Chapter 135

Chapter 135

unedited

Every show needs its own climax. Preferably, the happier the better.

When Two said that, his expression was happy indeed.

But it wasn’t quite the case for Five—

“Hah.” He did laugh once, but it was a bitter one. When Qi Jing heard this raspy sound from Qiu Tianyang, it made him turn his head toward the guy, only to see him with his head already down. His face seemed as if he was mocking himself for something. He rubbed it twice with his hands, looking incredibly weary.

“It’s all my fault...” He muttered quietly.

Fault?Setting the rest of their past aside, no one could deny that thanks to him, Shen Yan could obtain the double-win, could come here to meet Two, that it was him who fought for impartiality among the judges. In the case of gathering them all together, he was not only blameless, but also worthy of praise.

But with that being the case, why would he blame himself so?

At that time, Qiu Tianyang moved his knees, leaning forward slightly with his hands on the armrests, “...I’ll go outside to catch some fresh air.”

Saying this, he was about to stand up.

“Five!” Qi Jing called him hurriedly. Probably because of how strict his voice came out, he succeeded in halting this guy’s movements.

Qiu Tianyang who had just stood up from the seat once again dropped slowly onto it, leaning back.

Seeing him sitting back, Qi Jing also didn’t follow in standing up, breathing a sigh of relief instead. He asked in a small voice, “Why are you running away?”

Qiu Tianyang didn’t say anything.

Since he already started questioning him, then there was no need to beat around the bush anymore, going ahead in giving him every piece of his mind that he previously held back in one go, “Just as you and Noodles, and that group of yours—why do you always escape from facing it?”

Qiu Tianyang replied, stupefied, “It’s easy for you to say.”

Hearing this, Qi Jing furrowed, deciding to confide in Qiu Tianyang on something.

“He had told me that he knew that you’d be here before we came.” As he expected, when he said this, the look in this guy’s eyes changed slightly, a flash of surprise in them. Qi Jing remained calm, continuing to slowly dig this stab deeper into this crack in his defence—only if it could hurt would he see the effects. “That’s why he definitely only came here after getting ready to see you, otherwise he wouldn’t even show up. Even Shen Yan can face it, yet you can’t?”

Qiu Tianyang’s voice was somewhat rough and his words were too—weak and fragile like a scrap of a flimsy paper. “You don’t understand.”

“I don’t,” Qi Jing interrupted him softly, but decisively, admitting honestly, “I don’t understand what you’re thinking, I just know that your attitude right now reminds me of my attitude before. Before, I... When it came to my feelings, I was even more pessimistic than you. I was afraid that I would once again lose something dear, that’s why I didn’t even want to let myself begin. And indeed, you can’t ‘lose’ anything if you don’t begin it, but you also can never get it. When I think back to it right now... If I’ve kept running away at that time, I would never be able to get together with Shen Yan, would never be able to be in such a happy place as I am now.”

With this, he returned back to the main point. “I don’t know what happened between you, but if you sincerely wish to earn his forgiveness, then you will never get to earn it by only always running away.”

Qiu Tianyang fell silent.

Qi Jing went silent as well.

“...Haha,” After a while, Qiu Tianyang finally laughed once again—but this time, it wasn’t as pitiful of a laugh as before. He abandoned the meaningless struggle, leaning limply back on the seat. He closed his eyes and said almost as if to himself, “Return Date, I really made the right choice by having you come as well—seems like I finally made a good decision.”

Qi Jing chuckled along, but said nothing, only patting his shoulder, going back to paying attention to the development on the stage.

After the finished introduction of the four main characters, the side characters now also went onto the stage one after another.

Among them, an ID Qi Jing was pretty familiar with appeared as well.

“Hello everyone, it’s me, ‘Went off with a bang’!” The owner of this ID went onto the stage with all the valiance and vigour, and a burst of muffled giggles could be heard from below. Even Qi Jing had to bite back on his lips so as to avoid laughing out loud—really, no matter how many times he saw this person, it always amused him.

Went off with a bang lived up to everyone’s expectations, and after the aggravating two years of only getting titled as ‘runner-up’, he finally snatched the revenge by getting the crown of a champion, his nose stuck high up in the air as he wore it. He easily snatched the first place for the main villain Yan Buliu with the advantage of his voice and solid voice acting skills and so his fans joyously spread the word. It could be said to be worthy of all congratulations.

It’s just...

In real life, he was barely tall enough to reach the host’s shoulder. Seeing how an event worker had to hurry over and lower the mic stand for him to be able to speak into it, this scene really looked so... pitiful.

“Looks like this cannon’s barrel is somewhat short—”

Qi Jing was trying to hold back, but Qiu Tianyang’s words made him suddenly remember the scene he saw a bit before when he was still standing in the line and, finally unable to restrain himself, sputtered with muffled laughter.

That day, Went off with a bang showed up with his girlfriend in quite a high-key manner—fortunately, she was a petite woman so they looked quite harmonious together. It’s just, when they were preparing to enter the venue, that girl caught a glance of Tan Zixian and couldn’t peel her eyes away, staring at him as if completely smitten. It was already infuriating enough for Went off with a bang, but when he got to know that this taller than him, more handsome than him guy was actually Crossing the bridge noodles he had always imagined as a little sissy bottom, his eyes were simply bulging in fury. He later kept repeating “He’s a gay, a gay!” by his girlfriend’s ear like a broken record, but still failed to make her look away from Tan Zixian’s face.

At that time, Tan Zixian probably heard him prating and recognised his voice. He turned his head to take a glance at the man a head shorter than him, then smiled faintly, deliberately walking just past him with a confident gait, giving him a fleeting, tepid look from above as he did.

Went off with a bang was simply about to explode from fury, and Qi Jing on the side was holding back from laughing out loud so hard that his stomach began to hurt.

Still, it was through his ability that Went off with a bang won the champion title. Even if his character wasn’t particularly pleasant, in terms of voice acting, he was no far worse than any other person eligible to stand on that stage.

At that moment, Went off with a bang cleared his throat behind the mic stand—Qi Jing was sure that he would pose no small amount of surface-level idol mannerism, he had already experienced that during the competition. “Today I, Went off with a bang, want to take this opportunity to thank anyone who kept supporting me and voting for me, letting me become the champion for the ‘Yan Buliu’ role! To be able to meet everyone at this ⟪Order to End the Heavens⟫ introduction event brings me a lot of joy!”

Below the stage, Bang Fans bursted into cheers, starting an applause.

To show off his considerate side as a boyfriend, he gave away his first question to his girlfriend, all full of himself as the event worker went to give her the mic.

“Go ahead, ask whatever you want~” Went off with a bang waved his hand with a feigned ease and confidence.

“Bang Bang~” The moniker this girl used made everyone present break into goosebumps&#k2014;it was clear to see that they were usually this cloyingly sappy when together. She asked, her eyes sparkling, “After you receive that award money, can you buy me those new Chanel shoes?”

The new Chanel shoes. Although Qi Jing wasn’t as adept in this area as Ning Xiaoxiao, he knew that the price for this brand couldn’t be small.

The audience below bubbled with laughter, all of them lighting a pity candle for Uncle Bang.

Went off with a bang’s face went red, then white—it wouldn’t look good if he just refused her in front of so many people, so he could only suck it up and nod his head. Later on, he wasn’t himself for the rest of the Q&A, probably distraught by the high expectations posed by his girlfriend. He muddled through the remaining two questions, then fled, downtrodden.

Qi Jing was still smiling while recounting the face Uncle Bang had made that time when the host lady returned to the front of the stage with a radiant smile, starting the introduction of the next person to come on the stage.

“Next, I’ll have an honour of inviting the most extraordinary among our contestants today,” When Yang Chunqu said this, Qi Jing froze. And sure enough, her following words confirmed his guess, “As for why he’s so extraordinary, it’s because he’s the only contestant to win the rights to voice two roles, making him the only double-champion of this instalment’s competition.”

Qi Jing’s eyes lit up and he sat straight, waiting with his breath held back.

When the audience heard this, they momentarily shrieked from joy, chanting together, “Kitty’s Papa! Kitty’s Papa! Kitty’s Papa!”

“Now, let’s meet the voice actor of the side character Bai Ke, as well as the NPC character Old Man Xiao Shan, ‘Kitty の Papa’—everyone, welcome the contestant Shen Yan!”

As the host announced this loudly, everyone’s gazes followed to where her hand was pointing, only to see a man coming forth quietly from behind the row of contestants. Unlike the two roles he was to play, he had neither the malice of Bai Ke nor the elderly appearance of Old Man Xiao Shan—instead, his features were that of a meek, down-to-earth young man. Although he wore just the simplest of shirts and trousers, he appeared very clean and proper. When he was walking to the mic stand, he bowed slightly to the host, thanking her in a small voice. The voice that passed through the speakers throughout the venue didn’t have any unique characteristics, but it left one feeling comfortable.

Once he came forth, the fans below the stage simply could no longer hold back.

“Ahhhh... So this is Kitty’s Papa!”

“Aaah! Although I can’t say he’s some great hottie, his appearance is actually very similar to his voice~”

“Kitty’s Papa really has the vibe of a man from the previous generation... You know, the type to not get easily swayed by the materialist society, abide by the rules and etiquette—the steady and honest working man.”

The sounds of discussion of the girls from the few rows ahead travelled over and a smile flashed through Qi Jing’s eyes as he listened to them.

Aside of that, he also didn’t forget to turn his head and toss a phrase at Qiu Tianyang, “You better stay here, I forbid you from running away.”

Qiu Tianyang chuckled bitterly, raising his hands up in a silent surrender, showing that he would no longer look for an excuse to escape.

At that time, Shen Yan slowly took his place on the stage. His eyes were lowered before, so when he lifted his gaze slightly at the billowing darkness of the human faces moving below, he hesitated slightly. He subconsciously held the microphone, shifting it slightly toward his right side, as if wanting to avoid it letting everyone hear the sound of his heartbeat—even if it couldn’t possibly catch this sort of sound.

When he opened his lips to it, he realised that he didn’t know what he should say.

But then, his gaze fell onto the last row and he saw Qi Jing sitting there, who now smiled and waved his hand. At that sight, he suddenly felt much more at ease, finally finding the words to begin with.

“Hello everyone, it’s nice to meet you all.” His voice was a bit raspy as he spoke, warm and deep. And that tiny bit of awkwardness did not stop everyone’s impression of him from getting better and better at all.

“Thank you all for your support during the beginning. It let me persevere throughout this whole journey and finish the competition.” Here, he gave a heartfelt bow to everyone below the stage, “...Thank you.”

The fans in the audience were taken aback, probably taking a while to react to how honest and respectful those thanks were. But in a moment, they all started a warm applause.

Shen Yan’s scores for the impression weren’t usually all that high at the beginning, but he would win through improving it slowly point by point, and he would never end up leaving a negative one—Qi Jing had no doubts about that. Just as with Ning Xiaoxiao who, when she first met him, kept questioning and finding faults with him, but now was crying and begging to wash away that dark part of her history.

As the applause slowed down, Yang Chunqu finally made an announcement, “As there are three questions allowed per each role, and our double-champion here got two roles, everyone can altogether ask him six questions today.”

Once the fans below heard how many questions they could ask, they were overjoyed by the good news, cheering along.

“Then, contestant Shen Yan, do you wish to choose a person yourself, or let me help you with it?” Yang Chunqu offered him two options.

“I will ask the host to do that.” Shen Yan replied softly.

Usually, the first question was either a confession, words of praise, or something of the kind. But the first question Shen Yan got asked was out of everyone’s expectations.

“I want to ask if you used a voice changer to do the grandpa voice?”

Once it got asked, multiple gasps could be heard in the silence below, the people near the asker glaring at that person with a frown. Even Yang Chunqu, who chose that person, felt a bit awkward.

For the first question to actually be this mean-spirited... Qi Jing thought to himself. But he wasn’t worried at all, since using the actions to prove the truth was always better than hollow rhetoric.

When he heard this covertly malicious question, Shen Yan’s expression didn’t change, nor did he get angry—he just took a step forward, holding the mic in two hands. This movement also covered his lips as he spoke, so only a model, kind grandpa voice passed through the speakers and to the whole audience.

“There’s no need for a voice changer,” His young face and this voice created a jarring contrast, “Using a voice changer wouldn’t sound realistic, and I would have to sit by the PC the entire time, so I wouldn’t be able to speak to everyone just like right now.”

“Oooh, it’s the actual grandpa IRL!”

“It sounds so authentic!”

The audience momentarily bubbled with both astonishment and joy, a lot of people now watching Shen Yan with sparkling eyes, faces full of worship.

Standing behind him, Went off with a bang snorted quietly, making it known that this level of voice changing was nothing hard for him. But he didn’t expect that upon turning his head, he realised that Yang Jie, who was standing right beside him, was glaring at him angrily. Remembering that this guy was good enough of a fighter to take two machete-wielding thieves on just by himself, Went off with a bang promptly went silent on his own.

The first question was daunting but went without any mishaps, and the following ones were more normal in comparison.

“I heard that Kitty’s Papa real ID is ‘Geese Fly North’ and that you took on a new identity for the competition, so why did you choose a cute ID as ‘Kitty の Papa’ for it? Is there some meaning to it?” The second person to ask appeared to think that his ID was somewhat incongruous with his actual temperament.

When Shen Yan heard such a question, he subconsciously lifted his head, coincidentally meeting the gaze of the one who came up with this ID, making him stop for a moment.

Qi Jing cracked a smile at him, resting his cheek on a hand with a languid expression, waiting to hear how Shen Yan would answer.

“This is the ID I used because I keep—” a cat. He originally intended to finish the sentence like this, but when he was about to say it, he suddenly had a change of his mind and added a number, “Two cats. Hm... One big and one small. It’s usually me who takes care of them, so it’s not really all that wrong to call me ‘Kitty’s Papa’.”

Two cats, one big and one small.

With only a bit of visualising, this image was enough to leave all the pet-lovers there swooning.

“You actually have two cats!! So you like kitties a lot?” The person asking was so happy, her hand with the mic was shaking as she hurried to ask the following question before sitting down.

Shen Yan was a bit surprised, but then smiled lightly, “Not only cats, I also love other animals—I love being around them, watching the way they move.”

There, he paused for a moment, and what he said next caught even Qi Jing by surprise.

“When I was a kid, I developed a severe speech disorder. When I was around other people, I wasn’t able to say a single word, and would always feel stressed and afraid. But then, I discovered that when I was with animals, I could speak my mind with no problem... It was probably because they couldn’t speak, yet always listened to me talking, replying to me through their body language and staying by my side, so it made me feel a bit better.”

He slowly described his past in a low voice, each word and phrase considered, but also bitter—yet he still chose to share it to the end.

“But later, I understood that there would be some people in this world, who, like those little guys, would quietly listen to me talking, would play with me, and spend a simple, unassuming life with me. Before, I was sure that there was no cure for me, but now, I came to feel that... ‘talking is kind of nice too’.”

The entire venue went silent for a while, everyone immersed in his speaking—even Went off with a bang that was being grouchy in the back remained quiet.

At that time, Shen Yan realised himself that he went on a tangent, and with a gasped ‘ah’, he apologised to the person asking, “I’m sorry, I don’t know if I answered your question, and then I went on talking about so many unrelated matters...”

“No, no!” That person said hurriedly, “So Kitty’s Papa actually experienced something like this in the past... It’s really moving! Thank you for sharing this with us!”

“Good job.” At that moment, Qiu Tianyang turned his head to the side, gazing at Qi Jing who kept smiling softly as he quietly watched the development on the scene, summing the result of his involvement up like so.

“Haha, I wouldn’t say it’s the case,” Qi Jing chuckled unhurriedly, “If he didn’t have this resolve, no amount of anyone’s ‘good job’ would help.”

“That’s why I’m saying that you did a good job.” It’s not just anyone that would be able to help Shen Yan carry out this resolve.

Qi Jing was about to give another reply, but he didn’t expect the next question from the audience for Shen Yan to be related to this whole ‘meritorious helper’.

“Hello Kitty’s Papa! I have a question I really, really want to know the answer to, I’ve been thinking of it since that day during the competition until this very moment, so I just need to ask it!” The fan who just got to ask the question couldn’t hold back, getting right to the main point with the speed of light, “I want to ask: Kitty’s Papa, is that flatmate of yours the person you confessed to during the audition for ‘Marquess Shunyang’? And if he is, then did Mr Flatmate hear? Did he answer you? Are you together now?”

Qi Jing couldn’t handle it, choking back on his breath.

—This friend right there, do you know that you actually already asked four questions there? What about that one question per person rule we agreed to?

But since this question poked at everyone’s curiosity, and since their gossipy nature burned high for a while already, there was no one really interested in whether it was four or one question, all of them staring excitedly at Shen Yan, holding their breaths.

Qi Jing swallowed slightly, trying to remain calm. Like everyone else, he stared unmovingly at Shen Yan, his heart racing for some reason.

Shen Yan probably also didn’t expect her to ask four questions in a row, all of them quite sharp as well. He remained speechless for a moment, but after a long while, he suddenly laughed with a small ‘hah’—half a laugh, half a sigh.

Just as everyone thought that he would refuse to answer the question touching upon his personal life, he spoke in a low voice, “That’s right, he’s the person I love.”

When the fans below the stage heard this, they momentarily shrieked.

And he still went on, “That day, he was listening to the competition in another room, so he heard it. And... he answered me.”

The fans below were just short of shooting up and going for a lap, some of them going crazy with joy upon hearing this, hugging the friends on their side and squealing loudly.

But that last question was still the most appetising—he admitted, he confessed, then in the end, did they or did they not get together?

“Mr Flatmate answered—then what was the answer!?” It didn’t matter anymore if this good fellow actually asked the fifth question already—in the eyes of the public, she was already a hero.

Shen Yan gazed at that person in the last row, opening his lips slightly to the mic.

“His answer... was the one I wished for.”

But without waiting for the cheers to erupt in the audience, he added, “But we were already together before and our relationship was also well-established at that point. My confession that night was to take a step further in showing him my feelings—it wasn’t the first time I told him that.”

The atmosphere below the stage immediately reached the boiling point.

“What? You two actually were a couple already? When did you start—” The girl had almost got all the way to the sixth question, fortunately the event worker seized the mic out of her hand, ignoring her begging gaze when leaving.

But with things coming to this point, the voices of discussion in the audience remained invigorated, getting more lively with every moment.

“Holy, holy! Kitty’s Papa turns out to be bent, and he’s actually together with Mr Flatmate! I can die happy now!”

“If they were together before, then isn’t it that their cohabitating isn’t simply that, but a sweet life together!? Crap, pardon my impudence—I let my thoughts run loose for a moment and now I’m about to get a nosebleed...”

“...Luckily she didn’t get to ask who his flatmate is...” Qi Jing sighed with relief.

Who would’ve thought that the moment he heaved that sigh, the next question would make him swallow it back.

“I want to ask if Kitty’s Papa’s flatmate is that legendary god VA, Sleek Horses Run Fast?”

The fourth person to ask a question was a worthy successor to the third one’s gossipy spirit—this question was both vicious and on point, making the audience erupt in a wave of approving cheers.

But Shen Yan replied almost that same second, “No.”

Hearing this, the fans were completely taken aback. After accepting that this was a very clear denial, their disappointment was blatant to see.

Qi Jing coughed lightly, reaching his hand to Qiu Tianyang who now had his head turned away silently after he felt the blow of this decisive answer’s speed, patting him in a gesture of sympathy and comfort.

Qi Jing coughed awkwardly in the audience and so did the host, Yang Chunqu.

“Cough,” She reminded the fans politely, “Although there are no rules for this recreational segment, I would still like to remind everyone to avoid asking the private questions... especially the ones concerning the personal life of the contestant—we don’t want to inconvenience them, as well as go against this introduction event’s original intention.”

With that said, the fans also started coughing embarrassedly, curbing their excitement.

The fifth one to stand up and ask sympathised with the host’s and Shen Yan’s plight, so she asked a more proper question, steering this Q&A back on the right tracks, “I want to ask contestant Shen Yan as the double-champion: from this year’s ⟪Order to End the Heavens⟫ competition, who would you say you respect the most, admire the most, and hope to work with in the future the most?”

“Oho...” This question piqued Qi Jing’s interest as well, so he subconsciously straightened his back to listen, “Interesting, interesting—this one I’d love to hear.”

This question was indeed interesting, that’s why Shen Yan took a while just thinking in silence before replying.

First, the person he respected the most—

“For the one I respected the most, it should be some of the Teachers responsible for judging in this competition,” When he mentioned the ‘Teachers’, his voice instinctively turned reverent, even his smile gained a bit of that modesty one would show to their elders, “Especially Teacher Pu. During my first audition, in the final evaluation, Teacher explained a lot to me, letting me realise my attitude and the problem in it, allowing me to work on myself—it’s a very precious lesson to me... I’m both thankful and touched by it.

“Mn...” His first answer wasn’t a surprise to Qi Jing, but when he heard it, he still smiled subconsciously.

Next was the person he admired the most—

This one was harder than the first one, since there were all kinds of aspects to admire, so it wouldn’t be that easy for Shen Yan to choose only one he admired ‘the most’.

But he finally found ‘the one’.

“There were many contestants who performed splendidly during this competition, but if I’m to choose... The one I admire the most should be Two... Yang Jie. I feel like no matter if it’s voice acting, or his conduct, he’s a hard to find role model. Although we got to know each other online before, I’m still very happy that I could meet him in real life for the first time.”

Yang Jie probably didn’t expect that his name would find its way to Shen Yan’s answer and jolted from the shock, suddenly growing a bit sheepish.

But at that very moment, Yang Chunqu gasped with surprise, “Oh my, contestant Yang Jie is blushing.”

Yang Jie remained cool at first—his face only flushed slightly when Shen Yan spoke about him, one wouldn’t even realise without taking a closer look—but when Yang Chunqu said this, everyone’s eyes jumped right to him, even Shen Yan turned his head to take a look. He momentarily couldn’t react, his face turning beetroot red.

“He really is blushing!” Someone from the audience shouted loudly, their words resonating throughout the whole venue.

“He can actually blush! Hahaha!” Another person started whistling while laughing.

“...You’re all so annoying!” Yang Jie got teased by the public’s laughter into embarrassed anger, quickly covering his face while snarking irately.

Of course, how could he know that this reaction would only make them laugh even louder and more merrily?

For the last, the only one left was ‘the one he hoped to work with the most in the future’—

Shen Yan laughed quietly along with the audience for a while, and when everything returned to the previous state, he finally disclosed his answer to the third question.

“The one I hope to work with the most in the future...”

He lowered his eyes, his voice turning low as well, the smile on his lips tranquil and warm like the moonlight on a calm sea surface.

And those six words were like lights flickering deep under the sea waves, forever the sea’s most precious treasure.

“Don’t ask for my return date.”

A/N:

inter’s here, and Kitty’s Papa haven’t hugged 2Yan for a long time now, didn’t roll around with him under the bedsheets... (I’m starved for Returning Geese *flops to the floor*)

P.S.: Can I just say that I used to kinda, kinda ship Noodles and Uncle Bang? (Five: QAQ You! You! You!)