeared by that birdy something fellow, right?

Just how much you cant remember other peoples IDs That great G.o.d birdy something would be about to cry, you know?

Qi Jing cleared his throat, then couldnt help the curiosity and asked, Can I ask you who Six introduced me as to you?

He said youre his lover Saying this,

Two

paused suddenly for a moment with a short eh, probably only now having realised that there was something amiss with this lovers gender. Qi Jing waited quietly for his next reaction, but he didnt expect this guy to only take a couple of seconds to accept this reality, Oh Turns out the two of you are the type to like the same gender, huh. Doesnt matter, either way youre both amazing at voice acting, so youre a good match.

I say Is this something that you would finish processing in two seconds?

And youre missing the point here, fellow Two!

Even though he made quite a few complaints in his thoughts, that last sentence from

Two

quickly made him feel much better and he instinctively cracked a smile. Once he calmed down, he told

Two

his previous thoughts without realising it, which ended up with

Two

telling him those words.

I dont feel like theres any problem with you two matching, youre already really good, so whats wrong with telling others that you two are a thing? And

Two

even reiterated that.

But Im not as amazing as you. Qi Jing wasnt stingy with praise.

Of course.

And you really arent modest

To be fair, rather than me being worried about what other people think, I want to give myself a goal, With a goal, theres also the motivation. Qi Jing laughed lightly, I admire that feeling of being equally matched and moving forward hand in hand, just like you two. Really admire it.

Suddenly

Two

asked him, Then if thats what you think, how about joining us?

Hearing this, Qi Jing was taken aback.

Without waiting for him to answer,

Two

once again shouted loudly, Ah! It started, it started! I will listen to it first then well talk again!

Turns out it was about the time for Shen Yans audition group No.42, so the two of them temporarily stopped talking and listened carefully in silence.

But it wasnt like Shen Yan would be lucky enough to be continuously paired with the experts like

Two

. The contestant he met this time was a complete n.o.body that didnt rank that high, who upon seeing that his opponent was Shen Yan first started with a shaky I, Im afraid I will burden you. This really made every

Kittys Papa

s fan, including Qi Jing, break in a cold sweat. Fortunately the final outcome wasnt that bad.

Im not worried at all, after all Six is great at making people get in a role.

Two

smiled calmly. It seemed like the conflict between them was indeed already a thing of the past.

Meanwhile the more I listen to it, the more conflicted I feel. Qi Jing laughed helplessly.

Even a stranger could openly act with that man While on the surface, they were merely two contestants that never even interacted.

He wasnt like this before. At that time,

Two

spoke suddenly, Before, even though he was conscientious about voice acting, he only ever accompanied us with practice, never taking initiative to ask us for anything, always only playing the roles we asked him to play. It was as if he was just a great voice acting machine.

Pu Yuzhi had said this before as well. Qi Jing nodded slightly.

But now, he sounds so much more alive. You can hear that he really loves to voice act stuff, and chooses the roles with an idea in mind. He told me that it was all thanks to you Saying this,

Two

surprisingly had a moment of straightforward honesty, Thank you.

Qi Jing didnt say a thing, only lowering his eyes as he smiled.

Suddenly, he wasnt as envious of other people.

Why envy anyone? After all he held special, irreplaceable meaning for Shen Yan. The sheer thought made him feel fulfilled.

Dont ask for my return date: Hehe. ^kUU3U;^

Geese Fly North: Sorry, I was only able to come back nowk2026; Whats up, why are you so happy?

Dont ask for my return date: Nothing. ^kUU3U;^

Geese Fly North: (smile)

Dont ask for my return date: Shen Yan.

Geese Fly North: Mn?

Dont ask for my return date: The thing is, even if its just for a single practice Can I join you guys? It doesnt have to be official, no need to get me into any audio dramas or compet.i.tions, just practising a bit when theres some time would be nice.

Saying this, he didnt forget to add two words at the endWith you.

Shen Yan probably hadnt expected Qi Jing to say this, it took a while for him to return his signature ^^. Looking at this smiling emoticon, Qi Jing also smiled quietly before his screen.

Just then, his right eyelid suddenly twitched a few times.

Eh? Qi Jing rubbed his right eye, bewildered. That all things adverse in the perpetual calendar were clearly off the mark, since the support he just got from Shen Yan was obviously a happy occasion. And speaking of all the things that happened that night, there was nothing that made him particularly crus.h.i.+ng, so why was his eyelid twitching again?

Qi Jing quickly closed his eyes and rubbed them a few times before the twitching stopped.

And right in this moment, he heard the hosts upbeat announcement in his headphones: Next, I will ask the contestants from group No.52 to prepare

He didnt pay attention when he was rubbing his eyes, so it was only when he lowered his hand and opened eyes when he finally saw the IDs on the contestants listhis eyes shot open as he froze from the surprise.

Youre kidding me Qi Jing stiffly spat those few words out.

Yet woe was he, as those IDs were listed plain to see on the screen, living no room for anyone to doubt their eyes. Whats more, even Yuan Zhengming slipped an Oh wow in the background.

Audition No.52, Emperor Chang against Marquess Shunyang: Dont ask for my return datevs.Bronze Sparrow Terrace

Turns out that it was

here

where all things adverse awaited him

He didnt even blink his eyes, his expression gradually turning from shocked to serioushe really couldnt even pull off a fake smile.

Truly enemies on a narrow road. He couldnt give a fake smile, so he was only left with a sneer.

Audience 1:

Audience 2: = =

Audience 3: = = This group choice

Audience 4: = = Dont ask for my return, and Bronze Sparrow Terrace Ah.

Audience 5: = = Thats going to be b.l.o.o.d.y (Im feeling like both of them are about to shoot to kill)

Audience 6: = = The moment I see those two IDs together, my whole body is starting to feel bad (Im feeling like both of them are about to shoot to kill)

The scene seemed to have frozen in a second, even a water drop would turn into ice. There couldnt be a better example of an awkwardly chilly atmosphere. As long as a listener followed the course of the events, everyone knew about the beef between those two VAsespecially if one was interested in the voice acting circle. Really there was no more unfortunate group choice than this.

With things like this, Qi Jing laughed instead. Haha

Shoot to kill

? Thats not a bad ideaafter all, I think we didnt get a full satisfaction out of taking our shots the last time?

Since he turned up in the finals, then didnt that mean that he still lived, and still planned to kill his way out of his predicament?

Bronze Sparrow Terrace, for you to persevere all the way up to now, I still cant help but admire you.

The corners of Qi Jings lips turned up a bit, but his gaze made this smile cool down below freezing point.

It didnt matter.

Putting his bone to pick with

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

, if he had to act together with him, then he still had this bit of professional ethics as a VA to go through with it. At least if

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

didnt pull any tricks with Marquess Shunyang, then that would make things even. He didnt need to dwell on the whole matter of plagiarising his Emperor Chang, that would only make him seem petty.

Of course, if

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

wanted to go down the b.l.o.o.d.y route, then he would be more than happy to do so as welleither way all the pretence was gone, so who should fear who?

Having said that, for someone who had their reputation in the Order to End the Heavens compet.i.tion already tarnished to this point, yet still got the courage to show himself up, this

Great G.o.d Birdy Something

s face It truly was thick and could take a beating.

Im sorry, Teacher Pu, Qi Jings voice lowered alongside his gaze as he muttered, Im afraid that this time, I cant really treasure the cooperation. As he said so, he straightened his back and face expressionless, rolled up both his sleeves, then made the cuffs perfectly neat, as if really reading himself for a grand battle. After he did so composedly, he calmly pressed the F2 key.

The moment she saw those two IDs listed together, the host Yang Chunqu probably got flabbergasted as well. It took her a while before she stammered out, Ah I will ask both of the contestants to prepare before the start.

Prepare to start right away? The host was truly a considerate lady, she even took an initiative to spare them having to make an opening for themselves, probably out of fear that it would only sp.a.w.n troubles.

Yet Qi Jing smiled gracefully, stubbornly taking initiative to reminisce with the great G.o.d at this very critical moment. Turns out its you. The last time I played with you would be back during the first episode of Trapah, sorry, I already left the team, so maybe lets not mention this sort of past matters.

And so he went straight to poking the elephant in the room

His c.o.c.ky att.i.tude only fueled the tension among the audience.

Audience 1: Dont ask for my return date, you

Audience 2: Dont ask for my return date youre kinda (thumbs up)

Audience 3: Wow, is Dont ask for my return date really about to get into a fight to the death with Great G.o.d? (Im kinda hyped thoughoi oi oi)

Audience 4: I remembered how it went down for them during the semi-finals My heart is hurting so much aaaaah! But Im also both hurting and hyped!! (Oi)

Audience 5: Datey! Mess him up, mess him up! ()

Audience 6: Although I also want to see how Return Date would mess him up (cough cough), but this isnt a duel compet.i.tion, but a cooperative one. And isnt a cooperative audition about working together After such an antagonistic start, how are they even going to cooperate? _(:)_

Whether or not they would be able to cooperate still depended on how

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

would react.

The reason why Qi Jing provoked him on purpose right away was to see if he would fly into a rage out of a sudden, bursting into swearing. But he got surprised

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

didnt react at all. The man was still online, but his activity feed was still dull grey, not flickering even once.

Hah. Qi Jing laughed lightly.

Interesting. So he wants to play deaf, make it seem as if he didnt hear anything, nothing happened? Fine.

The other weird thing was, usually the great G.o.d would always bring a flood of fans cheering for him, yet today they were nowhere to be seen in chat Could it be that the always ostentatious great G.o.d suddenly changed his ways and didnt want to boost his support anymore, didnt want to use his superstar effect to win the votes?

This was simply inconceivable

Really, as if he didnt have any wish to fight for the win. Qi Jing furrowed slightly, unable to fathom what in the end that guy was planning.

Ah, if contestant Bronze Sparrow Terrace doesnt have anything to say, then, lets

start it

.

Yang Chunqus awkward laugh was probably meant to make it seem as if there was nothing wrong between those two. She tried to maintain a peaceful atmosphere of the compet.i.tion, but unfortunately her endeavours only made the issue seem more jarring. Hearing her voice, probably most of the audience could easily imagine her troubled image behind the screen.

Qi Jing waited calmly in silence, well-tempered.

Yuan Zhengming tapped his fingers on his desk, as if thinking of something, but making no comment.

At that time,

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

s activity feed finally flickered shortly, only for them to hear him reply with the shortest of Mn. Qi Jing raised his browturns out contestant

Great G.o.d

decided to ignore him.

Then, he intended to get to it fair and square Fine.

Qi Jing remained calm, quietly adjusting his mic, preparing to crash this most unfortunate cooperation.

Meanwhile Yang Chunqu was very happy with things turning out this way, hurriedly announcing start of the audition, Well then, dear listeners, next we have audition group No.52s Emperor Chang against Marquess Shunyangstart the time!

Ding

The timer window that popped out was like a giant noise-canceller, momentarily sucking the stage dry out of any sound. The scene was death silent, the audience focused as never before.

0:00.

The first line belonged to Marquess Shunyang. He was meant to open the scene, and Emperor Chang was to follow him.

Qi Jings expression was serious as he silently stared at the lines chosen by the organisations. He generously pa.s.sed the initiative

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

, wanting to see how he would perform and think how he would adjust himself to it.

0:01.

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

s activity feed was grey.

0:03.

Still grey.

0:05.

Eh

? By the time it got to the fifth second, and the other still didnt say half a word, Qi Jing finally realised that something was wrong here.

The lines issued by the organisers had a set order. Lord Shunyang had to go first, otherwise Emperor Chang wouldnt be able to continue with the performance. The time during the finals was extremely limited, so if they didnt start during the first five seconds, the time for the latter lines would be rather tight, so much so that they probably wouldnt have time to finish properly.

And not finis.h.i.+ng properly meant an instant disqualification.

Qi Jing shook with a sudden thought.

Audience 1: Eh

Audience 2: Eh, what happened? Why is there no sound?

Audience 3: Great G.o.d Bronze Sparrow Terraces mic is still turned off = =

Audience 4: If G.o.d Bronze Sparrow Terrace doesnt start the first line for any longer, they will end up short on time!! The finals only have a minute for a performance, you wont make a do wasting it like this, oi!

Audience 5: I, I suddenly thought of somethingI have a bad premonition

Audience 6: The comment above, tell us what you thought of I feel like I probably thought of the same thing = =

Needless to say, Qi Jing also thought of it. The moment he did, he bursted out in laughter. He leaned back on the chair as he watched the timer already getting to 00:10 with a cold gaze.

So thats how it is

So thats how it is.

So you plan on sabotaging me, am I right? Bronze Sparrow Terrace?

At that point, even if he were to steel himself and start on his own from the second line, as long as

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

persisted in saying silent and not saying the third line, it would still be of no usethis whole situation was bound to end in a deadlock since the very beginning.

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

was willing to abandon his chances for Marquess Shunyang to make him lose Emperor Chang.

So the case of him indirectly causing Great G.o.d to lose a main male role Turns out he was still holding onto that grudge.

And the drama around Emperor Chang was no less than the biggest blemish in his reputation. If he couldnt get what he wanted, then he wouldnt let Qi Jing have it too. Quite a feat of hurting himself to kill the enemyalthough it came with a price, at least it was able to deal a fatal blow to the enemy.

Qi Jing was so angry he laughed instead, his fist clenched tight on the desk.

At that moment, he really could only resign himself to his fate, completely unable to retaliate. This sacrifice by

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

was truly great, but just look how well it worked, simply extraordinary! He didnt even have a chance to fight backsuck it up!

There were some people protesting among the audience, but everyone was helpless in this case, only able to stare as the seconds on the timer wasted away.

Audience 1: So vile, AHHHH!! I didnt expect Great G.o.d to go for broke!! And even in death he has to take Return Date down with him, like thats some great d.a.m.n true love story!! As a Great G.o.ds anti + Return Dates fan, I really cant stomach this, ahhh!!!! ()

Audience 2: Nooooooo, I want to listen to contestant Dont ask for my return dates neurotic Emperor Chang (oi)

Audience 3: Bronze Sparrow Terrace and Dont ask for my return date So this is doomed to be a

Return to Ashes Together

s.h.i.+p

Audience 4: ( |||)Ah ah ah? Return to Ashes Together, I didnt even think of this s.h.i.+p for a name

Audience 5: ( |||) It really is Return to Ashes Together

Audience 6: ( |||) This s.h.i.+p name is amazing, we truly have a prophet here!!

Return to ashes together, huh

The timer was already at the 00:15, really a case with no way out

Qi Jing slowly relaxed his fist and closed his eyes, acknowledging that he underestimated his enemy. This feeling of having lost despite not being able to even begin the fight was truly suffocating.

Then he finally heard Yuan Zhengming, who after listening to all of it in silence finally broke this deadlock, Enough, no need to count down anymore.

Hearing him say so, Qi Jing slightly pressed his lips into a line, his heart turning cold.

Just look at it, even Teacher Yuan gave up on it

He didnt expect to get slapped this hard by

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

during the finals. It was so discouraging.

Just as he was about to quickly get off the mic, already moving his finger to the F2 key, Yuan Zhengming laughed, then said unhurriedly, I already predicted that something like this could happen, so I came preparedmanagement, Ill trouble you to reset the timer, we will start it again in a moment.

Qi Jing was flabbergasted.

Well start again?

But its no use even if we start again, Teacher Yuan. As long as Bronze Sparrow Terrace refuses to let go, no matter how many times we try, its all useless

He wont speak. Qi Jing told Yuan Zhengming bluntly.

I know. Yuan Zhengming replied in an uncaring tone, confusing Qi Jing even more instead.

If thats the case, then whats the use in resetting the timer?

At that time, he suddenly heard Yuan Zhengming calling a certain name clearly: Longbow.

He froze, dumbstruck, then hurriedly turned his head to the contestants lineup.

Bronze Sparrow Terracehad already disappeared from there, andJudge Longbowappeared quietly in its place. Clearly Yuan Zhengming gave some instructions to the management behind the scenes.

Qi Jing suddenly thought something, and his breathing stopped momentarily, only for him to hear Yuan Zhengming say with an indolent smile, You come over and play Marquess Shunyang, be this boys opponent

When he heard this, Qi Jings heart skipped, the fear he felt far greater than the joy.

Yourekiddingme!

And

Longbow

didnt seem to treat this as a joke. With that low and clear voice of his, he said unhurriedly, Yes, Teacher.

A/N:

2Yan, do you feel pressured now??