Chapter 86

Many thanks to Belegdae and the anonymous donator for the generous kofis!

Editor: Whiteflares

Apologise?

But if I really apologise, wouldnt that be the end of me?

At first, Qi Jing didnt intend to reply, but seeing that message, he laughed with exasperation, but suddenly, an idea sprouted in his head. It wasnt that good of an idea, it could even be called ridiculous, but it was just about the right reciprocation to

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

and his fans ridiculousness.

Either way,

Jade Butterfly

had said before that

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

had already been decided on behind the scenes.

Since that was the case, there was no harm in going for broke and giving it a try.

CV Dont ask for my return date

: Fine.

Da Qiao of Bronze Sparrow Terraces harem

: !!

Xiao Qiao of Bronze Sparrow Terraces harem

: !! Dont ask for my return date, are you for real??

Sound designer

A Lifetimes Lock

: Huh-uh, arent you surprisingly well-mannered. But since thats the case, then whats the matter with those dealings today?? You go and apologise to Bronze Sparow-sama as early as possible and to all of the listeners too. Admit that you slandered him and everything will go back to normal. ()

CV Dont ask for my return date

: Fine.

Xiao Qiao of Bronze Sparrow Terraces harem

: Just your word is enough!! When are you going to apologize?? Give us a precise time~

CV Dont ask for my return date

: Tomorrow, when we will both be taking part in the competition, I will talk to everyone when its my turn to get access to the mic.

Da Qiao of Bronze Sparrow Terraces harem

: Dont you go back on that.

Sound designer

A Lifetimes Lock

: Dont you go back on that. +1

CV Dont ask for my return date

: See you tomorrow.

After sending the last three words, Qi Jing closed the production crew group chat and leaned against the back of the chair to carefully think through what he would say the next day.

Tomorrow, during the semi-finals for the main male character Qin Tuo, was his and the great god

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

s second confrontation. Since

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

could use foul means even during the audition for an NPC, he would surely be even more careful when it came to the main character. Even if he already had that role guaranteed, he still wouldnt let any mishap happen.

The more hes like that, the better the final outcome. Qi Jing laughed, his plot already taking shape in his mind.

The line-up for Qin Tuo audition was:

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

as No.10, him as No.12. Such a line-up was just perfect for this plan.

He was thinking it through while tapping on the desk with his fingers when, once again, a private QQ message notification could be heard. He lowered his head to lookit turned out to be the scriptwriter,

Puppet Show,

who had stayed silent from trepidation in the chat before, too afraid to even say a word.

Puppet Show

: /(o)/~~ Return Date-sama

Dont ask for my return date

: Im sorry for inconveniencing you just now.

Puppet Show

: /(o)/~~ Although I dont exactly know what had happened, but seeing them talk like that made me worry about you, so I came over to ask.

Dont ask for my return date

: Mn, thank you for your concern. You didnt follow the competition, so youre not in the know with the situation, but to be honest, theres no need to get into that. Dont be afraid, the production of the audio drama will go as its supposed to. ^_^

Puppet Show

:

Puppet Show

:

Puppet Show

: If I need to be honest, after the first episode got released and I read all of the reviews, I felt that our production crew did you a huge disservice

Dont ask for my return date

: I know what youre implying, but dont blame yourself too much. At that time, I didnt stand my ground, so it serves me right.

Puppet Show

: /(o)/~~ I cant help it, the more youre like that, the more I blame myself!!

Puppet Show

: To say it bluntly, I regret that Rouge agreed to let Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao enter the group chat The great god himself isnt even there, so thats even more the reason to not let the uninvolved people in But Rouge had said that inviting the great god to the production crew was only thanks to their connections, so she felt bad refusing them and the sound designer lady is also one of the great gods close supporters It was the lack of consideration on our, the staffs, part that led to such an awkward situation. Im so sorry.

Dont ask for my return date

: Mhm, I can understand this. ^_^

Puppet Show

: Thats so strange This time theyre making a ruckus to make you apologise, but I feel like you did nothing wrong. Sigh Its probably because I feel like you were always well-tempered and behaved properly, so I dont think that its you whos to blame

Qi Jing was taken by surprise, the furrow between his brows smoothing out without him realising, Haha&#k2026;

At least when it came to his image, he wasnt losing out to the great god.

Dont ask for my return date

: Thank you Puppet, I wont give up and will keep waiting for the second episode to come out from the oven together with everyone. ^_^

Puppet Show

: About the second episode _(:)_

Dont ask for my return date

: Whats wrong?

Puppet Show

: After the first episode got published, I worked quickly to finish writing the script for the second episode, so after I examined it with other staff members and modified it a few times, I sent it to you and the great god. Rouge contacted the great god and said she wanted to do another PIA since the general feedback for the first episode contained a lot of complaints from the original novels fans. She wanted the two of you to act together for a bit to correct the general style of the acting, but she got refused _(:)_

Dont ask for my return date

:

Puppet Show

: The reason was, the sound designer and DaXiao Qiao thought that the first episode was very good, and since we already did PIA for the first episode, there was no need for another one; the great god also said so.

Dont ask for my return date

:

No wonder there was no PIA arranged for him and

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

turns out that this was the reason

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

s stance had already been very obvious from his behaviour after the first episode got released; he thought that an audio drama was a secondary franchise and didnt need to stay true to the original workit was fine as long as the listeners found it pleasing to the ear. Since he gained a further understanding towards this person today, Qi Jing was now even less hopeful about him actually committing to analysing the script and improving his understanding of the character.

Rouge Flower

was probably afraid of the two of them getting into a fight and stayed silent about the truth, so she used an excuse of Im afraid that the two of your usual schedules cant be matched up and made him record on his own to later pass the feedback to each of them through the director.

Speaking of which, it had been a long time since he sent the dry recordings for the second episode, but he didnt know how the progress was.

Dont ask for my return date

: Its fine if they think theres no need for it. Either way, I feel like Im more comfortable when recording by myself But now while were at it, its been a long time since I sent the dry recordings, so has the post-production started already?

Puppet Show

: It hasnt Seems like the great god is very busy and didnt have time to record yet. _(:)_

Dont ask for my return date

:

Puppet Show

: /(o)/~~ Thats even more the reason for me to feel like were doing a disservice to you aaahhhhh!!

Dont ask for my return date

: It doesnt matter, lets just wait for a bit longer.

Puppet Show

: /(o)/~~ Return Date-sama, let me tell you There are times when my brain suddenly ponders a certain particularly dangerous thoughtif at first it wasnt Bronze Sparrow Terrace that Rouge invited to star as a lead gong, but Geese Fly North, how good would that be

The moment he saw those three words,

Geese Fly North

, the light in his eyes flickered, the tremble seemingly caused by a conditional reflex.

Even his heart skipped half a beat.

Only in the next moment to start pounding madly without stop

Thats right

At that time, it was none other that

Puppet Show

who invited

Geese Fly North

into the Trap production crew, resulting in that one evening, that one makeshift PIA which barely anyone knew about.

Now, when a third person mentioned that topic, all kinds of memories from that time started to flood into his mind, changing those white and black pages of the script into scenes from the story. They were so lifelikein a moment, Qi Jing lost himself to the daze, once again getting immersed in the story.

I knew from the very beginning that everything you did was a scheme against me.

The low, exasperated voice.

Its pained, conflicted tone.

Even though he had clearly listened to it who knows how many times, he still couldnt forget the astonishment he felt when he first heard it Both his hearing and mind got utterly entranced.

Qi Jing felt a slight heat spreading in his ears and couldnt help rubbing them.

Recalling those lines easily made him remember how that man used to murmur by his ear in a low voice.

He used to think that since hed been with Shen Yan for so long, he could already handle his voice pretty well, that he got used to his low timbre when he talked. But like was quite a stubborn feeling. It wasnt a matter of getting used or notonce it sprouted, its roots would stretch deep into ones heart and thats why, no matter how many times he heard it, the feeling he would get would always be like.

Qi Jing remained silent.

Puppet Show

stayed unaware of the turmoil in his heart and continued to chatter away.

Puppet Show

: But thats impossible, if we decided upon a person then thats it. Whats more, Uncle Yan also doesnt accept the main roles

Puppet Show

: About Uncle Yan, he really is so kind-hearted It clearly wasnt even his role, but he was still so diligent during the PIA. And he would also always send the recordings quickly and in high quality Nowadays VAs like him are so hard to come by.

Puppet Show

: But I couldnt contact him for the longest time It seems like he had retired from the circle?

Puppet Show

: /(o)/~~ I kinda miss him

Seeing this message, for some unknown reason, Qi Jing suddenly typed a few words, sending it before he could even think twice.

Dont ask for my return date

: Me too, I also miss him.

Miss him.

He missed that

Geese Fly North

who quietly listened to his most intimate thoughts; he missed that

Geese Fly North

who held his hand tightly, not letting him go.

Only a single wall separated them, yet he still so missed he so wanted to find the man who had taken him out on that cold and rainy day, to find that intimate moment when, after the door closed slowly, two peoples hearts were at their closest as they embraced.

Hiss

The moment he realised that his fingers had just typed out those words, Qi Jing immediately woke up with a start, his cheeks gradually turning red.

Crap

Crap What the hell am I saying to a young lady?

Puppet Show

: ( )

Dont ask for my return date

: Ah! Nonono, please ignore what I had just said!

Puppet Show

: ( ) It seems like I just got to hear something I wasnt supposed to know

Puppet Show

: Return Date-sama, wasnt it that your impression had always been very good I remember that you used to talk about him a lot with me, asking me about his situation

Puppet Show

: Eh, eheheh?? Can it be, can it be that the meaning behind those words is about the same as I used to headcanon?? Holy!!

And what were you headcanoning, huh, Ms Puppet?

Qi Jing facepalmed in silence, wanting only to find a hole to bury himself in. Digging his own grave Thats straight up digging his own grave, his IQ and whatsoever had probably already been gnawed and gulped down by Little Return Date.

Girls in the circle had an extraordinary sensitivity to gossip, yet even though he was in the circle for so many years, he still hadnt learned his lesson.

Suddenly,

Puppet Show

cried out loudly.

Puppet Show

: AH!!

Dont ask for my return date

: ??

Puppet Show

: Right, right!! Theres one thing you would never expect, Return Date-sama!! (rolls around)

Dont ask for my return date

: What would I not expect

Puppet Show

: Did you know, the last time I interacted with Uncle Yan on QQ, it was actually him who initiated the conversation!!

This took Qi Jing by surprise.

For Shen Yan, who had never been good at communicating with strangers, to actively start a conversation with an unfamiliar girl like

Puppet Show

he really would never expect that.

Dont ask for my return date

: Why did he look for you?

Puppet Show

: Because he wanted to know your QQ number, so he came to ask me!! Holy, now that I think of it, how did I not think of it!! Thats unscientific!!

Puppet Show

: Eh, wait a minute

Puppet Show

: ( ) I gave him your QQ number at that time, so did he never get in touch with you?? Im completely baffled

Puppet Show

: Did you get in touch did you get in touch did you get in touch didyougetintouch??

As for the content of the rest of the interrogation, Qi Jing couldnt remember any more of it.

And thats because the moment he saw that wanted to know your QQ number, his thoughts were already away from the content of the screen. It was as if the words on it started to wash away under the pattering rain from back when the two of them chatted separated by the internetthey grew blurry, his emotions starting to sink in together with the trails of rainwater.

Qi Jing subconsciously reached out his hand and closed the laptop.

After he moved the hand away, the glossy surface of the laptop reflected his faceand only then he saw clearly the expression on his face. It was for sure no different than during that day, when he received a QQ friend invitation from

Geese Fly North

a bit dazzled, but also a bit disbelieving.

Yet It was also impossible for him to say that he didnt rejoice in it.

Are you okay?

Im fine, thank you.

And you?

After such a long time, he suddenly realised that he should have ended it with two more wordsonly then would this exchange be truly complete.

Only like this it would become a whole, and only then they would be able to go on.

After a short spell of silence, Qi Jing laughed twicebut his smile was somewhat bitter.

It didnt actually matter what the reply would be, what mattered the most was letting that man know that he cared about his reply, whether it were good or bad, as each reply would mean a move forward. It was thanks to that person who so patiently, so devotedly approached him that they were able to arrive at each others side.

Shen Yan let them reach each other. And he he wanted to let them keep walking by each other.

Qi Jing turned on the desk lamp in the study.

The warmth of that lamps light was just right, quite similar to the sunlight at the start of the winterslightly infused with warmth yet not too hot.

Shen Yan Are you okay? He asked with a faint smile as he sat on the bedside, then gently laid half of his body on the duvet, only quietly staying by the other mans side with no intention to pursue the question.

It was so strangejust now, he was still so filled with anger, but once he turned his computer off and let go of all these trifles from that side of the internet, returning to reality, he suddenly realised that it wasnt really worth it to get angry about these kinds of people. Instead of continuing to struggle with

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

and his fans, Qi Jing would rather spend some more time accompanying Shen Yan.

It didnt even matter if it was a time spent in silence.

Each minute, each second he spent here was far more precious than a couple of hours wasted on those people.

Is it finished? Shen Yan cracked his eyes open, his voice a bit hoarse.

He could see that Shen Yan probably fell asleep for some time, but his sleep had to be very shallow, as the fatigue on his face had yet to recede. Qi Jing stared at him from above, his scrutinising eyes full of the hesitation whether he should honour the bet. Then, he suddenly chuckled.

I lost. Qi Jing said as he laughed, as if he was appeasing the other man.

He clearly had a hard time accepting that outcome half an hour before, but at this moment of time, he could already say it with ease.

Shen Yan was clearly surprised, coming to completely in a blink of an eye, You lost?

There was no trace of being upset to be found in Qi Jings expressionhe was still smiling faintly, lowering himself to put his chin on Shen Yans shoulder, contentedly claiming its warmth in a child-like manner, Mhm, I lost, my score was lower than Bronze Sparrow Terraces.

Why

Its a long story. His voice became muffled from burying his face in the other mans shoulder. But his tone wasnt stifled with any hard emotions.

For a moment, Shen Yan couldnt think of anything to say.

Back when he was listening from the sides, he didnt think Qi Jing could have possibly lost, he at least could overthrow

Bronze Sparrow Terrace

with no obstacles. Thats why, as he laid on the bed, he tried to make a mental preparation for the longest time, but he was unable to think of what to say. Flurried and distraught, in the end, he was unable to come up with a way to come clear to Qi Jing about his past.

Now, with Qi Jing having lost, he was in turn even more dazed about what to say.

I

Qi Jing interrupted him gently, repeating those words, which were also the very first greeting from their beginning. Are you okay?

Shen Yans throat bobbed a little, only managing to reply with a muffled Mhm before Qi Jing burst out laughing.

At first you were bold enough to ask other people for my QQ number, yet now, how come youre not bold enough to be honest? He raised his brow a bit, his gaze sweeping over the face that was just a few inches from his own as he asked in a low voice.

A/N:

I also missed Kittys Papa, hence

T/N:

Lucilla:

Hence

I wish people on the internet also spent some more time with their loved ones instead of getting frustrated and frustrating others online

Whiteflare: Ahhhh the snuggles at the end were so soft and warmlike burrowing into ones favorite person/blanket