Chapter 89

Editor: Whitelfare

Proofreading: Mashiro

What time is it.

Qi Jings question didnt touch upon anything specific, but Shen Yan still understood what he meant.

I dont know. Shen Yan replied unhurriedly, his voice deep and calm, as if those three words meant about the same as I dont care.

He indeed didnt care; at that point of time, his world only consisted of what little was in his arms. It was there where the person he wanted to embrace with all his heart and soul was, so he didnt care about the concept of the time.

Qi Jing lifted his head, rubbing his nose against Shen Yans chin, shifting closer to lay a kiss on his throat.

The voice coming from that place belonged to Shen Yan, one and only of its kind. Qi Jing loved it more than anyone elses, missed it more than anyone elsesto the point where missing even a single opportunity to hear it felt like a great pity to him. You gave up already?

Shen Yan smiled in silence, not saying a word for quite a whileonly the hand around Qi Jings hand tensed without him realising, holding the other even tighter.

Do you mind it? He asked in return.

I do, Qi Jings reply caught Shen Yan by surprise, the look in his eyes faltering a bit. But at that moment, Qi Jing laughed in a low voice and finished the sentence, I mind it because I feel like if you were to give up from the very beginning, then even if you say that you dont care, in reality, you would still recall this memory every once in a while. But right now, Im very selfishI cant bear to see anything other than myself in your heart.

He paused for a bit, taking back his teasing tone to speak with utter sincerity.

Im joking. To be honest I just wanted to let you sleep peacefully, with nothing weighing on your mind.

For him to not worry, to leave the troubles behind, to not be weighed down by any

it would have been better if I had done that then

, these sorts of regretsat least for that night, he wanted to let the man before him leave all his burdens behind, to spend it with him, protecting and relying on each other as they waited for a dawn. After all, his mental state wasnt that good for quite a while.

Having heard his reason, Shen Yan fell silent for a moment.

After a long while, his gaze finally shifted toward a clock on the desk.

It had been almost an hour already He didnt know if he would still manage to make it in time. The only thing he knew was that the second arm of the clock wouldnt slow down in favour of his hesitationit still moved on and on, and with each full circle it made, the room for him to make a decision shrunk for that one minute.

Im sorry, He sighed in a low voice and gently supported his head on Qi Jings shoulder, I will be done in five minutes

Qi Jing chuckled as he watched him.

One minute.

Shen Yan was stupefied; after being at a loss of what to say for a moment, it took him quite a while to continue, Uh, will four minutes do?

Qi Jing kept himself from laughing, but the corner of his lips kept curling up higher and higher, That wont do. I will give you at most two minutes.

At that time, Shen Yan finally noticed that he was teasing him and he lowered his eyes helplessly as he laughed, I will wrap it up as fast as I can, just give me four, five minutes.

Im toying with you, Im not this petty, Hearing how earnest Shen Yan was with his plea, Qi Jing couldnt help but laugh. He hooked his hand around Shen Yans neck to pull him closer and nibbed at his earlobe as he said in a low voice, It doesnt matter how long it takes you, just do it at your own pace. But after youre finished, the rest of your time tonight will be mine alone.

As he voiced his selfish wish, it wasnt just hollow words.

Knowing this, Shen Yan smiled faintly as he heard his words, then agreed with a low hum.

Qi Jing really wanted to continue snuggling with him, but worried about the time, he still slowly let go of Shen Yan, saying somewhat unwillingly, Then, Ill be waiting for you back in the bedroom.

Surprisingly, Shen Yan suddenly asked him in a low voice, Qi Jing, during this audition I want you to listen to all of it. Is that fine?

Qi Jing had a vague feeling that there was some deeper meaning to his words, so he didnt hesitate long before nodding his head in agreement, Okay.

Shen Yan didnt say anything else, sitting up from under the duvet, with Qi Jing following him closely.

After a spell of passion had passed, the chilly winter air once again took over the room. With the sweat on their bodies having yet to dry, the two of them shivered the moment they left the bedding.

Dont get up for now, Ill look for the clothes for you to put on. Shen Yan said.

Clothes

suddenly, the meaning behind this word became so ambiguous that Qi Jing froze for a moment, and by the time he came back to his senses, his face and ears had already blushed deep red as he responded with a vague, soft hum.

The wardrobe was in the bedroom, so there was no clean change of clothes in the study. The reason why Shen Yan had to look for them was because they were strewn all over the bed, with some even falling on the floor, so gathering them all would take a moment.

Qi Jing looked away as Shen Yan bent over to gather the clothes, too shy to look straight at that naked body under the dim light.

Wear this for now. Shen Yan picked up the shirt Qi Jing wore originallyit was already all crumpled and wrinkled, half of it drenched in sweat, with a still lingering scent of lust on it. Qi Jing blushed, letting Shen Yan put it on for him in silence. From time to time he would sneak a peek on him, only lowering his head contentedly after he saw that there were indeed his kiss marks left behind on Shen Yans body.

About this one do you need my help with it? Shen Yan asked in a low voice with Qi Jings underpants in his hand.

This time, Qi Jing blushed red for real, his voice so low that it was almost inaudible.

No

Either way, it was only getting from one bed to another. Whats more, having Shen Yan do that to him would be too much for his heart.

Shen Yan chuckled and didnt speak anymore, also getting clothes and pants for himself to put on in silence. Just as he was about to lift Qi Jing up from the bed, he saw the light reflecting off something on the floor at the corner of his eye. As he looked down to take a look at it, it turned out that it was the button that had snapped off before.

The broken thread that used to keep it in place was still hanging below the collar of the shirtit made it obvious how much strength he used at the time.

Qi Jing followed his gaze and laughed a bit as he saw the button, leaning against Shen Yans arm as he muttered, From this day on, this shirt shall have one button less.

Shen Yan didnt say a thing as he picked it up.

Can I keep it? He suddenly asked.

Qi Jing was taken by surprise at first, then he lowered his eyes and bit his lip as he chuckled quietly, What do you want to keep it for?

Shen Yan also laughed softly, a smile barely showing on his lips, To remind myself of you.

Without waiting for Qi Jing to respond, Shen Yan already bent over and lifted him up in his arms.

No matter what, Qi Jing was an adult man, so without a doubt carrying him was a bit strenuous.

It was his first time to be bridal-carried by someone as a grown man, so his face burned red. He wanted to get up and go by himself, but his knees were still soft as if his bones were gone, to the point where he had no strength to even stand up on his own.

Dont move. Shen Yan warned him in a low voice by his ear, his tone gentle but leaving no room to refuse.

Qi Jing could only behave,

letting Shen Yan take him back to the bedroom and lay him

on that spacious bed. But although it was spacious, its bedding was still coldQi Jing couldnt help a shiver the moment he sat on it. The next moment, Shen Yan had already tucked himself in by his side, silently pulling him into a tight embrace.

The two of them stayed in the bed for a while, until their body warmth warmed the duvet into a cosy temperature. Then, Shen Yan released his hold and tucked him back under the duvet, fetching Qi Jings laptop and headphones to put them on the bedside before he kissed him on his forehead.

Wait for me, Ill be back soon.

Mn.

Shen Yan got up, but he still lowered his head to look silently at the button in his hand for a while. He hid it in his pocket, then quietly closed the door of the bedroom.

Qi Jing patted his face in hope for the warmth there to quickly disappear as he opened the laptop.

His laptop wasnt closed, it had only entered sleep mode. Once he opened it, the previously opened windows were still there, including the YY channel of the competition.

Qi Jing was in a hurry to know what stage the audition was on, so quickly entered the channel, but suddenly, he was assaulted by a string of private message notifications.

It was from Five.

For some reason, that guy had already sent him a string of private messageswhats more, he used the blood red caps, making it impossible to ignore. Seeing this, Qi Jing had an awfully bad premonition.

As expected, the first message from

Five

made him tense all over.

Fivesaid toYou: RETURN DATE RETURN DATE RETURN DATE RETURN DATE!! Get here right now, listen to me!! Dont let Shen Yan join the audition for Marquess Shunyang!! Quickly go and stop him, DO IT NOW!!

At that moment, his first, subconscious response was to tense his body up, to want to flip from the bed and drag the man who had just left back.

But once he remembered what Shen Yan saidwait for methat strong urge vanished; it cleared his mind up, like a basin of cold water being poured over his head.

No.

He shouldnt be this rash, he should have faith in Shen Yans promise, right?

His tense body relaxed slowly and he sat back by the head of the bed, no longer movingeven though all the subsequent messages from

Five

were swaying his resolution by a lot.

Fivesaid toYou: The lines for this audition had already got published (holds head)

Fivesaid toYou: Those lines are really

Fivesaid toYou: Thats bad, he really cant do this, quick, go stop him or else

Fivesaid toYou: Return Date, Return Date, where the heck did you go?? I see you online on this channel but youre not saying a thing, I dont know what the situation is like, you quickly come and reply to me!! Waaaaah

Fivesaid toYou: You should be with Shen Yan, right? If you cant stop him, then there is really no one who could do that

Stop him?

But why?

Without thinking, Qi Jing moved his hand away from the laptop and reached it towards the half-open collar of his shirt in dismay, putting it on the place where the button used to beas if this simple touch could let his fingers take hold of that mans hand.

Just a few mere minutes ago, they were still lying together, so inseparable in love and affection that even this little distance from study to bedroom felt uncomfortable.

If it was the Shen Yan from earlier that morning, he would probably dread letting him take part in the audition by himself.

But This Shen Yan was different.

Qi Jing kept staring at the messages from

Five

over and over, and finally, his gaze stopped on the word lines. His eyes shot open, as if he had suddenly realised something, and he quickly took a look at the lines for the three scenes the competition organizators had long since published in the public channel.

Shen Yan slowly raised his eyes and looked at the published lines for three scenes for Marquess Shunyang.

He was actually pretty lucky.

By the time he sat down, the contestant before him had just finished his performance, so he still had about a minute to analyse those lines. He could still do it in time, but the time he spent staring at those lines was longer than for either of the previous two rolesso long that it seemed to have stopped.

He remembered each of the lines he saw as he had read the source novel.

But as for him voice acting them himself It was a different matter altogether.

He took a deep breath and opened the timer on the right corner of the screen, looking at the second arm on it turning a full circle, just as he turned a button in his hand. Keeping it within his scope of view made the passage of time much less stressful for him.

Next, well have contestant No.22.

The MC Yang Chunqu was also looking at the time. It had to be said that the lack of response when she was calling the contestants numbers made her feel quite disappointed.

Contestant No.22? May I ask if youre present?

It was about the same as when the question she asked before the beginning of the audition, even her nervous tone was no different.

She hasnt seen

Kitty

Papa

being listed on the channel and during the audition, she kept mulling over what to do when the time comes as she hosted the event; the worst possibility would be that she would have to announce that No.22 had lost the qualification to take part in the competition.

Still, as one of the people who had a good impression of him, she really didnt want to see it end like this.

The other fans of

Kittys Papa

were also anxious to the extreme.

Audience 1: Kittys Papa still hasnt come Its finished, its really finished

Audience 2: I, I wont abandon the hope until the very end!!

Audience 3: What the commenter above said +10086!! Even if youre not prepared for the audition, at least say a word about it to us, let me kill the remnants of my hope!! Being left in a limbo here is way worse than if you told us directly!!

No.22-Kitty Papa: Im here.

Wait

The crying kaomojis that were spammed in the chat suddenly disappeared and after a moment of deathly silence, one after another, the listeners cried out loud.

Audience 1: ( ) Crap!! Kittys Papa!! Quick, read the ID above mine!!

Audience 2: ( ) Kittys Papa!! MC, look above quickly!

Audience 3: ( ) Kittys Papa!! MC, look above quickly! +1If I could use a hundred of arrows, I would hecking use a hundred arrows, bastard

Audience 5: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!! Is it the real deal?? Is he the real one or not!!Crap, Im about to cry

Audience 6: Help meeeeeee-! Kittys Papa, you finally showed up, Im so emotional now! And so happy! Tonights wait finally paid off!What to do, Im already sobbing! Asking Kittys Papa to send me tissues!

If the competition was live streamed in the video format, then probably everyone would be able to see the MC covertly wiping a cold sweat.

Thats great news, then Ill ask the staff to give contestant No.22 the right to unmute the mic. Although her movements couldnt be seen, her audibly more relieved tone could be heard through her mic.

That naturally resonated with

Kittys Papa

s fans, but it also caused a lot of dissatisfaction among

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

s fans.

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

was No.14 and had already performed before, and without much surprise, he held the highest place on the ranking so far.

First, compared to Emperor Chang, a drug addict with a sickly voice,

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

s powerful subwoofer-like voice was much more applicable for Marquess Shunyang, a character with a martial background.

Second, in terms of voice acting, it was hard to find someone more capable than a professional voice actor like him among the amateur contestants.

If one said that the incident with

Dont ask for my return date

was just an accident to

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

and his fans, then

Kitty

Papa

was doomed to be an eyesore.

And it was mostly because of the relentless publicity of

Kittys Papa

by his ardent fans on the forums.

I like Kittys Papa more than the great god Bronze Sparrow Terrace, what should I do?

Kittys Papa will surely win against the great god, right?

I feel like therell be no suspense to this audition!

Once opinions like this started amassing, even though the two people involved didnt interact in person, it was still enough to trigger a feud

Remembering that she was the official representative, and couldnt show any sign of bias towards any contestant, Yang Chunqu quickly coughed to clear her throat.

Cough, then, may I ask contestant No.22 to check the equipment? If theres no problem, then

No need to.

Three, quiet words could be heard from the person on the mic, his voice lower and more husky than how everyone remembered it. For the audience, it sounded as if it was the problem with a mic, as if there was a noise that distorted his voice.

No need to do anything, His other sentence was even lower than the first one, lets start right away.

A/N:

To be fair, the two of them really flash their PDA And they dont even realise that

The already flashed blind author silently hugs Little Return Date and turns off the light while on her way out

PS: Five, the God of Peddling Sense of Presence is mad hahaha

Mashiro: Ah another cliffhanger!!! I always like to read about the competition. Bet the next chap is going to be interesting due to the warning messages of Five.