Chapter 83

TLC:Lilies

unedited

Warmth can be shared.

From the very beginning, all hes ever gotten from Shen Yan was warmth. Thats why when the cold sensation got passed to him for the first time, Qi Jing was a bit bewildered.

Like the surface of a lake covered in a layer of ice during winter.

It was not only cold, but also hardno longer as easy to break

Do you want to lay down for a bit? Qi Jing parted his lips and asked in a very soft voice.

The way he spoke was also like a man threading on the ice, cautious about his balance, threading forward step by step with utmost care.

Shen Yan had let go of him.

He let go, but he didnt push him away.

It was a proof that he could still make some effort to soothe that man before leaving this room.

Sure enough, Shen Yan gave him a weary nod. Qi Jings eyes gleamed and he hurriedly took the other mans arm into a gentle hold, helping him over to that small bed in the study, Either way, Im already done with my audition, so you just have a good rest on the bed. I will come and call you when its time later.

All the lights were off in the study, so the two of them supported each other like a pair of blind people in the dark.

However, as they walked, Qi Jing could feel the man beside him moving closer with every step, even reaching out his other hand and silently resting it on top of Qi Jings hand that was holding his arm. This instinctive gesture made Qi Jing heave a small sigh of relief, gaining some form of comfort from it.

Over here.

He sat Shen Yan down on the edge of the bed, then pulled up the corner of the duvet, watching that man slowly get under the covers. It was as if his heart had also been tucked into a warm and cosy place, the chill he just felt going away for a moment. He also climbed into the bed and quietly squeezed under the duvet, pressing closely against Shen Yanit would always be easier for two people to warm up a bed.

Sleep. Shen Yan was lying down while Qi Jing was sitting, so when he talked, he deliberately lowered his head, pressing his lips against Shen Yans ear.

After whispering into Shen Yans ear, Qi Jing naturally moved in to kiss the other man on his temple. Qi Jings fingers combed slowly along Shen Yans hairline, gently stroking his black hair.

Seemingly comfortable, Shen Yans breathing slowly became even and the furrow between his brows smoothed out under Qi Jings continuous stroking. He didnt move a single bit as he lay with his eyes closed.

But Qi Jing knew he wasnt sleepinghis eyelids would sometimes twitch a little, as if his heart was still in a turmoil, still struggling.

What are you thinking about?

To be honest, Qi Jing really wanted to ask him so, but since Shen Yan had asked to be alone for a while, then he probably wouldnt want to answer that question.

Dont think too much. Thats why he could only manage such a line within his limited scope.

Mn. Shen Yan replied vaguely. However vague it was, a response was still better than nothing.

Until the thick layer of ice is cracked, it would be hard for the person standing atop of its surface to hear the sounds of the undercurrents below it. For now, all there was was a deathly silence and he had to accept that reality.

Qi Jing kept a silent watch on him for a long while. When the bedding was already completely warmed up, Qi Jing got out of the bed just as he promised, tucking Shen Yan in without a word. Then, he left the room quietly to give Shen Yan a chance to sort out his emotions alone.

When he went back to his computer, the headphones that had been warm from his hold, had already cooled down, just as his heart did. The overwhelming joy from ten minutes ago was gone, as if it had been washed away completely with cold water. What was left was only that stifling feeling in his throat; not that it hurt, but it still made him feel like he had trouble breathing.

Im only ever this proactive for you. Qi Jings movements as he put on the headset were visibly weak, completely lacking in energy.

If Shen Yan continued to remain silent, then it would be of no meaning for him whether he lost or won that night.

Once that thought took root in his mind, no matter how high a score he got, it would still be an insignificant number for him.

When that thought came to his mind, Qi Jing quickly shook his head, No&#k2026; I cant lose my morale. We promised that if my score ends up higher than that of Bronze Sparrow Terrace, then you will tell me something I didnt know about you.

Shen Yan, you will stay true to your words, right?

He always kept his promises, so as long as he made a promise, then he will surely honour it

Qi Jings expression turned grave as he slowly put his headphones back on. There were eight contestants to perform between his and Bronze Sparrow Terraces turns, and with twenty minutes having already passed, it should be about the time for his turn.

At that time, contestant No.24 had just finished his performance and it was the middle of the scoring and voting segment and next in the line was none other than Bronze Sparrow Terrace.

The impact

Went off with a bang

made was probably already diminished by Qi Jings performance, so the commotion his fans made was much less aggressive than at the beginning; they calmed down a lot. Still, the atmosphere at the scene was getting more and more heated and before contestant No. 24s score even got published, the public chat had already been flooded with cheering slogans from

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

s fans.

Audience 1: .(((p()q))). Sparrow is finally going to go on the stage!! So excited!!

Audience 2: .(((p()q))). Good luck, Sparrow! Crush all the previous contestants! Show them the pride of a top Gong!

Audience 3: .(((p()q))). Sparrow-sama, I will love you the most forever, theres no doubt about that!!

Audience 4: .(((p()q))). Good luck, Sparrow-sama!! Although the scores of the previous contestants are indeed high, you will surely get the highest score!! We strongly believe in that!!

Audience 5: .(((p()q))). Thats right! Go for it with all youve got and make that noisy ignorant bunch shut their traps!

Audience 6: .(((p()q))). I kept holding on to that vote without giving it out, all for the sake of Bronze Sparrow-samas performance! I will only vote for Bronze Sparrow-sama and no one else! I didnt even vote for Dont ask for my return date! Humph! Ah~ So shy~ So shy~~ I really am Bronze Sparrow-samas loyal fan~

Bring it on, Qi Jings gaze didnt stray away from the screen as he said slowly, Let me hear your, great gods, exquisite actingthe best of you.

Go ahead.

Once the performance, the judging, the voting ends, it will be obvious at a glance whos better than who. Thats all I could wish for.

During this audition, I could care less about how the other contestants perform, the only thing Im interested in is the competition between us.

Because this is a stake between me and Shen Yan. Besides that, you hold no other meaning for me.

But it seemed like the

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

himself had a different view on that matter.

Everybody seems to have some kind of misunderstanding about me.

That voice he didnt hear for a long time reverberated in his headphones; Qi Jing could still feel that assault of male hormones in his voice, the first impression just as during the PIA they agreed to do back in the day. Either way, it was an inborn advantage, the other party was born with superior voice conditionseven Qi Jing couldnt deny it, not to mention those little fans infatuated with this low subwoofer-like voice.

In fact, I didnt intend to offend other contestants, and my fans also didnt have such an intention. Theyre all sweet girls, they mean no harm.

That was

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

s opening remark.

This confident display of defending his fans without doubt made these cute girls of his momentarily go crazy, making them immensely proud for choosing the right idol to follow.

From his voice to the way he talked, all of it made Qi Jing think of that luxurious wrapping paper from the high-end storesit was so exquisite and dazzling, it could even make the buyer overlook the quality of the product wrapped in it. But he had to admit, that was also a kind of marketing technique and a rather successful technique to boot, so he couldnt complain much about it.

Especially Dont ask for my return date. Suddenly,

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

mentioned his ID specifically; one could hear the smile and nonchalance in his tone.

Hearing that, Qi Jing instinctively sat straight, wary of this mans next words.

He didnt want to become a part of this packaging, a pattern on the wrapping paper.

But it seemed like that was how the wrapping paper was clearly designed, My relationship with Dont ask for my return date is very good; we practised voice acting together, played in an audio drama together, and I also had invited him to the city I live in.

Qi Jing was stunnedwhen he finally came back to his senses, a light scoff escaped his lips.

It was true that they practiced together, but it was only a one-time thing. Moreover it happened partially because he had no choice and partially to cater to Bronze Sparrow Terrace.

It was also true that they played in an audio drama together, but it was only for one episode, and it was mainly him who shouldered all of the hate later.

And as for the invitation

If it was about the weibo post that got reposted over three thousand times, in which

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

@-ed him, then it indeed happened.

So if someone said that were at odds with each other Then its surely a misunderstanding. All in smiles,

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

clarified the previous negative remarks that appeared in the public chat.

Oh Qi Jing piqued his brow, then also smiled from behind his screen.

They were both smiling. Its just, one smile was warm and the other was cold, a striking difference from one another.

Then, contestant No. 25 Bronze Sparrow Terrace, if your equipment is ready, I will mute my mic now. It was easy to catch ones heart with

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

s voice, and even Yang Chunqu wasnt an exception. Qi Jing could easily hear a softer tone than usual in her inquiry, indicating her strong good-will.

Just like this, the situation was already tilting in

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

s favour.

His urbane reply only improved his impression, Thank you, you worked hard, Ms host.

Qi Jing took a deep breath and waited silently for him to start the first line. The counter with 120 seconds on it appeared on the left corner of the window just as Yang Chunqu announced. But although the time elapsed between each second was the same, Qi Jing felt as if the numbers were moving down faster. His anxiety had been stirred by Bronze Sparrow Terraces opening remarks just now, affecting his composure

But there was no need to worry.

It wasnt about what he thought, but rather about how the other party performed.

But at that time, a faint sigh was heard in his headphones, Ha

Almost at the same moment, Qi Jing felt a chill rushing up his spine and every single strand of his hair standing on its ends, the shudder of his hand almost knocking the mouse down from his desk.

What

What the

That opening of the scene with a sigh Thats clearly

We really dont understand

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

said those words in an ailing voice, then paused for a bit before questioning in an annoyed and shrill tone, The country prospers, the people live in peace and favourable weather brings bountiful cropswhy are there still rebels causing trouble?

By the time

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

finished the first line, Qi Jing was basically sure of it.

From the tone to the speed of speaking, from the outline to the detailseverything was hardly any different from his performance from not so long ago. Even the change of attitude from leaning on the dragon throne to standing up impatiently was no different.

The difference was, the advantage of

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

s voice type was too superioreven though his grasp on the acting out the details didnt compare to Qi Jings, his voice could to some extent overshadow those flaws, shifting the listeners focus to that deep and captivating bass, making it hard to catch the stiffness of his acting.

And as for the reason behind that stiffness, was because he was imitating, and not performing.

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

, that guy He intended to completely copy and paste his performance?

All at once, Qi Jing shot up from his chair, unaware of how his hand that was shaking from anger almost plucked the headphone cord out. But he had calmed down a little, he realised there was little he could do, nothing he could stop, other than unplugging all the cables in front of his computer in a fit of rage.

Many noticed this situation as well, but few actually translated it into words.

And even if they did, they would surely get refuted.

Audience 1: Is it me, or is No.25s performance very similar to that of No.16

Audience 2: It seems that just as some person in the chat said just now, No.25 seems to be No.16 mentor or something?? In a word, if there really is this type of relationship between them, then they might have very well quietly discussed it in private, so using the same acting style wouldnt be that strange. No.25 himself had said before that he has a very good relationship with No.16, right??

Audience 3: So its not only me that feels that their acting style is very similar But I feel like its No.25 that is copying No.16

Audience 4: Oi oi, dont go around accusing people of plagiarism, okay? Wasnt the performance of that whole Uncle Bang before similar to those of many other contestants? Why didnt you say that he is a copycat? ()

Audience 5: Theres so many contestants taking part in this audition, whats so strange about two peoples acting being similar, the character is still the same character, and the setting is still the same setting. If everyones character comprehension is right, then their acting would also turn out the same!! Whats more, Sparrow himself had said that his and Dont ask for my return dates relationship is good, so perhaps it was him who taught Dont ask for my return date, so whats so strange about a teacher and his disciple giving a similar performance??

Audience 6: ~\()/~ In terms of the voice, I prefer this contestantAaaah, Im such a sucker for the absolute gong voices

The situation unfolding before him was so absurd that Qi Jing laughed in exasperation.

To be honest, there was a speck of truth to those rebuttalsbefore he performed, many contestants,

Went off with a bang

included, all used a very similar acting methods, just as the regal bearing of the emperor, the royal stylisation of the emperors wrath, the way they handled the tone while acting out the lines And so on, and so forth.

But every single one of those people would perform different details in a different way,

Went off with a bang

counting as an outstanding contestant among them, his execution of those details remarkable. Under those circumstances, it couldnt be determined if someone was copying someone else.

But Qi Jings comprehension of the characters was completely different from that of the others, so his performance was naturally unlike any other.

That sigh at the start, his irritability and neuroticism as the character was sitting on the dragon throne All kinds of such details was what he thought planned through by him when he went over the lines while linking them with the plot of the original novelit could be said that it was one and unique

Dont ask for my return

style Emperor Chang. Unless there was a person capable of reproducing his thought process, there was no possibility of creating an identical Emperor Chang.

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

didnt replicate his thought process.

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

directly reproduced the fruits of his work, picking up the currently best scored by the judges performance. The reason was simple enoughif he intended to copy, then he would surely choose to copy what was by far regarded as the best by the public, otherwise there would be no meaning to it.

Damn it

Qi Jing looked as the headphones cord tangled into a ball in his hand, his voice shaking along with his fingers.

At the beginning, he thought it was him being furious, but only later did he realise that he actually got overwhelmed by an immense fear.

If he was unable to prove that it was the other party that copied him, using him as a stepping stone. In that case, he would lose.

With his disadvantage of having a less suited voice type, and the performance style being similar He would probably lose. And it wasnt as easy as losing just this matchhe would also lose that bet he had with Shen Yan.

T/N:

Lucilla: Although I dont know how such situations are regarded and resolved in the actual voice acting competitions, that move from Sparrow *closes eyes to chant mind-soothing sutras*